Update

I should have posted this earlier in the week, but I've been running myself in circles it seems.

Weekly Survey

How far along?: 21 weeks
Total weight gain: none that I know of. I'm still less than I was when I got knocked up
How much does baby weigh?: According to BabyCenter, she's .75 pounds
Maternity clothes?: without a doubt....although I can still wear a few pre-pregnancy pants with the bella band
Stretch marks?: None that are new ;)
Sleep?: Still not sleeping as well as I'd like, but I'm getting used to it.
Amazing moment this week?: Feeling Parker move!!!
Movement?: most definitely
cravings?: Totally random stuff, and, luckily, most of them are more healthy options. Watermelon and bananas mostly
Labor signs?: Thankfully, no
Belly button in or out?: in, but I think it's less deep
What I miss: sleeping on my tummy
What I'm looking forward to: getting through the next few weeks so things can slow down a bit
Milestone: I guess just feeling the baby wiggle around. I'm looking forward to when Mark can feel her too.

In other news, sister-in-law's IVF was postponed....indefinitely. She's been diagnosed with stage 4 endometriosis and due to all of her previous surgeries, the doctor doesn't want to do surgery now. She's very upset and somehow holding onto the hope that it's a temporary delay. I, unfortunately, am not so optimistic. :(

Just a quick note....that turned lengthy!

I have so much to share today, but not a lot of time to do it. SO, this will be a short entry with more to come later.

First, I definitely felt little Parker move yesterday. I was sitting at my desk typing away, and all of a sudden, I felt this little "tap tap tap" in my belly. It was most definitely baby and not gas. While many say the feeling is similar to that of the "butterflies" I found it a bit more nauseating. Of course, it was a wonderful moment, but it still made me sick to my stomach for a second or two.

When I got home, I had Mark feel my stomach because you could feel a solid place where Parker was definitely positioned. He felt it and then jumped back "Woah! That's weird!" and then came back for more poking and prodding. It was a fun experience for us to share together, and I can't wait for Mark to feel her little punches and jabs.

To wrap it up, I'd like to ask for prayers for my sister-in-law. Mark's sister has had a helluva struggle over the last few years with all sorts of medical issues (really the entire time they've been married, since she got sick on their honeymoon several years ago). The doctors have finally said she's healthy enough to try to have a baby. Her only option (due to the medical stuff) is IVF, and she starts her first cycle Thursday. If you could ask for strength and patience for this couple, that would be great. I'm so concerned that they don't really know their chances of success, and that in some way, they have a false sense of hope. I don't know if that makes sense, but I hate for them to get hurt. I just ask that God comfort them and support them through this, as they've been through so much during their marriage.

Allergies- Bah!

After spending much of Saturday in bed or praying to the porcelain gods, I'm doing better today. I don't know if I ate something funky or just had a stomach bug or Parker was making up for those early days without m/s, but yesterday was no fun at all. I managed to get down half a turkey sandwich and about 1/4 of a Gatorade, but that was all I could do.

I woke this morning ready to eat though- I'll tell you that! Of course, we've got a front moving in tomorrow night, and my allergies are already warning me about it. On my last day of spring break, this really isn't what I need. I took a Zyrtec first thing this morning and just popped some Benadryl (sleepy time soon), but nothing seems to be working. So, BAH to allergies!

In positive news, we finished painting the main part of the nursery. We'll have to prime and paint the ceiling thanks to my dear, dear husband's attempts to help get the job done, but I think it'll be great when we're done. He should take care of the ceiling Wednesday while he's off work and then we'll be ready to put up the bead board (hopefully next weekend). I'm excited to see it all come together and certainly ready to have another room in the house completed.

I guess that's all I've got today.....I've got a busy couple of weeks coming up and then we're heading to Mississippi for Easter weekend to spend time with the outlaws. That'll be interesting if nothing else. When we return from MS, I will work for 2 days and then head to a conference for the rest of the week. From there, it's only like 2-3 weeks until finals!!!

We're half way there!

Weekly Survey

How far along?: 20 weeks
Total weight gain: a little over 2 pounds, I think (still less than when we got pregnant though)
How much does baby weigh?: 10.5 ounces, I assume
Maternity clothes?: heck yeah
Stretch marks?: None that are new ;)
Sleep?: I do well for about 4 hours at a time, but I'm making due
Best moment this week?: Actually starting to LOOK pregnant rather than "just fatter"
Movement?: maybe-- I've felt a flutter or two, but I don't know if that's baby or gas
Food cravings?: Cheese still.....and anything else I can get my hands on it seems
Labor signs?: Thankfully, no
Belly button in or out?: in, but I think it's less deep
What I miss: mojitos!
What I'm looking forward to: Our next OB visit in about 2.5 weeks
Milestone: Making it to week 20 with no spotting, cramping, or cause for alarm. We're truly blessed.

