*POP* goes preggo!

18 weeks! I don't know why, but at the beginning of this pregnancy, I was so excited to get to 18 weeks. I think maybe it was because I knew that was the earliest I could find out whether we were having a boy or a girl. Now that it's here, it doesn't seem that different than 17 weeks! I have felt this peanut move quite a bit this past weekend and yesterday. It's such an amazing feeling! I realized after posting these pics...they don't even begin to do justice for the *POP* that seriously happened this week. I feel like I look so much bigger than this pics convey, but I know soon enough I will look much bigger than I ever thought possible! We find out Thursday whether we have a little girl or little boy on the way...I'll update as soon as I can! For now, here's the 18 week belly shots, and what's going on with Feety this week!

"Head to bottom, your baby is approximately 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and she weighs almost 7 ounces. She's busy flexing her arms and legs — movements that you'll likely start noticing more and more. Her blood vessels are visible through her thin skin and her ears are now in position and stand out from her head. Myelin (a protective covering) is beginning to form around her nerves, a process that will continue for a year after she's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and Fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If your baby is a boy, his genitals are noticeable, though he may hide them from you during an ultrasound." (oh Feety better not!! :))

My head is spinning...

*DISCLAIMER* The following is just a bunch of thoughts that have been going through my head since we found out we were pregnant. These are things that I have spent hours upon hours about in prayer asking for the Lord to guide me. They are things I have discussed with my two closest girl friends, and asked them to pray about for me. Feel free to stop reading now, but if you want to proceed, be my guest.

I used to think that in my perfect scenario I would be a stay at home mom (SAHM), raise my children to school age, and then get a part-time job that would allow me to drop them off at school, pick them up from school, be home for all breaks (spring, Christmas, and especially summer). I’ve since realized that’s not what I want. These thoughts were based on the idea that I had finished school, found a wonderful man that could support me and as many children as we decided to have, had taught for a few years, and the blissful life as a SAHM would begin. As you all know, that’s not the way things went. I went to school…for four years even, but still am “degree-less.” The good news is I found a more amazing man than I could have ever dreamed of finding who loves me for who I am…my selfish, pouty-at-times, demanding personality and all.

I want my degree though. I have wanted it since I started college way back in September of 2001. I want to be teaching. Whether it is my ideal Kindergarten or 1st grade class, or the even more ideal Special Education classroom; or even a 5th grade classroom…I want to be in the schools teaching. I’ve realized that my dream is to be a mom AND a teacher. I still want to be a SAHM right now, but that’s only because I want to be able to go to school, finish my degree, and then start teaching. I know I don’t need a degree to be considered a “successful individual/mom” but for me to be completely happy with myself, I do. I HATE that I don’t have my degree. I always saw myself as a college graduate, and I fully intend to be one sooner rather than later.

You can look at this and say, “Well there you go, you have it all figured out! Now go out there and get what you want, girl!” I think the same thing…and then that little thing known as $$$ rears its ugly head. How can we afford to pay for school? How can we afford to pay all the bills and clothe and feed us and the peanut on just Tony’s salary? How can we afford to pay for childcare while I’m in classes? Where do we find childcare that we can pick days and times? And these are the times that another little bubble pops into my head…I want to move back north. I know people there that I could trust to either watch my child, or give me credible references to someone else that would. But much bigger than that, my mom’s there.

I miss my mom being at the most 20 minutes away. I miss FCOG (First Church of God). To me, that will always be “my” church. CATC (Church at the Crossing) will always be the church I go to when I’m not in Columbia City. I grew up at FCOG. I love it there! I know everybody, everybody knows me, and I feel comfortable there. Plus, my mom’s there. I had no idea I would miss my mom as much as I do when we decided to move down here. I know that a lot of it now is being pregnant and wanting to my mom to be close when the child is growing up. I have a wonderful “in-law” family down here in Tony’s family, but what daughter doesn’t want her mom when she’s pregnant? I know Tony’s mom loves me more than I could ever dream a mother-in-law could love a daughter-in-law, but as I’m sure she understands, it’s still not the same. I know Tony loves being close to his family, and I admire and adore the love and respect he has for his family, but I miss my mom.

I have to stop this post now because I’m writing it at work, and it’s getting me a little emotional, and crying at my desk is not exactly my idea of fun. If you made it through this entire post…WOW! And if it doesn’t make complete sense, forgive me as I was just typing what has been mulling around in my mind the past 2½ months or so.

I’ll end with this scripture that really hit me today:
“If your first concern is to look after yourself, you’ll never find yourself,” He says. “But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you’ll find both yourself and me.” Matthew 10:39 (Message)

Zoey actually IN the pool!

Zoey waiting anxiously for daddy to throw her ball!
Apparently she'll only get in when daddy's home. She jumped right in!

Zoey playing in her pool. I know, not too exciting, but what can I say! These puppies are my babies!

I'm going up to Columbia City this weekend to help mom address the invites and announcements for Andrew's graduation and graduation party. It kills me that he's graduating already! I feel like it was just yesterday I was in the hospital holding him when he was 2 hours old. He's grown into such an amazing young man! So sure of himself, and such a leader. I'm so excited to see what he does after high school. I know he will be successful in anything he puts his mind to! I'll update sometime next week.

