Here is our baby!

We finally got to see our baby on the 19th.  It could not have come any sooner.  The Friday night before the ultrasound I was walking up some stairs behind the basketball stadium and I thought I was at the top step but I had one more so I totally tripped and fell right on my knee.  Luckily I didn't really land on my belly at all.  Just the left side of my ribs.  The baby was super active after that happened so I knew that he must have been okay even though I was still really scared.

So Monday morning we went to the hospital and got a good glimpse of our not-so-little baby.  Here is a synopsis of the ultrasound here (its the first time I've done a video on my own so pardon a few errors please):

 

If you watched the video you will know we're having a BOY!!  We're so excited.  I've been having baby boy dreams the entire time.  If he is anything like my dreams he will also have blonde hair and blue eyes.  Blue eyes are a given but we'll have to see about that blonde hair, its possible!

And here is my 20 week baby bump:

Its starting to bulge!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Second trimester to current (17weeks 5 days)

Life in the second trimester has been interesting.  Right around the same time I entered the second trimester David's foot got so stressed that he was no longer able to walk on it.  The Dr's noticed a stress fracture of the navicular bone and rushed him into surgery.  They put 2 screws in his foot to stabilize and give support.
I was a wreck.  David had been doing the brunt of the cooking and cleaning in the first trimester and now everything seemed to be on my shoulders.  He is in a hard cast and crutches so he can't do much.  Not to mention, what will David's season be like?  It's his senior year and he had planned on graduating and playing pro ball somewhere.  What would this do to our plan?  This is why we had tried getting pregnant when we did.
I guess life never works out exactly as planned.  We're still in the process of figuring out what we're going to do.  This whole ordeal is still a sensitive issue for me so I only give myself a few moments during the day to formulate options for what our final decision will be.  David has been a rock this whole time, he really inspires me how he is able to take these trials he seems to get every year and get stronger from them.
Thank goodness for family, friends, and our ward.  My visiting teacher comes over almost every week and takes my laundry so I don't have to worry.  We've had many people bring us food since I'm still getting back into the swing of cooking again.  It really has been an outpouring of help.  I don't think I could have gotten through the last 4 weeks without it.

Here is a bump update:  I am 17weeks, 5 days along today.  I started feeling the baby kick a little about 2 weeks ago.  Some days the baby is more active than others and I love the strange feeling the movement brings.  We have our first (and only) ultrasound in 2 weeks where we will be finding out if its a boy or girl.  I can't wait!  Luckily its first thing in the morning so I don't have to wait all day.  I'm still exhausted, but I'm able to swim a couple times a week so far for about an hour.  The heartburn is horrible, especially right when we go to bed, and I'm at the weird size phase where my normal clothes don't fit and maternity clothes are too big.

Now before I show you my bump let me preface by saying I lost weight in the 1st tri from the nausea and lack of appetite.  According to my last visit 2 weeks ago I gained 1 pound since then.  My dr will probably get mad at me if I don't gain another 3 or 4 by Dec 19th, if I haven't already.  I'm supposed to gain 1 pound a week from here on out.  Let me say, its not as easy as it sounds.  I could get into that but let's just look at my bump:

Here I am not pushing it out but standing as I do normally:

And here I am trying to slouch and let it all hang out:

Anyway, if you can't tell I'm not packing much yet.

I'll try to do these every other week or so.  Hopefully I'll be more on top of it and make an update after our ultrasound.
5 more months!

Life in the first trimester

After finding out I was pregnant it was then time to figure out how my body would handle the changes.  I remember right off the bat I was just exhausted.  My boobs got heavy, but I hadn't experienced any nausea yet.
Well, 6 weeks comes around and I got hit by the nausea bug.  It was an all day feeling and it royally sucked.  I did my best trying to force myself to eat when absolutely nothing sounded good.  I found out chicken was the devil and I got sick of meat very fast.  What was strange for my case is you couldn't really call it morning sickness because I was the most sick starting at about 7pm everyday.  I threw up twice as much at night as I did in the morning.
At about 8 weeks I had to stop going to the gym because I didn't have the ability to hold my gag reflexes anymore and I was just so tired after work.  Thank goodness that I was still able to work!
Once 12 weeks rolled around and life was still miserable I got a vitamin B shot and that seemed to clear things up for a couple weeks.  I was able to eat without force and I went to the gym to swim.  That was a good week.
I thought I was in the clear until one day during week 14 I was humbled.  I woke up to get ready for the day and all I did was clear my throat and up came whatever was left in my stomach.  Yuck.  I laid down for about a half hour then went to work feeling crummy but good enough to get things done.  I forced myself to go swimming after work which felt great.  I ate my dinner and things seemed okay until I started getting ready for bed.  I was just brushing my back teeth when I knew that I was going to be throwing up again soon.  I had thrown up so many times by then I could tell when my body would do it.  The horrible thing was I had eaten a burrito with hot salsa for dinner.  Salsa is always hotter coming back up... just a word to the wise.  I broke down crying because I thought I was "safe" from these experiences.
I got another vitamin B shot soon after that and tried to gracefully make my way into the second trimester.

