Joy..

New Blog

2012-01-14T16:55:00.000-05:00

I have obviously been neglecting this blog, and part of the reason for that is that I have started a new blog called The Paper Heart Studio. This blog has lots of crafting, baking, and party ideas, plus stuff I make and general family updates. Please add this new blog to your blog roll and visit me here.

2010-12-23T10:34:00.001-05:00

Brighter Side

2010-11-03T21:20:00.000-04:00

"Brighter Side"

Sometimes
I forget that you're not here
Can't believe it's been a year
Since you flew away
And I never got to say goodbye
Good times
Hangin' out til the break of dawn
Listening to Bob
And singin along
Every little thing it's gonna be
It's gonna be all right...

I know that you're gonna fly
Somewhere brighter on the other side
And one day I'm gonna be there too
Where the sun is shining and the water's blue
I know that you're gonna fly
Somewhere brighter on the other side
I know you're somewhere where you're finally free
You'll always be a part of me
Like the moon is to the sea

They say you don't know
A good thing till it's gone
But I got to say they're wrong
I knew you were a good friend
A good friend all along
I wish the world wouldn't be so cold
As to take such a beautiful soul
But despite it all I know we gotta carry on

I know that you're gonna fly
Somewhere brighter on the other side
And one day I'm gonna be there too
Where the sun is shinin and the water's blue

I know that you're gonna fly
Somewhere brighter on the other side
I know you're somewhere where you're finally free
And you'll always be a part of me
Like the moon is to the sea

I know that you're gonna fly
Somewhere brighter on the other side..
Always be a part of me...

If I could rewind time
Then I'd like to let you know
Just one thing before your time go
That every moment you were living was a blessing to me
And I saw inside of you things that others couldn't see
Now people put you down for the way that you lived
But those people never knew you the way that I did
Don't be ashamed of who you were of how you died
I know you just wanted to find the brighter side...

I know that you're gonna fly
Somewhere brighter on the other side
And one day I'm gonna be there too
Where the sun is shining and the water's blue
I know that you're gonna fly
Somewhere brighter on the other side
I know you're somewhere where you're finally free
And you'll always be a part of me...

I know that you're gonna fly
I know that you're gonna fly

What I'm Reading

2010-08-21T22:21:00.002-04:00

Hello, it's been a while. This is a lot I know, but it's been 4 months since my last post! I am probably forgetting some here, but oh well!

Synopsis
Delia Hopkins has led a charmed life. Raised in rural New Hampshire by her widowed father, Andrew, she now has a young daughter, a handsome fiancé, and her own search-and-rescue bloodhound, which she uses to find missing persons. But as she plans her wedding, she is plagued by flashbacks of a life she can’t recall. And when a policemen arrives to disclose a truth that will upend the world as she knows it, Delia must search through these memories – even when they have the potential to devastate her life, and the lives of those she loves most. Vanishing Acts is a book about the nature and power of memory; about what happens when the past we have been running from catches up to us… and what happens when the memory we thought had vanished returns as a threat.

jodipicoult.com

I have been a lot more into photography since Caroline came along and have joined a Facebook site that gives advice to mediocre women like myself who want to be able to take good snapshots. I have also gotten several books from the library that I have been looking at for picture ideas and this one is one of my favorites. It's not really a picture book like the ones that follow, I actually have to read it. But it gives practical advice on how to take and edit pictures.

I think the cover pretty much says it all here.

I have been interested in making my own baby food, since Caroline came along. I haven't done it yet, because Dusten keeps buying stuff! Darn those coupons!

This one has lots of good recipes and the pictures are awesome too.

This is the book by Nick Kelsh who is on the Facebook page I was telling you about. This book would be a staple in my library if I had one. It tells you how to frame and take a great shot using any kind of camera.

This book also has pictures by Nick Kelsh. There is one picture in the book that matches almost exactly the one I took of Caroline at Silver Lake.

Just finished this book on my way to work this morning, and as soon as the last cd finished I put in the first one again. I will probably listen to it a couple of more times before I take it back. It's that good. If you are a human and you can breathe, you should read it at least once. Below is the link to a pdf file that kind of outlines the habits.
http://admin.conference.uic.edu/2007/documents/Motivating%20and%20Rewarding%20Your%20Employees%20ADDL%20HANDOUTS/7HabitsFlyer.pdf

habit 1 - be proactive®
This is the ability to control one's environment, rather than have it control you, as is so often the case. Self determination, choice, and the power to decide response to stimulus, conditions and circumstances
habit 2 - begin with the end in mind®
Covey calls this the habit of personal leadership - leading oneself that is, towards what you consider your aims. By developing the habit of concentrating on relevant activities you will build a platform to avoid distractions and become more productive and successful.
habit 3 - put first things first®
Covey calls this the habit of personal management. This is about organising and implementing activities in line with the aims established in habit 2. Covey says that habit 2 is the first, or mental creation; habit 3 is the second, or physical creation. (See the section on time management.)
habit 4 - think win-win®
Covey calls this the habit of interpersonal leadership, necessary because achievements are largely dependent on co-operative efforts with others. He says that win-win is based on the assumption that there is plenty for everyone, and that success follows a co-operative approach more naturally than the confrontation of win-or-lose.
habit 5 - seek first to understand and then to be understood®
One of the great maxims of the modern age. This is Covey's habit of communication, and it's extremely powerful. Covey helps to explain this in his simple analogy 'diagnose before you prescribe'. Simple and effective, and essential for developing and maintaining positive relationships in all aspects of life. (See the associated sections on Empathy, Transactional Analysis, and the Johari Window.)
habit 6 - synergize®
Covey says this is the habit of creative co-operation - the principle that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, which implicitly lays down the challenge to see the good and potential in the other person's contribution.
habit 7 - sharpen the saw®
This is the habit of self renewal, says Covey, and it necessarily surrounds all the other habits, enabling and encouraging them to happen and grow. Covey interprets the self into four parts: the spiritual, mental, physical and the social/emotional, which all need feeding and developing.

from: http://www.businessballs.com/sevenhabitsstevencovey.htm

I am not into witches, wizards or vampires, but I thought Harry Potter was good. I thought I would give this a shot. I was not impressed.

Isabella "Bella" Swan moves from sunny Phoenix, Arizona to rainy Forks, Washington to live with her father, Charlie, while her mother, Renée, travels with her new husband, Phil Dwyer, a minor league baseball player. Bella attracts much attention at her new school and is quickly befriended by several students. Much to her dismay, several boys compete for shy Bella's attention.
When Bella is seated next to Edward Cullen in class on her first day of school, Edward seems utterly repulsed by her. He disappears for a few days, but warms up to Bella upon his return; their newfound relationship reaches a climax when Bella is nearly run over by a fellow classmate's van in the school parking lot. Edward saves her life when he instantaneously appears next to her and stops the van with his bare hands.
Bella becomes determined to find out how Edward saved her life, and constantly pesters him with questions. After a family friend, Jacob Black, tells her the local tribal legends, Bella concludes that Edward and his family are vampires who drink animal blood rather than human. Edward confesses that he initially avoided Bella because the scent of her blood was too desirable to him. Over time, Edward and Bella fall in love.
Their relationship is disturbed when another vampire coven arrives in Forks. James, a tracker vampire who is intrigued by the Cullens' relationship with a human, wants to hunt Bella for sport. The Cullens attempt to distract the tracker by splitting up Bella and Edward, and Bella is sent to hide in a hotel in Phoenix. There, Bella receives a phone call from James, who claims to be holding her mother captive. When Bella surrenders herself, James attacks her. Before she is killed, Edward, along with the other Cullens, rescues her and defeats James. Once they realize that James has bitten Bella's hand, Edward successfully sucks the poison from her bloodstream and prevents her from becoming a vampire, after which she is brought to a hospital. Upon returning to Forks, Bella and Edward attend their school prom and Bella expresses her desire to become a vampire, but Edward refuses.
stephaniemeyer.com

A Short Synopsis
Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate - a life and a role that she has never questioned… until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister - and so Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable… a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves. My Sister's Keeper examines what it means to be a good parent, a good sister, a good person. Is it morally correct to do whatever it takes to save a child's life… even if that means infringing upon the rights of another? Is it worth trying to discover who you really are, if that quest makes you like yourself less?
jodipicoult.com

Short Synopsis
Jack St. Bride was once a beloved teacher and soccer coach at a girls' prep school - until a student's crush sparked a powder keg of accusation and robbed him of his career and reputation. Now, after a devastatingly public ordeal that left him with an eight-month jail sentence and no job, Jack resolves to pick up the pieces of his life. He takes a job washing dishes at Addie Peabody's diner and slowly starts to form a relationship with her in the quiet New England village of Salem Falls. But just when Jack thinks he has outrun his past, a quartet of teenage girls with a secret turn his world upside down once again, triggering a modern-day witch hunt in a town haunted by its own history…
What others are saying about Salem Falls…

jodipicoult.com

Synopsis
Moving seamlessly from psychological drama to courtroom suspense, Plain Truth is a fascinating portrait of Amish life rarely witnessed by those outside the faith. When a young Amish teen hides a pregnancy, gives birth in secret, and then flatly denies it all when the baby's body is found, urban defense attorney Ellie Hathaway decides to defend her. But she finds herself caught in a clash of cultures with a people whose channels of justice are markedly different from her own… and discovers a place where circumstances are not always what they seem.

jodipicoult.com

Even though I didn't like Twilight, I kept reading thinking maybe it would get better. It didn't really. Maybe it's just because it's written for teenagers, and isn't really up to my reading level. I still reserved the third book from the library.

For Bella Swan, there is one thing more important than life itself: Edward Cullen. But being in love with a vampire is even more dangerous than Bella could ever have imagined. Edward has already rescued Bella from the clutches of one evil vampire, but now, as their daring relationship threatens all that is near and dear to them, they realize their troubles may be just beginning...

stephaniemeyer.com

Synopsis
Harvesting the Heart explores the story of a young woman overcome by the demands of having a family. Written with astonishing clarity and evocative detail, convincing in its depiction of emotional pain, love and vulnerability, Harvesting the Heart recalls the writing of Alice Hoffman and Sue Miller.
Paige has only a few vivid memories of her mother, who left when she was five. Now, having left her father behind in Chicago for dreams of art school and marriage to an ambitious young doctor, she finds herself with a child of her own. But her mother's absence, and shameful memories of her past, make her doubt both her maternal ability and her sense of self-worth.
Out of Paige's struggle to find wholeness by searching for her mother and, eventually, returning to be a mother, Jodi Picoult crafts an absorbing novel peopled by richly drawn characters. Any mother—or child—cannot help but to relate to the issues and emotions explored within this book.
jodipicoult.com

Synopsis:
In this emotionally charged novel, Jodi Picoult delves beneath the surface of a small town to explore what it means to be different in our society.
In Sterling, New Hampshire, 17-year-old high school student Peter Houghton has endured years of verbal and physical abuse at the hands of classmates. His best friend, Josie Cormier, succumbed to peer pressure and now hangs out with the popular crowd that often instigates the harassment. One final incident of bullying sends Peter over the edge and leads him to commit an act of violence that forever changes the lives of Sterling’s residents.
Even those who were not inside the school that morning find their lives in an upheaval, including Alex Cormier. The superior court judge assigned to the Houghton case, Alex—whose daughter, Josie, witnessed the events that unfolded—must decide whether or not to step down. She’s torn between presiding over the biggest case of her career and knowing that doing so will cause an even wider chasm in her relationship with her emotionally fragile daughter. Josie, meanwhile, claims she can’t remember what happened in the last fatal minutes of Peter’s rampage. Or can she? And Peter’s parents, Lacy and Lewis Houghton, ceaselessly examine the past to see what they might have said or done to compel their son to such extremes. Nineteen Minutes also features the return of two of Jodi Picoult’s characters—defense attorney Jordan McAfee from The Pact and Salem Falls, and Patrick DuCharme, the intrepid detective introduced in Perfect Match.
Rich with psychological and social insight, Nineteen Minutes is a riveting, poignant, and thought-provoking novel that has at its center a haunting question. Do we ever really know someone?

jodipicoult.com

In case you can't tell, I like Jodi Picoult. There are still several of her books that I haven't read, but it's because the library doesn't have them on Audio CD. I would actually have to read it. That might be painful.

