Farewell, Bronco!

This post is in memory of Caleb’s Bronco. She was a good truck. She will be missed!

I would just like to be the first to say that Caleb decided to sell her all on his own. He felt that it was “just time”. (I think that he is just giving up one project truck for a project motorcycle….only time will tell.)

Christmas in September!!!!!!

A HUGE "thank-you" goes out to Caleb's squad mate and his wife for all the baby clothes and baby gear they gave to us! What are the chances of knowing someone who gave birth to a boy one winter and a girl the other winter? AND...with each cild, they did not know ahead of time what they were having (like us!). Their generosirty has landed us a neutral infant car seat, car seat base, and snap and go Stroller (Graco)! Also, we got a Boppy (with a girl slip cover and boy slip cover), a swing, a rocker, a bath tub, receiving blankets, infant snowsuits and tons of clothes (neutral, girl and boy......all season appropriate, too!)

Wow.....how cool are friends? I guess since I am in the thanking mood, I also need to extend a HUGE thank you to Kelli for all the beautiful maternity clothes she let me borrow!!! I felt like it was Christmas in August when I received that gigantic bag of "oh-so-cool" clothing.....now if I could just get her to pick out my clothes when I'm not pregnant, I'd be set!

Here are some pictures of some of the things we were given:

24 weeks! (Sorry this took so long to post, Mom!)

How Did YOU Spend Your Labor Day?

Wow! I will never look at Labor Day the same way ever again....

While most people were enjoying their day off with friends and family....at a cook out, just laying back and relaxing....Caleb and I were having "Movie Night" at our birthing class. The theme of "Movie Night"?....LABOR....How appropriate!

So there we were, sitting with the other 4 couples in our group, watching a lady give birth in the 70's. The doctor had those wide-rimmed glasses, the nurses all had big poofy hair, and it gets worse! Caleb and I both agree that the best way to describe our experience would be: "It was like we were watching our mom give birth". It was disgusting! (No offense, Mom!)

I knew that babies came out of there.....but I don't think that I really "knew" how it happened.

Poor Caleb.....only 8 more classes to go....

On a side note: my blood pressure was still a little high (130/78) at the doctor but much lower right after the appointment at Eckerd (120/70). Prayers are welcome! Hopefully it will come down some....I actually got a doctor's note addressed to my husband which reads "Check Blood Pressure within the next couple of weeks. Call if it is over 139/80". I didn't think that Caleb would believe me....."But Honey, the doctor said that I HAVE to go to Target at midnight to check it"....hehe!

Riley, Riley, Riley.....

Our newest dog Riley ate our carpet. He ate the carpet that comes with the house. One more reason why our first dog Kirk is superior. Kirk didn't eat the carpet when we lived in our apartment. Kirk just dug a hole through that one. I plan to post pictures of the damage from both dogs...you will be able to decide which one is the better "Carpet Destroyer".

If you go back to our earliest posts, you will see a picture of the inside of our house. We have hardwood floors throughout our entire first floor, except for the living room. Riley ate the carpet in the living room. Instead of replacing the carpet, we decided to just make that whole area hardwood as well. This should increase the property value of our home since the entire downstairs will be hardwood flooring....but I'm still a little mad with Riley!

A Text From Caleb To The Woman Bearing His Child- "You, are, nuts!"

So, I had my doctor's appointment yesterday. Keep in mind, I had become rather spoiled in my first trimester with these visits. It seemed like every two weeks, I at least got to go in and hear our Little One's heartbeat. So, waiting 4 full weeks was a challenge. I was anxious and ready to go! I had not slept the night before because of a migraine AND it was a morning appointment...meaning I would have to go right into work afterwards.

It turns out that my blood pressure was "a little elevated". Now, maybe this has to do with the blood pressure cuff that DID NOT WORK. Every time the nurse squeezed the little ball, it would get stuck. It took forever for her to pump it up. Finally, she took my blood pressure, got this worried look on her face and called out "I need a consult". That freaked me out! The second nurse came over, and with the SAME blood pressure thingy that did not work, tried her best to get an "accurate" reading. The second reading was about 20 points lower than the first (that's a big difference).

