One week old!

This week sure has flown by! I know they'll only get faster. I still can't believe we're moving this weekend! It seems like just yesterday I was at work thinking, "We're moving a month from now." Well, now is here! Anyway, off to enjoy my sweet baby girl for a few more hours before we go to bed.

Father's Day

Our first Father's Day has been very good. Everyone got some rest and Phillip even got out of the house for a while.

Thank you for your prayers about feeding. Emily seems to have caught on and, though it's still not quite there all the time, we're both doing much better with it.

We're home!

We got home last night about 7 and had our first visitors at home...Grandma & Grandpa Ratliff, Pearlie and Aunt Jenni. After a short visit, everyone left and we started getting settled and ready for our first night at home. The first few hours were rough...trying to figure out exactly what Emily did at night since she didn't stay with us at the hospital. Waking her up to feed was the hardest part! She just wasn't all that interested. Things are getting better in that department, but we could still use prayers that she and I will figure it all out.

We've had a fairly uneventful day today. Grandma & Grandpa Ratliff came by this morning for a little visit before they headed home. Phillip and I have been resting (Emily has too!) for the rest of the day. Pearlie and Aunt Jenni will be back tonight (and Pearlie will be staying with us all week, thank goodness!).

I haven't put any pictures on my computer here at home, but if you want more pictures, go check out Aunt Jenni's blog. She's been keeping the world updated with new pictures!

She's here!!!

Baby decided about 3:30 this morning that today was the day...on its own! We were planning to come in at 5pm, but we got to come at 5:30am to get things started.


Emily Mae Ratliff arrived at 4:32 pm. She weighed 7 pounds 2 ounces and was 20 1/2" long.

40 weeks

I know you all are wondering why the ticker up top hasn't changed. Well, that's because this baby just hasn't moved! Dr. Jarrett said there was no change from last week so we'll go ahead with the induction tomorrow afternoon at 5pm. By Thursday morning (maybe) or afternoon, we'll have a baby!

Here's one last look at me before I sign off for a few days. Hopefully, I can get someone to update this blog and let you all know if it was a boy or a girl! (Or, at least, provide a laptop where I can do it myself!)

Happy Due Date!

Too bad the baby doesn't know that! Oh well. I guess we're just still in waiting mode.


My mom, Phillip & I met my sister for dinner so my mom could spend the weekend with my sister again. It's nice for them to have some time together and for Phillip and I to have some time alone. When we met for dinner, I was greeted with two dozen roses from Jenni!! I arranged them and added the ferns and the purple flowers (from the flowers Phillip sent to me last week) and I think it turned out pretty good!

39 weeks

Today's doctor visit was quite uneventful. Nothing's different than last week, but she is predicting that the baby will come before the 11th. She just won't guess when!!

In other news, my mom has been here a week and a half and almost all but the kitchen has been packed. She's doing a great job and I'm writing down everything she packs. Thanks Mom!!!

One more bit of news...we got an offer on our house yesterday. We've asked them to make a few changes so we're waiting to hear back on that, but, so far, everything is looking good. Keep praying that there will be no major problems from here on out!

Oso

Our dog, Oso, is such a lovable dog. Yesterday, I had finished a jar of peanut butter and thought he would enjoy the remains. He did, as you can see!

38 weeks

We went to the doctor again yesterday. Everything looks good so far. The baby seems content where it is. But, we did go ahead and schedule an induction for June 11, just in case nothing has happened by then.

Last day

Today is my last day at work. Happy in some ways, but sad in so many others. The office dynamics have changed dramatically since I started here so it's probably best that I'm leaving, but I have friends here that I will miss dearly. We're having an ice cream party this afternoon before I leave so that should "sweeten" the leaving, at least somewhat!

Nothing exciting

If you're a regular reader, you may be wondering why the lack of posts. Well, it's simple. Nothing has happened!

