Doctors Appt. - 15 weeks

Today Mike and I had another doctors appt. Dr. Abney checked my blood pressure, weight and the baby's heartbeat. Everything looked good. To date, I have gained 5 pounds, which is right on target. She wants me to gain between 25-30 pounds total.

She asked if I had felt the baby move yet (which I haven't), and said that most women begin feeling movement between 15 and 20 weeks. So, sometime between now and our next appt., which is July 30, I should feel this little guy moving! I can't wait to experience that!

Speaking of little guy, our next appt. is with an ultrasound so hopefully we will be able to confirm that this is a little boy that I am carrying. Either way, boy or girl, we just pray for a healthy baby. If God blesses us with that, we will be happy!

Practicing Parenting...

Wednesday night Mike and I watched Slayton so Chad and Jonalee could have a date night! We hadn't seen him for a couple of weeks, so to see how much he has grown in such a short time is just amazing!

He is such a cute little boy! Mike and I loved holding him and watching his facial expressions as he slept and dreamed. He was so good... he slept almost the entire night! We joked that it's always that easy, right?

Uncle Mike holding Slayton

Nanoo holding Slayton... she got him to fall asleep!

We cannot wait until December to have a little one of our own to hold. Until then, Slayton is the closest thing that we have to our own. We love that little boy and will gladly watch him anytime Chad and Jonalee want us to! I can't wait for our little ones to grow up together - how fun!

Roayls Game - (Flavor Ice for Life!)

Last Saturday Jason, Dad, Mike and I went to the Royals game. I hadn't been to the ballpark for a few years to see a game, so I was glad that Jason wanted to go while he was home. We had a fabulous time! Some - more than others.

We tailgated prior to the game and cooked shrimp appetizers and brats! We had such a good time... except for when the guy next to us left the stadium in a hurry and ran into our grill with his car. Thankfully we didn't have any meat on yet and dad had brought gloves along so we were able to pick up the hot coals. The food was fabulous and was a lot cheaper than what they were selling inside!

It was Alex Gordon bobblehead night that night at the park and each of us got a bobblehead - (I sent mine back to TN with Jason to give to J.D.) Not sure that they looked a whole lot like Alex Gordon - they were kind of generic looking!

Weekend Visit with Jason

Jason came into town last weekend for a short visit with Grandpa. He hadn't been home since Christmas and hadn't seen Grandpa since his fall, so he wanted to come home to spend some quality time with him. Grandpa was surprised when Jason arrived and was happy to be able to spend some time catching up with him.

Friday night Jason, Justin, Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Mike and I went to dinner at Ted's Montana Grill. Grandpa had never been there and we weren't sure how he would do having dinner so late (8:00), but he really enjoyed himself! He had such a good time, in fact, that he had a couple of Guiness Beers with his dinner.

It was great to see Jason even if it was for only a few days. I hate it that he lives so far away. I really do miss him being close by. I think it will be hard on him too when our little one arrives in December.

Happy 34th Anniversary / Happy Father's Day!

Sunday was a day filled with celebrations!

Not only was it Father's Day, but it was also my parents 34th Wedding Anniversary. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! Mike and I treated them to dinner at Bonefish, our favorite restaurant in the Northland! I think we all stuffed ourselves with appetizers, salads, dinner and dessert, but it was well worth it!

We had a great time with great company and plenty of laughs!

Happy 5th Birthday Will and Lily!

Will and Lily turned 5 on Friday, June 13th. I can hardly believe that they are 5 already... it just seems like a short time ago that we were at the hospital waiting patiently for their arrival into the world! How quickly time has passed.

We celebrated on Saturday evening with a family cookout at their house. Stacy and Ed got the kiddos balloon bouquets and they all had a great time slapping them around.

Lily picked out the only pink cake that Target had... which happened to have a Superman... I mean Supergirl emblem on the front.

Kind of a funny combination (pink / Superman) but who's keeping track.

