15 week update!

How Far Along: 15 weeks
(Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces. She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fushed shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods.")

Size of baby: Naval Orange (about 4 inches long)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained another pound this week. So I'm officially up 2!

Maternity Clothes: YES! I think I'm going to take this question off the survey b/c I'm officially all maternity clothes now!

Gender: Will know end of October hopefully!

Movement: Nothing yet. They say this starts around 16 weeks IF you're a lucky one to feel it. Can't wait!

What I miss: Nothing really. I'm trying to enjoy every second of this as I know it'll be over before we know it!

Sleep: No problem sleeping. Actually the end of last week I went to bed at 8:00 a couple nights in a row!

Symptoms: I threw up once this past week, but managed to go without Zofran completely for all 7 days! I have woken up twice with a shooting pain that Kyle just rubs out for me, we think it's just one of my muscles stretching (thanks Katie!).

Cravings: TWICE BAKED POTATOES. I have a recipe post coming on this soon!

Best Moment this week: Having a phone date with Tara and talking about everything! She eased a lot of my concerns with what's going to go on in the next couple of months. Thank you again Tara!!

What we are looking forward to: THE FALL! We have a lot of trips planned and I'm so excited to be in the second trimester feeling better!

Friday Night Braves Game

Last Friday night we went to a Braves game with some friends and had so much fun! We bought CHEAP tickets to get in, but ended up sitting in some pretty good seats right behind the outfield (rule breakers I know). We tailgated in the parking lot when we got there and ate some sandwiches we had picked up since food is so expensive inside. I still enjoyed a slushie and pretzel once inside though! After the game we got our chairs back out in the parking lot and watched the fireworks. It was pretty hot during the game, but we still had a lot of fun as always!

Taylor, Chris and Ky:

Katie and Brad:

Kyle and I:

GO BRAVES!!

Chris is an IRONMAN!!

Hey everyone it's Kyle. A couple weekends ago, my buddy Mikey and I headed to Louisville to watch our friends Chris and Adam compete in an Ironman triathlon. For those of you not familiar with triathlon an Ironman is the ULTIMATE test of mental strength and human endurance. The race starts with a 2.4 mile swim and then you transition immediately into a 112 mile bike and follow that up with a 26.2 mile run.

Mikey had school stuff and I had some stuff to get done around the house before heading to Louisville so we didn’t end up leaving until about 3PM Saturday. Louisville is about a 6 hour drive, but since we filled up with gas before hand and since Mikey and I have iron bladders we made it in about 5.

We decided to camp Saturday night instead of getting a hotel because:
1) We are cheap
2) We had to be up at 5am and weren’t going to get there until 11PM
3) We are MEN.

We got there in time to set up camp, have a quick fire and unwind from our road trip. We didn’t want to stay up too late because we had to be up to pack up camp and get to the race start by 7am. The camp site cost about $15 for the night and let’s just say we got our money’s worth, but that was about it.

We got up at 5:30 and threw everything in the car, stopped at a gas station to grab a bottle of water (breakfast) and then headed into Louisville. We brought bikes with us (best idea of the weekend) so after we parked, we got them off the car and headed down to the swim start.
We found Chris and Adam about ¾ way down the mile long line (literally) of 3000 triathletes. We got to walk with them until they headed down the bank of the Ohio River to start the race.
Chris estimated an hour and a half for the swim so Mikey and I went in search of a real breakfast.

Here I am with Adam and Chris:

We started off slow in chasing these guys around Kentucky because we missed them coming out of the water and getting on the bike because they were both WAY ahead of where they thought they would be. Chris was 444th out of 3000 on the swim and he runs like a Kenyan so we were pretty sure the bike would be the toughest part. We hopped in the Man Van and headed for LaGrange Kentucky where they would do two loops around the town. Mikey and I got there ahead of Chris and Adam and then we broke out our Sombreros and lawn chairs and waited for them to come by. We got to see them just as they came to LaGrange and they were both looking strong and feeling good.

