Weeks 19-24

......1 month and 13 days later, I am back!! I wish I could say that we had a name picked out & everything was ready for our little angel to arrive.... but as the story goes.... we could not be any LESS prepared!!! I am probably freaking out bc it is getting closer & now I realize just how fast time really does fly (like I didn't know that before?!?) & not to mention the holidays coming up... our schedule always fills up around the end of October & we don't have much free time until the first of January... Not stressing about it though... just going to continue to ENJOY every single moment of my pregnancy!!! :)

We went to Houston Columbus Day weekend to visit Collin, Lauren & Alex-had a BLAST!! I was so happy to see them!! Their house is so cute & cozy! After a LONG trip there (traffic-In Dallas & Houston) we ate lunch at Goode Co Barbeque...MMmmmmm!!

Being Clowns...

After lunch, we went to this hopping little part of Houston that had several cute shops. We went to the cutest baby boutique! Collin wanted to "look" in the candy store, but it was closed so we walked a few doors down to the chocolate bar...another candy store! We managed to make it out of there empty handed! Alex got a bag of gummy cherries that were amazing... Next stop, a few doors down...frozen yogurt... MMmmmm!! After that we were all pretty worn out, so we went back home. Saturday night Lauren made us an incredible dinner! Pepperanata, Pork chops, & potatoes & peppers. We had homemade apple pie for dessert that was just as amazing! After church on Sunday, Lauren made another awesome meal-carbonara! We went to dinner that night at a place called Laurenzo's-it was good. When we got home, we just hung out with Collin. We left Monday. Collin had been telling me about Buc-ee's, a HUGE convenience store, since he moved to Houston. Our plan was to stop on the way to Houston, but we missed all 576 thousand signs...so we had to stop on the way home. It was pretty incredible!! They had just about everything!! This is a side view of the store... It is only about 1/4 of the store...

We loved our short little trip to Houston! We really enjoyed it! Deke is the kind of traveler that cannot wait to get home, I am the kind that dreads leaving but it was good to get home to see Pete! His voice was gone from howling all weekend at Dr. Dennis' office...

OK--NOW FOR THE PREGNANCY UPDATE.....

Baby Girl Alexander is about the size of a papaya. She is about 10.5-11.8 inches long and weighs approximately 12.7-20.8 ounces. She sleeps about 12-14 hours a day! She can hear outside of the womb, her face is fully formed, & her tiny body is beginning to accumulate fat.

Pregnancy Highlights:
How far along: 24 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: ?? I'd say about 15 lbs
Maternity Clothes: Yes & I love them! I can't even wear my old pants with a bella band...
Best moment this week: I'm sure will be the Dr. appt tomorrow! :)
Gender: GIRL
Movement: She moves a lot! Melissa told me that means she is healthy!
Food Cravings: Anything with sugar
What I miss: Sleeping on my back, Coffee & Diet Coke...but it is totally worth it
Sleep: I've been sleeping better. I am finally getting used to sleeping on my side. I have been having the most unusual dreams...
What I am looking forward to: Seeing Dr. Wilson tomorrow :) Hopefully we will get another sono
Symptoms: Mild Heartburn-sometimes, minor back aches, swollen feet & ankles
Stretch Marks: Ugh... I thought I beat em, but I didn't... I have a few
Belly Button: It's flat & looks like it's going to POP out any day

Week 18 - Part 2

We wanted to do something fun for the gender reveal for our moms bc they were both so excited!! So, (thank you Summer for the idea) we did a scavenger hunt... It was so much fun!! We had our moms over for dinner & then did the scavenger hunt after dinner. There were only 5 clues... I made clue cards with pictures of different parts of the prgnancy up to this point. Each clue card had a pic on the front that were correlated to the previous clue.... Here are the pics & the clues.... (some of the pics are facing the wrong way...) For 2 long years, it was a monthly guess. Until one perfect June morning, we got our yes!!!Build-A-Bear helped us share our news like no other~Congratulations! You're going to be a grandmother! (when we told our moms that we were expecting, we made bears @ Build-A-Bear. We recorded ourselves saying, "Congratulations, You're going to be a grandmother!)We started taking pics early, 6 wks 3 days to be specific. The 1st picture of our miracle, isn't it terrific? (1st sono pic) The next clue you get will be better than the rest. Step into the nursery for the last clue & the best!

