The BIG one...

Today we had the BIG ultrasound to find out what we are having. It turns out we are having a baby, who looks to be normal. I was totally expecting to be told I was having a boy. I do not know why, I just FELT that way, and many people have told me that I look to like I am carrying a boy (low, high, whatever), I had a dream it was a boy, maybe I wanted a boy...regardless, I was 100% expecting to be told that a little Alexander was on the way. Turns out dreams and old wives tales are not very reliable. We are having a GIRL baby...I am equally excited, but am going to require some time for mental adjustment. I have been 'accidentally' calling it him, and now have to make the mental switch to her. I do not know why having a girl seems more scary than a boy, maybe boys just seem tougher from the beginning. Matt and I now get to learn how to be a girls parents, which makes it all a bit more real. I am excited about starting to actually look at things to get for the baby, which still does not have a suitable name, and am trying to figure out how to avoid the seas of pink headed my way. Matt's first comment was that a girl has a better chance of winning an Olympic medal in weightlifting, obviously we have A LOT to learn.

On Kelly's Behalf

Dear Audience,

We are covered in snow again. Fortunately, as I slaved away shovel at the many feet of snow, a friendly snow plow driver took a large chunk out of the way for me. I rejoiced. Both vehicles are cleared away... for now.

Kelly still doesn't feel well. However the gallons per hour of snot has reduced. Hopefully she will recover very soon. The baby has been kicking a lot. Apparently trying to encourage her to recover.

OK That's about it.

Matt

Scary things and fun things...

Here is an idea of what Matt is looking forward to with our firstborn!


Things I have been scared of while being pregnant:
Tubal pregnancy
Miscarriage
Cramps (Turns out their normal)
Lunch meat
Fish
Developmental disorders ( I know too much)
Coffee (2 8oz cups is fine)
Tea
Red wine
Seat belts
Random diseases from work (Health care is scary)
Gaining too much weight
Not being attractive to my husband
Being a mother
Gorgonzola (my favorite)
Joint separation
Back pain (ouch!)
Lifting people at work
Birth (!!!!!)


Things I have enjoyed while being pregnant:
Feeling it move
Telling people and watching/listening to their reaction
Picking out names (Girls names are tough!)
Thinking about what it may look like
Feeling it move
Planning colors for a nursery (see link below)
Hearing the heartbeat
Watching my husbands reaction to random pregnancy issues
Talking about being pregnant with other expectant mothers
Feeling it move

Dr. Appointments, weight gain, and belly pics

Today was my monthly check up to make sure the kid was still there and to charge me a $45 copay. The kid is indeed still there, I could have told them that because I feel it move everyday. It loves to wiggle at lunch time and in the late afternoon. They all seemed surprised that I was feeling it move already, and have been for the last couple of weeks. This time they easily found the heart beat with the monitor, which was nice, because four weeks ago it was hiding and they had to do an 'informal ultrasound' to make sure everything was alright. Speaking of ultrasounds, I thought that today was when I got to have my BIG ONE to find out what it is, but as it turns out I have to wait two more weeks. I am a little bummed, but waiting the extra time will increase the accuracy of the procedure, which is a good thing. So Feb. 25th at 5pm is the big day when HOPEFULLY the kid will show us the goods and we can stop calling it it and start calling it him or her.

I am posting two pictures, the one in the blue shirts was taken 1/11/08, and the one in black shirt was taken 2/11/08. I feel huge, and everyone says that I look big for 18 weeks, but the doctor said my size is good, and I will take that word for gospel. At this point I have gained 10 pounds, which seems like a ton, but I am not going to stress over that issue. I keep telling myself that I am eating well and exercising (more now that I am not completely exhausted) and so what if I end up with a TEN POUND BABY (fear, great fear!!).

That is pretty much all of the new pregnancy information. Things are going great, I feel really good, I love feeling it move and cannot wait for Matt to be able to feel it too.

Ooh, one last good thing: I was nervous about two things regarding our move to Carson City. The first was having to change doctors at five months into my pregnancy, and the second was having to deliver at the hospital in Carson City. Through my job I just know waaaaay too much about how poorly the Carson hospital is run. God's blessing: At my appointment today I found out that my doctor works part time in Carson City and part time in Tahoe, so I do not have to change doctors, AND they just built a brand new clinic in Carson where I can go for all of my appointments. All the doctors from this practice deliver at Barton, which is in Tahoe, so I am going to have the baby there, which relieves a lot of my stress! It has been a good day!

Praise and Prayer: This week we found out that Matt's brother and his wife are expecting their first child in October, which is great! However, she is going to be spending the next FIVE months in Spain for school. I cannot imagine being away from my husband and in foreign country during the first five months of pregnancy!

