27 Weeks

Things have been busy since Z left, which is good.  I need the distractions.

I've had a couple of farewell dinners for girls that are moving to different bases soon, a few events with the Officers Spouse Club such as socials and meetings, and I also helped out with the local Airman Cookie Drive.  I baked about 15 dozen cookies for donation.  Those cookies were joined with about 1600 dozen other cookie batches from citizens around the city and on base.  We spent a day putting a dozen different cookies into bags decorated by school kids to give to the airmen that are not allowed to go home for Christmas.  It got me into the holiday spirit a little more.

I missed the 26 week post, but I wanted to wait until after the doctor appointment I had this past Tuesday.  Everything was great!  She didn't do an ultrasound, but we listened to a strong heartbeat --- he even gave a big kick when she was listening to him.  I am 27 weeks now and baby boy is being compared to an eggplant (weeks 25-28).  His eyes are forming, he is working on creating his immune system, and his capillaries are giving a nice pinky glow to his skin.  Hopefully he doesn't take after me with the fair skin...we'll have to buy stock in sunscreen.   He has been very active, most often in the morning and right before I go to sleep.  I haven't been sleeping very well --- so when I am awake in the middle of the night with a fast heart beat, it seems like he thinks I am awake for the day.  Dance party!  It makes it a little more difficult to fall back asleep with him moving around, but thats okay.  Can't complain about that!  :)

This picture is a little dark --- it is difficult to get a good one when your photographer isn't around!

27 Weeks

One of my distractions was the baby shower that was given for us today.  It was hosted by my friends Julia, Rachele, and Michelle (other military spouses).  It was such a fun gathering.  They went to so much effort --- the food was delicious, the decorations and party favors were adorable, and they just did a great job.  I was grateful for all of the people that came.  Here are a few pics to show the fun afternoon.

Delicious food 

Amazing flavor filled cupcakes

Punch and "Baby Bump Cookie" party favors.

We played the game where you pass around unlabeled
baby food and you have to guess what kind of food it is based
on the smell.  I was completely grossed out. 

One of the gifts that my mom sent was a whole box full of
Kansas Jayhawks gear for the baby.  Julia (the shower was at her house)
 is a big Texas Longhorns fan, so we trash talk each others team from time to time.
She said shewould still hold the kiddo though, even if he was in KU gear.  :)

Diaper cake!

'

Me with the hostesses: Julia, Michelle, and Rachele

It was a great afternoon spent with wonderful friends and filled with lots of goodies to spoil our little boy.

Z is doing well.  He made it safely to his place of deployment and is getting in the groove of his work there. We are back to our days of relying on Skype for communication, and even though it would clearly just be better to have him home, we feel so lucky to have the ability to talk and see each other.   No word on when he'll be back yet, but we both have high hopes.  :)   Continue to keep your fingers crossed!

Thankful

It seems like the past few years we have traveled during Thanksgiving, but not this time.  After having been in Lousiana for a few months and also knowing Z's upcoming deployment schedule, his family came to us.   We had a very nice Thanksgiving meal -- Z smoked a turkey and a brisket, and I made a few sides and some pies.  We went to the mall on Black Friday just to experience the crowds, but we really spent the majority of the weekend hanging around the house.  It was really nice to not worry about getting back in time for Z...and Mia was on familiar turf for a full weekend of fetch with a new crowd that was willing to play.

Starting the meal

Thanksgiving table as we were sitting down to eat

Desserts and a few other goodies

I snagged this photo from Z's mom's Facebook profile,
but it was a good showing of the group.

On November 26th, I was 25 weeks!  It seems like this pregnancy is flying by.  People keep asking me how I am feeling, and I have to say that I have no complaints.  I have no additional aches or pains, no swollen ankles, no heartburn or upset stomach, and most of the time I have quite a bit of energy.  I get out of breath putting my shoes on --- but that seems normal at this point.  :)  I keep waiting for the day that I'll wake up feeling uncomfortable, but that hasn't happened yet.  I've been really lucky.