Everything by Michael Buble

2010-08-12T06:47:00.000-04:00

You're a falling star, you're the get away car.
You're the line in the sand when I go too far.
You're the swimming pool, on an August day.
And you're the perfect thing to say.

And you play it coy but it's kinda cute.
Ah, when you smile at me you know exactly what you do.
Baby don't pretend that you don't know it's true.
'cause you can see it when I look at you.

[Chorus:]And in this crazy life,
and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, you make me sing.
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.

You're a carousel, you're a wishing well,
And you light me up, when you ring my bell.
You're a mystery, you're from outer space,
You're every minute of my everyday.

And I can't believe, uh that I'm your man,
And I get to kiss you baby just because I can.
Whatever comes our way, ah we'll see it through,
And you know that's what our love can do.

[Chorus]

So, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
So, la, la, la, la, la, la, la

[Chorus:]

And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, you make me sing.
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.
You're every song, and I sing along.
'Cause you're my everything.
Yeah, yeah

So, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
So, la, la, la, la, la, la, la

Low Fat Recipe

2010-05-18T02:07:00.000-04:00

On Thursday night I made Banana Bread. On Sunday afternoon I went to heat up my hot dog for dinner and the butter I had put in the microwave to soften was still there! Oops. But I must say that the Banana Bread tastes pretty much the same without the butter. Maybe I will do this on purpose next time?

The Day Before You by Matthew West

2010-05-05T07:44:00.003-04:00

I had all but given up on finding the one
that I could fall into
On the day before you
I was ready to settle for less than love
and not much more
There was no such thing as a dream come true
But that was on the day before you

Now you're here and everything's changing
Suddenly life means so much
I can't wait to wake up tomorrow
and find out this promise is true
I will never have to go back
to the day before you

In your eyes I see forever
and it makes me wish that my life never knew
the day before you
Oh, but heaven knows those years without you
were shaping my heart for the day that I found you
And if you're the reason for all I've been through
then I'm thankful for the day before you

Now you're here and everything's changing
Suddenly life means so much
I can't wait to wake up tomorrow
and find out this promise is true
I will never have to go back
to the day before you

It was the last day that I ever lived alone
And I'm never going back
No, I'm never going back

Now you're here and everything's changing
Suddenly life means so much
I can't wait to wake up tomorrow
and find out this promise is true
I will never have to go back to
I will never have to go back to
the day before you the day before you
I'm never going back
I'm never going back
to the day before you

What I'm Reading

2010-04-24T08:14:00.000-04:00

In this emotionally charged novel, Jodi Picoult delves beneath the surface of a small town to explore what it means to be different in our society.
In Sterling, New Hampshire, 17-year-old high school student Peter Houghton has endured years of verbal and physical abuse at the hands of classmates. His best friend, Josie Cormier, succumbed to peer pressure and now hangs out with the popular crowd that often instigates the harassment. One final incident of bullying sends Peter over the edge and leads him to commit an act of violence that forever changes the lives of Sterling’s residents.
Even those who were not inside the school that morning find their lives in an upheaval, including Alex Cormier. The superior court judge assigned to the Houghton case, Alex—whose daughter, Josie, witnessed the events that unfolded—must decide whether or not to step down. She’s torn between presiding over the biggest case of her career and knowing that doing so will cause an even wider chasm in her relationship with her emotionally fragile daughter. Josie, meanwhile, claims she can’t remember what happened in the last fatal minutes of Peter’s rampage. Or can she? And Peter’s parents, Lacy and Lewis Houghton, ceaselessly examine the past to see what they might have said or done to compel their son to such extremes. Nineteen Minutes also features the return of two of Jodi Picoult’s characters—defense attorney Jordan McAfee from The Pact and Salem Falls, and Patrick DuCharme, the intrepid detective introduced in Perfect Match.
Rich with psychological and social insight, Nineteen Minutes is a riveting, poignant, and thought-provoking novel that has at its center a haunting question. Do we ever really know someone?

I'm actually only about 1/2 way through this book, but I love it! I love how a lot of her books are written from many character's perspectives. I listen to them on cd, so it isn't as confusing as actually reading the book.

Delia Hopkins has led a charmed life. Raised in rural New Hampshire by her widowed father, Andrew, she now has a young daughter, a handsome fiancé, and her own search-and-rescue bloodhound, which she uses to find missing persons. But as she plans her wedding, she is plagued by flashbacks of a life she can’t recall. And when a policemen arrives to disclose a truth that will upend the world as she knows it, Delia must search through these memories – even when they have the potential to devastate her life, and the lives of those she loves most. Vanishing Acts is a book about the nature and power of memory; about what happens when the past we have been running from catches up to us… and what happens when the memory we thought had vanished returns as a threat.

I love Jodi Picoult. That's all I have to say. I look forward to going to work just so I can listen to my book in the car.

Twilight is told by 17-year-old Bella Swan, who moves from Phoenix to the small town of Forks, Washington, to live with her dad for the remainder of high school. There, she meets Edward Cullen and his family, who possess an other-worldly and irresistible beauty and grace to which Bella is drawn. Twilight is the tale of Bella and Edward's burgeoning relationship, brimming with standard teenage drama alongside the unexpected, because, after all, Edward and his family are vampires. These undead friends have chosen to deny their urge to drink human blood, instead slaking their thirst with the blood of animals. Bella soon finds out, however, that not all vampires in her life are constrained by such scruples.

I thought I would see what all the fuss was about, but I wasn't impressed. I liked Harry Potter, so I thought that maybe I would like this, even though I am obviously not really into vampires. I will keep reading though, but there wasn't a whole lot of story line.

Things I like

2010-04-24T05:47:00.000-04:00

Cook it on the grill with a squeeze of lemon and some salt and pepper.

I want one of these. Yummy.

Can't think of a better way to celebrate summer

Addicted

2010-04-20T18:51:00.000-04:00

Ok, I will admit it. I am slightly addicted to scrapbooking. I haven't even done that much, but I wish I could do it all the time. I always wanted to be a scrapbooker, so I always kept everything, but I never actually finished anything. It started when I received Wedding shower and Baby shower scrapbooks from Dusten's mom. Those were the only ones I finished and they were small and covered only a short time period, so it wasn't that bad. Then Dusten's Aunt Brenda got me a baby scrapbook for Caroline's first year. She is a CM consultant and so in the end it's really all her fault. While I was on Maternity leave I actually had time to get all my pictures organized, CDs burned and work on her scrapbook. I only have 3 pages of her scrapbook left for the pictures I have printed. I have 7 more pages I want to do and then I will have to do it as the year goes on. I have learned that it is a lot easier to do things as they happen instead of stockpiling it to do all at one. Too bad I didn't have that figured out when I was in high school, because I have a whole tub full of stuff in the basement that is from high school. I just wish I had more time (and more money, of course) to do all the books I want to do. I'd like to do a scrapbook of D and I growing up--like a 2 page spread per year. One page for him and one page for me per year. This will take a long time, because I will have to go through all my pictures, scan them, and then print new copies. So many ideas, so little time...

Back to Work

2010-04-20T01:20:00.000-04:00

I've been back to work for 3 weeks now (since March 22). It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I really needed to get out of the house, and I enjoy talking to adults. I cried the night before and the day of my first day back. Since then it's been fine though. I learned that I can't call to check on her. 2 of the 3 times I have called to check on her she has been screaming. That makes me want to cry. I don't know why, but I just lose control of myself. I feel like all I do now is take her home and put her to bed. But at least I have a couple hours to spend with her before she goes to bed each day.This also makes it hard for me to work overtime or do anything on a weeknight.
She has started sleeping in her own room and crib at night. (YAY!) Dusten wants her to stay in our room in her bassinett until she has to go to hers. It was really nice having her in our room, especially when she was waking up to feed in the middle of the night. I didn't even have to get out of bed, just lift her up in to ours. Saturday night I made a deal with him that she could come to our room if she woke up in the middle of the night or 5 or 6 in the morning if that's when she woke up. She slept til 7:30AM and I got the best night's sleep since she has been born. She has slept in her room ever since. I think we are the ones that wake her up. I have noticed that she will rarely wake up before we do. She'll wake up when the alarm goes off or I start walking around the house in the morning. Now I feel like I have a little more freedom to have the radio and lights on in our room after she goes to bed, and I don't have to worry about waking her up!
We had her 3 month pictures taken on Saturday. It was a disaster for the most part. She screamed most of the time and so we all had to get in position and then take her pacifier out real quick and try to get a picture before she started screaming. We finally got a picture of her smiling at the very end, which made it worth all the misery. Of course once they left she was a perfect angel the rest of the weekend. Some of her pictures are posted on Facebook, so check out our tagged photos if we are friends =)

Everything by Michael Buble

2010-04-05T13:52:00.001-04:00

You're a falling star, you're the get away car.
You're the line in the sand when I go too far.
You're the swimming pool, on an August day.
And you're the perfect thing to say.
And you play it coy but it's kinda cute.
Ah, when you smile at me you know exactly what you do.
Baby don't pretend that you don't know it's true.'
cause you can see it when I look at you.

And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, you make me sing.
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.

You're a carousel, you're a wishing well,
And you light me up, when you ring my bell.
You're a mystery, you're from outer space,
You're every minute of my everyday.
And I can't believe, uh that I'm your man,
And I get to kiss you baby just because I can.
Whatever comes our way, ah we'll see it through,
And you know that's what our love can do.

So, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
So, la, la, la, la, la, la, la

And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, you make me sing.
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.
You're every song, and I sing along.
'Cause you're my everything.
Yeah, yeah

So, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
So, la, la, la, la, la, la, la

2010-04-05T06:23:00.000-04:00

Study: Breastfeeding Saves Lives and Money
BY: Lolita Carrico First Published: Apr 04 AT 10.58 pm Last Updated: 10.59 pm

Putting aside the benefits breastfeeding offers to mom and baby, a new study also finds that breastfeeding saves our country significant amounts in health care. The study, published in the current issue of Pediatrics, found that if 90% of mothers breastfeed for the first six months of their baby’s lives, 900 babies would be saved from death each year and literally billions of dollars — $13 billion to be exact — would be saved.
The most significant finding, we think, is that the study clearly indicates that babies lives would be saved and some illnesses could be prevented by breastfeeding. The research found that stomach viruses, ear infections, asthma, juvenile diabetes, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and childhood leukemia can be prevented through breastfeeding in the early months of infancy. The study also indicated that breast milk is full of antibodies that help infants fight infections and that it also regulates insulin levels in the blood, which could make breast-fed babies less likely to develop diabetes and obesity in their futures.
“The health care system has got to be aware that breast-feeding makes a profound difference,” said Dr. Ruth Lawrence, heads of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ breast-feeding division.

from:http://mygloss.com/mama/2010/04/04/study-breastfeeding-saves-lives-and-money/

What I'm Reading

2010-03-27T20:35:00.000-04:00

The infant management concepts presented in this book have found favor with over two million parents and twice as many contented babies. On Becoming Babywise brings hope to the tired and bewildered parents looking for an alternative to sleepless nights and fussy babies. The Babywise Parent Directed Feeding concept has enough structure to bring security and order to your baby's world, yet enough flexibility to give mom freedom to respond to any need at any time. It teaches parents how to lovingly guide their baby's day rather than be guided or enslaved to the infant's unknown needs. The information contained within On Becoming Babywise is loaded with success. Comprehensive breast-feeding follow-up surveys spanning three countries, of mothers using the PDF method verify that as a result of the PDF concepts, 88% breast-feed, compared to the national average of only 54% (from the National Center for Health Statistics). Of these breast-feeding mothers, 80% of them breast-feed exclusively without a formula complement. And while 70% of our mothers are still breast-feeding after six months, the national average encourage to follow demand feeding without any guidelines is only 20%. The mean average time of breast-feeding for PDF moms is 33 1/2 weeks, well above the national average. Over 50% of PDF mothers extend their breast-feeding toward and well into the first year. Added to these statistics is another critical factor. The average breast-fed PDF baby sleeps continuously through night seven to eight hours between weeks seven and nine. Healthy sleep in infants is analogous to healthy growth and development. Find out for yourself why a world of parents and pediatricians utilize the concepts found in On Becoming Babywise.

