14 weeks

And, in other news, demolition and construction began on our shower today!! I can't wait!!

Hello, second trimester!

We are now in the second trimester! 13 and a half weeks so far. We got to see little Peanut last night at the pregnancy center- crazy how much he/she has grown in just a few weeks. You could totally see both parts of the baby's brain, an intact spinal cord, individual fingers, hands and feet and a sweet little profile. He/she was quite shy, and we only got the side or back views- I told the baby that he/she had very camera-happy grandparents and would need to get over his/her shyness soon!

Love this song

Andrew Peterson- Dancing in the Minefield

What a great song about marriage- reminds me of how thankful I am for Mike- how our relationship has changed over the years- for the better, for sure, but as life has gotten more and more crazy, I am thankful that I have him to dance through life with.

Pregnancy so far....

I thought I should record these things so that I'll remember one day (especially with how you can now turn your blog into a book- maybe I should do that sometime).

Random trivia thus far:

- Coffee totally makes me nauseated, which is tragic since I've been a die-hard coffee drinker for the past 6 years. I've had to succumb to mild chai tea for breakfast because there is no way that I can break my caffeine addiction when waking up at 5:30am for work. I did try a pumpkin spice latte a couple of weeks ago because I was so, so, so sad that when they came out originally at the beginning of September- even the act of walking into a Starbucks made me nauseated. So I tried it for the first time last week and didn't realize the amount of caffeine I had consumed= heart racing, feeling headachey, etc. This even occurred on another day with the half-caf version. Guess I will have to resort to decaf lattes.

- I have variable cravings for certain foods. At times this has meant Central Market's pimento cheese, homemade macaroni and cheese, baked potato soup, and Crystal Light's Grapefruit Drink mix.

- I used to have Kashi's instant oatmeal for breakfast every day before I got preggers. Now, I can't even imagine putting the stuff in my mouth. I've tried it and it didn't go well.

- I cannot stand the smell or taste of BBQ. Chicken and pork are getting close on the list.

- I do like soups and casseroles. Potatoes of any kind as well as cheese of any kind I like.

- I stopped being able to fit into my jeans and dress pants without the help of the friendly Belly Band at around 7 weeks. I have been so thankful for several friends who have let me borrow their maternity clothes. Maternity jeans are some of the most comfortable things I've ever worn. Don't diss the elastic panel!

- I'm so confused about my due date. I have been consistently measuring a week ahead of what my due date is based on my last period. So, by my doctor's records (based on my period date) I'm 10 weeks, 3 days. Based on my latest sono, I'm 11 weeks, 3 days. Oh, well.

- This baby will probably be the most photographed baby ever. Because Mike and I volunteer at the Dallas Pregnancy Resource Center on Monday nights, I've been told I can have as many sonograms as I want to. Fabulous! So far, we've had 4. I know. And I'm 10 1/2 weeks (ish). Ridiculous. But it's so comforting to see the baby. And cool to watch him/her grow and to see how quickly they change!!

- hearing the heartbeat is probably one of the best sounds I've ever heard. It is so surreal to hear a heartbeat of 150 bpm, knowing full-well that mine is half that, and that there is truly something growing inside of me. CRAZY.

- Thankfully, I've not thrown up at all. When I thought about being pregnant, I thought I'd be making mad dashes to and from patients rooms to the bathroom to toss my cookies. But, fortunately, this has not been the case. I have been nauseated off and on, and have had a hand full of bad days, but nothing too terrible.

- Growing a baby makes me TIRED. I would equivocate this to having mono in college. Sometimes all I can think about at work is going home and going to sleep. But then, it seems like I get home and get in bed and then I can't fall asleep even though I'm so dang tired. However, I did sleep for almost 11 hours straight last week and that was fabulous.

- I've never had to pee so much in my life. And so many times at night. I'm told this gets worse as the baby gets bigger and decides to jump on your bladder in the middle of the night. Going to the bathroom has become my new favorite hobby.

- One thing I'm not sad to give up is having to mess with Bella's litter box. Now Daddy gets to do that stinky job.

- I've become maybe a little too unworried about food that I shouldn't eat. I LOVE any form of stinky cheese. I check on the labels to make sure that it's pasteurized, but if the feta or Gorgonzola is already in a salad, and there's no way to check, I have definitely still eaten the cheese. Not ashamed.