This is my last week at work and I'm enjoying doing nothing! A few weeks back, my boss had me stop doing everything so my replacement would get used to doing it all. She's done a pretty good job and I think she'll be okay. As for me, I've had about an hour's worth of work each day, then I get to do whatever I need/want to do for the rest of the day. I've taken care of a lot of our moving stuff and almost finished "Deception Point" by Dan Brown. (It's a very good read, by the way.) Friday's my last day here. So sad. There are so many people I'll miss. But, I'm pretty sure I'll stay in contact with at least some of them.

Anyhow...my parents are coming to town this weekend for Memorial Day. Then, on Tuesday, my dad is flying out of the country until Saturday. Sure hope this little one doesn't decide to come then! We've been talking and I think he/she will hold off. While my dad's gone and Phillip's at work, my mom and I will continue packing up our house to get ready to move.

By the way, please keep praying for our house to sell. I'm actually not too worried about it selling, but we've only had one even sort-of promising showing. It sure would be nice to have that part of the move taken care of before the baby comes.

36 weeks

Saturday

Today we had another sonogram. No, nothing's wrong. The doctor just likes to watch her babies closely at this point in the pregnancy. I'm all for it...we get to see our little one more! I'd put the picture up here, but 1) we don't have a scanner and 2) it wasn't a great picture anyway...not much different than last week's.

On our way to go shopping, we got a call that there would be a showing on our house this afternoon (which was later cancelled) so we had some time to kill. We ended up at JC Penney and Phillip found the cutest Mavericks outfit for $10. So...we spent $10 for an outfit that the baby can wear when the Mavericks are playing again. (It's a 6-9 month outfit.)

Tonight is FCA night at the Rangers game. We'll be taking about 15 middle school kids to that (along with a few other adults). Those nights are always fun. Hopefully the Rangers will do well tonight!

Happy Birthday, Phillip!!!

Today is Phillip's 31st birthday. Everyone go wish him well!

The newest picture

This is a super-close-up of the face. The sonographer said the baby weighs about 5 pounds, 15 ounces.

34 weeks

I am Twilight

Your exact moment of the day is always changing, because the sun never sets at exactly the same time. You are the romantic moments just after sunset when it's still light enough to see your way around outside, and the sky is a blend of reds, pinks, purples, and blues. At this time of day, the light has a special way of making even rundown buildings looks like works of art. You're like that, too ? you're always finding beauty and magic in unexpected places. Not only will you wish on the first star you see, somewhere inside, you actually expect that wish to come true.

Our new home

This weekend, Phillip and I went to Abilene after our prepared childbirth class. (I got more about labor & delivery out of one of the books than I did in the class. But, we did learn more about the hospital.) We rested Saturday and Sunday afternoons, knowing that Monday was a big day.

Monday morning started early (at 4:30 am for me!). We left my parents' house at 6:25 to drive down to Panther Creek CISD. We arrived about 7:40 and started our day. We visited with the superintendent for a while and he walked us around the school and introduced us to most of the teachers (there are only 19 right now).

The current principal took us out to see the house. It's at the back of the school property, next door to the superintendent. It's a four bedroom, two bath double-wide trailer with a double car port and another double car port-sized storage building. The back yard is HUGE and is probably as big as our entire lot right now. Oso is going to love it! (After comparing satellite photos, I think our "lot" is about 4 times the size of our current lot.)

Music

A couple weeks ago, I posted about free music. I got the CD this week and finally got a chance to listen to it. It is fabulous. I was even able to sing along with some of the songs, having never heard them before. I would highly recommend this CD if you like Casting Crowns, Monk & Neagle, Bebo Norman, etc.

More showers

In the past three days, I had two more fabulous showers. I have pictures, but they're all at home on the camera and I'm at work. Besides, I don't think any of the pictures were all that exciting, but if I think about it I'll post some later.

Sunday was the shower given by Skillman Church of Christ. My mom & sister were able to come and share that day with me so it was even better. We got a lot of great gifts, including our high chair.

