Just wondering....

• Is this our last weekend as a family of three?


• How will Ava react to her baby brother when he does arrive?


• Will he come before Thanksgiving or will Christmas be his first official holiday?


• What will he look like?


• How long until I get a peaceful night's sleep again?


• How many new adventures our family will have...

Anxiously Awaiting Baby Brother

Finally after a few months of working, our nursery is complete (well, except for installing a power strip into the ONE electrical outlet in his room!). We decided to use Bradley's boyhood furniture which is a darker and more masculine wood for a boy and convert our guest room into the nursery since it has less closet space than Ava's room. And let's face it, a girl needs more closet space! We kept the walls the same brown color that they already were. The bed and bedding and other coordinates were a gift from Nana and Pop (Joe and Anne) and Aunt Bethany. There are a few more things I want to get to add to the walls, but here is the finished product as of right now. The only thing not pictures is his changing area which is waiting on the power strip to be put in.

We had a doctor's appt yesterday. All went well, my blood pressure was back down to a more reasonable rate. I go back next Tuesday and we will possibly schedule an induction for the end of the week. Please pray that if I haven't had him that they are able to induce me because I would prefer to have a baby that weighs under 9 pounds!

The first two pictures are just some I took of the massive amounts of laundry I have been doing to get ready for Baby Boy. Lots of blues and browns.

His bed, complete with the Heartbeat Bear that my parents had bought for Ava.

One of the shelves in his room. This one has some of my Disney Snowglobes and some Jim Shore figurines that Bradley bought for him. You know we love Disney!

The wall and window beside his bed.

The view from his window.

Another shelf. This one has his baby book which is ready to be filled and a plush monkey that matches his bedding.

His closet.

The same Winnie the Pooh characters from Ava's nursery sit on top of his bookshelf/dresser.

His cute little lightplate.

Baby Shower at School

Last Thursday my friends at work threw me a shower for Mr. Baby Boy Rogers. We had lots of yummy food and he got lots of great gifts. It was a very nice shower and I am so appreciative to my co-workers for everything. I was so worried that the baby would come before I got have my work shower like Ava did. But it was fantastic, even though I look awful and I was feeling horrible and my BP was so high. Anyway, it was great and thanks so much for everything!

Ultrasound Pics of Baby Boy Rogers

Today's ultrasound confirmed that we are indeed having a boy this time. No shocker there! We are around 3 weeks from our due date and he weighs about 7 pounds and 12 ounces. The US tech said that he does have hair and everything looks great.

My blood pressure was a little over the limit this afternoon, but the nurse practitioner said I could work at least the rest of this week and just keep a close eye on it. I am 1 cm dilated which makes me happy since I never dilated on my own with Ava.

Anyway, here are some pictures of the little guy. Of course it was hard to get clear shots because he is already head down and so cramped, but we at least got a good profile shot. You can see the outline of his face here.

The spiky stuff is hair.

His little testicles (he kept the real business covered up with his foot.

His butt crack and leg.

His foot.

Baby Update

We are about 3 weeks away from our due date. This afternoon we go for an Ultrasound to see how big he is and for our regular check-up. My blood pressure has been staying under the 140/90 mark, but just by a little bit.

I have been having quite a few contractions lately, but nothing that indicates labor, just making me severly uncomfortable. Last night was a rough night and I didn't get much sleep. I have a baby shower scheduled for tomorrow, so I hope I can make it that long.

Anyway, if something happens and I do go into labor, I will be updating the page through twitter. So at the top of the blog, you can see updates and what is going on. Just remember us in your thoughts and prayers.

If you do read this, I would also appreciate your prayers for a friend of mine. Her little boy who is 4 has discovered a swollen lymph node. They are on a round of antibiotics right now, but if the lump does not shrink, then they will begin testing him to see if he has lymphoma. Please remember them in your prayers.

Finally getting something done...

We have had a busy weekend, but I feel like we have accomplished quite a few things. We have bought Ava a new bookshelf for her big girl room, cleaned some on the baby's room, got lots of Ava's stuff ready for a consignment sale in a few weeks, and registered for Baby Boy Rogers's upcoming arrival.

If you are interested in seeing the baby registries, just look over to the right side under links and you can see the link for Wal-Mart and Target. Obviously, we still have the big baby items left over from Ava, but I was stressing because we really have no boy things. I finally convinced Bradley to register, so at least we have taken a small step towards the new little one!

I have finally gotten my old computer back (well at least the hard drive, but in a different body) so I am once again in action as far as my pictures and getting access to old files I had not burned onto CD. I have had a couple of sessions recently so if you go to my photography website (link at right), you can check them out. I have several more over the next few weeks, so I am staying busy!

