We made it through Christmas!

Thursday I had a routine appointment, and nothing really to report back. I gained 7 pounds since my last visit and I'm sure most of that is going toward my fingers, feet, legs, and hopefully most toward Ainsley! My fingers look like sausages and I know I had "cankles" before, but I really have them now. My calves go straight into my feet, with no ankle visible at all. I'm so swollen! When I wear socks now, there is a huge indention in my calves after I take my socks off for at least a couple of hours from where the elastic at the top of the socks is cutting into my calves. I finally took my wedding ring off while I still could. I feel naked without my ring, but at least it isn't cutting into my finger any more! I can only imagine how I would have looked if I was pregnant through the summer months.

The doctor also went over my ultrasound report from my last appointment and said that he thinks she is just going to be a small baby, and that everything else in the report looked great. There is no reason for him to suspect anything is wrong. They want to continue doing ultrasounds though at each appointment to monitor her growth.

I can tell she's getting bigger, although it doesn't feel like my belly is growing at all. Her movements shake my entire belly now and her kicks are definitely getting stronger each day. There is something surreal about watching a tiny foot/arm move across my belly, even if I am still freaked out a little by it all. Last night, she was poking a foot/hand and you could see it on my stomach, so I pushed it back down, and as soon as I did that she really started kicking with it. She also knows when I have my book resting on my belly, because she will kick until I move it. There are certain positions that she doesn't like me laying, and she'll let me know until I finally give in and move. I've been woke up a few times now in the middle of the night to a jab in the ribs. Those are the worst! She still has a pretty routine schedule, and has added a new time to that...right around 3 AM each morning. She'll be moving around so much that it wakes me up each morning and I just lay there awake with my hands on my belly taking it all in.

My vest is a little snug in the picture below, and that is the last time I'm going to be able to wear it this winter!

I really wasn't in the Christmas spirit this year for some reason, and can say that I'm glad Christmas is over and the new year is right around the corner. We made it down to Grandma and Grandpa Bowman's Christmas Eve. I drove down because Joel makes me nervous enough driving on dry roads, and I would have been a wreck the whole way down there with snow on the roads and him driving. When I woke up Christmas morning, my entire body was sore from being so tense driving down there and home. Needless to say, Joel decided to drive Christmas Day. We spent the morning at Jim and Rita's and watched the kids open their presents. Lani seemed very excited about everything she was opening. Jack got clothes, so of course, he didn't get too excited and Drake was pretty calm too. I'm sure Drake liked his kitchen that he got, and he made me lots of cheeseburgers before we had to leave!

We went to Mom's early that afternoon before she had to go into work and then to Dad's. Of course, Dad was making all kinds of food when we got there. The boys couldn't wait until the soup was done, so someone got the shrimp ring out of the refrigerator. Needless to say, that thing was devoured in under 5 minutes. I want to note that I had one shrimp and I don't think Jamie had any of them. I don't know how Dad keeps food in the house the way Tanner, Thomas, and Joel eat. I have a hard enough time and I just have one of them!

We went down to Nanny and Papa's for a little bit later that night and then stayed the night at Dad's. We had Christmas at Aunt Doris's Sunday. They put new flooring in the basement, so we were able to open presents down there. There was also some air hockey played, with only a few names called during the games! The gag gifts didn't get too bad this year, although Thomas did get some lovely Mickey Santa ears that he modeled.

I'm looking forward to what 2011 has in store for us. It's hard to believe that we'll be adding to the chaos of kids running around next Christmas!

Ainsley's bedroom

Ainsley's bedroom is starting to come together. Mom came over this afternoon and helped me get everything hung on the walls. I still need a few more things to finish up her bedroom, but it is pretty close to done.

I found prints online that matched her bedding and a lady that custom paints blocks to match the bedroom decor. I'm very happy with how both turned out!

I think Ainsley may be developing a slight shoe obsession a little young...

31 Weeks

We only have nine short weeks left. This week our baby should be over 16 inches long and weigh a little over 3 pounds. For the last few weeks, I've been feeling more and more tired. It's not as bad as the first trimester, but I've been going to bed before 9 each night and can easily sleep for 12 hours. Everyone was right when they said that the second trimester is the best. I felt good that whole trimester. Below is a belly picture at 31 weeks.

Today I ran into Jimmy Johns to grab a couple of sandwiches to bring home for lunch. Joel called and wanted a "Vito" (a name of a sandwich), so I didn't argue and decided I could go for a BLT myself. The young man working behind the register took a couple of good looks of my belly while I walked to the register. I gave him my order...a Vito, BLT, and a pickle. He then asked me: "Is that all for you?" I responded: "Yes." He then glanced at my belly again, and then proceeded to ask: "No, I mean, is that ALL for YOU?" I chuckled and told him: "No, actually my husband wanted a Vito, so ran in for lunch." He laughed and told me he was just joking. I sure hope that he doesn't ask that question to every pregnant woman that walks in. I don't know if everyone else would brush it off and laugh along with him like I did.

We have Christmas as Aunt Roycelyn's tomorrow and that means it's officially the beginning of Christmas. I've finished our shopping, and am as ready as I'll ever be for Christmas this year!

We made it home!

We were welcomed back in Illinois last night with snow on the ground and temperatures in the 20's. Brrrrr! I think we both would have loved to bring the weather from Dallas home with us. It was so nice down there, and in the 60's every day. We got home about 10 last night, and let me tell you, it felt good to be home! I never in a million years thought I would say this, but I know I was more excited about getting home than Joel. He's always ready to go home after the second day we are away, and I'm usually the one that doesn't want to go home, but traveling while pregnant is not a comfortable task. It's such a relief to know that I don't have to travel again until after Ainsley's born.