Needless to say, my blood pressure was a little elevated. The doctor came right in, found the baby's heartbeat (a strong 148 bpm this time), and then explained that he wanted me to come back in a week to get my blood pressure taken again. He said that I had no other signs that something was wrong and that I "should not worry at all about it".

HA! Does he know who I am?

Poor Caleb! Not only did I have a minor panic attack on the way home....I had to pull off the road to "lay down" so I would not "black out". I tricked him into taking me to Target to "look at strollers"....just so I could test my own blood pressure (which was fine!) He got even more upset when he realized that I had already re-tested my blood pressure 3 other times at Kroger on my way home from work that day.....all, of course, reading that I was fine.

Caleb has now banned me from all Baby Center and What to Expect.com message boards. He says that they "feed my fears". He doesn't think I should be reading about all these other women who are nothing like me complaining about all their pregnancy ailments. So, I am going to really try to not worry any more about the "What If's" of this pregnancy....

Stay Tuned.....I may need therapy before this is all over if my husband has his say!

Won't You BEE My Baby?

We have a theme! Since we don't if we are having a boy or girl, we are going with a neutral theme of Honey Bee's. If it turns out to be a girl, we can add Sunflower wall hangs around the room. I decided to go with a plain pale yellow for the crib bedding. Then, I am going to add certain items from Babies R US to bring in the Bee theme. Caleb's mom has also agreed to help me paint wall hangs, the light switch plate and the lampshade. YAY

Here are some of the things I registered for that show the theme:

It's Impossible To Sleep When Your Baby First KICKS

Around 17-18 weeks, I knew that I could feel the baby. It felt to me like there was a little person inside of me pulling lightly on nerves, muscles or arteries that shouldn't be pulled. Some call it "quickening", I call it "a feeling that you can't explain but you feel everyday in different places."

Then it happened (21 weeks)....Caleb and I had just had a "fight". I say "fight" because I was just really hormonal and Caleb just went to bed. No name calling, no mean words exchanged....He just didn't read my mind, so I was mad. I went to bed about an hour after he did. I was laying there, thinking about things I would tell him in the morning, when BAM......Was that what I thought it was?....BAM BAM....A Kick! I was able to place my hand on my side and felt our baby kick. I thought this was so great!

Then, the next night, I realized that the baby was going to be most "active" when I wanted to go to bed. Not so great! How are you supposed to be able to fall asleep when you start to feel your baby kick for the first time?

Last night, Caleb was working nights. I called him at 10pm to tell him I was going to bed. He said he would be home later that night for some dinner. At 11:45 he came home to find me sitting at the kitchen table, holding my side, and smiling wildly. I probably scared the piss out of him...and I'm probably lucky he didn't shoot! I then proceeded to explain (with loads of energy) that my new pregnancy symptoms included insomnia, heartburn and baby kicks! He told me to go to bed!

He hasn't felt him or her kick yet...but he probably will in the next couple of weeks!

2 Birthing Classes Down, 10 To Go!

Let me just start off this post with the simple fact that I love my husband very much!

Slowly, we are realizing that Caleb has many preconceived notions about what birth is going to be like. My husband honestly thinks that his role consists of 1) showing up and 2) looking "fatherly" in his hospital scrubs. I can picture the big day and his grand entrance : Arms out, "I'm here, where's the baby?"

His notions have been shattered recently. I realized this when he said to me (following our 2nd of 12 birthing classes), "So, my job is to try everything that you used to like knowing that none of these things will actually work in labor? And then, when I feel like a complete failure, because you're still in pain, I should be patient and try again?"

Let's just say, this is going to be a learning process for us both! He has been absolutely wonderful, though. And, the classes have given us something different and funny to discuss about the baby, versus how incredibly hateful and hormonal I have been (My poor little brother didn't see all of that coming when he stayed here with us last week. I still feel terrible about that!)