At 25 weeks, Baby Boy Franklin is being compared to the size of an eggplant.  If we could see him, we would be able to see the color and texture of his hair, and also see that he's gaining his baby fat.  His wrinkled skin is beginning to smooth out, and he can definitely hear everything going on around him.  He has been really active, but lucky for me, it is only when I am awake.  Z got to feel a few more big kicks before he left, which was good.  We still don't know when Z will be back.

25 Weeks 

The morning he left.

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving.  :)

Nursery Progress

There hasn't been a lot done, but enough to show some progress.  While we were in Lousiana, we ordered the nursery furniture and decided on a glider --- and knowing that we'd like to have as much of the room done before the deployment, the hubby was hard at work!  I'd really love to give myself some credit, but I didn't do much.....except congratulate him on each accomplishment from behind my camera.  Here is what we have so far.  :)

The room before -- our second guest room right
outside the master bedroom.

Cleared out and painted while I was back in Kansas.  It is
supposed to be a grey color, but in some lights it looks blue.
Good thing its a boy!

The crib assembly wasn't the happiest of moments....but look
at that smile I caught....

Crib complete....now on to getting our mattress and
choosing some bedding.

Dresser/changer combo minus the galley rail to hold in
the changing pad.

What Zach says is the most important feature of the entire room.
This is the kid sized hockey net we got at a local sports store.
Its miniature, but Z has already practiced playing with it.  :)

We've had fun looking at boy stuff in stores --- but the progress will be put on hold for a bit until our family is back together again.  :)

24 Weeks - November 19, 2011

More to come soon...but I wanted to get the much overdue 24 week picture up before I posted the 25 week.  Not too many updates other than he is kicking like crazy!  More to come....hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving weekend.

24 Weeks - November 19, 2011

23 Weeks

Over the family celebration weekend, I was 23 weeks.  Here are a few pictures we took before leaving Kansas.

How Far Along:  23 weeks on November 12th
Total Weight Gain: At my last appointment, I had gained about 7 pounds.  Yikes!
Maternity Clothes:  I think I'm in them for good now.
Stretch Marks:  None yet, but I am starting the lotion because I really don't want them.
Sleep:  Great!
Best Moment This Week:  Getting to spend some time with the uncles and great grandma to be!
Movement: I'm having quite a bit now.  Z is able to put his hand on my stomach and get a few good kicks.  Most of the time, it just feels like the baby is doing forward rolls.
Food Cravings:  I've lost my cheese craving and haven't really moved on to anything else.
Food Aversions:  I gave peanut butter a try again, and it went well.  Looks like PB&J is back on the menu list for this kiddo.
Gender: BOY BOY BOY!!!
What I Miss: Feeling fit.  I want to do a bunch of sit ups, but I know it isn't going to do much.
Milestones:  Finding out we're having a boy and starting on the nursery.  :)

A Family Celebration

One of the reasons the gender news post below was late was because I was in Kansas just a few days after we got the news.  My grandma (dad's mom) turned 90 years old on November 12th!  It was a great weekend of celebration with almost the entire family.  My cousin Rebecca and her husband Nathan are expecting a baby boy sometime around Thanksgiving, so she wasn't able to travel. 

My brothers and I flew into Kansas City --- Tim, Alan, and I were on Thursday.  Jeff was supposed to be, too, but his flight from New York was cancelled.  It was true bummer because we were planning to celebrate his birthday that night at dinner with just our fam.  He was able to get on another flight the next morning, so we drove in to get him and then headed southwest to grandma's place.

The plan was to hang out with the family and have a nice dinner on Saturday evening -- and that is just what we did.  Here are some photos from the weekend.

My brothers wanted to hear Baby Boy Franklin's
heartbeat....they weren't able to....but it was
entertaining for everyone.

I wasn't so sure about the whole situation!

We got Jeff from the airport and were on our way!  Packed
in a car like little kids.

She had a cake on her birthday, but my mom
had these delicious cookies made as another
dessert.  They were delicious.

Grandma gave me a little lamb for Baby Franklin, so we
brought that in our picture.   We are dressed up for her birthday dinner.

Jeff turned 31 on November 13th, so we celebrated before
we left for the airport that day with a birthday breakfast.

It was a good weekend!

Its a Boy!!!

It has been a busy couple of weeks!  Most people know by now that we found out that we are having a BOY, and we are very excited!!!