Yesterday, my friend Jennifer at work (and a couple other girls) threw a wonderful shower with lots of food! The best gift, though, was our stroller & car seat. Phillip and I had already planned to buy that, but now, we can spend that money elsewhere! I was so excited to see that. We put it together last night and it is so easy to use! Now, we just need to install the car seat in the car itself!

Most everything is ready for the baby...clothes, diapers & blankets/sheets have been washed. I just need to put a few finishing, organizing touches on the "nursery" and I'll post that picture up here. As you might imagine, we won't actually use this room as a nursery since we'll be moving, but it does house all the baby stuff for now. I can't wait to set up a real nursery!

Job news

In job news, Phillip has a job!!!! He will be the principal at Panther Creek Consolidated ISD. The nearest "town" is Valera. The town consists of a flashing light, a restaurant, a post office and a few houses.



View Larger Map

For those who want to know:

From Panther Creek to...
...Coleman 22 miles (25 minutes)
...Ballinger 33 miles (35 minutes)
...Brownwood 42 miles (50 minutes)
...Winters 43 miles (50 minutes)
...Brady 48 miles (50 minutes)
...San Angelo 67 miles (1 hour)
...Grandma & Grandpa Ratliff's house 57 miles (1 hour)
...Grandpa & Pearlie Trietsch's house 74 miles (1 hour, 20 minutes)
...Uncle Stetson & Aunt Kim's house 127 miles (2 hours, 15 minutes)
...Aunt Jenni's house 219 miles (3 hours, 50 minutes)

We're planning to go out there April 21 so we can see the school during school hours and the house (that the school provides). Please continue to pray for us as we make this transition: with the baby, new job, new house, new town, moving, etc. Right now, we're a little scared and overwhelmed (or, at least, I am!), but we know this is really where God wants us to be.

Hmmm...is that really me?

You Are Bare Feet

You are a true free spirit, and you can't be tied down. Even wearing shoes can be a little too constraining for you at times! You are very comfortable in your own skin. You are one of the most real people around. You don't have anything to hide. Open and accepting, you are willing to discuss or entertain almost any topic. You are a very tolerant person. You are accepting and not judgmental. You should live: Somewhere warm You should work: At your own business, where you can set the rules

What Kind of Shoe Are You?

Prayer Requests

You may or may not have noticed, but I have added prayer requests to the right hand column over there. --> I'll try to keep it up to date with things that are going on in our life. We appreciate any an all prayers sent our way.

31 weeks

Whenever we go to the doctor, she asks if we have any questions. I usually do, but she's always surprised at how few I have. I guess that's what talking to a friend and looking on the Internet will do for you. But, yesterday I did have a few questions for her and, for the first time, so did Phillip! He asked if he got to cut the cord. {big smile!} I was so happy to hear that! He also told her about our possibility of moving and asked when I could travel. I love hearing him so concerned about me and my health.

2000 visitors!

Wow!! I can't believe I've had over 2000 visitors since October when I first started this blog. I never thought I'd have more than a few family members and friends. I'd like to thank you all for reading what is probably not always very interesting, but I don't know who you all are. Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know who you are and where you are!

Free Music

Jenni led me to this site for free music. I think I like the sound of this guy and I'm always up for new (free!) music! If you're one of the first 100 bloggers (with 50+ unique visitors per month) to sign up, you can get free music too. (If you don't have a blog, but still want the CD, you can get it at MusiChristian.com for $8.97 for a limited time.)

Changes

You may notice a few changes in the blog. I finally upgraded to the new template stuff. I didn't even know I hadn't upgraded!! But, this new blogger is so much more user friendly. No more HTML!! Yea! So, let me know how you like it. (Oh, and if you were the one person who had voted in the poll, your vote got erased with the upgrade. Please feel free to vote again!)

The first girls weekend

My first of two this year! Cara and I had planned months ago to have a girls weekend or girls day this past weekend. (Phillip was in Houston at the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight so don't think I just left him at home by himself!) Then, about a month ago, I was offered a shower at my parents' church in Abilene. Naturally, I said yes...but this was the only weekend we could do it. So, to Abilene we went.

