a walk in the park

my wonderful friend Dionne sent me the rest of the photos that she took of us at the beginning of October! Since I'm STILL pregnant and can't post pictures of the baby yet, I figured I'd post these and share the work of my talented friend with all of you :)

happy halloween!

I realized today that I had neglected to buy and carve a pumpkin so..

here's my pumpkin!

happy halloween - I'm secretly hoping to go into labour in the next half hour so I can turn off my lights and eat all my candy myself.. :)

soon there will be 3

at the beginning of the month my dear friend Dionne took some maternity pictures for Michael & I - she is wonderful & talented and we are so thankful that she took these for us.

she sent me these as a preview and then she'll be giving me the rest

i love them already - thank you D! <3

the end of a chapter

It's 2:20pm and I'm sitting here at my office desk for the last time! Today is my last day before my 1 year maternity leave starts (well technically I have some holidays next week so my first day of mat-leave will be November 1).

I have had a countdown going on my little sudoku desk calendar - and today it looks like this:

I have trained my replacement, I have created a very thorough manual, I have received numerous well wishes and some generous gifts, and today I went out for lunch with my co-workers for a delicious Empress of China buffet.

Looking at the date I can't help but think about when I first got this job - I was hired in mid-October of 2010 but didn't start until November - it was a hard time to start a job as 2 years ago tomorrow, one of the dearest people in my life went to heaven - my dear sweet Grandma Klassen. I started this job when I was in a time of deep loss and sadness, and now - 2 short years later, I am leaving this job in a time of much excitement, anticipation and a new little life!

I am thankful for this job that I have had over 2 years - I feel like it was a wonderful place for me, working with great people and really finding ways to use my gifts and talents - especially in things that normally aren't as "exciting" to people - like organizing and doing "menial" office tasks - but I love those things and it helps me thrive, and from the many comments & affirmations I have received - other people notice and appreciate it. It has been fun to work so close to home and to have weekly dates with my Mom-in-law, and have pop by lunches with Michael when he is working in the city. I have had coffee dates with my mom and Phoebe and have had a few "going for coffee"s with Everett, Leah & Rogie. I will miss being here - but I am sooo excited that having this "last day" means we are really just playing the waiting game to when this little one decides to make its debut.

My bags are packed, my office is cleaned out, and now we just wait in anticipation!

home stretch

today has been a quiet day at home
it kind of fell into my lap as I thought I had different plans for the day
but those plans were changed and I ended up with a day to myself!

i have spent the day doing laundry, folding baby clothes and copious amounts of michael's work clothes (that boy has a LOT of work clothes!). I have done dishes, caught up on some tv shows, organized all the resources/handouts we received at our prenatal classes, had a leisurely lunch and edited pictures I took of friends of mine. it has been a good day.

i am in the home stretch - considered "full term" this baby could come any day! however, I am trying to hold that loosely in my mind - since there is also every chance that this baby could come up to 2 weeks late - which would be another 4 1/2 weeks from now!! for a planner and organizer like myself - it's hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that this baby will just come when it wants.

the best thing is that I'm still quite comfortable - so I can wait. but I'm also relatively ready - so I'd be ok with an early birth too! the next 2 weekends are relatively quiet (altho Michael is playing worship both weekends in church). I have purchased birthday gifts for both Michael & Dad T (their birthdays are November 4 & 8 - so right before baby's due date and right on baby's due date!)

Our basement is coming along (thanks to much help, especially from my in-laws) and soon the rolls of carpet that I climb over in our hallway will be glued down to the basement floor. It has been a busy month!

one week of work left - 3 days and one staff lunch to be exact. My office is mostly packed up already and my replacement is ready to go! It is strange to make so many transitions!

I am starting to get butterflies when I think about what it will be like to say our baby's name outloud to our families and then our friends. What it will be like to hold our baby and say it's name outloud to it! I'm going to miss being the only one to feel the punches and kicks all day, but I am happy to have that replaced with the chance to actually sit and stare at it's sweet face all day.

