Baby Bargains

Last weekend I registered for baby gear. I went with a friend who just had a baby, so I could use her knowledge, and had a lot of fun (thanks Shannon)!! Then Jared and I found a killer deal on a crib and dresser online. I have been obsessed since last weekend to find the right bedding. Everything I see either looks too boy or too girl, which has caused me to look at hundreds of bedding sets and a ton of websites. Colors were really important since we wanted it to be neutral but not overly boring. We FINALLY found a bed set that we both really liked, but unfortunately it was out of our price range (I can't believe how much bedding costs!!!!)

We went to go to a couple of stores tonight to see what we could find and here's where the exciting part of the story comes in...

We went into Baby's R Us (where I registered last weekend and found nothing for bedding) and to my surprise and excitement they had the bedding set we loved on CLEARANCE!!! It was so crazy because they don't even show that they carry that particular set online! We were able to get the bedding set, extra sheet, window valance and a matching blanket for significantly less than what the bedding set (only) was selling for online!

I finally feel excited to begin the baby room (something I must admit I have been dreading)

I will post pictures once the room gets done, in the meantime here is what we decided on:

Crib

Dresser

Bedding Set

Comforter

Bumper

Skirt

Sheet Pattern

Blanket

Window Valance

Woo Hoo for clearance!

Baby Video

This is the only video that I could get to upload.

Baby is busy stretching and moving around!

The picture is a profile with the top of it's head on the left side of the video. He/she is completely folded in half with it's feet up over it's head.

Keep watching...did you see him/her yawn!?!?!

Isn't it amazing...I love watching the videos and know that was actually happening inside of me!

Happy Halloween

Last weekend we had some friends over to carve pumpkins. Unfortunately the pumpkins didn't make it all week and now they are completely shriveled.

Poised and ready to dig in

Jared in action

Addie was a bit of a party pooper.

We took her over to play with some dogs at Jared's grandma's house earlier in the day and she was completely passed out for the entire night...of course when we were ready for bed, she was ready to play!

The finished product

Impressions of our pumpkins

Smiley, Ghost, Monkey and Deadman

Last year I bought a Halloween costume for Lucy when they were on sale at Target. I was excited that Addie would get to wear it. Isn't she a cute ladybug?!

Unfortunately she didn't share my enthusiasm!

Hopefully, you enjoy your Halloween more than she did!!

It's A....

Yesterday we had our 20 week ultrasound (I am actually 21 weeks). It was really fun to get to see our little one again and to see how much they have grown. This was also the time in which we could find out if we are having a boy or girl. Well, the verdict is that we are having a...healthy baby! We decided to wait and not find out the sex of the baby until he/she makes his/her world debut. This is the way we were leaning; however, we got lots of pressure from different family members and friends who really wanted us to find out now. The only person on earth who knows is our ultrasound technician and we were reassured that she couldn't be bribed by family members! As Jared says, delivery day will be truly epic!

All is well with baby at this point. Growth is right on target and measurements were really even. I do have to go back in 2 weeks because my cervix is measuring thin (2.4-2.9 cm and they like it to be 3.5 cm). Nothing to be concerned about at this point, but they want to check and make sure that I am staying steady.

During the appointment baby was in a breach position with it's spine out and completed folded in half! It moved a ton during the ultrasound and kept grabbing the umbilical cord, opening and closing it's hand and stretching. The technician said that it is going to be very tactile! We were given a CD with some pictures and videos. I am posting all the pics because there are some anxious family members afar who want to see and hear about anything and everything baby (the videos won't work right now, so I will try to post those later):

The baby's feet are really long at this point. Measured longer then it's femur! As you can see, their second toe is bigger than their big toe!

Profile view: Baby has it's hand up against it's forehead.

Profile View...what a cute little nose and mouth!

Profile View: Baby was basically folded in half, as you can see it had their foot up parallel to it's head.

Another profile view showing it's foot above it's head. The 3 dots coming down below it's foot is the umbilical cord.