We spent much of Saturday looking through my baby clothes...the ones my mom had kept for the past 30 years. It was fun looking through them and remembering some of the people who had given those clothes to us. As we looked, we sorted what could possibly be used for a boy, should we have a boy. We found some, though, obviously, not as many as we found for a girl!

Sunday was the shower. My good friend Dianne and her husband Bobby own McKay's Bakery so guess who did the cake!

(yes, I know some of the pictures are duplicates, but you can't do just 5 pictures!)

Dianne also hosted the shower at her house and put on a wonderful party with some fun decorations!

And finally, guests and loot! Seriously, the shower was loads of fun.

Two of my favorite gifts were sentimental ones. I'll share them here, but have tissues ready. (Mom, you should probably stop reading here!)

Grandmommy, my mom's mom, passed away in August 2006. For many years she knitted afghans. Sometime before she died, she made baby afghans for her great-grandbabies who were yet to come. I only found out about them just a couple months ago. Mom took my stack of four up to Granddaddy and had him pick out which one he wanted to give this baby. Below is the blanket and the card. (Mom made the card, but Granddaddy wrote in it.) Needless to say, there were few dry eyes when I read the card in front of Granddaddy. We both miss her terribly, but as one woman said...Grandmommy already knows if it's a boy or a girl! (And, just so you know, my dad's dad and Phillip's paternal grandparents are up in heaven watching too so they're in on the secret too.)

The other gift is a matted picture of two special gifts.

When my mom was pregnant with my sister, Grandpa, my dad's dad, made a changing table for her. It was Jenni's changing table, then mine, then used as an entertainment center/storage shelves in my mom's study for years. When Jenni moved to Dallas, she brought it with her and used it as an entertainment center, extra storage in her bedroom, and finally storage shelves in her garage. When she found out I was pregnant, she offered it for its original use...a changing table. My parents graciously had it sanded and repainted for us for our baby.

(This is how it looked for Jenni's nursery. I don't have pictures of it redone yet.)

When Jenni was born, Grandmommy & Granddaddy purchased the crib that Jenni & I both used. Now that the next generation is here, Mom & Daddy also had this refinished (mostly to take care of the teeth marks that were so prevalent on the end!).

If you can still see the screen through your tears, I applaud you. I teared up as I wrote it!!

The first shower

Today, Phillip's school hosted a baby shower for us. I was overwhelmed by the number of people who came. We had a great time and received lots of great gifts.

Cloth diapers

When we found out I was pregnant (and maybe even before), Phillip and I talked about using cloth diapers for at least part of the time. What we're planning to do is use them at home and use disposables when we're out and about (and traveling) for the sake of convenience and not having to carry around dirty diapers. I had done some research online and found out that there was WAY too much information about cloth diapers out there. Someone suggested that there was a store in the metroplex so I looked and, sure enough, there are two!

We went to Babies Bottoms and More in Farmers Branch today to find out more information. I had done a lot of research and kind of knew what options there were, but Phillip didn't know anything about them, so we asked Diana to go through everything. She spent about 30 minutes with us showing us the different options we had and helping us decide what we needed to buy. We decided that, for our newborn, we would use prefolds and diaper covers. Later on, we can use the prefolds in a pocket diaper for more absorbency. (And, yes, much farther down the line, we can use them as dust rags...as my mom still does to this day!) So, we purchased 24 prefold diapers and 4 covers, enough for about 2 days if cloth diapering full time. We may buy more in the future, but I know I can get them used online as well. We're excited about this and it was actually less expensive than we were planning so that's even better!

28 Weeks

I apologize for the tardiness of this post, but we had a virus on our computer so I've spent the last couple nights trying to clean it off. All is well now so we're back on the world wide web. :-) Yep, that's baby starting to show!

