24 weeks

On Thanksgiving Lindsey and I FINALLY got a picture taken together. We were 24 weeks along here.

I'm thankful for...

...so many things. I don't have the time to type them all out here. But, I will give you my top 10 in no particular order.

1) My husband. He's a great guy and I'm lucky to have him. I am especially glad that he still likes me after almost 15 years! I know he is going to be a wonderful daddy, it's going to be so much fun watching him fill that new role.

2) My family. I can't name every one of them. But, I will say that I love 'em all despite their quirks!

3) My baby. Although he is LAZY, I still love him and cannot wait to meet him and kiss his little cheeks. I do wish he would move around more. Every day I feel flutters, but no major kicks or jabs yet. I know I will be wishing for some peace a little later in the pregnancy, I just get frustrated when I can feel him wiggle around but Rod still can't really feel him from the outside.

4) My cats. I know I'm thankful for them. Right now I can't remember why. Beasley just put a hole in my leg with his claws, Smeagol keeps walking in front of the computer screen, and Precious is trying to devour a plastic bag.

5) My home. For those of you who haven't been in our house, small doesn't even begin to describe it. The rooms are TINY. We still have a lot of remodeling stuff to do to it. But, in the field I work in I have become acutely aware of how quickly people are losing their homes in this economy. I am thankful that I have a place to live and Rod and I can call it our own.

6) My friends. They are spread out across the country, but I take comfort in knowing that they are here for me.

7) My job. I have a terrific boss and wonderful coworkers. I have also met some great friends through my job. Another bonus is that I love the work I do!

8) The holiday season. I love everything about it.

9) The internet. Because many of my friends live in it. I also enjoy having the world at my fingertips anytime day or night.

10) The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade that starts...right now!!!

The Big, Bold, and Beautiful Bowler

Well, maybe not beautiful. But, I'm definitely big and I went bowling last night which was pretty bold!

It was cold and rainy (hence the hairdo). So, we thought we would take Blake to play some duckpin bowling. It was a lot of fun even though Rod won by a landslide. I wasn't too concerned about knocking the pins down. Everytime I approached the line all that went through my head was, "don't hurt yourself!". Although I never scored more than 70 in a round, I can say it was a successful trip because I did not get injured!

Thank you Lenny and Cherie!!!

We have these awesome friends who live in New Hampshire. They have 4 kids, the older two are sweet teenage girls and the youngest two are adorable little boys. Gabriel is almost 3 and he is a little genius. Lenny and Cherie have been telling us hilarious stories about him to "prepare" us for having a boy! Nathan is their youngest. He is 9 months old and just as sweet as can be. Nathan is calm and quiet but he is constantly soaking in all the information his little brain can hold.

Anyway, since they are *definitely* done having kids now, they so kindly packaged up many of their baby clothes, blankets, and other supplies for us. They arrived this week and I was like a kid at Christmas digging through the box to see all the goodies! Seriously, there must have been 30+ outfits, a bumbo seat (YAY!), a daddy vest, several blankets, a couple of bibs, and a whole package of newborn diapers. We are so thankful for the baby gifts and even more thankful for our friends. :)

This is a picture from our trip to visit Lenny, Cherie, and their family in June. It was our first time meeting Nathan.

Gabriel thought Rod and I were cool because we brought him chocolate donuts! Even though he hadn't seen us in a year, he was not shy at all!

This is one of my favorite outfits that arrived in our gift box.

I was attempting to take a picture of all the goodies they sent, but our 3 cats would NOT stay out of my way. This gives you a good idea of some of the things that were in there. I bet this picture doesn't even show 1/3 of the outfits they sent. Boy did they spoil us!

Thanks again you guys!!!

New Post

I wrote a new post, but it is showing up like I wrote it before the previous post. Scroll down to read it, the title is "Surprise!".

Yowsers!

Remember my wrist pain? Today I saw the doctor about that. He said I have deQuervain's tendinitis and carpel tunnel. I'm not convinced about the carpel tunnel diagnosis. He got that from my statement about my arms going numb at night. But, that only happens when I'm laying on my side and the arm I'm laying on falls asleep sometimes. I do not have numbness or tingling except when my arm falls asleep at night. He gave me some braces to wear at night just in case it is carpel tunnel.

To treat the tendinitis, he gave me a cortisone injection. The pain is so sharp in one place on my wrist that even when the doctor gently touched it, I jumped. Imagine a needle digging into that sensitive spot for 30 seconds. That hurt! Hopefully it will make my wrist feel better, he said I should feel a big improvement by tomorrow. Unfortunately, he also said that it will feel much worse for the remainder of today. I have to ice it and keep it elevated until I go to bed.