(we had tons of blue & pink balloons in the nursery...)

Blue & pink everywhere, Oh My, what a whirl!! But look closely & you'll find out....

IT'S A GIRL!!!

Both of our moms burst into tears! They were so happy!! :) We are very happy too & we cannot wait to see our precious baby girl!!!

Please excuse this pic-I look awful! For the past few days my allergies have been KICKING MY BEHIND!!!!! Hopefully, I will start feeling better soon!!! Pregnancy Highlights:
How far along: 18 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 10 lbs
Maternity Clothes: Yes & I love them! Ready to get more!
Best moment this week: Getting ready for tonight's reveal & telling our mom's that we were expecting a BABY GIRL!!!
Gender: Precious Baby Girl
Movement: Maybe!?!? I've felt some flutters & I think it may be sister girl dancing around!
Food Cravings: Right now, TUMS... gotta love heartburn!
What I miss: Sleeping on my back, Coffee & Diet Coke...but it is totally worth it
Sleep: Still having trouble in this deaprtment...I guess I better get used to the sleep habits I'll most likely have for the rest of my life...
What I am looking forward to: Figuring out nursery decor & picking out a name
Symptoms: Trouble sleeping, mild heartburn

Week 18 - Part 1

Week 18 will be in 2 parts... Gender Prediction Test & Gender Reveal!!

A few weeks ago, Debbie bought us a Gender Prediction Test from Walgreens. I got everything ready the night before, bc I knew I would wake up in the middle of the night to potty. We had it all planned out... When I woke up (guessing about 4 am) Deke was going to get up with me & we would anxiously wait for the result.....

The instructions said to pee in the cup, use the syringe to fill the test canister, swirl the canister around for 10 seconds & wait 5 minutes.....

5 minutes is a long time to wait @ 3:30 in the morning....

If the urine turned orange=girl, green=boy....

It predicts a BOY!!!

Deke & Pete were SO EXCITED!!! :)

Week 17

Baby Alexander is about the size of an onion, and is approximately 5 in. long and weighs close to 6 oz. Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. The umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes are now topped by one-of-a-kind prints.

Pregnancy Highlights:
How far along: 17 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 10 lbs
Maternity Clothes: Yes & I love them!
Best moment this week: Going to see Dr. Wilson!! The sono this week was amazing! The baby is a thumb sucker! We were able to see all of the vital organs-whew-& we heard the heartbeat for the first time.
Gender: ???
Movement: I cannot feel any movement, but we know the baby is moving bc we could see it on the sono!
Food Cravings: I'm over the jalapeno thing & do not have any new cravings yet...
What I miss: Sleeping on my back, Coffee & Diet Coke...but it is totally worth it
Sleep: I am definitely looking forward to the 3 day weekend coming up... I didn't sleep much this week or weekend... I am SO exhausted!!
What I am looking forward to: SLEEP
Symptoms: I have not been sleeping well...

Week 16

I am really excited about starting my weekly pregnancy posts! This has been the greatest experience so far-I feel so blessed to have a pregnancy that is free of any complications up to this point! & I couldn't think of anyone better to share it with than Deke. He is such a great husband-I love him so much!

Baby Alexander is growing & developing so fast!
The baby is approximately 4 1/2 inches long & weighs approximately 3 1/2 ounces-about the size of an avocado!

Pregnancy Highlights:
How far along: 16 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 8-10 lbs...too much...starting pregnancy yoga soon
Maternity Clothes: Yes & I love them!
Best moment this week: I was getting ready this morning & Deke came up behind me & put his arms around me....I looked in the mirror & his hands were in the shape of a heart on my stomach....AWWW!!!
Gender: ??...Anxiously awaiting!
Movement: None yet
Food Cravings: Jalapenos-weird bc I do not like spicy food
What I miss: Coffee & Diet Coke, but it is totally worth it
Sleep: I sleep on my back, so I am trying to get used to sleeping on my side...I usually wake up at about 3 am to potty
What I am looking forward to: We have a Dr. appt on Wednesday!! :)
Symptoms: Some indigestion, but I can handle it

Stay tuned... I may post an update after the appt on Wednesday... Have a great week!!!

No News is Good News, Right?!?!

