Most of the people who read this probably already know this, but It's a BOY!!! We found out on June 23rd. I've known since my morning sickness started that this was a boy and that was only confirmed for me when my moodiness started days later. With the girls, I was hormonal-emotional. With this pregnancy, I was hormonal-angry. Everything made me mad...I had the shortest temper. It was awful! Since I knew it was a boy, I'm a bit surprised by my reaction. I was completely shocked. It was as if I'd been telling myself "boy" for so long that I didn't believe it anymore? Maybe it was because Daniel was dead set on it being a girl. The gender was one of the first things she looked for. Unfortunately the umbilical cord was in the way so when I didn't see boy parts, my first thought was "oh my goodness, it's a girl"...lol. Luckily, she was able to wiggle him around to move the cord.
It was really important to me to tell my mother-in-law in a special way so for anyone interested in the story, here it is:
She really wanted it to be a boy. (Back story: Daniel thought it was a girl and his mom and I joke about him being wrong about things cause he's stubborn.) We were on our way home and she texted asking if we knew yet, so I texted back and said, "Well...at least we don't have to worry about buying clothes cause she'll have plenty of hand-me-downs. Don't you hate it when Daniel's right". She didn't see it before we got there so I had to repeat it when we came inside (she said we looked like we were about to cry...lol). She looked a bit disappointed, but she said she was happy anyway. I said, "do I get a hug anyway?" and while she was hugging me, I whispered "It's a boy" in her ear. She screamed. In my ear. Then jumped around and ran and told everyone and then ran to her mom's house( behind her house) to tell her...lol. It was really special. This will be the first boy in the family in 14 years! We don't have a first name yet, but his middle name will be Daniel (after the hubby).
Here are some ultrasound pictures :o)
I decided to go to my mother-in-law's the other day to take some pictures in her garden. I've been meaning to get over there for a while, but it's been so hot and trying to watch the girls in the heat and focus on getting good shots wasn't very appealing. I finally bit the bullet and did it. Unfortunately, I missed some of the nice flowers I wanted to get. I don't know if they wilted due to the heat or if it was just the end of their life. Since I couldn't take pictures of those, I had to keep my eye out for something interesting to shoot. I got super lucky when I saw this bug sitting on this leaf. I've always wanted to get a really good macro shot of a bug, but bugs typically don't like to cooperate...not the bugs I see anyway. Without further ado, my bug picture! (Just click on the picture to see it full sized.)
So I realized that I've been updating on the pregnancy lately, but haven't said much about the girls. Time to change that!
Kelsie has recently become interested in some new things. The first is her interest in names. She recently realized that my name is not Mommy. I've put off telling her I have another name because I know her and I don't want her to start calling me Jessica all the time...lol. Now that she's 3 1/2, I thought it would be wise for her to know my name. So now Kelsie randomly talks to me about my "other" name, Daddy's "other" name, even Mamaw's and Papaw's. She likes middle names, too...and last names. She's also become interested in trucks recently, only every truck she sees is an ice cream truck. When I tell her it's not, she stops calling them ice cream trucks, but then vans and SUV's become trucks, too. She doesn't like vegetables. That's really irritating, since I know she needs them.
While we're on the subject of vegetables, Ashlin's new favorite veggie is broccoli (or bock-ee, as she calls it). I made tuna fettuccine alfredo with broccoli for dinner last night and when I would try to give her bites of the noodles she would start pitching a fit and screaming for broccoli. I couldn't get mad. How do you tell your child no to broccoli when they beg for it...lol. Ashlin has also recently started wanting me to put her hair up. She sees me do Kelsie's hair and she wants me to do hers, too. The only problem with that is she doesn't exactly have much to work with. That and she takes it out minutes after I get it up.
Now for a little update on the pregnancy. I'm 17 weeks and 4 days today. There's not a lot new. I've been feeling the baby a bit more, but it's still not completely regular. I've had to deal with some sciatic problems and my pelvic bone pain has been getting worse, but I expected it. We go to the big ultrasound in 2 weeks and 1 day and I can't wait! Some major cravings of this pregnancy have been fruit (watermelon is a big one) and meat (hamburgers rock my socks!).
Now for some pictures! Once again, click the picture to see it's full size.
Miss Ashlin when we went to Abram's Creek for the afternoon. I LOVE those eyes!
Kelsie sitting with her Aunt Rachel at Abram's Creek.
Some recent macro shots. I really need to work on my focus with them cause I'm not great at it, but I still really like these pictures.
My 17 week belly shot
I'm 15 weeks today! That means that I'm in my second trimester (for a week now) and I only have 175 days to go...lol. One of the coolest things is the baby has started moving. I felt the first movement in my 13th week, but the little flutters were so random and were days apart. In the last couple of days, though, I've felt Nugget move several times a day! I went to the doctor yesterday for my monthly check-up. Everything was good and I got to hear the baby's heartbeat, which was wonderful. My blood pressure was 130/80 and so far in the pregnancy I've gained 4 lbs. Also, the doctor said that my uterus is already up to my belly button. I got my anatomy scan set up for June 23rd!!! I can't wait!!! Ok, last but not least, some pictures! The first is a collage of my first trimester pictures (the last of which is my most recent picture). The second is a macro shot I took yesterday at the Greenbelt park and edited with AMP's Penny Candy action. You should check out her site...she totally rocks! Here's a link to her blog/website: http://amymcmasterphotography.com/To see the full picture, just click on it.
I've been waiting for today for sooo long! My best friend, Kimie, and her husband Gareth are coming to town to visit!!!! I haven't seen Kimie since her wedding weekend two years ago. That's a really really long time to go without seeing your best friend. She moved to Florida after her wedding and a trip to Florida from Tennessee isn't just some weekend trip...lol. They finally moved back to North Carolina last September, but neither of us have been able to make the 3 hour trip. It's ok, cause this weekend will wake up for it!
On to my pregnancy update. I'm 12 weeks today! Almost out of my 1st trimester! I've been feeling pretty good lately. I stopped taking my anti-nausea meds about 5 days ago. I'm still tired, but it's nothing unbearable. My picture today is my 12 week shot. I'll put my 7 week shot up too for comparison (it says 7 weeks, but it was actually 6 weeks 4 days).
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.