Weekend review

What a weekend! Saturday, Phillip & I had two more elder couples over for dinner. That meant a day of prep work for me. Fortunately, I thought to wear my maternity support belt. Boy, did that help!!! I was on my feet more than I should have been, but I don't seem too worse for the wear. I made onion pie (for dinner) & rolls (for Sunday's potluck), cracker crumb chicken, Delmonico potatoes (really good, but took longer than I expected), cinnamon apple ice cream topping, and carrots. It all turned out pretty good, but the rolls didn't rise much. I seem to be having trouble with rolls lately, even from different recipes. Maybe one day I'll get it!

Sunday, I crashed after the potluck. I slept for an hour and a half! It was wonderful!!! Then, I spent the rest of the afternoon doing stuff around the house before Phillip & I took Oso for a walk. Every time we do that, I say we need to do it more often. Now that it's light later, maybe we can. It'll be good for all of us.

Proud owners!

We are the proud new owners of TWO vehicles (not just one, as we had been for the last year). Yes, that's right, we have PAID OFF my Pilot!!! We got the title in the mail yesterday. We're still not completely debt free, but we are well on our way with some physical things to show for it! YEA!!!

Names

Last night we posed our problem to our Life Group. We asked them to write down baby names (both boy and girl). We also asked for names we shouldn't use. We had quite a time (at Life Group) going through them. That was some serious laughter for 30-45 minutes! In the end, we did come away with some the whole group liked (and we liked some of them too) and a stack that got trashed at Life Group. They were just that bad. Names like Chester, Rutherford, and Shanequa were shot down after some laughter. Anyway, we thank you all for your help!! (And, we'll still take any suggestions you might have!)

Help...

See Phillip's blog for our request (and just his blog in general).

Phillip's getting some practice in!

At one point, I was holding Jackson on my lap (or, rather, he was holding on to me). It was time to eat pizza, but my hands were obviously occupied, so Phillip fed me while Cara fed Jackson (while his hands were occupied too--he's a messy eater if his hands are free).

Fun (but busy) weekend

This weekend was fun, but very busy, with lots of driving.

Friday night we met Cara & Justin for dinner at i Fratelli. Wonderful food!!!

Saturday morning, after taking Phillip's truck in for an oil change, Phillip and I volunteered at Skillman's first Angel Food Ministries distribution. Because it was our first distribution, we learned some things, and they were appreciative of Phillip's & my input since we've been customers at two different locations before Skillman.

Then, we spent some time at Target adding things to our registry and doing a bit of grocery shopping. (We were already there, so why not?)

We came home to unload the Angel Food that we had ordered and eat lunch. Then we were off again. We went to Babies R Us to buy the Pack 'n Play that Phillip's parents and grandparents are giving us. Since it was temporarily unavailable online, we just went to the store to buy it and saved on shipping. Now that's sitting in the box in the nursery just waiting to be put together. Yes, Phillip, it does require assembly!

We picked up Phillip's truck then headed home for a bit of rest before driving to Keller for Zachary's birthday party. He turned 2 last week so we went to a great park to hang out and have cupcakes and visit with Cara & Justin (yes, again) and their families. It was a good thing we didn't do dinner with anyone that night because we didn't get home until 7:45!! Fortunately, we'd had pizza at the park so we weren't starving when we got home.

Yesterday was church as usual then lunch at Jenni's with my cousin Blake, Lianne & Andrew (what a cutie!). The spaghetti was wonderful. I may have to use that for one of our elder dinners!

Phillip had gotten an email yesterday morning from Circuit City and some of their camcorders were on sale (online only, we discovered) so on the way home, we went by just to see and hold the ones we had picked out. Comparing them in the store, we decided which one we wanted so we went home to order it. As we were ordering it, we found that they have free in-store pick up. So, we placed our order then headed back to Circuit City to pick it up! But, by doing that, we were able to save almost $200!!! So, we have a new toy, a Sony Handycam DCR-SR42.