Z was able to come to the appointment that day (Tuesday Nov. 8), which was really fun.  It was the first time he would meet our doctor, and hear the heartbeat of the baby.  He had to come straight from base, but he made it with plenty of time.  We had talked about it, and we decided that we wanted to find out the sex of the baby during the appointment so that we could have the doctor show us what she saw (or didn't see!).  I was nervous.  I know, weird.

We are still laughing a little bit about how the big news came to us --- it wasn't at all like we expected! You'd think the doctor would do a grand announcement, but that isn't quite what we got.  She started the sonogram and noticed right away that the baby was moving around like crazy.  I was told by a friend to drink some orange juice before we went so the baby would move into various positions.  Well...I drank a LOT of orange juice.  Oops.  Anyway --- the doctor was having a hard time taking still shots or even seeing anything because of the dance party that the baby was having.  She finally managed to show us the heart, the spine and ribs, brain, legs, and we even got a picture of a hand (five fingers!).  As she was scanning over all of this, she was able to get up underneath and show us the two legs.   She said "okay....well, there are some legs...and there is the scrotum and the penis....and lets see some feet.....".  That was it!  I immediately said, "whoa whoa whoa, what did you say?  So it's a boy?"  and she said "Yep."    She is very quiet in her normal conversation anyway, but when she gave us this major news, it was almost like she was telling it to herself!  Z and I were still super excited, but it just cracked us up that we had to ask to make sure.

The news made my mouth drop open.  There is a myth that pilots rarely have boys because the radiation from the jet burns up the "boy makers."  I've had that in the back of my mind, so I truly thought we would have a girl.   I had no preference either way....but Z was so excited that he started laughing.  It was really, really fun!!  We got to see the evidence twice, so we feel pretty confident.  It is great!

Since the appointment, Z has been daydreaming about all of the things he'll be able to do.  Most of it revolves around coaching the kid's hockey team.   :)

We went out to the car and made phone calls to our parents and siblings, but then Z had to go back to base.  I went to a friend's house where a few ladies were waiting to hear the news.  It was a fun day.   Sonogram pics to come!

22 Weeks

I know I missed the 21 week mark, but for good reason.....we are back HOME!  We got the word that Z was going to finish up his training mid-week, so we immediately got wrapped up in packing and getting out of there --- by the time I remembered that we needed to take a bump picture, it was just not worth it.

We got out of Louisiana on Wednesday afternoon and made it to Kansas by that evening.  We were able to spend the night at my parents' house, and the next day we traveled to Lawrence for a walk down Mass. Street and lunch at Jefferson's.  We ate there a few times when Z would come visit while I was at KU, so it was a sentimental stop....and Z loves the hot wings.  They make him sweat.   :)    

Hot Wings!

A beautiful day in Lawrence

This past Saturday I was 22 weeks, and I have been feeling great!  It seems strange to me to have so much energy, but I'll take it.  I've been experiencing more kicks from Baby Franklin, but they are still pretty small.  Luckily, the biggest one I had occurred while Z was around, so he was able to feel it, too.  Now that we are back home, we have really focused on getting the nursery done.  We started to clear out our upstairs guest room (soon to be nursery) by moving out the queen size bed --- due to a lack of storage space, we had to "deflate" and box up our Sleep Number bed that we've enjoyed in the master bedroom and put the guest room bed in there.  We're liking it so far though, so it was an okay swap.  We bought some No VOC paint at Menards --- a grey color --- and will soon know if we'll be accenting with blue or pink.  :)  The furniture should arrive next week, and our glider is on its way as well.  We're hoping to have the basics in place before Z is deployed.

Here is the most recent picture.  I had a sweatshirt on and was told that it hid the bump.  This may be my most unflattering photo yet, so I apologize. 

22 Weeks + 2 days

We find out the gender this week, so we'll be posting again soon!   For now, we are so excited to be home.

Even though we know she loved her 8 weeks in Kansas,
we're so happy to have our pretty pup back with us, too.

20 Weeks...Halfway There!

I can't believe we're already halfway through the pregnancy....does it go this fast for everyone?  I think it seems to be speeding by because I've been pretty lucky.  I only had about 4 to 5 weeks at the beginning where I was feeling pretty nauseated everyday (...all day...), and physically got sick only a half dozen times.  I also haven't had any weird cravings, so overall, I've felt pretty much like myself.  It just seems like we should still be in the first trimester.

