Half way there!

Here we are....20 weeks down, 20 weeks to go. I'm feeling great, though getting bigger every second and with every morsel of food that goes down the hatch! The other night i met a sweet, sweet lady who got just so excited about my being pregnant and wanted to feel my belly, and as she did, asked how far along i was. But before i could answer she said "wait, let me guess...........six months." i didn't know whether to guffaw laughing or cry in disbelief, but the only thing that uttered out of my mouth was "um.......four." Then of course she gasped and said, wow, you've got yourself a big baby in there! All the things i've read about baby boy fincher at this stage is that he is the size of a banana. Try a BANANA ON STEROIDS!!!! Anyway, at least i have one healthy little man growing inside of me. I'm so thankful for that.

In addition to being a big, healthy boy, he's also a mover and a shaker! I've been feeling him kick at least a few times every day now. The other day was the first time scott got to finally feel him. I'd been telling him that the baby was kicking, then he'd place his hand where i felt it, but then he'd stop (guess he's just showing off for his momma :)). But on Sunday, we stopped at Sonic after church (yes, the sonic cherry limeade and tater tots are the combo of choice these days) to grab a bite before going to our friend Sarah Catherine's soccer game and it was like the little guy could tell that we were stopping there and just started kicking in total excitement. As soon as we stopped the car, scott placed his hand there and sure enough....he got to feel his son kick for the first time! I know it was awesome for him, you should have seen the look on his face!

Yeah, i have no clue who this kid is, but i thought he was too cute to pass up, but that really is how he looked :)

It's a BOY!!!!

Scott and i found out yesterday that our sweet
baby is a BOY!We are so thrilled!!! You'll notice i have adjusted the ole blog to represent the colors we'll probably seeing a lot of in the future!

The appointment also assured us that so far everything is great and developing normally with our baby boy. He weighs about 10 ounces and is about 7 inches long. They checked his heart--all four chambers are working perfectly! Also, his cerebellum and spine, and both look just wonderful. I didn't realize they checked things like this, but they also checked to make sure both his lips were correct to rule out a cleft palate. He's just wonderful! It was so cute...at one point during the ultrasound, he totally yawned! He slept the majority of the time, but i kept poking him because i wanted him to wake up and play, but i guess i should let him sleep (and get used to it so he'll sleep lots when he gets here!).

I will try and scan in pics from the ultrasound or figure out how to put the dvd of the ultrasound you can see him move (well, only a little, since he WAS a sleepyhead) and hear the heartbeat too. i'm not sure how successful i will be at that, but i'll do my darndest!

love you all--and thank you for sharing in the excitement with us. We are just so blessed!!!

19 weeks!

Wow--19 weeks! That's almost half way there! This morning i got my weekly email from babiesonline, which i'm anxious for every Monday (since i turn over weeks on Sunday). Anyway, i get in and open it up and was a little disturbed by the illustration of what baby probably looks like right now. Ususally the pictures are of the baby just floating around maybe sucking its thumb, or just maybe a little scrunched up, but still so cute. Today i guffawed because the illustration was, well, see for yourself...

Now, i realize the baby doesn't have much room, but really? That just pangs me to look at. The poor thing all scrunched up like that and he/she still has 21 weeks to go!? Poor baby.

Anyway, okay, i'll be back tomorrow with the BIG results! I plan to eat sugar smacks, drink a mountain dew and have a few snickers before my appointment tomorrow morning so i know this baby is good and moving and ready to spread eagle! Let's hope he/she cooperates and is not too modest!

18 weeks!

Here i am at 18 weeks (and three days)! The baby is getting so big--we're going on 6 inches now, and that's just head to bottom (not counting his/her legs and arms)! I'm feeling great, and even some days forget that i'm pregnant (then i look down and am quickly reminded!). This past weekend i got to celebrate mother's day too! Mom gave me some earrings, and scott got me the sweetest card...it had this little baby, probably no older than a few months old, with his little hands firmly grasped together (in prayer mode) with his cute little eyes all squeezed shut like he was just praying his hardest. And on the front it said "and thank you for giving me the sweetest, kindest, most beautiful and special mommy in the whole world. Amen."

Of course, in my prego emotional state, i couldn't help but tear up. Then the inside was a precious little note from baby him/herself telling me lots of cute sweet things, and then a P.S . that said papa told him/her that i could go shopping and by all the maternity clothes i wanted (which was a huge gift because i've been having wardrobe issues lately--and no, not wardrobe malfunctions!). But, what baby doesn't know quite yet, but will get to know very soon is that I am not a big shopper, so all the maternity clothes i wanted that day had to be bought within 30 minutes. :) So, the four of us (scott, mom, baby, and me) all went shopping and i was able to get a few fun things before heading to the movies, and then to the new Thai restaurant by our house. SOOOOO good--and such a wonderful first mother's day.