Only one more week til we find out if the peanut is a boy or a girl!!!!

Belly pics!! (and a little Zoey!)

Here's the first of 23 belly pics. Wow! I can't believe that in 23 weeks our little peanut will be here (give or take a day depending on when they want to meet us!) It seems so surreal!! I also added some pics of Zoey with her pool. Nugget's scared of the thing so there's none of her, but hopefully soon!

17 weeks today!
I absolutely love our Colts bathroom!
Getting ready to drink the water.
Realizing that she has to get at least part way in if she wants to get her ball!
And that's about as far as she got!! You know, for a retriever, she's not much for the water. We'll have to work on that this summer!

17 Weeks!

I am officially 17 weeks today! I can't believe I'm that far along already. We're almost half way through, and I feel like we just found out we were expecting the little peanut! I felt the little one move a little bit again last night. I told Tony, and although he was happy, I could tell he really wanted to be able to feel the movement too. I can't wait until we can feel movement from the outside so Tony can share in this joy with me! I will post a belly pic when I get home tonight, but for now, here's what's going on with the peanut this week:

"Around this time your baby's ears pop from his head and Baby-to-be can now sense sounds. After all, he has plenty to listen to in utero! He's accustomed to the strong beating of your heart, blood rushing through your veins, and your stomach grumbling. He can also discern sounds outside the uterus, like your voice and music. Although, according to the Mayo Clinic, whether he can distinguish the sound of your voice versus other sounds is not yet clear. This week your little one weighs in at around five ounces and stretches to just over five inches (crown to rump)(about the size of a turnip)."

Happy Birthday, Ryan!!

Yesterday I got to celebrate the first birthday of my best friend's little boy. His actual birthday is May 4, but they are moving to Fort Wayne in the next week or so, so she wanted to have a party with the people down here in Indy before they moved. I went up early to help Erica with the decorations and the food and got a little glimpse of what I'm in for in a little over a year!

After his party, Erica and her husband went to a concert downtown that he had won tickets to, so I took Ryan home with me, and watched him for the night. While I was rocking him to sleep, it made me realize how excited I am to have our own little peanut here in our arms and rocking them to sleep every night. I'm so excited for that bonding time!

Tomorrow I will be 17 weeks! I will post a belly pic tomorrow to start the "documentation of the growing preggo belly" week by week! For now, here's some pics from Ryan's birthday party:

Ryan with his birthday cake.
He wasn't too sure of the Curious George pinata.
Ryan with his "Aunt Lindsay"
Me with my best friend, Erica.

Pics of the little peanut

Thought I would post some pics of the little one for you!

This was at 9 weeks pregnant

The two above were at 10 weeks...it's amazing how much they changed in just a week!!

These two were 14 weeks pregnant.

I bought my first maternity clothing this week. No one warns you how expensive it is to clothe yourself while pregnant! I did manage to find a dress for Andrew's graduation and graduation party, though. It's exciting to see my body go through these changes since my belly is finally starting to round out and look more like a "preggo" belly instead of extra weight.

Hope you are all well, and I will try to update later this week!

Hello friends and family!

I've decided to start a blog to record what's going on as we experience this pregnancy, and parenthood! I will try my hardest to update at least weekly, but I'm not going to make any promises!



As of today, I am 16 weeks and 1 day. I feel huge, but no one else really seems to agree with me! So far it's been an easy pregnancy. I felt sick a little in the beginning, but nothing bad at all. I haven't had any food aversions...seems more like I just want to eat everything. Going to lunch is a process that now starts about an hour or so before I go just so I can try to figure out what I'm going to eat! We've been lucky enough to already have three ultrasounds, so we've gotten pictures of the litte one everytime I've been to the doctor. The next visit (May 1) they do the "anatomy ultrasound" so we'll finally get to know if this little peanut is a boy or a girl (assuming it won't be as stubborn as it's mother and father!). Tony and I can't wait to start decorating the nursery. He of course is really wanting a boy, but I know he'll be just as excited if it's a girl. I'm pretty neutral on the whole thing. Part of me wants a boy, and part of me wants a girl. I guess I won't be disappointed! I finally felt a little movement yesterday while I was sitting at my desk!! I can't wait until it becomes more prominent and more often!



Hopefully I'll post some belly pics soon! I'll end with what's going on with the little one this week:



"At 4 1/2 inches long (head to bottom) and 3 1/2 ounces, your baby is about the size of an avocado. In the next three weeks, she'll go through a tremendous growth spurt, though, doubling her weight and adding inches to her length. Her lower limbs are much more developed now. Her head is more erect than it has been, and her eyes have moved toward the front of her head. Your baby's ears are close to their final position, too. Some of her more advanced body systems are working, including her circulatory system and urinary tract. Her heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, circulating her total blood volume through her body many times. (By the end of your pregnancy, this will increase to about 190 quarts.) The patterning of her scalp has begun, though her hair isn't recognizable yet. Although closed, her eyes are moving (slowly), and she's even started growing toenails."