Anyway, the classes are very informative. We are still learning about pregnancy exercises and what to eat, etc. Next week, we will start to learn all about first stage labor. Caleb is learning things he never thought he would ever know...and things he would never have asked to learn.

More to come about these classes....

The Expanding Waistline!

I never thought that I would be that happy to write the words "expanding waistline"!! I'll let you know if I still like it in a couple months!


(6 weeks along- surprised Caleb during our beach trip with the Ertel's)




(Same pose, same clothes- 12 weeks. This time, I got to surprise Dawn and Loria on our FL trip)





(16 weeks along)





(20 weeks!! Half way there!)

It's amazing how fast our Little One grows!

(Above- 6 Weeks....just enough for a heartbeat)



(12 weeks and growing)



(17 weeks)





(more pics at 17 weeks)

Ok Mom! I'll try to keep you updated with my Blog again!!

My mom, stepfather and brother are in town. It's so good to have family come to you every now and then....especially when you are pregnant and you have HORRIBLE road rage. Traveling is not all it used to be anymore. (I know, I know! If I think traveling is bad when I'm pregnant, just wait until I have to travel with a newborn!)

Anyway, as most of you know, I am 5 months pregnant. (YAY!) I hope to start updating this blog more so that you can see pictures of my expanding waistline. My mom insists that this will be the easiest way to keep people updated and informed as due date draws near.

Just to fill some of you in....

I am due December 31st! This is good and bad. It's great because New Year's Eve is absolutely my favorite holiday. This due date is bad because I'm a tax auditor. If this little one doesn't join us in tax year 2007 for that marvelous tax deduction, all of my co-workers are going to make fun of me! WRAL gives free diapers to the first baby born in Raleigh each year. Listen up, little one, I don't want free diapers. We want a really big tax refund! I will be doing the baby dance beginning December 1...trying to bring on the labor before the end of the month!

Also, in case anyone was wondering if we are having a boy or a girl....here goes....(A little background)...

Caleb really wanted to find out what we were having. I, on the other hand, thought it would be really nice for a surprise since this is our first one! It's not like we're going to be disappointed if we get one verus the other. Anyway, we made a deal. We would tell the ultrasound tech that we wanted to know what we were having ONLY if Caleb agreed to sit through 12-weeks worth of birthing classes....hehe!

Needless to say, the BIG day arrived. We planned to find out. Our little one was moving here and there and wiggling the toes and waving the arms and bobbing the head.....but it kept those little baby legs sealed shut. No amount of poking or shifting made any difference.

So, the good news is.....we're having a healthy surprise!

The other good news is....we're still taking the 12-week birthing class!!!

We plan to find out what we are having if I need another ultrasound. (It's very likely we'll find out in the next couple of months, because our little one LOVES to scare its mom just so it can get its picture taken.) I've had a ultrasound at 6, 8, 12 and 18 weeks! When I get home from work, I'll post the pics!

More to come about Caleb's first pregnancy class. Seriously, you can't take my husband anywhere! I swear, it was like he was in middle school....all because of the word Kegel!

More to come....I hope....I'm so bad with keeping up with this....it will probably just turn into a post the pics blog again!

Has The Year Really Gone By So Quickly??

Things I forgot to Blog About!!

To The Lake!

My sister-in-law Jill is over 5 months pregnant!! This was the first time that Caleb and I got to spend some quality time with her and her husband. We had so much fun going to Tuckertown Lake. Good food, good friends, good conversation...what more could you ask for. Oh! I know...a non-annoying dog! But he sure looks cute in these pictures.

My Cousin's Wedding

Weddings are a lot of fun! Here are some pictures from my cousin's wedding. The wedding was held in Abingdon, VA (close to TN) at "The Martha Washington Inn". It was absolutely beautiful. Caleb and I had a lot of fun just attending the wedding. It was nice to not have to worry about being anywhere at any certain time. When we wanted to eat, we ate; dance, we danced; drink, we (Adrienne) drank!