over halfway!

  As time goes by, we are getting more and more anxious to meet our little girl! Now that we know it is a little girl, time seems to be going by more slowly. I almost ache to hold her, and talk to her face to face- not through my tummy. 

  I am feeling well. No complaints and this point. Things that used to be easy for me, seem to make me more tired, but I understand that is because my body is growing a baby- as well as doing other tasks. We went to Cottonwood, Arizona this past weekend, where my parents have a great house. Bruce and Heido joined us, as we all have $400 dollars worth of free Frontier tickets because of our 12 hour delay in Minneapolis in October. We got to visit Jerome, Sedona and do a great hike out in the desert- where Bruce was having a hay day with all of  the awesome picture opps. Our little girl got to go on some awesome adventures. Yet, our 10 mile hike through the desert made me more sore and tired than it should have. I suppose carrying extra weight makes a  little difference.

 Yesterday, we went out and bought paint for the nursery and painted the whole room a fun, lemonmint. It is bright and perfect for the baby's room. We will put up the polka dots today, and I will upload pictures of our progress so far soon. It feels wonderful to have a room coming together for our little one. 

  I can no longer hide my bump, and would say it has graduated from being a "bump" to more of a big hill. I am starting to actually fit into the maternity clothes that people have graciously given me. Sleeping proves to be a bit more difficult, considering I always have been a stomach sleeper. And, tying my tennis shoes is also a challenge, unless I sit on the stairs. 

  Ryan continues to be super helpful and supportive. He helped paint the whole room yesterday, gave input about paint colors, and gives me daily backrubs. He is very excited to have a little girl, who he can teach to kick a soccer ball, and protect from preying teenage boys someday. He loves picking out little clips and hair ties in target and is excited to have a little one to play with. I know he is going to be an awesome daddy!

  I am starting to feel her more and more, even though I don't think my placenta has moved. She has just gotten stronger and I can feel little flicks. It is almost as if there is someone inside my stomach gently snapping a rubber band through water. It is great to be able to feel her and know that she is still okay. It often makes me giggle- it is a surprising, strange and wonderful feeling.

  Not much else to report. Things are going well, and I am truly thankful for that. Ryan and I are headed out for a walk in the snow before church. 

people's kindness

 As we announce that we are going to have a girl come May, I am grateful for how kind and supportive all of our families and friends are. I have gotten so many kind e-mails and my mom has forwarded me many wonderful e-mails from family friends. I feel blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful people.

  Yesterday at school, one of my student's tias (aunts) brought me a gift that my student, Oscar had picked out for me in Mexico. It is this really soft fleecy blanket with a precious lamb embroidered into it. It is precious and so is Oscar. When I thanked him for the gift, he said, "I knew you were having a girl, all along. That is why I picked out that blanket". So sweet. Getting gifts from my families is a big deal, because, well... it doesn't happen. So, needless to say, I was touched. 

 Last night, Ryan brought home a big shopping bag full of baby girl clothes from the other mechanical engineer he works with. They have a little 6-month old girl and passed along all of her adorable clothes. She was born in July, so all of the clothes are perfect for the first 6 months of our daughter's life. How great to be showered with such adorable hand-me-downs.

  We also got to see some of Ryan's friends from college last night, and their girlfriends. We did our routine Efrain's dinner with them in Lafayette, which we always enjoy. It was great to catch up with them and talk and laugh with them. It was also great to hear from them that when we have our little girl, they will still come and spend time with us. They are willing to change our meeting to our house, in place of Efrain's, in order to accommodate our change in lifestyle. Even though they are in completely different stages of their lives, they are excited for us and to hold our baby and buy her clothes!

  I just wanted to write to stress how wonderful our friends and family have been and to thank all of you who might read this. 

  Today, we are going to go look at a glider in Superior that a family is selling. We will also check out Walmart's baby section, because we found the crib and mattress pad that we want online there. We are also starting to think about how we want to decorate the nursery. All fun and wonderful things. Thank you to everyone for their enthusiasm and support! 

A big and exciting day!

  So, I was super nervous to go to the doctor's today. But, it turned out to be a fun and exciting experience. Last night, I dreamed that the doctor told us we were going to have a boy. So, I was more sure than ever. We went in and had our appointment with the ultrasound tech first. And... Ryan won our little bet. I was wrong and to my wonderful surprise, we are having a little girl! So, exciting! I love that we can call our baby  "she" now, instead of "it".  It is so fun to find out that we are having a daughter. She all of a sudden becomes a little person with a future and a personality. I love it!

  So, now we are calling to tell people the good news. No other news. The doctor said the baby looked healthy. We heard the heart beat and it was at about 153. We got to see her yawn and move around a bit, hiding her face with her little hands. We got to see the head and spine and little feet. I had a hard time identifying what everything was, but got the gist with the help of the technician. My blood pressure and urine and everything seemed healthy and good. I have gained 6-7 pounds and the baby is growing nicely. The technician told me that the reason that I have not been able to feel the baby is because I have placenta anterior. That means the placenta is sitting like a pillow between the baby and my stomach. So, until our little daughter gets a little stronger and bigger, I won't be able to feel her. That was reassuring because I was concerned that I couldn't feel the baby and something was wrong. But, now I get it. We both feel so blessed to have had such a smooth pregnancy so far and that the baby and I have been healthy. Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers!