With her unique blend of humor and empathy, Jo Frost gives parents the practical information and emotional support they need to embrace the challenge of their baby's first year. She offers clear guidance to help moms and dads become the joyful, confident parents that make a family--and little ones--truly flourish.
Packed with tips, practical information, and incredibly reassuring advice, this book tells you how to:
Sort out the essential equipment you need to buy before the birth
Babyproof your home
Set up for routines, feeding, sleeping, and development
Deal with premature and multiple births, as well as adopted babies
Make confident choices about going back to work, day care, and nannies
Cope with breastfeeding and weaning
Covering the key issues of the first twelve months, including growth charts, vaccinations, and first aid, Confident Baby Care is the perfect book for any new parent!

The Essential Reference on Vaccines! Are vaccines necessary? • What do they protect against? • How are they made? • Why are there so many shots? • Haven't they been found to be more dangerous than helpful? • Which type of polio vaccine is best? • What vaccines do my children and I need before traveling to another country? With all the vaccine choices available and all the vaccine controversy in the media, you have a lot of questions. You'll find the answers in Vaccines: What Every Parent Should Know, Revised Edition. This essential reference has been completely updated to include all the most up-to-date vaccine information: from why the rotavirus vaccine was recently suspended for use to when you might expect an AIDS vaccine to be available. Written in an accessible manner—and complete with schedules, recommendations, a travel section, and tips—this book helps you sort through all the confusing vaccination information to determine what is right for your family.

Miracle by Celine Dion

2010-03-27T06:37:00.000-04:00

You're my life's one miracle
Everything I've done that's good
And you break my heart with tenderness
And I confess it's true
I never knew a love like this 'til you

You're the reason I was born
Now I finally know for sure
And I'm overwhelmed with happiness
So blessed to hold you close
The one that I love most
Though the future has so much for you in store
Who could ever love you more

The nearest thing to heaven
You're my angel from above
Only God creates such perfect love

When you smile at me I cry
And to save your life I'd die
With a romance that is pure in heart
You are my dearest part
Whatever it requires I live for your desires
Forget my own, your needs will come before
Who could ever love you more

There is nothing you could ever do
To make me stop loving you
And every breath I take
Is always for your sake
You sleep inside my dreams
And know for sure
Who could ever love you more

to brighten your day...

2010-03-24T17:57:00.001-04:00

Why, Why, Why

Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are almost dead? ________________________________
Why do banks charge a fee on 'insufficient funds' when they already know there is not enough money?
________________________________
Why does someone Believe you when you say there are four billion stars; but has to check when you say the paint is still wet?
________________________________
Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?
________________________________
Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him? ________________________________
Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
________________________________
Whose idea was it to put an 'S' in the word 'lisp'?
________________________________
If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes? ________________________________
Why is it that no matter what color bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white? ________________________________
Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale? ________________________________
Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?
________________________________
Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down togive the vacuum one more chance? ________________________________
Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the end on your first try? ________________________________
How do those dead bugs get into those enclosed light fixtures? ________________________________
When we are in the supermarket and someone rams our ankle with a shopping cart then apologizes for doing so, why do we say, 'It's all right?' Well, it isn't all right, so why don't we say, 'That really hurt, why don't you watch where you're going?' ________________________________
Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?
________________________________
In winter why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?
________________________________
How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?
________________________________
And my FAVORITE....... The statistics on sanity is that one out of every four persons is suffering from some sort of mental illness.. Think of your three bestfriends -- if they're okay, then it's you.

Perfect

2010-03-23T06:40:00.000-04:00

“When you’re pregnant, you can think of nothing but having your own body to yourself again; yet after giving birth you realize that the biggest part of you is now somehow external, subject to all sorts of dangers and disappearance, so you spend the rest of your life trying to figure out how to keep her close enough for comfort. That’s the strange thing about being a mother: Until you have a baby, you don’t even know how much you were missing one.” (Picoult, 2005)

Picoult, J. (2005). Vanishing Acts. New York: Atria Books.

Promised pictures

2010-03-16T07:21:00.016-04:00

Her first car trip to Michigan. She slept all the way there and all the way back.

Mom and Grandma to be getting some practice

First visit with Great Grandma TenBrink

Getting ready for her first walk.

All bundled up

Ready to go

It was cold so we had to hide her

First smile caught on camera

Daddy putting together the Exersaucer at midnight

Lots of pieces

Small play gym for grandmas

Smiling at Great grandma Betty

Reading books with daddy

Oh the Adventures of Parenting.

2010-03-14T20:07:00.000-04:00

It's been fun for sure, but it certainly hasn't been without it's ups and downs. For the most part she is a perfect baby. Of course she is, how could she not be? We're finally getting into a groove. It has taken a while for us to trouble shoot some of the day to day basics--like, change her diaper after you feed her, because she's planning on doing her business when she gets fed, except for at night. Then you should change her diaper first so that she is awake enough to eat but will fall asleep easily after. She has done really well keeping herself on a schedule. I haven't been as sucessful. I read the book Babywise that apparantly everyone reads- in an afternoon and I realized we are doing really well for being 5 weeks into it (at the time). She is almost giving us 5 or 6 hours at night, but that is assuming we go to bed when she does, which we don't most of the time. So I am having more trouble keeping up with it than her. I need to start getting into the 'going to work' routine, because Monday I will be heading back to work, and we're all going to be getting up early.
Yes, that's right. Caroline will be 10 weeks old on Friday and I haven't updated this blog once. Just wait and see after I go back to work! She has done so well getting into a routine. She wake up only once at night, usually around 4AM. The only problem is that I have problems going back to sleep after, so I normally lay awake until Dusten's alarm goes off..but that alarm will soon be mine, and I will not be ready to get up when it goes off.
She goes for her 2 month appointment on Wednesday which includes shots. We shall see how she handles it. I am guessing she will cry like crazy, but hopefully she will sleep it off.
We tried so hard not to give her a pacifier and we made it to 6 weeks. I think that is pretty good. At that point her gas was so bad it was almost impossible not to give it to her. But now I hate it. For the most part she doesn't need it, but now she wants it. Sometimes she wants it to fall asleep and sometimes she won't take it. So that means usually she wants me to play fetch for a while until she is too sleepy and then she spits it out. I am just hoping that she does not become too dependent on it. Her gas seems to have tapered off so maybe we can try to wean her off of it. Good luck, right?
We finally had her newborn pictures ordered and we got them in the mail on Saturday. I think they are so cute! It's hard to believe she will be getting her 3 month pictures taken in only 3 weeks. Then we will start this whole crazy thing all over again.
She has enjoyed her first walk, first trip to the library, first trip to grandma's, first road trip to visit great grandma and first toy. All of this I have pictures of, but they are still on my camera. Of course. Check back soon.
I have also been working on her baby scrapbook, and I am so excited. Dusten's Aunt Brenda helped me pick out all the pictures. Hopefully we can work on it soon. I am ready to see the mostly finished product.
Anyway, she's our sleeping beauty and we love her so much! I have recently taken to calling her punky. It started because I would call her pumpkin, now it's just punky. Dusten hasn't come up with anything creative besides Sweetie. Sometimes he calls her honey, but that is really confusing to me. I am supposed to be honey!
She is just starting to smile at us. Dusten thinks that she knows what it means when he says,
"smile for daddy" but I think it's just the inflection in his voice. Time will tell. It's just amazing how fast they grow. I moved her to 0-3 month outfits on March 1 and I think she will be grown out of them by Easter. I need to figure out how to stop this madness! Her whole wardrobe is 0-3 months. She doesn't have anything else to wear after this!
Well I am going to count this as an official update until I remember all the things I wanted to write, but forgot!

Lullaby by Dixie Chicks

2010-03-03T21:03:00.002-05:00

Lullaby lyrics

They didn't have you where I come from
Never knew the best was yet to come
Life began when I saw your face
And I hear your laugh like a serenade

How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up

I slip in bed when you're asleep
To hold you close and feel your breath on me
Tomorrow there'll be so much to do
So tonight I'll drift in a dream with you

How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up

As you wander through this troubled world
In search of all things beautiful
You can close your eyes when you're miles away
And hear my voice like a serenade

How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up

How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up

Baby Blog

2010-03-03T15:22:00.001-05:00

All the entries from the baby blog have been merged with this one. If you just want to read the entries from the baby blog, click on the Sweet Caroline tag. Or you can still visit the baby blog at babytryon.blogspot.com

Gracie by Ben Folds

2010-03-02T18:11:00.003-05:00

You can't fool me, I saw you when you came out
You got your momma's taste but you got my mouth
And you will always have a part of me
Nobody else is ever going to see
Gracie girl

With your cards to your chest walking on your toes
What you got in the box only Gracie knows
And I would never try to make you be
Anything you didn't really want to be
Gracie girl

Life flies by in seconds
You're not a baby Gracie, you're my friend
You'll be a lady soon but until then
You gotta do what I say

You nodded off in my arms watching TV
I won't move you an inch even thought my arm's asleep

One day you're gonna want to go
I hope we taught you everything you need to know
Gracie girl

And there will always be a part of me
Nobody else is ever gonna see but you and me
My little girl
My Gracie girl

Dusten's Life

2010-02-02T17:52:00.006-05:00

Our Baby Story

2010-01-14T14:00:00.001-05:00

I think that it is about time that I sit down and finally write this out. I feel like I have told this story about a million times, but I love it even more each time I tell it. So here is the story of how Miss Caroline Grace Tryon made her joyful entrance into this world.

On December 29th I went in for my 1st weekly check and I was 2cm and 50% effaced. On Wednesday, January 6th I went in and I was still 2cm and 50% effaced. The first week everyone flipped out and thought we were going to be having that baby really soon. When I was still the same a week later people started cooling their jets and thought that I had stalled out. That whole week I had been waking up really early in the morning and was not able to fall back asleep. Tuesday and Wednesday I woke up at 5AM and Thursday morning I woke up at 4AM. They say that is a sign of oncoming labor. I was really hoping so, because I was starting to get really tired. The following night (Thursday) D and I went to bed early like 8:30PM. I figured if I was going to be up at 4AM on Friday that I might as well go to bed early. Little did I know what was really in store for me.

Thursday, Jan 7 11:30 PM- I woke up with a lot of pressure in the downward direction. I was having problems getting comfortable in bed, because I felt like I had a head between my legs, which of course I did kind of. Went back to sleep eventually.

Friday, Jan 8 2:30 AM- Woke up feeling a little wet, went to the bathroom. Water gushed, contractions were starting. Went back to bed.

Friday, Jan 8 3:30 AM-Went to the bathroom again, water gushed, still having contractions. Went back to bed. At this point, I didn't think that my water had broken, but it had. My contractions were regular, just like they had been in the past. They weren't terribly strong, but were uncomfortable.

Friday, Jan 9 4 AM- Dusten finally decides there is no point in trying to sleep with a moaning wife. He gets up and starts doing things around the house. Packs last minute hospital stuff, takes a shower, eats breakfast, starts moving baby furniture (for carpet being laid on monday). I am timing contractions between 2 and 4 minutes apart. They are very steady, but not really getting stronger. I'm still thinking they will go away like they always did before. I started feeling guilty about keeping D up all night, because I am still thinking that we will both be going to work.

