Spaghetti squash

Lily is THIS big?!?!?! I always have fun eating the fruits and veggies the baby is compared with :)

Growing Pains

Most of my blog posts have been positive- I have been lucky and have had an easy pregnancy so far. The last week or two, however, has been a little uncomfortable. I don't want anyone to worry about me- I really just mean that it is SLIGHTLY uncomfortable and a little frustrating. In the last 2 weeks, baby Lily and my baby bump have grown a TON! I haven't tried wearing my old pants in the last week, but who wants to wear jeans when 1) it is hot outside and 2) maternity clothes are the most comfortable clothes in the world next to PJ's! 

Since I have had all this growth I have been experiencing some growing pains, a little cramping when working out, and even some contractions! wow! I took a week off from my regular workout routine since we were on vacation so of course it is hard to get back into the swing of things...this week I have gotten out there to run and have just had to walk because of slight cramping. It is a little frustrating, but at least I can still get a little work-out in. 

I bought this thing online called a belly band for working out. It is basically just a thick piece of elastic that hooks together around your abdomen...kind of like a bra for your stomach! haha! Not sure if I like it yet, or not, but I bet it will be even better when I get bigger. 

I decided I am going to get a gym membership for the FIRST time in my life! I really am just paying for the air conditioning during the summer months, then I'll quit when the Fall comes :) 

Anyway- that is all for the update...oh Lily kicked Sean first thing this morning! haha! 

Nursery Theme: Beach

We've decided on a theme! Ocean/beach/sunshine! 

Here is the color scheme:

Here is a quote I like- some artwork on the wall may be cute: Dr. Nicki?! :)

The quote again- love the sunflower!

I LOVE the idea of a basket on the changing table! anyone know where to find one?

I like this art! I got a starfish on our beach trip this week!

Here are 3 things we picked up for the nursery on our trip. We also got a seashell/fish mobile to hang above the crib or changing table. 

Corpus Christi Get-Away

Who doesn't enjoy a good get-away? Mom, Dad, Sean, Lily, and I all went to Corpus Christi for a little vacation- so fun! 

We ate some yummy seafood-

Went to a game at Wataburger Field-

had some beach time at Padre Island-

Spent time with sharks...

AND as part of Sean's 27th bday, we HAD to stop in Shiner, TX at the brewery! Here is a pic of his taste-test. 

What a fun trip! As far as pregnancy updates- long car rides are not too fun, but Lily has been kicking a lot! Sean has even been able to feel her move :) I have started to feel 1-2 contractions per day. They don't hurt, just a little uncomfortable. According to the doctor this is normal and not to worry unless I have more than 4 in an hour. I guess it is just a side effect of Lily's healthy growth! 

Fun in the sun!!

Happy 27th bday Sean!! ... More pics to come:)

"Perfectly Boring"

This week the "What to Expect" app says Lily is the size of a BANANA! Here is one that we had around the house...I eat at least one of these yummy fruits every day- sometimes 2! haha! 

Today we had an appointment with Dr. Pilkington (our regular doc). Here is some information we got out of it:

• She has never had an ultrasound report say it was a girl or boy and then have  a surprise, so I guess they are pretty sure it is a girl :) 
• Heard Lily's heartbeat at 144 beats/min and heard a few movements from the doppler thingie!
• The nurse and Doctor Pilkington said I was a perfectly boring patient- the BEST news anyone could ever get!!! Things are as they should be and life is good! 
• It is now ok for me to take allergy med if I need it- YAY! 

All in all- things are wonderful! I know I am doing a lot by making an effort to continue exercising (still running 3-5 miles/week and walking about 6-8 miles/week) and eating right(unless the truckers appetite and peanut buttery dessert cravings kick in), but I am so blessed to have an easy pregnancy!  

A few months ago we visited a birthing center in Georgetown to try and decide if we wanted to use a midwife or an OB/GYN. We chose the OB/GYN, but got so much out of our one visit with the midwife. She mentioned "pregnancy is not a condition or a disease. It is a normal part of life"

A woman at church told me yesterday that labor and delivery was the most beautiful thing she has ever done. She said it will be so wonderful and that if she could do it every day for a living she would! That is extreme, but her words were SO encouraging to me! Encouragement is necessary for any pregnant woman- or anyone for that matter...lets all try to be encouraging today!

