12 You Capture-Circles

There are all kinds of circles in our house that make me happy.

This money plant, a gift from my husbands grandparents sits in our living room.
Its amazing how they turn such a beautiful color when they dry.
I heart them and their simplicity.

Seeing Emma's head poke out from her favorite blanket always makes me smile.
Isn't she just adorable!

My husband collects vinyl and got a new turntable for Christmasn.
Even though I'm not a huge fan, its nice to listen to them and hear some of the crackles on the older ones.
I appreciate them for the history of music.

Right now this is the main sort of toy in our house. Dog toys.
Emma had this for years and never really played much with it. But Ellie seems to love it.
And that makes me happy.

4 letter to babybug

Dear babybug:

I can’t believe I am almost half way thru this pregnancy already! Things going good from your side? I hope you are doing good in there and growing like a weed. I haven’t felt you move around too much yet, just kinda little flutters and vibrations. I’m hoping its just because Momma has an extra layer of fluff then all those skinny Momma’s out there that are already feeling external kicks. But we have heard your hearbeat several times and it is strong. We have to move the Doppler to follow you sometimes so I know you are on the move, even if I can’t feel it just yet. Keep up the good work, God is watching you and knows how quickly things should be happening. You are in a much more powerful set of hands and I am confident in his abilities.

This relationship that you and I have, its teaching me a lot about myself too. I tend to be, what some may call a control freak. I try to get all the details and am always trying to plan ahead to know what is happening. But with this, I don’t have that crystal ball to make sure things are ok. I just have to believe that they are. And I’m trying with all my heart to believe…I hope you are feeling that and not focusing on the random fears that pop into my head or dreams. Just breathe….and repeat.

Do you know what next week is? Its our next ultrasound! The BIG ultrasound! I know-it’s FINALLY here! We are now just 8 days away from finding out if you are a little boy bean or a little girl bean. I can not wait. I want to start calling you he or she instead of “it”, which I try not to do because you are not an “it”, you are a tiny human and deserve to be acknowledged as such. That’s why most of the time I refer to you as Bean or Bebe, just sounds so much better then “it”.

I’ve had a few dreams here and there about you, but have never been able to get a feeling if you were a boy or girl, just that you were healthy and part of our lives. I do know that I am focusing more on having boy names picked out and maybe its jut because we are 85% sure of the girl name but not on the boy name, so I am trying to come up with a list of both to choose from.

Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve wanted a girl for as long as I knew I wanted to be a mother, but lately have been feeling that little boys are so cute and sweet and wouldn’t be any less adorable then a little girl. It would just be cute little khakis and polos instead of bows and tutus. I just don’t want to get into the ultrasound and have them say what you are and make you feel like I was disappointed. So if you are a boy, that is perfectly fine and I will be thrilled just as much as if you were a girl. Seriously….I know it sounds so cliché, but as long as you are healthy and we both come out of delivery fine, that will be the biggest blessing of all.

Either way I can’t wait to meet you! Eek…I can’t wait to see your little fingers and toes and nose…you are gonna be so cute! But until June comes, I will be happy getting to see you move around next week on that screen and show us what God gave you. They say to drink orange juice before to get you moving so I might need to pick some up on the way down. So if you can, work with me next week and start wiggling around about 9am on Tuesday. I’m sure I’ll remind you a dozen times until then.

I am feeling much better lately, you haven’t made me quesy much anymore and now only encounter heartburn just before bed a few nights a week so that’s much better then feeling it a few times a day. So thank you for that. Oh and I was surprised that you prefer the lime sherbet the best out the rainbow box. Maybe next time I’ll just get that for ya! The cravings for salads are a good thing, don’t mind them at all either. You know, maybe green is going to be your favorite color.

Sorry if I’m jostling you all about in the middle of the night, just trying to get into the best spot for both of us to get some zzz’s. And yeah about the getting up 3 times a night to use the bathroom, that’s not all your fault little one. I’ve always had a small bladder so I’m kinda used to it anyway. Well at least once a night. But its ok, no biggie. Glad to do it.