We only had a few mishaps while we were gone, and I'm sure we both came back a few pounds heavier (I'll find out exactly how many pounds heavier at my appointment next Thursday)! We hadn't even made it to our gate in St. Louis when Joel hears his name come across the intercom. He somehow "misplaced" his boarding pass and security had it. Once we got it back, it was a smooth flight to Dallas. On Sunday, Joel about side-swiped a car on one of the interstates, and he wonders why I don't let him drive! I think Joel's best memory of our little trip was on the way to the airport for our flight home. I ended up changing clothes in the car on the George W. Bush Turnpike on our way to DFW. Now, a pregnant woman trying to change clothes while going 70 down an expressway (Joel was driving, in case you were wondering) is hard enough with all the bending over etc. Well, to make it worse, my husband informed me that my feet stunk so bad that he was going to throw up. I wore some flats (without socks) that I got at Payless into the office that day and was trying to put on jeans and tennis shoes, and I guess my feet stunk pretty bad from the flats I wore. It was 60 degrees in Dallas and I'm like an oven and I'm sure my feet were sweating like crazy! So, we had to have the windows down while I'm trying to get some clothes on and hoping that Joel doesn't throw up! I was so glad when we finally made it back to the rental car place to return the car so I could adjust my maternity pants, and get those nasty smelling shoes out of the car and into the suitcase with all the dirty clothes!

Joel enjoyed his "vacation" while I went into the office every day. We did go to an outlet mall on Saturday and saw a movie that afternoon. We saw another movie on Sunday and did a little shopping that day also. I was looking for a dress for Ainsley to wear to Thomas and Jamie's wedding in March, and bought a couple that might work, but Joel actually had a better idea for her dress and I might end up taking the others back. We think that she needs to look like Mommy that day, so I'm going to see if I can arrange for that to happen!

It seems like all we do it eat when we go down to Dallas, and this time was no exception. We went to a couple Mexican restaurants down there, and I do have to say that none of them compared to El Ranchirito! No surprise here, but Joel loved the Brazilian Steakhouse we went to Thursday night. I was so miserable when we left from eating so much that I wanted to go straight to bed!

Last Sunday we babysat Drake while the Christmas tour was going on (Brian and Jennifer's house was in it this year) and we took him down to Rockbridge with us to Aunt Doris's. He loved "Baby" the cat and got a few cool toys to take home from Aunt Do. I was so excited that we had some toys that he could play with at our house, which are the few that we've got for Ainsley so far, and ran back to grab her "toy tote" from her room. There were a few books and little things for him to play with in the tote. Callie got Ainsley a "sing-a-ma-jig" at the baby shower and I thought I would pull it out and let him play with it too, but that didn't go so well! This "doll" that looks kind of like a monkey, makes different noises when you press its belly and its mouth opens each time a noise comes out. Drake was terrified of it, so of course, we had to keep aggravating him with it (as you can see in the picture)!

There's only 11 days left until Christmas and unfortunately, I'm going to have to go out on Friday night or Saturday to finish shopping. I'm going to have to play the "pregnant card" on Joel and somehow get him to go out with me so I don't have to face all the crazy people in the stores by myself!

Snow for Illinois....50s and 60s for Trista, Joel, and Baby Ainsley!

We leave for Dallas tomorrow morning, and I'm pretty excited about the temperatures down there. Tomorrow's temperature in Dallas: high of 63! I warned the doctor at my last appointment that I would probably gain as much this month, if not more, than I did last month. When a Brazilian Steakhouse, Maggiano's, and the Dairy.com Christmas party are all on the agenda for the first three days we're there, I'm guaranteed to pack on a few pounds! Because I'll be training someone to do the payrolls while I'm out in a few months, we're going to be there a little longer than usual, but at least I won't have to go back down to do any more training. I'm hoping to do a little shopping while I'm down there, but Joel will be by my side the whole time, so I don't know if I'll be able to get away with buying any more baby clothes!

We've decided that Ainsley's middle name is going to be Rose. That's what we were planning on using all along, and we've finally agreed on it and set it in stone. Her kicks continue to get stronger each day, and I'm starting to play the "what body part is that" game now. I'm hoping to get everything hung up in her room when we get back and I'll add some pictures. We have a photo shoot scheduled (which Joel is just THRILLED about) the first weekend of January. I looked at some "belly" photos about a week ago and they got me in the mood for our pictures. We only have 73 more days to go until her due date. I can't believe how fast the pregnancy has gone. (On a side note, we've had over 2,400 views on our blog since I started it in June...I just figured out the other day where to go to see the stats. I can't believe how many views we've had in 6 months!)

Even harder to believe: there are only 17 days until Christmas. I can't wait until next Christmas when Ainsley is here, pulling ornaments off the tree, dressing her in cute little Christmas dresses, and seeing her get new toys! Then the years to follow will be just as great...making garland from construction paper to hang on the tree, baking and decorating cookies, building a gingerbread house, sledding, building a snowman, and the list goes on. So, back to the point that there is only 17 days left until Christmas....I still don't have all our shopping done yet. I have never waited this long, and don't know when I'm going to find the time to finish. So if you're one of the few, unlucky people that doesn't get a gift this year, I apologize in advance!

I hope everyone enjoys the few inches of snow that is predicted over the weekend. We'll be thinking of you while we're walking around Dallas in jeans and tshirts!

