Geez, I have been such a slacker in keeping up with the blog. Really, I am very sorry. It feels like nothing has really been happening, but then when I think about it...tons has happened!

Let's see...the mural in the nursery is finished and it is BEAUTIFUL! Seriously, Adina is one crazy talented lady. Keeping with the nursery for a bit...we have the most amazing lime green armchair glider in the world. I fell in love with this chair on my first trip to USA Baby back in...DECEMBER and my amazing friends all went in together to get it for us. Oh, and they kept it a total surprise from me. Zac AND my mom knew and still...I had no clue. I credit part of their secret keeping success on my lack of brain :) All of this secret keeping was over at our last baby shower which was SO MUCH FUN! We played baby categories scategories and decorated individual panels for a quilt for Sophi and had *the best* ice cream sundaes ever. AND we had a baby bump cake. Ridiculously cute.

What else...Oh! we had a pretty significant dress rehearsal for the big day a couple nights ago. I had about 4 hours of false labor, just practice for the real thing. Zac went into super nesting mode by doing laundry, cleaning our room, rearranging and bringing in the bassinet, all of this while still being incredibly present and supportive through the contractions. I really am a very lucky woman.

Well, that's all that I can think of at the moment. We are plugging along, just waiting for the big entrance! She is considered full term at this point so really...any day now. Maybe today! who knows!

we are just chugging along here! as of last week, sophi was weighing in at a whopping 5 lbs 9 oz and we found hair on top of her head in the sonogram! with just under 4 weeks left, to say that we are getting pretty excited is a huge understatement. we have furniture in the nursery and are just waiting on the beautiful bedroom set from denver then the nursery will be totally done :) i am working on getting all of her clothes washed and ready and stocked. there are a few more things that we need to pick up to feel totally prepared...but who really feels totally prepared?

in the past couple days sophi has been practicing for the big day! she loves to push realllllllllly hard just to let me know that she will do her part when the time comes. my body has been practicing as well and i just have to remind myself that it's a good thing...braxton hicks are important. my birthing ball and zac rubbing my back gets me through really well!

overall, things are going great. thank you to everyone for their thoughts and love. maybe next update will be a little more exciting :)

good morning everyone!

i am awake with some pretty massive heartburn, but with the help of tums and my yoga ball i think i will make it :) not much has changed since last post physically, but boy have we been busy! we had our first baby shower this saturday and it was a beautiful and meaningful experience, not to mention the presents. i didn't want to play games with food in diapers and thank goodness there was none of that. instead we had conversation with words of strength and stories of love from those who have become mothers and encouragement from friends! the food was wonderful, especially the chocolate covered strawberries :)

beyond the encouragement that was shared we received some fantastic gifts. We got a camcorder, a GREAT stroller, diaper genie, changing pad, swaddler, the perfect diaper bag, and some incredibly cute clothes!! everyones generocity was a bit overwhelming, and thank you cards seem inadequate. we spent the weekend taking stock and putting some finishing touches on the nursery and we made our first diaper run!

we are getting more and more excited. zac and i find ourselves just looking at each other giggling when the realization hits, holy crap, only 5 more weeks! thank you to everyone who has supported us emotionally and given such generous gifts.

what a week we have had! i have gone swimming twice and it is as amazing as i had hoped it would be! weightlessness has its perks. also, i am much more buoyant now than i used to be which is super nice! so, not only am i working a bunch of muscles that have been neglected i am getting some much needed vitamin d!

also this week we met with and decided on a doula! her name is vanessa and she is pretty great. she teaches at shawnee mission medical center and has help to deliver 3 or 4 babies a month for the past 5 years. we are excited!

i am feeling pretty huge these days. we spent the evening with zac's fam last night and dan (dad) noticed that i was shifting every two minutes and asked if there was any comfortable position at this point. what is funny is that i hadn't really noticed but now i am super aware of my fidgeting. it's not much of a problem, if i get too bad i just get on my yoga ball and life is good.

well, that is about it for now! just plugging along. looking forward to picking a pediatrician and photographer for newborn photos. if anyone has any suggestions, please let me know!

As I enter into week 31 I am mindful of the poor women who feel miserable through their entire pregnancy. I wouldn't say that I am miserable...just not comfortable. I have started the heartburn and general feeling of discomfort stemming from the lack of room for everything inside of me. My toes look like little sausages and my face is filling out...BUT we had another check up and Sophi is doing great. As of Wednesday she weighed 3.5 pounds! I had the glucose screening and everything was prefect. While I am concerned about my weight gain...no one else is. My doc told me just to stop thinking about it, but I'm pretty sure that isn't realistic.

