Zoey Rachelle

Just thought she looked so cute!! This is her "post" on our bed. She goes to that spot if you don't leave the room right when you let her out. She's such a precious baby!

Memorial Day Weekend / 22 Week Belly Pics

I don't understand why 3 day weekends feel shorter than regular ones! I didn't even do anything this weekend to make it fly by. I got to leave work at 4 on Friday, and went straight home (ok, after a side trip to Panera for soup) and started cleaning. I cleaned for a total of 5 hours that night, and then got up Saturday morning and cleaned for another 2. And to look at my house, it looked like I had spent maybe an hour! So frustrating!! We're trying to clean out what was the "computer room" so it can become Maddie's room...there's just so much stuff!!

My cousins and aunt came down Saturday evening, and we went to a new restaraunt in Greenwood called BJs for Tony's birthday. It was delicious!!! They have these little one serving deep dish pizzas that are probably a good inch thick (at least). Stef got one of those, and it looked good. I opted for the California Turkey Burger...AMAZING!!! It came on toast and with avacado...I cannot WAIT to go back for another one!

My mom and Andrew came down later that night, so we had a full house! The dogs were a little overwhelmed, but they were good. My cousins and aunt went to the race Sunday, so they got up and left before any of us were out of bed!! Mom, Andrew, and I went to church, and then came home and filled up the pool for Zoey and just sat outside for a couple hours...it was great!

Yesterday we went up to Tony's sister's house for a cook-out, and just hung out. It's nice that my family and his family can hang out together! It was a nice weekend...just not long enough!

Not much to update on the little peanut this week. She's still kicking away, and making sure NOT to kick when Daddy's trying to feel! Here's here weekly update and the weekly belly pics!

"Your baby now looks like a miniature newborn, checking in at 10.9 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound." (according to Babyzone.com, the baby is 7.6 inches and 12 ounces...funny how two websites have an over 3 inch difference in length, and about a 4 ounce difference in weight!) "Her skin will continue to appear wrinkled until she gains enough weight to fill it out, and the fine hair (lanugo) that covers her head and body is now visible. Her lips are becoming more distinct, and the first signs of teeth are appearing as buds beneath her gum line. Her eyes are developed, though the iris (the colored part of the eye) still lacks pigment. Eyelids and eyebrows are in place, and her pancreas, essential for hormone production, is developing steadily."

Update on the belly...

Yes, its really that big!!!!

21 weeks and counting!

We are officially on the downward slide of the pregnancy!! There's still a l-o-n-g wait ahead, but it's getting closer every week! I'm so excited to meet Madison, see who she looks more like, what her personality is like, how she interacts with the dogs...I just can't wait for her to be here! I made our appointment today for the 3D ultrasound. We go the morning of July 12. I can't wait to see her little nose, chin, ears, fingers, toes, everything!! Here's what's going on with her this week!

"Your little one will begin to fill out over the next few weeks. Fat layers form throughout your unborn baby's body. These layers will eventually keep him warm and insulated once outside the womb. Soft hair, called lanugo, covers his body, too. His eyelids are still closed, making him appear like he's sleeping, but frequent wiggles will let you know he's awake. You may also feel Baby hiccuping.Those jerky motions you feel in your belly are a result of little lungs practicing the important task of breathing. Your baby-to-be weighs in at around 10.5 ounces and stretches to about 7.2 inches (crown to rump)."

And here's the weekly pic of the continually growing belly!

I had two different people say something about me being pregnant this weekend, so I guess it's actually looking like a preggo belly, not a "I ate WAY too much belly!" YIPPEE!!! She is moving more and more each day! Yesterday she was kinda calm, so I had some caffeine for dinner (I usually only drink it at lunch) and she was going so crazy, at one point I could actually see it. Too bad Tony was at work, and didn't get to see. She was still going at midnight!! She's usually pretty calm after 10 at the latest!! Tony still hasn't gotten to feel her. Every time I tell him to feel, she stops. And without fail, not too long after he moves his hand away, she starts kicking away. I can't wait until she cooperates enough for him to feel!!

She better be a gymnast, dang it!

The way this child is bouncing on my bladder like it's her own personal trampoline...she better be the next Nadia Comanci!! I do love feeling her move, though. Just wish she didn't think it was cool to stay in one spot for so long! :-)

3D Ultrasound...HERE WE COME!!