Sonogram, Monthly Appointment, and Baby Care Basics Class

We've been busy over the last few days! Last night we went to the Baby Care Basics class at St. Johns. We both were hesitant to go, because we didn't know what to expect. It turned out to be a good class and was very informational. The teacher really opened my eyes to something I had never really thought of before. As soon as a baby comes out and they clamp and cut the cord, the baby has to start doing a lot of things on his own. It's amazing how the baby automatically starts doing these things by itself when it has been relying on the mother to do it for him. The baby has to start circulating his own blood, keeping their own temperature, learn how to cry and eat, etc. There are a lot of things we expect a baby to learn/know when they first come out. It's amazing how quickly they catch on! We also learned what can be "wrong" with a baby after it comes out, but it is actually considered normal. Blue hands for example are normal, even though I would have thought something was wrong if I saw blue hands. There are things St. Johns will not let you leave with in the baby's car seat. Nothing can be in between the baby and the seat. There can't be anything that wasn't attached by the manufacturer to the car seat either. Joel liked the video on the car seats and there was a lot that I didn't know about them in the video. They showed us how to swaddle a baby and how to take the baby's temperature, which they say to do under the arm and not rectal. They also say not to use baby powder at all on girls (which I didn't know!) and not to use alcohol to dry out the cord (they want you to keep it as dry as possible and let it fall off on its own). I think we're both glad we went, but we both agreed that we don't need to go back again!

I had my monthly appointment today and a sonogram after my appointment. This was a follow up sonogram, because at the last one she was measuring small (in the 12th percentile). I gained 6 pounds last month, my blood pressure was good, and I measured fine on the outside. I have another appointment on the 23rd and then I start going every two weeks.

My sonogram followed and we didn't get the best news. She is still measuring small, and is now in the 8th percentile. She's went down from the 12th percentile at week 21 to the 8th percentile at week 28. They are estimating her weight at 2 pounds 6 ounces. Her brain, stomach, and kidneys are all measuring good. The doctor said that they can't see any chromosomal defects. They also checked the blood flow, circulation, and amniotic fluid which all checked out fine. They were worried that something might be wrong with the placenta which was stunting her growth, but everything appeared okay. She is a very active baby, and the doctor could see that in the sonogram (she started kicking for her). The doctor said that everything checked out fine that she could see, and that it appears she is just a small baby. We have to have another sonogram in five weeks to check the growth again. They want a baby to be above the 10th percentile, but like the sonogram technician pointed out, at least Ainsley isn't below zero. She's still on the charts, if only by a little. We didn't get to see her face this time either. Joel is convinced that she is just like I was; shy and doesn't want anyone to see her! They also confirmed again that she is definitely a girl. Jim and Joel both have been a little worried that it is actually a boy, and Joel said that we would have to paint pigs on her bedroom walls (since they are painted pink) to make it a boy's room because we weren't painting it again! The sonogram pictures aren't very good again, so I'm only posting one (a profile picture), which in my opinion is the only half-way decent one. As we were walking out, the doctor was standing there and reassured us that everything was okay and that she is just a small baby.

Thanksgiving

I have so much to be thankful for this year. I'm especially thankful for my husband, as he has put up with a lot this year. I'm sure he would agree that it's all been worth it and next year we'll have a little one crawling around begging for a taste of food from everyone.

We had a pretty laid back Thanksgiving and it was very nice. We went to Rockbridge for lunch and visited for a few hours. We stopped by Richard and Tina's on the way home and was able to visit with the Freeman's for a few hours also.

JD wanted a bath, so Aunt Doris pulled his swimming pool/bath tub/toy box/play pool into the kitchen, filled it up and plopped JD in middle of the kitchen floor after we ate. He loved it!

His Mom didn't love it after he got his clothes put back on and while everyone was preoccupied, JD decided he wasn't done and wanted to take a "bath" again! It's a good thing that Aunt Do had some extra clothes at the house for him!

I ran over to Springfield late this morning (thinking that the crowd would have died down a little) and got a glider for Ainsley's room. Springfield was still pretty crazy at eleven when I got there and I was so ready to come home.

Joel put together the glider when he got home (and I didn't even ask)!

100 years ago today...

A loaf of bread cost $0.05, The Boy Scouts of America was founded, Alice Wells became the first female police officer, and my Grandpa, Wilbur (Barney) Gracey Gillespie was born. Along with many others, I always thought Grandpa would live to see 100, and still can't believe he didn't. He's been gone for almost four years now, and is still thought of quite often.

I believe, the picture above is the last one we got of both Grandpa and Grandma together.

Some of the things I remember (and miss) best about Grandpa are:

• His weekly calls to check in on me. I would answer the phone, and he would say "Hey, Sis, how the hell are ya?" When he was done talking, he never said good bye, just hung up the phone!
• His bib overalls. That's all he wore in the last who knows how many years!
• How he would stick his one tooth out at you.
• "Warts on a dog's tail....(bow wow)"
• The way he would yawn REALLY loud.
• How he wouldn't just turn the tv down when he wanted to talk, but instead just hit the mute button. When he was done talking, he would hit the mute button again and you would get your ear drums blown out from the tv.
• The trip to Texas with Grandpa, Aunt Kay, and Dad. Me and Grandpa rode in the backseat together the entire way. Grandpa had the "straws", or tubes, sticking out of his head for drainage because he had fallen a week or so before, Dad had just had surgery on his face, and I had stitches going down my bottom lip and Aunt Kay was the only one without any injuries. When we got down to Texas, we had to find a hospital so we could get the tubes taken out of Grandpa's head. That was an experience, to say the least!
• Aunt Mid throwing a glass of Mountain Dew in Grandpa's face! Of course, it didn't phase him.
• The horses (and trail rides). There was always a horse at Grandpa's and he would always try to get me to ride them.
• Grandpa's flowers. After Joel and I bought our house in Chesterfield, he would walk me around his yard about every time I went over to tell me the different kinds of flowers and usually had to dig some up to send home with me.
• How he would push the floor lamp beside his recliner back and forth while talking to you. I would catch Joel doing the same thing in our old house after Grandpa had died.
• He loved babies, homemade ginger ale, solitaire, and reading.

