Working on the Nursery...

Ouch. Travis and I have spent our last Halloween / Halloween weekend (as just the two of us), painting Blair's room. It's amazing how much faster the job gets done with two people (makes me wonder how I possibly painted the rest of the house alone!). Her room is now painted "Timeless Taupe." We finished the taupe yesterday, and I painted the trim today... and OMG... I am hurting EVERYWHERE. Note to anyone planning on having children in the near future: go ahead and paint the room now! I am completely zapped of all energy and muscle control, and my two tylenol limit (per day) isn't cutting it!

Next up on the list of things to do, is hang her blinds, paint the doors, shampoo the carpet, and start assembling her furniture. We picked up her crib this weekend, but the dresser won't be available until later this week or next weekend. Booo. I'm trying to stay motivated with my current list so I can get to the FUN stuff!

Latest bump picture, with my amazing hubby, below! :)

In recognition of November being "Prostate Cancer Awareness Month," Travis is participating in a fundraiser at work in hopes of raising money for this cause. I am proud of him for taking part in such a worthy cause - despite it meaning that he has to grow a mustache, thus pushing our Christmas card photos to December! :) Please see below!

This Movember I've decided to donate my face to raising awareness about cancers that affect men. My commitment is the growth of a moustache for the entire month of Movember, which I know will generate conversation, controversy and laughter.

I'm doing this because:

- 1 in 2 men will be diagnosed with cancer in his lifetime
- 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime

This is a cause that I feel passionately about and I'm asking you to support my efforts by making a donation to support the great work of the Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG. To help, you can either:

- Click this link http://us.movember.com/mospace/782516/ and donate online using your credit card or PayPal account; or

- Write a check payable to Movember, referencing my name or Registration Number 782516 and mailing it to: Movember, PO Box 2726, Venice, CA 90294-2726

The money raised will help make a tangible difference to the lives of others, through the world's most promising prostate cancer research and LIVESTRONG's programs that support young adults and their families battling and surviving cancer.

For more details on how the funds raised from previous campaigns have been used and the impact Movember is having please visit http://us.movemberfoundation.com/research-and-programs/.

Thank you!!!

Hope you all have a wonderful and safe Halloween and a great week!

(PS - I welcome any and all candy donations!)

Week 17

Today we had our 17 week appointment with Dr. Schmidt. I have gained 6 lbs ("finally!" says Dr. Schmidt) now and Blair's heart beat sounds great. They finished drawing the rest of my labs and all of our other tests have come back normal. Everything is going smoothly with no problems. I feel so much better and have gotten that burst of energy that everyone assured me would come. I am so excited for her to get a little bigger so that Travis can feel her kicking!

Blair is now the size of an onion and the bump continues to grow! Updated bump pictures are below!

Our next appointment will be the big 20 week appointment (though actually it will be our 21 week) where they will do an ultrasound and take Blair's measurements. Hopefully we will get a better idea on her due date... for now, we just say 'the end of March.'

Today I came to a decision as to how we will decorate Blair's room... this has been something that I have been struggling with over the last couple of weeks. I feel really good about our decision, despite yellow not being the color of the walls! At least I only painted two walls! Haha. We will pick up her crib and changer / dresser this weekend. Once we paint the walls, we will be able to set up her furniture. Here are pictures of her furniture:

Once we have decorated the room with her new bedding and some of our (ok, MY) girly ideas, I will post pictures of her nursery. I think it's going to be really beautiful nursery... and I can't wait to see it all come together!

And We've Got a Name!

Since finding out that we were having a girl last weekend, there have been many discussions between Travis and I about what we would name our daughter. After much talk and consideration (man, was the boy name SO much easier! haha), we have decided to name her...

Blair Melisse Wright!

Now the next task I am working on is her room... not easy! I am not really liking much of what the stores are offering, which really only leaves me with designing it myself (not that I am unhappy about that!). Luckily I have only painted two walls yellow (in case we decide to change the wall color)! I am hoping to make some color decisions soon...

Speaking of Blair's room... look at this gorgeous rocking chair we will be using! Travis' parents used to rock him to sleep in it! It is so beautiful and it has been kept it in such great condition... I am so thrilled we will be using it! I will take it to be reinforced and tightened, but isn't it amazing?!?

This weekend, Travis and I spent some much needed R&R time out at the farm in Columbus. We had a wonderful time relaxing and taking in a slower pace of life. Raleigh loves to run around and bark at the "big dogs" (their horses). We also carved pumpkins (as we do every year), our masterpieces are below!

We hope y'all have a great week! :)

Tickled Pink!

Well, if I thought that Wednesday night was exciting and overwhelming... we have topped that! After spending some time with Allyson, Richard, and their new son Hudson, I decided I could not wait any longer to find out the gender of our baby! Travis, being the uber patient and wonderful husband he is, suggested we call my Mom's friend, Kelly (an ultrasound tech) to see if she might be able to scan us that night (at 6pm on Saturday). Luckily, Kelly was on call and graciously met us up at the hospital (in La Grange!) to help us with this age old question... boy or girl?

Almost immediately, my Mother gasped and held back a giggle. After about 15 seconds of checking to be sure, Kelly let us know that we were having a GIRL! 100%, without a doubt, girl.

