Calm

A calm has come over me with all this baby planning and preparation. I am sure now that I am telling you all that, I will have a panic attack in the morning, but for now I am really good! The nursery is rolling right along. I will do a new post with some pics soon. It might not look that amazing to you all until we get paint on the walls, but Nick has done SO MUCH in there in such a short amount of time it makes me feel positive it will be done soon. I say we will be painting in a week or two, and that takes a huge weight off my shoulders.

We went today to pick out a crib. I thought it might be stressful, but it wasn't in the slightest. We just walked around the store, picked up the few fliers of the ones we liked, narrowed it down, and just like that, BAM we had a crib selection! We did the pre-registering thing where we walked around to see what in the heck we thought we needed/wanted for the baby, and it went really well! I want to read some product reviews on the stroller and car seat before we make it official, but I think we will be comfortable with registering in the next few weeks. Somehow all those things that were stressing me out because we hadn't started didn't really take that long! Who knew?? All of you I guess, seeing as how you all told me there was nothing to worry about. Still it is a great feeling to be in control of our plans and to feel like we will totally be ready before June 4th!

In other news, Nick broke this icicle off our house...

He was really proud...

Really really proud

And he is hillarious. I am sure he has something to do with why my stress has settled down!

22 Weeks

Week twenty two. Rolling right along! The baby is now about 11 inches long (which is just like, one little inch short of a foot!) and weighs in at one pound. ONE POUND! He or she is working on practicing blinking! Apparently the baby is also developing his or her facial features and at this point looks pretty darn near what he/she will look like when born! If we were getting a 3D ultrasound at our appointment on Monday we could see what this face actually looks like, but I assume if we are getting one, it will be much later...

As for me, I am still doing really good. I am eating a lot...which I assume is to be expected. I just have a hunger that wont quit. I am still peeing all the time. ALL. THE. TIME. I think the baby might be sitting really low. Like right on my bladder. When I go the bathroom (Praying I will make it because OH MY GAWD I MUST PEE NOOOOOOOWWWW!) I mange to squeeze out maybe a milliliter of pee. It is frustrating I tell you. Especially when I stand up from peeing, and before I even have my pants up I feel like I might need to pee again...

Okay, enough about pee. Here are this weeks belly pics!

Shirt down...

And shirt up! I am just amazed with how much bigger I look in the shirt up pic's...

Ice Storm 2009

Yeah, this is my second post today. I know I am not a multi-post-per-day blogger, but tomorrow is Thursday, and you all know what happens around here on Thursdays! What? You don't know? I move up another notch on the pregnancy calender of course! Anyway, I knew if I waited to post the ice storm pic's I would forget about them and then too long would pass and I would totally drop it. So here are a couple cool pics from our front yard!

See what I mean about it being beautiful?Every branch on every tree in the state basically looks like this. Actually lots are way worse. We are lucky enough to hold on to our power, but apparently there are 400,000 going without in Kentucky, including 100,000 in our city. If you wonder why all the power goes out, imagine how much all this ice weighs. These trees over my neighbors house usually stand straight up...I hope everyone gets their power back soon and is able to get back to normal life! As for me and Nick, we are settling in for the night and staying off the ice!

Also, I wanted to let you all know that my first review is up over on Chic Shopper Chick! Go take a look if you have time!

2nd Blogoversary!

Well happy blogoversary to me! That's right. It's been officially two years to the day since I started old Bio Girl. Last year for this post I talked all about how amazed I was with myself for keeping this blog up and running. For not getting bored with it and letting it fall to one of those things I used to do. This year I am going to talk about how amazed I am with all of you. How I am amazed every single day to see how many of you come and read my posts and leave comments. At how many of you have become true friends. Your love and support and encouragement has meant more to me than I could ever tell you. It was a rough year with the infertility and when I needed a place to go to vent or to scream or to cry, you all were always there telling me it was normal, and that you totally understood. You are amazing. So, I guess I just wanted to say thanks for reading! I am sure I will be around with lots and lots of baby pictures for years to come!

