Nesting, Much?

I think I have started nesting, and all I can say is..... yay! I feel so accomplished when I get something really clean or organized, but I am one of those people that gets easily overwhelmed when I look at taking on a big task like that. I don't know where to start, or don't want to put in the time, or any other excuse that I can come up with.


Today, though, was different. There was nothing in the world that was going to stop me from finally organizing my side of the closet! Here are some of the after pictures:

Here is what you see when you walk in
the closet. I organized my jewelry and
riding clothes, and whatever other
clothing items had piled on the shelves.

I moved all my heels up from the floor to the
top shelf, so that I can easily see what my options are.

Here is my other wall, where all of my
longer shirts and dresses are hanging.

The other shelf now has organized boxes for purses and other
accessories. I have a thing for shoe boxes.... 

This is where I used to keep all of my heels, but they would get all mixed in
together, and left no room for my boots (so they ended up being squished
in a corner). Now I can see all of my boots. Flats are stacked to the right
of the boots.

Other small wall near door. We do have a dresser
in the bedroom, but in the mornings I like
to get dressed after a shower, and this way I
don't wake up Tim while doing so. Also, in the
evenings I get undressed and put the dirty clothes
right away and jump into a shirt to sleep in.

Next order of business, Tim's side!

Hunter's Hospital and Coming Home Hat!!

I am so excited about this purchase, y'all! I have been eying it on Etsy for a looooong time, and today when I went to order the furniture, they had it in the store! I am so excited! So that you get the whole idea, I found a picture of the hat on an actual baby's head (not my baby, for obvious reasons)....

Is this not one of the most precious things you have seen? I know that his name is Hunter, and that he will be destined to wear fishing t-shirts during summers and camoflauge in the fall and winter, so I have to choose his clothing while I can! Also, this goes with the nursery bedding that I chose!


Hat can be found here.

My Pregnancy Diet So Far

Ever since I have been pregnant, I have changed my diet just a little bit. Those that know me, especially my mom and husband, know that I have always been a super picky eater. Part of it is stubborn-ness and part of it is that I really don't like lots of foods. I don't eat any seafoods, there are very few veggies that I like, and my milk has to be a certain brand and it HAS to be 2%.

Well, I figured pregnancy would go one of two ways. Either I would start liking foods not previously enjoyed OR I would be super sick and not eat anything. I am kind of in the middle, but surprisingly my list of foods that I enjoy has gotten shorter :( I no longer enjoy ground beef, so that leaves out my go-to, easy-to-make dinner of tacos. I can't stand the look/smell/idea of raw chicken so that greatly reduces things I can prepare. Even when I do eat chicken it is not in large amounts. My yogurt has to be greek Fage yogurt. Milk must be Horizon organic 2% with DHA added. Scrambled eggs must be dry.... very dry. These are just a few examples.

Another thing that is kind of different during my pregnancy is that I cannot stand to drive through a parking lot of a fast food restaurant, much less consume anything from there. This has been a shock. I was never one to eat a ton of fast food, but I certainly enjoyed myself some Chick-fil-A nuggets. Not anymore, the thought makes me gag! I have also stopped eating so many sweets. Usually, one of my fave things about Christmas was the Little Debbie Christmas Tree cakes. I eat about 25 in one season. This year? I have the same box in the pantry since before Christmas.

So, you are asking, what do I eat?

Lots of greek yogurt (great for protein and calcium)
Lots of chocolate milk (I usually hate milk.)
cereal
toast
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (I go through I loaf in a few days)
grilled cheese
crackers with the cheese that you spread on with a little red stick
soup
turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy (when my mom makes it)
fruit
gushers are my new sweet that I like
dry scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese
Cracker Barrel french toast with blueberry syrup, smokehouse sausage, biscuits and gravy (yes, I eat it all...)
Cream of Wheat with brown sugar and toast
Some grilled chicken
movie theater popcorn


I think that about sums it up! Not much in my diet, but it gets the job done. I drink plenty of water and make sure to get at least one of the 'protein' items a day.... and take my prenatal vitamin. At least my list wasn't chocolate cake, cupcakes, candy bars, and dr. pepper, lol!

18 weeks

How far along? 18 Weeks, 1 day

Total weight gain: still 0 pounds

Maternity clothes? mostly my regular clothes with a few maternity items mixed in. Jeans need to be unbuttoned and some pairs also unzipped with the help of a belly band. I got a couple of pairs of maternity leggings for Christmas.... LOVE them!!

