Week 25

This week and last I have been teaching summer camp with my wonderful friend Maria. We have had a great time taking the kids on all kinds of field trips and making delicious foods with them. I have noticed more this week than any other that my pregnant body cannot take this extreme heat. Every afternoon I come home with a headache and have to take a nap to recoup from the days events. I have also found that I get a heat rash on my stomach if I am in the sun too long or over exert myself. I think this baby is trying to tell me that it would like to spend it's summer relaxing and floating in the pool. Oh, the sacrifices that have to be made never end! :)

Celebrating Dad!

This weekend we drove over to Orlando to meet the family to celebrate dad receiving the Wendell Butler award. Colt and Clay met us in Orlando and we all stayed in a condo together at the Reunion resort. We arrived Friday night and went to dinner at the restaurant in the main building called Eleven. We took a picture of dad because he ordered a whole bunch of appetizers for his meal. As we all sat waiting on our meals the waiter proceeded to bring him appetizer after appetizer until his entire area was filled with delicious food. On Saturday Pete and I had to go shopping because I did not have a prego dress to wear to the banquet that night. Pete was a really good sport and after the fifth store I was finally able to find something to wear. Saturday afternoon we watched the USA lose their World Cup game and then spent the rest of the afternoon floating and laughing around the Lazy River. Saturday night we went to the awards banquet where dad was recognized for his life time achievements in the nursery business. There was a wonderful slide show http://vimeo.com/12801609 and dad gave an acceptance speech. We were all very proud of him.

Dad surrounded by his appetizers.
The three boys a the banquet looking handsome in their suits. I let the family feel the baby when it was kicking. Mom and dad were so excited of course and Clay said it felt like he was getting a bight on a fishing pole. As always, Clay is both hilarious and descriptive.

The octagon ice bowl!!!!!!!!

A very bad picture of dad making his acceptance speech. On a completely unrelated note, one of the ladies at the banquet asked mom if I was expecting twins. I know it is ridiculous to be bothered by such a statement, but I was!

Visit with the Pierces

Last weekend we drove over to Gasparilla Island to see JR, Liz, Colton, and baby Grace. We spent time at the beautiful beach, cooked out and sat around talking. We had a really nice visit and it was great catching up on life in the Pierce family. While JR and Pete were outside cooking the steaks, I took Colton down to see them. He started messing with the cooking utensils after a little while and we decided it was time for him to go back upstairs. He didn't want his dad or me to take him back up, he kept pulling on Pete's hand. Pete asked him if he wanted him to take him upstairs. Colton turned Pete's hand over and kissed his palm as a reply. It was so cute.

24 Weeks

People have been telling me that there will be a time when my tummy will "pop". I have never cared for this particular phrase as I think it sounds gross. Well this week I think "I popped". Pete and I were taking a walk and I kept looking down at my stomach because for the first time I really could not see below it. Pete said that he thought my stomach looked twice as big as it had the day before. Two days before this change my sides were sore like I had been working them out extensively. My thought is that the baby turned and was now facing a either in or out, but no longer sideways.

We went for the third ultrasound on Thursday at the Maternal and Fetal health center at Healthpark. The technician was finally able to see the spine and was even able to get a couple of 3D pictures. The doctor came in after the technician was finished and had his own look at the baby. This doctor was very professional and spoke in a very deliberate and calculated manner. Pete and I both felt like he was about to deliver some somber news by the tone of his voice but thankfully, he instead assured us that everything looked perfect and that the baby was developing wonderfully. The baby had his/her hands in front of their face for most of the ultrasound and the tech commented that he/she had long fingers. We are very excited that we were able to make it through three different ultrasounds without finding out the sex. At our first visit we asked the tech how often parents do not want to know the sex. She said that she probably has about 10 a month, and she does 70 ultrasounds a week.

School Shower, 22 Weeks and the Nursery

This was the plate and napkin design from my school shower.

I still have not received the pictures from the moms of the shower, but this is the picture I took when I got home that day. Notice the books; Annelie wrote little notes on each book with her thoughts or memories for them.