I must also say that I'm selfishly looking forward to a celebratory glass of rum & coke when I get home (don't worry, I know the rules about alcohol and breastfeeding - plus, when I say rum & coke, I really mean a glass of coke with a tiny splash of rum - I don't need much!)

well - I'm going to get back to my nice quiet relaxing day! I have a few more things on my to-do list - including working on packing my bags and burning a copy of my "baby mix" playlist to a CD for my car!

Here's a picture from a couple of weeks ago - must say, I love having a baby bump!

motherhood & social media

there are a lot of good things about social media
I'm still connected to social media in a few ways - blogging and pinterest really
I have a facebook with no friends - so that I can use it to enter contests and other things
I occasionally read peoples tweets on twitter (but mostly just to stay up to date with my close friends jef & emily.. haha!)

I have realized over the last 8+ months of being pregnant that social media can be a good thing, but it can also make you feel insecure, make you feel like you don't measure up, make you feel like everyone wants to tell you about everything in their lives so you should want to share all of that too, that you should have a cuter nursery, read more parenting books, post more verses of scripture or songs in your house, drink green smoothies all day long etc. It is overwhelming!! I'm not even parenting yet and already there are days or times that I don't feel like I'm measuring up!

I have also realized that when you are pregnant people want to know some of the following (so I'll put my thoughts next to the questions, incase any of your are DYING TO KNOW what I think..):
- how long did you try to get pregnant (that can be a very sensitive subject for someone who tried unsuccessfully for months or years. we are thankful that was not our situation, and we know we are very blessed and fortunate that we did not have that struggle that some of our friends have had.)
- are you going to do MSS screening (to find out if your child has special needs - and in some peoples cases - to decide whether or not to terminate the pregnancy - We did not want to do this test.)
- are you going to find out the gender of the baby (we did - altho some people have made it clear to me with their reactions that they don't approve of that - oh well, I like being prepared!)
- if you did find out the gender - are you telling? (we aren't - I like the element of surprising all of our friends at the end of the 9 months! But I have no issue with those who decide to tell!)
- are you going to breastfeed? exclusively? (I will do my best! But I think there are times when Moms need to use formula - and I think they are just as wonderful mothers!)
- are you going to use cloth diapers? (no we are not - Michael made it clear that he had no interest in changing a cloth diaper - and I was on the fence, leaning toward disposable.. so it was a pretty easy decision. But, telling some people this answer has left them with a GASP look on their faces. From what I have read - there are pros and cons to both sides of the argument, and in all honesty - I have no interest in being part of that argument. I say, do what works for you - and if your baby is happy - we have success)
- are you going to labour "naturally"? (aka no medication) For the record - I think medication or not, it is all natural. It is still a baby coming out of your body - whether it is vaginally, by c-section, with no medication or with an epidural - it's still a baby coming out of you!! I am going to attempt to do a medicine free vaginal birth - but I have read about all the medication options and the procedure of a c-section.
- are you going to have a birth plan? Nope (or at least not a written one) - my plan is this - be educated and then trust that the doctor I chose to walk me through my pregnancy is more than qualified to make good decisions/suggestions for my care during my labour.
- doula? midwife? birthing center? (This one is a hot topic these days!! I only wanted a doctor - and I was only going to birth at a hospital. Birth is too fragile of a thing for me to not want to be surrounded by doctors/nurses/and all the necessary tools. As for a doula - when Michael and I talked about it, he felt as though a doula would be doing his job - and he wanted his job to be his. I loved that answer. Instead of a doula, I'm having Michael and my Mom as my support people and I feel like this is the best choice for me!!)
- Ok, so how about parenting - attachment parenting? baby wise? somewhere in between? (this is the other "hottest" topic in my opinion, because everyone has an opinion and a method. To be honest - we have LOVED being able to be an Auntie & Uncle to Josh & Leahs kids and to watch how they parent. We love how they treat their kids, how they respect them and how they have a "schedule" but it isn't rigid. My opinion with parenting "technique" is my same as with diapers - do what works for you, happy mom, happy baby - success. Leah read the book Secrets of the Baby Whisperer - and passed it onto me - I like it because it is more inbetween the "extremes" of parenting - and it seems like something that will work for me. Trial and error I suppose..)