I was so surprised and shocked... we were just SURE it was a boy. All of the old wives tales, the gender predictor test, the Chinese predictor test... all of it pointed to a boy! Despite being completely surprised, Travis and I are SO thrilled, excited and happy! It really makes this whole journey so much more real! And its hard to believe that SHE will be here in just a few short months.

And I am so ready to do some shopping! Today, we are going with Nancy (my mother-in-law) to go crib shopping. She says that when she was pregnant with Travis, her mother-in-law took her crib shopping! So today we continue in that tradition. I will also be loading up on some adorable girl clothing. Bring on the pink, bows, and precious outfits!

Like I said before, we have not decided on a girl's name just yet... but there are many lists and ideas!


Oh what fun!


As I mentioned earlier, we spent some time over at the Sherrill's house yesterday to see Ally's new baby, Hudson. He is the spitting image of Richard and the sweetest baby! He makes the cutest sounds and can make you melt!




We are so excited to share this wonderful news with you all! Thanks to everyone that voted on the poll! :) Looks like some of you were right!


XoXoX

With a "quickening!"

Well, after a somewhat dull post last night... we have something exciting to share! Travis and I were attending Wednesday night service at Lakewood Church, and during the sermon, I felt our Orange start moving! They were quick flutters on the far left side of the bump that would flutter for a couple seconds, then stop. Then a minute or two later, it would happen again. It did this for about 10-15 minutes! I was extremely overwhelmed and in shock at this new development... it was truly amazing. I didn't think I was far enough along to be feeling the baby, but a quick Google search on my phone (after the service) proved I was! I guess "quickening" happens anywhere from 13 weeks to 16 or 17 weeks, which puts me right in the window. Wow, I am still in awe... we are going to get out the heartbeat monitor ($20 at Walmart... nice!) and listen to the Orange do some kicking!

Good Night!

Week 15

Well, not much to report on the baby front. Things are still moving along. Travis and I began painting the baby's room (baby is the size of an orange this week, so we will refer to him/her as such). We are painting the room yellow... yes, how very gender neutral (ie clever) we are. Figure that way for Baby #2 we won't have to repaint the room. Still have no bedding picked out, but I have found a front runner- if Orange is a boy. Still no name and no bedding for a girl. We'll come up with something.

Two more weeks until our next appointment and we find out the sex! It is so hard to not be able to buy cute clothes and baby things. I will admit, that this week we bought one of those store "gender predictor" tests (Travis and I are super anxious!). The test "predicted" that we'd be having a BOY. Of course nothing will be confirmed until Dr. Schmidt says, but the test goes along with our hunch. FYI - you can buy the gender predictor tests at any Walgreens or CVS for about $40.

Guess that's about all for now. I have only painted two walls (and only one coat on each wall), so I still have more work ahead of me... the painting was exhausting! Hopefully I can get the walls finished (before we tackle the stripes and chair rail) this weekend, and the new blinds should be in!!

Hope everyone is having a great week! :)

Week 14 - Bump Sighting

Today we hit week 14, and I bought my first pair of maternity jeans! Traded in my little size 4's for maternity size 4's- and I will be honest- they are comfortable!!!

Now that the bump is starting to appear, we took pictures to track the progression.

Hello.... comfy jeans! :)

Nausea is tapering off and I am regaining some normalcy back in my life. Cravings at the top of the list: Seafood (shrimp, crab, and of course- lobster) and Sugar (candy, chocolate, and popsicles... Otter Pops to be exact!). Not together, but they always sound good. My desk at work is stocked full of candy and chocolate (it's embaressing), but I feel like I have a good excuse. :)

It's Picture Time!

As promised... here are the pictures of our Peach from our last ultrasound (at 13 weeks)... they are kind of hard to see, but the baby is face down, on his/her tummy.

The first picture shows the baby's head on the left, facing down. The little light spot (among the dark area on the left) that is oval shaped is the baby's foot!

The second picture shows the baby's head (again on the left, facing down), the flicker of the heart, and a curled up leg (too cute!).

The last picture is a good picture showing us the head, spine and body.

If you arent used to looking at ultrasounds, you have to kind of use your imagination. The 4D ultrasounds are really neat where you get a really good look at the baby, but we won't do one until the 7th or 8th month.

Yesterday, we did some shopping at Babies'R'Us. We have picked out a really neat crib and dresser / changing table. We even did some actual shopping... we got some onesies and a few books for the Peach!

We hope you are all fortunate enough to be enjoying this beautiful fall weather! Have a great rest of your weekend!

Groundhog Day

Well, looks like our little peach saw his shadow... it will be another 4 weeks until we learn the sex of our baby! The baby was laying face down on his/her tummy and not showing us anything! So we shall wait in suspense for another 4 weeks. Not that it's a bad thing... if we are having a girl, we still haven't decided on a name. The boy? Done, no problem. The 'girl' name list is still long and undecided.

We were very happy and excited to see our growing baby. We could catch glimpses of his/her legs and little feet... which were so cute! The ultrasound tech said our baby is almost 5 inches long! It's hard to believe that the baby is already that big. I always get asked if I am 'showing' yet... only to me! Haha. I am still wearing my same clothes (with the help of a hair band extender for the pants), so you can't really tell. Soon enough, I am sure! :)

Our next appointment is on October 27th where we will find out whether it will be pink or blue! I will try to upload some ultrasound pictures this weekend of the peach and his/her cute little legs!

Have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend!