It's icky and raining today, so why not update my blog! I'm 10 weeks and 4 days today (206 days to go). I had my first ultrasound on April 5th and it was so nice to see my little baby on the screen. The ultrasound tech changed my due date to November 12th. I gained 3 days, but that's ok. I'm still taking my anti-nausea meds, but instead of needing them 2-3 times a day, I've only had to take one as soon as I get up in the morning (except for if I have a bad day).
So I have really exciting news (for me...probably not for anyone else...lol)! My best friend in the whole world is coming to see me May 30th!!! Her and her hubby will be staying through that Monday and leaving early Tuesday morning (I think...they may leave late Monday night). I haven't seen Kimie in 2 years (since her wedding weekend). It's been so hard not having her here and not being able to see her for so long.
I've been really slacking with my camera lately. I just haven't felt like doing much of anything, let alone taking pictures. I took a couple the other day, though, when I had lunch with friend of the family. This first picture is Bryson trying to give Kelsie a hug. Kelsie liked Bryson, but she did NOT want him to hug her...lol. It was so funny!!! The next picture is Ashlin at the bottom of the slide. She climbed up the stairs, walked all the way to the other end of the playset and went down the slide all by herself. I was so proud of her! The next two are pictures of the newest member of the B. family (the friends we had lunch with). Her name is Brooke and she's such a sweet little girl! Last, but not least, is the perfect mother/son moment. Bryson fell down and hurt his knee so mommy was making it all better.
Time for another update! So as of today I am 8 weeks and 3 days (only 221 days to go...lol). I went to my first appointment on March 24th. I was expecting my appointment to be with Dr. Traver, but I got a call the day before my appointment and they said she was sick so I would have to see Dr. Garza and my appointment would be about an hour earlier. I was thrilled because Dr. Garza is my favorite. It was just a typical 1st appointment: pap, breast exam, some questions, blood work. I talked to the doctor about my nausea and asked for medicine to help control it, and before I even got the whole sentence out, she said she'd write me a prescription for phenergan. I told her she was my best friend...lol. It's helped A LOT!!!! My due date is November 9th at the moment, but they will confirm it at my first ultrasound on April 5th (this Monday). I can't wait!!! I'm so excited to see my little nugget!!!
Yesterday, I decided I would take the girls to the park to take their Easter pictures. I got some cute ones, but the trees in the spot I wanted to take the pictures weren't blooming yet. It's ok, though. I'll go in a week or so and it should be beautiful. I got some great shots of some flowers. It's probably my best combo of photography and post processing to date. I saw some pictures I took of flowers last year and I can't believe how much better I am now! It's so cool to see that. I hope I can continue to grow. I need to try and venture out of auto. I have a nice fancy camera...I can't let it be a really expensive point and shoot (although even in auto, it's a million times better than my point and shoot ever was!). I thought I'd post 2 of my flower pictures from last year and some from this year as a comparison. As always, click the picture to see it's full size. Hope you enjoy!
A year ago-
My pictures from yesterday (April 1, 2010)
I typically don't play with lens flare or anything like that, but the sun was on that side and there was a small amount of lens flare anyway, so I experimented with it and I like it on this picture.
2 kids that is! That's right...baby number 3 is on the way!!! I found out a week and a half ago and we are so excited! For our other 2, Daniel was there when I tested so it wasn't a surprise, but if this ends up being another girl, it'll be our last child, so I wanted to do something special to tell Daniel. Before I found out I was pregnant with Ashlin, I got a bracelet box from a jewelry store because I wanted to do this when I found out with her, but I ended finding out when I was at the doctor. Anyway, I had to go exchange a pair of shoes I got for Ashlin, and when I did, I ended up getting a discount on them since the new pair (the only ones in her size) had a smudge on them. I used the money I got back to buy a test. Daniel, the girls, and I went to dinner that evening and then he dropped us off at home and he went to rent a movie (we forgot about the movie until we were halfway home, but it ended up working out perfectly that way). I took the test while he was gone. I couldn't help but look at the test while it was processing and it was saying negative. Of course. I couldn't really be pregnant, cause I wanted it too bad. I would end up starting just as soon as I threw the test in the trash. That's how it works, right? "Give it a rest, Jessie. It hasn't even been 3 minutes! Ok...wait til the 3 minutes is up and then look at it again. Positive. It's positive. I'm pregnant! I'm pregnant!!!!! Camera...where's my camera?!" Lol...that's about how it all went in my head. I took a few pictures of my positive and then I got that box out, put the test inside, wrote "Just because we love you" on the top, and tied it closed with ribbons. When Daniel got back I told him that while we were out we got him a "just because we love you gift". He was happy when he saw that I was pregnant :o). I have my first appointment a week from today (March 24, 2010) and as of now my due date is November 10, 2010. I've been feeling good, for the most part. I'm tired and I'm peeing a lot, but other than that, I can't complain. I'll continue updating throughout the pregnancy. Wanna see my BFP? Ok, here it is! It's faint, but it's there!