I guess my main point of this rant is this - there are a lot of things out there (blogs, pinterest, facebook, twitter and pregnancy forums) that can make me doubt myself and get anxious - but the best advice I've been given is to just trust myself - and to have a few "safe" people that I can confide in about the struggles, and people that I can ask about how they did things etc. I am surrounded by a multitude of wonderful mothers - maybe it's time to focus more on them and what we do have, then to compare to people I (often) don't even know and allow myself to doubt!

Social media - it can be good, but for me, it's something I need to guard against.

4 weeks today until my due date - and this baby is going to be in my care, in my house, and will be my baby! Trusting myself, praying, and a good support system is the key to success I think :)

Here are 2 pictures of me from today incase any of you were wondering if my belly is growing - it really is! This baby is running out of room...

day 19: underneath

underneath that belly of mine is a place that I am seeing less and less of. my toes are not something that I can see easily and I may or may not have become a bit out of breath taking this picture (it didn't help that I attempted to paint my toenails prior!)

soon I'll be able to see them again, but I'll be too busy staring at a cute little baby!

day 12: together

when I think of the word together I think of my favorite person in the world - my hubby Michael.
when I want to be with no one at all, I still want to be with him
and when I think of my favorite times, they are when I am together with him.

4 years ago we started our official married life together
and we will spend the rest of our lives together
learning new things together
working through our struggles together
celebrating together
growing our family together

together!

This picture is from the day of one of our favorite days together - the morning of our ultrasound!

hold on to me as a we go...

I'm not sure how many other people still watch American Idol, but I do even though after Taylor Hicks won I swore I would NEVER watch again...
This past season was probably my favorite of all the seasons. The judges are more positive and give more constructive criticism as opposed to just being grumpy (aka simon cowell). It was also my favorite season because I was so happy with who won.. a guy named Phillip Phillips (maybe I'll name our baby Thiesse Thiessen, since the double name seemed to work for Phillip). He was my favorite because it was so obvious that he was there because he loved making music, he loved performing because it meant he got lost in the music - he wasn't there to be "adored" or praised for what he did (although that's a nice bonus I'm sure). He was there to just be who he was, and express himself through this creative outlet of music. And he had one of the most attractive qualities a person can have (in my opinion) - a humble spirit. When they announced that he won, he had to sing his new single - Home - and it was emotional to watch (and apparently something I get emotional talking about.. pregnant much?) because he was just so humbled at the support for who he truly is, that he couldn't even make it through singing the whole song and he ended up walking off the stage to cry with his family.
By far my favorite TV moment of 2012.

Anyway, this song has become one of my favorites and it came on this morning when I was watching the weather channel as I was getting ready for the day, and has been playing in my mind since then. I'm  in the process of making a mix CD of songs that make me think about our little baby, and this journey of preparing to be parents and just these months of anticipation and fun. I intend to listen to it in the car during the last few weeks before my due date, and if I decide to listen to music when I'm in labour (I'm undecided as to whether I'll find music enjoyable or annoying when I'm in pain.. time will tell) then it will be part of that mixture of songs. I decided this morning that this song, Home, is going on that mix - partially because I just love it and how it sounds, but also because of a lot of the words.

Recently I have been starting to have some thoughts (I was going to say doubts, or fears, or concerns.. but those all sound like such downers) about what it will really be like to take on the role of being a mom, and being parents, Michael & I together. No one gives you permission to become a parent, no one can really tell you what to do, or fully prepare you for this huge (and amazing) new role. I'm gathering that it is a lot of trial and error. I have been having a lot of dreams lately, and the other day the main thing in my dream was that my baby was born but I kept living life as if it wasn't. I would get up and leave for the day, and I went days without feeding or changing my baby. I woke up in a bit of a panic!

I've always known I want to be a mom, and that I think Michael will be an awesome Dad. We have wonderful examples, especially in our parents and Josh & Leah. We are so excited for this all to really start - but it is also completely new territory. So many unknowns which is both the exciting and terrifying thing about it!

I am very aware that Satan likes to take our doubts and our personal weaknesses and blow them out of proportion. He likes to make me wonder if I can even do this at all! But, I am confident in who I am, in who God made me to be, in Michael, in our support of family & friends. And well, I love this baby so much, and if I'm terrible at everything else, at least it will know it is completely and utterly loved!

