Picture Day!

It was ultrasound day today. Based on my last period I'm 20 weeks and the due date is July 7th but when they measured baby it looks like he/she is between 19 and 20 weeks...but since I'm still "in range" they are keeping my same due date.

Jodi's Highlights:

• The ultrasound tech was a student at CVTC so I was pleased to support one of our graduates.
• The techs were excited (and that made me excited) because they could see baby very clearly.
• The techs and I shared enthusiasm for several tv shows (One Tree Hill and Alias).
• We didn't find out the gender. :)
• Baby is healthy.

Eric's Highlights:

• Seeing all the fingers and toes and seeing a healthy baby.
• There's only one baby.
• We got to hear the heartbeat again.
• Both baby and mom are doing fine.

So, onto some photos:

I think this one is my favorite ~ you can see the full body profile. This was toward the end of the visit and baby had turned face up so we got some good shots.

The techs thought he/she was giving us a salute...you can see the little fingers up by the face.

Baby was facing away from the "camera" so this is the back of the head, ribs, and arm.

Before

A comment before I start. Previously, I had Facebook set to import all my blog posts as notes...but I turned off that feature because I want to separate the blog from Facebook...Facebook is MY personal space and while I may mention baby from time to time I want to feel like I'm me and not just all about baby, even though obviously he/she is a huge part of our life. So yeah, hope that makes sense. If you don't want to check the blog all the time you can subscribe to the RSS feed or email me and I can set it so you receive an email notification when I update this.

So, onto the topic at hand. My mom and dad bought us the bedding I wanted and I got it this weekend. (thanks SOO much guys) I'm excited and was thrilled to see how well it matched the dresser we already painted. Also, I started work on the stripes but I think it needs some color tweaking so this is the before, and you'll see the after in a couple weeks after mom comes and helps me do some color correction. Thanks mom!

Inspire

Not much new to report as of late. I've slowly begun work on the nursery and I think I've picked out the bedding I like best: http://www.amazon.com/NoJo-Jungle-Tales-Piece-Crib/dp/B0019LX628 I've seen it in person and it's super cute and actually a lot brighter and cheerier. Even if I decide against the jungle animals I'm definitely going with the idea for artwork I found. I actually spied these maybe a year ago on an episode of Divine Design with Candice Olson and earmarked them in my mind.
So, to prove how in sync Target and I are they are actually carrying the aforementioned artwork. It's super cute but I've got three frames that I really want to use in baby's room and they hold an 8x10 but the artwork at Target is 12x12...so, enter my creative moment.
I've made two so far, but am pondering my third. I'm leaning towards the cow but if I do end up doing the Jungle theme am wondering if I should pick three "jungle" animals instead of three "domestic" ones....yeah, I'm being neurotic...like baby will even care. :)

My work:



Original artwork from Yuko Lau:

16 Weeks

I'm sixteen weeks along this week and when I got into work today several of my coworkers said, "Wow! You look pregnant!" And since I am pregnant I'm taking that as a good thing...otherwise I probably wouldn't have taken the news so well. I still think I look like I've had a big meal, but I thought I'd post a photo anyway. I'm in my pajamas---deal with it. They are the only pants that fit. :)

Bubble Chair

Last summer when we got our sectional for the basement I spied what I deemed the Bubble Chair at Slumberland. I fell in love, but alas it was an unnecessary purchase at the time and a bit out of our price range. However, I've been keeping tabs on it ever since.

WELL, this weekend Slumberland is running a sale and my beloved chair is finally a part of it. To be honest, I still think it's a bit over-priced (but really, all furniture is) but since it was on sale and we've got some extra cash coming in this month due to some extra training I'm doing Eric and I struck a deal. I get my chair (hurray) and he gets a riding lawn mower this summer.

So, without further ado, I give you....my Bubble Chair! (we bought the matching ottoman but they didn't have it in stock so it'll arrive in early February.)

Heartbeat!

Yesterday we had our second doctor's appointment. We got to hear baby's heartbeat for the first time which was pretty cool. At our first appointment I was only 10 weeks so they just grabbed the portable ultrasound and while we got to see baby (or at least a blob the lady identified as a baby) we couldn't hear anything. But yesterday she found it right away...164 beats per minute, which is high but still within the normal range. We've heard a wives tale that says a higher heartbeat means girl but I'm still holding fast to the not knowing decision. Our next appointment is in five weeks and we'll get a "real" ultrasound then so we've still got a little time to negotiate.

I Won!?

I'm going to claim victory in the baby gender voting...but I have a sneaking suspicion it may have not been totally legit. Practically overnight the vote when from 16-3 in Eric's favor to 16-22 in my favor...if someone decided to tamper with the voting I can claim complete ignorance because I had nothing to do with it. We still haven't sat down and had a serious conversation about whether we'll really find out or not, my my emotions are still leaning heavily towards the surprise of not knowing...
On the way to the Vikings game tonight we had a long talk about our future child's education...private versus public, the responsibility of the parent, extra-curricular activities...it's fun to talk about but the reality of baby and the reality of the responsibility is slowly starting to sink in. The fact that we're responsible for the well-being of something other than our dog is crazy. I just keep thinking of all that I don't know, but I heard embedded in a sermon at church once that you only have to be a half step ahead to lead, so I'm gonna cling to that for now.