Since I have a such a wonderful and loving husband, he decided, out of the goodness of his heart, to give me $100 out of our stimulus check from the government to go towards the ultrasound. (OK, so maybe it was more like I begged and whined until he did, but same thing!) I still have a $100 MasterCard gift card that I got from Nelnet that I'm going to use for the rest of it! Now I just have to call them, and figure out when the heck we're going to do it. They said on their website that the best time to come was between 26 and 34 weeks, but good pictures could be obtained as early as 22 weeks. Just trying to find the best Saturday to do it since they're only open until 6pm. I'll keep you updated! Yea for Friday!!!!!!!!!

20 Weeks...We've made it to the HALF-WAY point!

We've made it half-way! I can't believe I'm 20 weeks already! I feel like it was just yesterday I took the pregnancy test!! Hard to believe that was 14 weeks ago! Our lives have changed so much already. Just knowing we're going to be parents soon has brought out a different side of us! All good on Tony's end...I'll admit I've let the hormones "yell" at him a couple times, but I think he'd agree that I've been pretty even keel through this far. I can't make any promises for the next 20 weeks, though! I know I'm just going to keep getting bigger, and that means getting uncomfortable, and making it hard to sleep...I like sleep; that will not be a fun time for either of us!

I think the fur-babies have started to figure out somethings up. There is more baby stuff piling up by the day, and they are great detectives! They go into her room, and just sniff around at all the stuff I have piled in there. I know they're going to be great big "sisters!" I'm so excited to watch Madison grow and play with them! I know Zoey will be happy to have a little playmate, anyway! I think Nugget will sit back and just watch from afar, but I know she'll be protective, and love her dearly!

I'll leave you with the weekly blurb of Madison's development, and the 20 week belly pics...it is definitely growing!! :-)

"By week 20, your baby-to-be is gearing up for the next phase in her development—filling out. Her organs are getting into their proper places. Her kidneys are now in position with their familiar bean shape. Her ovaries have reached their position. Her brain continues to form and grow. Her teeth are beginning to appear, and she can swallow. If you haven't been able to feel her move, chances are you'll be feeling him move more and more over the coming weeks." (not a problem here! She's quite the mover and shaker!!) Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. She's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom, and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, we use measurements taken from the top of the baby's head to her bottom — known as the "crown to rump" measurement. After that, we use measurements from head to toe. This is because a baby's legs are curled up against her torso during the first half of pregnancy and are very hard to measure.) A greasy white substance called vernix caseosa coats her entire body to protect her skin during its long submersion in amniotic fluid. (This slick coating also eases the journey down the birth canal.)Your baby is swallowing more, which is good practice for her digestive system. She's also producing meconium, a black, sticky substance that's the result of cell loss, digestive secretion, and swallowed amniotic fluid. This meconium will accumulate in her bowels, and you'll see it in her first messy diaper (although a few babies pass it in utero or during delivery)."

And finally the update on the ever growing belly:

I can't believe it's just going to keep getting bigger!

I'll try to update more often this week...not that ya'll really care! I just didn't like seeing a week go between posts! Love you all!

19 Week Belly Pics and Update on Madison

Here we are at 19 weeks already! It's amazing how fast it seems some days, and other days I feel like "What?! I'm only this far along?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!" Madison can be quite the little mover some days. She's either going to be a gymnast or a swimmer because she feels like she's been flipping all over today! I can live with either of those two. Two sports where she can still be girly just like Mommy! :-) Here's the update on the little squirt for this week:

"Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces, and he measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. His arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of his body now. His kidneys continue to make urine, and the hair on his scalp is sprouting. This is a crucial time for sensory development: Your baby's brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. If your baby is a girl, she has an astonishing 6 million eggs in her ovaries. They'll dwindle to fewer than two million by the time she's born." "Your unborn baby's organs continue to grow. His body is covered with lanugo—soft hairs and a sticky protective coating that keeps his skin from drying out in the amniotic fluid. Your baby is moving frequently, and by now you should be able to feel those movements. Your physician can hear your baby-to-be's heartbeat with a stethoscope placed on your abdomen.
Baby is covered in vernix, a white, cheesy "cream" that protects her skin from the long bath in amniotic fluid. Preemies are covered in vernix at birth—"posties" have almost none. "

And last but certainly not least...the update on the little squirt's home for the next 21 weeks...

