Keeping busy

These past couple weeks we've been staying busy with shopping for the baby, making improvements to the house and traveling the country (or Arkansas). The baby shopping has been lots of fun! A couple weeks ago we went to Just Between Friends which is a consignment sale. We loaded up on lots of cute outfits, a pack n' play, a swing and a carrier to pull behind bikes! So exciting! Because we're first time parents we were allowed to shop before the general public. The one that we went to was in Arlington (about 45 minutes from our house) and started at 8:30 on a Thursday night. We only shopped for about 30 minutes but the line took for-ev-er and we didn't end up getting home until 1 am! That made for a rough Friday! But it was all worth it for the awesome stuff that we got for great prices! The baby's room is filling up quickly! We also registered this weekend at Babies R' Us. That was a little overwhelming! How many choices of pacifiers do you need?! I will put this one disclaimer on our registry...Greg had the scanner! So there is no telling what is really on there! There were a few times I turned around and he was no where in sight. It will be interesting to see what ended up on the registry!

This weekend we had a fun evening out with friends who gave input as to what names NOT to choose for our little one. Our two favorites were: World Wide (with the initials 'WWW' and the nickname 'internet') and Tangled Ina. So funny! We haven't really come up with any names that are realistic possibilities. Any suggestions are more than welcome! I tend to like the less common names with different spellings and Greg likes the more traditional names. It's definitely harder than I thought it would be to choose a name.

We also did some spring cleaning around the house and donated 8 huge bags of clothes to Good Will. The closet has never been more organized! I love it! It's funny what getting ready for a baby will do! I think the nesting phase has already begun!

Just last week I was finally able to distinguish between which movements were the baby and which were just my stomach. I think it helps that my stomach issues have been improving since another medication was added to the regimen. Greg and I have decided that we're going to have to get something that mimics the sounds my stomach makes and it's going to have to be really loud and sound like someone letting air escape out of a balloon with the end pinched. I don't know that they make those! One day I was sitting there with my stomach going crazy and when it would make a sound, she would kick like she was startled from a deep sleep. It was so funny! But then I started imagining her getting revenge on us at 3 in the morning! I just hope payback isn't as bad as they say it is! They say that sounds the baby hears in utero will be familiar to the baby when they're born. So this past week I decided to put that to the ultimate test when I went to watch Greg play basketball. He was helping out a team that was down a couple players. He played really well, but the buzzer could not have been louder! I don't know what that means for the baby when she's finally hear. Maybe she'll be able to sleep through multiple hours of Rock Band practice like I am!

Look at that textbook form! I don't even know what to look for!

Last weekend we went up the Arkansas for Alumni weekend at Hendrix. Greg was able to play in the soccer game and said it was tough! I helped cut up oranges for halftime...it wasn't too tough! We were able to hang out with some of the soccer teams. It's so fun catching up with everyone and finding out what everyone is up to. It makes me miss the good 'ole college days when things were simple and you only had classes for a few hours a day and the food was cooked by the nice cafeteria ladies...and was seriously delicious! I honestly contemplated stopping by the cafeteria to get some food!

We went to Cantina Laredo for dinner. I only had about 4 bowls of salsa! It was so good and I was starving! But by 11 o'clock I was spent and ready for bed!

Reagan, Leah and Andrea at Cantina Laredo


Jenn and Ryan

Then Sunday we went to a cooking demonstration at Williams Sonoma and learned all about brunch cuisine. This was followed by a 60th Birthday party celebration at a really good new restaurant! The pregnant lady had two huge pieces of cake for dessert...and then took a nap on the drive back to Dallas!

Next weekend we'll be back in Arkansas to do some more work on the lake house. No rest for the weary around here!

Half way point!

20 weeks down, 20 to go! I'm beginning to wonder why people say the 2nd trimester is easier than the 1st. I have never been woken up more in the middle of the night or been more uncomfortable sleeping in my life...and I have a feeling this is only the beginning! Yikes! For the past two weeks I've been having pain on my right side that feels like I just got punched in the kidney (not that I've had direct experience with that). It took me a while to figure out that this is the new way my body has decided to let me know I have to go to the bathroom. Awesome! I had to learn the hard way that if I don't get up immediately, it's only going to get worse. Before this, I could just roll over and go back to sleep. This baby is having none of that! Unfortunately for Greg, if you blink too loudly, he'll wake up! So we're on a 2 hour schedule now. Every two hours, get up, go to the bathroom, get back in bed and try to get to sleep as fast as you can so you can at least have 2 hours of sleep. I guess this is just preparing us for waking up with the baby!

We went for our latest sonogram and found out that we're having a little girl! Yeah! The sonographer says she's "textbook" for her measurements. Greg can't believe that I'm not able to feel her crazy movements. She punches me, kicks me, rubs her eyes and of course waves. We might have a beauty queen on our hands with all the waving going on in there!

Always waving!

I think that I've been able to feel her move, but I'm still not sure if it's her or my UC. I'm going to my GI on Monday and hopefully he'll be able to give me insight into what is what.

