Christmas Lights

Did you ever just get in the car with your parents and drive around to look at Christmas lights? There used to be a whole village near us that we would go to -- all full of Christmas lights. Well, we are located 3 miles from the Herr's Potato Chip Factory (which is a good thing and a bad thing). But in any case Herr's is very involved in the community and always doing things for the town. Every Christmas they put up a light display and we decided to pile the family into the car before bedtime and go look at the lights.


Noah was beside himself with excitement. On the way there he saw the moon and just kept shouting "The Moon is Coming With Us, Mommy!!!" I guess he usually isn't out and about when the moon is out but he was convinced the moon was coming along for the ride. As we approached the lights he just kept squealing... A Blue Tree, A purple tree, Deer, Mommy, DEER!!!!!!!!

It made me so happy to see him enjoy such a simple thing that I wasn't even bothered that he didn't fall asleep on the way home.

9.5 Weeks

Woohoo!!! I feel so much better. Almost immediately after I got my prescription most of the nausea went away. I still take one pill in the morning but I'm great the rest of the day. I'm slowly getting my energy back and have some clarity again. I hope it sticks... I don't remember feeling better until around 14 weeks last time.

I really don't feel that much different and most of the time I forget I'm pregnant. I have occasional back aches and fatigue. I still can't handle raw meat and don't have much of a taste for most vegetables, but other than that I'm doing fine.

It's getting harder to keep it all a secret. Because I've been so tired I've missed a bunch of social events and so people are starting to wonder where I am. I'm not worried and I assume most people know anyway because a bunch of people knew we were trying. Sometime around Christmas we'll let the cat out of the bag. There's still so many months ahead so I think that by keeping it a secret a little while longer the rest of the pregnancy won't seem so long.

As for my body, I'm just feeling a little "thicker." Holding steady with my old weight and old jeans and I hope to stay that way as long as possible!

I do often think about the impact it will have on our family. Noah really loves babies and he is pretty gentle around them considering he is NEVER gentle. He's a really good helper and very, very loving and so I expect him to share those traits with this child. He is the king of this castle, however, and so I just worry about him all the time... which is normal, I know. I still hold him a lot and I am there for him whenever he needs me. I know gazillions of people have had two children before and it will be fine....

8.5 weeks

Yipppeee!!! We got to see our little one this week on an ultrasound. I was measuring 8 weeks 4 days when I had it at 8 weeks 1 day, so essentially, right on schedule. That keeps the due date at July 15th. Paul's birthday is the 5th and I hope it doesn't happen then. The heart rate was 160 bpm, which is exactly what it was for Noah at his first appointment. The tech said everything looked normal, except some of the old fibroid tumors have grown. She saw 4 small ones and then one large one. The larger one will continue to be monitored because there is a chance the plancenta could implant on the wall where the fibroid is which could cause low birth weight. I just have to go for some extra ultrasound later on to see what is going on.

Last week it seemed as though the nausea was letting up a little bit but now it has taken a turn for the worse. I went from Unisom/Vitamin B to these B-natal drops the doctor reccomended and after spending this morning vomiting I finally broke down and got the prescription. I was hoping not to have to do that but I really need to be able to function! Last night I sat here on the couch absolutely famished but everything I looked at to eat made me sick. Finally some pistachio's sounded appealing and I managed to keep them down.

I keep telling Noah I have a belly ache and so he kisses my belly and makes a silly smile and says "I make you happy, Mommy?" and of course it brings a smile to my face. We keep asking him if he wants a baby and he always says no.

So, we'll see how this week goes with the medicine. I'll keep you posted, even though you can't read this anyway!

Family Fun

Tagged

Thanks to my friend Tammy, I've been blog tagged..

1. choose the 4th picture folder on my computer.

2. choose the 4th picture.

3. explain the picture.

4. tag at least 4 people to do the same.

This picture is from our engagement party. The guests were all gone and we were in Len and Sandra's kitchen playing with rib bones, I think. We were already showing our wacky love for each other and how much fun we have being silly together. People often see this photo and ask what on earth we were doing. We always smile because we have no idea what we were doing but we know it was a blast because we were together. Ok, I know I'm a total sap!!!

I tag:
1. AJ
2. DeLay
3. Ali
4. Jenn Reffner

7.5 Weeks

Well, we had our first doctor's appointment this week which was pretty underwhelming. It was just time to review the family history and make sure no one came down with any serious diseases that I might have contracted since Noah was born. We reviewed deli meat and soft cheese, oh joy.

I did manage to convince the nurse to order me an ultrasound to get an accurate due date and so next Thursday we will get to see what this little one is doing. I can't wait for that!

So far, things are still going very well. My nausea isn't as bad. As long as I take my vitamins first thing in the morning, I can make it through the day. I don't feel bloated or anything, really. I'm just completely exhausted and still having a hard time with meat.

I've been going along with the not-pregnant story pretty well. I have a few bottles of non-alcoholic wine that are horrible and I manage to pour myself a glass of that when others are drinking. No one asks twice and so far, no one has offered to pour me a drink. Phew! I've still been able to eat very healthy and exercise which has been a huge blessing for still feeling somewhat normal.

We plan to tell people in December sometime. We hope to give the family gifts to reveal our secret and tell a few friends here and there around the holidays. We'll tell the church in the new year. That will only leave about 6 months left for a "public" pregnancy which is still a long time but not as long as 9!

We'll update you more after the ultrasound!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a great low-key holiday here. With half the number of the normal crowd, things were pretty calm which was wonderful! But, somehow we managed to have hordes of food anyway. Noah slept through most of the feast and his cousins anxiously waited for him to come and play. When he finally woke up the boys all ran outside to play (it was about 60 degrees).

Vying for the wishbone

My little pilgrim (he looks ghetto but he is just sleepy)


And then, at the end of the night, we snuggled Noah up in his new jammies and tied the legs together. All, good old Templin Ashford fun....

We are so thankful for so many things... our amazing family, our absolutely precious little boy, and just so many of the comforts we so easily forget about.