We realized that we could drive to the other side of the loop where we would be able to see them come by again. We got there in time and waited for them to come along and we sprinted next to them in our sombreros until our legs felt like they were going to explode. This time Chris was not quite as energetic and Adam seemed more impressed that Mikey and I were keeping up with him on foot while he was on his bike than the fact that he was competing in an Ironman. After they both went by we decided to go to downtown LaGrange, but there were WAY too many people there and we missed both Chris and Adam. We knew that if we hustled back we could run with them at the other side of the loop again. We got there in time and ushered both of them both along one more time. This time I went to give Chris a smack on the back for motivation and I knocked one of his water bottles off of his bike. I tried to chase him down to put it back but he was headed down hill and I didn’t have a chance.

Since it was 90+ degrees I knew that he needed it so Mikey and I hopped in the man van and chased him down. In true Tour de France style Mikey hung out the window and tried to give it back to him, but he had already replaced it with another one from an aid station. We did get to ride next to him for a little while where we found out that he had been throwing up (while riding). We left Chris to finish the bike (he had about 25 miles left) and we headed back toward Louisville. At this point Adam’s status was unknown and Chris was feeling rough…

We set up about ½ mile from the end of the bike course and when I saw Chris coming I rode with him for about a minute. The update this time was “The stomach is better, now the legs are cramping.” I responded with, “The hardest part is over, you can run ALL DAY”.
The next place we got set up was about ¼ mile into the run. Chris made a pretty quick transition, but his gait was not what I am accustomed to seeing from him. We jogged with him for a minute and he told us “my legs were so cramped that I couldn’t get my shoes on.” Okay people, his legs were this cramped BEFORE A MARATHON…

Adam came through about 30 minutes later with a huge smile on his face and he said, “I can’t believe how good I feel!” At this point it is fair to say that Chris and Adam were having totally different races. Chris could not keep liquids down and could not straighten his legs and Adam was eating slim jims and drinking energy drinks (seriously).

We were able to see Chris a couple more times on the run and he was still not able to keep down food or liquids and was not feeling well at all. We headed back to get some dinner and a quick shower in Chris’s hotel room before they finished the race because we were headed home as soon as these guys finished.

We got back to the finish in plenty of time to get a spot right on the home stretch of the race. This was my favorite spot to watch any sporting event…ever. These people have all been training for 6+ months, if not years, and to watch them come down the finishing chute was really cool. People came in sprinting, walking, limping, crying, skipping…you name it.

Chris came down the chute and he was in the ZONE, he had his eyes on the finish line and the next thing we heard the announcer say was, “Chris Arnold….YOU are an Ironman!”
We waited for Adam to finish (he ended up less than 10 minutes behind Chris) and then we went to find them both to congratulate them. Chris had barely kept any liquids down since the bike so needless to say he was severely dehydrated. They decided that it would be best to get him an IV to replenish the fluids and when he went back to get it we said our goodbyes and hopped in the Man Van and drove straight back to Atlanta non-stop. We were in bed by 3AM…

What a crazy experience, but I am so proud to say that one of my best friends is an IRONMAN!

p.s. I forgot to post a link to the Half Ironman that Adam and Chris did back in 2008! Click here to read that post!

Great great great news!

I just got the results from our Nuchal Translucency Screening & Blood Test that I talked about here!

We are negative for Cystic Fibrosis AND negative for Down Syndrome! YEAH!!

ALSO my dad is heading home from the Duke apartment tomorrow! He's actually ahead of schedule, his numbers are back up to normal range! I know mom and dad are both so excited to be returning home!

Thank you thank you thank you for your prayers, what great news today!

The coolest thing... EVER. - 14 weeks

Last Friday, Kyle and I headed for our 13 week appointment to get the Nuchal Translucency Screening Test performed (checking to see the baby's risk of having Down syndrome and some other chromosomal abnormalities as well as major congenital heart problems). One HUGE plus of getting this test done is that we got to see our baby on an ultrasound again!!

What an amazing difference between our last appointment and this! WOW. We seriously couldn't stop smiling! As if it couldn't get any better, our baby then did this...
Look at that perfect little bony arm! Kyle and I immediately got tears in our eyes as we watched our baby squirm away. What a miracle! I seriously look at this picture about 4 times a day and just smile from ear to ear, I can't believe it!!