In other news, we have made a major step in completing the nursery! The walls are 98% finished. All that is left is for a beautiful mural to be painted and the furniture to be moved in! Oh, and a modification to the ceiling fan. But that's it! It feels really good to be this much closer to having a place for Sophia.

Speaking of the little one...boy has she been active! It has been a riot to see her rolling and stretching. It is still a little weird to see a *human being* moving around in side of me. Most of the time I love it, others it's a bit crazy. Especially when that stretch puts a foot right in the bladder or ribs. I really can't complain too much though. I have had it so easy up until this point and it's not like I am bed stricken...just a little uncomfortable :)

That's about it for now! Check out my facebook for pics of the nursery :)

steady as she goes

to keep with the theme of pretty much the entire pregnancy... things are going really well. sophi is really working her muscles and having so much fun...not always fun for me. we went to see a movie last night and threw the *entire* thing she kicked so so hard. just a little distracting! I can't complain too much, it's nice to feel how active she is becoming.

in other news, we have started on the nursery finally! we have painted 4 beautiful colors. they are bright and go so well together. i have to order about 3 more feet of border then we can get the furniture in and it will really start coming together. it feels really good to get her room ready. i will post pictures when it is all done. there are pics of the process on my facebook if you are interested!

well, that's about it for now! congrats to frank and caroline who safely delivered quinn cupar!

I am sitting in our home office sipping prego tea and listening to the birds and windchimes. Besides being tight on money (who isn't these days?) life is very good. I continue to feel great physically and spiritually. I am reading a wonderful book, "Birthing from Within" which is articulating some of my fears and worries, but also providing a perspective that I was searching for. Every chapter I read makes me feel a little more prepared for what is to come.

I am growing and so is Sophi. Yesterday my grandma and aunt were able to feel her kick and roll which is always exciting. Zac and I (and Nana) are getting closer to agreeing on colors for the nursery. Funny how that decision was much more difficult than her name :)

Hope everyone is doing well!

third trimester!

holy cow. i can hardly believe that we are in our last trimester! sophi and i are growing along just splendidly, no real big complaints. i have been seeing my chiro jill twice a week until last week we cut it down to once...and i'm not sure that was the best thing to do. i am a hurting puppy tonight. i have been gardening and making the house look so nice but then paying for it in back pain later. luckily zac is great and has been a massaging fool. my feet and hands get a bit swollen every now and then, my engagement ring no longer fits which is sad. however, my wonderful mother has loaned me my grandmothers wedding ring to wear (while it still fits, too). it is beautiful and is a wonderful reminder of the incredible line of women that sophi is joining.

speaking of the little girl, she has been as active as i have been! she likes to show off as she gains strength and right at this moment she is doing barrel rolls. it doesn't hurt when she kicks, but i can surely tell she is growing!

well, that's about it for now. i know it's twisted, but please pray for hail. we have friends who have gotten work and we have been in contact with the companies who will give us work...we just need to get the call! hope you all had a wonderful mother's day!

Well friends, we just got back from another check up and she is still letting us know that she has a mind of her own! This months sonogram she was curled up tight in a little ball and no poking, prodding, singing, tickling, or flipping was going to convince her to open up. As the wand pushed further into her home she would punch it. Good lord, this is going to be a fun adventure :)

Other than being a bit stubborn, she is growing perfectly. She weighs just about 2 pounds and every bone, part of the brain, and chamber of her heart is developing beautifully :)

I will post the sonogram pics soon!

I am finding it difficult to keep up with the blog, not because I'm too busy, but because not much is changing! I think I have hit a groove in the baby making business. My back is 30x better thanks to Jill and daily stretching. I still have days when it just hurts no matter what I do, but not nearly as often. I have been getting just minor heartburn and that is usually due to poor food choices and is never something that a few tums can't knock out. My cravings aren't too severe or wild... just give me ice cream every afternoon and I'm a happy camper. As this is not the healthiest craving to give into, I have been trying to eat a pudding cup instead of frozen custard. Most days this works but yesterday I knew that it was either going to be ice cream, or a pudding cup THEN ice cream. So my loving father made me a yummy sundae with fudge, pecans, and a cut up reeces. It was amazing. Not 5 minutes after I started eating it Sophi started kicking and kicking. I figured my dad was to thank so I grabbed his hand and she kicked it so hard to say, "thanks papa." He smiled and commented on how excited he is to take her to get a real ice cream cone. He is going to be a great grandparent.

Well, that's about it! We go on Monday for another check up and get to have another sonogram to make sure she is growing at the proper weight. I have an obstinate cord that decided to attach on the side instead of in the middle. Go figure.

Hope everyone is doing well!

24 weeks

Hello friends!