Last profile picture!

I can't believe that I am already half way through with the pregnancy! The Lord has been good and we feel truly blessed!

New Addition

Last February, Jared and I dealt with an extremely difficult loss when we had to put our 4 year old lab, Lucy, to sleep. For the last 8 months we have been dealing with the void and emptiness created by not having a dog. Neither of us felt ready to get another dog because we didn't want another dog...we wanted Lucy!

In April Jared started doing some research just to see what breeders of labs were in the Boise area. He contacted a breeder, told her our story, and found out that she just had a litter of puppies at the beginning of April. At that time we were in no place to adopt a puppy. Toward the end of August the breeder contacted us again to inform us that she was expecting another litter. We talked about it and decided it still wasn't the right time for a puppy. We work long hours and with a baby on the way, we thought it wouldn't be fair to a puppy. We let the breeder know and she contacted us AGAIN a couple of weeks later. She wanted to let us know that they had kept a puppy from the April litter and thought she thought she would be a great fit for our family. At first we were hesitant but then we decided to meet her. Due to sicknesses and other circumstances it took us about a month before we finally came face-to-face with this cute puppy. She stole Jared's heart immediately and after a lot of thought and prayer she stole mine too.

Addie is 6 months old, fully vaccinated, potty trained, crate trained, has been to puppy school and is full of playfulness and sweetness.

We might be crazy to be giving up our last 5 months of blissful peace and quiet, but it really seemed liked a right fit. We spent a lot of time in prayer and making sure that this was the right thing to do.

It is fun to have a sweet puppy in the house again and we are both excited that our children will grow up loving dogs and understanding the bond that can be formed through these sweet creatures.

I promise more pictures are to come with maybe some videos too...she was a little nervous tonight which made it hard to snap shots.

A Day at the Farm

Fall was definitely in the air today...we went to the pumpkin patch with Jared's family! It was a little chilly but we had a good time. Next time at this year we will have a 7 month old of our own to take to the pumpkin patch...CRAZY!!!!

The day was full of excitement:

We went for an old fashioned hayride,

made a scarecrow,

found a pumpkin,

found an even better pumpkin,

ran back to the farm with our wagon full of pumpkins,

and rode some rides...

All in all the day was a success!

Happy Fall Days!!!

Baby Update

Woo Hoo...a new post! I have been fighting a bad head cold over the last 2 1/2 weeks. Last weekend it decided to turn into a nasty sinus infection. I have never had a sinus infection and would like to never experience one again. It was SO painful. I had to eventually call the on-call doctor last Sunday and get some antibiotics, which are working, and I feel much better.

Needless to say, posting was the least of my worries, as I felt horrible for so long.

However, things are moving along fantastically well. Baby is doing great and last week was the first week that I felt like I was sporting a pregnant belly and not just extra weight. It is a bit strange though the attention you get when pregnant. I'm by no means offended, but it is a bit weird to get so many comments and "observations" about my body. One co-worker wanted to rub my belly, but I'm not quite ready for that one!

Last weekend (when the torturous sinus infection hit), Jared and I went to Bear Lake in Utah with his parents. My mother-in-law convinced me to go into a maternity store and needless to say I am a big fan of maternity pants, at least my work maternity pants. I have been using rubber bands, paper clips and other office equipment to make my pants fit. It was a nice change to feel comfortable again!

Here are some updated pictures...I feel as if I look really tired in both pictures, but I have been getting pressure to post new belly pics.

Week 17

(Baby is the size of a turnip, 5 inches head to rump and weighs 5 oz.)

Week 18

(Baby is the size of a bell pepper, about 5 1/2 inches head to rump and weighs 7 oz.)

I haven't felt movement yet, but it could be any day now. The doctor said anytime between 18-22 weeks. Next ultrasound is October 23rd, so I'll keep you posted!!!

P.S. Thanks to everyone for your comments and advice about my last post. Jared and I really appreciated it!