Ok.... so once again, I've fallen off of the Blogger bandwagon.... I know... I pretty much stink at life... Hmmm-where to start? So much to catch up on... My last post was in January, so I will recap on 2010... (since the year is more than 1/2 way over, seems like a great place to begin!) It has been a FABULOUS year so far!!! (with the exception of 1 thing which I will elaborate on later) In late January, Dr. Wilson referred us to a fertility specialist. We scheduled 3 appts & they all had to be rescheduled. (due to the Dr being in meetings, surgery, out of town, etc) It drug on over the course of a couple of months so in March, we decided that we would just wait to reschedule any additional appointments. We had a few financial obligations that we needed to tend to before seeing the specialist. That was a blessing bc our insurance does not cover any type of fertility treatment, so it would have been a very expensive journey... Our financial obligations were: 1) a trip to Cancun for some of our very best friends-Dustin & Jessica's wedding-would not have missed it for the world & 2) a new house. At the beginning of March, Deke & I decided that Debbie should move closer. She also liked the idea, so she bought our house & we bought a new house in Providence-approx 1 mile from our old house. It took a while for Deke & I to get our house bc it was bank owned & they were BOOGERS, but we were finally able to close at the end of March!! Didn't move in until mid April, bc of the Cancun trip...1st week of April. Debbie loves her house & has it fixed so cute & we love our house!!

Our trip to Cancun was way too short, but I am so happy that we were able to share that special time with Dustin & Jess!!! Deke & I really had a great time & will def be going back someday-OH MY GOODNESS...it was SO pretty & the people were so hospitable! We were goofs & did not get many pics, but here are some that we were able to get...

The Mayan Sunrise-I was still in bed when I took this pic-I think it was around 4:30-5 am...

The view from our Balcony...

RaNDoM Beach Pic....

Deke & I after the wedding

We LOVED Cancun & cannot wait to go back!!!!

In June, Deke & I found out that we were EXPECTING!!!!!! We tried for so long & our prayers were finally answered!!!

I am 15 weeks and 3 days. It has been the best experience! No morning sickness & no major symptoms! I was tired the 1st trimester, but about a week before the start of the 2nd trimester, I got a much needed BURST of energy! :) I will be doing weekly posts to keep you updated on my pregnancy progress... My 1st post will be this Sunday! It will include a pic & more details!

Remember that exception I was talking about?? Collin, Lauren & Alex moved to Houston. We miss him like CrAZy, but we are so happy for Collin bc it will be an exciting chapter to add to his "book"! He is going to meet so many new friends to add to his friend bank! He is a blogger now, too...so hopefully he will do a better job at keeping up with his Blog than his Aunt Samantha! LOL! Love you Kiddo!!

I LOVE ROCK N ROLL.......

So put another dime in the jukebox baby!! What is this? Don't forget the Lyrics?? Ha! Ha! ....Gotta love Joan Jett!!! Tuesday night we had our quarterly "Hoopla Celebration" for the bank. During the Hoopla Celebration, they present awards for outstanding performance & awards in which you are nominated by your co-workers.... Each branch has to dress to the theme of the Hoopla Celebration.... Tuesday's theme was 80's Rock n Roll bands.... My branch did Joan Jett & the Blackhearts & Deke's branch did the Beastie Boys... My manager, Zeke (a guy) dressed up as Joan Jett (a girl) & we were the Blackhearts!! It was a lot of fun!! Deke received the Pinnacle Award!! There are 2 Pinnacle awards. One is awarded to operations staff & one is awarded to front line staff. It signifies the employees dedication to the bank & overall performance!! Ray mentioned when he was presenting the award that Deke was the "PointBank poster child"... which he is!! He is such a hard worker & I am so proud of him!! He was awarded something else, but neither one of us can remember what it was?!?!? I received 2 awards too...one for a MOT (Moment of Truth) for giving customer's the "PointBank Experience".... which is basically great customer service-there were so many of us on stage for that award that we almost didn't fit! The 2nd award I received was "Overall Highest Cross-Sells".... so, for every account I opened-I made sure that the customer also signed up for online banking, paperless statements, debit cards, direct deposit, etc... It's easier for the bank & the customer, so everybody wins! Here are some pictures of past Hoopla Celebrations & then a picture of Tuesday night....

PointBank Pep-Rally (My FAVE)

Academy Awards (The Wizard of Oz)

80's Rock n Roll (Joan Jett & the Blackhearts)