Stretch marks? no. Thank you Mamma Mio cream, keep up the good work!

Sleep: sleep is still just ok, still getting up a time or two to pee

Best moment this week: purchasing our nursery furniture! Sad that it will take 3 months :(

Miss Anything? feeling normal. I have been feeling just yucky this week- that gaggy feeling, and upset tummy feeling every day this week!

Movement: I STILL have not felt anything yet, but I have heard that is is normal to have to wait until 20-23 weeks. I am still a little early I guess.

Food cravings: This week I have been craving turkey and gravy. My mom said she was making it for Christmas and when the day finally came, her food did not disappoint!

Anything making you queasy or sick: meat in general still, I can't eat too much and can't cook it. Also, anything that smells too strong makes me feel a little sick as well, even if it is a good smell!

Gender: Boy! Hunter Ryan 

Labor Signs: Nope

Symptoms: Heartburn sometimes, hunger a lot, and gagging and dry heaving if I get too hungry. I also got a terrible Charley Horse in my calf two days ago and it STILL hurts. I have heard this is common in pregnancy.

Belly Button in or out? in, but getting wider, it's definitely weird!

Wedding rings on or off? on, they fit totally fine, maybe because its kind of cold?

Happy or Moody most of the time: so very happy, but sometimes a touch moody!

Looking forward to: Our next doctor's appointment at 19 weeks, I am hoping they will do the anatomy scan!

Baby Furniture!!

Today we purchased our baby furniture and I am beyond excited!! Tim and I went to look at at before Christmas and since we plan on letting the set 'grow' with Hunter we wanted to get a really nice one. We settled on a set by Natart (pronounced nay-tar) in the Avalon model. I just wish it would get here in sooner than 12 weeks!

Here is the picture from the website:

They didn't have a picture of the dresser shown with the hutch on top,
I am most excited for this! It will be the changing table until he is
older, then it can be used as his entertainment center and set his
TV on top. The crib converts to toddler bed and then to a
full sized bed.

Four Christmases

Have you seen that movie, Four Christmases? It had Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn, and they go to each of their parents' houses for separate Christmases. It's pretty funny.

Ever since I have been married, I have experienced something kind of the same. We do a Christmas Eve with Tim's sister and dad. Then early Christmas morning we get to my parents (details below). After that, we have a little bit to come home and regroup, then we head to his mom's for our final Christmas festivity.

This year:

Christmas #1: Christmas Eve with Mr. Thompson

Krissy and Jason hosted his dad's Christmas at her house which is super convenient for us seeing how they live across the street. She handled dinner, and I handled a simple desert of sugar cookies and brownie bites. Then we opened presents and sat and talked for a bit. Tim's dad got us and Hunter a gift card to Baby's First Furniture to help with the nursery fund. Awesome! We had fun talking for a bit, and Tim and Jason set up his duck blind.

Then my new nightly ritual (morning sickness) kicked in and I had to get home. I made it across the street in time to throw up..... nice.

Christmas #2: Low-key Christmas Eve

After I changed into comfy clothes and I felt a little better, Tim and I decided to exchange our gifts. I was kind of excited about what I got him (duck hunting supplies), but it turns out it all has to be exchanged. Boo. He was pretty excited about something he got me, so I was anxious to open it. I have a Brighton charm bracelet (Pandora-like) that my mom and I started. Well, my theme is kind of mostly these pretty charms that have a word on them that describes you, and to me they mean a lot more when given as a gift. He bought me one that says 'Sweetheart' because they were sold out of 'Wife' charms last year and mom got me 'Daughter' for my birthday. This year, he bought me one that says 'Mom' on it, and I am proud to wear it. He thought I needed to wait until this little guy makes an appearance, but I told him, "Hey, I am growing a baby in my belly... I am a mom". Very sweet. Next year, we will go back to our usual Christmas Eve tradition of just exchanging pajamas :)

Christmas #3: McLees Christmas

Christmas at my family's household is filled with traditions, big and small. I relish in every one of them. I truly love family time, and Christmas is pretty much a guaranteed day when all three of my brothers come into town. My oldest is married and lives in San Antonio, my middle is living in Austin, and my youngest is going to college in Hawaii. We weren't even all together for Thanksgiving :( Anyways, since I have been married, Tim and I still manage to make it to my parents' house for all of the festivities start promptly at 7. Well, I think I actually kind of started this tradition when I was little because I would wake up so early, wait as long as I could, then burst into my parents' room and say, "Santa came!!!" They would tell us to come back right at 7:00.... and can tell you, that wait was always so long for us, but we waited until 7:00 on the dot! Every year after the first few, we already knew that the time would be 7:00, and so we would settle in and watch Christmas Story marathon on TBS on the couch (no, I didn't wait until 7 to wake up my brothers!).