He also loved his "girls". I think I called him about every day the week before my wedding trying to convince him to come to the our wedding. I told him he could come in his bib overalls, but that didn't work either. He told me too many times to count that he didn't go to weddings or funerals! Below are some pictures of me and Abby with Grandpa. I'm sure I could have found older ones, but these are the ones I came across this afternoon.

Wilbur (Barney) Gracey Gillespie Nov. 24, 1910-Jan. 9th, 2007

Random Thoughts

On our way home from Springfield this afternoon, I noticed something for the first time in my 26 years. Has anyone else noticed all the bird nests in the fall/winter after the leaves have fallen from the trees? I couldn't believe all of the nests that I noticed along the interstate. Of course, Joel thought I was crazy when I pointed it out to him, but what else is new? He's become accustomed to my random thoughts each day. I love days when I notice something for the first time, even if it is something as small and random as bird nests in trees. Joel had a good point, when he said there are a lot of birds, hence a lot of bird nests, and he wasn't kidding. I think I saw more nests than houses by the time we got home!

I'll apologize in advance for my next thought...but I noticed after my shower (before putting on my belly butter) that my toilet seat has a film on it. I've been applying so much belly butter to the back of my thighs and butt that it rubs off on my toilet seat and when you don't have the belly butter on, you kind of stick to the seat. If anyone comes over to our house and uses the upstairs bathroom over the next three months-I'm sorry if you stick to the toilet seat! If I had better genes (or maybe if I hadn't been eating Mexican once/twice a week) and didn't have stretch marks, this wouldn't be a problem.

Why do pregnant women have such crazy hormones? I cried yesterday during Oprah's Favorite Things show and I've been bawling like a baby all through The Biggest Loser tonight. The makeover show always gets me, but never as bad as tonight.

My last random thought/question for the day is: Why does my husband like to try to wake up the baby? If I meet him walking down the hallway, he has to grab my belly and shake it a little and just chuckles while shaking it. I can guaran-damn-tee you that he won't think it's so funny once she's out of my belly!

Baby Shower

Jennifer, Rita, Callie, and Alaina put on a wonderful baby shower for me yesterday at the Jacksonville Country Club. I can't believe all the nice things we got for Ainsley. We're so lucky to have wonderful family and friends. The food was all very good, especially the potato soup (which was my only recommendation!) The cake was adorable and very tasty. I brought some leftover cake home and Joel has been eating a piece here and there over the last day. I love how he's okay with gaining weight right along with me!

We received so many gifts yesterday that we filled up my car and Mom's. By the time we got everything in the house, the entire living room looked like a baby bomb had exploded! We got our travel system, exersaucer, travel swing, high chair, play gyms, diapers, onesies, towels, bath stuff, lots of cute outfits, and other things that will be all be very useful!!! Joel couldn't believe all the stuff we got and how much stuff a baby needs.

Ainsley's closet is really filling up, and her dresser is pretty full of socks, tights, onesies,blankets, etc.

Joel put together her stroller/car seat earlier this afternoon. Thanks again, Grandma Rita for her travel system!

We're going to get the mattress for her crib this week and then I'll post some pictures of her bedroom. We also have to take back the chest of drawers and exchange it with a new one. Thanks to Jim and Mark for coming over earlier today, the chest of drawers that needs to go back got moved out to the garage, so Joel doesn't have any excuse this week not to exchange it!

It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is this week. Where has this year gone? January is going to come quickly with the holidays and our trip to Dallas over the next month.

Thanks again Jennifer, Rita, Callie, and Alaina for the shower. Joel and I both appreciate everything you guys have done.

Welcome to the world, Baby Augustus!

Josh and Kathleen, or more formally put, Uncle Josh and Aunt Kathleen have a new addition to their family! Augustus Charles Clark was born Wednesday at a whopping 9 pounds 8 ounces. He's going to be a big boy, just like his big brother. We visited the Clark's tonight for a few hours and it seems so surreal that we will have a little "Gus" of our own in a short few months. While holding the baby, I wondered if I would really know what to do with Ainsley after she arrives. Will we know what to do when she cries? How will she know if she's hungry? Josh and Kathleen sure seemed to know what to do when the baby started crying, and I really think we'll be just fine.

Late last week I noticed that my belly button has popped out like a turkey timer. Except, the turkey in my oven isn't quite ready to come out yet! I think it will pop out a little more during the next few months, but you can definately see it now through my shirt. Joel has been able to feel her more and more when she is kicking as she gets stronger. It seems like every time someone tries to put their hand on my belly to feel her, she stops kicking though. We still think she's being shy like her Mommy. Below is a couple belly pictures at 27 weeks.


Last weekend I was able to get the basement Christmas tree put up and most of our Christmas decorations out. Ainsley's room even has a small tree, even though I said I would never do it!

Vegetable Soup Did The Trick!

