Five Months!

I am 22 weeks along, which means I've almost completed five months of pregnancy! It's gone by fast when I look back on everything. I've been feeling better lately. This last week I was battling a cold: sore throat, cough, congestion. Now I just have the cough left over that wants to keep hanging on. So I sound worse than I actually am. You know how that is. I took some Tylenol products while I was sick, but they didn't seem to help much. I even took a NyQuil pill one night to help me sleep, and it did work. I slept through the night and didn't even get up to pee :) I also bought these sore throat drops to ease the pain, and the temporary relief was heavenly. There was one night last week where I woke up every half hour in a coughing fit. My throat hurt so bad and it was so dry that I had to get a drink. But then I felt like I couldn't keep it down cause I was coughing so bad. I slept on the couch so Josh could get some sleep. It was a rough night, but it was only that one time, so I am very grateful. I was still able to enjoy Thanxgiving with the family, which I talked about in a previous post.

The baby is doing well. I feel him move every so often, and I always like those times. I can't wait until Josh can feel him move too. My belly has been more itchy lately, so I know that means I'm stretching out--bring on the lotion! My belly button is shallower too I noticed one day. I found it kind of funny. I mean, I know it's supposed to happen, but it's humorous to read about some of this stuff in books and then a few weeks later watch your body experience it. I'm more off-balance these days, so I have to take it slow when I'm getting up from a crouched position and things like that. According to my readings, this kid weighs almost a pound by now. Oh, speaking of pounds, that's going well too. I've developed a pattern of gaining two pounds one week and then nothing the next week. Which is ok, as long as I'm consistent. This week I lost a pound, but that's probably cause I was sick.

In non-baby news, we are pretty much done our Christmas shopping. We are waiting for some things to arrive by mail, and then I can start wrapping gifts! I love doing that :) I started to freak out about what to get Josh, because I haven't thought about it at all, but he reminded me that we already gave each other gifts. We went to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and we'll be going to a dinner theatre that's doing White Christmas next weekend. I told him I'd probably get a couple small things to put in his stocking, and he then asked me what I wanted in my stocking, and you know what I told him? Candy! Oh yeah, ya gotta have some candy in a stocking, right? Anybody who knows me knows that I love candy ;) FYI, chocolate and peanut butter is the best combination ever!

Alright, I'll leave you with my belly pictures for this month. Tootles!

Happy Thanxgiving!!

Boy, it went by so fast :) We got to hang out with all of Josh's family, including his sister who's on break from college and his other sister (and her husband) who recently moved a little far away. We had turkey, an awesome ham (good job, Beka!) and all sorts of yummy side dishes: mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, broccoli casserole, dinner rolls, stuffing, cranberry sauce--it was a feast fit for a king :) I brought deviled eggs to the table and made banana pudding for dessert. Pumpkin pie was also a dessert--you gotta have pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. Then later on we all played Catch Phrase and had so much fun laughing together. I, unfortunately, was still fighting a cold this week, but I still had a good time. I just wasn't my usual energetic self. You should have heard me coughing--it was terrible! Josh and I had thought about sleeping over, but we decided to go home cause I was sick and pregnant, and there weren't tons of stores we wanted to get up early for the next day. We still went Black Friday shopping, make so mistake. We went to Lowe's when it opened at 6am for some maglight flashlights. We walked around Target and Kohls, and they were so busy with hurrying people and long lines. I'm glad we didn't need anything from there. We went to our Christian bookstore to pick up a CD, and we also hit KMart for some Christmas gifts for someone in the family. Oh yeah, we also had breakfast at Bob Evans, our favorite, and I got coffee and it was so warm and tasty... yum!

We also went to Carter's where we picked out an adorable outfit for our little guy. It's a 9-month size, so he can't wear it right away, but I thought it would look good if we decided to get some professional pics of him sometime. Isn't it cute? The little baseball cap is my favorite :)



Later that day we spent time with Josh's family some more and even helped with the Christmas decorations. We can't wait until we have a house and can decorate the outside with lights. Which brings us to today, Saturday. We did our Christmas decorating today and played music while we unloaded boxes and hung ornaments. I had so much fun pulling out my gingerbread man collection and finding places for them around the room. The one pictured here is a cookie jar. He's one of my favorites cause he just looks so fat and cheery. And this is our tree--tomorrow will be one month until Christmas!! It's coming fast!

