Chris got me a new ring!!!

Isn't it beautiful?  I do wish the stones were a bit bigger, but it'll do.  Guess how much he paid for it.  Only $8.12!  That's right folks....this here ring is a gen-uine cubic zirconia purchased from the ever so fancy Claire's Boutique.  I wonder how long it'll take for the "platinum" to turn to rust.  Hmmm...  So, here's the deal.  I have not been able to wear my wedding rings for the past couple of weeks because my fingers are swollen due to the extreme Texas heat and, oh yeah, pregnancy.  I just felt so weird not having my rings on.  For one, I'm so proud to actually have those rings because of what they mean.  But also, I hate thinking that someone might see me with a slight baby bump and no wedding rings and get the wrong idea.  I know it shouldn't bother me, but it did.  So, this was my solution.  Now, I need to be on the lookout for some sort of band....I still feel a little weird just being "engaged." :) 

15 Year High School Reunion!

This past weekend, we had our 15 year high school reunion.  Ashley and I drove down to El Dorado on Friday and stayed with our friend, Adriana.  Since our parents don't live in El Dorado anymore, we had not been back in a while.  It was so fun seeing the town again.  It seemed pretty much the same and it was fun reminiscing about the good 'ole days! 

Having fun taking silly pictures on the way to El Dorado :)

We made it!  We were surprised to see the population had gone down since we left in '96.  It used to be around 25, 000.

Here's our old house.  It still looked so nice!  Ashley and I were so tempted to ring the doorbell and ask if we could look around inside.  I can picture every square inch of the inside.   

Beautiful Ashley :) 

Ashley, Adriana, and me getting ready to leave for the main event of the reunion. 

 Having fun with some of our high school friends (Adriana, Allison, Laura, Ash, Noelle and baby Collin, Me)

Noelle's baby was so sweet because he kept sucking his thumb.  I love it when babies suck their thumbs!!!  He was so much fun to hold!

Adriana, Allison, Ashley

Adriana, Allison, Carrie :)

 Group photo.  This is not everyone in our class.  Since it was a 15 year reunion, the crowd was a bit smaller, but still so much fun!!

"Remember when we went to that party and you..."  Ha!

Dancing all night long!  I did not partake, but it was fun watching everyone else!  The songs were all from our high school days.

34/15

Yesterday I turned 34 years old and 15 weeks pregnant :) We were in El Dorado, AR for our 15 year high school reunion, so it was fun being with Ashley as well as a lot of our high school friends on our birthday.  I will do a separate post on the reunion. Our friend Adriana and her mom got us a birthday cake which was such a nice surprise. Adriana's little girl is adorable and wanted to be in the picture with us :) Adriana also took us out to lunch on the square, too.

Pregnancy Highlights

This is what I wore to the main event of our reunion.  My mom got me this outfit and I love it! 



 

How Far Along: 15 weeks

Size of baby: 4 inches, 2 1/2 oz, and about the size of an orange

Weight gain: Hmmm...after this weekend....I'm sure I gained something!

Maternity Clothes: Yes! I definitely have to wear maternity pants and I have been wearing maternity shirts, but I can also wear some non-maternity shirts, too.

Gender: Don't know yet. I'm guessing boy, though.

Movement: Not yet

Sleep: I have to get up several times to go to the bathroom, but I can always go back to sleep.

Symptoms: I've noticed that my feet have started to swell at times.  I'm sure it has to do with the extreme heat we've been having, but I'm still going to ask my doctor about this.  It seems a little early to have swollen feet.  If I prop my feet up, the swelling goes down.  Little worried about when school starts! 

What I miss: Not a thing! 

Best Moment this week: Going to an event where I actually look pregnant!
What I am looking forward to: I just really can't wait to feel those first movements of the baby and to find out what we're having!

14 weeks, 5 days

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 14 weeks, 5 days

Size of baby: 4 inches, 2 1/2 oz

Weight gain: Still about 5 pounds so far.
Maternity Clothes: Yes! I definitely have to wear maternity pants and I have been wearing maternity shirts, but I can also wear some non-maternity shirts, too.