I passed the three hour test!!! I'm convinced it was all because of the vegetable soup we had last night. Even if it wasn't that, I'm going to keep telling myself that so maybe I'll start eating a little better. That thinking will probably only last a few days, I'm sure! I got to St. John's around 5:40 this morning and had my iv in and the nasty lemon-lime crap down by 6. Before my test yesterday, I had to drink an orange flavored mixture and I told Joel that it really wasn't that bad. This morning, however, I didn't know if I would be able to keep the lemon-lime mixture down. It was a lot worse than the orange. The lady that watched me drink it told me that if I threw up, then I wouldn't be able to do the test today and would have to come back. I was determined to keep it down and get the test over with.

I was home a little before 10 and the nurse called me around 2 and told me I passed. I was so happy when she told me, and she just laughed at me! I'm pretty sure she thinks I'm nuts.

I'm taking off tomorrow and going shopping. A lamp, frames, and anything else I can find that's cute for the nursery is on my shopping list. I'll post pictures this weekend/early next week of the baby's room. We got the furniture over the weekend and I'm hoping to get it a little more "put together" this weekend. We have to take the chest of drawers back to Babies R Us because the top three drawers are screwed up. They have a new one ordered and when it gets to Springfield we have to take the other one back and pick up the new one. I was so proud of my husband/soon to be daddy....he only complained a little about the extra work!

Hello, Third Trimester!

Sunday was the first day of my third trimester. I'm wondering where the last two went. It seems like just a few weeks ago Joel was giving me daily shots and we were hoping that everything would work out this time. We're both so glad all of that is past us and we only have a few short months until we meet our little girl!

I had my monthly appointment this morning and didn't get the best news. I failed my glucose test and now have to go for the three hour test. The nurse informed me that I failed it by quite a bit, which I probably could have gone without knowing! I'm planning on being at St. John's tomorrow morning bright and early (well, not so bright...but definitely too early for me) at 5:30 to start my test. I called the lab today and they told me that is the best time to get there and I shouldn't have a wait. The doctor told me that almost all women who fail the initial test end up passing the three hour test, and that is because they have to set the bar low on the initial test because approximately 15% of pregnant women have gestational diabetes and they don't catch it. I'm hoping I pass this one and everything will be fine. I don't know what I'll do it if I have go on a "diet"!!!

Dr. Huston said I'm measuring good and the heartbeat sounded great. I asked him about my last sonogram and he said that I'm measuring good on the outside, but I do have another sonogram around the first part of December to check the growth. I gained 7 pounds last month, which I'm blaming on all the neighborhood kids. If more would have trick-or-treated, I wouldn't have had to eat all the leftover candy! Or, maybe it was the brownie/ice cream kick I was on for awhile...but I don't think my weekly/biweekly trip to the Mexican restaurant had anything to do with it at all!!! So, what does a rational pregnant woman do when she finds out she failed her glucose test? I know what I'm doing, hoping that one night of healthy eating will somehow affect my test results in the morning, and that is making vegetable soup for supper. I'm sure there are a lot of people thinking-Trista, eating vegetable soup????? I've discovered that it really isn't that bad, even if I do still have to pick some of the vegetables out of it!

I'm meeting with a few women that do in-home day cares over the next week, and I'm hoping to figure out the daycare situation by the end of the month. These next few months are seriously going to fly by. We have something to do for the next ten or so weekends, and I've got to get the rest of my Christmas shopping in sometime. At least the basement Christmas tree should be up by early next week if I can talk Joel into helping me with it! It seems kind of weird putting a Christmas tree up 1. Before Thanksgiving and 2. When it's 70 degrees outside, but that's how this pregnant lady rolls!

Unexpected Surprise

Tonight I had an unexpected surprise. I'm not talking about finding a $5 bill or two band aid wrappers in the dryer after washing Joel's work clothes. Nor, am I talking about Mom's unexpected visit before she went into work tonight so she could see the painted baby's room and clothes that are filling up her closet.

My surprise that could have never come around, period, is a stretch mark. Well, it's not exactly ONE stretch mark, but an entire clump of stretch marks on the back of one of my thighs. I'm talking about 5-10 dark purple/red little stretch marks, people! I've been watching my belly closely for stretch marks for the last month or so and have been happy not to find any. I never thought to look on my legs, and boy was I surprised. I hollered at Joel to ask him to look at them, and when he replied "Oh My God!", I knew then my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. So I marched directly into our bedroom and smothered some belly butter on the back of my thighs and will continue to do that every chance I get.

What does any rational pregnant woman do after finding her first "set" of stretch marks? Well, I can't exactly answer that question, because I don't think I fit into the "rational" group. I know what I did. I went into the kitchen, heated up a brownie and then put three scoops of cookies and cream ice cream on the top of my warm brownie and plopped myself on the couch and enjoyed it!

Halloween

The baby furniture is in! It hasn't actually arrived to our house yet, but it is sitting at Babies R Us in Springfield waiting for us to pick it up. Hopefully Joel will find time this week to run to Springfield and pick up the furniture. I painted the bedroom in the basement last Sunday and Joel and Tim moved the furniture from the baby's room to the basement yesterday afternoon. This morning I helped Joel prime the baby's room and decided to wait until tomorrow or Tuesday to start painting it.

Last night we walked State Street in Jacksonville with the Dyche family. Drake was a monkey, Ryder a werewolf, and Ashton dressed up as....well, who knows what exactly it was! She wore a tutu, afro, big eyelashes, and a grill. Poor Ashton didn't get very much candy because everyone thought she was too old. Drake was very excited and would take off running to the next house and jump in his car when he needed a break! Ryder thought he was pretty cool this year because he wasn't scared, for the first year ever, until I pointed out the guy with the chainsaw across the street and the night was over for him. He just wanted to be done after that! My back started killing me and Joel and I were home by 8 or so. The picture is right before we went home, and by this time almost everyone was "done". Ashton took off half of her outfit because no one gave her candy anyway, and Ryder couldn't see out of his mask so he wore it on top of his head. For some reason, Joel was wearing Ryder's hands and Drake was the only one still going strong!

