35 weeks...the bags are packed.

Happy Sunday everyone-

Sorry for the delay...once again, I've missed a week. *sigh*...I am 'trying' to keep this blog updated! What's new...what's new....hmmm...

Well, we have a doctor appointment in 3 days and we get to do an ultrasound, which we're pretty stoked about. Doctor says it's time to check her "position" and determine why she's so big. And drumroll....if she is as huge as the doctor thinks she is, we might be looking at an early induction. No way am I birthing a 13 lb. baby...Oh my lord. No. Last appointment (I was 34 weeks pregnant), I measured 37 weeks pregnant. So...either I messed up the conception date and am further along than I thought, baby has her arms stretched or she is just big. Either way, I told the doctor that I'm ready and when she says it's go time, then I say let's do it. Nursery room is finished, clothes and blankets are washed and put away, we've got diapers, wipes, lotion, you name it. Just need to install the car seat and we're ready to go...oh yeah, AND decide on a name. I even packed both the baby and my bags for the hospital this weekend 'just in case.' I can't wear my wedding ring anymore and my fingers are constantly swollen, no matter how much water I drink. And I drink ALOT of water during the day...So, like all other pregnant women, welcome to waking up every 1-2 hours to pee. Poor JC, he isn't able to sleep that well either because I get up so much. We better get used to it, I guess...

So, here we are at 35 weeks 2 days pregnant. (the picture above)... Which means if she's still measuring 3 weeks further, then the belly is 38 weeks 2 days pregnant. It's hard to imagine myself without this tummy...I don't quite remember what it was like to ever (not) be pregnant. But, it looks like I might remember soon!!!

My JC, the most awesome husband in the world, has been working away, trying to keep up with all of the recruits that are coming to the NE home games. Do they commit to the team (who just beat OU, by the way...GO HUSKERS!) or don't they? That's always the big question... I'm trying to get things set and ready to go at my job too, so when it happens, I don't have many things left open that need to be done. It'll make my life a whole lot easier once the baby gets here, knowing that things have been taken care of. Or maybe I just need to chill out and let it go...that's probably an option too. Ha!

Anyway, below are some more pictures. Just a few of the baby's stuff and our house. People have been asking to see pictures of the house, but I haven't been able to get very good shots with our camera. We have a really fancy Canon camera that JC uses to take pics at football games, but the lens is so long, that I can't get a shot of anything. So, I just put up one of the front...and I had to take this all the way across the street to even get this in!

AND...the last picture is some art that I put on the nursery walls yesterday. The flowers go across about half of one of the walls next to the crib, but stupid camera, I could only fit two in the picture. Pretty cool, right? It took FOREVER to put it up, because each piece is separate and I had to reconstruct it from the original picture.

Anyway...till next time! I'll 'try' to put up a blog after our appointment on Wednesday to give you all the doctor's verdict. And shhhh...don't tell anyone, BUT...I'd be more than okay if she said that we had to induce in a week or so because the baby is too big. I think I'm ready...I think. You heard it here...famous last words. ha!

33 1/2 Weeks...and the baby has "stuff" now!

Six and a half weeks to go...omg. I think the baby knows it too, because all she does is poke her arms and legs out of my stomach. JC still gets freaked out by it...

This last weekend was so much fun! Grandma Kathy came to the Big D and helped me put together the nursery (after Daddy JC built all the furniture). Pink and Brown everywhere! We still have some finishing touches to do, but for the most part, she's got a room of her own. What do you think?


I always said that I wouldn't "give in" to the all of the baby "stuff" hype, nor would I put her in a pink room if I had a girl. And look at me now. Pink everywhere. Well, if it's any consolation...if we ever have a boy, he'll be in pink too because this stuff was too expensive to just have to buy all over again! JC agrees too! He said, "If his dad is secure enough to wear pink, then so can he." Oh man, we're already talking about the first "son"... dear lord.








And of course...we had another baby shower this weekend in Texas. Thanks so much to Sherree and Roxann for putting it together, it was beautiful and I wish I had more pictures to put up! We are so lucky to have people care about this little girl to buy her cute shoes!!!! Hello? Did you see those little leopard boots in the picture above?!? Well, they buy her shoes and of course, we got baby monitors, blankets, sleepers, crib bedding, strollers, car seats, you name it. This girl is SET...at least for the first few months. I can't even tell you how many broken down boxes JC took out after we opened everything we've gotten from the last 2 baby showers and what we've bought. It's insane!