I haven't posted in a while as there hasn't been much to report. No real changes other than the fact that I am growing and growing. Every day Zac tells me that I look more and more pregnant...and quickly follows that up with how beautiful I am :) I have noticed that my hair has gotten curlier, which is kinda nuts.

So, I believe there is one big change to report...for quite a while my placenta was in front of the baby making it difficult for other people to feel Sophia kicking away, but about 2 days ago I am pretty sure we moved some furniture around. Not only have I felt harder and more frequent movements, but everyone else has too! Last night she kicked Zac's hand so hard that it moved! This morning she was so active that I had to get my mom over and she felt her moving and playing. She is practicing her karate as I type this. It's funny that in the past two days my perceptions of her have changed so much. I was sure that she was a pretty calm and sleepy girl, but now I realize that she is moving waaaaay more than I thought she was! It's nice to feel her every few hours or so, especially after I eat something sweet.

Well, that's about it for now. Like I said...not much to report. My back is better and we are just growing along smoothly!

Belly Bump

Ok friends. Here are a few of the long awaited belly bump pictures :) I am just about at 22 weeks and kinda popped. There is no mistaking that I am pregnant now.

Enjoy!

IT'S A GIRL!

Apparently our little one is listening already! I joked that babu would play an April's Fools joke on us and not show us the goods and wouldn't you know...legs were closed, hid behind the placenta, and then covered the goods with her hands! It's a good thing we had lots to look other than between the legs :) We got to see everything and our tech measured fingers, legs, heart valves, parts of the brain, upper lip...you name it. To my relief, everything was perfect. We are having a beautiful, healthy baby girl. She has a pretty cute nose, too!

So, now nesting has kicked in full gear. In the past 24 hours I have done copious amounts of laundry and organizing and cleaning and reading about diapers... this is nuts. I am creating a man-cave for zac in half of the basement so he can have some space for his stuff and play video games without me asking him to turn it down ;) Speaking of, that has been an interesting change for me. Before pregnancy I used to be able to snuggle up and watch him play, read a book in bed next to him while he demolished monsters and bad guys...but now I can't stand to watch him kill things. The violence is too much for me. It is a good release for my introverted man, so we are compromising and creating a space for him to do his thing while I am in the room doing mine. Fun times!

I am growing and growing, starting to get stretch marks which is *so* exciting... (note the sarcasm, please) My best friend is coming into town next week for her spring break and I'm sure there will be a few pictures, but for now here are a few from the sonogram! Enjoy :)

This is Zac.


I beat Bethany to the Blog today, I just wanted to let everyone know that:

TOMORROW,

April 1st,

we will hopefully know whether we will be having a Boy or a Girl!!! :)

...that is unless the baby actually celebrates Aprils Fools Day like Bethany has been suggesting...

The plan tomorrow morning is to get at least a cup of coffee or two inside of Mommy and hopefully have little Babu dancing all the way through the appointment and sonogram. I think its going to be a boy but I think that way deep down inside Bethany is hoping we're going to have a little girl, though I'm pretty sure you'd be hard pressed to get her to admit it ;). I know we're going to update the blog tomorrow with all the good info we find out at the doctor, but I'm pretty sure it's going to be posted ALL over our facebooks as soon as we find out the sex of the baby, ESPECIALLY since the facebook is at Bethany's finger tips with her BlackBerry.

In other baby news, I had a moment of actualization in the car last night. I was driving home from class and took a look in my back seat for a second and realized that in 4 months there's going to be a baby back there. But really, its not just any baby it'll be MY baby, the baby I had help in creating. Its... well... Mind blowing! Haha... I don't know, its hard to explain... But I love it. :)

Well... I think that's it for this evening.


Wait! One Second...

Question:

Do you like this bedset?

20 weeks!!

I am still in shock that I am this far along. My belly is growing and growing, everyday it seems a little bigger. I will get some pics up soon, hopefully not just of me but of baby too! Next week we have another sonogram and I can't wait. We haven't seen our little one since week 6, I am pretty anxious to see it.

I am doing really well overall. No more headaches and no sickness, just a nasty backache. All of this weight in the front is no fun, but I am getting into see a chiropractor who happens to be a great friend and that helps everything!

We stopped by Babies R Us, and if it hadn't been real before, holy moly that changed. Looking at bottles and diapers and clothes and all of the gear...wowza. I just have to take a deep breath and know that it will all work out. I feel overwhelmed when trying to balance baby planning with wedding planning. Good thing I have a great support system :)

Ok friends, time to go taste wedding cake!! Baby and I have been looking forward to this for a while.

We are heading into week 19 and I am getting seriously excited about the next sonogram! Unfortunately we have to wait another 2 weeks. Hopefully we will be able to tell you then if we are having a boy or a girl! Yes we want to know and yes we want you to know, too!