Our tech measured the baby's neck thickness for her tests, and I had a lot of blood work done. We should receive the results in 5-10 days, please keep praying for healthy test results!!

Some other exciting things from the appointment was that we got to hear the heartbeat! Talk. About. Cool. It was 142, which sounded so fast to me! Kyle took a video of it so I'll share it with all of you... it's so dark so just concentrate on the sound and turn up your volume! "G-Baby" was wiggling out of the Doppler, so she had to keep chasing after him/her.

The tech also tried to get the baby to open his/her legs so we could try to see the sex but "G-Baby" was not having it... modest just like it's mother :) So it looks like we'll just have to wait till late October to find that one out!

How Far Along: 14 weeks

Size of baby: A LEMON! (3.5 - 4 inches)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained my first pound this week. So I'm officially up 1.

Maternity Clothes: Yes! Kyle and I stopped at the Motherhood Maternity Outlet this weekend and bought 2 pairs of jeans, a skirt and capris. They are so much more comfortable to me then the belly band!

Gender: Don't know yet!

Movement: Can't feel anything yet, but on the ultrasound our baby was moving up a storm!

What I miss: Being able to eat normal size meals. Still only eating a handful of food at a time or else I feel sick.

Sleep: Love my body pillow and sleeping great. I've even gone a couple nights without getting up to pee!

Symptoms: Still threw up twice this week. Wednesday after I ate O'Charley's soup I lost it in the car. Thank heavens Kyle was driving and I had my plastic bags ready! I also had an "episode" on Sunday night. SO ready for those to end as they completely wear me out.

Cravings: Still anything salty... especially BBQ chips. Definitely need to try to limit myself more so I don't swell up like a balloon!

Best Moment this week: Without a doubt the ultrasound. It was so cool and such an amazing experience for Kyle and I. We left completely in awe of how God created the female body to be able to "incubate" a new life!

What we are looking forward to: Exercising more and trying out my new prenatal yoga DVD (thank you Jen!).

Happy 30th Birthday Tara!

Happy 30th Birthday to the best sister I could EVER ask for!!
Love you TD!

So thankful!

A couple months ago, my sister gave me 5 garbage bags full of maternity clothes! I AM SO THANKFUL! This is her stash, along with 3 of her best friends clothes. I finally had a chance to go through them a couple weekends ago, and literally wear them every day now!
My friend from work, Brooke who just had her baby 6 weeks ago, has also given me some of her maternity clothes! Brooke gave me her "What to expect when you are expecting" book too! Little did she know that she gave me the book the day we found out that I really was expecting! Kyle and I really enjoy reading this book from week to week to see how our baby is growing.

Here is an outfit completely from Tara & Brooke:

My best friend Sara also gave me a pregnancy bag a couple of months ago! This included books, print outs for charting, girlfriends guides for labor and other fun things. Sara and Joe just announced on their blog that they are expecting as well, exactly 3 weeks behind us!

Last time we got together we took a "belly shot"! I still can't believe we are pregnant at the same time, HOW FUN!

Thank you all for your generosity with sharing clothes, books and advice!

I appreciate it all more than you know!

Randoms

I have A LOT of random updates/pictures that I haven't posted, so here we go: (bear with me as most of these photos are from my phone)

- Look at the amazing meal that Kyle made for my 27th birthday. I was craving these mushrooms since last time we made them, and then he grilled the filets to perfection. I am so thankful to have a husband who can GRILL!

-Kyle got a new company car! We picked it up last week. Kyle has already named this one "the Man Van" since it TOTALLY looks like a mini-van from the outside. The inside is really nice though with 3 rows of seats and lots of space! We are so grateful for his company car!

So here is the front.. not so bad:

And here is the back.... where the van really looks like a van ;)

- Speaking of cars... we paid mine off a year early! YEAHHH -- see ya car payment!! (Remember when we got it here? I still love it just as much)

- A couple months ago we tried out the Buckhead church with Amy. Afterwards, Kyle wanted to go to the northface store and they were hosting an event outside. It was a nalgene (water bottle) throwing contest and the team left with the most water in the bottle would win. We all gave it our best shots so they ended up giving us all free nalgenes!