As a total side note, we are in the middle of an ice storm around here. Luckily we still have our power, and it warmed up enough last night to just rain rather than keep freezing. I cannot imagine how bad it would be if that hadn't happened. Still the city is half shut down (UK is out so Nick doesn't have to work...lucky dog) and there are tons of people without power or heat. The temp is dropping again so we are getting more ice today and then 1-3 inches of snow.

It's really beautiful...in that State-of-Emergency sort of way...These are just a couple of pic's from last night. I will see if I can get better ones before it gets dark today. When I was taking them from my front porch I heard three trees crack and hit the ground. It is a real mess around here...

A New Gig!

So let me tell you all, I am doing the coolest new thing. My sweet friend Erika over at Chic Shopper Chick has asked me to join her in doing product reviews! I get a really sweet deal seeing as how people contact Erika, and if the product is infant or baby related, she will pass it on to me! I get the product shipped to me (MAIL!! I LOVE getting mail!!) and then as long as I like the product and would suggest it to a friend, I will write a recommendation for the Chic Shopper fans to go check it out. Erika has an awesome policy of no product bashing, so if I get something I don't think is good enough for you all, I will simply let Erika know. She will do the dirty work and let the company know we have decided to not write a recommendation. This way I never have to be mean, but I never feel the need to lie and say I liked something that I didn't! Win, win. So to recap, I get free awesome brand new cutting edge baby stuff, and then I get to TALK about it! Does life get any better?



So, if you don't have Chic Shopper Chick on your readers or bookmarked on your computer, go add it now! I will let you all know when I review a product just by including a note in my post for that day, but everything Erika reviews is worth checking out. She has an amazing talent at finding really cool products. So jump on over to CSC and check out my new gig, and all the other stuff that is getting reviewed!

Weekend Recap

Well you all are super handy when it comes to cat advice! I thought the cats may have moved on from our yard, but then we were woken up again this morning. I called the Humane Society, but they said that nobody in our city actually picks up stray cats. If I want to take them to the pound, I have to do it myself. We have a no-kill pound, so I didn't feel bad having them picked up, but I am sure as hell not setting traps myself! I think I will go to the pet store to see if they have the stuff to spray in our yard. Sounds like the easiest solution as long as it wont bother Ellie. Sammie is a totally in-door cat, so he should be fine. Anyway, I am now on it, and will have a solution to the cat mating/breeding/loitering really soon!

In other weekend news I did manage to exchange my jeans! I went back to Motherhood, but apparently managers don't work weekends or evenings in that place. My sister and I went over to Macy's because they carry the same brand, and it was absolutely no problem to do the exchange. Easy as pie...as it should have been from the beginning!

As for the rest of the weekend, we spent it working on the nursery. And of course by "we" I mean Nick did a lot of work and I held the flashlight or the screws or whatever. Nick did nearly break his leg when he fell half out of the attic. That was really scary...and sort awful in that "you know it is wrong to laugh but his legs are totally hanging out of the attic and since I can hear that he is totally alive, HOW is that not just a LITTLE funny" sorta way. I waited to laugh until he was ready to laugh as well...I am a good wife like that. He has a nasty bruise on his leg, but he was a-ok. Good thing because I never could have gotten him down and would have had to call 911. The drywall is nearly all up thanks to some help from our family. I was all like, "I can help!" but then they were all like, "PLEASE! You are pregnant!" and I was secretly like "yesssssss...." in my head. this pregnancy is really paying off!

Cats

We have a cat problem. Yes, a cat problem. For a few years now there has been a stray cat that lives in our neighborhood. She is occasionally in our yard and on our front porch, but it was never a big deal. About a year ago she had kittens, so we gave her the ever creative name of "Mama Cat". Once she had the kittens she seemed to spend a lot more time on our front porch. Not sure if everyone else ran her off, or if she just felt safe there, but she loved it. We never put out food or water or anything because that would make Mama Cat our cat, and I DO NOT want another cat, especially an outside cat with three kittens. Still we let her stick around. The kittens got bigger and one day they were all three gone. I believe someone caught them and took them to the pound, but Nick believes they all went to kitty heaven. I refuse to accept that.

