Fat Tuesday and 20 Weeks

I am now officially halfway there, and baby girl is beginning to make herself more and more known these days. I really think my stomach has doubled in size since the last picture (thus making Fat Tuesday an appropriate description for way I feel today), and I felt her kick for the first time on Superbowl Sunday. She must be a Saints fan, right:)

Our sonogram appointment was amazing. I know everyone says this, but it's just so unbelievable to see glimpses of this little person growing inside of you. Seeing her for the first time really makes this whole thing seem real. Not that it wasn't real before, but now "it" is a "she," and "she" has a face, and really cute hands. Isn't life amazing??

It will be neat to tell our daughter one day that the great blizzard of Mississippi (and most of the south) blew in on the eve of her sonogram. Although this snow is nothing compared to Alaska, it's was still beautiful to behold. Although I did not get to fully appreciate it because of work. Yes, the city shut down, but alas a hospital never closes. It's one of the things I love (and sometimes hate) about my job.















Our House















The Backyard and Scout (who didn't care much for the cold snow)















Front of our neighborhood

We had a wonderful, relaxing Valentine's this year (at least I did). All I wanted from Jeff was one of his gourmet dinners, which he expertly prepared as always. But he also took the afternoon to finish up some lingering jobs around the house while I dozed and watched cheesy Valentine movies on the Hallmark Channel. I know these lazy afternoons will be few and far between post kids, so I'm soaking them up while I can!!

Several of you have asked for a Scout update, and we've had to make the hard decision to give him up. A coworker of mine is actually coming to get him for a test run today. I've gone back and forth with this decision over the past month or so, but everytime I start to feel really guilty about giving him up, he has a Peefest in his crate, or he and Allie get into it, or he poops in his crate 2 times like he did this past weekend. Bottom line he needs more attention than we can give him right now, and if now is not enough, I can't imagine what will happen once the baby comes. I feel really good about the girl who is adopting him - he will be an only dog and absolutly spoiled rotten it seems. I am just praying his crate issues will resolve once he's getting the attention he needs. And our other dog Allie - well I don't think she'll be crying one bit over his departure. She is such a good dog, and has been sorely neglected since her attention hog brother moved in.

I guess that's all for now! Happy Tuesday!

It's a .....

GIRL!!

We are thrilled!

I've had a strong sense it was a girl since about week 12, but didn't want to publicly favor one over the other, in the off chance my intuition was wrong.

We're still working on a name, so stay tuned.

My stomach really popped out this week...I'll try to post pictures again next week. I'm still carrying her really low because of my long torso - which is why so many thought I was having a boy.

In other news - I drove to work in a blizzard this morning. They shut down the city, including the state offices, but a hospital never closes.

Happy Friday!!

Baby Bump - 18.5 Weeks

Everyone has been asking whether or not I'm "showing" yet, so I figured I'd post a picture..albeit a really terrible one. I do have a little bump, but mainly just feel like I've put a few lbs here and there all over. That is unfortunately how my body distributes weight, and pregnancy doesn't seem to have altered that much. It looks like a cute little bump in this picture, but in my bare belly shot, which I opted not to post this week, it really looks more like a beer gut. Because I have such a long torso, I'm afraid it's going to take quite some time for my stomach to round out nicely under my ribcage.



















I can pretty much guarantee that all of those extra 11lbs have come from all of the soda I've been drinking lately because eating is still uncomfortable for me at this point. I no longer have the nausea to contend with, now it's just an achiness that sets in right after I eat a meal. I was annoyed to find out yesterday that Barq's root beer, which has been my drink of choice the past several weeks, does in fact have caffeine in it. I realize some caffeine is okay during pregnancy, but I've had no cravings or desire for it since week 6, so figured I'd play it safe and avoid it completely. That being said, it bugs me to no end that I've been unknowingly consuming it daily for weeks now.



















This is a gratuitous shot of the amaryllis my dad got me for christmas. Somehow I managed to coax it from a bulb into a beautiful flower.















I had to post this picture of our new bedroom digs. You see last weekend my wonderful husband went shopping with me for a new duvet set. The older I get the less I enjoy shopping, so these trips are few and far between. But I guess I'm going through the nesting phase right now and wanting our house completely put together in order, thus the trip out. Long story made short, after 5 hours visiting 5 different stores and making multiple trips back to the house to try out potentials, we ended up sticking with our current bedding set and just adding the grey quilt, grey pillows and curtains. I'm not one to spend extra $$ when I can make what we have work. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the new look to the room, even though it's kind of roughly thrown together in this picture. The curtains add the perfect flair to me, and also darken the room nicely in the mornings. Eventually we plan to sell our armoire, which is currently just serving as a tv holder/dust collector, and will use the extra space for a glider. I've always wanted a sitting area in the master bedroom, and although our room isn't big enough for much, with the armoire gone we can at least squeeze in a chair.

That's all for now, friends! Looking forward to the weekend and sleeping in a bit!