Friday, March 18, 2011

Seventeen Weeks

I'm seventeen weeks along today!

Size
turnip
5 inches long, weighs about 5 oz.

Developments
skeleton changing from cartilage to bone
umbilical cord growing stronger/thicker
joints can move
sweat glands are forming

Heartbeat
140 bpm (as of 3/10/11)

Cravings
nothing this week

Weight Loss/Gain
Gained 6 lbs (as of 3/10/11)

Side Effects
Weird dreams!

Monday, March 14, 2011

I'm sure most everyone reading has heard the news, but just in case you haven't...


Last Thursday, on our fourth anniversary, we had our sixteen week appointment. We knew this was the appointment where we were supposed to find out the gender, but honestly, I didn't think the doctor would be able to see. When she first began looking, she said she had her work cut out for her because of the positioning. The baby turned right in time, however, and she was able to get a good look. When she told us it was a girl, I absolutely could not believe it. I had hoped so much for a girl, but I didn't let myself think about it too much because I didn't want to be disappointed if it was a boy. Honestly, we want one of each, so I would've been happy either way, but knowing that I am going to get my girl just makes it so sweet! After we found out, I had to go back to school for Open House, but first I ran by Babies R Us very quickly to pick out her first outfits. After Open House was over, Lucas and I enjoyed a quick anniversary dinner and then headed over to my parents house to let them know the good news! Of course, they were thrilled. Lucas also talked to his family and I talked to my grandparents. We're all so excited to have a little girl in the family! Even the weenie dogs are excited for a little sister. :)

While most of the good news we've shared on Facebook before the blog, we did save one little piece of information for our blog readers first. Yesterday, Lucas and I decided on a name for our sweet little girl. It's the name we've been leaning towards for quite awhile, but we just wanted to be 100% sure it was the right one before we announced it. Here it is...


Yes, like the girl from the Clifford books. :) Since I'm a librarian, though, it makes sense, don't you think? Emily has been a favorite girl name for a very long time, as has Elizabeth. If my brother had been a girl, he would've been Emily. My parents almost gave me Elizabeth as a middle name, and it's been one I've always loved. We are very excited to welcome our little EET in August. Now that we know we're having an Emily rather than an Andrew, we can start planning the nursery!

Lucas hasn't had a chance to scan in the gender proof yet, but once he does, we will post it.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Sixteen Weeks

I'm sixteen weeks along today!

Size
avocado

Developments
legs more developed
head more erect
ears and eyes close to final position
patterning of scalp has begun
toenails are growing

Heartbeat
140 bpm (as of 3/10/11)

Cravings
nothing this week

Weight Loss/Gain
Gained 6 lbs (as of 3/10/11)



Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Tomorrow is potentially a really big day! Other than the fact that it's our four year anniversary, it's also the day we are supposed to find out if Baby Takala is a boy or a girl! I am hoping that little baby will be cooperative so that Dr. Staud is able to really get a good look. On one hand, it feels like no time at all has passed since we found out about our baby. I truly can't believe I'm already almost at 16 weeks. On the other hand, though, it feels like we've gone so long without knowing if it's a boy or a girl. I don't know how the people do it who don't find out! I am such a planner that there's no way I could do this whole thing without knowing. I'm just so ready to start planning the nursery, buying cute little clothes, finalizing the name, and personalizing everything! I haven't wanted to start on the nursery too much because I just haven't had the time or energy to plan two separate nurseries, and I definitely haven't wanted to put too much thought and time into one over the other and then find out baby is the other gender, instead. Next week, we're heading down to Fredericksburg for a little babymoon of sorts, so I really hope I can do some looking around down there for unique bedding and nursery decorations.

Anyway, it's time for this mama to head on to bed. I need to get all the sleep I can before it's no longer an option! I'll be posting soon about tomorrow's appointment!

Friday, March 4, 2011

Fifteen Weeks

I'm fifteen weeks along today!

Size
apple

Developments
baby is sensitive to light
taste buds are forming
gender is now obvious
legs are now longer than arms
air sacs in lungs are beginning to develop

Heartbeat
157 bpm (as of 2/14/11)

Cravings
Schlotzsky's sandwiches

Weight Loss/Gain
Gained 3 lbs (as of 2/14/11)
Up 1 lb total


No picture this week. Will post at 16!