Finding out our next chapter

I'm pretty sure most of you know our newest development but let me give you a little background.  After not getting pregnant the second month of trying (the month I REALLY wanted) I decided to try charting.  If it didn't happen the third month I wasn't going to do it anymore and I would just got back to guessing when I ovulate.  The tricky thing in the third month was it was our North Carolina trip.  So I packed up my basal body thermometer and was determined to have fun while trying in North Carolina.  Here is my chart for anyone interested.
Since it was my first month charting I evaluated every temp change way too much.  Especially after my predicted ovulation date.  We flew home on August 21st from NC and if you looked at the chart you notice a slight dip from the 21st-22nd.  I tried not to think into it at the time but I remember when we were flying home I was having some cramping that I dismissed as gas.  Hmm... possible implantation cramps?  Anyway, enough of the scientific part... lets move forward.
I knew the earliest I could test (9-10 days past ovulation) was the 26th.  I wanted to test early so bad!  I remember on the 25th I was at the gym running on the treadmill and I got tired faster than usual and my boobs felt so heavy that I wanted to test right when I got home.  David calmed me down and told me to test in the morning.  I realized that was the best option.  We woke up together and I rushed into the bathroom.  At first I dipped a cheap test into the cup and when a line didn't appear immediately (you're supposed to wait a couple minutes) I threw it out.  I ended up using a first response test next and covered it up with a piece of toilet paper and tried to start getting ready without peeking.  Lo and behold there was a very faint second line!  I showed David and he didn't believe me because the line was so faint.  I tried to convince him that any line was a line and I am in fact pregnant.  He brushed it off and told me to test again the next day.  Nothing could bring me down that day!
I tried taking a picture of the first test but the line was honestly so faint that none of our cameras could pick it up.  We had to babysit for my bosses kids that weekend so there was no way of testing again until Monday (the 29th).  I think this test convinced him:

I had so many cheap tests left that I tested once everyday until I ran out.  Still pregnant!

According to my date of ovulation, my predicted due date is May 8, 2012.  Our 2nd anniversary exactly.  Great timing I guess!

A little holiday fun

Here is something to entertain you while I think of a way to catch you up on everything that has happened since August.  It's been a lot.

Funny dancing family

Last days of North Carolina

Okay, I really need to finish this trip so I can get on to what life is like now.

Friday/Saturday/Sunday we just hung out around Charlotte/Matthews.  It was so nice to just relax and stay in one area for a little while.  The families we stayed with were so accomodating.

We visited the Bro Henry while he was at work and his family came and joined us for a little while.  Don't they have super cute kids??  They were so much fun to talk to.

These are 2 members that David taught and are now baptized very strong members of the Church.  They were SO excited to see David.  Seeing people love him so much never gets tiring for me.

The Witcher family was gracious enough to let us stay with them in Matthews.  They took such good care of us.  Had little shampoos and conditioners out ready for us.  They really are a fun family to hang out with.

On Sunday the Stake President was at the Matthews Ward and noticed that David was at church so at the end of all the speakers of course he asked David to come up and share his testimony.  It was so neat to see the love David has for that area still and how grateful the members were to have him around.

The trip was so awesome.  I am so glad we were able to set some money and time apart to make sure we got to experience that before life got too crazy for us.  David was MVP in getting everything set up and making sure he kept everything within the budget I gave him.  We had such a great time and I know North Carolina will have a special place in both of our hearts now.

North Carolina-- part 4

After the Biltmore tour we drove out to Winston-Salem to visit some great friends.  We got to see the Kellys and the Waltons.  We love those families!

We got to have lunch with the Walton family at Five Guys.  I was so excited to see them!  It has been way too long and so many things had developed since the last time we hung out (i.e. I got married and they had a second--super cute--baby).
I was having so much fun with Gracie... she is just a hoot!

I wish we had pictures with the Kellys, their family is so much fun.

On Thursday we left to go out to Asheboro to check out the NC Zoo.  They were having an albino alligator exhibit, pretty cool!

Fatty elephants!

Peek-a-boo!

Here are some more pretty birds

Gila Monster!

The big bear was following me!

And a couple videos, one of a polar bear showing his stuff, another of a crazy bird doing some sort of water dance we couldn't figure out:

North Carolina-- Tuesday

On Tuesday we were in Asheville to see the Biltmore Estate.  David was so excited to show me how huge the Estate is and how beautiful the grounds are.

Here we are at the entrance:

 Doesn't that look like a castle?

Please forgive me but I don't remember a lot of details from the inside of the house and they didn't let us take pictures so here are a few I borrowed online:

This is the library.  It is FILLED to the gills with books and it is said that George Vanderbilt read every one of them.

The banquet hall.  Umm hello hugeness!

The main kitchen.  This place was buzzing non-stop everyday to feed the tenants and those employed at the estate.  Most/all of their food was from the farms developed on the 125,000 acre estate.  Yes, you read that right, 125,000 acres!  The house itself is 4 acres of floor space.