I think the best thing about knowing the gender is being able to go shopping! Neither of us are huge fans of pink, so we've gone the green, yellow, purple route. We also get to think of names...which we haven't really done yet! Oops! But our friends and coworkers have been giving us many suggestions! So far we know that Charlotte, Cob and Spider are definitely out because of the last name! We're open to most others though!

20 weeks

This is what I'm looking like right now. My innie is becoming a flatie and it's getting challenging to tie shoes in standing.

In other news, we've finished a lot of projects at the lake house! Greg made a path down to the lake while I removed that awful wallpaper. Then we primed and texture painted one of the rooms! I really liked the painting! It reminded me of icing a cake! Don't worry, I refrained from tasting it! No pica disorders around here! We got a lot done last weekend and it's almost ready for people to come visit! Now we just need central heat and air. No biggie!

Week 16 pics and Colorado trip

We were able to get away from the 80 degree temperatures in Dallas a couple weeks ago and go to the chilly temps in Colorado. OK, it was in the 50's and sunny the entire time. I got a sunburn from sitting outside...it was unbelievable weather! We had to fly from Dallas to Denver and then hop on a tiny plane with about 40 seats to Durango. You know it's not good when they start asking people to switch seats so they can even the weight distribution in the plane! We had bad turbulence on the flight from Dallas to Denver in a regular-sized plane, so I planning on having an even worse time going over the mountains in a miniature version.

Greg walking out to the plane with looks of apprehension.

We got there safe and sound and met up with Ryan, Andy and Alisa. The next day the boys went snow boarding while Alisa and I hung out in the room reading books, watching tv and discussing all things baby! I finished the Twilight series (and I really liked the last book even though it was quite long!) and got great tips from Alisa who has Michael (13 months) and is 4 weeks ahead of me with their second baby, Kate!

OK, let me diverge for a second and talk about the Charlaine Harris books. I read the first Sookie Stackhouse book and liked it, but found myself thinking, "that's not how the vampires did things/were in the Twilight books." Anyways, just thought it was funny that apparently fictional characters can only act a certain way no matter which author is writing about them! I also started another series by Charlaine Harris about a girl who is able to find missing dead people and figure out how they died. So far that series has been pretty good too!

OK, back on track with more pictures!



The boys with their gear and Greg, Chris and I before we left on Monday. You can tell it was super nice out because I'm just wearing pants and a long sleeve shirt!

Week 16 picture

Still no strangers gutsy enough to ask the due date...just stare and question whether it would be worth it to ruin some random lady's day by asking if she's pregnant or not!

When we got home from Colorado we were invited to a Wii bowling party. It was great fun! Too bad Greg and I felt like outcasts without our personalized bowling jerseys! I'm the one taking the picture, so I didn't have to stand out like a sore thumb like Greg!

Then this past weekend Greg had a soccer game. They ended up tying, but they all played really well! This is the best action shot I could get sitting on the ground reading my book and trying to pay attention to the game. Greg had just schooled an opponent and looks like he was about to do it again to another guy while his teammate just looks on in awe!

I think that's all we've been up to recently. We're headed up to the lake this (and probably next) weekend to go create a walking path down to the lake. Hopefully it's not too cold or rainy! Try to keep warm and dry!

Let Lent Begin!

I was very impressed with the actual Cross symbol that I got tonight at Ash Wednesday Mass. Normally I just get a blob on my forehead and no one knows what it is. But this guy took his time!
Day 1 of Lent went pretty well. I had no cravings for chocolate...probably because I had chocolate chip cookies and cocoa puffs for dinner last night! Not having meat was probably the most difficult part of today. I'm already planning what type of meat I want for each meal tomorrow!

OK, off to pack for Colorado! Woohoo!

16 weeks and daring maneuvers

This weekend we helped a friend move out of his apartment and in the process I almost got decapitated! I wish there was video of our adventure because I'm sure it would be very funny! So basically we loaded everything up in the garage at the bottom of the apartments and we had his mattress, the dolly and some other stuff in the back of the truck and then the trailer was full behind it. Well as we're trying to leave the garage Greg notices that the mattress is probably not going to clear the concrete ceiling of the exit. So I get out of the truck and hop in the back to push the mattress to one side and duck as we're going underneath the overhang. So we're making it through fine and then I start to notice that something is pulling at my leg and pulling me off the truck! So I yell at Greg to stop and I turn around to see what was going on. Apparently the dolly was just tall enough to catch the edge of the ceiling. Well it started tipping over, which made the box sitting on top of it move, which made the cooler sitting on top of that tip backwards, grabbing my leg and pulling me off the truck! So Greg put the truck in reverse so that I could loosen the straps holding everything on the truck. So then in order to get out of the garage I had to hold both the mattress and the dolly at different angles (while ducking, mind you) so that we could fit under the overhang. It was quite interesting! I was beginning to wonder if Greg and I should just be professional movers since we've been doing it so much, but my pondering stopped at the exact moment I almost got scalped by the concrete ceiling! I think we'll keep our day jobs for now!



Some family friends gave us this great t-shirt for the baby. Now the baby can represent when we watch the games! I think their first sign language symbol is going to book hook 'em horns! We're very excited! Thank you Fuchs'!