Anyway, after the kittens were gone we saw Mama Cat every few days in the yard or on the porch. No big deal. Until now. Mama Cat seems to have made our house and yard her permanent residence. And she has brought friends. Male friends. They are ALWAYS on the front porch or in the back yard. They have no fear of Ellie. She runs out there and they just lay in the grass like, "what??" They wouldn't be that annoying, but they keep waking us up in the middle of the night...having sex on the front porch. THAT'S RIGHT! We are running our very own cat pimping ring. We beat on the window and open the door, but they honestly don't seem to mind us one bit...guess they are distracted. We have been trying to chase them out of the yard, but they are holding their ground. So here is my question, what in the hell are we going to do?? I mean, I don't want to just call the pound on them because they might be someones cats. I don't even know if they will come get them anyways. All I know is that I was cleaning up yesterday and was in the nursery and could hear the crazy cat breeding going on in the back yard! NOT OKAY. The cats have got to go...

Just to show how little Ellie seems to scare the cats, here is a picture of our back yard...

Also, after three nights of being woken up by cat sex, I got this email from Nick...I am almost positive he is kidding...

21 Weeks

Well the baby is now ten and a half inches long, which according to my handy resources is the size of a carrot...although I don't know anybody except my friend Arielle who still buys the big carrots rather than the baby carrots (And the baby is a hell of a lot bigger than a baby carrot these days!) so I am not sure how much good that does you. Still, I assume you can picture a real carrot, so that will do. I am not sure why my first reaction was that NOBODY knows what that looks like...I am an idiot. Back to the baby...it also said the baby weights around twelve ounces! That is 3/4 a pound! He or she is now sucking his/her thumb and totally practicing blinking. Good to know. It also said to start watching for movement on my stomach (and to take a bath and it will be all Jurassic Park like...), which I am excited to actually see, but also a little creeped out by...we will see how it goes.

Not to sound like I always sound, but I feel pretty great! I am peeing a lot, but I assume that is pretty normal. I am sleeping really well now that I have the pillow deal worked out and am all around a pretty happy pregnant person. I have yet to have someone actually comment on me being pregnant (like a stranger...) but I did get a look at Target the other day that was like, " Is she?? No...I am not going to ask..." and yet she kept looking at my belly. I must have really puzzled her, but if I wasn't pregnant it would have REALLY freaked me out...

Anyway...to the belly pics!

Shirt downAnd the 21 week belly!

The Little Things

Sometimes I wish I was better at writing about the little things. I wish I could capture moments that are important to me, and do so in a way that isn't boring or pointless for you all. I feel that I can write a pretty good funny story. When I fall down stairs or do something ridiculous. the sweet moments...they are much harder for me. Still, as much as I love you all for reading and commenting and being such a part of my life through this blog, I still use it as a form of personal journal. The main and most accurate history of my life. So I will tell you all about last night. A pointless and boring story that doesn't come across well in writing. But when I read it later, it will remind me of this happy memory, and I want to remember the little things from this pregnancy too. I worry if I don't write them down they will just be lost.

Last night I made dinner. Once we were done eating the baby was moving around a lot. I have felt actual movements on the outside of my stomach a couple of times, but Nick hasn't been able to catch one yet. I told him to give me his hand and I slid over to his side of the couch. We have the same discussion we have had every time he has tried to feel the baby as he places his hand on the top of me belly...I move it down below my belly button. He smiles and says there is no way the baby is only down there! What is all the rest of this space for?

We laugh and I lay still. Five minutes or so pass and there is no baby movements. I think we have missed it again, but I take his hand and say, "Just give the baby a little shake!" and jostle my stomach a bit. He gets so tickled. He is laughing so hard as he yells, "don't SHAKE the baby!!" I get so tickled at the HORROR in his voice. Laying there with him on his side of the sectional, his hand on my belly, I am cackling with laughter. It isn't helped by the fact that every time I laugh, my belly shakes more and he keeps saying "Don't Laugh! You are shaking the BABY!!" as he laughs harder and harder too. Finally we both calm down and give the baby another ten minutes. There is no kicking. He or she must be settled. We will try again tonight, but all day I have thought of us laying there and laughing, trying to feel the baby, and I realized it wasn't something I wanted to forget.