- At this same event, Amy & I also signed up for a drawing to win free stuff from their store! A week later I got a phone call saying that I won a pair of $65 pants! Unfortunately when I went in the store they were the NON STRETCHY kind, so I definitely wouldn't be able to fit into those for a while with the pregnancy. They ended up letting me trade them out for a pair of yoga pants that even unfold above my belly, and then Kyle got a pair of running shorts both that totaled their $65 limit. Free clothes, whoop whoop!

Here is a picture that we took last week after one of our walks with my new pants:

- The other day at work was GAME DAY... we seriously had been waiting for this day to come for a year now. In the morning we played "Bingo" over the page system, it was so fun! Every 5 minutes Susan would call out a letter and phrase for us to pencil in. Jen and I were so close to winning, but unfortunately other people in the company got it before us! In the afternoon they passed out riddles for us to answer and turn in by 3:00. Those were hilarious, as none of us think that way and had the hardest time. We ended up calling husbands and family members for help but STILL didn't win!

Here's Jen, Lacey and I with our Bingo boards:

- Last Friday was date night for Kyle and I. Kyle surprised me by booking massages for us at Massage Envy, a sports massage for him and a prenatal massage for me. Since we were going at the same time they even put us in the "couples room", it was awesome! For dinner, I got to pick the restaurant, and for some reason I wanted OUTBACK! We haven't been there in probably 5 years, but it was really good and we enjoyed our greasy fried bloomin' onion.
We came home and watched "Date Night" with Steve Carrel and then called it a night. I absolutely LOVE these weekend nights together :)

And those are my randoms for today :)

13 Weeks -- See ya 1st Trimester!

I am so excited to finally be in the second trimester! YEAH!!!

How Far Along: 13 weeks

Size of baby: A PEACH! (About 3 inches long)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: ZERO! Over the past 2 months, I've lost 4 pounds on and off, but I've been right at my starting weight for the past couple of weeks!

Maternity Clothes: YES! They are so comfortable (I have a post coming up on this soon)! When trying to fit into my normal clothes, I use my belly band with my pants unbuttoned but even still they are too snug on my tummy. My old shirts are all too tight, such a weird thing for Kyle and I to see since I've always gained weight in my thighs and hips, never my stomach.

Gender: Don't know yet!

Movement: Nothing yet! But I cannot WAIT for this!

What I miss: Being able to have my 'spunky' moments to make Kyle laugh. For the past 3 months, if I get up and move quickly I immediately start gagging. Which ultimately makes us both laugh too.

Sleep: Pretty good! Normally only wake up once around 3:00 or 4:00 am to go pee. Very thankful for my nightlights that we bought so I don't have to turn on the light every time!

Symptoms: Only threw up twice this week which is a HUGE improvement, and the gagging has almost stopped completely. And the "episodes" have not been back for a couple weeks now!

Cravings: My cravings have switched from healthy fruit to anything that is salty. The winners the past couple weeks have been: Guacamole, Sliced cheddar cheese, Pickles, and Mashed Potatoes. I also absolutely love Italian Ice, and eat one of those every night for dessert.

Best Moment this week: Having date night with Kyle on Friday, including getting a prenatal massage, yummy dinner, and cuddling up on the couch for a movie. Absolutely loved it! (OH and also I went 2 days without any zofran... which was HUGE!)

What we are looking forward to: Our doctors appointment on Friday morning! We will be getting the Nuchal Translucency Screening Test done to check the baby's risk of having Down syndrome (DS) and some other chromosomal abnormalities as well as major congenital heart problems. It is no threat to the baby, and we'll get to see it performed on an ultrasound! Please pray that we have a healthy growing baby with good test results!

AND JUST FOR KICKS... I squeezed back into the clothes we took my 2 month belly shot in. I think it'll definitely be the last month for these!

My pants are sooo tight:

MAN what a miracle this is!! God is so good!