A buyers market...

Matt and I have decided that since we are going to be living in Carson for a while (who knows...maybe even a year or two...) we would try to invest in a house. Right now everyone says that this is a buyers market and Carson is indeed seeing the lowest prices on houses since the 90's . Matt and I both firmly believe in the value of owning real estate, and that renting, especially at 1200 - 1400 per month is throwing your money away without the chance of seeing any return. I personally HATE renting because I love the freedom to do what I want with my home and not worry about my landlord. I am also really excited about designing a nursery, and having a garden. I guess I am just a sucker for remodeling, thoughts of walking slowly through Lowes keeps me awake at night!!! We put in an offer yesterday for this home:

http://www.idxcentral.com/snar/idxsearch.cfm?idxid=bgremax&pg=profile&mls=70020209&start=1&list=5&from_price=0&to_price=200000&sqft=1100&bed=3&bath=0&comarea=222%2C230%2C242%2C250%2C271%2C261%2C202%2C281%2C221%2C211%2C272%2C263&ptype=Single%20Family&rows=5&do=any&acmin=0&acmax=99999&ybmin=0&garmin=0&stories=any&horse=any&fl=any&lo=any&loid=any&la=any

It needs some work. The whole thing, ceilings, walls, cabinets, are all painted white, which is nice because it is like they primered everything for us. The bathrooms are in good shape, the backyard is AWESOME!! It is a place that would be easy to move in and do the work slowly because it is all cosmetic. We are supposed to hear back on the offer on 2/9. I have also found a nursery idea that I am excited about:

http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/dc_design_childrens/article/0,1793,HGTV_3367_4628552_09,00.html

So, we will see. There were some other houses in the area that were good options, but this one was definately the favorite. I am trying not to get too attached.

Enough snow to make you swear!!

The amount of snow we have is truly ridiculous!! This is why we are moving to Carson City and getting off the mountian.

The first trimester in a nutshell

Since this blog is going to be largely centered around the pregnancy, I figured I would summarize my first trimester to bring the blog up to the present.

Getting pregnant was surprisingly easy, my boss has been trying for about two and a half years and it was hard for me to tell her that it took all of about 15 minutes off the pill for this fertile Myrtle to conceive. I was blessed with a surprisingly easy first trimester, and anything that sounds like me complaining is just my vague attempt to empathize with those pregnant women who spend most of their time hugging the toilet. I was only sick for one week, and it was a bad week, but after that I did pretty good. The sight, sound, smell, mention of chicken made me want to hurl, but as long as I stayed away from any food that once flew I was fine. I did get some doozy headaches, and I was BONE NUMBINGLY tired. As far as physical symptoms were concerned that was about it, like I said, I was blessed.

Psychologically, being pregnant was a little tricky. You spend your whole teenage/adult life striving to be thin and strong and fit, and then you pee on a stick and everyone thinks it is okay to throw all of those deeply rooted thoughts out the window and buy incredible comfortable fat clothes. Now, I am all about comfy clothes, but getting used to being bigger than I have ever been in my life has taken a bit of work. My husband has been incredible supportive, even going with me to Taco Bell, which has been my only craving, and telling me that I am supposed to get big. I think it has been particularly trying since I work in a nursing home and every old lady wants to touch my stomach and tell me how big I am getting. Talk about loss of personal space!!!

Today I am about to start my 17th week, which is two weeks into my second trimester, but there will be plenty of time to write on that later. On a side note, Matt begins his second week as personal trainer at world gym, and he has had a few good contacts with potential clients, so please pray that this week he will be able to lock them into contracts and beginning the actual training.

A new adventure

This year has been the year for new adventures, and the purpose of this blog is to try and document the changes, and lack thereof, in my time on earth. It is also intended to span the miles between friends and family all over the country. I have never been good at writing letters, or keeping up with email, but I am determined to make this work.

It has almost been a full year since my husband and I packed up everything we owned, and moved to South Lake Tahoe, Ca. I started a new career, which I love, and Matt has gone through several in this period of time...
Now we are planning on moving to the base of the Sierras, about thrity miles from where we are currently located. It is just too cold, and there is just too much snow in these mountians for a Texas girl like myself. The move was also based around the fact that we are expecting our first kid in July, and it will make life much easier to work and live in the same town. Our goal, lofty as it may be, is for me to work part time and Matt to work in the afternoon/evenings so that we do not have to put the kid in daycare.

So, I guess this is a good first post...now you know where I came from and where I am going, and some of what I am looking forward to in the coming months. I am sure keeping a blog will become easier with practice.