Here we are at the baby shower with grandma Kathy and grandma Dee! Boy do I look pregnant, pale and uncomfortable. Yup...that sums it up.

32 weeks...or is it 34?

Hi guys!

Well guess what? Doctor appointment went great today and surprise, surprise...someone is measuring 2 weeks ahead of schedule. I asked the doctor if that means she will come early and she said. "Not necessarily, but it probably does mean you're gonna have one big baby."

Awesome.

I guess that's okay...I think she's just going to be really long...maybe. I dunno, I'm still new to all of this baby/mommy stuff. What I do know is that my feet are hurting, my lower back is hurting and my belly is starting to ache. Still no stretch marks though! Yay me! We also get to do one more ultrasound at 35 weeks just to see what position she's in and if the fluid levels are okay. I guess big babies suck up all the amniotic fluid or something. Ha! Oh and guess what?!? The crib arrived today...JC said that "daddy" is ready to build the crib this weekend with his new tools he bought. Man, is he adorable or what?!?

Anyway, here are some of the "belly photos" that my amazingly talented sister-in-law Brandi took for us at my baby shower in Nebraska. Isn't she great?!? Seriously, hire her to shoot pictures for you!!!

Holy...Huge - 31 Weeks

Hey there...just me and my HUGE baby here. Can you believe how big this belly is? I still have 9 weeks to go?!? Yeah right, we'll see if that happens. Seriously...big baby belly. Anyway, I think I had my first braxton hicks contraction yesterday. Kinda felt like my stomach was tightening up really tight, it lasted for about 3 minutes...so I laid down, drank a glass of water and it went away. It didn't come back, so I forgot about it. Let's hope those don't come back soon...it didn't hurt, just really uncomfortable. JC kept asking me, "Are you okay? Are you having contractions?" And I said, "Hmm...good question, cause I wouldn't have a clue what they feel like." Ha! We are going to our first birthing class this coming Saturday morning, so hopefully, they help us out with what exactly will happen there. I can't believe it's coming so fast...before you know it, she will be here.

I washed all of Baby T's clothes yesterday (yes, she's still Baby T cause we haven't settled on a name yet). I hung them in the closet, organized them according to genre and then of course, size...so yup. I guess I'm OCD "nesting". I just feel better if everything in there is perfect. I ordered the crib today too! I swear, overstock.com is THE place to shop. We bought a new bed frame from there (and we love it) and shipping is only $2.95 total...for anything you buy! What a deal. Anyway, crib came from overstock too.

Nursery colors are light pink and chocolate brown. I know, I know...pink, how original. But really, I love the colors together and it'll be ultra-hip...don't worry. No Disney bedding here.
As soon as the nursery is done, which...I'm hoping happens in the next 2 weeks, I'll put up pictures.

So, at 31 weeks pregnant, bending over is really hard, tying my shoes or painting my nails is impossible, seeing the number on the scale makes me really anxious, driving is getting hard too...mostly because I can't get close enough to the steering wheel. *Sigh*...I can see why women get weary of this. I think I've had it with the pregnancy and I'm just ready for the baby. Bring on the baby!! (But not for at least another 7 weeks). I can deal with her being born at 38 weeks, heck...I'd be okay if she were 37 weeks. Just no more than 3 weeks early. Geez...with my luck, she'll be a week late or something.

Anyway, I'll leave you with a picture of our Goose. We were contemplating giving him away to another family before the baby is born, but we decided to hang on to him. It was just too sad to think about letting him go. So, let's hope he likes his new sister!!! Isn't he cute?

Weddings, House Moving and oh yeah...still pregnant.

Hello!! Again, I've dropped the ball with the blog. But, I'm not kidding we've been so busy that I'm having a hard time finding time to post to this this...but here goes.