Back on a baby note (sorry this is a really long post!), i have actually felt MOVEMENT! They are like little pokes here and there. Very scattered and not every day....it's more like every few days....but still totally amazing! With the baby being almost six inches, it's no wonder! Also, the baby can totally hear everything now and can start to recognize voices. Good thing american idol is on tonight, because this baby needs to get to know other trade--my fantastic gift of singing. I realize that to most, it sounds like shrieking, but whatever. It's beautiful. :)

Okay--one week and counting until we know if baby is Scott Jr. or Allie Jr.!!!!! Stay tuned.....

My very first Mother's Day gift!!

We got home from small group last night and waiting for me was a big surprise from Amanda and the boys!!! It's baby's first Razorback jacket (and i agree with you, Mana, it's never too late to start getting him/her prepared as true Razorback fan) and my very first Mother's Day gift! And, look it almost fits him/her! Ha, maybe in a few years....but this was so fun for me, to come home after a hard day (though small group was great) and have this fun surprise just waiting for me. Mom was so giddy she couldn't wait for me to open it. How many times does a woman get her first Mother's Day gift at only 4 months prego? Amanda, Parker, Will (and Chris too, of course), THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! It was such a totally wonderful (not to mention THOUGHTFUL) surprise and really blessed my day. I had had a rough one, as if you can't tell by the gorgeousness of my tired ole face :)

Also in the fun package was baby's first football! You think there's a little "intuition" here? Are you thinking what i'm thinking? A boyish jacket--and a football? A girl could wear the jacket, but i don't know a lot of girls who get footballs :) Hmmmm......

And, What's even cooler about it, is that right now, the baby is about the size of this football! In this second picture, i tried to place it right about where baby is in my belly, to compare sizes.....what do you think? It's a little hard to tell....ha! Thank you, thank you, thank you .....and Will, did you try this on to make sure it would fit your cousin? I heard you couldn't let go of the card you picked out for dee! And, Parker, I just LOVE my note from you. I can't believe you can write your whole name! Way to go, big guy. I love you and miss you all terribly.

17 weeks!

Here i am at 17 weeks (well, 17 weeks and three days, since i'm a little late in taking a pic). It is a little crazy to go back and look at those pics from 10-14 weeks and i thought i felt "big" then! Of course, some read this and think...you're not even four months yet, sweetheart, you don't EVEN know what "big" is!!! Right now, baby weighs about 5 ounces (about as much as a turnip...or so "they" say), and is about 5 inches long. My baby can move all his/her joints, including his/her head, mouth, lips, arms, wrists, fingers, legs, feet, and toes!! He/She is evn developing the most unique part(s) right now.....the fingerprints! How miraculous is that?!?! I love it!

GREAT NEWS!!

"You are the God who answerd me in the day of my distress and have been with me wherever i have gone." Genesis 35:3

At our last OB appt. i took a test (blood test) called a quad screen, that is a maternal screening for birth defects. It's called a quad screen, because it's a collection of four hormone levels, and they're used to determine my risk of having a baby afflicted with a neural tube defect, Down syndrome, or Trisomy. Needless to say, it's a bit nerve-racking of a test.

Well, the blood was drawn on a Tuesday and they said i'd get the results back by Friday (which would have been LAST Friday, April 25). I didn't get a call and so on the following Monday i called to follow up. They didn't have the results back, and the same went for every other day this week....i'd call and follow up, and they'd still not have results back. So, we began to get a little nervous, so on Thursday when i called, i asked the nurse if there was a problem or if there was any cause for alarm. She called the lab AGAIN and asked the same questions (for all we knew they had botched the blood sample and we'd have to draw it again), but they just said they had been backed up and there was really no other reason than that.

SO.....on Friday i called yet again and left a voicemail for my nurse and at about 4:45 got a call on my cell phone. I recognized the number and picked it up, but it wasn't the nurse, it was my doctor!! My stomach fell to my toes when she called b/c i just thought that she was calling to tell me something was wrong. BUT, oh ye (me) of little faith, she was calling to let me know that the results came back normal and all is perfect! Praise the Lord! The nurse was out of the office that day and my doctor knew we'd been waiting on these results so she wanted to call me directly to let me know. whew! I told her how thoughtful i thought it was that she would take the time out of her busy day delivering babies and patients out the wazoo to call me, rather than wait till Monday when the nurse could do it. Dr. Newman is THE BEST!!!!

So, now, the biggest news we'll be waiting for is our May 20 appt. when we'll find if our little avocado is a boy or a girl! Our God is so good....and so faithful!