Friday, Jan 9 6:45 AM-We start making phone calls. I told Dusten to call the birthing center at the hospital to see if we should call the doctor. They say we should call. We call Dr Blake, he says meet me at the hospital. We call my mom and put her on standby. She starts pacing the house.

Friday, Jan 9 7:20 AM- Arrive at the hospital. Dusten drops me off at the front door and starts bringing in the suitcase and pillows. I told him to leave it in the car, we didn't even know if we would be staying at the hospital. I thought they would probably send us home. We get to the testing room and they hook me up to the monitors and check me. 5cm 95% effaced and she verified that my water had broken. She yelled out the door "We need a room....now!" They wheel me down to the open room and Dusten tries to wrangle the suitcase and other necessities. At the same time the doc comes up the elevator and rolls my suitcase into the room. "What service!" My mom had planned a baby shower for me on Sunday the 10th and I was planning to go to Terre Haute on Sunday morning. Dusten told the doc this on their way down the hall and so he comes in and says, "I hear you were going to sneak off to Terre Haute this weekend." Yep I sure was. I don't know for sure the timing in between here and her being born, but I know that the entire time I was in labor I kept having to go to the bathroom, which makes sense given that everything in your body is pushing down and out. I got to 6 or 7 cm and went to the bathroom and then I started having really bad contractions. I did it for about 20 minutes and then finally screamed for the epidural. Tammy, our wonderful nurse, checked me to see if I had enough time to get it and I was 7-8, so she called for the epidural. I had a couple more contractions and then had to go to the bathroom again. While I was in there I felt like I had to push. Dusten was sitting there with me and was bug eyed and was telling me not to push of course. When we came out the anethesiologist was there and said, "If you feel like you have to push, then she better check you again, because I cannot let you have this baby while I'm giving you an epidural." So she comes to check me again. (Mind you this is like the 3rd time in less than an hour) and she yells "call the doctor!" So Tammy and Dusten start pushing the call buttons to get the doctor (it's probably around 9:15AM now. Then things started falling out of the ceiling. Lights and tables and plastic and baby warmers started coming out from everywhere. A couple minutes later the doc arrives, gives me a local, and we pushed for about 10 minutes and she was here! The first push I didn't give much effort, because I thought it might hurt, and I didn't know what to expect. I asked Dr Blake if I was a wimpy pusher, and he said, "yea, kind of", so then I got down to business and 3 or 4 contractions later she was here!

Now let me just say that when people tell you about how painful it is to have a baby they usually just tell you about the labor part. No one really tells you how painful it is for the 3 days after you have a baby. It hurt to move. It hurt to walk, roll over in bed, sit or anything else that requires movement. It wasn't too bad as long as I stayed in one place. I found out later that it was likely she had bruised my tailbone coming out and that was likely part of the reason.

But I am amazed at how easy it was to create a person! I was miserable for a majority of my pregnancy, but add it all together, and I would do it a thousand times over. It was so amazing.

I went into the labor really hoping that I would be able to do it drug free. The closer and closer I got to having her, the less confident I was that I would actually be able to do it. I had been reading a book about the Bradley method but hadn't been able to finish it before she was born. The book also is just introductory for the 12 weeks of classes and additional exercises that were supposed to be done. I was hoping that the labor would go just as it did. Fast enough that I wouldn't have time for the epidural when I finally decided I wanted it. And it did. I was glad, because once he left the room, I really didn't feel any pain and that was before Dr Blake gave me the local. At that point I could hardly even feel the contractions, so I didn't even really know when to push. But it went beautifully. Dusten started crying before she was even all the way out. But you can listen to his whimpers on the video he posted.

She has been a really good baby. She eats every 3-4 hours and sleeps most of the time. So far she hasn't been awake in the middle of the night. The days seem to go by so fast. I feel like all I do is feed her, but I enjoy it. I think she is so pretty when she is nursing. We had her newborn pictures taken when she was 1 week old (her umbilical cord came off during the shoot) and we got a couple pictures of her nursing. They are all really good pictures, I don't know how we will decide which ones to get.

I meant to take one last belly picture, because I think my last one was like 34 weeks, but that didn't even cross my mind. So this is the closest thing I have. This is D and I 2 days before delivery:

I probably left a ton of details out, but I want to get this post up!! I have been working on it for a week!

Caroline (Day 1)

2010-01-09T13:24:00.001-05:00

After much anticipation, Caroline Grace arrived into this world at 9:55am on January 8, 2010. Her weight was 6 lbs. 3 oz and she was 19 inches long. She is the most adorable, precious little girl I have ever laid eyes on. Second to her mother, I have never loved another person as much as her.

As you may have already picked up, it is me (Dusten) writing this blog... the first blog entry in my life, but probably the only reason I've ever had a desire to write one. Caroline has already wrapped me around her fingers, and for the first time, I really understand what that cliche means. She is the sweetest little baby I've ever laid eyes on. We are truly blessed to have been entrusted with such a precious gift.

Amanda and I are excited about this new chapter in our life and are humbled by the opportunity to have a hand in raising her in a community of friends and family that are focused on love and bringing the kingdom of God about on earth. Praise God for the miracle of life and the blessings He has so richly poured out on His children!

38 weeks

2010-01-07T20:03:00.001-05:00

How your baby's growing:Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

37 weeks

2009-12-31T11:19:00.001-05:00

How your baby's growing:Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away.Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

Baby Bedroom remodel

2009-12-30T21:11:00.002-05:00

It's all done except for the carpet and making it look all pretty.

2009 baby?

2009-12-30T11:52:00.001-05:00

I have measured perfectly my entire pregnancy. That is until 35 weeks. The Friday before my 35 week appointment my belly dropped. And everyone was so kind to tell me. I noticed too, but didn't think anything about it, since that is pretty normal. I was measuring 32cm at 35 weeks. I was measuring 33cm at 33 weeks, so the doctor said let's do another ultrasound just to be sure her growth was on track. He told me this after he spent 5 minutes telling me it completely normal because I am tall and have a long torso that I can easily hide this baby. But we'll still do the ultrasound just to be sure. So we did. Here are a couple of the pictures. So far she hasn't been completely cooperative. She won't let us see her face. She kept putting her hands in front of her face. But they did confirm that it was a she, so that's good.

Here is a pic of me at 34 weeks. I actually look a lot smaller than this now. This was me at my biggest. I'll try to get dressed sometime today and maybe I will get the motivation to take another pic.

I have been off work since 12PM Christmas Eve. I thought that I would go back to work on Jan 6 and work until the baby comes. And I still probably will. But tomorrow I will be 37 weeks. Monday night Dusten put me into labor and I started having contractions at about 2:30AM. They were really close together when they first started-about 2 to 3 minutes apart. They continued throughout the day Tuesday, but became weaker and farther apart. I was never really concerned about it because they never got stronger. I had a doctor's appointment Tuesday anyway. He measured me, and I'm still measuring small for 37 weeks--I'm thinking this is going to be a small baby which I am pretty happy about. He also checked me and said I am a good 2cm and 50% effaced. He said he wouldn't be surprised if I had this baby within the week. I am not really ready for that kind of speed--like I said, I was planning on going back to work on Monday. I have a baby shower at AU on Wednesday and am supposed to have another baby shower on Sunday in Terre Haute. The doctor has already said he doesn't want me more than an hour away from the hospital, but I am currently in Terre Haute on Wednesday afternoon and haven't had any contractions that I can really feel since last night. So now we're just playing the waiting game.
If anything I would really like to have her today, because today is Dec. 30 the day Dusten and I first kissed and that would be kewl. But I won't be holding my breath..

Caroline's First Letter from Santa

2009-12-25T11:25:00.001-05:00

Dusten and I still aren't sure how we received this..but it is really cool.

36 weeks--Christmas Eve

2009-12-24T11:17:00.001-05:00

How your baby's growing:Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.

35 weeks

2009-12-16T20:23:00.001-05:00

How your baby's growing:Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

34 weeks

2009-12-10T18:20:00.001-05:00

How your baby's growing:Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

It's Christmas

2009-12-04T18:27:00.013-05:00

It's been almost 8 weeks since I've updated anything on here! Oh my! At least I am making an attempt to stay up to date with the baby blog. I may end up just combining them together at some point. But I thought I would take a minute and post our Christmas list on here for anybody who may be interested. People always ask. "What do you want for Christmas?" And usually I can't remember a single thing. So I'm putting it down where it can be found!

I will start with Dusten...his list is always the same basic stuff.

Need I say more?

Smart wool Socks

Flannel Pajama Pants

Short sleeve polos. The ones from Macys are nice...

And now for me....

A haircut...a nice one

A pedicure

New slippers. I wear mine out so fast. This is the style I prefer usually in an Easter pink color.

Ipod car jack. Already told one person I wanted this, but I don't really know much about them, just want to be able to listen to my ipod in my car.

Shark Steam Pocket Mop-- and don't forget the pocket. There is a basic model that is not nearly as cool. These can be purchased online or from any major retailer.

Vaccuum cleaner. Ours dies and I'm currently using a ShopVac--we're about to get new carpet! Would prefer an upright with a bag.

Women's Regular Sherpa Fleece Half Zip Pullover in Pale Khaki Size Large. Can be purchased at Landsend.com for 19.99. And they almost always have free shipping during the holidays. I have about 4 of those coupon things.

33 weeks

2009-12-03T20:35:00.001-05:00

How your baby's growing:This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

Baby Room Remodel Continued

2009-11-29T20:58:00.001-05:00

As of today 11/29/09

32 weeks

2009-11-26T20:43:00.001-05:00

How your baby's growing:By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

Baby Room Remodel

2009-11-22T19:38:00.001-05:00

As of today

31 weeks

2009-11-19T19:12:00.001-05:00

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

Sweet Life by Paul Davis

2009-11-18T20:05:00.002-05:00

She's got your eyes
She's got my nose
Oh, and I get high just watching her grow
We always dreamed we'd live in a castle, oh but
We're in the same old shack
Sometimes we get into a hassle
But we always take each other back
Oh, Oh you know
This old world seems to be in a hurry
But darlin' we'll just keep on taking our time

'Cause we're living such a sweet life, oh what a neat life
Sharing my love with you
( Always love such a )
Sweet life, oh what a neat life
making our dreams come true
we're makin our dreams come true

You are my love
You are my life
Oh, and I get high just holding you tight
we always dreamed we'd make a lot of money,
oh but I don't mind being poor
'Cause when you make love to me, honey
I couldn't ask for anymore
Oh, Oh you know, all our friends seem to be in a hurry
But darlin' we'll just keep on taking our time

We're living such a sweet life, oh what a neat life
Sharing my love with you
( always love such a)
Sweet life, oh what a neat life
Making our dreams come true
We're making our dreams come true
Oh, oh We're living such a sweet life, oh what a neat life
Sharing my love with you (We're makin our dreams)
We're living such a sweet life, oh what a neat life
Making our dreams come true ( Nothing but lovin' oooo)
We're making our dreams come true.

Warning! Long update ahead!

2009-11-15T18:57:00.001-05:00

Will you survive?

It has nearly been a month since my last real update. Part of it is that I don’t have time anymore and the other half is that when I do have time I usually fall asleep on the couch. Oh well.
Dusten’s mom threw me a great baby shower the day after Halloween for all his family. We got some really neat stuff, cute clothes, and the essentials. My mom came up and my boss came down. It was a great time. Unfortunately all the fun stuff I got is still at her house, because we don’t have anywhere to put it with the house being under construction(see below) so it will be like getting presents all over again when I finally get to bring it all home.

The Baby Room is currently under construction. If you didn’t know, Dusten has been finishing the basement so that we could make another bedroom down there. He had to do that first so we could move our now office/guestroom to the basement. This week he finished it and we moved everything down. He started working on the baby room today. He pulled out all the trim and the closet organization system and this morning we went and bought most of the supplies for the room. I have been taking pictures of the progress.