Not Much

Today's an ugh day. I don't feel great, but I can't really pinpoint where the uckiness is coming from. Well, I'm more stuffy today than usual. See, I've been congested every day in my second trimester, so I attribute it to being pregnant. It's amazing how much stuff can come out of one nose (TMI!). But usually I blow in the morning and i'm good till the evening. But for today i've been sniffly and blowy throughout the morning and afternoon. I don't think it's a cold. And then, not to get too detailed, but food has not been digesting well today. It's not a great day, but I'm surviving :)

I'm so frustrated with sleeping lately. And I feel so bad for Josh, cause he feels every toss and turn, even more so now, cause I move a lot slower in bed. So if I want to roll over, it takes twenty seconds to get it done, instead of three. I can't seem to fall asleep easily. I'm wide awake for an hour, and then sometimes I get up to watch TV to help me get tired and so Josh can get some sleep. I eventually fall asleep, but since it takes a while, I end up sleeping in the next day, but sometimes I am still tired even though I've had enough hours of rest. Or, when Josh says goodbye in the AM, I'm suddenly wide awake and I can't go back to sleep. So I'm up at seven eating breakfast cause I'm so hungry, but then I fall asleep later on, or sometimes I don't. It's so annoying.

Oh, we signed up for baby classes at the hospital. There's one in January that only meets one night, and then the ones that are a couple weeks long are in February. Then there's one in March too, I think.

There was a baby dedication in church yesterday, and Josh and I were talking about our own kid for when the time comes. We've talked before, but still no definite conclusions. We're not sure we want to do one. I mean, the whole time we're pregnant we're praying for our son and dedicating him to God, so why the formal ceremony, you know? They can be long too, especially at our church. Now the one yesterday was very long, but that's cause both parents gave testimony about their baby's name and how they decided to have another child. It was wonderful how God worked in their lives for months over this, and it was encouraging to hear. Ours wouldn't be that long, but our pastor also does this mini-message for the parents too, and then he gives the baby their first New Testament Bible. Then the deacons and paretns/grandparents all pray for the baby to be saved at a young age. When our niece lived nearby, we liked hers. The pastor had the church do vows, like at a wedding. It was like "do you promise..." and they'd say, "I do" or something like that. I think they promised to do their best to influence the child the right way. The parents even said vows, so it was simple and to the point. In the church I grew up in, it was even more concise, which is what I'm used to. The parents bring the child to the front of the church, and the pastor holds the baby and says the whole name and when he was born, that kind of stuff. Then he prays for the kid, and that's that. So we're not sure if we even want to do one, but if we do, then what kind do we like best?

Well, this entry turned out longer that I had planned. I was just gonna write a couple things, but I got all wordy. Oh well :) Happy Thanxgiving!!

Oh wait, one more thing. We're having revival services at church yesterday and tonight, and Josh and I know the evangelist and his wife from college. Get this, Shannon is due with her first baby one week after me! It was so much fun to talk pregnancy and compare/contrast our symptoms. It's nice to be at the same stage in my pregnancy as someone else and have a chance to talk with her about it. Encouraging too. We'll have to keep in contact with them so we can swap baby pictures and stuff.

Ok, that's all. I'm done now :)

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Josh and I went to a concert of theirs last night. We've heard some of their music before, so we were really excited to get the tickets and hear some early Christmas music. Overall, I'd give it a B+, and here's the reason why. The beginning and the end were A+, but the middle stuff was plbt! The beginning was awesome. They played traditional Christmas songs but with their own flair. There was a storyline too, which I only partially followed. The narrator had a wonderful bass voice and it boomed through the arena. They used lasers and moving lights and even fire to enhance the program. The guys must get so worn out when they play, cause they were running across the stage and moving to their own beat. We heard familiar tunes like God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Joy to the World, Carol of the Bells, and Hark the Herald Angels Sing.

The stuff we didn't like was in the middle. They had these soloists, and I didn't like their voices. Besides, I couldn't understand what some of them sang, cause they were just screaming into the microphone. There were two soloists that I did like, and these men had really good voices. There were also these girls that sang too, and danced, so they reminded us of go-go dancers or something. The songs in the middle were still Christmas ones I think, but they weren't traditional. They were ones they made up, and it seemed like every other one was about someone in a bar on Christmas Eve. I guess it went along with the story they were telling. Oh, there was this one soloist who sang for like 10 minutes! Every time we thought he was done, he start up on another verse. We clapped when he finished, mainly because we were glad he was done :)

One of the guitar players introduced the band. He donned a Buckeye jersey too, so we all cheered of course :). There were 2 pianists, several guitarists (one had a double ax), a violinist (who had a glow-in-the-dark violin), and a drummer. He had a solo section and he was awesome! He played so fast and precise--I wish I had rhythm like that. Anyway, there aren't too many in this "orchestra," but they also used local musicians in the program, so there was a stringed section that added to the sound. I think their name is kind of deceiving, cause they aren't really an orchestra. They are a rock band with a piano and violin, plus the extras the locals they use when they travel.

