Breastfeeding Class

We went to Breastfeeding101 last night at St. Johns. Joel was absolutely thrilled about going, as you can probably imagine! It was a three hour class and we heard that it would be pretty bad with a bunch of videos, but we didn't see any videos. The woman just talked the entire time about different topics. Some of it was boring, but the instructor had some good insight on different things and it helped that she was young and was still breastfeeding herself, so she was up to date on everything. Joel commented on the way home that he never in a million years would have thought that a wet t-shirt contest would have been referred to during the class, and does everyone know there is a "Hooters Hider" product on the market for more privacy when breastfeeding in public???

This week has been the worst yet when it comes to sleeping at night. Not only do I get up 5-7 times each night to go to the bathroom, get a drink, etc. but I woke up the other night starving. When I say starving, I mean, like I had eaten in three days. I had to get up and fix a bowl of cereal, a banana, and a big glass of milk and as soon as I ate, Ainsley thought I was up for the day and was squirming around like crazy. I keep telling myself that I'm preparing for when she gets here and I don't get any sleep.

My legs and feet are still pretty swollen and it is getting so bad that it hurts to walk. The tops of my feet get so swollen that when I walk it feels like my toes aren't connected to the rest of my foot any more because the top of my foot almost goes over the top of them. I know I've said it before, but I'm so glad that I'm not pregnant during the summer. I can't imagine everyone looking at my legs/feet in flip-flops. At least I can cover them!

Sunday is my baby shower in Hettick and I'm getting excited! I'll have 5 weeks left on Sunday and I'm planning on going sometime next week to finish getting everything we'll need before she gets here. We stocked up on batteries last weekend so we have plenty for the swings, bouncers, toys, etc. There are still a few things I need to get put in our hospital bags, and I'm trying to get all of our tax information done before next week so it's all ready and I don't have to worry about it.

I printed off our blog into a book for 2010 a couple weeks ago and the book came yesterday in the mail. I'm so happy with it and very glad that I have kept up with the blog. Seeing the book only motivates me more to continue. We also got the rest of our pictures from our photo shoot last weekend. I'm adding a few more belly pictures below, and am planning on bringing all of the pictures from last weekend and our blog book to the shower Sunday so everyone can see them!


Mom called Saturday morning before the we did the pictures and thought I needed to get a picture doing a snow angel. A pregnant woman trying to get down in the snow and back up wasn't easy, but I got up pretty quickly because it was so cold!



Who is Ainsley going to look like? Mommy or Daddy? I'm going to scan in our baby pictures in the next few weeks and get them uploaded so everyone can decide for themselves once Ainsley decides to make her appearance!




Jeremy and Kathleen will love the picture with the cowboy boots! Joel and I got those for Lani when she was a baby and everyone made fun of them. I told Kathleen that she had to save them for me so that I could have them when I had a little girl if they weren't going to put Lani in them. Sure enough, they saved them for me, and I think they were both happy to give them back!

Ainsley is growing!

We had a doctor's appointment Thursday and I walked out feeling pretty good! I gained less than a pound in the last two weeks AND we had a sonogram and Ainsley is now 4 pounds!!! I have to start tracking kick counts and go back in two weeks and then I start weekly appointments. We're down to 6 weeks to go. Mom went with us to our last sonogram, which was 5 weeks ago and Ainsley was only 2 pounds then. She has doubled her size in the last 5 weeks, but she is still measuring small. She's in the 6th percentile now and they had a very hard time getting the measurements. Of course, she wouldn't let us see her face. I guess she's wanting it to be a surprise. She is head down and her face is toward my back. They tried for over an hour to get measurements and finally had another sonogram tech come in and she was able to get the rest of the measurements they needed. We didn't have to see the doctor this time after the sonogram, and they said they would call us if they saw anything worth noting. Dad was able to go to our appointment with us on Thursday and sit through the sonogram. He couldn't see any of her body parts that they were pointing out. I guess he just doesn't have the imagination you need in order to see a head, foot, etc. I think both him and Joel about fell asleep while they were trying to get the blood flow measurements. We didn't get any good sonogram pictures again this time because she just wouldn't cooperate.

I have started packing our hospital bags and hope to finish packing later tonight. The doctor and sonogram technician both asked me if I've had any contractions, and I told both of them that I didn't know if I had or not. They both said that I would know when I do. I have had a little cramping and lower back pain, but nothing too bad. Sleeping at night is getting harder and harder. I have to pee about every hour and a half to two hours now and it's hard to fall back asleep after I get back into bed (which is really getting to be a chore). Joel says I snore and he'll be so glad when my "pregnancy pillow" is out of bed with us. I've woke myself up a few times with my "snorts" and have no idea where they come from!

We had our pregnancy photos taken yesterday and they were a lot of fun. I can't wait to see all of them, but until then, below is a sneak peek of some that she has edited.

Happy New Year!

I'm so excited for 2011 and the memories that will be made. I remember back in June I didn't think 2011 would ever get here, and the days would drag by. The past few months have absolutely flown by and every day is one day closer to meeting our little girl! I'm down to 47 days until my due date. That's less than 50 days!!!! Joel and I both are getting very anxious. Below is a picture at 33 weeks.




We planned on celebrating New Year's Eve with Lou and Alaina, but Lou found out a couple days before that he had shingles. So, that put a halt to our plans. Joel and I ended up staying at home New Year's Eve and we watched a couple of movies, and I cleaned out the pantry. I know, everyone is probably jealous of our night, because how can you top cleaning out the pantry on New Year's Eve? We did have a relaxing weekend, though and got a lot of things done. New Year's Day I woke up and decided that all the kitchen cabinets needed cleaned out. I ended up rearranging/cleaning out all the kitchen cabinets, wiping them all down, cleaning out the refrigerator and freezer, and rearranging all my recipes. The next day I gave the house a good cleanse and decided about half way through it that I didn't have any energy left and my back was killing me. Joel didn't complain too much and did quite a few things for me, which was so nice. I don't mind that he thinks I'm psycho about certain things (like cleaning), but what really makes me love him is the fact that he accepts it and has learned to go with the flow. We made sure the car seat fits in the back seat of the car and Joel put together her travel swing on Sunday.


There is a lot to look forward to this year and I will be anxiously awaiting all the milestones to come. Tanner turns 16 in a month (which I still can't believe. I think he should still be a cute, sweet, 6 year old who loved his big sister and would go anywhere with her), Ainsley is due in a little over a month, Thomas is getting married in March, and it is the year for babies and lots of them! All I have to say, is 2011: Bring it on!

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!