Finally, we got to rest for the evening. I got to sew on our Christmas tree skirt (my goal is to have it finished by Christmas...we'll see how close I get!) and walk on the treadmill and just spend some time at home with my sweetie!

I forgot!

This is something else we bought at the Just Between Friends consignment sale--a First Year frame. I just forgot to take a picture of it.

Four things about me

Here are four things about me that you may or may not have known in no particular order.

Four jobs I have had in my life:
student assistant to the CFO
accountant
wife
mother-to-be

Four movies I've watched more than once:
"The American President"
"Toy Story"
"Monsters, Inc."
"The Green Mile"

Four Places I have lived:
Mesquite, TX
Amarillo, TX
Lakewood, CO
Abilene, TX

Four T.V. Shows that I watch:
CSI
NCIS
Journeyman
The Amazing Race

Four places I have been:
Florence & Venice, Italy
Oxford, England
Paris, France
Nova Scotia

Four people who e-mail me (regularly):
Phillip
Cara
Mom, Daddy, Jenni
Granddaddy

Four Favorite Foods:
Homemade bread
Purple Juice Salad
Grilled cheese sandwich (with sweet pickles)
Fruit breads

Four Places I would like to visit:
Colorado - again
Scotland - again
Italy - again
a B&B with my husband

Four Things I am looking forward to in the coming year:
New baby in June!
Maybe settling down in a new town??
because of #2, it's hard to list any more

What are yours?

Second Elder Dinner

Our second installment of our elder dinners was last Saturday. We had two wonderful couples over and really had a good time. Our menu consisted of chicken pot pie, purple juice salad and brownies. Everyone was impressed with everything and we even had leftovers of the pot pie! Hosting dinners really does get easier the more you do it!

24 Weeks

Changes

You may (or may not) have noticed that the ticker jumped a few days. When we went to the doctor yesterday, we found out that my due date changed and they never told us. It's now June 6. I'm guessing they changed it after the NT screening in December, but just never mentioned it to us. Anyway, things are moving along well, but I still need to gain more weight. Bring on the pasta, bread, potatoes, etc. Maybe that will help!

Fun purchases

Here's the stuff we bought at the Just Between Friends consignment sale last night.

Retail value: $45

We paid: $15

These were just too cute!!

Total paid: $3.50

Retail value: $100

We paid: $30

Retail value: $15
We paid: $7

The Exersaucer could use a good cleaning, but overall, everything is in really good shape!

Newest picture!

See below for the newest picture of our little one. I've labeled them to make them easier to understand.

Our little alien!

Jeans

I really didn't realize how much I would miss my jeans until I put on a pair this morning. You see, this is the first time since January 1 that I've been able to wear jeans! The pair I bought at Old Navy still doesn't fit me (if they don't fit by the end of February, I'm taking them back...why hold on to something that still doesn't fit?). The pairs that Cara lent me are really a little short, but at least they almost fit me in the waist. (They have belt loops so at least I can make them fit!)


Six weeks without jeans? Never again!

50,000

My car turned 50 today! On the way to work (in the 30-minute-delay backup), my car "turned over" 50,000 miles. All in less than two and a half years. Wow!

Cara and I picked out the fabric for the bedding today! She and her mom make baby stuff and offered to make mine. So, the three of us (and Cara's son Jackson) went today to find fabric. The ties for the bumper and the trim where needed will be some kind of black & white fabric to go with the ribbon on our sign.

This microdot chenille will be the inside of the bumper (closest to the baby) and one side of the blanket.

This cotton fabric will be the outside of the bumper (facing the room), a liner for the baskets for the changing table and one side of the blanket.

This sheer will be an overlay on the bedskirt. Cara & her mom are going to find a solid olive cotton fabric that matches the microdot chenille for under this fabric. The solid fabric will also be a liner for the baskets for the changing table.

It was a fun day picking out what will be our baby's home for the next couple years. Yea!!

And we're growing...