This year was a little bit different, but not because I wanted it to be! We got there at 8:15, by far our latest since I have been married. Being pregnant, sleep is sometimes hard to get. I woke up at 3 to pee, then couldn't sleep til 5, then when the alarm went off at 6:15 and I felt that I could sleep another few minutes, I took it! I accidentally slept until 7 and tried multiple times to get Tim up, but he was being stubborn this morning!

We made it over there after the tradition of stockings followed by breakfast. This will NOT happen next year! Luckily, my mom didn't do a stocking for me, and my although the breakfast my brother made was surely delicious (beignets) the smell of the oil frying would have been too much for my preggo stomach! I tell you, I don't have many symptoms, but the smell of certain foods just ain't gonna happen!

Then we let my brothers pass out gifts and we started opening. When I was younger, my mom tried 'savor' Christmas a little bit by having us each open one gift at a time..... like my little brother, then my middle brother, then me, then big brother, then her, then dad.... and back around again. I think I was one of the kids that really enjoyed this, because it helped 'extend' Christmas a little, and you got to enjoy ALL the gifts rather than just your pile an you're done. The problem was that we would end up taking forever to get done because our family is so big and because we are spoiled and got quite a few gifts! Seriously, friends would be knocking at the door ready to play and we would still be in our pajamas opening gifts!

We have tweaked the method a little where we all open about one gift at a time, after getting mom's approval (there is usually a certain order to gifts), that way it doesn't take too long! This year was not different, and since I had only asked for gift cards for baby furniture, I was surprised to see a mounting pile of presents. Tim got lots of fun fishing equipment, and I got some cute maternity clothes, a waffle maker so I don't steal my mom's anymore, a new leather halter for Phaedra, and an AMAZING purse. I seriously was not expecting a gift so extravagant on top of their gift for the nursery furniture! My mom was so cute because she put the gift card with some super cute baby clothes, love it!!

We hung out for a couple of hours at my parents' house, then headed home to shower and get ready for Christmas at his mom's house. We actually managed to go back to my parents' house to eat a delicious meal, made with love by mom, and take a family photo with all of the kids. Then we rushed over for our last Christmas!

All of the siblings with spouses
(Matthew, Heidi, Michael, Christopher, Isabella and me, Tim)

The McLees family
(Dad, Isabella and Mom, Matthew, me, Michael, and Christopher)

Christmas #4: Winding Down Christmas

We made it over to Tim's mom's house so that we could do a gift exchange with his mom and her husband. She is like my parents who love to go overboard on Christmas..... my kind of lady! While we waited for one of my sister in laws to arrive, we munched on some food and chatted for a while. Everyone is so excited for next Christmas when we will have another Thompson joining us!

We exchanged gifts and began to open! Tim's mom went crazy with gift cards to Lowe's for Tim so that we can get new carpet sometime in the near future. She also got me a pretty make up bag and laptop case made by an equestrian style designer that I had been eying for a while. We also received a gift card to a fun fancy restaurant that we love to eat at when we feel like being fancy. We are going to eat there on New Year's Eve with Kristin and Jason! She got me a gift card to a spa so that I can get a pre-natal massage, something that I have been dying to get! Yay me!!

Lastly, she got us a generous gift card to the baby furniture store! We were shocked at how all the grandparents pulled together (kind of) and now we have over half of what is needed for his furniture that we chose for Hunter's room! (Yes, we picked crazy expensive baby furniture, but it WILL last him through high school. It is super high quality and coverts to a full size bed. We love it.)

We hung around his mom's house for a couple of hours, and then left because we were so exhausted! It was great to see every part of the family, but sleep sounded so good!

All in all, we had an amazing Christmas. It was a different feeling this year when someone would ask what we wanted and we truly only wanted things that would help us with the nursery!


Merry Christmas everyone!!!!

Thankful this Christmas

This Christmas has been good to us. We have amazing families who we love very much.