So, back to the song, Home - I feel like the words play into all of this journey for me - "hold onto me as we go, as we roll down this unfamiliar road... don't pay no mind to the demons that fill you with fear... just know you're not alone, I'm going to make this place your home."

I am so looking forward to this new stage of life being home.

Hold on, to me as we go
As we roll down this unfamiliar road
And although this wave is stringing us along
Just know you’re not alone
Cause I’m going to make this place your home

Settle down, it'll all be clear
Don't pay no mind to the demons
They fill you with fear
The trouble it might drag you down
If you get lost, you can always be found
Just know you’re not alone
Cause I’m going to make this place your home

does this make anyone else cry? no? just me? oh well :)

this oven is overheating!

while I promise to not ALWAYS write only about my pregnancy (or eventually only about my baby)
mostly because I don't want this to become another one of the thousands of "mommy" blogs
ps. I won't be referring to myself as mommy on here either!
I am writing about my pregnancy again today.

this time - my pregnancy and the world's hottest summer.

On a regular summer day, my favorite thing to do would be something a long the lines of: going for a bike ride, sipping an iced cold lemonade or iced coffee, visiting my family or a friend, blowing bubbles with everett, read on a lawn chair in the back yard, go to the beach... you know, regular summer things.

This summer.. well, the air conditioning is my BFF.

Ever since I was a kid, I had the wonderful talent of turning bright red in the face the moment I got hot. I don't think I've met many people that share this talent with me. But really, my cheeks get very flushed, the moment I get hot, and there is no hiding that. I remember one time, a lady at my old church said to me "oh, you must have got a bad sunburn today" and I replied, "nope, that's just how my skin works." see. talent!

And, let me tell you, being pregnant.. does not help this problem at all.

At work, I work with 2 guys, one who is currently on sabbatical and the other who handles temperature in the complete opposite way as I do. One morning I went to his office and said "are you feeling as hot & stuffy in here as I am?!" (keep in mind, I was wearing a skirt and a t-shirt) and as I said it, I looked at him and he was wearing: Jeans, a long sleeve button up shirt, a vest, and a long sleeved sweater. And he said "no, I'm cold actually." Hmm.. could be a long summer. Thankfully, pregnancy wins out on this one, and he lets me control the AC.

I feel like I'm missing out on summer, but when it is in the 40s with the humidex.. I just can't function. I try to do things, like go to the heritage museum with my family, but the same thing happens.. everyone is doing the activity and there I was, in the AC with the other little hot tamale in our family, Rogie. We were happy sitting on a couch in the AC, but I can't help but feel like I'm missing out!!

BUT - let me tell you. This little baby I am carrying... is completely worth it all! At 23 weeks, I now have less than half way to go. The baby will start gaining more weight each week, and the baby can hear my voice. I have been learning some new songs on the guitar and singing them to this babe.

I love feeling the baby kick, and hiccup. I love knowing when the baby is most likely to be moving and most likely to be sleeping. I love that when my cats lay or push on my belly, the baby kicks back (I can hardly wait for them to be able to feel it! a little taste of their own medicine). I love that the nursery is set up and I can sit in there just thinking and praying. I love that we have named our little bundle and call it by it's name around the house. I love that Michael is more excited to be a dad & meet this little baby than I ever thought he would be! I love that this baby will be born the same year as Roger, and that they will one day wait at the end of our driveway to start their first day of kindergarten together! I love it all really.

And this week, best part of my week - I got my CD in the mail of the pictures of my wonderful little bundle! Most of them are semi-blurry because this baby refuses to sit still. It's a wee bit crazy, in the best way possible! I don't even know what half of the pictures are of, but I love staring at all of them. Pure joy.

 baby thiessen

 spine

 hands

 foot

 bladder

 

the heart

a delicious cupcake

I finally loaded some pictures off the camera onto my laptop and thought I'd post a few from our baby lives these days!

we found out the gender, and decided to have a "reveal party" for our parents & siblings (we are keeping the gender a secret from everyone else as of right now!)