I'm pretty disappointed with the Trick or Treaters tonight in Chapin. We've only had 3 kids. Last year we had quite a few kids, so I bought a big bowl full of candy and I have a feeling I'll have almost all of it left by the end of the night.

Things I have started to miss/enjoy since becoming pregnant...

Things I have started to miss since becoming pregnant:

1. Sleeping on my stomach. With the size of my belly now, this is pretty much impossible.
2. Sleeping all through the night and waking up without my hips hurting. (See #1). I have always been a stomach/side sleeper and now that I can't sleep on my stomach, I pretty much sleep on my sides throughout the night. I bought a pregnancy body pillow, which has helped a lot, but I still wake up every morning because my hips hurt from the extra weight placed on them. (Thomas and Tanner, I know if you're reading this you'll get a laugh out of the "extra weight" comment. Just so everyone knows, my two lovely brothers replaced my name on Dad's phone. When I call Dad's house it now says "Big-un" instead of "Most Beautiful" that I had programmed in.)
3. The nights when I didn't have to get up one, two....five times to pee in the middle of the night.
4. The nights when I didn't have acid reflux when trying to fall asleep. I didn't even know what heartburn or acid reflux felt like before getting pregnant.
5. When I could wear a "normal" sized bra and could find one that actually fit.
6. Being able to clean the house, paint, or any other manual task for more than an hour at a time without my back killing me.
7. The days when I could go on an all day shopping trip and walk/shop all day without my back and feet hurting and being completely wore out.
8. The times when we would go out to eat and I would leave extra on my plate to take home for leftovers the next day. (That comment was for Jennifer and Jim who both think it's funny how much I eat now!) Joel made the comment the other night on our way home from eating Mexican how we both clean our plates now instead of taking food home with us!
9. CAFFEINE!
10. The days when my belly didn't look like a "man's" as Joel says. I think I'm catching up to Joel on belly hair....well, maybe not quite that bad!

Things I have started to enjoy since becoming pregnant:

1. The unconditional love and bond that is forming with the baby. I wish everyone had the opportunity to experience this.
2. The kicks/punches/somersaults that I feel every couple hours, even if they do freak me out and keep me awake at night.
3. SHOPPING for all the adorable things they have out there for babies.
4. When Joel gets worried if he can't get in touch with me. If I don't answer the phone, he'll continue to call and if I don't answer the phone after 5-10 calls, he'll start calling his sister to find out if she knows where I am. I love the fact that he cares so much for me and the baby and is worried about us!
5. Borrowing a tshirt from Alaina and having her ask me if I need/want a bigger one because I guess she thought my belly was really popping out of the one she gave me!
6. Joel trying to feel the baby kick and when she does seeing the biggest grin on Joel's face.
7. Reading my day-by-day pregnancy book every night before bed. I get to see what the baby is doing on that day and how much she is growing, etc. Joel really likes it too!
8. Going to my doctor's appointments every few weeks and hearing the heartbeat.

Even though there are things I miss now that I'm pregnant, I wouldn't change it for anything. Last night I was showing Joel pictures out of my pregnancy book of how the baby looks at 10, 13, 18, and 24 weeks and how much they change. She is really looking like an actual little baby now according to the pictures in the book.

I woke up with my first leg cramps a couple nights ago. It was in my calf and I was able to get it to go away pretty fast. I'm not looking forward to having any more of those for a while!

I started painting the bedroom in the basement Sunday and finished it yesterday. I'm hoping Joel will get the bedroom furniture moved out of Ainsley's bedroom and into the bedroom in the basement in the next few days. I have talked Joel into priming Ainsley's bedroom for me and then hopefully I can get it painted this weekend.

Last night around 4 (or early this morning, however you want to look at it) I heard a siren going off and it just kept going. I didn't really think twice about it until it started to get annoying and I couldn't fall back asleep. I finally rolled over and asked Joel if it was the tornado siren and he said he didn't think so, but it had been going off FOREVER! It shut off a little while after that. The wind was really blowing and I couldn't fall back asleep so I decided to come into my office and check the weather. Sure enough, it had been the tornado siren and we were under a tornado warning! I yelled into Joel and he came in to look at said that we would have been dead because we both ignored the siren and just wanted it to go off. The warning was only for another 10-15 minutes because we had laid in bed for the first 20 or so minutes of the warning listening to the siren and not worrying about it. Joel didn't want to go to the basement then, so we ended up staying in our bed. At least now we know what the tornado siren sounds like and we both agreed that next time we need to get up and go to the basement, especially when the baby gets here!

23 Weeks and Jamie's Bridal Shower

It's hard to believe that I'm 23 weeks already. I showed Joel my belly picture from 19 weeks and told him that I didn't think I had grown that much and he said I look much different.

I've started to notice a schedule with the baby. She is usually most active at night right before bed. She's kicking or punching me pretty good as I type this. The times I notice her the most are at night and from 9-11 in the mornings. She is occasionally active in the afternoons, but I've noticed that is usually when I talk on the phone and I think she hears my voice.

Jamie's bridal shower was this morning and turned out really well. A lot of people made it out and she got a lot of nice things. Hopefully she can find somewhere to put it all! I forgot my camera at home, so I don't have any pictures.

