Brent's baby knowledge

Bent apparently read an article on "carrying high" and "carrying low". The reason I know this is that this morning while getting ready for work he said "So is your stomach high or low?" I perked up and said "so you read baby things online?" He said he'd heard that high is a girl and low is a boy. I told him that I assume we are carrying this growing bump low but that I wasn't sure how much stock to put in that old rumor. I went on to work and thought nothing of it. Fast forward until tonight and he says "So Samuel's wife is probably having a girl" (note: Samuel and his wife are friends we've met at church) I said "Why do you say that?" He said "Because she is carrying high". I died.... seriously? He's checking out pregnant women's bumps at church? We have found ourselves playing the "pregnant or plump" game lately. I know it sounds so mean but I always kid him and say people probably think I'm just plumping up. This led us to check out others and try to debate if they are pregnant. Who knows if we are ever right but it's a great way to pass the time. On our radar now... Sara Evans (the country singer). We both say pregnant.

FYI: our families are divided on the gender of baby T. The Thomas side says girl... my side says boy!

Growing...

This was taken the day we hit 16 weeks.

Preggo Update

Today marks 16 weeks. I can't describe how much better I feel. There for a while I was so stressed from feeling so bad all the time. The past few weeks have flown by! I know I shouldn't wish time away but I'm so anxious for June 6th. I can't wait to see how big baby has gotten and find out what he/she is! I will then be able to start pestering Brent about starting the nursery. For all of you who know how much I love to shop you'll be floored to know I've only spent $49 on baby T so far. I've picked out bedding and you better believe I'll order it online June 7th! Then I'll start begging BR to paint. If he objects I'll be accepting volunteers! I am writing this on my iPhone while I wait on Brent in the parking lot of Cracker Barrel. Weekly Wednesday pre-church dinner. I wanted to share my first preggo belly pic with you all but the phone doesn't give me an option to upload from my iPhoto library. I'll add it to a second post later (maybe tomorrow) because as soon as church let's out and we get home I'm always in deep sleep mode.

Baby Things...

I think we've finally decided on a stroller/travel system. I was finally able to get my hands on the Britax B Ready as well as their infant car seat today at Buy Buy Baby. It was pretty easy to work! My Grandmother Carol read reviews and it's super high on the safety lists. Here's a video of how the stroller works:

The sales man at Buy Buy Baby was very helpful and gave me reasons as to why it's his favorite (I'm sure they say that about them all!) Regardless it was nice to touch and break down the stroller in person. We won't need it any time soon but hopefully it will be a staple in Baby T's life. On that note... 3 weeks from today we find out what we are having! I can't wait. I have mixed emotions... I'm open and eager for either. No true choice of what gender I'd like first. If it's a boy I have a name. If it's a girl I have nothing.

I did find adorable bedding on http://www.polkatotdesigns.com/. I found one that I love called "reese" under Gender Neutral bedding. I think it'd go great with our crib (which we have yet to purchase). If it's a girl I will have a very hard time not frilling the room out. I was never a frilly person but this baby will bring out the frill in me (only if it's a girl!!). 

I was forced to wear pants to work today rather than my fashion staple of dresses. It was hard to find a pair of normal dress pants that still fit. I've yet to buy any maternity dress pants; only capris and shorts. I'm hoping to wear dresses up until late September and then I'll deal with finding pants. 

Enough rambling... I need sleep. Goodnight All.

14 weeks!

Excuse the typos... This is coming live from the parking lot at Zoe's while I wait on Brent for our weekly Wednesday night before church meal. I'm finally starting the second trimester. I hope it brings relief. The first has been, well, crappy. I'm so happy to have baby Thomas growing away like a weed but have been So frustrated at the throwing up and feeling sick all the time that or really let it steal most of the joy from these first crucial weeks. I weighed at work today and we are up to 4.5 lbs of weight gain since day 1. That's good, I guess?? I know nothing more than my "what to expect" book and websites tell me. I've decided thy I really want to get the crib in the next month. I think that will help get the ball rolling on all the other things little peanut needs. My next appointment is Monday. We probably won't get an ultrasound so it will be my first non ultrasound appointment. Brent will not be going with me either. I told him he could sit this one out. I did go to market in Atlanta and buy baby his/her first few thins. I'll post on those later. Just wanted to let everyone know that we are still here. Still shell-shocked by the magnitude of destruction that ripped our state apart a week ago but fortunate beyond words that we were not directly impacted. Hope everyone has a good rest of the week. It's chicken salad time, yay.

Week 12

Yeah for week 12 and Easter! I got sick 2 more times this week but keep telling myself "this too shall pass". I kid Brent and tell him that the baby doesn't like me. Not much happened over the past week. We drove around and looked at houses (ours is still not up for sale yet). We do not agree on houses. Brent likes one stories... I prefer two. The differences go on an on but I won't bore you all with that.