Project Nursery Part One

So Nick is officially rolling on the Nursery. He waited a few days to get started because it was bitter cold here (remember the frozen milk?) and he didn't want to have our walls exposed to the outside temps. Anyway, he really got rolling on Friday and I must say he has made some great progress! Pictures look a touch terrifying being that this is going to be my baby's room REALLY SOON, but remember, things look worse before they look better!

For remodeling documentation purposes, I am only showing you one corner of the room. At the end I will show you pre and post pics from other angles...Anyway, here is the corner before we moved the computer out of the room. Cleared out and molding down...First cut! No going back now...Current stage. The paneling is down and the new electrical is run but not yet hooked up. He is hoping to have it done by the end of the week and we can drywall this weekend! I want to say it is easier than we expected, but Nick might disagree...seems to me that all is at least going smoothly and according to plan!

Oh My, Don't CRY!

I have a problem with returns. Like a serious problem. It is such an issue in fact, that if it was left up to me I would honestly never return anything. I somehow feel guilty about it and always end up rambling into some long explanation that goes something like this:

Clerk: Is there something wrong with the product?

Me: No! The product is perfect! I mean, not that I used it...because clearly the tags are on it. It just wasn't for me...but I am sure someone else will like it! It's just I thought it was different when I bought it...and then I decided I didn't really need it...not that it is like, BAD or anything...it's actually really nice and anybody would be CRAZY not to want it...except me, because I just...don't...right....*fades away as I notice clerks eyes have totally glossed over with lack of interest in my rant*

Clerk: *waits a couple seconds to be sure I am done being an idiot. eye roll* here is your money

Me: *takes cash and runs. Ashamed of inability to shut my mouth*

So that's how it typically goes. My worst fear is that someone somewhere will question my need to return. They will call me a bad person who can't make up my mind and tell me I CANNOT have my money back. This has never actually happened, but it is a fear of mine. It is not a fear of my sisters. She can return anything. ANYTHING I tell you. She will walk out of a store with her money, a coupon for more free stuff, and the managers home phone number to call if she has questions. She isn't rude, she just seems confident and isn't afraid to ask. I am terrified to ask.

So, why am I telling you all of this. Well, I needed to explain that I am a very timid returner before I confess that I made a sales clerk basically cry today. YES. I did. Me. Not my sister. She was there, but it was all me. Let me explain. I bought this pair of jeans at Motherhood. I loved them. Me and these jeans have been total BFF's since I got them around Christmas. The problem is that when I washed them, the elastic band it the waist started to unravel. When I washed them again it totally pulled out and started to shred. I just wanted to trade in the defective pair for the EXACT same pair that was not defective. I brought my sister for back up, but I didn't think it would be that bad. Here is how the conversation went:

Clerk: Can I help you?

Me: Yes, I just need to exchange these jeans. See here how they are defective? Sorry about that fuzz on them...I wore them and didn't wash them again because I didn't want to deal with the shredding *decided to stop talking and not keep going until the eye glaze* Anyway, they are clearly Motherhood *laugh at the obviousness of it all* and I just want to do an even exchange.

Clerk: Do you have your receipt?

Me: No...When I bought them you all said they could only be returned for ten days even with the tags. After I wore them and liked them I threw it away....I just want to exchange.

Clerk: Let me make a call...*comes back after call* I can't do anything. There is no way for me to know how many times these have been worn or how old they are.

Me: Really?? I mean, they are TOTALLY your brand and they are CLEARLY defective! I am not asking for CASH, I just want to get another pair!

Clerk: *Voice shaking BADLY* I am really sorry! I am just a clerk and I don't have the ability to do anything *voice cracks* If you come back when a manager is here *eyes look nearly ready to brim over with tears* they might be able to help you *voice cracks again*

Me in my head: OH MY GOD SHE IS GOING TO CRY! I have made the poor girl CRY! I am NEVER returning ANYTHING EVER AGAIN!

Me to clerk: It's fine *big comforting smile* I will just come back *warm wave as I back away from counter and run out the door*.