The baby is being compared to the size of a cantelope this week....but it doesn't seem that big!  It is swallowing, which puts the digestive system to work.  The gooey substance that we'll see in the first diaper after birth is now accumulating.  Wahoo.    :)   Z wasn't especially thrilled to hear that update.  I told him as the dad, he is forced to call dibs on that gem.

20 Weeks

How Far Along:  20 weeks - October 22
Total Weight Gain/Loss: I haven't weighed myself lately.
Maternity Clothes: I am still loving the maternity jeans even though they are still big.
Stretch Marks: Not yet, but Z suggested I buy some cocoa butter lotion....
Sleep: Great, but I've had some crazy dreams lately!
Best Moment This Week: Another healthy week
Movement: I think so...but it is hard to tell.  I'm hoping all is okay.
Food Cravings: Anything cheese, and also oranges.  I was really wanting a margarita earlier this week, so we went for Mexican food tonight and Z let me smell his.  Not quite the same enjoyment level....
Gender: We could find out this week, but we're still in the south.
What I Miss: Having a margarita with my shrimp tacos.  :)
Milestones:  Halfway there....whoa!

Our Kansas Jayhawks played the Kansas State Wildcats today in football.....and they got stomped.  In an effort to show that we are not fair weather fans, I decided to gladly still associate my face with the Jayhawk.  Better luck next time...and bring on the basketball season, please!

Rock Chalk Babyhawk

Even Z got mad during today's game.  Oh well.
ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK!!

19 Weeks

This week was really a lot of fun!

On Monday evening we ordered our nursery furniture!  We saw the crib and dresser/changer at a small baby boutique here in Louisiana, but they wouldn't ship out of town.  We found the furniture on a website and ordered it there....and the company was nice enough to hold the ship date until we give them the okay that we're done with Louisiana and are headed back up north.  We should be able to start painting the nursery and assembling the furniture shortly after we get back, which means we'll be able to check that off the list of things to get done before the deployment comes.  We're really excited!

We spent our Saturday and Sunday in Dallas to do a little bit shopping, a LOT of eating, and also some baby registering.  I was kind of nervous about it, because even though we've gotten a lot of great suggestions, we still didn't really know what we were doing.  Those baby stores have so many choices that it is just overwhelming.  In two days, we spent a good hour and 45 minutes in the stroller aisle alone testing out two of them.  I wish I would have taken a picture of my dear husband testing out the handles, wheel radius, storage compartments, safety locks, cushions, shade canopies....and of course, making sure our final choice was able to easily pop a wheeley.    :)    Actually, we still have no large items on our registry yet, but we figure we have time.  We really had a blast though (and we're still taking suggestions!).

On our way out of town, we stopped at a maternity shop for me to get some jeans.  The hair tie extension closure at the top of my jeans with the Bella Band on top of it is just not doing the trick anymore.  I'm paranoid all day about whether or not people can see that my pants are actually undone...so I'm moving forward to elastic waistbands.   Z won the World's Best Husband Award that day as he so very patiently walked around the store with me, and then sat in a chair outside of my dressing room waiting to see if I needed him to go get something else.  Just to freak him out, I put on the stomach cushion that they have in the dressing rooms that shows the size of a 7 month belly....which on top of my 19 weeks belly really made for a dramatic look!  He still brought me back to Lousiana with him, so I guess it was more of a freak out to me.

It was such a nice weekend.  :)  Here is an update picture:

19 Weeks

How Far Along:  19 weeks  -  October 15

Maternity Clothes: Yep, and I love my new jeans (although I do not have them on in this picture)

Sleep: Great, but when I wake up my hips really hurt.

Best Moment This Week: Ordered nursery furniture!

Movement: Pretty sure it happened.  I was sitting here with Z on Wednesday evening and there was a quick tickle, but then it got crampy.  I hope that was it.  I felt it again when we put Z's new headphones on my stomach that he got while we were in Dallas.  We played some Planet Earth soundtrack, some rap (no movement), and some Toto "Africa."