Amazing...

I just felt little Madi kick from the outside. She was going crazy, so I decided to see if I could feel her on the outside yet, and put my hand on my belly. About 2 minutes later, I felt a little kick! I've been feeling her for a couple weeks now, but this was the first time I had felt her from the outside. AMAZING!!

Seriously...are we the Pacers or Bengals now?!

We all know what big Colts fans Tony and I are...so I'm sure you can understand my SHOCK and almost anger I felt when I saw this story on ESPN.com's front page:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3378829 If you don't want to read it, or haven't seen yet, WR Marvin Harrison is being investigated in a shooting in his home town in PA. Of all the Colts players he and Peyton are the LAST people I would think of something like this happening! Already this off-season, back-up RB Kenton Keith was arrested outside a nightclub for a number of things. Most of them minor, but he was arrested none the less! It just makes me so mad when I see these types of things about professional athletes (especially my Colts)! Why can't they see the amazing opportunity and honor they have to be playing in the NFL (or the NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS...)
I just hope there's a good explanation in all this, and that Marvin is completely clean, but after reading the story, I really dont know...

I Will Carry You...

Tonight has been a little emotional for me. I had a freak-out about the fact that we weren't told 100% what little "Feety" is. I like to think about the "what ifs" anyways, but being pregnant, and highly hormonal and emotional, it makes those "what ifs" about 1000x larger. I got onto Babyzone.com to just get my mind off the whole thing, and found a link to a this blog http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/ This is the blog of Todd and Amy Smith. Todd is the lead singer in Selah (a Christian group). They found out at their 20 week appointment that precious Audrey Caroline would not survive outside the womb. As I was reading through, I stopped when I got to a video, and clicked the video link. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2CnUtVY35o) I don't know if it was because I was already having an emotional night, but I watched this video, listened to the song, and bawled! All I could think was "How can I be so worked up about gender when this baby God has given to me to carry is completely healthy! Amy gave birth to a child knowing the entire time that their time would be extremely limited!" They look so in love with her, and at peace in this video! I know they cried. I know they mourned, but it's amazing how much of God you can see in them by the peace on their faces.
I can't imagine the pain of losing a child! I'm so glad I'm getting far enough along that I feel her kick, so I know she's OK in there. It's such an amazing and humbling honor to know that God has trusted me with one of his precious children. I just cherish the time that little Madison is completely dependent on me. Why do I let such mundane things work me up? Why can't I just be thankful she's healthy?

Ultrasound pics from yesterday

Looking at you...you can only see the eye at the top of the picture because she has her hand in front of the other one.

Profile view

Looking straight on

The best "money" shot the u/s tech could get. Now I look at it and freak myself out by thinking it looks like a penis. Someone please help me convince Tony that it's worth the $175 to get the 3D u/s to make sure...oh it makes me crazy!!!!!!!!! I'm going to call my doctor to see how much they charge for the 3D...maybe, JUST maybe it will be cheaper! (doubt it, but it's worth a try!)

Some of the gear for little Madison...

Her crib.

Her bedding.

This is the stroller we registered for. It's a Graco Metro-Lite in the Cherry Blossom line. I was so excited that Graco still had this line. I saw it about a year or so ago when it first came out, and knew right then if it was still available when we had a little girl, I had to have it!

This is the matching Pack 'N Play we registered for...so cute!

Little Miss Stubborn!

Well the U/S tech was pretty sure we're having a little GIRL! The little stinker wouldn't get off her feet so she couldn't get the "perfect shot" but it's pretty sure that Madison will be making her debut in September! Hopefully I can talk Tony into the 3D/4D ultrasound when we're a little further along to see if we can get a better shot! Wish me luck!

Holy Whack, Batman! Only 3 more hours!

It's true! Only 3 more hours until the big ultrasound. I'm thinking I'm going to drink some caffine right before I go to get little "feety" moving. Mommy is way to impatient to have to wait even longer to find out whether we have football or cheerleading to look forward to! :-) I'll post the news either tonight or tomorrow morning!