I've been asked why no belly shots recently. Well, I decided to take them on the same day as my doctor appointments so there wouldn't be so many. (I had comments about that early on.) Because of the funeral last week, my appointment was pushed to this week. So, for all those who want to see, here I am. (Oh, and you'll only have to wait three weeks for a new belly shot this next time. So, never fear!)

When Dr. Jarrett tried to listen to the heart with the Doppler, the baby kept kicking her and hiding. Yes, she found the heartbeat of the umbilical cord and the placenta, but she was trying to get right over the heart and the baby wouldn't let her. It was pretty funny! She kept looking and Phillip and saying, "Do you see what your child is doing? Are you ready for this?" So, she used the sonogram to see the heart. We could see a hand and the eyes and legs and rib cage (and heart, of course)! She pointed out the liver, but I never really saw that.

And, in case you're wondering, you can't get enough potassium from bananas to raise your level high enough to prevent leg cramps. Apparently you'd have to be a monkey to eat enough!

First dinner party of the year

Our first dinner party of the year went well. Phillip and I decided to have two elders and their wives over each month because we really don't know any of them. Saturday night the Browns and the Greens joined us for dinner. Everything turned out great, except the rolls. Recently, I've had trouble with this one recipe of rolls that I've never had trouble with. Maybe the water is just too hot. Anyway, the cracker crumb chicken, disgusting potatoes*, Swiss vegetable medley and upside down chocolate pudding were delicious!! And, we enjoyed spending time with our elders and getting to know them a little bit.

The plan is to have two couples per month and at that rate, we'll cover all of them before the baby comes!

*aka Disgustingly Rich Potatoes

Sad news

My granddaddy's brother, Wayne Smith, passed away yesterday. While he was in his 90s, death is never easy. Granddaddy had two brothers and Grandmommy had two sisters, so for years, there were six of them. Granddaddy is the last one surviving. I know this will be hard on him, but I also know he's strong and can make it. After all, he has two new great-grandbabies to look forward to this summer!

Pray for him (and Wayne's wife Charlesta and their daughters Karen & Kathy) when you get a chance.

You're probably going to look at this and think, "She has lost her mind!" But, I think if you've been pregnant, you will understand.

Today I feel pregnant, more than I have this first 19 weeks. Obviously, I've been pregnant for a while now and even mentally, I've sort of felt that. But, today, I physically feel it! I feel like I'm about to explode. (I feel that way most nights, but not usually during the day.) I'm walking slower because I just feel, well, like I'm about to explode. I know, if you've been pregnant, you're thinking, "Just wait!" I know worse is coming, but this is how I feel now. So there!

Two more

Each of the last two weeks (before today), I had gained one pound, for a total of two pounds. Today, when I weighed, I had gained two more! So, I'm up four pounds since I last posted, right on track. Yea!!!! (Overall, I'm up six pounds since the very beginning.)

Sidenote: I need to clarify the pounds issue. My doctor was comparing my pre-pregnancy (at home, in the morning, just out of the shower) weight to my current (at the doctor's office--scales measure the exact same as home, by the way--in the afternoon, with clothes). So, according to her calculations, I had gained five pounds. According to reality, I had only gained two pounds at my last visit.

Pretty cool!

Something pretty cool happened last Tuesday, but I didn't post about it because I just wasn't sure. But, I started feeling the baby move! That first time, I was sitting on the couch, after walking, eating my ice cream and I felt three taps coming from inside me. It was a "what was that?" kind of thing. But since then, on and off, I've felt some little kicks and movement. It is the coolest thing. I can't wait (or can I?) for it to be stronger so Phillip can feel it too!

Fun stuff

I've been meaning to post these pictures all week, but I've been too busy to get out the camera! Last weekend, while with Phillip's parents, we went to San Angelo and looked at some antique stores. We found this sign that will be perfect for the nursery!



Also last weekend, we went shopping with my parents and bought the baby book--"The Big Story of Little Me"!