I know this is getting long, but in other news- Sean will be announced at the Salado School Board meeting today as the Salado High School Choir director. This is a VERY part time position (he'll still be at the church full time). It is just one class and will be a good change of pace for him :)

20 weeks!

At 20 weeks (5 months!) pregnant!

20 weeks marks the 1/2 way point in pregnancy. 1/2 way? Yes. 1/2 way! It has gone by so fast and some women might hate me for saying this ,but it has been wonderful. 

Click here to see my belly growth so far! 

Shopping!

An itty bitty Texas Ranger's dress! 

Sean and I went shopping and looked at baby things together for the first time since we knew there was a Lily in my tummy. We actually didn't buy any baby things- but it was SO fun to look! I feel like we just fell in love all over again in the middle of the crib isle :) We are so VERY excited!

Snug-a-monkey

The BOB (see below post for details)

Random Thoughts

I haven't updated in a while...so here are some random thoughts from the preggy princess: 

• I've started a pinterest board to collect nursery decor inspiration. So far thinking of sunshine, beach, and animal themes. Any suggestions or helpful hints are welcome- I can easily add you as a pinner :)
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• I've never been much of a reader, but these days I get a free monthly book on my kindle thanks to amazon prime (I LOVE PRIME!). Plus I have 4 books checked out from the library, I have purchased 3-4 books, have one on my iphone, and have had several given to me...ALL pregnancy/parenting stuff. I guess it is not really reading for fun, but I enjoy learning about this stuff :)
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• Tomorrow we plan on browsing the baby section at Target for the first time. That should be fun! Also, I am pretty excited about shopping for a maternity swimsuit and clothes :)
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• It is officially Bambi season here in Salado! I LOVE this time of year. It runs about late May-early October...seeing the majority of the little ones around July. Sometimes we'll go out and see 20-30 baby deer! I am sad to say my first Bambi spotting was one taking a nap on Hwy 1670 just South of Stillhouse Hollow Lake :(
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• On Monday we have our next doctor's appointment. I don't think this will be a big one, but I enjoy going. I will be sharing my birth plan, so hopefully that goes over well. {Birth Plan —The birth plan is a written list of your preferences to be used as a guide for how you would like your labor and delivery to go. As labor can be unpredictable, you may need to deviate from this plan at times during labor}
• I have been feeling more Lily kicks. Some stronger than others. I feel it mostly when I am bending over to pick something up, or tie my shoe. Sean is pretty sure he has felt some kicks by now, too :) 
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• Our biggest-ticket item on our registry is not the furniture, toys, clothes, accessories, but the stroller! Can you believe it? We wanted a really good one for jogging, so we went with the top-of-the-line: the BOB. yes, that is right...the BOB! haha! My grandma was excited about our healthy lifestyle and picked up the tab for this beauty! I ordered it this week and we'll be putting it together today...just to make sure all the parts are there :) Maybe we'll have to give it a test-run! Exciting times!

Happiest Moments

In the last few weeks, I have been reminiscing about the happiest moments in my whole life. They don't come during expected times. They sneak up on you in unexpected and wonderful ways. I realized that most of MY happiest moments happened to be early in the morning...not sure what this means. If you don't know, I am a morning person. I love the wonder that a morning holds and the excitement that you don't know what will happen that day. Mornings make me happy! 

A few of life's happiest moments that I want to share are (not ranked in any order): 

1) 7/13/08 the morning AFTER our wedding. It was so fun to wake up and be married:) We had to wake up around 5am and make the drive from Arlington to Galveston to leave on our honeymoon cruise, but it was SO much fun! The drive never seemed shorter because we were talking the whole way- processing through how fun the wedding week was and how much fun our honeymoon was going to be. 

2)2009 or 2010The first morning waking up in Hawaii. We went to bed with the windows open and woke up hearing the waves of the ocean and smelling the fresh flower lei that we had been greeted with the day before. Also in 2010- waking up the first morning at Anna Maria Island in Florida- we got in late the night before, so it was our first time to see the beach!

3)March 2013: Our first sonogram- first chance to see baby Lily. It was so special to already see her wiggling around. She had already changed our whole world! 

4)Mother's Day 2013. First time I felt stronger kicks from Lily. They woke me up! Also, Sean woke me up by making a special breakfast. So happy! 

There are many many more happy memories and many more to come. I am so thankful. 

It's a GIRL!!!!

Grow Lily, GROW!!

Are you ready?