The second part of the program wasn't Christmas songs. They did some modern ones that I didn't recognize, except for Rolling Down the River--I knew that one. They also did some classical pieces, like Canon in D and Flight of the Bumblebee. So overall, we liked it, except for those soloists in the middle. We definitely got our money's worth, cause it was three hours long! And we didn't pay an arm and a leg for tickets, so we were glad about that, seeing as we didn't like all of it.

It was quite loud, of course, and we were a couple rows from the back, but we had no problem seeing. I'm glad we were so far back, cause once they started, I thought, Hey, is this good for the baby? So I was a little worried about that at first, but Josh assured me that it wasn't bad. But he gave me his coat to put over my belly to muffle the noise anyway :) I did look up some stuff online today, and it said, don't make a habit of going to loud concerts when you're pregnant, and I don't plan to, so I feel a little better. The sounds I hear aren't as loud as the baby hears. And speaking of the baby, he decided to move a couple times! That's right, I felt him twice. The first time felt like a flutter, and I know I felt that a couple weeks ago when I was directing choir practice. At that time, I wasn't sure if that was the baby, but my suspicions are confirmed. The second time he moved it was more like a kick. I could almost imagine his little foot kicking me, probably in protest over the noise :)

Oh yeah, the other day, I bought a handful of outfits for my little guy, and I've been told by both grandmas that I'm not allowed to buy anymore clothes for him :). Don't worry, I've run out of coupons, so I won't be running out to the store anytime soon :)

Look What We Bought!

Tonight I was so in the mood to go shopping, and I begged Josh to take me to Target. Well, I didn't have to beg that much, cause he said ok right away. I think secrectly he wanted to shop for our baby just as much as I did. And I must tell you, it is so much fun shopping for someone else, especially a tiny someone else that's growing inside you. We were only there for half an hour, but if we stayed longer, I know we would have bought more. When I first got to the baby section, all I saw were girl clothes, and it's true, there are tons more girl clothes on display. But after browsing and hunting, the adorable boy clothes started jumping out at me. Just ask Josh, I was so giddy in there. He found a shirt that was cute, and I found the matching pants. Then I found the cutest pair of jeans and challenged him to find something to go with it. It didn't take him long of course, and within a matter of minutes, we had two outfits completed. It was so cool that we each found a piece for the outfits and put them together. And here are the results of our venture. Don't worry, I don't plan on taking pictures of everything we buy our little dude, but I do want to show you the first two that we got.

I'm Sleeping With Another Man

We're having a boy!! We just found out today, and we're both really excited. We'd been praying for a boy, so it was awesome when the ultrasound technician showed us the incriminating parts. My husband was able to come cause he had the day off work--we gave each other a high-five when we saw that it was a boy. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law were able to come to the appointment as well. It was fun to have a couple people there so we could share the immediate excitement with them. The baby's 11 ounces, and his heart rate's right on track too. His spinal cord is completely closed, and he's got all 4 chambers of his heart. It's amazing what we could see on the screen! We saw the umbilical cord, his little feet, and even his bladder. I have a few pictures below of some neat shots, and I'll try to explain them so you know what you are looking at.


This is a side view of his leg. His foot is on the right side of the picture, and the two white lines across the middle of the picture are his leg bones. So you can see his calf and his thigh, and on the left is his pelvic region and cute little tushy!


This one has an arrow pointing to his hand on the right side of the photo. You can see part of his arm, his wrist, and four of his fingers are curled up. His thumb is sticking out, like he's trying to hitchhike or something.


This is the best full body view we got. His feet are touching each other on the left, and a little above that you can see his bent knee. You can even see the umbilical cord to the right of his knee, but it's kind of faint. His face is so clear on the right side of the photo. His round skull, his eye socket, a little nose, and it even looks like he's smiling. Well, his mouth is open anyway. Josh says he's got my chin already :)

We went to Babies R Us after the appointment, since it's right across the street from the doctor's office. We wanted to buy his first outfit from us, but we didn't find anything that stood out. We've got time to find something though. We did register for a couple more things, like some blue blankets, and my mom-in-law bought me my first baby book! It's really cute, and I can start filling out some things in it now, like when I felt him move, and I can put ultrasound pictures in it also. It was a long and tiring day. When we got home we cooked up a frozen pizza (I was too tired to cook anything) and we watched Ratatouille. It was a relaxing finish to an exciting day.