Gender: Don't know yet. I'm guessing boy, though.

Movement: Not yet

Sleep: I have to get up several times to go to the bathroom, but I can always go back to sleep.

Symptoms: What I find really amazing is that I have none of my Crohn's Disease symptoms.  I am so thankful for this because before I got pregnant I always worried that my body would not be able to properly nourish a baby.  I love being able to eat a meal and not be in the bathroom 5 minutes later.  That may be TMI, but think about this.... If this was the case for you for YEARS, wouldn't you be pretty excited, too?  I actually ENJOY food now.  I honestly don't remember the last time I have felt this good.  It's just amazing how the body works...it's like my body knows that I have to keep nutrients in to nourish my baby.  AMAZING.    

What I miss: I have been trying to eat really healthy. It's been a little bit of a struggle keeping away from junk and really paying attention to what I eat :)

Best Moment this week: Entering the 2nd trimester!
 What I am looking forward to: I just really can't wait to find out what we're having!



Hello 2nd Trimester and dreaming about the nursery...

I have officially entered the 2nd trimester. I can't believe it!! Today was our 2nd OB appointment. Chris went with me so he could meet my doctor. It was very quick and easy. The main thing is that we got to listen to our baby's heartbeat again. I will never get tired of hearing that sweet sound :) My blood test results came back and they were all within normal range, so I just do another blood test in 2 weeks and hopefully that will rule out most of the common birth defects. Lots of people have asked if we plan to find out the sex of our baby or have it be a surprise. The answer is YES, we do want to find out! Getting a positive pregnancy test is surprise enough for me! That appt. will be at 20 weeks....can't wait! Now onto the nursery. Below are pictures of my 3 most favorite cribs:




They are from JC Penney. I had no idea JC Penney carried baby furniture. I have been fantasizing about our baby's nursery for years, and now I really get to start planning it! I love these cribs because they all got great reviews and are really good quality. I have looked online at lots of other places, but these are my favorites! At Penney's, you can purchase the room "package" which comes with the crib, changing table, and dresser at a bit of a discounted price. I love all of the furniture pieces each crib comes with. My favorite crib is the first one because I love that you can see a bit of the dust ruffle at the bottom :) I think we would go with the dark brown color in whichever crib we choose. Oh, and they're all convertible cribs which will give it YEARS of use. We're not ready to purchase anything yet, but a mommy-to-be can dream can't she?

Blog Makeover!

I want to thank my friend, Casey for making my blog look FABULOUS!!!  I told her, "Just make it look cute."  This is what she did!  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!  Now Ashley wants a new look to her blog, of course :)  Thank you, Casey!!!

My first baby items!

My mother-in-law came for a visit this past weekend.  She said she wanted to do some "baby shopping," but I really didn't know what we could get since it's still pretty early.  Well, we got PLENTY!!!  I got my diaper bag, my baby book, a pregnancy journal, 3 new pairs of comfy "school" shoes, and maternity clothes!  I loved picking out my diaper bag.  I wanted something that could almost pass for a purse, but was functional and had enough pockets for baby.  We found it.  I LOVE this bag!  It's a metallic, pewter color.



Then I really wanted to find a baby book because I could start writing in it now and I didn't want to get behind on documenting anything.  We found the perfect book!  It'll work for a girl or boy and has so many neat pages that will be fun to fill out.  Lora also found a pregnancy journal.  Even though I have this blog to document everything, it'll be nice to have a book that is only about the pregnancy.  I have already started filling pages out, of course :)                           

                                                                                                                            

                                         

Oh, and here is a picture of our baby's first set of clothing.  Chris thinks this is the best thing ever :)  The hat and booties are so cute because they are TINY! 

And, my birthday present from Lora.  Isn't this bracelet soo cute?  It has pink and blue stones and a baby carriage in the middle :)

We had a great weekend with you, Lora!  Thank you for all of my goodies!!!