I actually wrote out a long post about what we asked for for Christmas and why. What we got for Christmas. How much I love family time. Etc, etc. etc. Then I deleted it. I don't like writing about specific things that we received, but I do want plan to print out this blog into a memory book after the baby is born, and I want this Christmas to be documented.

Tim, Hunter, and myself are so loved and blessed it's not even funny. Both of his grand-ma's had presents for him snuggled under their trees. My parents, Tim's mom, and Tim's dad made the trek out to Baby's First Furniture to get us (very generous) gift cards for the nursery furniture. On top of that, they spoiled us beyond belief.

I am so excited to tell Hunter that his bedroom is a gift from the whole family.

Project Nursery: Day 2

Tim and I had already discussed what color the room was going to be the baby was a boy, so when we found out, we were both ready to go! We are using Thistle Blue by Martha Stuart. We LOVE this color, and get so many compliments on it! It is what we have in our master bedroom. I actually love pretty much all Martha Stuart paints, and I used a different color in my 'craft room' (would be girl's room if thats what we were having). I went to one Home Depot, and they said they were out of Martha Stuart flat paint, but didn't bother to tell me why. I just left because if we were going to need to touch up our master bedroom, I wanted to formulas to match the best that they could. I went to another Home Depot the next day, and they told me that I was getting the last 2 out of 3 cans that they had left, and he explained that they are getting rid of Martha Stuart paint. I love the colors, though! He said they will still have the colors, but mix them with Behr paints. People love the colors, but don't want to pay almost $30 per gallon. He said they were on sale, and he thought they were $17 per gallon, which is fine, but when I got to the register they were only $12 per gallon! Score!

We wanted to paint it over the Christmas holiday, so that it would be done. I have off work, but since I can't help paint, that does no good! Instead, while Tim was painting last night, I went through all of my unused/leftover craft items. I am really bad about starting a project and not finishing, so I had this huge gathering of Hobby Lobby bags. Each one contained bits and pieces of projects past. I was able to get a bag together of things to donate, while still keeping what I thought I could use.

Here is what I worked on..... In then end I used about 20 gallon sized ziplocks, each
sorted and labeled! Then I went through and picked out what I knew I wouldn't use
again.... and then through a second time, and picked out what though I probably
wouldn't use again! This will all get donated to my dad's store!

Tim worked on painting, but sadly..... didn't finish. I woke up this morning to see that the majority of the walls are done, basically what you can do with a roller. He started the trim work, but his paintbrush was a little messed up so it made it difficult. I will buy another brush ASAP and hope he gets back to work at the same pace, lol! Not that I am upset that it's not finished, but its kind of annoying walking into a room and seeing SOME paint, but obviously not finished paint!

Here is a picture of Project Nursery: Day 2

Starting to paint! The color is Thistle Blue by Martha Stuart. They are discontinuing
Martha Stuart paint, so I go this at 12 bucks a gallon! We've had this color picked
for months!

In the meantime, Tex wanted to be in BOTH of our rooms, so we moved this tiny rubbermaid bucket to block him in. The great things about Great Danes is that they don't usually like to test 'natural barriers', so he never thought about jumping, or for that matter.... walking, over the bucket. He just felt defeated and slept on the other side of it!

This little blockade was enough to keep him out!

Hopefully I can report a fully painted room very soon! After the paint comes crown moulding!

Project Nursery: Day 1

The room that we decided to use for the nursery is what is currently being used as a storage room. There was a full set of queen sized bedroom furniture, my summer/winter clothes (trading off depending on the season), all of our wreaths, my wedding dress, suitcases, unorganized craft stuff, and various other boxes. This is also the only room in the house that has managed to stay untainted from the canine roomies that we have living here! Once the Christmas season rolled around and I finally got into the mood the decorate a little bit, all of the Christmas boxes soon became part of the decor as well.

My parents helped us by offering to take the bedroom furniture. It was mine since I was about 13 or so, I helped pick it out, and aside from my parents bedroom set, I was the only child that had an actual matching set of nice furniture. It survived who knows how many college apartment switches, and we really felt that it should stay with the family! Tim and Jason (his best friend, sister's husband, and our across the street neighbors) loaded up the set and headed to my parents' storage unit. This helped a ton!

Next, Tim and I went through and really assessed what we wanted to keep and put away, and what we could donate. We loaded up about 7 garbage bags full of donation items and headed to one of my dad's store's drop boxes for donation. This really got things consolidated!