I get outside and Boo says, "Dude, she was seriously about to CRY!" I was filled with remorse. I considered going back in to apologize, but being an emotional crier myself, I know that if I brought up the near tears it would most likely only push her over the edge and she would break down into sobs. I did learn one thing from the experience besides that I hate returns. Apparently, when I am about to cry, and I feel those emotions welling up and I totally keep my shit together and don't cry, that the person I am talking to still TOTALLY knows I was on the brink of tears. I am not fooling anybody because when you are about to cry, it is almost worse than crying. It is written all over your face! And the person will stare at you in horror waiting for that tear to fall. It was a shock really. I think I am holding it together quite often. Apparently I am not fooling anybody...

Now I gotta go back and deal with these stupid jeans again. Lets hope the manager is not an emotional crier as well...I will just have to give up and buy a new pair. I really can't take this...

Yeah, That's Officially Cold...

It's cold here. I think it is sorta cold everywhere right now, but for here, it is REALLY cold. So cold that they actually canceled schools today. We have no snow, they just called it off because they didn't want the little kiddos at the bus stop with a negative eight degree wind chill. Honestly I thought it was a little crazy. I mean, sure its cold, but is it THAT cold? Call off school cold? My doubts went up when I got up this morning and walked outside. I was well bundled but it didn't seem THAT bad. It was cold mind you, but it was a beautiful day. I look around and think those school people were insane. When I was little we TOTALLY would have school.

I get into my car and notice it says it's one degree. Okay, that is cold. And it is already nine in the morning. I am sure it was much colder at bus stop time....I decide maybe it is sorta super cold as I head to work. When I am about a street away a truck pulls out in front of me. Super annoying. I slam on my breaks and my glass of chocolate milk (what? Doesn't everyone drink a large glass of chocolate milk on the way to work?) spills onto the shifter thing and into the cup holder. I get annoyed. I have milk issues and the idea of it spilling in my car is just to much (I know I must get over this when the baby starts walking around with a milk filled bottle...I will work on it). I have nothing in the car to clean it with so I have to wait until I get to work. I am less that a minute way. When I throw the car into park to run in and grab a rag I notice it. The milk...it's frozen. Yeah, it FROZE right were it spilled! Like even the little splatters. SOLID ICE. So now I must admit that it is officially crazy cold around here!

For the record, you might think it is easier to clean spilled frozen milk, but let me tell you that it is NOT. For one thing, you have to chip it away from the plastic. Also, when you go to get a hot rag it will stick to anything metal that it comes in contact with. You will want to get EVERY LAST DROP of the milk (issues, remember) but it will flake way and drop down into little cracks you can't reach! Then you will have to think about when it gets warm again and those ice milk flakes thaw. It will bother you. Trust me. Maybe I will not take milk to work again until it warms up a little...

20 Weeks (also known as HALF WAY!!)

Twenty weeks people. Twenty weeks out of FORTY! That means half of this pregnancy is behind us. What I can only assume is the easy half because it can't get much better than the last twenty weeks...except in twenty more weeks we get to bring home a baby! So so excited...

So remember how last week I was all like, there is NOTHING new to tell you about the baby except he/she is growing? Yeah. Apparently that was a lie. I still have stuff! Like now the baby is the size of a squash! And also this week the baby started to grow hair on his or her head and his/her eyebrows and what not. Adorable! The baby sleeps as much as a newborn these days and even has a favorite sleeping position. Precious sleeping baby. Google also says the baby can now hear, but I swear it told me that a couple weeks ago. Still, now the baby can REALLY hear and will cover it's ears or jump if there is a really loud noise!

As for me I am still doing good. I have started sleeping with a pillow between my knees which is really helping the back aches. I am sure you picked up in the last post that I am having no troubles with eating, so that's always good. I was swelling a lot early in the pregnancy, but that seems to be going away. I can wear my wedding rings all the time again, and that is really exciting for me. I think I might be a touch emotional, or maybe I am just nesting a little. I have all of a sudden wanted to start working on baby stuff...like NOW. I know we still have twenty weeks, but all of a sudden getting everything ready seems EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. Nick has been great and when I look at him and say, "I want to go to Babies R Us...tonight...like NOW." He just smiles and grabs his coat. He is good with his crazy wife. Still, it is fun to look for everything for our sweet baby and we are really loving every second.

