31 weeks.

At 31 weeks pregnant, I have gained about 25 lbs total. Im really happy with that - especially since my diet has not been so good lately, with all the vacations we've been taking. I am hoping to keep it around 30-35 lbs altogether, so that means I'm still on target. My bp is still amazingly low, which is WONDERFUL news, especially with my history of pre-eclampsia. Everything is going great! Im just so thankful for our good health!

Had another ultrasound on Wednesday, and it was amazing! Saw & Heard the heartbeat (which has been a steady 150 bpm throughout the pregnancy). Even got some great head/face/profile shots, in 3d! And our New Baby has hair - peach-fuzz kind of hair, but still, I saw it! The u/s tech was really nice. She said "Believe me, not all babies are this cute and cooperative!" Baby is measuring 1.5-2 weeks bigger than average. At 31 weeks s/he is 4.5 lbs already! :) So, this one will certainly be bigger than Hannah, but Im sure I can handle it.

Everyone is convinced that this baby is a boy, but we still don't know the gender. Hannah still wants a baby sister. But we just don't know yet. It's our Christmas surprise :) Funny, it seems like everyone we know is having boy babies right now. Is this some sort of bizzare 2008-09 trend?

I wish our scanner was working, so I could share some pics. I don't know why it's not working! Everytime I plug it in, I get a weird error message. Oh well. One of these days I'll get around to copying all the ultrasound pictures.

---

Last night I hosted a Craft Night at church. It was just me and Melissa and Hannah who showed up, but we still had fun. I completed the first four pages of my pregnancy scrapbook. Now I need to print hundreds more pictures of our beach trip, and our family trip last week, and some belly shots of me for the other pages.



This morning I attended the southern MOPS group, and helped make crafts for a Christmas fundraiser they are doing next month. It was nice to see all those moms again. I feel like I need more of a social life, outside of Hannah and our babysitting/playdates. It makes me sad that so many of my friends live far away...!

Mostly Pictures.

I've set a new personal record: I've completed TWENTY scrapbook pages this week! (Thanks to Jenn!) I've finished everything, all the way up to my sister's wedding! Now I have to print more pictures so that I can keep going! I'm on a roll!
Hah - You would not believe how many glue sticks I've used up this week.


I absolutely LOVE this picture of Hannah.

And I love this expression on her face. I think she was about to drink water out of the hose.

My pregnant belly: 18 weeks.

My pregnant belly: 19 weeks.



I am so very thankful that I am healthy and everything continues to go well with this pregnancy. I can't wait to be huge and obviously pregnant, waddling around like a penguin... ok, so that part's not so comfortable. But still, I am loving it!

Iron-on shirt.

Im 13 weeks pregnant! Did I already say that?
Is that usually considered the 2nd trimester, or not quite yet?
I dont remember exactly how the days are broken down.

I read the other day that my baby is about 2.5-3 inches long, and weighs about half an ounce. That seems SO TINY! Hannah has been asking often if she can see the baby in my tummy. I keep saying "not yet, the baby has to grow more."

This morning, the five year old that I babysit walked up to me with a baby doll and asked if it was the same size as a newborn. Well, almost! It was a good guess.
We babysat from 9-5 today, and the kids really wore me out. The girls didnt want to stop running, all afternoon!

I made this adorable shirt for Hannah last night. Here is the front:

And this is the back:

I hope it's not too big for her. We're gonna take it on vacation with us, and I can't wait for her to wear it and tell everyone all about it!!!


Tonight is Mike's last night shift for the month, then he has the weekend off! YAY!
Then after next week, he has TWO WEEKS off! That's even better! ;)

Im excited about tomorrow night: two interrupted hours of SCRAPBOOKING! Maybe I'll finally be able to get through Christmas 2007, and move on to 2008!

Have a good weekend.

Nicole

Surprise Reactions.

Hannah and I went on a long road trip this weekend. Here is a summary:

On Friday morning, we went to a really nice MOPS tea. All the moms made such yummy treats to eat! And even though I was reluctant to drink tea (I just don't like hot flavored water, sorry!), it wasn't too bad with lots of sugar in it.
After I read my speech, I don't think there was a dry eye in the entire room. It was am amazing experience. Then my friend JoAnna summed up the entire year beautifully, with her message about the fruits of the spirit, and being content with whatever God gives you.