We're in Viriginia Beach right now and went to Brad and Courtney's wedding last night. BEAUTIFUL! It was at a Yacht Club, right on the water and it was fantastic. Everyone had tons of fun and I of course...really enjoyed the cake. :)

And guess what? We close on our house tomorrow! Yippee! We still have to pack and everything but we're moving on Saturday, so I'm very excited for that. Now, if I could just find time to pack. Hmm...Anybody busy this wee?

Baby is doing very well, we have a doctor appointment this Wednesday. The last couple days I was getting a little anxiety because I felt like she wasn't moving as much as she used to...but I stand corrected because she kept me up all night last night with the kicking. I mean...the WHOLE night. Kicks are getting harder and more painful too, so I guess that's a good thing. She's growing the way she should be and is already getting stronger.

Still can't tie my shoes, can't paint my toenails and bending over is really hard to do now. Carrying around all of this weight is starting to take it's toll on me too. But, hey! It's okay...I'm not complaining. The end result will be a baby girl and I can't wait. I wonder what her face will look like....

Oh and one final thought on names. JC and I both have our favorites...

Jill's fav - Lila Jane Talman
JC's fav - Mia Jane Talman

Thoughts?

Pictures from Brad and Courtney's wedding and Virginia Beach...with the 29 week baby picture! Only 11 weeks to go? Omg...Where has the time gone!?!?

Healthy at 27 weeks

Hello friends!

Update on the appointment...I passed! Hell yes, I did! No gestational diabetes and no iron deficiencies. Yippee! And, the drink that I complained about so much tasted like orange Hi-C. Really, it did! So, I was being a big baby for nothing.

And speaking of Big Baby, here I am at 27 weeks huge. It took me 10 minutes to tie my own shoes this morning. I'm not even exaggerating. Good thing I rarely wear tennis shoes, huh?



But seriously, have you ever seen anyone this pregnant at 27 weeks? Well...except for maybe the Octo-mom. Her stomach was scary big, horror film big. Just in case you haven't seen it... Geez, that is one humongous stomache.

Week 26

Back to the Blog! We just got back from Nebraska and had an awesome time! My baby shower was out of this world (stay tuned for more pics from my awesome sis-in-law Brandi) and I was so happy to see all of my friends with their new babies (and pregnant bellies). Think lots of pink and lots of sugar!We had a dessert buffet... But, in true rockstar fashion, we had a "concert/rockstar" theme so the tables had old records, guitar books and a great playlist put together by Katie's dad. It was the coolest baby shower I have ever been to!

We got so many great gifts that I can't even begin to think about my favorites. My great aunt Bonnie and Katie's grandma Neva made her some beautiful crocheted blankets that I think might edge out everything else, though. Lots of cute clothes, socks, shoes, onesies, etc.

We also took some "pregnant" pictures with Brandi and I can't wait to see them! She is such a talented photographer and I can't wait to see what she comes up with. I'll send you to her blog once she puts them up! Oh...and Happy early birthday to Brandi!! (She turns 23 on September 11th)

Tomorrow is the big glucose test for us...ugh. I am SO not looking forward to this. As my mom can attest, I am NOT good with taking medication (or weird orange-flavored syrup stuff) on an empty stomach, so it should be interesting. For sure I'll be starving after my appointment since I can't eat anything past midnight tonight until after my appointment is over. Everyone pray for NO gestational diabetes!! :) I'll keep you updated next week on how the appointment went.

We are moving in to our house around October 3rd and we couldn't be more excited. JC and I's 4th wedding anniversary is tomorrow and instead of buying gifts for each other, we bought something new for the house...a new bed frame!! Pretty lame, I know. BUT...ours is so old and I'm ready to throw it in the dang garbage dump. Good riddance old bedframe!

JC has been playing music for her every now and then...AND he's picked up the guitar again so he knows a few more songs to play for her after she is born. YAY! My favorite! Right now, she's listening to alot of John Mayer, mostly the Where the Light Is LIVE album. Also, Stevie Ray Vaughn is a favorite right now. She WILL come out a rockstar, believe that!

Til next time! Have a great week!

Let the football begin...Baby T is 25 weeks

Well hello there! Welcome to being 25 weeks pregnant...and it's now hard for me to touch my feet and sit up on my own without exerting alot of effort. Oh well...so goes the hardships of creating a human.