22 week belly shot
A little more skin :)

The nursery! Every time I walk in this room I smile. It is so peaceful and serene, and I absolutely love it. I can still hardly believe there is going to be a baby sleeping in that crib in just a few short months.

On top of the changing table is one of two diaper cakes I received from my shower. It is so pretty that I hate to undo it and put everything away.

Writing Comments

Thank you for all of the people that are following our blog. We love knowing there are people out there who are almost as excited about this baby as we are. Many people have told me that they have been unable to write a comment. We changed the setting the other day because we would love to have your comments to add to this memory when we print out the entries. If you would like to write a comment, click on "comments",at the bottom of the post, write the comment then under "comment as", select "name/URL". This should allow you to add a comment without having a google account.
We will be going for our third ultrasound this Thursday to try and see this little one's spine. Apparently the baby is lying up against my spine and therefore the technician has been unable to clearly see his/her spine. We will be going to Healthpark because they have better equipment and therefore should be able to see what they need. We will post the new pictures if we are able to get some.
On a separate note, last Friday I went into school to find a surprise baby shower hosted by my student's and their moms. It was absolutely precious, with purple streamers, balloons, and a full breakfast. One of the moms brought a fruit basket filled with all of the different fruits I had brought in to show my students the size of the baby for each week. I received many generous gifts, and enjoyed watching my students take joy in giving to the baby. I will post pictures when I receive them from some of the mothers.

Introducing, Baby Fox!!!!!!

We went in for our second ultrasound today so that the technician could see the the spine. Our baby was completely bent in half with his/her feet right above his/her head. The tech was able to give us the pictures from this time and last.

Profile shot. Look at that sweet little nose and that precious mouth!

Pete thinks it is a girl because he/she is sucking his/her thumb.

Introducing Scream part II
The legs were crossed.

And now for the picture that we have warned you of... It is a little terrifying!

Yikes! & what are those things on the left?

21 Weeks

I can now look down and watch my tummy move when our baby is kicking!
Yesterday we went hunting for an end table to go next to the bed and wicker baskets for the changing table. We were able to find want we wanted for both and stay within our budget.

The Nursery

We have finally started working on the baby's room. One of my student's mother told me that she had two cribs that we were welcome to borrow. Pete and I went by her house on Wednesday to pick up the crib and she also ended up having a changing table as well. We came home that night and set up the crib because we were both so excited. The drawer needed to be fixed so the next day Pete fixed it, assembled the changing table and bought a plant for the room. When I came home it all looked so sweet. On Thursday Pete told me he was working on a surprise for me in the room and I was not allowed to see inside. Friday when I got home he allowed me in the room warning that it was not at all finished but that he wanted my opinion. He had re-cased the window, made a window sill, and put up wainscoting throughout the room. Everything looked amazing and I can't wait to see it all finished. This morning he started to install the fan and is planning on mounting the fan and finishing the painting this afternoon.
This window had a very ugly marble sill, and now it has a large beautiful wood sill.


This is what the wainscoting looked like before painting.

This is what it will look like after he has finished painting the bottom half white.

Right now the room is a mess, but by the end of the weekend it should look fantastic!

Crabbing and the Bagwells

Last Sunday Pete and I drove down to the Everglades and went crabbing. We used chicken parts and rope and tossed them into the canal. The entire time we were trying to catch the crabs a huge gator floated about 10 feet away from us and would swim closer every time we threw a line out. Pete shooed him away each time but it was a little frightening. We ended up with about 12 crabs and ate Publix subs for lunch while waiting on the last lines. We drove back home on the beach road so that we could stop at the fish market to pick up some shrimp for dinner. That night Dave, Lindsay and Michael arrived for a visit and we had a low country boil. On Monday Pete and Dave went frisbee golfing with Bob Johns and then fishing in Sanibel. Lindsay, Michael and I went shopping. That night we drove down to Plaka, our favorite beach restaurant, walked on the Pier and stopped at Love Boat Ice Cream. Tuesday I had to go to work but the rest of the crew went to Bennett's for breakfast and then to the Edison for lunch. The Bagwells left that afternoon after a fun filled couple of days.