baby update

I had my 15 week appointment today! It was very uneventful in a good way. :) Just heard the heartbeat, declined to take the blood tests to find any possible defects with the baby, and was on my way...

The heartbeat is 153 beats per minute. Anything between 120-160 is healthy. Samantha's heartbeat at 15 weeks was 154. Hmmmm.....anyone want to change their boy vote? :) :) :)

I'm measuring perfectly so I think we can rule out twins too! :) August 27 is the big ultrasound day! 29 days until we find out GIRL OR BOY!!! Still feeling exhausted and nauseous, but the throwing up has mostly subsided. :) The doctor told me to get more sleep. I agree! :)

LOVE & HUGS!

to juice or not to juice

Sammi's doctor has always said NO JUICE, NO JUICE, no matter what! Well, she's 18 months old, and I'm sure she doesn't need it, but I figure it's a better treat than actual dessert...so I gave her some for the first time tonight! Actually, that's not totally true...we've tried giving her vegetable juices before in a sippy cup and she HATED them. This was the first sweet juice. And just in case my doctor is reading this (not likely), this juice is 1/2 water, 1/2 100% juice w/ no sugar added! :)

I don't know if she liked the actual juice or the box with the straw better, but she loved the experience!

I just realized the photos are kind of gross b/c she's covered in the remains of her turkey, cheese, olives, and applesauce! :) Oh well, if you're a parent, you're used to seeing this!

crosspoint indians game

Last Thursday over 100 people from our church, Crosspoint, met at the Indianapolis Indians game for a fun night out. We had lots of kids, food, friends, and laughter...and a little baseball too!

Sammi lounging around.

There was a lot to observe!

getting ready for hat day

Last Wednesday was "Hat Day" at school, and I thought Sammi looked so cute while we were getting ready in the morning that I snapped a few photos of her. :)

Crazy toddler. :)

When I was a little girl I had a white bear that I kept through college. When I found out I was having a little girl, my great friend Jessie sent Sammi this white bear so she could have her own "Snowball" (the name of my bear). Sam LOVES pushing her bear around in the stroller!!!

Sammi and mommy (still in her robe).

Sammi putting her hat on her bear.

My little pumpkin. :)

jordie and ashley's shower

My little brother, Jordie, is getting married to his sweetheart, Ashley (above) in three weeks! A few weeks ago Ashley had a bridal shower & I finally have a few photos to post! August 16 is the big day...we're looking forward to it!!!

This is Ashley with her ribbon bouquet. :) This is at Jordie & Ashley's house in Indianapolis.

Her friends did an awesome job with the food! I think they should go into catering. :)

14 week update

We finally took our "12 week photo" and I'm only 14 weeks along! :) Things have been super busy here but I did want to post a quick note on BB2 (Baby Brand #2). This week he or she is the size of a lemon, and although I've always heard you can't feel the baby that early....and I was about 23 weeks when I started feeling Sammi, I SWEAR I've felt a few flutters in there! It's a different feeling than anything else...I just feel like he/she just bumps up against me every once in a while. Who knows! :)

Most of the talk right now is the girl vs boy discussion. We haven't even thought about where the baby will sleep, furniture, all that stuff.....that's much later. So, girl or boy...I change my mind all the time. I've been super sick (girl), the heartbeat is high (girl), the Chinese Lunar Calendar says girl...but, several people have had feelings we are having a boy (including Dan lately). I'm carrying low (boy), and my wedding ring on a string moves back and forth instead of in a circle (boy). Ha ha...I feel super silly writing all these wives tales down but I have to admit I'm a little obsessed with them!

A lady at church last Sunday who I'd never met walked up to me and said "I think you're having a boy". I truly have no idea...I feel large enough to be having twins :), but if I HAD to guess right this second I'd probably guess another girl. AND---most importantly, I really don't care!!! I really REALLY wanted a boy the first time and I've learned that God knows much better what I want in life than what I think I want, so I completely trust Him!!!! :) :) :) I wouldn't trade my little Sammi for any little boy in the world!!!!! So, I don't care. (And I should mention that Dan feels the same way!)

My sickness has gotten so much better just over the last week. I still have to eat about every 2 hours or I start feeling super sick, but I don't seem to be getting sick through the entire day anymore.

I'm really tired and the weddings especially take 100% of my energy and make me really sore and achy, but I'm still having a blast doing them and am hoping they will keep me in pretty good shape. I went into this pregnancy pretty weak from having mono, so I am hoping I can gradually build my strength as I continue to feel better in trimester 2. :)

My next appointment will be pretty boring, but it is next Tuesday. The appointment after that one should be the one we find out the gender!!! About 5 weeks from now. Exciting! Until then, I'm interested to read your opinion in our little survey (to the right...) :) Love & hugs!

the zoo with friends

On July 4 weekend we met our friends, Brian (above), Shannon (below), and Hailey (above and below) at the Indianapolis Zoo. Brian and Dan were fraternity brothers at Purdue, and we've all become close friends over the last few years.

Although Miss Hailey is 3 pounds heavier and 1 clothing size bigger than Sam, she is about 9 months younger! She will be turning 1 in August. Isn't she cute?!