And now for a couple of 20 week belly shots!

Shirt down. When I saw my dad I told him I thought this shirt made me look really pregnant. He looked at me and said, "No...I think that belly makes you look really pregnant!"

Shirt up...I think dad might have a point!

The new pic is up on the Belly Shots postso you can check outthe changes from week five to week twenty!

Cravings

So I am beginning to notice some cravings...or at least things that I REALLY want that I am now allowed to blame on the pregnancy. Either way works for me. Still, I thought it would be fun to share a few of the new obsessions/cravings with you all. A cop-out post that is pointless and nobody cares about? What? NEVER. Okay, fine. I will add pictures...just to show you that I actually worked a little on this post....and because I like to SEE my favorite things...

Crush Soda- Did you all know that Crush is caffeine free? Yeah. It is. Sunkist isn't but Crush is. It was like a match made in pregnancy heaven. I declared at work yesterday that it was the greatest fact EVER and that I could now drink seven Crush sodas a day! Justin pointed out that seven might be a little excessive, even if they are caffeine free....whatever.

Firehouse Subs-Have you all had one of these subs??? OH. MY. LORD. They are heaven. HEAVEN I tell you! I had them for the first time last week. What? So what if I have only had them once...and I was pregnant...and STARVING...you can still take the recommendation!! Ever since I have wanted nothing (NOTHING) but another Firehouse sub. We are going there again tomorrow. I cannot wait...

Smarties- Oh sweet, sweet smarties. My work keeps this candy basket up at the front for...well...maybe for clients...but I figure it is also for employees when we are working really hard and, you know, walking to the printer. Anyway, it is full of things like starbursts and jolly ranchers. Then, one magical day SMARTIES showed up in the basket. Oh how my heart filled with joy! Today I had to really dig to find any smarties, but there were a few more packs hidden. Not sure what I am going to do tomorrow...it will be a long Smartie-less day...

Salads- Oh yes. This one is still hanging around. This is my longest running craving. Yes, hard to believer but LONGER than the one week obsession with the Firehouse. Not much to say except I love Salad. Just don't put to many nasty veggies on it and make sure to double the dressing. Yum.

Gravy and Biscuits- Ah, my favorite food. Yes, this is my favorite food. And I love it so much that last night I actually had a dream about it. It's true. Some may dream of Brad Pitt or Millions of dollars. I dream of Gravy and Biscuits. It was such a good dream....

And that's it my friends. I am sure I have other things, but this stupid cop-out post turned out to be a lot of work what with the pictures! Also, apparently there is not an appetizing picture of Gravy and biscuits on the entire Internet. How sad for my favorite food....and a final also, do ya like how the pics are totally all different sizes? Yeah, me too. I am so talented.

New Plan

Remember how I told you in that last post that moving the computer was one of the biggest things we had to do for the nursery? Well...it isn't anymore. Yesterday morning our plan was to maybe paint, but we sorta liked the color in there. We were going to, you know, buy a crib and what not. We had some really cute bedding picked out online (the ONLY thing we have done to get ready for baby*) and that was going to be that. WE needed to register, and start actually buying baby products, but I had no worries.

Yesterday afternoon Nick's mom and aunt came over. We were discussing the nursery and they asked if we could take down the paneling in the room. Did I mention that the nursery is wood paneled? Well it is. We painted it a few years ago and it looked about a million times better and we have been happy with it since. We tell them we aren't planning on changing anything, and they really push for a change of color. A change of color I can handle. I have actually been thinking about that myself.

Nick wasn't so interested in the change of color. What he was interested in was the question about the paneling. It got his mind rolling. If he took down the top half of the panel, he could re-insulate the entire room...AND he could rewire it. Something that is a pretty good idea considering out house is old and none of our outlets are grounded. Not exactly safe. He could just, you know, cut down half the wall, get a bunch of work done, build new walls, and then we can paint whatever color I want. So...half of me is pretty excited. I really think the room will look a ton better with the chair rail separating paneling on the bottom and drywall on the top. I like the idea of painting. I know he can do it. It's just....that it sounds like A LOT of work. Work that MUST be done in the next 10-15 weeks! Because we are HAVING A BABY! And for the first time, that seems real. And soon. And the fact that we have done NOTHING to get ready is sorta freaking me out. Almost as much as the idea of taking a circular saw to my walls...

