16 Weeks

Well, on Sunday, I celebrated being 16 weeks pregnant. I would like to say the time is flying, but I sure don't think it is! I think not knowing the sex, and not finding out the sex, is making it seem longer. We have so much anticipation, guessing if our baby will be a boy or a girl. It's crazy how a baby who isn't even born yet can occupy so much of your thoughts.

I bought a baby name book, and I am focusing on boy names. I think I know my girl name, but as for boys, I am lost. I have made it through A, B, and C of the boys, and found 3 names I liked, two of which Luke poo-pooed, and the third is just OK. Hopefully the other 23 letters of the alphabet bring some good material.

Over the weekend, I also attended Ball State's homecoming. This was my third one after graduating in 2007. I was so happy to be there, despite the fact that I was pregnant and unable to partake in any adult beverages like my friends. I didn't miss it that much. However, when I left, I just felt so sad. I miss my college years dearly. It's not that I want to change my life now-- I just miss all the good times I had. If I could recreate my top 5 favorite moments, I think I would recreate these:

1. Getting engaged at IU

2. "That one night at the bars" that will live in infamy (and my friends know which night this was)

3. The time that Abel & Luke went to Italy, and Elizabeth and I hung out for like 2 solid weeks and ate McDonald's about 10 times.

4. AOII Rose Ball Senior Year

5. The day my roommates and I played in the rain.

I am SURE I could go on forever. How can you pick just 5 moments from 4 solid years? I don't know. I just miss it. I haven't missed it for a while, but homecoming brought it out of me.

Oh well-- here's to celebrating the old memories and creating new ones.

Not loving this picture of me, but Luke is cute

Laura, Jenn, me, Jess, and Allison

Jenn, Laura, me, Allison (Laura-- is that a Colts scarf???)

15 Weeks!

WooHOO! I am almost 4 months along! I am super happy with each passing week-- as I know that the baby is getting bigger and healthier. My mom reminded me that at around 26-27 weeks, the baby is considered viable, which is really not too far away and provides a bit of reassurance as I wait out these next few months. Someone tonight at Zumba told me that Easter was less than 6 months away, which means that the baby will be here by then! So exciting!

Not everything has been so exciting, however. Last week, the other lady at my school who is pregnant, Debbie, and I were talking about her maternity leave situation. She got some unexpected news about the perameters of her leave, and it made me really freak out about mine. I immediately called HR and set up an appointment to go in and discuss what my options will be in March. I go tomorrow, and I am relieved to just get all my ducks in a row and go from there. Certain aspects of being pregnant are just really stressful...and I can hear the choir now, saying, "Well, didn't you think of that before you decided to have a baby?" Yes...we thought about it. But like people always say, if you wait until you are 100% ready financially and logistically, you will wait forever. Luke and I will get through anything together with the support from those around us. I am not too worried.

My biggest worry for now is childcare. I am terrified of someone else watching our baby! Of course I will trust friends and family, but we don't have a lot of options in that department. I am weighing a lot of options right now, and ultimately I pray that we keep our family's needs in top priority. We will be guided to the right decision, and sacrifices will be made. I know there will soon be the first of many, many sacrifices we will make during our children's lives.

Well-- a pregnant lady has to eat! Have a great night!

Congrats, Chris & Megan!

I can hardly believe that September is almost over! It feels like only a couple days ago that we went to the Notre Dame game over Labor Day weekend. Now it is almost October, and I couldn't be happier. This September has not been all that Fall-like, although this past weekend was a sign of weather to come. It was sunny, breezy, even a little chilly by nighttime, and that is just the best!

We had a fabulous weekend in Muncie. Our friends, Chris & Megan, got married, and Luke was an usher in the wedding. We had the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner on Friday night, the wedding on Saturday, and then a post-wedding get-together today. We are so exhausted. In fact, Luke is snoozing on the couch (for the third time today!) as I type this.

The wedding was beautiful. It was all black and white, and the bridesmaids' dresses and flowers were a magenta color. The weather was outstanding, and the reception was a lot of fun. I actually was asked to come in and take some "getting ready" pictures of Megan and the girls, so that was really fun. She was a stunning bride. In fact, Luke said that "other than me," she was the most beautiful bride he has seen.

Last night, I felt pretty pregnant. The dress I was wearing highlighted the belly bulge going on, and while everyone was enjoying several alcoholic beverages, I stuck to my water and Diet Coke. I was really good about not drinking caffeine during the first trimester, but I have added it a little to my diet in the past couple of weeks. I am allowed 200 mg a day, and one can of Diet Coke only has about 45 mg. I typically have Diet Coke once or twice a week. Sometimes I just need it!

Anyway -- the wedding was great fun, but WOW my feet hurt by the end of the night. The reception didn't close up until midnight, so it was a pretty long day for us. However, I loved being around my friends and seeing Chris and his groomsmen and ushers, who most of whom were elementary, middle, or high school friends. It is so cool that people can stay in touch and be friends after so many years.

One crazy thing that happened was Chris actually broke is wedding band during the reception. He had a tungsten band that is "virtually indestructible," which is the kind Luke has, but during the reception a large chunk broke off! It actually happened during a pretty hilarious part of the reception, which was when Megan's cousin taught Chris a very interesting dance. It involved some pounding his hands on the dance floor, and that was when the ring incident occurred. However, that ring should not have broken like that no matter what he was doing. He only got to wear it for 3 hours! Luckily, by this afternoon, he already had a new one as the jewelry store was able to replace the exact ring in the store today.

