Books for Randal

One of the things I look forward to the most is spending time reading to Randal. I know this is such an important thing to so with your child and also a great way to bond with them. I don't have too many memories of being a very small child; however, I do remember a few of the books my mom read to me and the time we spent reading them. Although she thinks all those nights reading weren't fruitful as I don't love to read like she does but I do remember and am thankful for all those nights that she read to me.

The first book for Randal was purchased by my mother very early on in my pregnancy. The book is my absolute favorite, "Love You Forever." The message of this book makes me cry as an adult (especially a pregnant hormonal one!), but as a child it just made me smile. So lets see if I make it through reading this to Randal for the first time without crying.

Recently my friend, Nicole, sent me a gift card to B&N so we could get started on adding to our book collection for Randal. The two books I bought are two that Matt and I remember being read to us when we were little. The book Matt remembers is "Brown Bear Brown Bear," and the one I remember is "The Big Hungry Bear." I guess we both liked books about bears :)

Baby Bedding

In preparation for Randal's arrival I have purchased a sewing machine as I want to make lots of clothes and other cute things for her. One of the projects I plan on tackling is baby bedding. If you know me well you know I am a planner so before we knew that we were having a girl I searched the Internet for boy and girl bedding so I would at least know nursery colors early on. I found a really cute set for a boy but everything I found for a girl was way to frilly or if I liked it but it was way too expensive....did you know baby bedding can cost up to $1000?!?!?!

So in the search for the perfect bedding set I expanded my search to fabric stores in hopes to finding fabric that Matt and I could agree on. We found an adorable pink and blue fish pattern which will be main fabric and a red and pink stripe that can be used for accents.

I have a lot to learn before I tackle the task of making baby bedding. Luckily, I have a friend who is incredible at sewing all things "baby" and she has volunteered to show me the ropes of sewing as well as recommend a local sewing shop that has been willing to answer all of her questions.

19 weeks

Today marks 19 weeks. I have been feeling Randal move around a lot lately and I love it!

According to a popular website, baby center, Randal is about the size of an heirloom tomato and her legs and arms are proportional to the rest of her body.

Below is a pic of the belly this week :)

Its a GIRL!!!!

Matt and I had our "exciting" ultrasound today and found out that we are expecting a little girl. We are absolutely ecstatic and can not wait to meet her. Before we found out what we were having we had names picked out either way so I am happy to announce that our little girl will be Randal Jean. Randal is for both of our fathers and Jean is my middle name as well as my grandma's.

Although I have not had a feeling either way as to what I would have I am somehow surprised that it is a girl. Matt and a couple of my girlfriends were the only ones who thought it was a girl. Both of our families had strong feelings that is was a boy. Statistically we both have many more boys in our families than girls (even though I am not responsible for determining the gender). There are no girls on Matt's side of the family and I am the only girl on my Dad's side of the family.

Randal cooperated very well during our appointment and the ultrasound tech was able to get all the measurements she needed. She is measuring just as she should and everything looked great :) Below are a couple of pics of Randal Jean!

17 weeks

Today marks 17 weeks of pregnancy. Nothing new or fun to report, but I figured I will try to post a picture of the belly every week so you can watch it grow! And yes, I still have and wear my EHS cheerleader shirt (just around the house) for those of you who recognize it :)

Matt is telling me he thinks the belly definitely grew this week. In comparison to last weeks picture I agree. I still haven't told everyone at my work the good news; however, I do happen to work with one of my best friends and she has warned me that people are on to me (due to the growing belly I'm sure). I am hoping to announce it at work after we find out what we are having, but I guess we'll have to see how quick the belly grows.

9/13/09 Fishing

Had my brothers, one of their friends, and Dad join me today for a trip offshore. We fished around 25 miles out for most of the day. Ended up with groupers, triggers, grunts, and pinkys. Another great day on the water, can't wait to do it again!

I'm still trying to figure out a way to attach a car seat to the leaning post......duck tape maybe?

Can't wait for a kid (girl or boy) to take fishing! (and clean the boat afterwards)

Matt

Welcome to our blog!

Hello all~

Matt and I have started this blog to keep our family and friends near and far up to date on our lives. So what's going on in our lives?..... Well, as many of you know we are expecting our first child in late February. We are super excited and have lots to fill you in on :) So here are the updates on our baby thus far:

We had our first ultrasound at 7 weeks 5 days. We were able to see the heartbeat (amazing!!!) and the ob the was able to predict my due date to be Feb. 21. We have lots of birthday's around this time of year so he/she might be a perfect b-day present for someone. Below is a picture from this ultrasound. Matt affectionately referred to his son/daughter as a "blob" for the next few weeks after this.















We had another ultrasound at 10 weeks 4 days. It was amazing to see how much growth had taken place in such a short period of time. Matt stopped referring to his first child as a "blob" after this appointment as you could clearly see a profile. What was funny about this ultrasound was the baby was laying in an awkward position for the ultrasound tech to get her measurements so she kept shaking my belly and making me change positions. But do you think my baby moved? Nope, not one bit!!! I hope this doesn't mean he/she will be hard-headed like their dad. During this ultrasound we saw our baby "wave." I wish the ultrasound tech could have captured that picture, but oh well we were happy with the picture we had already.















Unfortunately we dont get anymore pictures until Sept. 25, but this is the appointment where we will try to determine if we are having a boy or a girl....this is if the baby cooperates which we know how well that went at the 10 week appt! In the mean time we've had appointments at 12 weeks and 16 weeks to listen the the heartbeat. The heartbeat was 166 bpm at 12 weeks and 150 bpm at 16 weeks. Below is a picture of me at 16 weeks. It doesnt look like I have much of a belly but believe me its growing!!! I had to give up buttoning my regular size pants at 10 weeks and I am slowly beginning not to be able to zip either! But thank goodness for bella bands. This is the best maternity product I've seen/used thus far. It allows me to continue wearing my normal pants without everyone knowing they're not buttoned (or zipped!).














So what else to fill you in on?.........Well, I guess some of you want to know how I've been feeling. Since I found out I was pregnant until now I have felt perfectly normal!!! Other than an earlier bedtime and a growing waistline I haven't experienced any of the "normal" pregnancy symptoms.


Also, this isn't only our first child but this will be the first niece/nephew, grandchild, and great-grandchild for our families. Hopefully, our child wont be too rotten as I'm sure everyone will not be able to resist spoiling him/her. Its been so great to see how excited everyone is; however, I am concerned that I might not get to hold my own child until they are a toddler as the grandmas and uncles have been calling dibs on who gets to keep the baby when. Our baby will be very lucky to have so much family near as two uncles live in Wilmington, one set of grandparents will live in Calabash, and my mom will be here during the week as "daycare." On a side note...DAD!! If you are reading this please move down here soon!

Okay, so I guess this was more like a chapter in a book not a blog post. Oh well!!! Please check back frequently as we will have more updates and things to share.

-Katie