Sammi was really interested in all of the animals at the zoo...but she wasn't so sure about getting too close! She hung on to mom or dad tight at each stop. :)

The walrus was our first stop. Sammi had never seen anything quite like him before!

The turtles were one of Samantha's favorite animals!

Sammi and daddy visiting the zebras...

The giraffes were eating & had loooong necks! :)

The baby elephant was super cute!

Sammi watching the rhinos...

Thanks, Brian and Shannon for meeting us out for a day at the zoo and some lunch! We can't wait to see you again!

jessica's shower

Even though she doesn't know it yet, these photos are totally courtesy of Jessica Gaudin!!! :) Thanks for sending them to me! I hope you don't mind me posting them! :)

Last weekend three other girls and I threw Jessie a baby shower when she was in town. We had so much fun planning everything together & I hope Jessie enjoyed the shower as much as we enjoyed throwing it for her! :)

The hosts with Jess: Amy (20 weeks pregnant), Holly (38 weeks pregnant), Jessica (28 weeks pregnant), Brooke (13 weeks pregnant), Kyle (not pregnant---at least yet!) :) :) :)

The cake.

The white chocolate favors.

Jess opening her gift certificate from me. :)

Jess opening one of her frames from me (to be filled with new photos soon...check our business blog for their maternity photos from Monday!)

Daddy Bryan and Mama Jessica. How cute! :)

Jess..love you so much and so happy for you!!!

It's totally out of order...but a post on our zoo trip soon! :)

yogurt

After a hot day of running around outside, little Sammi wanted to cool down with a cup of yogurt! She loves "gogurt", as she calls it, and she's getting better with the spoon! :)

sammi's new pool

Samantha loves the sprinklers at school on "splash day", so we bought her a little pool and sprinkler for our back yard. Although she won't get in the pool, she loves splashing in it!

july 4 primrose parade

We're a little behind on our posts! Sammi's school had a July 4 parade at their school for all of the kids & it was so cute! We are in love with her school and her teachers, and Sammi is too! This photo above is Sammi with Ms. Werling and Ms. Conley. (Sam looks a little upset b/c she thought we were leaving her when we set up the photo. Yes, we're still going through the clingy stage!) Notice the flag her class made in the background...the stars are made up of their fingerprints and stripes made up from hand prints. :)

When her class walked out for the parade, she was terrified of their mascot, Percy, and cried and cried when she saw him! Oh well! This is Percy...
This is Mindy Smith. She and her husband opened this Primrose and it was the first one to open in Indiana after they moved here and couldn't find a better school than the Primrose their kids had attended in Colorado. Mindy is the kindest, warmest, most modest, wonderful woman & I'm humbled we have the opportunity to attend her school! (Sam still upset by Percy...)
Now that she's with mom & Percy is gone, she's having fun! She's holding her star flag that she made in class. :)

we're having another baby!!!

We are thrilled to announce that we are going to have baby #2 in January 2009! We like to keep things busy and interesting, and we just didn't think the new studio was exciting enough (please read that line with humorous sarcasm) so we decided to throw a baby in the mix too!

The official due date is January 17. Sammi's birthday is January 8, so they will be almost exactly two years apart. In late August we will find out the gender of the baby, but we're keeping the name a surprise until he/she is born! (Not that we have any picked out yet...but no telling once we do!)

I am officially 12 weeks and have been so much sicker with this one than I ever was with Sam! In fact, this pregnancy has been much different so far. That doesn't mean I think I'm having a boy....I have NO IDEA and I'm usually wrong when I guess anyway! With Sammi I never felt great in the first 12 weeks, but I never actually got sick. This time---well, I lost count of the number of times I have thrown up a long time ago. I imagine the next few weeks will get better and I'll be feeling 100% soon!

With Sam I always craved anything sweet. Especially dessert. Specifically dessert made with peanut butter. This time it's all salt...pickles and chips and hummus and pretzels and feta cheese....yum! There are things I felt with Sam that I haven't experienced yet, but I don't remember when in the pregnancy I felt them (it's amazing how soon you forget everything!)

I don't have photos of my belly yet, but we will and I will reluctantly share them. :) I feel like a whale this time....I've been too sick to work out but I did manage to get up and do a power walk this morning. I've already gained 6 pounds and my stomach won't fit into reg clothes anymore.

We heard the heartbeat for the first time at my 10.5 week appointment. After about 10 stressful minutes of looking for a heartbeat without luck, the doctor found it beating strong at 170. Yea! We'll be sure to keep you updated on everything as we go along. If there aren't any complications (prayers are appreciated) we should only have one ultrasound around 18 weeks. :) Otherwise, I'll fill you in on all of my aches and pains as we go! :) And of course, the joy! :)

Samantha has no idea what it means when we tell her she'll be a big sister yet, and she especially gets confused when I tell her there is a baby in my belly. She lifts up her shirt, looks at her belly, and then gives me a perplexed look. I imagine a lot will change over the next 6 months though.

More updates coming soon....although I can't imagine we'll have any more exciting than this one for a while! :) All our love and best wishes to you all!

new posts soon!

I'm sorry I haven't posted anything lately! This post is a promise that more will be coming very soon... I have three in mind for sure, lots of photos, and some very important news! Thanks for being patient....more soon!

Love & hugs- B