- I don't think I've ever been so ravenously hungry at a moment's notice before. I've tried to tell Mike this is what he's like when he gets hungry (and why I carry snacks in my purse and in the car for him- and now for me). We call it "feeding the beast." I've stocked up on snacks (healthy ones, mind you), at my desk at work, and at home and feel like I'm constantly snacking on something (that is if I'm not peeing or sleeping).

- The gag reflex is so much stronger these days. I always brush my tongue while I'm brushing my teeth and I always gag a little (my roommates thought I was bulimic in college at first). Now, I truly should stop doing that because it almost makes me puke. But there's something about having a minty tongue that I just keep doing it.

- Oh, and the hormones. Poor Mike. There's just not much to add here except I can cry at the drop of a hat and something that truly doesn't matter will matter a lot. And I will cry about it. Ridiculous.

So, that's probably more than you ever wanted to know.

This is me preggers at almost 9 weeks. Sporting my Aggie shirt and maternity jeans. The baby bump has started.


Peanut at 9 weeks, measuring 10 weeks- you can see arms and legs and a big ol' head!

Peanut at 10 weeks, measuring 11 weeks. He/she was sitting upside down and didn't want to change positions so I turned the picture sideways. You can see his/her face, arms, legs. You can't see it here, but I could totally see his/her individual arm bones. At times, Peanut was moving around and kicked a leg out. Mike goes, "there's my soccer playing legs!" Mike also had fun playing sonographer and enjoyed trying to see our little one (until Jules politely removed the wand out of his hand)

Surprise!!

Yes we are!

Nine weeks along so far- Baby Peanut and I are doing well!


How we (tried to!) tell our community group- it took a little bit to figure out pink and blue, but eventually they got the message. So fun!

How we told Mike's parents and brothers. They were surprised! Mike's dad asked if we had gotten the cake on the clearance rack or if it was really ours. Gotta love cookie cakes!

How we told Marisa's parents: All of my family was in town for the weekend and we gathered together for a normal family meal. Mike asked at the last minute if he could give the blessing and it went something like this: "Dear Jesus, thank you for this day. Thank you for our families and for the food prepared for us. We pray for Baby Alyssa and for Paige's health and we also pray for Baby Peanut and for Marisa as well. Amen." The look around the table as everyone opened their eyes was priceless. It was awesome. Lots of tears, smiles, hugs!

And, here's Peanut! He or she will be making his or her debut in April 2011! This sono was taken at 8 weeks- we could see the heartbeat and the baby looked great!

This has definetly been quite the surprise for Mike and I, but we are so thankful for the tiny life that God has given us! I've been feeling okay, for the most part. Tired, tired, tired, nauseaous at times, having food aversions, but hungry all the time, also having cravings for random things (like peppermint ice cream at 9:30pm, or mac and cheese at 8:00pm).

Zumba

This past week I found my new favorite form of exercise. This is huge for me because I HATE (loathe, despise, etc...) to exercise, but since I preach it to my patients every day (and my jeans were getting tight), I decided that I should practice what I preach and suck it up.

So, on Tuesday, I went to my first Zumba class. As I started the class, I thought to myself, "I can't believe this is considered exercise- this fun!" When I told Mike over the phone that I had had so much fun at this class and couldn't wait to go back, he said, "Wait. Is this my wife?!"

The class on Tuesday WORE ME OUT. I was seriously sore for 4 days. But, I did get a serious work out and went back agian today for more.

So, the challenge with all of this is that I'm not really good at dancing- white people (well, really me) can't dance, or something like that. I can't even shake my 'thang' really well either, but I'm sure that I'll learn. I mean, some of these people in class even have belly-dancing wraps they wear to class and these special Zumba shoes. Don't think I will take it that far.

....MIA....

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. Waaayyy too many pictures to download, which is slightly overwhelming. And, honestly, not one of my top priorities at the moment.

But, I will tell you the thought that crossed my mind the other day that made me feel really old:

10 years ago this fall, I started my freshman year in college. 10 years ago!!! How in the world did that happen??!?!

I promise I will catch up on blogging in the near future.