Friday, February 25, 2011

Fourteen Weeks

I'm fourteen weeks along today!

Size
lemon

Developments
developing fine hair-lanugo-all over the body
can make facial expressions
kidneys are producing urine
arms and legs now proportional to body

Heartbeat
157 bpm (as of 2/14/11)

Cravings
Nothing in particular

Weight Loss/Gain
Gained 3 lbs (as of 2/14/11)
Up 1 lb total


First belly pic:
I'm just now starting to show, but in all honesty, this was taken right after dinner. :)

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

As some of you know, I've been blogging for a long time. I started in May 2004 and was pretty consistent for a few years. The last couple of years have been harder for me to find time and inspiration to blog, but it's definitely a goal of mine, especially with the baby on the way. I really love reading those old blog entries from my first couple of years. Blogging is such a valuable thing because it's a keeper for so many memories that would be completely forgotten otherwise. Part of me hates that I started a new blog, but I just felt like starting a fresh blog might give me a fresh desire to start blogging again.

Just because this blog is a "family" blog, it doesn't mean it's only going to be about our family. I still want a place to talk about things that are important to me, things that are completely trivial, things that are funny, and things that have happened that maybe aren't so great. There's no way that I can keep up with both blogs on a regular basis, though, so while this blog is about our family, it's still mine...and sometimes Lucas will show up with a post, too.

All that to bring me to this. My blog friend Leslie is hosting a series of Wednesday topics to blog about. Today's topic is "A Day in the Life." So, for all you who wanted to know, here's what a typical day looks like for me. I can't wait to see how this changes once our little one is here!

Monday-Friday:
5:00- Alarm begins going off. I begin hitting snooze.
5:40- Finally drag myself out of bed and into the shower. Lucas takes the pups out to potty.
6:00- Get out of the shower. Get back in bed for 20-30 minutes to "let my hair dry a bit" while watching News 8 Daybreak.
6:30- Dry and fix hair. Regret ever cutting bangs.
6:50- Try to figure out what on earth to wear and get dressed.
7:00- Hear Good Morning America come on and rush down the stairs.
7:03- Try to pack some kind of decent lunch and get something laid out for dinner.
7:12- Head out the door and pray the traffic won't be bad.
7:30- Arrive at school just in time (on a good day.)
7:40- Eat breakfast while checking email.
7:45-12:00- Work. Do whatever needs to be done for the day. Tech stuff, book ordering, teacher collaboration, storytime, you name it.
12:00- Eat lunch. Read blogs. Realize that I never put my makeup on.
12:30-3:30- Do more work as mentioned above.
3:30-3:45- Try to get things wrapped up so I can leave.
3:45- Leave school! (Sometimes this happens closer to 4:00 or after.)
3:55- Monday- Grocery Store, Wednesday- Chiropractor, Some Fridays- Visit grandparents
4:00 or 5:00- Arrive home. Eat snack. Wait for Paula Deen to come on TV. Waste time that I could be using to nap.
5:00- Begin working on dinner. It will almost certainly be something grilled, slow cooked, or boiled.
5:45- Lucas gets home. Dogs begin play fighting under my feet because they're SO EXCITED!
6:00- Eat dinner while watching the news. Dogs beg for food.
6:15- Lucas does dishes, I sit on couch.
6:30-9:00- Watch TV, do homework, work on blogs, sometimes go for a walk. This varies. Not by much, though. We're pretty boring.
9:00- Head up to bed. Sometimes this happens closer to 10:00, but I shoot for 9:00.
9:30- In bed, reading Bible on iPad.
9:45- Lucas lays down and immediately falls asleep.
Various times- Get up to go to the bathroom. At least twice. Thanks, baby!

The weekends are a little less scheduled, but just as busy. Saturdays are mostly used for homework and shopping, Sundays are church all day, with the exception of a couple hours in the afternoon. So there you have it. A day in the life of me! Exciting stuff, I know. I'm really ready for the summer, wherein this schedule will change dramatically. At that point, I will be doing mostly homework, a good amount of swimming, and trying to stay cool.