This weekend we were also able to visit with Joe, Amanda and Cole and their new baby, Owen. So cute! I hope our baby is as calm and good as Owen is. He's sleeping 6 hours at night! He didn't even make a peep while Greg and I took turns holding him! And Cole is a great big brother! So much fun! Our fingers are crossed that we might be so lucky!

I wanted to post some pregnancy pictures before we left for Colorado this weekend. So this is the 16 week picture. Not too bad! People are beginning to notice that something's going on. They're still just not sure if I ate too much at the pizza buffet or if I'm growing a baby inside!



This is me stuffing my face with cool ranch Doritos and Peanut M&M's while reading a book! Mmmm! The mid-afternoon snack of champions! I was simply trying to finish the bag of chocolate before Wednesday so I won't be tempted to break my Lenten promise of giving up chocolate! That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

I can't imagine why I was weighing 7 pounds more at my last check up! I still think it was operator error!

I'm very excited for a relaxing weekend in the mountains! I can't snowboard now, so I'm bringing lots of books to read! A family friend gave me the recommendation of Charlaine Harris books and I've liked what I've read so far. So I'll bring a couple of those with me. If you like the Twilight series, you'll probably like these Sookie Stackhouse books. It's about a Southern vampire! Anyways, hopefully we'll get some good pictures of the boys skiing. I don't know that pictures of me reading or sleeping in would be very exciting!

Have a good rest of the week!

Eight hands are better than four

This weekend my parents came down to visit and they got put to work! We drove up to Arkansas again this weekend to get a little more done on the house and we got A LOT done! Way more than Greg and I could have done in two months by ourselves! The boys got the vanity in the bathroom changed out. Here is a before and a during picture. The drywall had to be changed.

I forgot to take an after, but I'll get one! It took a while because the old cabinet must have been super glued in there and then the new cabinet had to be "custom" fitted around the pipes. Now at least we can say that the house has custom cabinets! They also replaced several electrical sockets, installed new light fixtures and hooked up all the appliances! And put together a futon...ooohhh!

Mom and I got some good cleaning done and figured out what else we need to bring up there. We're so thankful to Mom and Dad for helping this weekend. They both had colds and there is no heat in the house yet! We had two space heaters that kept it pretty nice during the day, but WAY too cold at night. It made getting up at 4am to empty my bladder very difficult! All in all, it was a very productive weekend at the lake. Thanks, Mom and Dad!
We got back late Sunday afternoon for Greg's soccer game. They won 3-0, but we only watched the first half because it was really cold and windy! Then Monday I had a checkup at the OBG. Everything sounds good. They listened to the heart rate, took some more blood and weighed me. Apparently I've gained 7 pounds. I'm not sure if that's since I've been pregnant or since the last time I saw her (which was only 1 month ago). I blame the cold weather and the extra layering! All I'm saying is that I'm hoping it's since I became pregnant, because 7 extra pounds a month will make for a rough 6 more months!
OK, well time for sleep! I'll try to post more pregers pictures soon!

I'm changing professions!

While I'm waiting on Greg to get home from work, I thought I'd update the blog with my newest adventures. I think I should quit the Physical Therapy profession and become a professional truck driver! Before you all laugh until you cry, let me give you my reasoning. Tonight I had to go pick up Greg's truck and drive it all the way to Lewisville to pick up a trailer so that we can bring all the lake house stuff to Arkansas this weekend. Let me preface this by saying that I'm not a fan of driving Greg's truck by itself in the first place and feel the need to check my blind spot 4-5 times before switching lanes. OK, so I'm headed over there and we're doing great, no traffic (even though it's 6:30 in Dallas?!), get to the house and back the truck right up to the trailer! What?! I amaze myself sometimes! So then I have to hitch the thing on and hit something with a hammer to get it to lock in to place, then hook up the lights and the chains and then head to Quik Trip to fill the tires up with air! I don't know who Greg thinks he married. Anyway, so I fill up the tires with what I'm guessing is enough air because I don't have a tire gauge to measure the psi, hoping the entire time that the tire doesn't blow up and mangle my face before my baby gets to see me for the first time! (Strange, I know!) Once that was done, I headed back home and made it safe and sound with the trailer still attached!
So let's move on to the professional trucking aspect. There are only a few personal issues that I'd have to work around. First being the fact that I can't stay awake in a car if the ride is longer than 45 minutes! Second, I'm not a fan of switching lanes or making turns when I'm hauling something, but I'm sure they have routes that I could cover that meet those requirements. And third, an automatic transmission since just thinking about driving a regular car with 5 gears gives me a mild anxiety attack. I can't imagine what I would do if there were 10 or 15 gears!
But, on the upside...I enjoy eating fast food (maybe not every night, but often enough), I can sleep in tight spaces because everything seems big when you're 5'3" (on a good day!) and I've become very proficient at squatting to use the restroom! So I think I'll try out for the England trucking company first to commemorate Katie's maiden name!
Here is a picture of the monstrosity I had to drive and the garage filled with items to bring up the the lake house. I can't wait until I get to park my car in the garage again!