Oh, the Butterflies!

After much debate, I think we've finally settled on the crib bedding for the nursery. It's the Mia Rose set by CoCaLo. I like that it's girly, but that it doesn't scream "baby".

What do you think?

Reflections on Life

Last night Mike and I went to a county fair in our area with one of our friends to see Dierks Bentley and Brad Paisley in concert (which was awesome, by the way!). Perhaps it was the hormones mixed with country music, but while we were sitting there in the stands I started thinking about how amazing life can be.

I can truly say that I love my life. I have the most amazing husband whom I love more than life itself. I have a beautiful home that I've worked so very hard to own. I'm so entirely blessed to be expecting a daughter that I thought I may never have and I've got the sweetest, most loving dog in the world that brightens every single one of my days. Through the ups and downs I've experienced over the past few years, I've been able to emerge stronger with the mindset that the view from where I sit is actually pretty phenomenal, despite any setbacks I may face. It's sometimes hard to see this beauty through the fog of the everyday, of the hard times, so I felt drawn to including a post like this in my blog to help ground me the next time I fail to realize my many blessings.

My mom fowarded me an email this morning that I thought very fitting for today. It reads, "One day a woman's husband died, and on that clear, cold morning, in the warmth of their bedroom, the wife was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't any more. No more hugs, no more special moments to celebrate together, no more phone calls just to chat, no more 'just one minute.' Sometimes, what we care about the most gets all used up and goes away, never to return before we can say good-bye, say 'I love you.' So while we have it, it's best we love it and care for it and fix it when it's broken....and heal it when it's sick. This is true for marriage and old cars and children with bad report cards and dogs with bad hips and aging parents and grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it. '

I couldn't help but send Mike a quick email at work after reading this to tell him I love him. I also found myself saying a short prayer thanking God for all the good people/experiences in my life that he's surrounded me with. I'll certainly admit that I don't do this often enough.

To everyone following my blog, have a great weekend and don't forget to spend some time enjoying the little things in life.

21 Weeks

Well, this has been a pretty uneventful week pregnancy-wise. The heat has died down so I've been much more comfortable. I've still been tired, but my iron supplements seem to be helping. I must finally look pregnant enough now where strangers are no longer wondering if I'm just fat as I've had two people ask me when I was due within just the past few days (which seems weird to be because I don't really feel very big yet). For now, I'm just continuing to work on my registry and am very much looking foward to meeting our baby girl.

From Baby Center this week, our daughter now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long - the length of a carrot. I may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. I may also discover a pattern to her activity as I get to know her better. In other developments, our baby's eyebrows and lids are present now and her vagina has begun to form as well.

20 Weeks

We've reached the halfway point!

I've still been feeling great, however, I've really been dragging due to the extreme heat and humidity we've had here lately. I'm ready for a nap by around 6pm each night and have very little energy to do much around the house. Since we decided to put off installing central air in the new house until next summer, Mike has installed a window air conditioner in our master bedroom and I've been spending my evenings in there. My headaches have been even more frequent and severe than in the past thanks to my allergies (which have only gotten worse since being pregnant). I'm greatly looking foward to the cooler temps. of fall when my allergies generally improve.

After finding out we're having a daughter, I've also started to work on the registry this week - I've never been so overwhelmed! There are so many choices to make that it's cauding my head to spin. It has been fun to finally purchase some baby girl outfits on clearance though for next spring/summer.

From Baby Center this week, our daughter now weighs about 10 1/2 ounces. 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. She's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for her digestive system. She's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in her bowels, and we'll see it in her first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

New Ultrasound Pictures

Our little one was being stubborn at our anatomy scan and kept putting her hands in front of her face so we only ended up with two good ultrasound pictures. It was very exciting to get a 4D image of our daughter though for the very first time! It's already pretty clear that she has my nose.

The rest of the appointment went very well. All of her parts measured right where they should and the doctor was very happy with our healthy little girl.

Total weight gained so far: +5.8 lbs.

It's a....

19 Weeks

Our big ultrasound is tomorrow at 10am! I still believe that Baby M. is a girl, but I guess I'll have to wait and see. Mike still feels pretty strongly that it's a boy - we've got a back massage riding on the deal so I hope I'm right :)

The only big change I've noticed this week is that I've been feeling more consistent movement. I still haven't felt any actual kicks yet, but the baby is certainly moving around all over the place in there. It's funny, everything I've read mentioned that it's easier to feel the baby while you're relaxing, however, the only times I've ever felt movement was when I was walking or working around the house. We must have a very active little one!

From Baby Center this week, our baby's sensory development is exploding! Its brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research even suggests that the baby may be able to hear our voices now if we were to sing or read to it. The baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom and arms and legs are in the right proportions both to each other and the rest of its body now. The baby's kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on its scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on its skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid (ewww).

"An Answered Prayer"

So it appears that we may have another contender for a girls name for Baby M. While looking through a baby name book on my lunch hour today, I came across the name Arabella and instantly fell in love it with. My two favorite names for a baby girl so far have been Avery and Isabella, both of which Mike was on the fence about, so I feel that Arabella is a great combination of them both and, here comes the best part - Mike doesn't hate it.

The name itself means both "beautiful" and "an answered prayer". For any readers who have known me long before I began my blog and have been following my TTC journey for a few years, I'm sure it's easy to see why I love the name so much. I feel it's extremely fitting. I get choked up just thinking about it. I also love that the name is somewhat different, but not too different.

I think it's safe to say that Arabella Grace is now at the top of our list should Baby M. be a girl. Oh, and only two more days until we'll know for sure! Eeek!

So Very Ready for Fall

With the extreme heat and humidity we've been experiencing here lately, I feel like I am counting down the days until fall. It is without a doubt my favorite time of year. I love how beautiful the trees become when the leaves start changing colors, the smell of everything pumpkin, the chilly (but not cold) weather, craft shows, spiced apple cider, the anticipation of the approaching holidays, and above all, Halloween. Yes, I'm one of those freaky Halloween lovers.

This year, I have even more reason to look foward to fall. Now that we're in the new home and actually have the space to entertain, we've decided to start an annual tradition where we host a Halloween party each October for our friends and family. This is something I've wanted to do for a few years now so of course I'm thrilled at the idea. Even though it means Mike and I have to get our butts in gear and start completing more projects around the house, I can't wait! I'll even admit that over the past week I've already started to gather ideas for some Halloween/fall decorations for the house.

Here are just some of my favorites so far:

I also stumbled accross an awesome Halloween decor wesbite. Check it out at http://www.grandinroad.com/.

18 Weeks

Only one more week to go until our big ultrasound! I'm excited beyond words!

Over the past week I've started feeling more movement although it's still not extremely obvious. It still feels simply like a goldfish swimming in my abdomen at times. I also think the heat and humidity here have started to weigh heavily on me (I truly feel for all those women who are 8-9 months along right now - I think I would very literally lose my mind). I'm exhausted by about 5pm onwards and have zero energy. I've also been extremely moody. Poor Mike, last night I yelled at him for every single thing he did. I finally ended up picking up an additional iron supplement at Target to see if that helps with my energy level at all although I haven't yet noticed a significant difference. I still don't really have much of a baby belly - it mostly looks like I've just eaten a few too many pizzas over the past month. I'm "fluffier" than I've ever been, that's for sure.

From Baby Center this week, head to rump, our baby is about 5 1/2 inches long and weighs almost 7 ounces. The baby's busy flexing its arms and legs — movements that I'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. The baby's blood vessels are visible through its thin skin and its ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from the head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around its nerves, a process that will continue for a year after birth. If I'm having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If I'm having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now but he may hide them from us during an ultrasound.