Then, we sent the suitcases up to the attic and stacked the Christmas storage boxes in one general area. In a few weeks, these should be gone!

On the list of immediate things to be done to help the clutter:

Send wedding dress to get cleaned and preserved
Go through craft stuff and organize/donate and out away in actual craft room
Send storage boxes to the attic


And that's basically it! The wedding dress isn't even taking up any room in the actual room, we just want it boxed and out of the room.

I didn't have the foresight to capture the true 'before' on camera, but here is what happened after Project Nursery: Day 1....

Baby Buys: Number One

I am so excited to start purchasing some items for our baby boy! One of the many perks to being a teacher is the appreciation that you get. During Christmastime, teachers usually a few gifts, and this year my parents went above and beyond! One made an amazing homemade craft kit with a picture of me with her twins, some made baked goods, and a lot bought gift cards for me (mostly for Target!), so when I happened to have just the right amount of gift cards for an adorable Pack-and-Play, I thought, "What the heck, let's start this thing!"

Today I purchased the Pack-and-Play that I have had my eye on for a while. It is by Graco and in the print Meadow Menagerie. It is boy-ish, not too gender neutral, but not baseball batty or anything. I usually don't go gender neutral, and that wasn't my goal here, but this is definitely cute enough to go with a girl. Let's put it his way though, if we were having a girl, this would NOT be the one that I would choose!

Tim doesn't want to set it up until we paint the nursery, but here is a picture of the print and the set up:

Cute, right? I am going to end up registering for the matching travel system (stroller, car seat, and base). There is also a diaper bag! I tried to buy it today, but it was gone :( I went to the store a few days ago when I originally saw it, but today it was sold out! I hope it isn't too much of a hot item! 

I have also been going a little crazy purchasing baby clothes for our little man. Actually, those are the clothes that I like the best, little man clothes! Here, let me show you:

This came from Baby Gap 

Another Baby Gap 

Love these onesies with jeans! 

A also found some adorable track suits from TJMaxx! The grey and green
one also has sock that match!

 The last thing is something that I am so excited about! It could go anywhere in the house, really, but I thought of it specifically for the nursery. It is going to be used as a window cornice box above his window, and then I will also hang drapes. Here is a picture from the website:

The wood is a little lighter than the wood for the nursery furniture that we chose, but the iron accents will bring in the dark element so that it will kind of match. I don't want his whole room to be dark-ish!

There are a ton more baby clothes, but I can't take a picture of all of them, that is for sure. Let's just say, his closet is getting filled!

Tomorrow, I am going fabric shopping with Jamie. I am not sure if I want to take on the task of making my own nursery bedding yet, but I do want to make a rag quilt for the bedroom, and to go on the toddler bed in a couple of years. Plus, I think it would be very special to have something made with love by mommy.

17 weeks

16 weeks, 5 days

Almost halfway there! I am 17 weeks and 1 day pregnant, and I am feeling great! I have a small bump, NO weight gain yet, and extreme hunger! Not that I am eating all the time, but when I do get hungry it is all of a sudden and I have to eat with in a few minutes or I will be gagging (which will usually lead to throwing up). Hopefully over the Christmas Break I can make or buy a fun chalkboard so that I can take weekly pictures in front of that, but for now, here is the general summary:

How far along? 17 Weeks

Total weight gain: 0 pounds- but during 20 months trying to conceive, I gained about 10 pounds. My usual 'range' was 111-114, before getting pregnant it was 120-123. When I weigh myself now (always with clothes on), I am still 122-124. I am kind of excited about this, but kind of worried too! I asked my doctor, and she says that as long as the baby is growing she is not worried.

Maternity clothes? mostly my regular clothes with a few maternity items mixed in. Jeans need to be unbuttoned and some pairs also unzipped with the help of a belly band.

Stretch marks? no. Thank you Mamma Mio, keep up the good work!

Sleep: sleep is ok, I usually only get up once to pee, but about half the time I can't go back to sleep either because now I am hungry, or because I just get restless. Sometimes I toss and turn and sometimes I try yo be productive. This morning I am writing this blog because I woke up at 4:15. 

Best moment this week: went nursery furniture shopping with hubby and think we found a set! Also, I made a really awesome purchase for the nursery as something decorative, but that will be a secret until it is up!