*With the new room plan, my mind is rolling and I am thinking about starting the Nursery search over again. The one we picked is still at the top of the list, but maybe I should look around a little more...20 weeks is plenty of time to do all this, right?? RIGHT??

New Desk

Well, it is our long term (not that long term now...like 20 weeks!) plan to transform the current office into an adorable nursery. This has been the plan since we first started talking about having a baby. Since finding out I am pregnant, we have done absolutely nothing to make this transition occur, that is, until last weekend!

The actual room hasn't had that many changes execpt the removal of the computer. This might not sound like a huge first step, but trust me, it was some work. Our house is small. Adorable but small. This means the actual options of new desk locations are limited. Nick, being a thinker, decided to put in a built in desk when he remodeled our room. It has been the little place I sit and put on makeup for a year now. This past weekend Nick worked his ass off running cable and electrical into the desk, and building two additional shelves so that it was an actual functioning desk which could take the place of the old office. I tell you, I am a lucky girl with my Jack-of-all-Trades husband...Anyway, here is a before pic...

and an after picture!

Pretty good, right?? He amazes me sometimes. Now, I will say I wasn't sure how I felt about the computer being in our actual room. We had no other great options, but still...was it going to be annoying?? Now that it is here, I have learned that it is a dream come true. Why, you ask. Well, you know that wonderful invention Netflix? Yeah. You know how you can watch like movies and TV shows online? Yeah. I have now discovered that I can LAY IN BED AND WATCH ENDLESS MOVIES AND SHOWS ALL DAY. I never really need to leave this room again...just bring me food.

19 Weeks with Belly Pics

I think I am going to stop saying the weeks include belly pics, because these days, they all do. By the time I am done with the pregnancy the Belly Shots post is going to be seriously long! So lets see....I am now 19 weeks pregnant. Sounds crazy, but even more crazy is that on Tuesday we got that ultrasound and saw a honest and true BABY! Looking at those pictures, it is hard to believe that my body could ever produce that baby, much less do so in 19 little weeks!

So as for the sweet Baby C, according to google he/she is 5-6 inches from head to butt and is seven ounces. The problem with this is that we learned at the ultrasound that our sweet baby is already up to nine ounces! Nothing like being ahead of the curve...but also a little scary to think of how big this baby might end up being...and that...you know...in 21 weeks or so we gotta get him or her OUT. Yeah...not going to think about that. For now I am just thrilled that we have an extra two ounces of baby to love! The baby is fully developed now and just needs to spend the next 21 weeks fattening up, so these little updates are going to have to get a little shorter...or a lot more creative!

As for me, I am still great! ( I feel so repetitive). I feel wonderful and am just glowing over our sweet pictures. All in all it has been a great pregnancy week! Now, for some new belly shots...

Shirt down...

Shirt up! Shirt up looks a lot like Shut up...also, I have no idea why I look smaller some weeks and bigger others. I am sure it has something to do with clothes and what I eat and all that jazz...still, this is a small week. You totally can't see those extra two baby ounces!

Ultrasound #3=Baby Pictures!!

So we had our ultrasound today....it was awesome. Seriously amazing. The rest of the appointment went great too (except we had to wait for two hours to be seen...that wasn't so great, but whatever). I only gained three pounds (how is that possible with all I ate?? a true mystery....) and everything looked normal. Now to the important part, the pictures!I think my heart might just explode with love...look at that sweet profile!!In this one they are showing us the arms, but Charing and I voted and we are pretty positive that in the right side picture the baby is flashing his/her butt. What do you all think?Sweet little baby feet! Sorta creepy straight on view of the baby's face. Nick thinks this picture is awesome. Baby legs. In the one on the right you can see some little fingers in there too!And finally one more profile picture. Just because it is the cutest thing in the whole wide world!