The girls played "dress up" that evening and Will didn't want to be left out, so he put on his Chiefs uniform. Too cute!

Plump little belly!

I know that we post a fair amount of pictures of Gussie on our blog, but I couldn't resist this one.
He has the fattest little belly and Mike and I just love it when he sits in ways that just makes it stick out! We love to rub on that little bellers! Our little plump sausage link!

Sergeant of Arms...

Mike is an active member of the Platte City Chapter of Rotary International and Thursday night we attended the annual dinner at the United Methodist Church.

Mike was sworn in as Sergeant of Arms for the chapter and as Stan Palmer talked about his duties as Sergeant of Arms, he joked that it was a fitting job for Mike because of his stature. Mike's job will be to maintain order and reduce rowdiness at the meetings!

Week 12

Since my brother is in Nashville and he keeps asking if I am showing yet I thought that it would be fun to track this pregnancy and the growth of the baby and my belly by posting belly pics throughout!

Although I would like to say that I haven't grown very much in these first 12 weeks, I have to say that I can no longer fit into most of my pre-pregnancy pants. It's like my belly just expanded overnight... literally. Dress pants that I could fit into two weeks ago wouldn't button last week. Thank goodness for the Bella Band!

I shopped for new pants this past weekend, but didn't have much luck. I decided that instead of focusing on pants, I would just focus on buying dresses, so I bought four! That is what my wardrode is going to consist of for as long as I can get by. They are much more comfortable anyway!

8 week appt. to 12 week appt. = 2 pounds weight gain

(although the way my body is changing it feels like more than that)

And baby makes three!

After 8 weeks of keeping the news quiet, well for the most part, Mike and I are happy to announce that we are pregnant once again. We are looking forward to welcoming our little miracle to the world on December 22, 2008, just in time for Christmas.

Sunday April 13th was the day that we found out we were pregnant again! I took a pregnancy test that morning and was surprised when it quickly turned positive. I took another that afternoon and on Monday called the doctor to make an appointment for bloodwork to be done. They immediately got me in and ran blood tests to check my hormone and progesterone levels. Since I miscarried in December, they wanted to monitor me a bit closer this time. They checked my levels a couple of times that week and each time the numbers doubled as they should.

The first several weeks Mike and I experienced joy, excitement, apprehension, nervousness and anxiousness all at the same time. We decided then that we would wait to share the news until we made it through the first 12 weeks. After experiencing extreme joy and then extreme heartache with our first pregnancy, I think we were both scared to give in 100% to all of the joyous feelings that we wanted to experience.

At 6 weeks we went for our first ultrasound. We were extremely anxious and nervous. But, all of that soon vanished when we saw the heart beating in that little peanut! Mike and I were so emotional that day that we even made the sonographer cry... it was an amazing day! That day, based on measurements, she calculated the due date as December 19th, 2008. One year to the day that we had our sonogram and found out that our baby didn't have a heartbeat. GOD WORKS IN AMAZING WAYS!

our tiny little peanut

Three weeks later we had another ultrasound and once again were relieved when immediately the heartbeat was detected and we saw that little baby waving to us! I watched Mike that time because I couldn't bring myself to watch the screen... to see my husband mouth the words "Thank God" and see him sigh for relief as he shed tears of joy said everything. We left that appointment once again feeling blessed.

the best sound in the world - the heartbeat!

Last Thursday we had another ultrasound and it was amazing to see the differences in the baby. The sonographer said that the baby had big feet... like daddy. She even pointed out a little "nub" that could be an indication of a little boy. She couldn't be 100% sure since it's still a bit early, but Mike and I feel deep down that I have a little boy in my belly... so now we refer to the baby as "him" - it sounds so much better than "it" anyway. We'll find out for sure on July 30th.

baby arms and baby legs

the nub that might be a baby boy!

big feet just like daddy

Thank God for the precious gift of life... we are so blessed! God does answer prayers!