Miss Anything? margaritas! I definitely didn't drink a lot of them when I wasn't pregnant, but when I see them or smell them, they sound like the best thing in the world. I also miss being excited about Christmas! I am so excited for May, that I can't force myself to be excited about this Christmas. I am already looking forward to next Christmas!

Movement: I have not felt anything yet, but I am taking some time each day to relax and try to feel. Before I got up to go to bed last night I thought I felt something different than I have before, but wasn't sure. I def wasn't hungry so I'm sure it wasn't that! I laid in bed and couldn't feel any more anything :(

Food cravings: I go through phases! The past couple weeks has been breakfast tacos from Taco Cabana, but I'm pretty sure any breakfast taco would do. In 2 weeks they have disappointed me twice! 1. I ordered 3 chorizo and egg tacos. I eat one in the car and thoroughly enjoy it. Get home and the next two are potato and egg, yuck! But, by then I was home and didn't want to go back. I ordered 3 because I was starving and now only got 1, boo! 2. I waited in the drive through line and get up to order, and they are out of eggs. Seriously? I tried to mix bacon and potato, but the bacon was the worst and most rubbery bacon I have seen in my life!

Anything making you queasy or sick: meat in general, can't eat too much, and canNOT cook it!

Gender: Boy! Hunter Ryan 

Labor Signs: Nope

Symptoms: Heartburn sometimes, hunger a lot, and gagging and dry heaving if I get too hungry. Right now, I have been typing too long and it's about to start :(


Belly Button in or out? in, but getting wider, it's definitely weird!

Wedding rings on or off? on, they fit totally fine, maybe because its kind of cold?

Happy or Moody most of the time: so very happy, but sometimes a touch moody!

Looking forward to: Christmas Break! I get 2 weeks off the recharge my batteries! Also, I am going fabric shopping with one of my best friends for nursery fabrics. I don't know if I am going to try to make everything, but I for sure am going to make a rag quilt. I may make it big enough to fit on his bed once it is a toddler bed. Also, looking forward to feeling this little boy move!

Old Wives Tales: True or False

One of my best friends, fellow teachers, and due date buddy posted a ton of gender old wives tales on her blog the other day. Now that I know for sure what I am going to have, this is more of a fun experiment than wishful thinking! I am going to use some of hers and see if they were correct for me. 

* If your husband gains weight, you will be having a girl. If he doesn't gain weight, you'll be having a boy.
Answer: Boy- but my husband hasn't gained weight since 10th grade, so I don't think this counts.

* Pregnancy has you looking better than ever if it’s a boy. You don't look quite as good as normal during pregnancy if it’s a girl
Answer: Boy, my skin is silky smooth, my hair and nails looks amazing, and I have had about a half a pimple since my last period.

*Some myths propose that if you are craving sweets during your pregnancy, you are having a girl. If you are craving spicy and salty foods, then you are having a boy.
Answer: girl- but I always love sweets, and always hate spicy.

*Some say if the woman’s belly is big and round it means that she is carrying a girl. Likewise, if her belly is smaller and sticking straight out than she is carrying a boy. 
Answer: Boy

* If you are having a boy, you would not have as much morning sickness as you would if you were having a girl.
Answer: Boy, I think I had it pretty easy, a few rough days but overall, its been ok!

*Many people believe in the good old ring test as a way to tell what the sex of their baby is going to be. In this test you hang your wedding ring from a string. If the ring swings back and forth your baby is a girl. If it swings around in a circle then it is a boy. 
Answer: Girl. Jamie did this test with me and if I remember correctly it was girl!

*Some people believe that if your baby has a fast heart rate, near 170 beats per minute, then that means you are having a girl, and that if your baby’s heart rate is closer to 150 beats per minute then you are having a boy. 
Answer: Girl, the heart rate up to 15 and a half weeks was consistently above 165, and for a few weeks it was 177! I googled what was too high, I didn't want to poor thing's heart to explode!

* The Chinese use numbers to determine the sex of your baby. They take the mothers age at conception and the month of conception. 
Answer: girl, I conceived either at the very end of August, or very beginning of September, but both months say girl.

* Many believe that if you have an increased amount of acne during pregnancy then it means you are having a baby girl.
Answer: Boy

Total:

Boy-5

Girl- 4

Hmmmm........ lookie there!

And the color of the day was......?

BLUE!! I was still in shock for a few days after the gender scan, but I am so excited for our new baby boy!