I found this idea on pinterest - I bought mason jars that are all the same size, then I punched a hole thru the lid to put a straw through. I used removeable labels to mark all the jars and then we used them outside for lemonade - kept the bugs out, and if the jar tips over it doesn't spill very easily!

I found the idea on pinterest to do these cute gender reveal cupcakes. i baked them in these silicone heart cupcake liners that my mom gave me, cored them, and filled them with a colored filling (either pink or blue), topped the filling with a bit of cake, then iced them with chocolate icing, sprinkled them with both pink & blue sprinkles and then iced on a white question mark. Pretty cute if I do say so myself (also, how cute is my little cupcake stand? I painted it at brushfire pottery this past winter)

 When you bite into the cupcake you discover the colored filling and then know if it's a boy or girl baby! We made our families wait till after we ate a bbq meal, and then I handed out the cupcakes and counted to 3, they all bit into the cupcake at the same time, and found out! Some people took little bites, but others took a big mouthful and then couldn't really talk or yell! everyone had their own approach :)

 All ready for the party!

 I asked my Mom to bring watermelon and/or other fruit, and she made this cute little watermelon basinett to hold a canteloup baby! too funny!

 Then I showed the nursery off (yes, I know I have 4 months to go.. but I'm already fairly deep into my nesting phase. the nursery is mostly done, and michael & i both spend time just sitting in there, letting the reality of us having a baby sink in!)

I found this whale weather vane thing at the antique store in Johnston's terminal, and my sister Phoebe bought it for me for my birthday this year! Both colors I had picked out (for a boys nursery or a girls nursery) had to match the whale!

 This is my cute change table, with some new baskets and some gifts bags from family member's gifts! My in-laws found this change table on someone's yard, to be given away for free, so they loaded it up and took it home. Dad T reinforced it so that it is super sturdy, and then gave it a good washing. It was already white, which is exactly what I wanted. I bought some drawer handles at ikea, I wanted clear ones because I thought they'd look so cute on a white change table. I already had the change mattress from my friend Lisa since her kids are definitely no longer in diapers!

 I got this figurine from my parents - called "Home: Together our family is home." I love it!

 A few little stuffies for our baby to snuggle one day!

That's all the pictures for now, we also have a beautiful crib set up in the nursery, but right now it's full of clothes! Now to wait till November!

where the Spirit of the Lord is...

I was thinking of alternate titles for this post, and the other one that seemed to fit best was: freedom, my grandma & my pregnancy... so that will be my other working title :)

I am officially in the middle of my 5th month of pregnancy, on Thursday I will officially be 21 weeks. We have had our mid-pregnancy ultrasound, which was amazing (and I am fortunate enough to get a second one next week - the baby wouldn't cooperate & give us some good pictures of their heart, so we had a second ultrasound scheduled 2 weeks later in hopes that this baby will move from it's current breech position). We have set up the nursery, gender specific. We have had a "gender reveal" party to those we are telling (our parents & siblings only). I have felt the baby move, my cats have a weird 6th sense that they know I'm pregnant (I'm convinced of this, and reading things on the internet confirms that other cats are acting the exact same way mine are to their pregnant owners). We are practicing calling the baby by it's potential name and we are spending time talking about the baby and praying for this baby.

so, the connection to the second title of my blog post is because of this. My pregnancy has made me miss my grandma so much more. I am feeling the loss of not being able to tell her I'm pregnant and to have her call me to get updates. I am feeling the sadness of knowing my baby will never be held by their omi, who had the world's perfect legs for baby holding, since they were so long! Everett used to lay out completely on grandma's legs. If I did that.. the baby's head would be hanging off the end of my legs! I miss so much about my grandma.

