Adios July, Hello August...

Here I am, at 28 weeks...

Rod kept Charley for an overnight so I could go with a friend to Twin Falls for a final girls' getaway before babies are born.  It happened that the second day of that fell on our anniversary.  I brought Rod back his very favorite meal - Chili's Skillet Queso.  I think he's a happy man.

Charley's enjoying her tumbling class.  I scored this trampoline free - I think she likes it.

It's funny to me how she'll randomly be in love with a toy for a day that she's not played with in ages.  Today it was her sock rabbit - who, she named Jackson.

Moments from June

Just some random pics I wanted to share!  Isn't this how you cut the grass?

Pretending to sleep...  oh, she found her winter hats and has been wearing them around the house for days now.

She wanted to wear her helmet - to water the plants!

Already have it on - may as well ride my trike!  (She has gotten REALLY good at it!)

I found a great bulk deal on berries, so bought POUNDS of them.  Ran the dehydrator for a week straight, and decided to chocolate dip a box of them.  Who needs chocolate - give me a strawberry!

Okay, I can do this - first, strawberry...

 ... then chocolate...

 ...mmm, who needs strawberries?

Beautiful, full rainbow!  And I didn't notice it when we saw it, but there's a second one!

24 weeks

Chard, anyone?

Twenty weeks pregnant

Found Charley a sit 'n spin on a FB garage sale site

She found her watermelon hat and just HAD to wear it (for, like 3, days)

Dada's home!

Eating raw chard - is this normal?

Now we're sporting TWO winter hats.

Brush those teeth!

My Pregnancy Journey

I love being pregnant! It has been quite a journey, one that, as much as I'll be so happy to meet baby, I'll be a little sad to leave behind!

I was really suspecting I may be pregnant on Super Bowl weekend, February 6-7, and fortunately we were making a run to town on Monday Feb. 8, so I didn't have to wait long to buy a test to confirm - and it was positive! We were so excited!

So, I chose my health care provider, a midwife in Elko, and scheduled my first appointment for Monday March 8 - at eight weeks pregnant. We got our first ultrasound.


Looks like a little lima bean huh?

My next appointment was at twelve weeks...

...and just so happened to be the day before my 30th birthday!

Here's me at 16 weeks:

At my 20 week appointment, we got a second ultrasound - the doctor who did it said we had a "gorgeous baby", and everything checked out! Mom and Dad were in town visiting, and got to go along! We're very careful to make sure everyone knows we do NOT want to know the sex of the baby. So far, so good!

We didn't take a pic of me at 20 weeks, but I then went home to Alabama for three weeks, and Mom took this 21 week pic:

I'm starting to show!!! For the first time, people were stopping me to ask when I was due, touching my belly, talking about my being pregnant.

She also got artsy, and took some pregnant belly pics...

We joke that this is my "trailer bride" pic... (hey, I did live in a trailer for a year!)

And while I was home, she did two more ultrasounds on me! A 2-D, and a 3-D. I hope they don't find ultrasounds cause some sort of adverse effects, because this poor baby has had more than its share!

Before I left AL, we took a 24 week photo:

Once back in Nevada, I REALLY started to grow! On August 2-4, we took a camping/hiking trip with my five Haas Hall students and the five YCC kids to Great Basin National Park. On August 2 I was 29 weeks pregnant, which just so happens to the be the day we hiked to the ancient Bristlecone Pine Grove and Wheeler Glacier. Here I am in front of one of the world's oldest living organisms:

FYI - 29 weeks, that translates to 7.5 months pregnant. And I was feeling it! Within the past couple weeks I've finally started to feel pregnant - it's hard to bend over and put on shoes (I no longer untie, just slip my tennis shoes off and on), and I had to stop a LOT on this hike to take a breather! Of course, we WERE at 10,000+ feet elevation! I'm still incredibly lucky though... never battled morning sickness (save the sick feeling the wood-burning stove smell gave me for about a 3-4 week period), not having trouble with heartburn, still have lots of energy... no complaints here!

This week we went in for our 30 week appointment, as we now are going every two weeks, and had yet another ultrasound. Baby measured right on target, weighing in at 3 pounds 10 ounces - and we got a great look at its little cute face!