I'm hoping to start painting the bedroom in the basement this week and moving the spare bedroom furniture down after it's painted. Next will be getting Ainsley's bedroom painted. Her furniture should be here in the next week or so! I stopped by Mom's this afternoon and she showed me her closet, which was getting full of stuff for Ainsley. I have a feeling she is going to be spoiled rotten and not want for anything!

We're still talking about middle names and haven't come up with anything yet. Hopefully we'll figure something out in the next month or so.

We have a kicker!

While laying in bed last night reading, I looked over at Joel and told him that the baby was really kicking and had been for a while. I've said this to him many times over the last month or so and he just kind of looks at me in awe, wondering if I'm really feeling her kick. About three weeks ago he put his hand on my belly after I told him she was kicking and I just kind of laughed and said there's no way you can feel her yet, and no matter how much he pushed on my belly (which wasn't much because he's scared he'll hurt her) he couldn't feel her. Last night was different.

I looked over at Joel (who didn't want to be bothered while reading some book about war) and said, "I wonder when we'll be able to feel her from the outside kicking". I then leisurely put my hand on my belly to see and sure enough within a few seconds, I felt it on my hand at the same time I felt it in my belly. It REALLY weirded me out. I started crying because I was so freaked out, yet excited at the same time. At this point, Joel really thought I was nuts (I've been very emotional this week for some reason). I made him put his hand there and it didn't take her long to give him a good kick either. As soon as she kicked he pulled his hand away from my belly as if he'd been shocked. I just looked over at him and he had a smirk on his face. He didn't know what to say. I was so excited that I couldn't fall asleep at that point, and it didn't help that she was wide awake and kicking like crazy until after 11. It took me forever to fall asleep last night and this morning she is wide awake with me kicking like crazy again. I'm not for sure if I'll ever get used to these kicks, punches, or whatever they are, and even if I am a little weirded out by them I still love them and can't wait for the next!

IT'S A GIRL!!!

I had my 21 week sonogram Monday afternoon. Joel took the day off to go, and we both were so excited! The sonogram technician said she was going to check everything with the baby, and she wasn't kidding. I told her we definately wanted to know the sex, but it was the very last thing she got to. She measured all the bones, head, stomach, heart and everything else that you could possibly think of. The baby was laying with her butt up and head face down, so we were able to get a good view between the legs. There was no mistaking that it's a girl. I couldn't believe it when she told me. I've been waiting so long for a baby and then to find out what it is. It feels so different knowing that it's a girl instead of just a baby growing in my belly. We can now say "she" when referring to the baby instead of "the baby" or "that kid" (Joel said that was the one I said all the time). Below is the picture showing it's a girl!

The sonogram went pretty good except that she wouldn't show us her face. She was laying flat on her face and wouldn't move. The sonogram tech tried for a good 10-15 minutes to try to get her to move to no avail. She even tried an internal sonogram and that didn't work either. We got her to roll just a little bit at one point, which was long enough for the tech to get the readings on the face, etc. Joel said that she's already shy like me and was embarrassed because she knew people wanted to take her picture and were looking at her. I still laugh about that comment. When I was little, I would hide behind Mom and Dad's legs and under the table at my birthday parties. I was so shy!!! Below is a good picture of her spine and then one of her face. You can really see her eye sockets in the second picture and her arms and legs.

The sonogram tech said that a doctor (not my regular doctor) would be in to check things out. The doctor came in and looked at the baby's measurements and told us that she is only in the 12th percentile. They want her to be at least in the 50th percentile. She measured 20 weeks 4 days and I was 21 weeks 1 day. The doctor said that they aren't too worried about it right now, but they want me to have another sonogram around 28 weeks to make sure that she is following the same growth pattern. I'm glad we get another sonogram since we didn't get any good pictures of her face on Monday. I'm not for sure when we got the picture below. It may have been with the internal sonogram and it's upside down.

I get to do my glucose test at my next appointment. Everyone says how awful it is, but I don't think it will be too bad. I just have to drink this bottle of stuff they gave me an hour before my appointment and they'll draw blood. I'm sure the stuff tastes awful, but I'll be glad to have that test past me.

After our appointment on Monday we went to Babies R Us and registered. It took a couple hours and we both were overwhelmed and didn't really know what we needed and the differences between everything. We ordered the baby furniture that afternoon and it should be here within the next month. I'm going to order the bedding in the next few days and once it comes in, I'll be able to pick the paint color and start painting! I can't wait to actually get started on her room.

Her name is going to be Ainsley, and we haven't decided on the middle name. I can't believe we're over halfway there already. These next four months are going to go by so fast between getting her room ready, the holidays, baby showers, travel, bridal shower, and getting ready for Thomas and Jamie's wedding. I know she is going to be here before I know it and can't wait!

Half way there

I can't believe I'm 20 weeks already. The excitement for the upcoming Monday is almost too much to bear. We have four days left until we find out what the baby is. I have noticed in the last few weeks how Joel is really getting worried and protective of me and the baby. I knew all along that he would be a great dad, but I never dreamed it would be this early!

People are starting to notice my belly more and more. While I was waiting for our Chinese food to get done last night, I went into Fashion Bug. The sales lady started telling me about the jeans that were on special this week and she was half way through it when she saw my belly. It was pretty funny. She almost stopped, but decided to go on and explain how they are $19.99 this week. At the end, I just laughed and said I didn't think I would be needing them right now. She agreed and walked away. I didn't hear another word from her.