This last Saturday, I went with JC to my first Texas High School football game. We stood on the sidelines and I wrote down the stats he wanted while he took pictures. What an experience, let me tell you! Cedar Hill v. DeSoto High School and ESPN was there to broadcast the whole thing. Cedar Hill is one of the top 20 ranked high school football teams in the country, so...that's why ESPN was interested. All in all...a pretty awesome experience. Watching my husband at work was pretty cool too...it was bring your wife to work day! And no, it wasn't quite like Varsity Blues...but it was a little bit. :)

This Friday we are heading back to Nebraska for my Baby Shower and I'm so excited! I really can't stand how excited I am to see everyone...it feels like it's been forever. I just wish we were staying longer than 3 days. Husker football on Saturday and Baby Shower on Sunday with cake...yyyeeessss.

Here is the shirt I want to buy:

House buying is still moving along...just a month til we close and then move in! Goodbye apartments...THANK GOD! I am really done with the apartment crap. Til next week!!

Lots of big things happening...and 24 weeks

Helllloooo!!!

I'm so sorry this is so darn late...but we have been SO busy these last two weeks. Football season is coming up (making JC super duper busy), work is always very busy for me and we've also been busy....BUYING A HOUSE!! That's right...we did it. We just got done with the inspection (all is well) and all we're waiting on is the appraisal and then we just wait to close in a month! OMG...we're so excited. We'll live in Plano, right near where JC grew up. Actually...our little girl will go to the exact same schools that her daddy went to...can you believe that?!? Jc is still getting used to the fact that he's back home in Plano...a place he never thought he'd end up. It's all very exciting and I'm still in shock just a little bit.

Not much is happening with the baby right now. Just kicking away all the time! It actually doesn't bother me because it reassures me that she's doing fine in there. She can kick me all she wants. One milestone we've reached is the stage of viability, the point where there is a possibility that she could survive if she happened to be born now. But...we are NOT even thinking about that, she needs to cook until at least 38 weeks.

We had an appointment last week and all was perfect, the appointment literally lasted about 15 minutes. Next appointment is the big glucose test where they check for gestational diabetes and I am NOT looking forward to that. I have to fast in the morning and drink an orange drink and then they take my blood. Hello?!? Take my blood on an empty stomach? You can bet that I will be passing out... I'll just have to lay down when they do it. We all remember the "giving plasma" incident, right? Ugh...

We've registered for our baby showers and I think we've covered everything. Now that we will have a house in a month, I have to start thinking about decorating the baby's room! I haven't even thought about it yet because I thought we would "tough" it out in our apartment until our lease was up! It's a great problem to have, but now I need to do some serious thinking about decorating. I'm thinking of doing the stick on wall decals (the really nice ones, not the cheesy/cheap ones). I'm so excited for my mom to come down and help me!

Below are some pictures of our new house. Yippee!!

21st and 22nd week in Europe

Hello fellow Americans!

We're back from Europe and I couldn't be happier. Europe is amazing and I've never seen anything like it but I'm so glad to be home. Some of the places we went to were Frankfurt, Wurzburg and Schweinfurt, Germany and Venice, Florence, Monte San Savino and Cortona, Italy. What a place! I was so lucky to be able to go on this trip! I didn't get too tired with all of the walking but in the beginning of the 3rd week, I was getting tired. Italy is VERY hilly and we were climbing hills almost everyday. But man, the view when we reached the top of the small villas in Tuscany was incredible. I didn't drink too much red wine in Italy or too much beer in Germany...just about 4 sips at dinner each night if it was a new brand that I hadn't had yet. Man, was it good! The German beer was out of this world! The good thing though, was that we didn't end up spending too much money because I couldn't buy any clothes in any of the shops (they wouldn't fit my big belly) and couldn't buy any wine or beer for myself. Although, they did charge for water in Europe AND to use public bathrooms! (about .80 Euro per trip) That could have been a nightmare for any pregnant woman!

Baby girl T is now almost at her 23rd week and all is still very well. The trip went great baby-wise and guess what?!?! I saw her kick from the outside of my belly! I've been feeling little things here and there (mostly still just butterfly feelings), but one night while reading in Tuscany, she started kicking me and on the fourth kick, I lifted up my shirt and saw her kick three times on the left side of my belly button (which is now flat across my stomach). I almost died! Totally crazy experience and it really hit home that there is a human being in my stomach, holy crap. Actually, she's kicking me as I write this...