We held our ground and didn't find out if the baby is a boy or girl. Everyone said it would be hard once we had the chance to know, but it really wasn't. We are so excited about the surprise! The baby weighs nine ounces, and measured at a due date of June 2nd. Just two days ahead of schedule, but they said it doesn't mean much at this point. We just loved seeing that sweet little perfect face!

**Update: My full name has now been removed from all pictures! I actually knew it was on there when I posted them, but didn't think it was a big deal (was being lazy and didn't know how to get it off...). I then got a phone call and a comment letting me know it was there (nice blog readers worried about my safety), and realized maybe I was being a little (lot) lazy just leaving it up for the world to see....so Nick showed me how to take it off, and now, I am back to no last name!**

5th Generation

We found out over Christmas that this baby will be the very first fifth generation child with our last name. Not just in our family line, but ever in time. When Nick's great grandfather came over from Czechoslovakia they changed his last name on Ellis Island. I have a theory that either the guy checking people in off the boat had a terrible hang over, or he just had a mean streak in him because the name he gave was not exactly normal. The first three letters are C-P-R. Yes, no vowels. So it is pretty clear that this name was given out only once, and that was to Nick's great grandfather.

I wasn't really planning to tell about the drunk who worked at Ellis Island, but whatever. What I was wanting to tell you was how excited I am to learn that this baby is the start of a new generation. Lots of the family find the constant spelling of our last name annoying. Maybe because they have had to do it since birth. I guess I can see where it could be annoying, but I actually love it. Maybe because I am new to the name, but I take a lot of pride in the fact that it is unusual. I now take even more pride in knowing that I am carrying the start of the new generation of this name. I really hope it is something we can teach the baby to take pride in as well. Both my side (which has been in America basically since the Mayflower) and Nick's have done a good job of keeping track of the family trees. I want to teach the baby where he or she comes from on both sides, but when that last name question "where is THAT from??" constantly comes up, I hope that he/she enjoys telling them of his family and how he/she is the very first fifth generation. Kinda cool, right?

Ringing in the New Year!

So for the second year in a row we headed to Nick's sister Candice's house for New Years Eve. I gotta say she throws a good party! Lots of fun people, tons of great food, it was pretty perfect! We missed a lot of our close friends who couldn't make it out this year, but we still had a blast! Here are a few pictures from the night... Me and Nick and a total baby bump

Nick, Andy and Ryan

me, Candice and Arielle

Ryan and Arielle

and finally, the lovely hosts of the party, Candice and Davis

There were actually a lot of people at the party...a lot of people I apparently decided to not take any pictures of. Oh well. We had a great time and if I keep enjoying New Years like this, I will have to stop calling it the worst of all holidays! Hope you all had fun bringing in the new year!

18 Weeks (Happy New Year!!!) with Belly Pic's

Well happy 2009 everyone! I have some cute pictures from New Years Eve I will try to get posted tomorrow, but for today, it's THURSDAY! Another week pregnant! Eighteen to be exact. Amazing but true. This is a big one because between now and next Thursday we get the BIG ultrasound! When I attempt to share this excitement with people they all say, "Oooooo, can you find out what it is??" and I say, "Yes, but we decided to wait." and then they say, "Oh...whatever. Who cares about your stupid ultrasound then...." and then I SAY, "I get to SEE my BABY!". And they say, "Meh...". Whatever. I don't care if OTHER people aren't excited. Nick and I are seriously pumped. CANNOT WAIT for Tuesday!

So, 18 weeks. The baby is doing really great (apparently. This will be confirmed with the BIG ultrasound!) He/she is currently five and a half inches long, which is about the size of a baked potato. They weigh a little over five ounces and can now make facial expressions like frowning. Adorable little baby frowns!

As for me...much of the same. Still feel pretty great. I am having a little heart burn creep in, which is a touch of annoying but nothing terrible. My lower back has been hurting, but I am still working that out with the heating pad. All in all I feel great! I have been feeling what I am 99.9% sure is the baby moving around since Christmas. He/she was really active last night!..or my digestive system was...but I REALLY think it is the baby! That's about it. Just rolling along and excited to see the new pictures of sweet Baby C! Now for the last belly pic's taken in 2008Shirt down, not that big of a deal. Shirt up...the belly is back from last week.