Tick Tock

Ok, so I lied and am super behind on my pictures. I don't know where the time has gone... I might have slept through the last 6 weeks because it has been a blur.

But I am back. This post will be quick but I plan on being back very soon. My nursery is half way there so atleast I haven't been completely slacking like I have been on my pictures and blog.

This whole pregnancy thing is definitely exhausting. Back pain is not nice and sciatica is it's ugly cousin. Both of which have the pleasure of joining my company.

Baby J is moving so much. She's growing so big and we can finally see her moving in my belly. It's so weird but very exciting at the same time. Can't wait to meet our baby girl!

Week 20 and Week 21... Half Way There!

This will probably be the last time I get to wear a bikini... Though I pray and wish that my body will bounce back after pregnancy, I highly doubt it will. I'm pretty sure stretch marks and abdominal flab will be right around the corner :(. I am awful at going to the gym, making any excuse not to go, even putting a freeze on my gym membership because I got pregnant. I have a feeling baby girl will be a big baby that will stretch my belly to no return.  Maybe I get a tummy tuck?... (note to self: start saving $$$ now!)

We had a great time at the beach! I love Topsail Island. I've been going there yearly since I've been with the hubby. It's one of his vacation spots and he practically grew up spending every summer there.  The puppies loved it as well. We stayed at a pet friendly ocean front beach house. I wonder how it will be next year with Baby King. It's hard to imagine traveling with 2 large dogs and a 8 month old... but I love these mutts and can't imagine being without them.

Another milestone... Over the hump and getting closer to meet my little girl. My hormones have been off the charts the past few days. Almost seems like I'm riding an emotional rollercoaster. Just wishing and praying my poor old husband will stick around for the ride ;)  

Baby King is a GIRL!!

My little bun in the oven is a girl, just like I expected! :) Heard from a friend that theres's 60% chance Mom is right about the gender and I guess I fell into that majority.

She was so active during the sonogram... very much awake and kicking up a storm. In this picture her hands are above her head, her legs straight up, and kicking me like CRAZY. Brad and I were so amused watching her move around. She is already displaying a lot of spunk and a crazy amount of energy in the womb. I am sure we will have our hands (and feet) full once she's out and about. Can't believe how much she tickles us already. I definitely teared up watching her... and Daddy was not too proud to shed a few tears as well.

Here's her little face, looking very much like Daddy. I love her so much already. I can't wait to meet her and hold her in my arms. I am truly blessed. 

Is Baby A Boy Or Girl???

I have extremely slacked with my baby bump pictures! From now on I promise to take weekly pictures.

Baby is definitely making his/her presence known now! Feeling lots of baby kicks, flips, somersaults, and whatever else baby can be doing. I LOVE my belly. Never knew how lovely it would be to feel my baby moving and belly growing. We will be going to the beach this weekend. Never thought I would be excited wearing a bikini with a big belly, for the first time in my life I won't have to be concious about sucking it in. Hehe...

Our third prenatal appointment is today, and our ultrasound should be sometime this week. I really hope they can squeeze me in before I leave for NC. This is a much anticipated appointment. Weeeeh!

First Milestone

Time is flying. I'm so happy to finally be deemed in the "safe zone" AKA the second trimester! Woohoo! Big milestone for little baby.

I weighed 118.7lbs this morning. Prepregnancy weight was 115.2lbs. I weighed 120lbs during my second prenatal visit but I don't think that was accurate (it was late in the day and I ate a ton before weighing). Either way, seems like I'm right on tract with my weight gain.

We also heard baby's heartbeat
for the first time. I couldn't stop laughing after seeing Brad's expression. He looked shocked and a little bit freaked out. He said he was not expecting it to sound so distorted and alienlike... Doctor had a little difficulty excluding baby's heartbeat from mine since mine was so loud, plus I was so giddy that I couldnt stop laughing until Brad hid behind the doctor. Baby's heart rate was 150 bpm. Doctor said everything looked great and we are exactly where we should be :) 5 more weeks until the next appointment. Then we will find out if baby is a boy or a girl!!!! *happy dance*

So what has happened recently... Well, this past Friday, a massive thunderstorm came from no where and hit the DMV area. It immediately left us with no power. It was kinda scary not having prepared for it. Earlier forecasts said slight passing thunderstorms... Not "hang-on-to-your-dear-life-this-is-a-big-one-thunderstorm"! Brad was worried the roof would fly off or a something would come flying in the window. He was urging us to move to the basement. I, however did not want to move out of bed (per usual). I tried to tune it out but was frequently startled by the loud thunder and huge of flashes lighting (and possibly a nearby tranformer blowing up). Early morning Saturday Brad hit the road to get a generator. He had to raise hell to get one but he did not want his dear ol' preggo wife without AC and didn't come home empty handed. We were expecting to be without power for well over a few days (we were without electricity for a whole week a few months ago because of Hurricane Irene). Our neighbor/friend had a portable AC window unit so we combined our resources and camped out in my loft Saturday night. We made the best of a bad situation and slept with two fans, humming AC unit, and
beeping smoke detectors (due to low battery). Sunday morning we headed to church and watched a Ted at a nearby theater afterwards. When we arrived home, lights were on and the central AC was back in action. It was such a blessing to have power so soon.

Nursery decorating will begin shortly. I am thinking about a woodland theme, I'm in love with the trees in nursery trend. Progress pictures will be posted shortly :)

Speaking of pictures... I love Annie's expression on this picture. It's somewhere in the middle of absolute happiness and incredibly insane. Silly girl.

Happy Father's Day

It's crazy to think that this time next year I will have a 6 month old. We dream about her all the time. Even though we don't know the sex yet, I refer to Baby as her because we've both had a dream of a baby girl (and so has his mom!), and the Chinese calendar says we're having a girl, but we won't know for another few weeks. My father predicts a boy, along with a few friends. Brad prefers a boy and I a girl but when it comes down to it we will both be extremely happy with a beautiful healthy baby, no matter the gender.
This week has been wonderful. I've been going to bed much earlier than normal. I'm trying to take advantage of it as much as possible... I know months of sleepless nights will be upon us in just a blink of an eye. Oh sleep... Precious sleep. How I cherish and will miss you.
Oh and look at baby bump!!!! Have I grown since week 10, or what?! I didn't get a chance to do week 11 since time slipped by me and my belly really didn't seem to be growing any bigger. But boy did it grow since last week! Hello baby! :)
Brad is very tickled by my growing baby bump. I know he's going to be a great father. He tries to make sure I am eating well, never complains about getting me water at bedtime for my prenatals, talks to "Barnabus" before going to sleep, reads me a few chapters of our read together book (currently Catching Fire) at bedtime, sings to me, takes such good care of me... And there's so many other adorable and amazing qualities about him but if I say anymore I'd sound like I was bragging ;) I am a lucky lucky girl...

Happy Anniversary

Happy 2nd Year Anniversary my Love! About six years ago you told me, "I hope the bumps in the road seem minuscule to the infinite scope of our love". And that they have been. Cheers to us.