The Before--11.15.09

We also received a wonderful gift that allowed us to buy all of our baby furniture. We had some coupons and bought most of it on clearance (other people returned it because they didn’t like the color) and so I think in total we got it at about 40% off. We still had to pay a nice chunk, but the furniture is very nice and isn’t really babyish at all…except the crib of course.

After the baby shower Dusten ended up ordering the baby bedding—Winnie the Pooh, which I thought was funny, because he said from the beginning there was no way we were going to do Winnie the Pooh. But he wanted neutral, and animals, and that’s what it was. It was a very nice Classic Winnie the Pooh collection, and I think he is happy with it.

Last night when we were at Lowes (yea, we go like everyday) we looked at carpet, and I found the one I wanted pretty quick. We brought home a sample and it matches really well with the bedding and the type of colors we are looking to paint in the baby room. I say type of colors because we can’t agree. I went through all the paint samples with him today after church and he wants to go way lighter than I do. Then he says let’s just paint it light and if we don’t like it we can add another coat of the darker. Yea, right. You and I both know there is not going to be time for that. That’s just what he does so he can get his way.

I’m starting to look like I am carrying a basketball. It’s ok with me. It just makes it harder to constantly get up and down. I don’t have any problems except my feet hurt at the end of the day. I don’t have any problems sleeping as long as I have my Snoogle pillow. I asked the doctor about my size, because everyone keeps telling me how small I am and he said I was completely normal based on being 30 weeks preggers. I have now gained a total of 16 pounds. I gained of that in the last 4 weeks which scared me a little. I don’t want to gain that much for each of the next four weeks or I will fall over! I was surprised to say for sure when she told me how much I weighed, but I like to think I had a few more layers on than normal.

Dusten has been slightly more interested in playing with my belly. At least when she is moving a lot. Last night he saw her about jump out of my stomach. And then he said, “What was that.” Well, duh, what do you think it was? The baby. I guess maybe it could have been my dinner =). We have officially decided on a name. First and Middle. We’re still debating the last name though =). We may change our minds when she actually gets here, but we’ll see. Only 10 weeks left! I am ready to get this stink pot out! If I ever cross my arms on my now shelf of a stomach she will kick. Or when I lean against the sink in the morning she will kick. Basically any time I invade her space she kicks. I can see this becoming a problem when she becomes a teenager.
This is a warning that the following comments will likely make you think TMI! So if that’s you, beware. I need to find the on/off switch for these new and improved milk machines I have. Luckily the problem is mostly at night around bedtime. I guess it’s reassuring to know that things are working in that area like they are supposed to.

If you made it to the end, please leave a comment. I feel like I'm talking to the wall.

30 weeks

2009-11-12T19:29:00.001-05:00

How your baby's growing:Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

29 weeks

2009-11-05T17:29:00.001-05:00

How your baby's growing:Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

28 weeks- begin 3rd trimester

2009-10-29T21:57:00.001-04:00

How your baby's growing:By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

27 weeks

2009-10-22T21:29:00.001-04:00

How your baby's growing:This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

Belly Pics

2009-10-16T22:03:00.001-04:00

Here's a bad picture of me at 19 weeks. I didn't think I had really grown that much, but the 19 week picture made me look bigger than I actually was, and I think the 26 week picture is a lot closer to being accurate and I think it looks significantly bigger. I was surprised. I see it everyday, so it's hard to tell when it's growing, but it is!

26 weeks

2009-10-15T10:01:00.001-04:00

The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel.

Things I couldn't be pregnant without

2009-10-14T20:06:00.001-04:00

Dusten is really jealous of my snoogle pillow but sleeping with it between my knees and ankles. --Thanks, Mom!

This was one of the few things I could keep down the first 5 months-- Thanks, Amy!

My skin is sooo dry. This lotion smells good and is supposed to help with stretch marks.

There's no doubt it's a girl. I could easily drink one of these a day.

Again, dry skin and it's not even winter yet. I got a BOGO deal at Walgreens so I am set!

It was impossible to drink water the first 4 months. The only way to get it down was with this. I have probably spent more money on these than anything else since I have been pregnant. --Thanks, Amy!

This is an awesome belly support pillow. I started using it well before I had a belly. And Dusten rolls over onto after I get out of bed =) Thanks, Stefanie!

Sour Cream Pumpkin Bars

2009-10-11T20:10:00.003-04:00

I know I promised this receipe last year, but I can't remember if I ever posted it. If I did, oh well, it's good enough to post twice!

Sour Cream Pumpkin Bars

Prep: 25 minutes Bake: 25 minutes
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
1-1/3 cups sugar
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup dairy sour cream
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
Browned Butter Frosting (recipe follows)
Chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
Directions
1. Grease a 15x10x1-inch baking pan; set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer for 30 seconds. Beat in sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt until combined. Add eggs, pumpkin, sour cream, milk, and vanilla; beat until combined. Add all-purpose and whole wheat flours; beat until combined. Stir in 1 cup nuts.
3. Spread mixture evenly into prepared baking pan. Bake in a 350 degree F oven about 25 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack.
4. Prepare Browned Butter Frosting; spread over cooled bars. If you like, sprinkle with additional nuts. Cut into bars. Makes 48 bars.
Browned Butter Frosting: In a small saucepan, heat 1/2 cup butter over low heat until melted. Continue heating until the butter turns a light brown. Remove from heat and transfer butter to a medium mixing bowl. Add 3 cups powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer until combined. Beat in additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, to make a spreadable frosting. Use immediately. Makes about 1 cup.

25 weeks

2009-10-09T10:08:00.001-04:00

How your baby's growing: Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.

Time Flies...or not

2009-10-04T19:52:00.001-04:00

As far as this blog goes, the weeks go by really fast as far as me not writing anything. And the more I don't write, the less I want to. But as far as my pregnancy it seems like the weeks go by really slow. I feel like I have been stuck at about 20 weeks pregnant forever. In two weeks I will finally be at the 3rd trimester. They say the last two months (or last two weeks depending on who you talk to) go by really slow. I'm hoping that being it is around the holidays that will help it go by faster. People have been saying that I don't look that pregnant and that it's just now becoming obvious that I'm pregnant and not just more fat than usual. I had a woman at work tell me yesterday that now she believes me--that I'm pregnant. Apparantly the first 4 months of me throwing up wasn't enough for her. But I'm ok with my belly. I can easily make it look bigger or smaller based on what I wear. I don't want to have a 9 pounder, so a small belly is ok with me. I have been feeling much better. I haven't thrown up since the day after our ultrasound (aug 26). I am hoping to keep it that way too. I feel fine as long as I keep something in my stomach. So I feel like I eat all the time. Last time I was at the doctor he said I had only gained 4 pounds. I have another appointment later this week, so I'm hoping for like 10 or something. It seems crazy to me that I of all people I would have problems gaining the normal amounts of weight. I'm sure it's only because I was so sick I could hardly eat and now I am playing catch up. It was never a problem before. I really want to try to get some maternity photos taken in the fall, because it is so pretty outside. So if you know someone who is good and reasonably priced, let me know. I have found some really good, really expensive people online, but I think I'm looking to make a package deal for pictures for the next year.
I still have the hiccups really loud every day, and lately she has decided to make a game out of how hard she can push herself up against my stomach. I haven't had problems with her pushing on my bladder or ribs yet, so that's good. But it's still not comfortable. Dusten has been able to feel her kick a couple of times. Most of the time he isn't very patient to wait, and it's hard to predict. I had a scare a couple of weeks ago where I didn't feel her move for almost 24 hours. I was pushing on myself trying to make her move and nothing. Usually as soon as I lie down on the couch I get pounded. She must have been asleep at that time or something. Finally after I took a shower and got in bed she started moving. But it's weird how your mind will play tricks on you. I wanted to feel her move, so anytime I felt something I would debate whether it was really her or something else. She certainly wasn't making it obvious. One night when D and I were going to bed my toes were kind of tight, and as I was stretching them out I was reminded about how pregnant women often get Charley horses. I hadn't had any, so I said something about it (bad move) and so of course at 3 AM I had to jump out of bed and get to the nearest wall. My leg was sore for 3 days. It wouldn't have been so bad except that D had our adjustable bed adjusted, and it's kind of hard to get out of it when you are sleeping like the letter V. He says he didn't hear me as I basically fell out of bed. He sleeps way too hard, which I think will be a problem in about 4 months =) So I'm trying not to talk about the problems I don't have, because apparantly that triggers my brain to start them.
What else is there? I think D and I have finally settled on a name. We haven't settled on a middle name yet, but any of the ways that goes, I'm ok with it. We registered at Babies R Us and Target and we finally found some bedding that we like. Dusten's mom found it and they actually had it at Target. I'm just ready for this room to start looking like we are having a baby instead of a drop place for baby items. Hopefully Dusten will get the bedroom in the basement done soon so we (and by we I mean not me) can get this furniture out of here.
Well it's time to eat again. Hopefully I'll get a belly pic up soon.

24 weeks

2009-10-02T08:20:00.001-04:00

How your baby's growing:Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

23 weeks

2009-09-24T15:30:00.001-04:00

Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb.

22 weeks

2009-09-17T21:58:00.001-04:00

How your baby's growing:At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

The zoo and a wedding

2009-09-17T19:43:00.004-04:00

It's too hard to keep up with one blog let alone too. Sorry this one always takes the back seat. Maybe one day I will just merge them and have one. But anyway. We have had a few adventures the past couple weeks. Labor Day weekend we went down to Louisville to visit Casie, Dusten's sister. We had a fun time. She was probably bored out of her mind, but I loved being able to get some rest. We went to the zoo on Sunday. I had a lot of fun taking pictures. I was exhausted by the time we were done. It's a mile loop and tennis shoes only do so much. We ate at this really good restaurant called Buckhead. They had some amazing bread. I'm not sure if it's as good as Texas Roadhouse but it is a close contender. The butter was amazing. My dinner of course ended up being eaten as leftovers.
This past weekend we went to the the Haute. There was a Point of Grace/Mark Schultz concert on Friday night that my mom and I went to. I really had no interest in Mark Schultz, but he ended up being really funny. He kept telling all these stories about his wife who is an OB. I can't remember anything particularly funny, but I thought his humor was better than his music. The concert was good. Baby kicked for most of it. Hopefully she won't be deaf. Saturday Mom, Dusten and I went out to register at Babies R Us and it took forever. 2.5 hours is a lot for me. I was ready for a nap. Then we went to the mall and got a snack and some maternity pants. Then we headed home to get ready for Abbe's wedding. We had a good time and I got a chance to visit some people I haven't seen in a while--well more like years. Her cake was amazing. They were making fun of me because I picked the biggest piece I could find. All this was enough to make me ready to crash at like 8:30. It felt like midnight. On our way home on Sunday we took the scenic route. It was really nice and pretty--for a change. We managed to get all the way home without taking any interstate. We went to Plainfield to make a return before they closed and then stopped at Cracker Barrell for dinner. I love eating there so much more now that I'm pregnant. Comfort food I guess. It's that or pizza. Ummm corn... We decided to drop in on Wes and Stacy (Dusten refused to call) so we hung out for about an hour and then headed home. Needless to say I didn't get the sheets washed. But we had a good time. This weekend I pretty have to work. Friday 8-5 and Saturday 8-9. It's going to be crazy, so I'll probably crash on Sunday. Anyway everything else is just more of the same. Dusten begs me to get a kayak on almost a daily basis. I'm just thinking now is not the best time.... We'll see how it pans out. It may be a losing battle.

