Wednesday, March 25, 2009

It's a................

BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A big, beautiful, perfect in every way BOY!

Yesterday morning was my ultrasound and everything went extremely well. His development is exactly right, with a few things being a little more advanced for his developmental age, like the size and relative musculature of his legs (I'm fairly certain this means he will be athletic just like his Daddy).

Chris is so excited to have a boy that he can hardly stand it... he's always said he'd like a girl, but I think deep down all men want to have a son. He's already got the nursery decorations picked out, and as you'd guess it's all sports stuff. But I've got to admit it's extremely cute and what I would have picked out myself, so I think it will end up being truly adorable. We went to a few baby stores in Greenwood on Monday and managed to completely overwhelm ourselves, but I think that's part of the whole experience. Now that we know a direction, I can start registering for stuff and we can start decorating and buying things.

When we told our families, Chris's mom cried and cried, she was so excited. And his Grandparents were absolutely jumping up and down (which is quite a feat considering they're both in their 80's!). Claire is excited to have a boy cousin, and she was doubly excited when Chris told her that 5 year old big girls get to hold babies - and Claire's 5th birthday is in the end of May, so you can imagine her reaction. My mom cried and just fluttered about... I think she was sort of in shock looking at the ultrasound pictures! Heidi was super sweet and excited and bought me some beautiful flowers as a surprise. And Jeremy said he's happy it's a boy because he wouldn't know the first thing about being an uncle to a little girl!

My dad was the funniest of all, though. I know he always wanted to have a boy; in fact, after Heidi was born my parents wanted to try for a third child, but my mom got extremely sick with endometriosis and had to have a complete hysterectomy at age 26. So to have a grandson is pretty amazing for my dad. And his overall reaction? He hugged Chris (and my dad is SO not a touchy-feely type person) and said, "Thanks for knocking my daughter up!". I just about peed my pants with laughter!

That's all for now; we're on Spring Break after all! Today we're going to Connersville to see Chris's family, and then tomorrow we'll be home - we've got to get geared up for those Boilers, after all!!!!!

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Half Way There!

As of today I'm half way there with my pregnancy! I absolutely could not be more excited! Well, maybe if I'd already had my ultrasound I might be a little more excited... but with that coming up on the 24th it's not too far away!

The baby is getting bigger and more active each week. I haven't had many hard kicks yet, just a lot of that odd swishing feeling they call "quickening".

No weird cravings yet. I am still obsessed with white grape juice (the purple kind makes me yack), orange juice, and my new favorite is no sugar added 100% cranberry juice. And yes, it's quite tart... which I think is why I like it so much! Heidi said that I'm eating so many sour and tart things that the baby will probably come out either sweet as sugar or pickled!

Our friends and neighbors had their baby Monday night. It's a little girl named Adelyn... Addie for short. We're happy for them! This is their second child, but it's nice that we'll have friends so close by with children the same age. Play groups galore, I'm sure!!!

My parents are completely adorable. They could not be more excited. Mom is literally beside herself, and whenever she talks about the baby she gets so wound up that she flutters her hands and bounces up and down. Last weekend, my dad actually drove to Indy to get me a pizza from a little family place we used to eat at when I was a kid (actually, it's a childhood favorite of my mom's, and she used to get them for us when we were kids). I bet I haven't had a pizza from this place in at least 5 or 6 years. But my dad surprised me with one! And you'd better believe I ate half of large pepperoni by myself in one sitting without feeling the tiniest bit guilty! I probably could have eaten more! Mmmmmmmm.... it was so good too! My mom is dying to start buying stuff for the baby but wants to wait so she can get boy or girl stuff. She's already been stockpiling some stuff like books and bibs(she thinks I don't know about it, but she doesn't hide things well). It's cute...

And what can I say about my in-laws? Sheri calls every couple of days (but she did that before I was pregnant). I love her to death! She's so excited to have another grandbaby, I think especially since this is Chris's child. And Chris is her miracle baby (after she had my brother in law, she got pregnant again but miscarried, and then got severe colitis and had to have most of her large intestine removed. She's got a colostomy bag now... anyway, they told her she couldn't have any more children. And then 13 years later Chris came along!). Wayne, my father in law, is the most lovable grumpy Kentucky man you'll ever meet. He's the kind of guy that claims to hate all holidays but secretly loves them. While I was talking to Sheri the other day, I heard him in the background asking when Chris and I would be back in Connersville... because he misses us! It was so out of character for him to say, which made it all the more sweet!

Well, this week will finish up ISTEP testing for us, and then next week is a short week for me (our calendar is weird this year and we have the Friday before Spring Break off, despite the snow days we had). I'm really looking forward to Spring Break... lots to do around the house, trips to Connersville to make, and of course MY ULTRASOUND!!!

Monday, March 2, 2009

Busy, busy, busy...

Well, it's been pretty busy for us these past few weeks! Our computer has been broken for about the last two weeks, and we only got it back yesterday. Neither of us realized how much we used it until it was gone for so long! Luckily, it's all fixed now.

My master's classes are going well. I'm very excited to be almost finished. I've only got two more classes and the final third of my portfolio and I'll be DONE! It will be nice to not have to worry about homework or school payments for a few years!

Last Monday we had a doctor's appointment. I've gained about 10 pounds so far, which my doctor says is perfect at this stage. My stomach measurements were right on target as well. We listened to the baby's heartbeat again, and it was much louder and stronger this time. Each time I hear it I get a little more amazed. Plus, the baby started moving around as soon as the doctor put the thing on my tummy, and we got to hear the weird moving around noises as well.

We've got our ultrasound scheduled for March 24. I'll be 22 weeks by that point, so we should be able to tell without a doubt what sex the baby is. Unless, of course, he or she is uncooperative! Chris and I both sort of think it's a girl, which of course means it's probably a boy. Regardless, we're just excited to find out and to take a peak at the little person I feel moving around in there. He or she isn't much of a kicker yet, but I do have a lot of those fluttery feelings whenever the baby moves around. It's the singular most weird thing I've ever felt in my life. I won't even try to describe it, because there aren't words. You just have to experience it yourself, I guess. But I have noticed that the baby moves around more in the morning, and whenever Chris talks to it I feel a lot of activity. It's really amazing!

I don't have any strange cravings at this point. I mostly just want to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. I'm not big on a lot of meat (and never really have been), although I do just really want a steak every now and then. But for the most part, I'm big on all different kinds of juice and fruit, salads, raw baby carrots, and spinach. I liked all those things before I was pregnant, but I just want a lot more of them lately! I feel lucky though, because of all the things I can think of to crave those are probably the healthiest!

Hope everyone has a good week!