Today I was caught up in a bittersweet memory of an experience that only I had. When my grandma was sick, very sick at the end especially, I used to bring my guitar either to the hospital or to her condo, and sit and play for her & sing while she either slept or just listened. I only really sang worship songs and hymns, and at certain parts, grandma would say "yes" or just nod along and smile. today at my piano I sat down & flipped to a random spot in my song binder and came across this one that swept me back into this memory

Freedom:


where the Spirit of the Lord is... there is freedom
where the Spirit of the Lord is... there is freedom
lift your eyes to heaven... there is freedom
lift your eyes to heaven... there is freedom


freedom reigns in this place
showers of mercy and grace
falling on every face... there is freedom
Jesus reigns in this place
showers his mercy and grace
falling on every face... there is freedom


if you're tired & thirsty... there is freedom
if you're tired & thirsty... there is freedom
give your all to Jesus... there is freedom
give your all to Jesus... there is freedom

I remember sitting on the chair beside my grandma's hospital bed and singing this song. I remember her with her eyes closed and saying "yes" many times in this song. I remember her praying, thanking God for another day of grace and for his freedom. I remember her lifting her eyes to heaven and longing for more of Jesus. I remember how she lived in his freedom and exhibited his grace and love. I remember her and I so badly wish that one day my baby could learn these things from watching grandma.

I am thankful for these memories, and for the example of my grandma. I am also thankful for this freedom, these showers of mercy and grace that are falling...

falling on every face, there is freedom.

my one and only

I'm not sure if this is the case for everyone, but I have found that one of the most wonderful things about being pregnant is that it has made Michael & I closer than ever!

We had friends of ours over the other day and they asked us if we would call each other our best friend, and of course we easily said YES! They felt the same way about one another, and it was fun to be able to talk about the fact that we weren't just married couples, but we were couples who were best friends and wanted to be with no one else as much as with our spouse. I know that is not the case for every married couple, and so we have just been really grateful for this lately.

Over the last few months, there have been many times where we have just stopped what we are doing or talking about to say, Hey I just really love you!! It's a fun thing to practice doing, making a point to tell your spouse when you think of them, and think about how special they are to you!

This weekend is Father's Day, and although I realize that some people wouldn't celebrate mother's day & father's when they are pregnant, because the baby isn't "here".. that isn't how we roll. The day we found out we were pregnant was the day we officially became parents. So Michael celebrated me on Mother's day, and I intend to celebrate him on Father's day.

When Michael and I were dating he used to write me an email every morning, and also would write me notes during school. So, for Mother's day he wrote me a letter and it was the best gift!! I have read it over many times since then. Telling me why he thought I'd be a great mom, why he loves me, and how much he loves our baby already. It was thoughtful and personal, and made my day. (On a side note.. a very exciting side note, the reality of me being a mom sunk in big time yesterday - I felt my baby move for the first time. Made my heart beat way too fast. I felt it again today, and it is pure magic!!)

Today on the radio I heard one of my favorite songs, a dave matthews song. Michael and I love Dave Matthews. It made me smile to hear it, because it's how I feel about my guy, my one and only. And now that we are parents, the line about teaching our kids to fly just makes me smile, ear to ear. Give it a listen, it's bound to make you smile. Oh, and go tell your man you love him!

You and Me - Dave Matthews
Wanna pack your bags, 
Something small 
Take what you need and we disappear 
Without a trace we'll be gone, gone 
The moon and the stars can follow the car 
and then when we get to the ocean 
We gonna take a boat to the end of the world  
All the way to the end of the world
 
Oh, and when the kids are old enough 
We're gonna teach them to fly
You and me together, 
we could do anything, Baby 
You and me together 
yes, yes
 
You and I, we're not tied to the ground 
Not falling but rising like rolling around 
Eyes closed above the rooftops 
Eyes closed, we're gonna spin through the stars 
Our arms wide as the sky 
We gonna ride the blue all the way to the end of the world 
To the end of the world 
 
We can always look back at what we did 
All these memories of you and me baby 
But right now it's you and me forever girl 
And you know we could do better than anything that we did 
You know that you and me, we could do anything

a favorite hobby

I will never forget the first conversation I had with a girl I became friends with on the School of Discipleship program. We were doing one of those get to know you things, and when her and I first started talking we asked the regular questions, name, where you're from etc. and then she asked me what my favorite hobby was. Hmm.. I have a few, singing, music of any kind, photography, reading, being with friends etc. I asked her and she said "well, I have one main hobby. My favorite thing to do in the world is.. exercise."