This week JC and I are going to register for our up coming baby showers and we're so excited. I've gotten some great advice from my fantastic girlfriends who are moms so I feel pretty prepared. If anyone has any advice on what I need and what I don't need...let me know! I don't want to buy a bunch of stuff that I think I need and then never use it. Having a master's degree in marketing and advertising, I know that the baby market is just SATURATED with products that are actually useless for babies but are marketed otherwise.

Below are the 21st and 22nd week belly pictures (did you think I'd forget?).

The 21st week belly picture was taken at the Hotel Abbiza in Venice, Italy (an old restored monastary)


The 22nd week picture was taken at the top of an old castle in Montepulciano, Italy (Tuscany). It's where they make Bordello wine.

Drumroll.....

It's a GIRL! Whoa man, can you believe it? I finally get to call her "she" instead of "it". Doctor appointment went beautifully, she is perfect! The sonogram specialist checked her heart, spine, brain, leg bones, everything. Here are some of her vitals:

Heart Rate- 138
Weight- 12 ounces

Check out the sonogram pictures...I can't really make much out of them, except for the pictures of her face. She's beautiful already, don't ya think?

Four days to the sonogram!

Here we are at 19 weeks! Me an goose, just hanging out at home.

This will probably be the last post for awhile because we're leaving next Wednesday for Europe and won't be back until August 9th. Yippee!! Good news...I can eat all of the italian food I want and not feel guilty. Bad news...I can't drink the italian wine. *sigh*

But don't worry, I'll put up a quick post with the sonogram pictures and let you all know if we've got a boy or girl in here!

Have a great weekend!

18 weeks and the Fourth of July

So, I'm sorry this is late (for all those that have been waiting)...but this was a bit of a crazy week at work and I was really worn out from the Fourth of July weekend so...needless to say, I have been going to bed at 8:30 for the past few days.

Anyway, the Fourth of July was awesome! We spent it at JC's family's lakehouse in Granbury with our friends Nate and Stacy. It was SO fun! I actually stayed up the latest that night of all of us...mostly because I didn't drink keg beer in the sun all day like everyone else. By the time fireworks were over at 10am, everyone was ready for bed and I was like, really? Let's hang out! Guess that is ONE perk of not being able to drink keg beer. :)

Last night JC and I went to the Taste of Dallas and had an awesome time. It was in the West End Historic District in downtown Dallas, which was a little hard to find, but we made it eventually. There were TONS of local food vendors with awesome food. It was so hot out though, I stayed hydrated with gatorade and JC did too...in between Blue Moon beer. We walked around forever looking for BBQ turkey legs, but couldn't find any because all of the BBQ vendors were sold out. So, JC ended up with some Mexican food and I had a BBQ sausage sandwich and an ice cream sundae. Go figure. We danced around to the music and people watched...well, mostly baby watched. We watched a 9 month old dance to Michael Jackson's Beat It in her stroller and almost DIED with laughter! It was so cute...she wanted to get out and bounce around to the beat so badly! Needless to say, we're very aware of little kids around us anymore.

JC went and got me a pregnancy pillow because the doctor said that I should be sleeping on my side now instead of my back. Something about how all of the pressure from the baby smashing my internal organs all night... What the hell? Now I have to sleep a certain way? Anyway, it's been hard to do that so , he suprised me with a special pillow to help me sleep on my side. What a sweetie, huh?

The big day to find out the sex of the baby is July 21st at 9:15am. We're counting down the days to that, we're very excited and of course, we'll share with all of you on the blog.

It's that time again!

Seriously, this blog is getting kind of boring. I promise, at some point, I'll write really interesting stuff for you all to read. This morning I'm really swamped at work SOOOOO I'll just post the new pics and write up the real post after the 4th of July. JC is getting his fancy camera out this weekend so we'll have some really great pictures.

Have a great, safe and happy Fourth of July!!!

Here we are at 17 weeks yesterday, we took these on our balcony at our condo. Jc wanted to change the background a little bit. :) He's such a high strung photographer...hee hee :)