Singing

Lately I've been singing "Baby Beluga" to my baby. I first heard this song on my all-time favorite show Full House. They only sing part of it, as you can see in the clip, so I don't even know how the rest of the song goes. But then I found the complete song on good ol' YouTube! So, if you want to hear the entire thing, it's next. I think it's just under 3 minutes, and it shows you all the words too. Have fun!

Lunch Today and Dreams Last Night

For lunch, I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and it hit the spot. It's such a timeless sandwich. I used to eat it all the time when I was a little kid, and I don't eat it very often anymore. But when I was thinking about what to make myself for lunch today, a good ol' PB & J sounded yummy. Oh, it was so good! Maybe I'll make another one if I get hungry later on. If I get hungry-- ha! That's a joke. More like when I get hungry.

Ok, I need to stop talking about food. Last night I didn't sleep very well. I woke up every two hours. I wasn't too surprised though. Josh is away on business, and I typically don't sleep as well when he is gone. I stay up later to get myself more tired for bedtime, and that works most of the time. But last night just didn't go well. The first time I woke up was from a dream. A bad dream. I woke up scared. Wanna hear about it? For those of you who don't know, I have weak teeth. I've got tons of fillings, one crown, and I recently broke a tooth that will need to be crowned after the baby's born. Well, I dreamed that all my teeth were dying and rotting away. Every time I bit down on something I would lose an entire filling and have this huge ugly hole in my mouth. Or, massive chunks of teeth would break off and I was in so much pain. This doctor was checking me out, and I had saved all the things that had broken off so he could find a way to reattach them. When I woke up I thought this all had really happened, so I reached for my mouth to assess the damage. My teeth did hurt, but that's probably cause I was tense while sleeping. But all my teeth were there. I felt them with my fingers and my tongue several times, just to make sure everything was ok. Then since I was up, I went to the bathroom. Two hours later I had to go to the bathroom again, and two hours after that I woke up as well, but I didn't go anywhere. I was too cozy to move.

Oh, I had another dream last night too, but this one was more pleasant. I dreamed we were having twins! There was this mini TV on my belly that showed the two faces very clearly in black and white. One kid looked just like Josh, and the other one looked just like me. Sorry, I don't know if they were boys or girls or one of each. All we saw were their faces :) I honestly don't think we are having twins. I would have a much bigger tummy by now if that was the case. But we do get to find out the sex of the baby very soon! I can't wait!! :)

Happy November!

November already? Where does the time go? It finally feels like fall outside. The air is cool and windy, and some trees are sporting lovely colors. Some skipped that part entirely, and that's probably from alot of rain we had one week. Last weekend Josh and I went to a nearby park and walked around and took pictures. Well, Josh took all the pictures. I just watched him take pictures. Before that we ate at Friendly's, and I almost ate my whole huge burger! I normally don't choose burgers at restaurants, but at this place you get a free sundae if you do, and I didn't want to pass up an opportunity to eat ice cream :) Guess what kind I got? My all-time childhood favorite: black raspberry. I don't know why it's my fav, maybe cause it's purple, and that's a neat color for ice cream. I totally eat other flavors as well, but this one tops them all.

Alright, here are some pictures we took at the park. Enjoy! By the way, this is also the park where we got engaged. I made Josh kiss me under the tree where he proposed, but don't worry, we didn't document that moment ;).

Along the walkway is a lovely scene with rocks and little waterfalls. The sound of the water made me have to... (you know what) :)


This was a little makeshift bridge. It didn't go over any water or ditch, it was just some planks of wood set together, but it made for a nice picture.


It wasn't sunny that day, which made it chillier than normal, but some of the trees were so colorful.


We found this leaf and just had to capture it. We tried to put some droplets on a brighter leaf, but it all pooled together. I think God is better at making things beautiful :)


I made Josh take this one. I thought it looked cool to see the bright colors through these dark branches.


Here's a bee we found. This thing was so sedentary you almost thought it was dead! I don't think it ever moved while we were near it.


And here's a future mommy and her baby! Well, I guess I'm not a "future" mommy. I'm already a mommy, I just don't get to fully act like one until April. Or March, if the baby's early :) Anyway, check out that belly! Impressive, huh? Hey, I'm in my fifth month, so I'm glad I can finally show off my little pumpkin without trying too hard.

Ok, that's all folks. Happy Autumn!