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.