Well, I have chicken chili simmering on the stove and a Colts game about ready to come on-- I am exhausted and "kind of" dreading going to school tomorrow, but I know that the weeks are flying, which means the baby is growing, and I am getting closer and closer to lots of exciting things!

Welcome Avigail Catherine Grile!

On Sunday, I got the pleasure of meeting our friends' Ken and Jenna's first baby girl, Avigail. She was born on Wednesday. She was so super sweet and sleepy! It was a great visit, and I am so happy for them. They are already wonderful parents. Congrats!

Here is a nursery update. This is the 2nd set of bedding I have for a boy...maybe even a girl. I really like it!

14 Weeks!

Goodbye, first trimester....Hello second trimester! It feels like it has taken FOREVER to get to this point! Everyone has told me that the 2nd trimester is the best, and I am greatly looking forward to it. I feel like I got off the hook easy during the 1st, so I am hoping there are no unpleasant surprises in the 2nd. What I am really looking forward to is my chubby belly turning into a baby belly! I am also looking forward to feeling those kicks -- though I still swear I have felt them twice. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

I went to Target yesterday with Jenn, and we happened to find ourselves in the baby clearance. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. There were so many cute things for $2, $3, $4....I just couldn't resist. So what if I got 25 outfits, 22 of them for a girl? They didn't have very many boy things without a silly looking character or bear or Winnie the Pooh (ick), so I had to do what I could do. The stuff I got was absolutely precious....so needless to say we will either have a well-dressed girl or a really naked boy!

Girl outfits

Pathetic collection of boy outfits

I got a wild hair and decided that I wanted to make baby bows. Again...maybe this is my subconscious telling me that I am having a girl...because I am all about the girly stuff as of late. Anyway, I went to Michael's today and got some ribbon and made my first bow for Jenna's baby girl Avigail! I hope she likes it! I made it to match an outfit that I am taking to her today when a group of my friends make the road trip to go see her. I am so excited to see this baby girl!

I was bored this morning and counted our spare change we have been collecting since January, and we are at about $92! This is our Christmas money that we will use to buy presents for our friends/family. I know $92 won't stretch very far, but we still have about 2 months before we need to start spending it, and at least it is money that we don't have to come up with all at once. Paying in all cash (well, mostly all cash) for a year has really been one of our better decisions we have made.

Anyway, I better get ready to go. Hopefully the girls will be on time and we can get headed down south here shortly. Why do the weekends go so quickly?

Operation: Simplicity

This weekend, I have big plans for myself. Because my classroom was about 1,000 degrees on Friday, I couldn't stay as late as I wanted to in order to get all my plans in line for next week. I decided to leave and take everything home with me. Now, this has never been a good idea for me in the past, as my teacher stuff usually never makes it out of the car when I take it home. However, I most definitely plan on getting it done and being productive. I will have to do that in between meeting Jenn for coffee, hanging out with Elizabeth today, and going to Bloomington to see Jenna & Ken's new beautiful baby girl, Avigail tomorrow! :-)

I also have big plans to go through my closet. I don't think I am going to get rid of anything permanently, but, let's face it, I have clothes that I am quickly growing out of and I think it would make getting dressed easier in the morning if I weeded through the stuff that just doesn't fit or look right and put it in a box for the next 6 months. I find myself each morning standing in our closet going, "I have nothing to wear!" I know that isn't true, but I get overwhelmed by all the clothes that I simply cannot wear (for fear of looking ridiculous with my little beer...I mean baby...belly poking out). If I find some things I can live without in the process and happen to donate them to Goodwill, I think that is a bonus.

Luke and I live in excess....we have 100 old magazines, books we don't read, notes and bills that we have collected over the years....and even though I feel like I go through my closets in a fit of rage or, as I used to say in college, a tornado of anger, every few months, we still seem to accumulate so much....shit (have to call it like I see it).

With the baby coming, I really want to eliminate as much excess sh...stuff...as possible, as I know that our lives and home will soon be overtaken by brightly colored, plastic light-up toys and pastel blankets and stuffed toys. Our tiny home already feels like it is bursting at the seams, and we have only been in here for less than a year and a half! We have high hopes of staying here through residency (God willing Luke is placed in Indianapolis), and if that is going to happen, we need to MAKE ROOM!

Luke and I are so busy and tired throughout the week with the stresses of school that we really don't do much weekly maintenance of our home. This is a bad habit to have been in for over two years, but today, it stops! I promise...I swear!

Anyway, with all this talk of productivity, I should probably close my computer and get started. Oh and there's Jenn! I guess work will have to wait!

Appointment Update!

I just got home from my appointment, and I feel so relieved and happy! :-) The baby's heartbeat was loud and clear at 165 beats per minute, and the doctor said everything is going great! I go back over Fall Break for another appointment and then on October 27th I get my "big" ultrasound. The baby will look so different then! I am extremely excited to get a good look at our baby, but we are still holding out that we don't want to know the sex. Luke thinks he will be able to tell without them telling us. We will see! :-) Hearing that heartbeat makes all the frustrations of life as of late very much worth it and minute in comparison.