I haven't had time to download any new pictures onto this computer yet, so I am posting an old one that I hadn't before. This is from us leaving our resort in Disney. I am hoping to get some new ones downloaded this week. Hope everyone had a great Labor Day!

What I See When I Look Down...

This pregnancy is really starting to fly by and I am so far behind as compared to when Ava was born. By this time we were completely ready for her (with a few small exceptions). This one has really snuck up on us and we still have things to do (although Bradley disagrees and says we don't have much to do). I feel like there are a million things on my to do list. Here is how pregnancy is treating me right now:

• I am SOOOOOOOO relieved to have passed my gestational diabetes test! Words can't explain.
• I feel so tired almost all the time. By 7 at night I am absolutely zapped. Not much left in me.
• I am having a hard time sleeping. I toss and turn, and have to go to the bathroom 3 - 4 times a night.
• So far I have not experienced any swelling or rise in blood pressure (KNOCK ON WOOD!) which I was already experiencing at this point with Ava. I am so thankful to this cooler weather we have been having because I am sure that it helps.
• We got the good news that we don't have to go to childbirth classes even though we will be at a different hospital, which makes me thrilled (and of course Bradley was happy too!).
• I go back to the doctor in about 2 and a half weeks and then I will start going every two weeks.
• This little guy moves a lot lower than Ava did. She rested high in my ribs and he hangs around pretty low. He is a big kicker like she was, especially at night and when I am resting.
• My stretch marks are now getting stretch marks!
• I am just hoping the rest of the pregnancy goes smoothly with no complications!

I passed!

Yay! I passed my fasting gestational diabetes test! I am so relieved and happy to hear that I don't have to worry about that anymore. I'm not saying that I am going to eat a 5 pound bag of sugar, but it is such a relief knowing that I won't have to go to the extra worry for the remainder of my pregnancy! Such a relief to hear those words, "You passed." Thanks to all for your thoughts and prayers!

A Recent Family Pic and a Belly Shot (or 2)

Bo took a few pictures of us when they were visiting for Ava's birthday. Here is a shot of the 3 of us (you can't see the 4th) and then a shot of my 25 week belly. Of course Ava didn't like being left out and wanted a belly shot too. But as you can see, hers is vastly different from mine! ;)

It's a ........ Cletus!

Boy! Due date 11/26/09 right on Thanksgiving Day. The ultrasound today went fine. The little guy was still a little small to get clear pictures of, but it was confirmed by the US technician and the doctor that this is definitely a boy. His heartbeat was strong at 148 beats a minute and everything looked good. He weighs 9 and 1/2 oz. The tech said it was hard to get very clear pictures of him because he is still so small and doesn't have body fat yet. She said at this stage they are still very skeletal because of just how tiny they are.

On the yucky side, I had my blood drawn today for the screening test that shows down syndrome and a few other genetic disorders. This was what came back with a false positive for Ava. So just pray for us that this doesn't come back high on us again. I would hate to go through all that mess again!

So here he is. Baby Boy Rogers. No name decided yet.

This first picture is of his manhood. The top arrow is his goober and the bottom arrow is his other man goods.

His hand is up by his face in this one. He kept trying to suck his thumb, but he was overshooting his mouth and hitting the top of his head.

Boy or Girl?

On Monday we go for an Ultrasound to check on the baby and hopefully determine if it is a little girl or little boy. Or as Bradley says, is it a Cletus or a Eunice? So I thought I would see if there is anyone out there still reading this blog and what their guess is.

So leave us a comment and let us know your guess.


Girl or Boy?

My Excuse for the lack of posting

Dear Readers,

I am so sorry for the lack of posting lately. After vacation we have just been hit so hard with sickness, dr visits, and just feeling plain yucky, that I have completely been putting the blog (and the state of my house) on the back burner. But I am pleased to say that Ava and I have pulled through our colds and yuckies, and Bradley is finally making his way out of his. But I have just been too tired at night and just still not feeling 100%. So now I will tell you why. We found out while on the trip that we are having another baby! After the last pregnancy I just wasn't ready to share this one with everybody until we were further along and things were progressing. But since the last pregnancy ended in a miscarriage, my doctor wanted me to have an early ultrasound to confirm dates and put my mind at ease. So on Thursday Bradley and I went in for an ultrasound and sure enough, there was our little jelly bean's heartbeat! The dates were a little off than what we had figured, and we are due on November 28, 2009. Seeing the heartbeat is such a good sign at this point and since morning sickness has been kicking my butt this time, my doctor feels very confident that things will go fine for this pregnancy. I am nauseated pretty much all the time and have a prescription for that. With Ava I felt a little sick in the evenings, and with the miscarriage I had no pregnancy symptoms except for tiredness, so while I hate the sick feeling, I know it is a good sign. So just continue to remember us in your prayers and pray for this little one and me that the pregnancy continues to thrive and in the fall we have an addition to our family!