This week me and your father have our first childbirth class, just to go over some baby basics. It’s been a while since your dad has been around a baby, it’s been almost 17 years since your Uncle Kyle was born. So except for a few friends babies that we’ve been around, its kinda new to him. And as you know, you are my first, so am soaking up everything that I can that will help me be a better mommy to you.

So just keep doing what you are doing, and if you need more of anything to make your stay in uterus a little more enjoyable, please feel free to suck whatever you need from me. I will try to keep the nutrients and fluids coming.

Remember we adore you to the moon and back already!
Love,
Mommy

15 You Capture-Doorway

Sometimes all you need is a doorway with a little sunshine coming in 

to make winter a little more bearable. 

10 18 weeks

How Far Along am I: 18 Weeks

Size of baby: Bean is the size of a mango

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 8 lbs since conception

Maternity Clothes: I am wearing one pair of maternity jeans, other regular dress pants with the assistance of a bellyband and regular shirts.

 Gender: Not a clue! Ultrasound if scheduled for January 25!

Movement: I have felt a few more little flutters and this week kinda felt a little sensation when I had my hands on my tummy. Like eyelashes against my belly. Can't wait for my husband to feel it!

Sleep: Sleeping pretty good, waking up a few times a night. Notice I do toss and turn alot and for some reason its like I don't know what to do with my arm to make it more comfortable when I'm sleeping on my side. But otherwise I'm getting plenty, including the occasional car ride nap home from Columbus.

What I miss: Nothing really, except when I see Red Lobster commercials.
Sleeping on my tummy a little. Didn't even miss toasting at midnight on New Years Eve!

Cravings: Strawberry Ice Cream, Oranges and PB&J

Symptoms: The last few weeks have been pretty good. Nausea is almost non-exsistant except when I am hungry. Heartburn is only occassional.
Biggest thing now is just wanting more sleep and eating more frequently.

Best Moment this week: Besides feeling it flutter, it would be scheduling our classes at the hospital.  Can't wait to start taking them and learn as much as I can! Feel like I will be the oldest one in there, but that is fine with me. I'm just happy to be attending!

16 My Favorite Captures of 2010

I was so happy when Beth announced this weeks You Capture challenge was to pick our favorites!
It took a while to scan thru the harddrive but I managed to narrow it down to my favorite photos of 2010.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Some of them came from my trip to Chicago this fall. 

My trip to the visit my dear friend Lauren included included my first MLB game. 

Go Cubs!

Some of them came from right in my own backyard. 

I love when I can capture the details in my photos.

Some were taken on weekend visits to local parks and sporting events. 

Go Buckeyes!

And of course I couldn't "fur"-get our adorable dogs! 

Emma and Ellie have had their share of camera time this year-they are so cute!

And this one was just taken on Christmas Day. My cousins 2 week old baby boy Hudson.  

Everybody loves baby toes!

But by far this is my favorite photo of 2010. 

I have been waiting so long to capture this picture. 

There were days in the beginning that I had to look at this to believe it was finally happening.

But lately all I have to do is reach down and pat my growing tummy. And Smile.

 

I am so blessed for all of the experiences that go along with these photos. 

I will remember that everyday. And not take any of them for granted.

5 Pregnancy Hormones-Take 1

So I've gotten to the emotional stage of being pregnant. I am crying at just about anything lately. Let's see what are some of the big things it has been this week. And remember it's only Wednesday morning.

On Sunday, my husband was vacuuming downstairs and I walked down to ask him a question. He stopped for a minute and went upstairs to empty the canister.  I looked over and saw a huge wet spot on the floor. Ellie had peed on the floor! She has never done that since we got her! She's great about coming to us and telling us she wants to go out. Its been great. But now this? At first I thought maybe he had spilled something, but nope...it wasn't.  Bad Ellie!

So he continued to clean it up and then brought her downstairs to scold her and tell her it was bad and not to do it again, then sent her upstairs to her crate. She was being punished. Understandable.  So she stayed there the rest of the afternoon, only getting out to use the potty and to eat and drink. I knew it was the right thing to do, she couldn't be peeing on the floor. So then just before I was getting ready to go to bed, he let her out and she came back in and sat on her pillow by the crate. With THE SADDEST puppy eyes you have ever seen. You could tell she knew she had done wrong. I said are you going to let her out and give her some attention for a bit before bed, he said yes, she knows she did something wrong. I looked over to her and started tearing up.