Baby preparation update: We looked at cribs. Went went to the Alabama furniture market last Sunday after church and found a beautiful pewter iron crib made by Bratt decor. Brent's really been pushing wood but said he'd compromise as long as the crib was pewter. I'm not sure if it's the route I'll go but I have been very drawn to iron for a baby boy or girl. Here's a picture of the crib...

If I go with iron I will try to mix and match pieces to finish off baby's room. Part of me knows it'd be much easier to walk into Storkland and pick out an entire matching set and that may be what happens. Opinions on the iron crib? 

As far as bedding goes... If we go wooden crib I will be much more flexible. If we go iron I will probably work with someone to have some custom pieces made. Reason being is that it stands out so much more to me on the iron crib. The furniture market had very good prices on custom made pieces so if we go that route I hope to head down in a few months and work with the seamstress to nail down the bedding (we must find out the gender first!)

Today's going to be a lazy day. I have months worth of hanging laundry upstairs that I'm determined to "wrinkle release" rather than iron and hang up. I won't be able to wear most of it for months, right? That brings me to weight gain... we don't really look all that pregnant yet. I just look bloated. I would say I've gained about 4-5 pounds so far. Starting weight at our first appointment was 130. Oh how I'll long for that again post baby... I do eat very bad though. I've been living off mini fast food meals to tide me over when the hunger pains set in. Brent's told me I must stop and I believe him. Here's hoping week 13 brings a new healthy eating habit my way ! :)

Big NEWS!

The Thomas family is growing.... we are having a BABY!

I have been dying to spill the beans and share our happiness with everyone on our blog. 

Important Stats:

Due Date....November 1, 2011

When we found out... March 3, 2011

Who we told first...family

Brent's initial reaction..."I won't believe it until we go to the doctor"

How many tests it took for me to believe it....1 (those are expensive!)

I am doing good. I've only gotten sick 4 times. 2 of the 4 were pretty disgusting. My fatigue is beginning to fade but I must say I was a total zombie for approximately three weeks. Brent still thinks I am helpless and lazy (but he is very understanding). During the first few weeks I craved Zaxby's nibblers. Maybe because they are $1 and located within 5 minutes of my work.  I also felt as if I would pass out from hunger. I kept a constant feeling of queasiness in my stomach. I literally thought "This is going to be the death of me". I'm glad to report that things are much better now. I have had 2 of my 4 sick spells this week but I'm chalking them up to the extra dose of iron I'm required to take since I'm anemic. I finally found out my blood type...O+. We've had two appointments so far. Our next is on May 9th. We find out what he or she is in June. I'm feeling girl. It may be because I've decided on a name if it's a boy and am clueless if it's a girl. Our family is torn. Half think girl, half think boy. I'm hoping to have a "reveal" dinner that way we can inform everyone at the same time. Time for pictures...

First look at baby...

What baby looked like last Monday (10 weeks 5 days)

It was so exciting seeing all the new features baby had acquired in 4 short weeks. 

I can't wait until our next appointment!

{be sure to click "follow" if you want to keep up with our new adventure. I'm sure that there will be plenty of entertainment in the months to come}

Catch up

I apologize (once again) for the lack of blog activity lately. We've been carrying along day to day normal operations over the last few weeks.

We joined our church! We LOVE Church of the Highlands. I also joined the "bulletin prep team". I spent my first Saturday morning stuffing bulletins with the team last week. It felt great to be involved and give back to the place that gives us so much each week. I can't tell you how proud I am to say that I love my church and have found a place that has renewed my relationship with the Lord. It's incredible. Please watch online or come and visit for yourself. I promise you'll never be the same.

The touch of spring fever made both Brent and myself eager for more warm days. Charlie loves those  days as well. He loves it when his mom gets off her lazy tail and takes him for his joyous walks.

We drove around yesterday looking at potential new homes. I can't tell you how excited that makes me. I mean I love our townhome but the thought of having more space and a yard makes me chomp at the bit. I know it will take time to sell our home when we finally put it on the market but I hope with prayers and timing we will be able to make the process a smooth transition.

well I'll stop my randomness and leave you all with a photo.... 

(live shot from this blogpost)

who wouldn't want to blog with this personal space heater warming you up?

I Love my Dog! 

Date Weekend

Brent and I had a great time at the "ignite" marriage conference at our church. We were able to hear great speakers and gain a lot of insight on how to get the most out of our marriage and our relationship with the Lord. We even had a great date night last night. We ate at Mugshots and went bowling. I'm glad to report that I won both games. Here's a photo of the scoreboard after game #1:

Here is the link to one of the main speakers at our conference: http://www.marriagetoday.com/

Video Clip

Here's a short video recap of our day at Little River Canyon. 

(Click the arrows next to the word "vimeo" to make it appear larger on your screen)

I'm glad I can share my videos but I hate that the quality of my photos diminishes so in the process :(