Today was a busy day. Phillip and I went to Babies R Us to register! We picked out all kinds of fun stuff, mostly the big ticket items, because, honestly, I don't really care what blankets, onesies & socks people buy for us! We did add a few things once we got home, but we had a good time.

Thanks to my good friend, Cara, we have a glider and ottoman. Today we also picked out paint for the changing table that matched the glider.

16 Weeks

We went to the doctor again today. We finally got to hear the heartbeat! It was so cool! However, Dr. Jarrett was not very happy with my weight gain so far...5 pounds! She said I'm about 10 pounds behind so I need to gain at least 4 pounds in the next 4 weeks. I've never had to gain or lose weight before so this may be tough, but it's worth it! (If you had a hard time gaining weight while pregnant and have any tips, I'm open to suggestions!)

I was told last night that it had been a while since I posted. And it's true. I didn't realize how long it had been! However, there really hasn't been too much going on. My parents are in town so we've been spending a lot of time with family and starting new traditions. After watching The Nativity Story last night, Phillip and I decided we want that to be part of our Christmas tradition with our children. I guess we need to get a copy of our own for next year!

And it's done!

The party was a success. We had 15 people, which is more than last year, but it was too late last night to think about counting how many we had last year. We have leftovers of all the good stuff...oh wait, that's everything! Anyway, on to the rest of the busy week, where someone else gets to do all the work and I can just enjoy it!

Busy, busy, busy

This past weekend was busy. Not terribly busy, but busy enough. Friday night, Phillip cooked hamburger & sausage for me so I could make stuff when I got home. We made the sausage balls together (that was fun!), then I spent another hour or so in the kitchen making sausage dip, hamburger dip, and crab dip. Fortunately, all together, it only took about 2 hours to get all that done.

Saturday morning, we went and picked up Jenni to meet my parents for brunch at Waffle House before the Abilene High/Hebron football game. What a game!!! It was a 20-yard line to 20-yard line game. So, Abilene High will play Pflugerville at Texas Stadium on Saturday...I don't think we'll make this one, but I'm sure it will be a great game! Then after we got home, I made zucchini bread.

Yesterday, I worked for about four and a half hours without a break. (Yes, I know I should have taken a break and put my feet up, but I didn't even realize that much time had passed!) But, I got the banana bread, almond tea and strawberry bread made, after a few phone calls to Mom & Jenni! (No party planning is complete without them!) I also got the table set and ready for Tuesday night.

Tonight we have a school board meeting at which Phillip will receive his Apple Corps award. Then we're on to Jenni's Christmas party for what usually amounts to a preview of our own party! While not all the food is the same, much of it is! After all, we grew up in the same family and have the same holiday favorites!

Wednesday is church, Thursday is Life Group (with a white elephant gift exchange). Then, Friday my office is having a Christmas party at the Gaylord Texan! I am really excited about this because I've never been there and I hear we're having a great meal.

Saturday, Phillip and Jenni are going car shopping because her car is literally wearing out. It's time! So, I'll be at home wrapping presents (maybe buying a few on the way home!), ironing, cleaning up from the week. Hmmm....I might even put my feet up and rest!

Test results--GREAT news!!!

I'm not 100% sure what "before the test" means, but I guess it's just factoring in my age, race, etc., and the baby's age. And, I guess "after the test" also factors in the amount of fluid at the base of the neck (from the ultrasound) and the blood results.

Before the test, our risk of Downs syndrome was 1 in 590. After the test, our risk is 1 in 3,500.
Before the test, our risk of Trisomy 18 was 1 in 2,000. After the test, our risk is 1 in 10,000.

It would appear, then, that we have a healthy baby!!!!

It was bound to happen and it finally has. I have a cold. Being sick is bad enough, but knowing that there's probably not much you can do about it is worse. (No, I haven't checked with my doctor about any medicines, but I don't normally take anything for colds because they don't last too long anyway.) But, I can say that Tylenol works wonders for the aches that a cold brings!

Here's the picture we got on Friday.