My husband asked what was wrong and I just broke down and said...these pregnancy hormones!  I just got overwhelmed with the fact that she hadn't had love for so long when she was in the pound and now she knew what love was, and I didn't want her to feel like that love had been taken away. It literally was breaking my heart.  So I cried a little bit and he hugged me while kinda gently chuckling reassuring me know she still knew that we loved her.

So Monday night we were watching a movie, Date Night and I was laying on the couch with my hands on my tummy like I so frequently do these days.  I took some deep breathes and thought I felt something twitch. I waited a few minutes, placed my two thumbs ever so lightly below my belly button....and I felt it again! It was almost like when you run your finger down the palm of your hand...except from the inside of my belly.  I called for my husband to come over to see if he could feel it, but he couldn't. Not yet. But just seeing him with his hands on my bump warmed my heart. It made me teary to think that in a few weeks hopefully he will be able to feel it too, even stronger as our little bean continues to grow!

Last night was the Sugar Bowl and the Ohio State Buckeyes BARELY kept the substantial lead that they had in the first half to beat the Arkansas Razorbacks 31-26. First time we have beat an SEC team in a bowl game in recent history, if not ever. It was a nail biter to the very end. How can a football game bring emotions? Well first it was the National Anthem, that does it to me everytime. Then the story about one of the Arkansas seniors who came whose mother had him to point to a map when she decided to leave his abusive father. Then after we won and seeing the joy in some of the seniors faces and knowing that a few of them are about to embark on something that they have been dreaming of since they were in peewee football....it made me teary ok. I admit it. (Good Luck in the NFL Hayward and Sanzenbacher!).

That brings up to today. This morning on my way into work, they had Ted the Homeless Man on the radio station I was listening to. I heard them mention him briefly yesterday. It always makes me sad to think about people without homes and being alone, especially in the Ohio winters. A local paper heard about this homeless man off a local highway, who was carrying a sign saying that he had a god given gift-his voice. So they went over to see what all the fuss was about.  They played a clip and he honestly sounded like a cross between Tony the Tiger and James Earle Jones. This video of Ted has since gone viral. It even made the Yahoo front page today! A clip of the video can be found here .  He does have a gift! 

So the local station was like, I wonder if we can get him to come in and maybe give him work for a day to get him some cash. Anyway, there were tons of calls and emails coming in for him since they announced he was going to be in the station today. And he was on the air today when I got in my car doing his interview. Some people were calling in wanting to congratulate him on his 2 years of sobriety, some to offer work, others to just say they were proud of him for not giving up and others just saying he really did have a gift! There were 2 calls alone on my short drive in from an MTV show that wanted to fly him out to do voiceovers and another from 2 well known announcers (one lady does the "You're watching Entertainment Tonight" voiceover and another guy who does the "Watch the Simpsons at 8:30 on FOX" who wanted to have him interview for a show they were doing. And I guess there were calls from all over the world coming in that wanted a piece of that voice!

I guess it just made me feel good to know that there are people who still are willing to help people.  He didn't want anything for free, he was willing to work for it. He admitted he made mistakes but has been trying to do the right thing and get back on track.  You could hear in his voice, the emotion of gratefulness that he felt this morning with every caller. He had been standing on that ramp for a year now, and he said that he knew that God would help lead him to his answer. It was genuine and touching and made me cry.

So let's hope today I don't break into tears for what seems like no reason. But if I do, its ok because I am so thankful to be feeling all kinds of pregnancy symptoms! Stay tuned tomorrow....BUMP Update!

3 Saturday Cell Phone Mosiac

Hello friends...happy 2011.  Hope you all had a great New Years. We spent our night at home playing Phase 10 and watching the ball drop. It was amazing to say that this is the year we will become parents! Today was pretty much a lounge day, lots of bowl games on, and if you know us, you know we LOVE college football so it was a good day.  Ohio State doesn't play in their bowl game until Tuesday, so we were cheering for other Big 10 teams. Sadly they didn't fare too well.

If you want to link up, feel free to do so below so others can check out your day. Hopefully I will keep up with this more than I did towards the end of the year!