get out! That does not even rank in my top 50 favorite "hobbies". Nor would I ever classify it as a hobby. Things I do enjoy that could fall into the exercising category (although I don't love doing them till I'm extremely sweaty, which to me is the mark of an awesome work out):

- going for a walk with my hubby, my sisters, my family, or a good friend
- going for a bike ride, especially at the lake
- swimming (although I am a terrible swimmer)
- walking on the treadmill only if I'm watching TV or a movie or something, that way I don't feel too bad about watching tv for so long

I should also admit that I like wearing my exercising clothes or runners around the house because it makes me feel "sportier" than I actually am. for me, the best part about exercising, is looking the part and feeling awesome that I actually made myself go thru with it after.  But that friend of mine.. she genuinely loves exercising. And not to be skinny, or to change how she looks, which I would say is the motivation for a lot of people. But she loves exercising because she just physically enjoys exerting herself like that. She's kinda like a toddler (bear with me, this isn't an insult!) who loves to just run around.. FOR FUN.

I was thinking about her yesterday when I was drinking some water after I had finally convinced myself to do the prenatal pilates video of Leah's that I'm trying out. I did a few of the segments (the video is broken up into a few 10 minute workouts) and had ended working on my buns and thighs (the phrase buns & thighs for some reason makes me have the mental image of richard simmons on the "sweatin to the oldies" vhs that my mom had years ago..). It always feels good to have accomplished something. To feel your muscles ache after working them out, especially muscles you didn't know you had. I stood there thinking how nice it would be to actually consider exercising among my favorite hobbies.

Oh well, at least if it's not my hobby, I get the extra satisfaction of pushing myself to do it, and accomplishing that goal. And who knows, maybe you all won't be able to recognize me in a few months because you'll be thinking "who's that pregnant lady with those amazing buns!"

ya, that'll be me. so for now I'm just giving you a heads up :)

the ocean or outerspace

yesterday morning will officially go down as one of my favorite moments of life!

We got to hear our sweet little baby's heart beat.

It was our first time meeting our doctor (i'm not using my regular doctor, she is scaling back from obstetrics). I am thankful to have the same doctor that delivered Roger. Leah recommended her, and I am really enjoying her so far. She is friendly and makes me feel comfortable. So, since it was our first time meeting her, I wasn't sure if she was the kind of doctor that takes her patients on time, nor was I 100% sure where her office was (ok, I was 98% sure.. but that's not 100%). So thankfully Michael just went along with my silly request to leave super early (what if it's not in the building I thought it was? What if we can't find parking? what if she takes her patients early? What if I have to fill out all kinds of paper work? etc.. slightly irrational, yes i realize that.)

In the end, we were there at 9:30 for a 10am appointment. And she was running behind, so we only saw her at 10:30. Since Michael spent a lot of his younger life in hospitals and around doctors (his brother had cancer) he is not a big fan of hospitals or doctors offices. So, it was a long hour, but he managed :)

We got aquainted with her, she asked me all kinds of questions, I had a full physical exam and then the best part of the morning.. hearing the heartbeat.

She had a hard time finding it for awhile, and she reassured me that this is totally normal. I mean, it's only the size of a lime. After searching for awhile she said maybe she'd get out the ultrasound machine so at least we could see the heartbeating. And right as she "threatened" to do that, the baby cooperated and she found it. It was strong and fast. (155 beats per minute). But after 10 short seconds, the baby snuck away again. The doctor says we have a very sneaky baby (to which my Dad said he wasn't surprised, since I'm a wee bit sneaky myself). But she was able to find it again, and for longer this time. We decided that it sounded like the baby was at the ocean or in outerspace. Either way.. it was amazing! What a miracle to have a little life inside, only 2 1/2 inches long and full of life. Incredible.

The more time I spend with my nephews, Everett & Roger,  and my "honorary" nephews, Joel, Marcus & Simon I just can't wait to meet this little one. It is so fun to watch babies show their personalities. and then toddlers showing their imaginations and their voices. and then kids showing their creativity, their passions and their humor. I love it all. We have a strong feeling this baby is a girl, and I would love to have one of each gender. Either way, I can't wait!

What was it like hearing your baby's heartbeat for the first time?