A Night at the Hospital

2009-09-16T19:34:00.001-04:00

It started with my amazing Snoogle pillow. It's a huge body pillow that my mom bought me this weekend. The problem is that when I sleep with it I don't move. I am used to rolling all over the place. So the first night I woke up with what felt like a crick in my stomach. Kind of like a cross between a crick in your neck and the pain you get from running and not breathing properly. That's how the day started and I soon recovered. But by lunch time I started to have cramps. By 2:30 I was wishing I was at home in bed. People kept telling me that they were growing pains or contractions, but I knew they weren't. They felt like cramps. Jamie looked up braxton hicks contractions and was reading to me about how they felt. I kept saying, "NO, they feel like cramps." So I called Dusten and he said to call my dad. (I don't want to be one of those people that calls my doctor for every ache and pain, so dad is always a non annoyable option =) So I called mom to call my dad who was at work and she starts freaking out of course and tells me to call the doctor. So I call and they ask me a million questions to all of which my answer is no! They finally called me back after work and said to go to the Birthing Center at the hospital to get checked out just in case. So I did. They hooked me up to all the fancy machines that check the baby's heartbeat and check to see if I am having contractions. I wasn't of course. Why don't people listen. I told you, I have cramps. So anyway. Everything was fine with the baby. The doctor came in and pushed around on my belly to make sure it was still soft. They did a urine analysis today I got a message that I have a UTI. No symptoms really, just the lab work proves it. Hopefully it stays that way. I've been taking my meds and drinking cran-grape juice which is actually pretty good. Mom has since recovered from her panic. =)

King of the World by Point of Grace

2009-09-13T09:37:00.002-04:00

I went to a Point of Grace Concert on Friday night and it was awesome. They sang some new songs that I didn't know and this was one of them. I fell in love.

Spinning around of the tops of his feet
Smile of the angels can not be so sweet
Wide blue eyes and piggy tail swirls
Shes her daddy's girl
Cuz he knows the jokes that always make her laugh
Takes her for ice cream instead of her math
At the end of the day by the light of the moon
They turn up the music in their living room
and she yells

Dance me, dance me around till my feet dont ever touch down
Theres nothing better than being your girl
and if i am your princess then daddy
You are the king of the world

It's funny how life moves in circles of time
To think so long ago that face was mine
Houses get smaller we take different names
But some things in life stay the same

Dance me, dance me around
Till my feet dont ever touch down
There's nothing better than being your girl
And if i am your princess than daddy
You are the king of the world

Some day she'll go off and find a life of her own
And marry a good man and make a happy home
Until she comes back and sees with those same eyes
What time can not disguse she walks through the door
With that look on her face cuz
Daddy's brown hair has all turned to gray
They talk for hours they cry and they laugh
Watchin' old movies and time goes by
Just as she turns to go she says hey
Daddy how 'bout one for the road

Dance me, dance me around till my feet don't ever touch down
Dance me, dance me around till my feet dont ever touch down
'Cuz there's nothing better than being your girl
Oh there's nothing better than being your girl
And if I am your princess than daddy
You are the king of the world
King of the world

Smile of the angels could not be so sweet

Ultrasound

2009-09-12T20:30:00.001-04:00

Well we had the doctor's appointment after our ultrasound, so I figured I had better update you on how the ultrasound went. I posted pictures, but unless I've actually talked to you about it, you probably don't know the whole story. I ate a lot of sugar the day of the ultrasoud. Too much. But it wasn't intentional, so when we went to the ultrasound the baby was moving around like crazy. the tech told us this, we couldn't tell of course. The heartbeat was 151 that day and as soon as I saw it I knew it was a girl. Because she was moving around so much they had a hard time telling if it was a he or a she. She said she was 95% sure it's a she. She managed to get one good shot, but she didn't put that one on the disk for us. We got a postcard in the mail for a 3D or 4D ultrasound, and if we don't need another one later on I might do that just to be sure--but this baby is costing a lot already, so we'll wait it out.
At our doctor's appointment last week, he said everything on the ultrasound looked good. The heartbeat was about 140 and I was measuring right on pace-21 weeks.

This weekend we went to Terre Haute and did our registry at Babies R Us. It took us 2 and a half hours. Crazy! I can't believe how much every thing costs and how much of it there is. I was really ready to sit down after that, but we went to the mall and mom was so kind to buy me some more maternity pants! Thanks mom!
Now we just need to finish updating our Target resgistry and I think we will be set for a while!
Dusten says that the bedroom in the basement will be ready (mostly) in the next couple weeks. Then we can move our extra bed, our desk and other random stuff downstairs to make room for baby. After that he will be able to start getting things ready for the baby room. Hopefully then we will be able to paint that darn room before Christmas!

21 weeks

2009-09-10T20:04:00.001-04:00

Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now, and if you're having a girl, her vagina has begun to form as well.

20 weeks

2009-09-03T20:02:00.001-04:00

How your baby's growing:Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

Ha! Ha!

2009-09-02T19:26:00.001-04:00

I found a baby maker website and uploaded our pics. It came out with a bunch of very different and some humourous looking kids. I think some of these very closely resemble Dusten. But they didn't make any girls. I don't know why, I tried, but it came up boy every time. Anyway, I thought you might enjoy a laugh.

The other 4

2009-08-29T20:33:00.001-04:00

For whatever reason these decided not to upload the first time.

19 Weeks

2009-08-27T13:53:00.001-04:00

How your baby's growing:Your baby's sensory development is exploding! Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to her, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

It's a Girl

2009-08-26T08:33:00.003-04:00

In My Daughter's Eyes

2009-08-26T08:03:00.001-04:00

In my daughter's eyes I am a hero
I am strong and wise and I know no fear
But the truth is plain to see
She was sent to rescue me
I see who I wanna be
In my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes everyone is equal
Darkness turns to light and the
world is at peace
This miracle God gave to me gives me
strength when I am weak
I find reason to believe
In my daughter's eyes

And when she wraps her handaround my finger
Oh it puts a smile in my heart
Everything becomes a little clearer
I realize what life is all about
It's hangin' on when your heart
has had enough
It's giving more when you feel like giving up
I've seen the light
It's in my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes I can see the future
A reflection of who I am and what will be
Though she'll grow and someday leave
Maybe raise a family
When I'm gone I hope you see how happy
she made me
For I'll be there
In my daughter's eyes

Baby's 1st Pictures

2009-08-25T17:05:00.001-04:00

Anniversary/ Dusten's New Toy

2009-08-22T15:45:00.000-04:00

Here are a couple pictures of the flowers that Dusten sent me for our Anniversary on the 12th. It was the best batch of flowers he has sent me to work so far. Usually he orders them offline and if you've ever done that, you know how sketchy it can be. This time he called a florist and had them create an arrangement just for me! It looks like the flowers from our wedding...I should post a picture of those so you can see the crazy resemblance. I carried calla lillies so there were three of those. In the arrangements at the reception we had asiatic lillies so there were some of those and it turned out beautiful. We went out for dinner twice for our anniversary. We went out on the Sunday before. We have been in TH for the weekend and stopped at PF Changs on our way home because I wasn't feeling horribly sick. Then on our anniversary we went out to Olive Garden- A gift from Dusten's parents. I just can't get enough of their breadsticks in alfredo sauce.

Here is the toy Dusten bought with his Birthday money. It's a Worx GT. It's a weed eater and a trimmer. It's battery operated (we got 2) and super light and easy to use. I could probably do it if I wanted to, but really, I don't.

I guess he was just so excited he decided to do yard work in the dark.

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2009-08-20T13:35:00.001-04:00

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18 weeks

2009-08-20T08:29:00.001-04:00

How your baby's growing:Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

A Long Overdue Update

2009-08-15T15:28:00.001-04:00

I am really good at thinking these entries outloud when I have something to write about, but then I am not at a computer or do not have the energy or the want to to write. So I am forcing myself to do this now.

I have the hiccups everyday. Just one at a time randomly throughout the day, but everyday.

***Weight. I forgot to add this the first time. I haven't gained any weight. Doctor doesn't really seemed to be bothered as long as I am eating, but Dusten and the nurse are always on me. I was surprised for sure, especially because they weighed me fully dressed and with a whole mug of water in me. According to their scale I have gained 1 pound since I got pregnant. Maybe that's because I'm so stinking sick all the time! It's a month into my second trimester and I'm not feeling that much better. People have been telling me that the second trimester is supposed to be so great. So far I'm not a fan. It's also starting to make me paranoid about everything which is not good. I slept on my back the whole night the other night and now I think I've killed the baby because I haven't felt any popping that I had been feeling a couple days before that. I thought that was maybe the baby moving, maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. Now we have our ultrasound in about a week and I'm paranoid that there is going to be something wrong. I'm not really showing at all, so I"m thinking that that baby is going to be super under developed because I have been too hot or because I haven't been able to take my prenatal vitamins all the time or somethiing. This is absolutely ridiculous I am sure. I hope so. Hopefully next Tuesday all my worries will be put to rest, and I can learn to sleep on side and forget about it. Urghh.

We had another doctor's appointment on the 11th. It was much better than they 1st one. We were able to hear the heart beat for a lot longer, but he didn't tell us how many beats per minute it was. We have an ultrasound set up for the 25th. We are hoping to find out if this kid is a boy or a girl. You can vote on either blog, but it closes at 2:30 on the 25th which is the time of our ultrasound, so no cheating!

I'm still occasionally sick. Last night I was feeling a little sick at bedtime and made the mistake of taking my prenatal vitamin anyway. Of course I threw it up like 20 seconds later. And it was a mess. I had to hold my hand to my mouth to keep it from getting all over the place because I didn't get to the bathroom in time. So it was all over my face, my hand, the toilet. It was the worst so far. Usually I throw up right after I eat when the food is not digested, so it's not all acidic and gross. But it had been about 3 1/2 hours since I had eaten, so it smelled and tasted nasty. But that's usually the end of it. I throw up and then I'm done. Mornings are the worst by far, but they are getting gradually better. Thanks to Amy for the Lemonade and Popcorn. I'm addicted. Probably means I'm having a girl. Doing a lot more fruit and juice these days. Can't handle meat in much capacity.

The Baby Bump is barely there. I really just look fat. I think I look a lot more pregnant than I actually do. From my view, I have a belly, but from most other people's views I look the same. I guess I hide it well. I did bust two rubber bands on my jeans. It was kind of a weird situation. I almost had to walk around all day with my jeans unbuckled and unzipped. Luckily I found someone with an extra hair clip so I could use my hair tie as back up. I think I will just stop wearing those jeans in the future. They haven't fit me for a while.

Well that's all for now.

Lucky by Jason Mraz and Colbie Calliat

2009-08-15T11:15:00.004-04:00

Every year it seems about this time there is a new love song released that is the greatest thing I think I have ever heard. The year we got married it was Chris Rice-When Did You Fall and we played it at our wedding. If we had gotten married this year, I would play this song..

Do you hear me,
I'm talking to you
Across the water across the deep blue ocean
Under the open sky, oh my, baby I'm trying
Boy I hear you in my dreams
I feel your whisper across the sea
I keep you with me in my heart
You make it easier when life gets hard

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again

They don't know how long it takes
Waiting for a love like this
Every time we say goodbyeI wish we had one more kiss
I'll wait for you I promise you, I will

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again
Lucky we're in love every way
Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed
Lucky to be coming home someday

And so I'm sailing through the sea
To an island where we'll meet
You'll hear the music fill the air
I'll put a flower in your hair
Though the breezes through trees
Move so pretty you're all I see
As the world keeps spinning round
You hold me right here right now

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again
I'm lucky we're in love every way
Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed
Lucky to be coming home someday

Call Me Papa by Donavon Frankenreiter

2009-08-13T21:57:00.002-04:00

The moon comes up and the moon goes down
Another sleepless night, another sleepless town
but I got you, yeah I got you
Whenever I think about what I thought
Seems to get lost watching all the rain drop
Cause I got you, yeah I got you
You can call me papa And I'll call you baby
Don't forget your mama's my, baby too
Wherever you go, whatever you do
I will be there, be there for you
The moon comes up and the moon goes down
Another sleepless night, another sleepless town
but I got you, yeah I got you
Whenever I think about what I thought
Seems to get lost watching all the rain drop
Cause I got you, yeah I got you
You can call me papa And I'll call you baby
Don't forget your mama's my, baby too
Wherever you go, whatever you do
I will be there, be there for you
yeah(guitar)
You can call me papa And I'll call you baby
Don't forget your mama's my, baby too
Wherever you go, whatever you do
I will be there, be there for you
I will be there, I will be there
be there for you.
-Donaon Frankenreiter

17 weeks

2009-08-13T11:35:00.001-04:00

How your baby's growing:Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop.