We stayed overnight in Maryland. I announced my pregnancy by telling my mother "Oh by the way, we won't be able to visit for Christmas this year, because.... I'm due to have a baby on Christmas Eve!"
And do you know what her reaction was?
"OH NO, I hope you dont have another KYLA!!!"
(Kyla is my crazy/sweet/oddball sister; she was born on Christmas Eve in 1985.)

Saturday, we drove to PA. Had dinner with the in-laws. Hannah bonded with her great grandpap and uncles, while I introducted my MIL to the world of scrapbooking. She is now addicted!

Sunday was Mother's Day. After church, my FIL took us out for brunch. It was so yummy! I ate everything on my plate, and half of Hannah's blueberry pancakes! Then we visited some friends, took a nap in the afternoon, and let Hannah play in the hot tub before dinner.

I got to tell Mike's parents about my pregnancy too. My MIL was so overjoyed that she was practically weeping. She said "I've been hoping you would tell me that for months; I'm so happy for you!"

The only really bad part of our trip happened on Sunday night, when I smashed my finger in the door. It hurt SO MUCH, and I felt really embarrassed that I'd hurt myself like that in front of Hannah and all of Mike's family. My finger is very bruised and purple and sore, but thankfully not broken.

We spent Monday and Tuesday with our friends in Pittsburgh! We got to meet Ally's new baby boy, play with Aaron, one of Hannah's best friends, and just hang out and relax. On Tuesday afternoon we met up with some more college friends and their babies. The kids had so much fun together! I wish we could see them more often.

Wednesday, we left for home at 9:45am, and got to Durham exactly nine hours later. Not bad, especially since we took more than several potty breaks, and spent 30 mins at a West Virginia state park, to get some exercise.
If gas prices weren't so high, I'd love to do it all over again next month.

Mike really outdid himself while we were gone. He acted like he was just so tired and busy from work that he couldn't possibly bring himself to do anything around the house. But he fooled us!

The first thing that we saw when we parked our car in the driveway, was a brand-new swingset in the backyard! SURPRISE! Hannah was so thrilled that it took me an hour just to get her inside! And waiting in her room was her brand new big girl bed, complete with the sprakly purple butterfly bedding that has been hiding in her closet for over a month! No more baby crib for this girl!

For me, he cleaned the kitchen, scrubbed the floors, vaccumed the whole house, washed all our sheets and towels and dirt dishes... He also got me fiften roses! One dozen, plus three more for each year that I've been a mother. So sweet.

Hope you had a Happy Mother's Day!

And again, thank you all so much for your prayers!
They really mean a lot to me.

And the eyes have it.

Mike went to the optometrist this morning, and after some deliberation... he scheduled laser eye surgery for April 8th.
This is something he has wanted to do for many years, and we are now in a financial position to do it. He is pleasantly surprised that the whole process will go so quickly; for some reason he was under the impression that he would have to have eye exams every few months for over a year, before he could be considered for the surgery. But they say he is a good candidate.
So, hopefully in a few weeks, he will no longer need glasses! He'll be able to see much better, and won't struggle with fine print, or strain to watch tv anymore. I am excited for him.

Mike also got his annual review yesterday. He was given an excellent recommendation, and a small raise. He's been clashing with his supervisor a lot this past year, so getting the raise was somewhat surprising (she doesn't grant them easily). He also spoke yesterday with a county supervisor about some changes that he would like to implement at work.

I got a strange request tonight from my MIL. She asked that next time I visit, I bring my craft supplies, and teach her how to scrapbook! Since she's been fueling my scrap habit for years with Michael's giftcards every holiday, how could I say no?!

Last night I stayed up until 3am, writing the first portion of my book. It is still very much a rough draft, but I feel an urgency to write down everything I can remember. I don't want my memories to fade. I don't want to forget any of the details, the emotions, the events that took place. I know this project will take a long time, but I am glad that I am making a little bit of progress, slowly, day by day.

Please respond to let me know you've been here.
I'd love to know who's been reading my blog!

Nicole