2 Reasons for us to Celebrate on 11/29

 First, Todd and I celebrate our wedding anniversary - Happy 7th Anniversary to us! I love you, babe!

Happy Wedding Day - November 29, 2003

Second, we celebrate the birth of our baby girl - Happy 8th Birthday Gracie Ann!
*The past 8 years have gone by so fast and she is a dog, I can't even imagine what it is going to be like when it involves a human :)

Grace loves to have her picture taken!

29 Weeks

*How far along? 29 weeks

*How big is your baby? A squash (15.2 to 16.7 in, 2.5 to 3.8 lb)

*Total weight gain: 14 pounds

*Sex: It’s a BOY!

*Name: We know and you will find out in about 11 weeks :)

*Maternity clothes: Yes, but I am still able to fit in some of my regular clothes

*Stretch marks: Breasts - yes. Belly - no. I am using Burt’s Bees Mama Bee body oil every night

*Movement: All the time now!

*Sleep: I have been getting about 5-6 hours a night (and that might be pushing it!)

*Best moment this week: My mom getting to see her grandson for the first time!

*Food cravings: Grilled Cheese, French Fries, Chocolate Milk, Cherry 7 UP

*Labor signs: Let's hold off for about 11 more weeks!

*Belly button in or out: In
*What I miss: Being able to walk for more than 5 minutes without my legs feeling like they weigh a ton!

*What we’re looking forward to: Getting started on the nursery

I'm In Love With A New (Little) Man

Like I mentioned in my previous post we were able to surprise my mom with an ultrasound today. My mom asked me how long it would take. I told her about 5 minutes since it wasn't routine and just for our pleasure. I was way off. I should have said more like 30. Yes, we got another very thorough ultrasound today including more 3D shots! An excellent (FREE) early Christmas present for my mom who was in awe the entire time....

The tech performed another anatomy scan and while the first one was amazing at 20 weeks this one was even more so because he is now so much more developed and about 3x bigger. Leg and arm bones, heart, stomach, kidneys, bladder, rib cage, spine - everything looked, well, like it should, not like blobs or sticks or simply a hole. His face, hands and feet are more defined and we could see his facial features along with each little finger and toe. And, once again he was very active kicking, waving and yawning. At one point we even got to see him play with his toes!

As for results, baby boy is measuring in the 52nd percentile weighing 2lbs 13ozs. He had a healthy heartbeat of 163. And, while he is currently breech, there is no concern because we still have 11.5 weeks to go. Everything on my end looks great as well - cervix length, amount of amniotic fluid, weight gain (14 lbs. to date) and belly measurement are right where they should be.

And, now here is the new love of my life. While I loved him before, I felt a connection today as I watched the monitor and then, once I got this picture I couldn't stop looking at it, overwhelmed with love for this miracle growing inside me.

28w3d

Surprise for My Mom

My mom is here for Thanksgiving and tomorrow is our 28-week appointment so she will be coming with us. While she has seen pictures of her first grand baby, she has yet to see an ultrasound of him and not just of our baby either, but of any baby EVER. Seeing as how our pregnancy has been (thankfully) uneventful, there was no need to schedule an ultrasound, however, I wanted to surprise her so I asked for one. My doctor called yesterday and said we could have one! I am really excited that we are going to be able to share this experience with her....Details and pictures to follow :) Oh, and we are pretty excited that we get to our boy again, too!

Our Christmas Card this Year Courtesy of Shutterfly.com!

Thanks to an awesome promo from Shutterfly.com, we will be sending out fancy pants Christmas cards this year! While we have yet to pick out the exact design (there are so many to choose from), we are excited that we will be able to send a personalized card including pictures to family and friends along with our annual Christmas Letter all in one folded 5x7 card - no trying to find a card we like AND separate stationery that matches this year. While a lot of our family and friends have been able to follow our Embryo Adoption Journey through pictures and my blog, we are excited that we will now be able to share our journey with those who do not have access to the Internet.

In addition to greeting cards for birthdays, weddings and now Christmas, I have used Shutterfly in the past to create photo books (which make excellent Christmas gifts!). To check out some of my other favorite Shutterfly items, please click on the following to learn more:
Holiday Photo Cards
Christmas Photo Cards
Christmas Cards

*Bloggers can get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly...learn more by clicking here:
http://bit.ly/sfly2010

Welcome to the 3rd Trimester!

 

*How far along? 27 weeks

*How big is your baby? An eggplant (13.6 to 14.8 in, 1.5 to 2.2 lb)

*Total weight gain: 13 pounds

*Sex: It’s a BOY!

*Name: We know and you will find out in about 3 months :)

*Maternity clothes: Yes, but I am still able to fit in some of my regular clothes

*Stretch marks: I am using Burt’s Bees Mama Bee body oil every night on my belly

*Movement: All the time now!

*Sleep: I wake up a few times during the night, but am getting a good night's sleep most nights

*Best moment this week: Daddy started reading to us at night

*Food cravings: Sesame Seed bagels w/either peanut butter or cream cheese, Cherry Pepsi or Coke, Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Miniatures, Cereal

*Labor signs: Let’s hold off until February, please!

*Belly button in or out: In
*What I miss: Being able to get out of bed without having to roll-out!

*What we’re looking forward to: Getting started on the nursery

The Nursery Take 1.5

After receiving Twinkle Little Star in the mail, it is out. The green that I thought was going to be sage is actually mint green on most of the pieces. Yes, two different greens are used. On two pieces the same color as in the picture is used; a pretty sage green, while on the rest, a bright mint green is used. Not a fan of the different shades of green or the bright mint green with the all the different shades of brown. *Sigh*

There are two new nursery sets in the running though - please see below for pictures. These sets are a lot different than Twinkle Little Star, but I am actually liking them more since they are more 'boy' and could be used in a toddler's room as well as a nursery.

My new goal is to have the new set picked out and ordered by the end of the week....What is your favorite of the two??

Baby Jackson by CoCaLo

Forest Friends by Carter's