Mr Vanderbilt's room.  Everything custom made to fit whatever style he preferred at the time.

Mrs. Vanderbilt's room.  Isn't that gorgeous??!!  Edith Stuyvesant Dresser, George Vanderbilt's wife was actually about 6' tall.  That bed doesn't look long enough to me.

And of course being me I thought this was really cool:

The indoor pool.  The lights have actually been there the whole time.

I guess George was very into fitness because he had a workout room with showers adjacent to the pool.

Yep, they had a bowling alley.  Of course it wasn't automated like they are now so they had to set the pins every time.  Still fun though!

All in all this chateau has 250 rooms, 34 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces. The basement alone would house a swimming pool, gymnasium and changing rooms, bowling alley, servants' quarters, kitchens, and more.

And that's just the chateau!  They have absolutely gorgeous grounds.  There is a huge flower/herb garden, a lake, pond, winery, countless crops.  Its honestly somewhere where you can live off the fat of the land.  So gorgeous!

Here are some other pictures outside of the chateau:

You really need to experience this for yourself.  One tip: wear good walking shoes!!

North Carolina part 2

Sorry for the long delay but here is Sunday and Monday--

We went to church in Concord the first Sunday.  David opened up the ward in that area so he is really attached to the people there and the area.

After church we headed out to Shelby, which was probably one of the cutest and most entertaining stops on our trip.  We stayed with the Porters there are they are just the kindest most southern hospitality people out there.  When we pulled up Bro Porter was so excited to see us and one of his first comments was to David, "Well ain't you got a purdy lady?"  The whole night was like this and it was so fun!  He is so spunky and his wife compliments him so well being down to earth and kind of quiet like me.  She made a HUGE spread of food for dinner.  There was a green salad, beef stew, mashed potatoes, kool-aid, tomatoes, I can't even remember everything but I'm missing some big ones because they had at least 3 main course meals.  I think I ate the most there.
Here are our wonderful hosts:

After dinner I was chatting with Sis Porter when Bro Porter said he was going to sing for us with his brother.  He was very good!  Here are the videos:

We both slept well that night!

Monday--

We met the Becks Monday morning at the Waffle House for breakfast.  To give you a little taste of the Waffle House, here is Jim Gaffigan's take on it:

David ordered everything on the menu (or so it seemed with the amount of table space his plates took up).  I ordered a chocolate chip waffle and it was pretty good!  Sam Beck has the best redneck accent.  "It jus' tickles me pink" came out whenever he was happy about something.  It was fun to try to understand him.

After Waffle House we went to "uptown" to meet up with the Mull family at their bike shop.  They were the exclusive provider/repairs for all the missionary bikes in the area.  I tried the unicycle:

And I almost fell over... a few times.

Here is "mama"

We had Tastee T's for lunch and I had my first exposure to hush puppies-- basically fried cornbread.  They sure were interesting and David couldn't eat enough.  Before heading out to check out some more sites we took a group photo

We meant to climb Chimney Rock after this but we got there too late.  We passed by the lake that Dirty Dancing was filmed on and Chimney Rock is where Last of the Mohicans was filmed.  There have been so many movies shot in NC because the landscape is just awesome.
Instead of climbing up we went miniature golfing instead.  I was ahead the whole time until the last couple holes then of course David caught up and beat me.  Dag nabbit!!  It was a pretty cool course though... right next to this cool little stream.

We departed for Ashville after this... lots more pictures to come from this trip!  Stay tuned...

North Carolina trip part 1

Sorry for the delay in posting these but we're still recovering and also school just started.

After arriving at the Charlotte, NC airport

Hot dog all the way.. so yummy!

A member family joining us for lunch

The Craddick family

Brian with us in front of his grill.  He remembered David the minute we walked in, but who wouldn't?

North Carolina Speedway... so cool!

Where the winners stand!

A family David baptized-- Sias family

Howard family.  Their little girl in David's arms always tilts her head to the side when someone says "smile!" so I was laughing and doing it with her.  The mama is about to pop!

We arrived in Charlotte about 5:30 Friday night and went to Salisbury to hang out with David's uncle's dad (Bill).  Got some pizza and just chatted it up!  Bill let us borrow one of his cars which was so nice of him.
The next day we headed to China Grove to get some good southern hot dogs and hamburgers at Brian's Grill.  You have to get it "all the way", aka chili and onions.  So good!
After indulging our taste buds we went off to the Charlotte Speedway to check out the awesomeness.  It was so cool, we got a tour which allowed us to sit in this 12 passenger van and they drove us around and talked about the history of the speedway.  Then they took all of the practice cars off the track and we got to ride on the track on the vans.  They took us up on one of the slopes and stopped.  The van started beeping because the incline was so great.  Then we went really fast.  I loved it!
After finishing there we went to the Zenger's house for a bbq get together with some families from the Concord ward.  It was fun to get to meet these families that have such fond memories of David.  David was one of the missionaries that opened the Concord ward, so that was cool to see.

More to come!!