The big party is tomorrow! Are you ready for the big announcement??

The results are tucked into these party poppers!!

Mid-pregnancy Ultrasound Full Post

Some of you may be wondering more details about yesterday- here they are:

First of all, the peanut butter fudge shake at Sonic is GREAT! The "mini" size is still more sweets than any human should consume in one sitting...but I finished it. 

Anyway- here is how the appointment went:

We got there a little early because we haven't had to wait for any appointments so far! We were sent to a special wing of the hospital for ultrasounds. This appointment was not with our regular doctor (we new that ahead of time). We ended up having to wait for over an hour! Also, the waiting room right next to us had LOUD construction and one of the patient rooms was open to the hallway letting us hear a LOUD fetal heartbeat for the entire time we were waiting. If you have never heard a fetal heartbeat, it is fast. like REALLY fast...so you can imagine how these sounds and new place amped up our anxious thoughts!!!

Finally we were called in, I got on the table, and the ultrasound began right away! the ultrasound technician was allowed to tell us what body part was on the screen and also the gender but she wasn't allowed to say anything else good or bad. To me, this made her seem unexcited because she had to just say everything in a monotone voice.A doctor was watching the results of the scan from the other room and would share the info with us in a little bit. The scan seemed to last a long time! She pointed out to us every part of baby's body- the brain, the gallbladder, the femur, the heart, etc...I have to admit the whole time I was looking to see if their was a penis or not...but it was really hard to tell what anything was and she waited until the end of the appointment to share the gender with us. haha! Here are 2 looks at baby Hale:

Don't worry- I cropped it from the waist down and also baby is profile, so you CAN'T tell gender! I love how clear the spine looks-

Here is my 2nd favorite- one of baby's feet! 

The ultrasound technician and the doctor both sort of asked us why we were sent to that wing to do a specialized scan- "Have you been having problems?"..."Do you have a health condition like diabetes?"I was just like- "I have been lucky and have had an easy pregnancy and have no health problems...just doing what I am told"...I noticed a lot of women who were in that wing were far into their 3rd trimesters. You don't usually have a scan that late unless something is wrong or potentially wrong. Hmm...oh well...The doctor said he will send a glowing report to Dr. Pilkington (our OB) because everything looks wonderful. He was surprised we had no questions for him- then we were on our way...

I am getting VERY excited about the gender reveal party on Friday at 6pm! Here are some posters for the back yard!

At 18 weeks, baby Hale is about as big as a mango weighing 1/2 a pound! That mango was really tasty!

Today (quick summary)

Today's appointment went REALLY well! In short, there were no abnormalities- nothing to worry about-- a healthy baby. I'll probably post more tomorrow with a picture and everything :) 

Did you know sonic has 1/2 price shakes after 8pm? We are going to do this to celebrate tonight! I am thinking peanut butter fudge...mmmm!

...

Breath in...breath out...here we go!!! 

BIG DAY

Tomorrow is the BIG day for us! The mid-pregnancy ultrasound is the most important! It will let us know how the baby is developing as well as some important info on my health...and oh yes- we'll find out if it is a boy or girl!!! 

We've been trying so hard to make today go by fast...took one of our church college students to lunch, went hiking in Belton, celebrated cinco de mayo out at the lake, and now we're starting the grill :) It has been a great day, but I just want it to be tomorrow afternoon already! 

Is it bad that I feel like tomorrow is even more important than our wedding day was? haha! It is going to be life changing for sure! Can't wait to share the news on Friday at the party!!

18 weeks (almost)

"Good grief you look pregnant" says the hubby after taking this pic...also, we just got back from a (not so great) Chinese buffet in Belton, so I am also FULL! haha! 

Making Bets

A little while back, I had a survey with guesses of baby's due date, gender, etc. Here are some guesses for gender. If you want in on this before the big reveal next week, send me your guess...or some of you aren't on here because you didn't give me a definitive guess- you'll have to choose a side at the party!! :)

BOY	GIRL
Zoodoo (my grandma) Chance Melissa Nicole Franklin JL Alley Renee	Diane Allison Pam Nikki B Glenn Connie Karen Worley Tammye B

3 Days until Sean and I find out! One week until you guys find out! 

COUNTDOWN

4 Days until we find out if baby Hale is a boy or girl!!!

The gender reveal party will be on Friday, May 10th at 6pm in Arlington. Let me know if you want more details!