New Toys

2009-08-06T18:09:00.005-04:00

For whatever reason Dusten and I have been on a bit of a spending spree lately. It started when we were on vacation. We went to Pentwater for the day and Dusten got lost in a kite store. By the end of the week we came home with 3 kites. We flew them once at Silver Lake and once since we've been home. We actually had better luck flying them in the field behind our house the other day. The wind was really strong and steady.

This is the kite I picked out. I couldn't find the other ones online.

Then we bought a new computer. It was mostly a birthday present, as I poured all my birthday money plus a little into it. My computer has been on the fritz lately as I'm sure you know, since I never can post pictures. It hasn't arrived yet, but I'm getting excited.

Then we bought a new mattress. It was just delivered yesterday and it is wonderful. We upgraded to a queen and we don't even have sheets that fit it yet, but it is much better than Dusten's old mattress. It had recently become a bit of an emergency that we replace it. We spent about 4 hours laying on it in the store, and we even bought some new pillows. So if you come stay the night at our house now you will get to enjoy our new guest bed, and you will probably realize why we got a new mattress. =)

16 weeks

2009-08-06T13:21:00.001-04:00

How your baby's growing:Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

15 weeks

2009-07-30T16:42:00.001-04:00

How your baby's growing:Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods.")

Vacation Rocks, Birthdays Suck

2009-07-24T15:55:00.003-04:00

That's pretty much all I have to say. We had a great time at Silver Lake and I was able to keep my nausea to a minimum until I got home. Since then I have been miserable. I threw up my breakfast on my birthday and was miserable the whole day. The only bright spot was a surprise from one of my coworkers, Kim, who brought me a balloon and a birthday cake made out of two cupcakes decorated like a puppy dog. It was cute. I ate the whole thing, and I didn't share. Other than that it was pretty uneventful. Dusten didn't get me a darn thing. No gift, no card, nothing. He got up before me, and didn't make me breakfast or say Happy Birthday until I called him after work. But I'm not bitter. Not at all. I haven't thrown him a Birthday party every year or bought him Birthday gifts. I guess that was all in my imagination.
But when I get motivated. (If I get motivated) I will add some of our pictures from Silver Lake with more detail of what we did.

Misery loves company

2009-07-24T15:28:00.001-04:00

It's funny how it works really. When other people are pregnant, I want to know what is going on with them at all times. It's frustrating when they don't update their blog or facebook. But now it's me. And now I understand. There is just no motivation. People tell me they read, but that doesn't make it any easier to blog. I'm sick and tired too much to care--even though I really do, I can sit here all day and avoid the updates like the plague.
Doctors appointment was on the 14th and I'm just now forcing myself to update. We met the doctor and got to hear the heartbeat--3 little beats and then his doppler died. Hopefully when we go back on the 11th we will get to hear it again. Then we'll set our next appointment to get our ultrasound and find out what we are having..hopefully. I'm not super anxious because it's still really early, but I don't know how many more ultrasounds we will have.
Vacation--Dusten and I just got back from a 5 day vacation at Silver Lake. I think the last time I was there was about 4 years ago. It was nice to go back. It's still exactly the same. I managed to keep my sickness under control. I think sleeping in helps. We slept in until at least 9 or 10 every day. Our first day back was Thursday (yesterday and it was my birthday) I had to go back to work. I felt horrible. I threw up my breakfast right when I needed to be walking out the door and I ended up being miserable all day long. Same thing today. I was miserable before I even got out of bed. My gag reflex is just so sensitive that it makes it hard to breathe. So I just told Dusten that I wasn't going--and I slept until 11:30 and came in half day. I still haven't really found anything that helps. People give all their advice, but so far nothing has really worked. Lemons, chips, ginger ale, nothing works like the magic they say it will. All I can say is, I hope this is over soon, or it's going to be a very long 6 months.

14 weeks

2009-07-23T12:59:00.001-04:00

How your baby's growing:This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

13 weeks

2009-07-16T12:54:00.001-04:00

How your baby's growing:Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce.

What I'm Reading

2009-07-12T17:30:00.006-04:00

It's been a long time I know. I have a kewl little logo for these posts, but it's on my computer at home, and you know how that is. These aren't all pregancy books, so don't freak out. Only 2 of 5. It took me about a year to read all the left behind books, but I enjoyed it. Sometime when I feel better maybe I will come back and add my personal opinions about each of these.
From Amazon.com: Your Pregnancy Week by Week is the most medically current and comprehensive pregnancy guide available. Doctors recommend it. Reviewers praise it. I got it for free!! Pregnant couples rely on it. With over 70 new topics covered, and completely updated throughout to keep up with trends, new products, and safety recommendations, this comprehensive, authoritative, and easy-to-use guide includes: Detailed descriptions of baby’s developmental milestones each week Clear illustrations of how both mother and baby are changing and growing Up-to-date information about medical tests and procedures Tips on nutrition and lifestyle and the ways actions affect baby Safe weekly exercises to help mother stay in shape and comfortable Helpful hints for the father-to-be and information on how a pregnancy affects a couple

From Amazon.com:

Everything you wanted to know about having a baby. And everything you didn't
Do you have questions about pregnancy? Whether you are already pregnant or just thinking about having a baby, you probably have plenty. And yet somehow there's never enough time to ask during visits to the doctor -- or sometimes the questions arise only in the middle of the night.
Here is authoritative, reassuring information and advice for any hour of the day or night. Pregnancy and Birth: Your Questions Answered is the book you'll want to keep on hand throughout your pregnancy and even after the birth of your child. It provides complete answers to hundreds of questions on every aspect of pregnancy and birth, from conception and prenatal care, through labor, and into the first six weeks of your baby's life.

From Amazon.com: Trixie Stone is an imaginative, perceptive 14 year old whose life begins to unravel when Jason Underhill, Bethel High's star hockey player, breaks up with her, leaving a void that can only be filled by the blood spilled during shameful self-mutilations in the girls' bathroom. While Trixie's dad Daniel notices his daughter's recent change in demeanor, he turns a blind eye, just as he does to the obvious affair his wife Laura, a college professor, is barely trying to conceal. When Trixie gets raped at a friend's party, Daniel and Laura are forced to deal not only with the consequences of their daughter's physical and emotional trauma, but with their own transgressions as well. For Daniel, that means reflecting on a childhood spent as the only white kid in a native Alaskan village, where isolation and loneliness turned him into a recluse, only to be born again after falling in love with his wife. Laura, who blames her family's unraveling on her selfish affair, must decide how to reconcile her personal desires with her loved ones' needs.
You wouldn't believe it from the summary, but this is a good book, but I was hoping for more details in the ending.

From Amazon.com: Continuing the warm-and-fuzzy saga begun in her popular The Friday Night Knitting Club, Jacobs stitches together another winning tale of the New York City knitting circle, more a sisterhood than a hobby group (the irascible Darwin Chiu can't even really knit). In this installment-and it does feel like an installment-readers catch up five years after the unexpected, book-capping death of club leader (and knitting shop owner Georgia Walker. Georgia's 18-year-old Dakota is at NYU, discovering her first love, while her father James and Georgia's best friend Catherine are still coming to terms. The rest of the cast runs a wide gamut of ages and experience, but is easier to follow this time around, as Jacobs is more comfortable giving them more space and backstory. Pregnant, whip-smart professor Darwin and her husband, Dan, are welcoming twins; video director and single mom Lucie is coping with a hyperactive 5-year-old and a failing parent; Georgia's old mentor, the wise Anita, begins questioning her own motives; and everyone's stories cross paths in satisfying, organic ways. A trip to Italy provides some forward motion, and pays off in a charming denouementthat nevertheless pushes a familiar it's-the-journey-not-the-destination message; still, this sequel is as comforting, enveloping and warm as a well-crafted afghan.

Good, but not as good as the first one.

From Amazon.com: Freelance carpenter Shay Bourne was sentenced to death for killing a little girl, Elizabeth Nealon, and her cop stepfather. Eleven years after the murders, Elizabeth's sister, Claire, needs a heart transplant, and Shay volunteers, which complicates the state's execution plans. Meanwhile, death row has been the scene of some odd events since Shay's arrival—an AIDS victim goes into remission, an inmate's pet bird dies and is brought back to life, wine flows from the water faucets. The author brings other compelling elements to an already complex plot line: the priest who serves as Shay's spiritual adviser was on the jury that sentenced him; Shay's ACLU representative, Maggie Bloom, balances her professional moxie with her negative self-image and difficult relationship with her mother. Picoult moves the story along with lively debates about prisoner rights and religion, while plumbing the depths of mother-daughter relationships and examining the literal and metaphorical meanings of having heart. The point-of-view switches are abrupt, but this is a small flaw in an impressive book.

Loved it. Really got you thinking about what you would do if this happened to you. A must read for any parent.

La de da

2009-07-12T17:23:00.001-04:00

I'm trying to write at least one personal post a week, but man it's getting hard. Nothing is changing. There's no update to make. I'm still sick, eating all the time and losing weight. As of this morning I am down 1.8 lbs from my prepregnancy weight. All my weight is shifting to my belly. I don't really have a baby bump just the nice start of a tire on my front. I was surprised at my weight this morning and thinking about the foods I have eating. Lots of Chicken McNuggets, milkshakes, yogurt, pudding, milk. Not foods that are that good for me. Pretty high in fat. And I haven't really been working out. I walk a lot at work, but I come home and sleep the rest of the time. It just boggles my mind. We have a Drs. Appt on Tuesday. Hopefully something blogworthy will happen then.

12 weeks

2009-07-09T10:02:00.001-04:00

How your baby's growing:The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.

11 weeks

2009-07-02T17:56:00.001-04:00

How your baby's growing:Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden.She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming.

Member of the Club

2009-07-02T17:48:00.001-04:00

I threw up. Twice actually, so that makes me an official member of the morning sickness club, even though both times it was at night. I think it's natures way of playing a joke, because I had started to tell people that I was starting to be less sick and more tired. Now I'm just more sick and more tired. Hopefully it will be over in the next couple of weeks. I feel like I eat all the time, but it's never enough. I do much better on a liquid diet. Lots of milk, yogurt, milkshakes. I think I'm lucky that I haven't really gained any weight. When Dusten got home from camp on Saturday he actually made me get on the scale. Not that he knew what my weight was to begin with. He thought that I had lost some large amount of weight while I was home sleeping all week. But I had gained .4 pounds. Lucky me. Also found out that my cousin Tim and his wife Gwen are also expecting. They're due the first week of February. They got married 2 months after us, so I should have expected it. It's kind of funny because we never talked about it, and I'm so excited for our child to have a cousin.

Lazy Bones

2009-06-27T12:59:00.004-04:00

I am so lazy. Dusten has been gone all week and I haven't done a thing. I don't know if it's because I'm sick, tired, or pregnant, or if it's because I'm actually lazy. Dusten says it's a little of both. I don't want to shower, do the dishes, or even get off the couch and go to bed. I almost slept on the couch one night cause I was too lazy to get up. I did one sinkful of dishes and one load of laundry that is still in the dryer. That's it. I pretty much slept the whole week. I even postponed this blog post because I was too lazy to write it. Last night I came home from work and I went to bed at 6:15pm. I didn't change into my pajamas or anything. I woke up at 2:45am and watched the 24 news channel until it started repeating itself and by then I had stored up enough energy to take a shower. So I did that and went back to bed at 4:30am and slept til I had to get up at 6:30 am this morning for work. You would think that I would have all sorts of energy after that amount of sleep, but I could go for a nap right now. I just felt absolutely terrible yesterday. I think it's because I've been telling people that my nausea has been getting better. In any case I have been sick the entire month of June, so I am ready for it to be July. Long holiday weekend. Vacation at Silver Lake. Birthday. Hopefully sick and tired won't be added to the list.