Food Cravings: Cheese. Every day.  All day.

Gender: Three more weeks until we know!

What I Miss: Deli meat.  We went to a pumpkin carving party on Friday evening and there were some deli sandwiches that someone brought that everyone was raving about.  I really wanted to try one.

Milestone: A little bit of movement!  I'm anxious for it to be more frequent and obvious.

Z has started his next online course focusing on Marketing, and his work schedule is a little busier this week (which is a good thing!).  He has a few flights and other training requirements, but he thinks we may still be down here another three weeks (wich is well past what we were told...but what can we do).  I feel very fortunate that I am not working this year and that we can be here together.  One thing that our friends with children continue to tell us is how much your world changes once the baby comes.  We know that our focus will definitely change, so to have this time with just the two of us is such a blessing.  Once we get back north, he'll be preparing to deploy, and by the time he gets back from that it will be baby time!  So even though things are not going as planned right now --- there are no complaints here.  We're working with what we have, where we are, and enjoying it.

18 Weeks

I'm a little behind for the 18 week post (this should have been up last weekend), but I'm sure I'll catch on to getting pictures up on time eventually.  

Things are moving along really well.  While I was in North Dakota this past week, I had my second appointment with the doctor.  It was on of those that I was in the waiting room forever and the appointment was about five minutes long....but it was still reassuring to have the visit.  The doctor and I listened to the heartbeat, and once she found it, she seemed very pleased with how strong and steady it was.  It took her about ten seconds to locate it nice and loud, and in those ten seconds I was in pure panic mode.  I thought maybe it had disappeared and it immediately stressed me out....but then there it was, echoing through the monitor.   I need to chill out, I know.  :)  

I got some bloodwork done for the quad screening, which basically tests to see the probability of potential genetic disorders.  The bloodwork results are somehow combined with my age and ethnicity to form the likelihood for things like spina bifida, Down Syndrome, or other developmental conditions.  When I called the office the next day they didn't have the results back, but I decided that was a good thing.  Also, she did not do a sonogram at this appointment, but the November visit sonogram will allow us to see if we have a boy or girl on the way!  We're very excited!

Here is the most recent baby bump picture.  Not much difference from week 17, but oh well.  I think I'm going to try to stay consistent with the green maternity shirt for the pictures from here on out.  It seems to have plenty of room.  If you have a moment, try scrolling down to the previous post to check out the week 16 picture in the striped shirt.  I bought that shirt in the regular section at Target specifically to take bump pictures in.  I even bought a size larger so that it would allow for some growth.....and well.....I'm only a few weeks past that moment and you really could not pay me to wear that shirt anywhere.  Can you imagine me at something crazy like 35 weeks in that thing?   Oh my......

18 Weeks

How Far Along:  18 weeks - October 8
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 5 pounds gained according to the doctor's scale
Maternity Clothes: Just a few of the shirts.  I started looping a hair tie through the button loop on my jeans, and then put the BellaBand on top to cover it all and keep the jeans up.
Stretch Marks?: Nope, not yet :)
Sleep:  Good.  I get a lot of weird cramping/nerve pinching while I am attempting to sleep, but once I'm out, everything is good.
Best Moment this Week: I love hearing the heartbeat at the appointments.  :)
Movement: I'm not sure.  There is a lot going on in there and I'm not sure if its movement.
Food Cravings: Cheese.  All things cheese.
Gender: Not yet...4 more weeks!
What I Miss: Nothing right now.  This is great.
Milestones: Second doc appointment and she said everything looks great!




Z is doing really great, too.  :)    At the moment, his schedule for the training here in Louisiana is very sporadic, so there are days that he is back to our room early afternoon and we get to spend so much time together.  We are just hoping that scheduling is able to give him more flights soon so that we can get back up north.  He has quite a few things to do before he deploys...it is really heartbreaking that it is happening again already...but the sooner he leaves, the sooner he can come back.  Crossing our fingers that everything works out like we're hoping.   


Z has also been working on his masters courses through Webster online for Business.  He will be done with his third class this Friday and will start the next one on Monday.  He has done well in everything so far and seems to enjoy most of what he is learning.  Plus, he'll ask me a grammar, vocabulary, or punctuation question from time to time when he is working on his assignments, so I still get to feel like an English teacher.  Everybody wins.  