Last weekend Alaina and I went to Chicago for a few days (I want to point out that Joel didn't want me to go...refer to the above paragrah how he is getting protective of me and the baby) to shop and just have some girl time away. It was so nice! I think I gave her some insight on quite a few things, but one that really sticks out (because of my Fashion Bug incident last night) was the salespeople in the stores up there. In some stores, we would have three or four seperate people asking us what we were looking for, how we were, etc. Alaina would respond to each one while I would ignore them and keep walking. She finally said after the second or third store, "You just ignore them, don't you." I laughed and said, of course. I hope she learned that it's ok (in my mind, anyway) to ignore them and keep on walking. It will save her so much time while shopping!

I don't really have anything new to report on the baby. Some days I will feel it moving quite a bit and others not at all. I haven't felt it for a couple days now. We're planning on ordering the baby furniture and bedding next week after we find out the sex. Hopefully we can start on the baby's room in November and get the spare bedroom moved down to the basement. I'll be sure to let everyone know how much Joel complains throughout that process. I know he won't be thinking of the baby then, only the fact that it is making him work and spend time away from the tv.

19 Weeks and Drake's 2nd Birthday Party

Today is the beginning of my 19th week. There really isn't anything new to update since my last blog on the baby. It is the size of a mango this week! Joel said today that he has a feeling it's a girl. I'm still unsure. We'll love it either way! Below is a new belly picture.

We went to Drake's 2nd birthday party this afternoon. It was a Mickey Mouse party. He's been in love with Mickey for the last few months, and he was much more in to the party this year than last. He got a lot of cool toys, clothes, and the cutest gift was the pair of cowboy boots his Gma and Gpa Dyche got him.

It rained last night, so Joel and Jim were able to go to the party today and didn't get in the fields. I rode with Joel yesterday for 2-3 hours while he ran the grain cart. After watching Jim run the combine, I've come to the conclusion that Joel and his Dad are just alike. They think they can get through anything in the farm equipment. I witnessed the combine "mudding" and getting stuck in a huge hole. About once a week or so I'll notice Joel saying something, doing, or just looking at something the same way his Dad does. The more they're together the more alike they become. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing!

Doctor's appointment

I had my monthly appointment this morning. Everything is looking good. The heartbeat was right at 150, and I gained 6 pounds over the last month. Again, the doctor wasn't worried about my weight gain, which surprised me, but I'm glad he's not one of those doctors that tells you that you need to cut back. I'm beginning to really like Dr. Huston! He's going to be out of the office for two week in October, so my sonogram got moved up to Oct. 11th. I'm so excited...that's four days sooner to find out the sex of the baby!!!

I have to say that hearing the heartbeat at each appointment is absolutely wonderful. I never dreamed that I would be listening to the heartbeat of a baby that's growing inside me. It didn't seem possible for the longest time. Joel and I both are so grateful and excited that we can finally experience it.

I've been able to feel the baby move for about three weeks now. At first, I only felt it late at night while laying flat on my back in bed. Last week I was sitting at Jack's football practice reading a book and felt it for about 30 seconds straight. That was the first time I felt it while sitting up and it really caught me off guard. I know the parents around me at the practice had to wonder what I was reading, because I know I had the biggest smile on my face! I felt it again while sitting up while coming home from eating last Friday. Alaina was driving and talking about something and I had to cut her off for a minute to tell her that the baby was moving because it scared me a little and was totally unexpected. During the past week I've been feeling it more regularly throughout the day and then especially at night while laying in bed.

While laying in bed last night watching Ma's Roadhouse on Tru TV, I started laughing and my stomach contorts in this really awkward way. It's like one side is more raised than the other. I'm thinking that the baby must be laying toward that side of my stomach, because there is a huge bump over there when I laugh. I raised up my shirt to show Joel how weird it looked and of course, he's grossed out by it and told me to put my shirt back down! I do have to mention that Joel said that "Ma" off of Ma's Roadhouse could be Grandma Mary working at Westside. He said she wouldn't say the "F" word as much and wouldn't drink, but if she was still smoking she could definitely be "Ma". It's really funny because "Ma" says and does exactly what she wants and doesn't listen to anyone else, which is exactly what Grandma does. I had to laugh about that because they do have some similarities! If anyone gets a chance, and doesn't mind the foul language or watching a reality tv show about a biker bar, I would recommend you watch the show. If you can catch the one where the health inspector shows up, I think you'll be able to see why we think Grandma reminds us of "Ma".

Birthdays, Birthdays, Birthdays

September appears to be the month for birthdays. Dad's was a couple weeks ago and then JD's 1st birthday was the 9th. He had a great birthday party and got lots of cool (and noisy) toys! He loved his cake and dug right in after someone put his hands in it.

We celebrated Mimi's birthday last Sunday night at the Approach with all the family. Drake's 2nd birthday was Saturday and I met him and Jennifer at McDonald's for pancakes. He loves playing in the play land, and gets right in there with all the big kids. I didn't like the bigger kids pushing Drake around and about yelled at them a couple of times, but Jennifer just laughed at me. His birthday party is this weekend, and I can't wait to watch him open all his presents.

There really isn't anything new with the baby. I have a doctor's appointment on Thursday and then we find out the sex Oct. 15th. I'm hoping he'll want to move my sonogram up when I go in Thursday.

Joel has been working non stop, but did take yesterday off after it stormed pretty bad last night. It was nice to see him for more than an hour. He got the yard mowed yesterday. It was getting pretty bad. I'm sure Wilma (our neighbor) would have been out there mowing it this week if he didn't. I painted the living room yesterday to get ready for our tv stand to get here. It's so nice to have a tv in the living upstairs again. It's suppose to be in the 90's tomorrow. Where is the fall weather???