  So, tonight, Ryan has chosen hamburgers for dinner, since he won the bet. I think we will go to Smashburgers and then get glacier ice cream. Good thing our baby girl likes hamburgers! We are both so excited! 

19 and 20 week pictures

I don't need to write much, because I will update this tomorrow. But, I thought I would put up some pictures while I am thinking about it.

 I am at 20 weeks, so halfway. The baby weighs about 10 oz. and is about 10 inches from head to toes! None of my pants fit anymore, so I am trying to get creative with outfits that fit me. I got some fun things for Christmas, so that is exciting.

 Even more exciting is tomorrow's doctor's appointment. I have an appointment with a  ultrasound tech and then with my doctor. Tomorrow we will hopefully find out if we are having a baby boy or a baby girl. I still think boy, Ryan thinks girl. If I win, I get to pick where we have dinner. If Ryan "wins", he gets to pick where we have dinner. And we both get some glacier ice cream out of it! Fun. I am really looking forward to tomorrow and hope that baby Mork cooperates so we can see "the goods". :-) Expect another update sometime soon! 

  Oh, picture with the pink shirt is 19 weeks and picture with blue is 20 weeks. 

Christmas time

It is fun to celebrate Christmas this year and think about having a little baby crawling around next Christmas! We got some fun baby-related things this year. We got some booties with rattles, pacifiers, a cute plastic bowl that looks like Babo, a children's Christmas book, and some fun maternity clothes. We also got a great book from Rebecca that is an owners manual for a baby that gives us all sorts of directions about how to prepare for and take care of a baby. We love it! Lots of fun pictures and instructions! I got this really cool Haitian carved figurine from Amanda of a pregnant lady. It is really unique and pretty. What a fun time in our lives! We are getting excited to find out the sex and share the name of our baby with our family! I want to start setting up my polka-dot nursery! 

 Thanks to everyone for all of their enthusiasm. I am now at 18 weeks. The baby is the size of a bell pepper and almost 6 inches from head to bum. I have gained about 5 pounds and don't have much to wear. I sometimes get frustrated because my tummy is too big for my normal pants but maternity pants still fall off of me. What an awkward stage. But, it is totally worth it all. We are excited to be parents.

17 weeks

So, this week, my belly seemed to pop out noticeably. What fit me on Thursday no longer fit me on Tuesday. I had many co-workers approach me and tell me that I finally looked like I was pregnant. My pants have gotten increasingly tighter. Kinda fun!

  This week, Ryan came home with a HUGE tupperware crate full of maternity clothes from one of his co-workers. She has had 2 kids and was just keeping all of her clothes in her basement. So, because of her kindness, I have a whole new wardrobe! I seriously have everything, and they are cute clothes too! Probably about 10 pairs of pants- jeans, capris, khakis, etc. I also go lots of long sleeve shirts, dress clothes, t-shirts and cute tank tops for this spring when I am really big. I tried everything on. It was like Christmas! So fun! Quite a bit of the stuff is too big still, so I will have plenty to grow into. How fun!

 I went to the doctor last Friday and all went well. The baby's heart rate was at 143, so not as high as when it was younger. But, right in the middle of average and healthy- which is all I can ask for!

 I should start feeling the baby within the next couple of weeks. That will be really exciting!

15 weeks

So, Baby Mork is now 15 weeks old. Apparently, S/he is the size of an apple. A big honeycrisp apple or a little golden delicious? Well, I don't know. But I like apples, so this is a fun week. Baby Mork can now hear us talking, so we are supposed to talk her/him or read it books. And, it can sense light- so if I were to shine a flashlight on my belly, the baby would squirm away from it. Crazy!

  Last week, we went to Atlanta for Thanksgiving to visit Ryan's grandpa Art- who just turned 90, and his aunt Lori and Uncle Rob. I got to meet all of these fun people for the first time. Josh, Claire, Bruce, Heidi, Ryan and I all went and had a good time exploring Atlanta and hanging out with family. And Baby Mork got to take his/her first trip to Atlanta. I now have my appetite back and could enjoy all of the good food for Thanksgiving.

 People seem to think someone has kidnapped me when they hear me order at restaurants. I ordered a reuben a few weeks ago and Josh said, "Who are you?" And I ordered a real hamburger at Red Robin and my mom was shocked! But, I guess this baby wants its meat (iron) and fat. So, I let it dictate my choices. Whatever sounds good! 

 Not much else to report. Oh, except that I can no longer button up my jeans, so I have graduated to wearing the belly band over them, and leaving them un-buttoned so I can breathe. It is fun to finally be showing. I added some pictures to show the bump during the last few weeks. The one up top is in Atlanta. I think Ryan's belly beats mine!

 We will find out the gender of the baby in early January, so we are anxiously awaiting that!