Here is Z at 18 weeks.  

What expression do you see?  

Joy? Anticipation? Distress? Panic, maybe?  

:)

Hope life is happy,

b

Playing Catch Up...Already.

I had a feeling this was going to happen.  I introduced the fact that I was going to try blogging again, and here I am....weeks later with no posts and not even a hint as to what our new adventure is.  Off to a great start, wouldn't you say?  

In an attempt to move things along, I'll skip the cute announcement and just share the news that Z and I are expecting our first baby.   :)   We have known since early July, but we waited to tell our parents until late July while we were on vacation together --- we were out on an evening boat ride with them and had announcement presents -- an Air Force onesie for his parents and a Kansas Jayhawks onesie for mine.  Both couples had an idea it was coming because of the gifts, but they were all still so excited.  This will be the first grandchild for both sides of the family.   

The first doctor appointment told the due date, so then we started telling siblings, grandparents, and close friends.  Everyone was pretty surprised, but the reactions from our siblings were just the best.   We asked a similar question to each of them...for example..."So, come March, do you want to be called Uncle Tim or do you have something else you like better?"   It took each of them a few seconds to piece together what that might mean, and then they each responded in their own enthusiastic way.   It is great to have other people just as excited and anxious about this as we are.    This kid is going to have a really awesome set of grandparents, aunts, and uncles.        :)

I'm 18 weeks now and sort of starting to show.  Here is a quick catch up of two baby bump pictures and a little pregnancy tracker list that I have seen other people do.  I wrote each of them during that week, so they are accurate...just late.  

16 Weeks
Z took this picture and,
lets be honest folks, I just look chunky

16 Weeks – September 24

How far along: 16 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: No scale around here….which is fine by me.

Maternity clothes: Nope, but my extra small sized shirts aren’t hiding a thing.

Stretch marks?: No

Sleep: Good – I only have one bathroom break a night around 4:00 am, which isn’t too surprising.  I drink water all day long.

Best moment this week: Spending some afternoons with the hubby

Movement: Nothing yet

Food cravings: Fruit cups and anything cheese...can't stand chicken and red onions.

                                                                          

Gender: Ahhh we’re dying to know!

What I miss: Real sushi…although I don’t mind a good cucumber avocado roll.  ☺

Milestones: First preggo pic!

17 Weeks
In a maternity shirt

17 Weeks – October 1

How far along: 17 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: No scale here….but the bump is apparently more noticeable than I thought because I get comments on it.

Maternity clothes: I'm at home in Kansas this week, so I bought a few things while out shopping with mom.  I'm wearing the shirts, which are much more comfortable than my regular ones.

Stretch marks?: Nope

Sleep: Great!

Best moment this week: Buying maternity clothes

Movement: Unsure….I don’t know what it feels like…so probably not quite yet.

Food cravings: Fruit cups.  Still cannot do chicken and red onions….and plain veggies sure aren’t appealing…which is weird for me.  I used to eat broccoli and carrots for a snack everyday.

Gender: Waiting….waiting….

What I Miss: Being drawn to healthy foods.  I’m super bummed that plain ‘ol carrots aren't appetizing.

Milestones: Wearing maternity clothes? Is that a milestone?

I've been in Lousiana with Z since the start of September.  The last few weeks I've been visiting up in Kansas and also took a short trip back to ND for my second doc appointment.  Once I have my 18 week picture uploaded, I'll update in another post.  Things are happy, healthy, and moving along as hoped!

xo,

b

Something New...

For those of you that know me, you know that Home Alone is one of my favorite movies of all time, and one of my favorite quotes from the film happens while Kevin is checking out at the grocery store and says “I’ll give ‘em a whirl…” in reference to some t.v. dinners.  This is a phrase that I’ve said a half a dozen times in the last year.  I’ve tried numerous different topics in my attempt to give blog writing “a whirl,” but I end up deleting the entire website because I run out of things to write about.

However -- we’re about to start a new adventure in our house that I think will keep me plenty full of topics.  I’m hoping that this will make it easier to keep family and friends up to date on how things are moving along...