There isn't really a lot to update on. The girls and I have had colds for the last week and a half, but I think there's finally some light at the end of that tunnel. Kelsie and I are feeling a lot better (Ashlin, too, but she's still a bit sicker than us). Daniel managed to avoid a cold this time around, which is great, especially since he worked overtime this week. He was scheduled for this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (today), but he got a call last Thursday asking if he could cover someone so he went. It's tough on him to work three days in a row, so it's worse to work four. He works twelve hour night shifts...it's a pretty tough schedule.
I've had an interest in making bows (for the girls, not to sell) for a while, but I'm not great at it. I got some ribbon and some alligator clips the other day and I made several that I really like. I think I'm addicted now...lol. Oh! Kelsie's been completely addicted to dress up lately. She's dressed up every single day this week...I'm talking dress, shoes, sometimes tights, and yesterday she wanted a skirt on, too...under her dress. She has fashion sense, let me tell you! She's even wanted to sleep in her dress up dress at night. Guess who's getting more dress up as soon as we can...lol.
As far as photography goes, I haven't done much picture taking. It's been really cold out and with colds, I don't want to get the kids out to play. I've been playing in PSE, though. I figured out clipping masks and I'm thrilled! I bought my very first set of actions yesterday!!! My Four Hens released her newest actions yesterday and they rock! Anyway, I don't know what I want to tackle next in PSE. I need suggestions for what to learn. Ok, well I guess this is all for now. I'll post a couple of pics, too.
Kelsie, Ashlin, Daniel, and I went to the park a week ago since it was so pretty out.
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Ashlin sized hair clippies!
One of M4H's new actions. Part of the "Little Yummies" collection, this is "celery sticks"
Don't forget...if you have any ideas for what I should tackle next, leave me a comment and let me know :o)
The sun is actually out today! Hard to believe, I know! Since it was sunny today, I decided to open my new backdrop stand and do a little portraiture session. I originally wasn't going to take Kelsie's pictures because she's sick, so I didn't think she'd be in the mood, but she asked to be so I couldn't tell her no. Before she asked to be in the pictures, I told her that Ashlin was going to be our model and she was going to be my photography assistant. She wanted to be my student, though...lol (she's so cute!)! I know it's only in the low 40's outside, so it's definitely not spring, but I wanted to put bright springy clothes on the girls, so I did just that. I'm really happy with how the pictures turned out. Let me know what you think! (Don't mind the scratch on Kelsie's face. The cat scratched her. I cloned it out of the others, but left it in one.) The links directly above each picture are the links to the larger versions.http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4065/4368054843_479ca990fa_b.jpg
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So I'd been waiting as patiently as I could for our tax return. I did really well for about a week and a half, but I was getting really excited and impatient for it towards the end. Finally, February 5th arrived and our money was deposited! Why was I so excited for this return? Well there were several reasons, but one of the most important to me was that I could finally order my new camera! It feels like I've wanted a DSLR forever, but I think it's actually been a year and a half or so. My dreams of owning one were finally coming to fruition and it felt so surreal! I ordered my Nikon D5000 on Friday, February 5th and it arrived in the mail on Monday morning. Holy cow, that was fast! Definitely didn't expect that! I love this camera even though it's a lot to learn. I'll get it one day, but it may take a little while before I venture out of auto...lol. Even in auto, it's a million trillion times better than my p&s. I also got PSE 8, so I've been having fun learning that. I was introduced to the world of actions and I'm in love! You'll see some of my camera and PSE fun below. Another reason I was so excited for our return was we could put a down payment on a car. We've been driving a 1987 Toyota Camry for over a year now and it's definitely seen better days. Before the Camry, we had 3 other cars in our 4 and a half year relationship...almost a car every year. We were so ready to get a nice car that will last us a loooong time! We went to Carmax and found a 2007 Dodge Caliber. It's really nice and I'm so excited to be able to say it's ours (even though we'll be paying on it for a while).Picture time again! As always, click on the link to see the picture bigger or just click on the picture to see the whole thing.Our new car!
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Little baby pine cones
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My first time using an action!
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4018/4352859674_8498cccae1_b.jpgAshlin eating snow...that's all she was interested in doing...lol.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2774/4346584207_70717fe865_b.jpgThis was my first attempt at using a texture like this in a fantasy type picture
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Kelsie, Ashlin, and Daniel posing for a picture
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2701/4343999978_12b4af7d0e_b.jpgMy wonderful hubby, Daniel
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