10 weeks

2009-06-25T09:06:00.002-04:00

How your baby's growing:Though he's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature.He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.If you could take a peek inside your womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.In other developments: Your baby's limbs can bend now. His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, he's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.

Pics are up

2009-06-23T18:20:00.002-04:00

New pictures of the fire pit have been added below. Pictures from telling our parents we're pregnant are now on the baby blog

Pictures

2009-06-23T18:18:00.001-04:00

New pictures from telling our parents have finally been added!

Yuck

2009-06-20T12:31:00.001-04:00

Well the good news is that my nausea seems to be going away slowly. I am back to eating cereal for breakfast without being miserable all day. I still don't have much of an appetite. I have been drinking lots and lots of milk, and as a result, I am only up .4 pounds from my pre pregnancy weight--which means I lost almost all of the 4 pounds I gained from being so hungry the first couple weeks. Leave it to me to lose weight while pregnant. Nothing sounds good. I made a smoothie the other night for dinner. It wasn't that good but I added black and raspberries to it. Those are fruits I don't normally eat, but if blended together I can stomach it. I asked my mom if she could make me some chicken noodle soup, and she said she would try to bring it sometime this weekend. That's pretty nice! I can pretty much eat only bland foods. Breads and starch. I have eaten two cans of peaches this week, but nothing with any type of seasoning other than salt of course. I can't get enough of that. I still don't have much of an appetite to eat much protein, but if I have in small amounts, like cut up in soup or in a sauce it doesn't bother me as much. It's mostly the smell that bothers me. I wouldn't say that I have a heightened sense of smell, but the normal things that I smell make me want to be sick. Hopefully there is only a couple weeks left of this. Bring on July 9 and week 12. I'm ready!

Dusten goes to camp

2009-06-20T12:19:00.002-04:00

Dusten and I are splitting up for the week. I am staying home and working (& lots of sleeping of course) and Dusten is headed to a week of church camp. It will be the first time we have been apart overnight since we got married, which is almost 3 years. I'm kind of looking forward to having the house to myself. I can come home and take a nap after work (as is my usual for the past 2 weeks) and I won't have him harping on me to do the dishes or laundry or something. I'm hoping to have the energy tomorrow to make sure the house is clean and the laundry is done. Then as long as I have something to eat for lunch during the week, I won't have to do anything but take a nap when I get home from work. It'll be nice to spread out on the bed like old times. I haven't had a full size bed to myself since I went to college, but it'll be sad that he won't be there to cuddle with or steal the covers from. I'm sure the week will go by quickly--maybe I'll even work some OT in this week.

9 weeks

2009-06-18T09:50:00.001-04:00

How your baby's growing:Your new resident is nearly an inch long — about the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. Her eyes are fully formed, but her eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes, and her mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that your baby's basic physiology is in place, she's poised for rapid weight gain.

Capri by Colbie Calliat

2009-06-17T08:52:00.004-04:00

She’s got a baby inside
And holds her belly tight
All through the night
Just so she knows
She’s sleeping so
Safely to keep
Her growing
And oh when she'll open her eyes
There'll be no surprise
That she'll grow to be
So beautifully
Just like her mother
That’s carrying

Oh Capri
She’s beauty
Baby inside she’s loving
Oh Capri
She’s beauty
There is and angel growin’ peacefully
Oh Capri
Sweet baby

And things will be hard at times
But I've learned to try
Just listening
Patiently, oh Capri
Sweet baby

Oh Capri
She’s beauty
Baby inside she’s loving
Oh Capri
Your beauty
Just like your mother
That’s carrying...Oh Capri

SURPRISE!

Well if you don't read lyrics (Shame on you) but it would tell you that Dusten and I are pregnant! Baby Tryon is due January 23. It's been a long 3 weeks since we found out. I've been sick the past 2 and the first week it was really hard no to tell anyone. I have a separate blog that I have been writing in about the baby. I'll let you read it, but I'm warning you, it's more than you ever wanted to know about being pregnant. That's the disclaimer, so if it's too much info for you, then I'd just browse through the pictures. I need to put up the new ones of telling our family too. The address is babytryon.blogspot.com.

Welcome!

2009-06-17T08:10:00.001-04:00

Everyone is a new reader to this blog--welcome! I've been talking to myself here for the past 3 weeks. I hope this blog doesn't gross you out, but I've found it to be a good place for me to vent all my pregnancy woes. If you're going to be a dedicated reader, then I would start from the beginning which is May 23rd--the day I took the test. You are more than welcome to leave comments. If you do not have a google/gmail account you can leave a comment by clicking on the anonymous option. Just be sure to at least leave your name. =) To leave a comment click on the link at the bottom of the post that says '0 comments' or whatever number comments are there. If you have any problems, let me know.

The News is out

2009-06-16T10:22:00.001-04:00

We told the TenBrink fam last night. It started out that they were going to come up for Father's Day and see the updates on the house and such, but Dad has to work Father's day and he had to work the Sunday before. So we decided that we would just meet for dinner instead. So we were going to meet them last night in Plainfield for dinner at 7. Mom called at 4:30 and said that Dad was really sick with a head cold and wasn't going to be coming. Great. So should we tell them or not tell them? I am ready for everyone to know already! The longer we try to keep it a secret the harder it will be. So I decided to just tell them without Dad. We went to Red Robin and after we ordered I said, "It's too bad Dad couldn't come, because we brought his Father's Day present with us. But we got one for each of you too." So I passed them out and got my camera ready to take pictures. Mom reacted pretty much as I had expected. She said, "Oh, my God. You have got to be kidding me."
Then she just kept saying, "what month? what month?" I didn't know if she meant how many months pregnant am I or when am I due, so I didn't react in a quick manner. Luckily D stepped in and finally said January. She started to cry of course. Gerrit made fun of her for crying--as usual.
Then we all did the impression of how Dad would react. He doesn't get excited very easily unless you're missing an arm or bleeding profusely. He ended up calling me when they got back home to the Haute. He sounded really sick but the way he said, "Hello, this is Grandpa Phil" cracked me up. I asked him how he found out, because we had debated whether we should call and tell him, or if they should just go home wearing their shirts and see how long it took for him to notice. In a normal day I think it would take him a long time to notice--plus the fact that he was sick--I thought he'd probably be asleep before they got home. But I think he was excited. He told me he found on the Internet--Obama tracks all the pregnant women, because it's good for the economy or something. That shouldn't surprise you if you know my dad. So I really don't know how they ended up telling him. Then he went into his whole doctor spiel about how I should walk and drink lots of water..yada yada.
I still have a couple more people to tell before it is officially official.

Telling Dusten's grandma was fun too. Our water heater was fixed on Saturday, but on Monday they were still working on the furnace. So Dusten told her that they had to disconnect the water heater to finish the furnace, and that we would need to come over for a shower. She said she would make us dinner and it worked perfect. After dinner we were sitting on the couch in our usual spots. I pulled out my camera and took a picture of Dusten half asleep on the couch. Then I told them to look like they liked each other and she leaned in. Then I said, "Ok, now say, we're pregnant." And she did, but she didn't get it. Then after the picture she said, "You're not are you?" And I said, "yes" and then she reacted. She didn't believe us for a minute which made it pretty funny. So we sat there for another 20 minutes and then she got up to call Brenda and Chris. She didn't even realize that we had set her up for dinner and a shower. We brought our shower bag fully intending on just taking showers there, but I didn't want to, so we ended up going home. It's funny how fast the news travels. On Sunday we had people congratulating us and we have no idea how they found out. I guess that's part of the fun.

8 weeks

2009-06-11T09:18:00.001-04:00

How your baby's growing:

New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl. Either way, your baby — about the size of a kidney bean — is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can't feel it.

1st Appointment

2009-06-11T08:52:00.001-04:00

We had our first appointment yesterday. We didn't see the doctor, we just met with the nurse. They didn't even do a pregnancy test while I was there, but they took a whole bunch of my blood, so I assume they will test it. They said I weighed one pound less then when I was there last, which was in December. Funny, because in December I could buckle my pants. I still can't buckle them. Since I have had morning (really all day) sickness, I have lost 3 pounds. So I am currently 1.5 pounds up from my weight pre pregnancy. She told me I needed to eat more meat and drink more fluids the two things you don't want to do when you are sick. Water, sprite, lemonade do not settle well. The only drink I can really tolerate is milk. At least that is good for me. Also I switched from eating cereal for breakfast to eating potatos, recently in the form of hashbrowns. It has helped me feel a little bit better in the mornings. More yesterday than today. The nurse said I should take my vitamin at night (there you go, Stacy) and to eat something before I get out of bed. So Dusten bought me some Animal Crackers. But I think it will be harder for me to remember to take my vitamin before I go to bed. I've been taking it with breakfast for over a year. Dusten is always on my case about something so I'm sure he'll help me remember. My next appointment is in July, when I'll be 12 weeks. She said we will meet with the doctor then. And then at 18 weeks they will do an ultrasound and try to determine the sex of the baby. They also gave us a diaper bag full of reading material, samples, and coupons.

Well this makes me feel a little better

2009-06-08T16:15:00.001-04:00

Morning sickness linked to smarter babies
Thu, Apr 23, 2009 (HealthDay News) -- Children born to mothers who have morning sickness may be smarter than those whose moms don't have nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, suggests a new study.
Researchers found that the children of mothers with morning sickness scored higher on tests designed to assess children's IQ and mental acuity, the Canadian Press reported.
But while this difference was statistically significant, it doesn't mean that children born to mothers who didn't have nausea during pregnancy are developmentally slow, said senior author Dr. Gideon Koren, director of the Motherisk Program at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. It's just that the other children scored higher on the tests.
The study appears in the Journal of Pediatrics.
Nausea has long been recognized as a sign of a healthy pregnancy, according to the CP. Pregnant women who have morning sickness are less likely to have a miscarriage and less likely to have babies with congenital cardiovascular problems.

Finally

2009-06-08T13:26:00.002-04:00

We finally have hot water. When I got home on Friday night we had no water and a gas leak. But by the time I woke up on Saturday the guys had both fixed and we were finally able to do dishes and shower again! You really start to take that for granted when you have it everyday and you don't have to drive across town to take a shower. I'm happy it's fixed. Now once they get the furnace and air in we'll be back to normal. That hasn't really affected us very much though.

We had Dusten's Birthday/Mortgage Burning Party on Saturday night. We invited our friends most of which we haven't seen in way too long. We had a good time but the people we hang out with don't party like they used to. They all have young kids or are pregant, so by 10PM Dusten and I were the only ones left. Of course it doesn't get dark until late now, so weren't able to enjoy the campfire like I thought we would, but I think everyone had a good time. I did!

Surprise!

2009-06-08T13:14:00.001-04:00

We told Dusten's parents yesterday. It went pretty well. I have a couple pictures of it, but it will take me a couple of days to get them up. Casie screamed. She got her t-shirt opened first. I didn't get a good picture of her because she was sitting right next to me, but I got a good shot of his parents.

It was a good time to tell them, because almost all of the extended family was there and I think more showed up after we left. We're planning to tell his other grandma tonight, assuming I feel up to it. I have been feeling like majot yucko today. To this point I haven't actually thrown up, but I did go to the bathroom to heave today. Nothing came up today, but it sure stinks leaving the house in the morning knowing what you are in store for during the day.