Have you ever had a cortisone injection? Did it hurt? Other people in my office have gotten them and they say it didn't hurt at all.

Surprise!

I don't think I have shared these pictures here yet. Some of you may have seen them in other places, but I thought they would be fun to share here.

This is the picture I took immediately after seeing "pregnant" on the test. I told Rod about the pregnancy by making him scroll through a bunch of cat pictures then he came upon this one!
This is the picture I took of Rod as he was jumping all over the kitchen after I told him!

Pictures galore!

I just uploaded a few pictures that I wanted to share.

This one is Rod trying to hear the baby move with a stethoscope. It didn't work, but I thought it was cute that he tried!

This is me modeling some of my birthday presents on Sunday. Rod took me to Cracker Barrel for breakfast then we went to the outlets where I got a new purse, a COMFY pair of shoes, and this maternity sweater. He also bought me a pair of yoga pants and another sweater.

Mom and Lindsey went with me to Johns Hopkins. This is a pic Lindsey took of me and Mom while waiting for the doctor to come tell us everything looked great!

We lucked out in getting a few more pictures of our baby boy. This is the only one that is semi-cute. Most of the profile shots were distorted. They also gave us some pictures from the front of his face, but they look like pictures of a CREEPY skeleton!

Johns Hopkins

Today Lindsey, Mom, and I made the trek down to Johns Hopkins for the fetal echo cardiogram. The traffic was much lighter than I expected, so that took my anxiety down a notch. We decided to do valet parking rather than trying to find a place to park in the parking garage (most of them had "full" signs out front). So, we made it to the appointment with time to spare!

The ultrasound technician was able to see all 4 chambers of the baby's heart. She looked at the vessels going into the heart and even listened to each valve. It was quite impressive how she could see all the intricacies of his heart. After she got the pictures she needed to evaluate the heart, she took a look around at the rest of the baby. We confirmed that he definitely is a boy! We also got to see his hands, feet, face, and spine again. They gave us a couple more pictures, but they aren't as good as the first set we got.

Anyway, at the end of the visit the doctor came in and told us that his heart looks fine. That's the good news we were hoping for! :)

Mom, Lindsey, and I made a stop at the Cheesecake Factory for lunch on our way home. Let me just say that if you have never tried a piece of Godiva cheesecake, you are missing out on the best dessert on earth!

Doctors, doctors, and more doctors.

I think I've spent more time in doctors offices over the past 21 weeks than I have in the past 21 years! Yesterday I saw a different OB in my doctor's office. He was so nice and answered all of my questions as if he had nothing else to do that day. I am relieved because I have now met all the doctors in that practice and they are all great. This means I don't have to worry who is on call when I go into labor.

One of the questions I had for the doctor yesterday was about a sharp pain on the side of my wrist. Pregnant women often get carpel tunnel, but I know that's not what I am feeling. He said it is likely a pinched nerve (which is what I had guessed) and wrote me an order to see an orthopedist (sp?) in town. Normally I would just hope the pain goes away, but it is pretty severe at times and I'm afraid of permanent nerve damage if it is a pinched nerve. Besides that, last night I was trying to pick up my little nephew and it was causing my wrist a lot of pain. I need to get this taken care of before I'm trying to lift a baby multiple times every day.

So, Monday is the testing at Johns Hopkins and Thursday is the hand doctor. Let's see...maybe I should try to tour the offices of some other doctors. What should I try next? :)

Nursery decor

Since Kimmy asked about nursery colors yesterday, I thought I would share our pick with you today.

I need your honest opinions about it, so please share! First, even though I picked it out months ago (from Burlington Coat Factory), I just found out that it is available through Babies R Us, Target, and Walmart. So, I'm wondering if you've seen it used before...is it too popular?

My second question is what color(s) would you paint the room? Our crib and changing table are a light oak color. The trim and doors are white. The room has 3 windows in it, so it is pretty bright.

Isn't this mobile too cute? I think the mobile is what sold Rod on this set.

He loves his daddy!

Every night Rod spends a few minutes talking to the baby before we go to bed. Almost every time he puts his hand on my stomach, I immediately feel the baby move towards his hand. It is so cute!

Rod has been wanting to feel him move so badly. He often yells into my stomach trying to make the baby move. Unfortunately, I am very ticklish and the vibration of his yelling on my stomach makes me laugh hysterically. Last night, I was too tired to laugh which resulted in Rod finally getting to feel the baby move. Even though it tickles, I'm glad the baby will have the opportunity to know his dad's voice even before he comes out. :)

We did a little shopping on Friday after we found out we were having a boy. Rod had to have this set of bibs.

20w1d pictures

As promised...