Mark really surprised me last night. He called Tuesday night to tell me he had a date night planned. Wednesday afternoon, he notified me a guy from work and his wife were joining us. No biggie- so much for romance! While at dinner, I looked up and my bestest college friend was standing at the end of our table. After a bit of confusion, I realized she was there to hang with us. We went to House of Blues to see Keith Urban in concert, and it was a lot of fun....despite swollen ankles and being really tired. Mark's a real sweetie for surprising me like that though!

And the winner is...

Parker Claire

We finally settled on a name and have shared with with our families, so now it's time to share it with you. Most people ask how we chose the name, and we don't really have a clear answer. Basically, we wrote a list of names on paper and then "tried them on" for size. Parker is a name I thought of back in December and added to our list-- we never really discussed it. Mark mentioned Claire around the same time, and we've pretty much stuck with it as a middle name ever since.

Neither name is a family name...well, we found out later that Claire is my great grandmother's middle name, but we had no clue at the time. And, while we live in Parker County, that didn't influence our decision either way.

So, there you have it- Miss Peanut has a name!

Tonight, we're heading to Dallas to The House of Blues to see Keith Urban in concert. We're joining one of Mark's co-workers and his wife. Should be a fun evening, but I know I'll be exhausted by the time we leave. Luckily, Mark's driving, so I can sleep the 1.5 hour ride home!

Ho-Hum

Not too much to report today. Mark is home from work, and I am on Spring Break. He's working on painting the nursery...still, and I'm supposed to be getting stuff prepared for our visit with the tax lady (my aunt) tonight. It's amazing looking back at all of the receipts I've collected throughout the year-- all of the medicines, doctors visits, lab tests, etc. in addition to moving expenses, job hunting, etc.

2008 was a busy year for us, and while I know bringing Peanut into the world isn't going to make life calm, I'm hoping she'll at least provide a little more stability for us. That is, we don't plan on moving, starting new jobs, etc. in 2009.

On the name front, I think we've got it chosen. I'm scared to share for fear Mark will change his mind. Give me a week, and we'll see if he's still set on the name, and then I'll share. For now, we'll continue to call her Miss Peanut! ;)

Ugh- the rain!

I know we need rain in our neck of the woods, but does it really have to come with a cold front that dropped our temperatures from a lovely range of 70-85 to this crap where it's currently 41?!? I mean, seriously-- it's the week before spring break, and my mind wants (needs) SUN!

One of the great things about being a teacher is having Spring Break off with the students. While I don't have anything major planned, I will certainly enjoy the rest. Plans include: judging a speech contest tomorrow and Sunday, finish painting the nursery (Mark's job) and taxes on Monday and taking momma to the casino nearby on Tuesday. I've got a friend coming to visit the Sunday towards the end of Spring Break, and she's going to help me hang pictures and decorate around the house-- I'm tired of living out of boxes. Other than that, I plan to clean, rest and take care of me.

In the name department, we're still looking for names. I never thought it would be so difficult to name a child, but when you start thinking of all the possible nicknames, teasing, etc., it can be a bit daunting. We've got it narrowed down to a few, so I'm hoping we can make a decision soon.

lol- it's a ....

I'm sorry it's taken so long to post the great news, but (drum roll, please) it's a GIRL! We're super excited and now get to start the fantastic challenge of choosing a name for our precious Peanut.

I was really nervous going into the appointment. For some reason, I can't get past the fear of something being wrong. I'm 19 weeks and STILL check for spotting each time I use the restroom. Fortunately, all of my fears were squashed with the sonographer found the heartbeat quickly and then showed us the 4 chambers of the heart, 3 blood vessels in the umbilical cord, 2 kidneys and a bladder. We were also able to see the eye sockets, brain formation, spine, and size of other bones. Absolutely everything was perfect! I had a LEEP procedure a few years ago to remove some suspicious cells from my cervix. The doctor was happy to see my cervix is nice and long, so any fears we had about the LEEP causing complications are pretty much gone. The only thing that was mentioned (but the doctor wasn't concerned) was that my placenta is in the rear. Uh, okay....I'm still on target for an August 4 due date and go back to the doctor April 6th.

We've got the nursery planned. We're painting the walls a pretty green called "grassy meadow" and will do the bead board around the bottom portion of the room. Here's the bedding we've chosen for the nursery. We went ahead and bought it since it was on clearance:

Cankles, Cankles! Where are my ankles?!?

After attending a 3 day conference with a group of my students, I noticed I had the most delightful cankles yesterday. I know they're the first of many, but my oh my- how it changed my perception of things.

We go to the OB this afternoon to find out if Peanut is a boy or girl. I'm super excited and hope that Peanut isn't the shy type!!!

One more week!

It's just one more week until we find out if Peanut is a boy or girl. I seem to be carrying the child all over, so many are guessing "boy." The first time we met with our OB, he said "boy." We'll see. What do you think?

In other news, not too much to report. I'm staying terribly busy now that I'm feeling better, and I'm starting to look more pregnant instead of fat. You know, interesting thing about being knocked up-- when you're thin, you look pregnant but when you start out chunky, you just look heavier.