Here is how it all went down:

We had an appointment set for Monday, December 12 for the gender scan because that was the day that I turned 16 weeks. We also had to go see the doctor about the bleeding that I had 10 days prior.

Tim and I had talked the night before about how we would react. I really wanted a girl, and Tim really wanted a boy, but we also just wanted a healthy baby. So it became more of a game than anything else. It turned into, "Who is right?" We decided that if I was right and it was a girl, he could say, "OH MY GOSH!", exactly one time, and vice versa if it was a boy. We were pretty much joking, but the overall consensus was that it was ok to be surprised/shocked.... but then happy!

Well, I am laying on the table and she was measuring the cervix and getting her bearings. Tim was looking at me, and I see her scan across what was obviously two wide spread legs and a, well, a pee-pee. Boy parts. There is a little boy growing inside my belly. I wasn't thinking, I was just so honestly shocked, that I literally shouted, "Oh my gosh!!!! Was that the gender?!?!"


Tim said, "Oh no, did I miss it already?!" She went back and he was smiling bigger than I have ever seen before. He went to rub my shoulder as I am still saying, "I cannot believe it!" over and over again.

Let's get one thing straight. I am/was not disappointed. At the 13 week NT scan, the ultrasound tech took a peek (at my request) and saw two things. One: the dangle was clearly pointing straight down. According the the internet, that means girl. a boy would be pointing more up. Both genders have basically the same thing at that point in the pregnancy. Two: she looked in between the legs and saw what looked to be hamburger buns. It really did. She saw it. I saw it. We all saw it.

Since then, I still never called the baby a 'she' or 'Harper', or purchased any of the adorable little girl things. I wasn't convinced, and hey, I'm realistic.... 13 weeks is way early. But nonetheless, in my head the wheels were turning. When I would look up nursery ideas, they would mostly be girl. So when I found out we were definitely having a little boy, I had to switch gears. It may have taken me few days, but I am now totally on the 'Boy Nursery' wagon! Watch out debit card, don't get too comfy in my wallet!!

I had originally wanted to do a gender reveal party, but I got so excited after the 13 week gender guess, that I told everybody anyways. Then we were thinking that if we did the gender reveal party and it was a girl, everybody would say, "We already knew that anyways". Tim was never 100% on board with the party. He doesn't like a big fuss, and he hates when he gets too much attention. He is hoping the baby is born on his birthday so that his is forgotten altogether! In the waiting room afterwards, he was actually on his phone googling bakeries to see who could get gender reveal cake balls made quick enough! But by then, we already had friends and family anxiously texting and calling, we couldn't make them wait any longer! It is a must do for our next pregnancy, that is for sure!

I wish that I could have recorded my mom's reaction. She must have asked if I was joking about 10 times, and then she finally said in her I-am-super-serious tone, "Jenny. Are. You. Serious? No joking, is it really a boy?" It was hard to keep from giggling, which probably extended the persuasion, but she finally believed me. She was elated! The first little baby boy in a long time! Everybody else was just so happy, too!

Now that I know the gender for sure, I am going to look at all of the old wives tales to see how many were correct!

Tomorrow is the BIG day!

I am beyond excited to go to the doctor tomorrow. In fact, I even had a dream about it, lol! Then I woke up because it was not a good dream.... I went to the doctor to have an ultrasound and appointment (exactly like tomorrow). I had my ultrasound first (just like they'll do tomorrow). While in the ultrasound the tech would not talk, she would just do the images, and it would change from the normal 2D image to what was called 'Cartoon Image'. She made about a 5 minute video, then still without talking let me know that the doctor would play the video in my appointment, and would do the 'talking' and explaining. We waited for about 2 hours, then went home. At about 9 at night, I remembered, "Oops! We never saw the doctor!"..... So I snuck into her office and waited as if I never left, but of course it was too late and I never found out thr gender or health status of my baby.

Great dream right? Then I woke up at 3 in the morning to pee, and couldn't go back to sleep until 5.

HOPEFULLY.... that is not what is going to happen tomorrow and HOPEFULLY that is not foreshadowing that we will not be able to see the gender! Anyways, I can't wait to do an update tomorrow for Team Pink or Team Blue!!!

Loving the Bump!

Latest bump!

Here I am at 15 weeks and 1 day. We only have 6 days until our gender scan and we are beyond ready! Even Tim is counting down the days!!

I'm not sure if it's any bigger then than the 12 week bump, but I love seeing it in the mirror. I feel like I am looking right at our baby!