On the health front, this week has been a little rough for me. I have been getting one migraine a week and this week was nasty. It lasted 3 days and the medicine they gave me knocked me out completely and then gave me a nasty allergic reaction. So...I've been pretty miserable for a few days, but thanks to some carrot cake made from scratch (thanks dad) and some serious head massaging from my man I was able to wake up refreshed and headache free today.

The meds that put me to sleep definitely put the baby to sleep for a few days too, but today it was super excited to not be medicated! I woke up to little kicks and went to find Zac. It had settled down by the time Zac's hands got to the right place on the belly and so he just leaned down and started talking to it and that did the trick! Baby started tap dancing for dad and he felt it!! It was a beautiful moment and Zac's face was priceless. Great way to start the day for sure :)

exciting news

week 16 and things are changing like crazy! i am continuing to grow and grow, but right now i'm pretty sure i look fat, not pregnant. i'm sure this will get better in the coming weeks. but, just when i wasn't enjoying being pregnant...i felt a little butterfly in my tummy! it is moving and growing and having a grand time, especially when i drink a little caffeine :)

in other news...zac was brought on full time at the company he has been interning at! so this, his final semester, is spent working full time during the day and class every night except friday with various promos here and there. crazy busy, but just for a few months.

so lots and lots fun stuff happening! we will post baby bump pics when it looks more like a baby bump :)

sorry for the major time lapse in posting, but life has gotten a little crazy. i had a spur of the moment opportunity to travel with my mom for a week before my work conference in texas, so i decided to take advantage instead of sitting at home. i really felt great the whole time i was with my mom, and then she left. she left to go home and i continued on to waco for my conference. the first day of the conference i was a little more tired than i had been. the second day i had an annoying cough. day three i thought my head was going to explode and my lungs were full of mud. no good.

i am back home now. i saw the doctor yesterday and got a perscription. on a much better note...we heard the baby's heartbeat! it was amazing. beautiful. we took a recorder and got the most fantastic sound. we will send it to you if you would like!

*****a couple days later*****

well, i am feeling much much better! the weather is amazing and i am in my second trimester!! gonna go play with jonas outside :)

Not much change to report. We are into our 11th week and I am experiencing fewer days of little to no energy. I have found the foods that I can and can't eat, and as long as I stick to it. Jonas is adjusting quite well as well. He loves snuggling with me on the days that I have to sleep and going to the dog park on the days that I feel good and the weather is nice. He is having the hardest time in the morning when he wants to lay on my tummy and snuggle and jumps on me to get on the bed. When we watch baby shows together he always perks up and looks at the tv when a baby cries. Pretty adorable.

In other news, I have officially gained my first pound! It's odd, I feel like I am 5-10lbs bigger. This is by far the craziest thing that has ever happened to me. Zac is wonderful. Massages every night, giving into my cravings, just loving in every way possible. I really am so lucky to have such a wonderful partner on this journey!

Little update

We met with our doctor today! She has been my doc for a while and I love her so today was a chance for Zac to meet her. She is young, cute and spunky and most importantly, we feel so comfortable with her.

We did a wonderful little pap-smear and pelvic examine. She was feeling around and said, "Yeah, you're pregnant! You're uterus is...PREGNANT!" (read:huge) This made me feel much better as I am only about 10 weeks pregnant and can't wear my regular pants. AND I've lost 4 pounds. Hilarious.

So, that's about it for now. Still growing and having fun!

Week 9

The word is out. All of our families now know and are so excited! Granny Eber takes the prize for most immediate outburst of joy. She jumped up and clapped her hands...pretty cute.

So, we have been getting a few "faq's" and the following should clear some of those up:

Q: Was this planned?
A: Yes and no. From day one we knew having a family was high on our list of things to do...we just didn't think it would happen so soon! Nevertheless, we are thrilled and can't wait to welcome baby babu into the world.

Q: What are you doing about the wedding?
A: Keeping it on October 24, 2009. (Mark your calendars) We want our wedding to be about our commitment to each other and celebrating our love for each other, not a shotgun wedding. Plus, Bethany can never do things in the order that is socially acceptable.

Q: When are you due?
A: The medical professionals say August 11, 2009. Nana (Lisa) says August 4th, 2009.

Q: How is Bethany feeling?
A: SO TIRED. She has been lucky and has not had much morning sickness. She craves Waffle House waffles all of the time.

Ok, so that seems to be all of the questions that we have encountered frequently. If you have any others, let us know!

This year is going to be crazy and exciting for us as Zac graduates, we are having a baby, and getting married. Stay tuned for more on this adventure.