Halfway There!

Hi Everyone!  Hope you have had a great couple of weeks.  Sorry I didn't post anything from last week, but the website was down every time I tried.  Let's see...We had a great Mother's Day.  We spent the weekend in Fernandina Beach (think Amelia Island, if you've never heard of it).  It was a wonderful weekend, the only thing missing was my family!  But they will get to enjoy some time in Fernandina when they come for a visit in June.  I CANNOT wait for them to be here!  Here a is pic from the beach on Friday afternoon when we got to the beach house.

Can you see why it is our absolute favorite place to be? Not a soul around!  The weather was great on Saturday and for most of Mother's Day--there are fires in Georgia and the smoke rolled in on Sunday afternoon.  We still had a great day with Ryan's parents, Brad and Lindsey, and Jason, Stephanie and Libby!  I even woke up to a sweet little surprise from Baby Huntley.  He/She is already sooo thoughtful!!  Ryan and I are both beyond blessed with wonderful mothers!  I have BIG shoes to fill!!

Last weekend was The Players Championship weekend (a golf tournament, for all you non-golf people--like me).  Ryan and I usually go on the Saturday of the tournament, but decided not to this year (thank goodness, it POURED!).  But, we didn't miss Bryan and Amy's (Stephanie's brother and sister-in-law) big TPC party on Saturday morning that they have every year .  It is always sooooo much fun.  And I was only slightly tortured by the Margarita Man and Bloody Mary's! Ha!  

Ok Baby Huntley update (we have a better nickname for "Baby Huntley" but it reveals the names we have picked and we're just not ready to "officially" put the names out there yet! :)

We had a doctor appointment last week and everything was great, more details below.

20 Weeks: Halfway, REALLY?!
Due Date:  October 4, 2011
Size of the baby: Ok, up until this point the baby has been measured from head to "rump" because the legs are usually curled up against the body and hard to measure.  Now the measurement is from head to toe--the baby is approximately 6.5 inches and weighs about 10.5 ounces (the size of a banana). 
Weight gain/loss:  I had a doctor appointment last week and I had gained 4 pounds (so a total of 7).  BUT, this time I looked at the scale and either I weighed MORE than I thought I did when I got pregnant OR they aren't comparing my weight now to my very 1st doctor appointment.  Either way, 7 pounds sounds good, so 7 it is! HA!  And I have to tell you that I get realllly nervous about weighing at the appointments. I have no idea why.       
Maternity clothes: I have officially made the switch!  And it is WONDERFUL!  Soooo much more comfortable!  I'm still wearing a lot of non-maternity skirts and dresses and some tops.   
Gender:  We won't know until the baby makes his or her grand appearance!  BUT, I know soooo many people that are due close to the same time that I am and I am LOVING finding out what they are all having.  I am realllly excited because friends of ours here in Jacksonville, Adam and Madison, are having twins and due very close to the same time that I am.  They found out that they are have a boy AND girl!  It's perfect...when I see and outfit that I think my baby MUST have I can go ahead and get it...then, if our baby is the opposite gender I definitely have someone to give it to!!!
Movement:  I have been very anxious over not feeling the baby move.  Very.  I talked to the doctor and he reassured me that it is totally ok and to give it a few more weeks. He said that my blood work was good, ultrasounds are good, the baby has a great heart beat and I'm getting bigger.  So, there you have it.  I'm not worrying anymore.    
Sleep:  I'm feeling a little discomfort when I sleep and having a hard time finding an comfortable position that doesn't make my back hurt the next morning.  I also talked to the doctor about sleeping on my back.  He told me not to worry about it--As I get bigger sleeping on my back can cause by blood pressure to drop, but my body will naturally respond and I'll either roll over or wake up.  He said that eventually it will just be to uncomfortable to lay on my back.  Thank the Lord!  I have been sleeping much better since then. 
What I miss:  I really don't think I'm "missing" anything right now that I can't have/do since I'm pregnant! 
Cravings:  Still no "cravings."  Everything that I'm eating I would have eaten before I was pregnant.   
Symptoms:  Weight gain, crazy dreams, itchy belly, etc.  Ryan says I snore.  He gets updates from babycenter.com every week and loves to tell me about how I'm right on target.  This week he was going over everything with me and broke the news to me that I have started snoring. HA! 
Best moment of the week:  Hearing the heart beat!  LOVE that sound!  I am so thankful that everything is going well!  I cannot even begin to believe that we are halfway there!

Here I am at 19 weeks:

Hope everyone has a great week!  Please keep us in your prayers...and you can say at little prayer that this baby will give me a little kick to tell me that he or she is in there and can't wait to meet us!!

18 weeks and an Ultrasound to Boot!

Hello, Little Cutie!

18 Weeks!!
Due Date:  October 4, 2011
Size of the baby: approximately 5.5 inches and weighs about 5.25 ounces (the size of a bell pepper)
Weight gain/loss:  At my last doctor appointment I had gained 5 pounds (so a total of 3).      
Maternity clothes: Still wearing lots of elastic and drawstring pants or skirts. I don't think I've worn any maternity tops yet--but, I have worn plenty of regular tops that look like they could be maternity. 
Gender:  We had our ultrasound yesterday--and it was VERY tempting, but we didn't find out.  At one point, I even tried to talk Ryan into "us" just knowing and not telling anyone.  He talked me out of it and I'm glad he did!  The lady that did the ultrasound (ultrasound tech?) was very supportive of us not knowing.  She went on and on about how happy we will be that we waited.  I asked her if she could tell if "it" will be a boy or girl and she said--YES!!! 
Movement:  I stilllllll haven't felt anything!  I'm thinking that my "beer gut" (JUST KIDDING!) just has too much padding for me to feel anything. 
Sleep:  I'm sleeping pretty good.  My newest challenge is that I read in a book last week that I shouldn't sleep on my back anymore.  I sleep on my back a lot and it's still very comfortable.  I wake up a ga-zillion times a night, startled, in a panic, wondering how long I have been on my back.  I can't wait for my next appointment to ask my doctor.  She is very easygoing, so I'm convinced she will tell  me it's ok as long as I don't feel uncomfortable--maybe that is just wishful thinking. 
What I miss:  I really don't think I'm "missing" anything right now that I can't have/do since I'm pregnant! 
Cravings:  Still no "cravings."  Everything that I'm eating I would have eaten before I was pregnant.   
Symptoms:  Weight gain, crazy dreams, itchy belly, etc.
Best moment of the week:  Seeing the baby again!  Soooo amazing to be able to hear AND see the heart beating.  And as crazy as this may sound, I love knowing that someone knows if our baby is a boy or girl (not that she remembered 5 seconds after she left the room)!  But, for a few minutes Ryan and I were sitting in that room with her and she knew if we will be having a little boy or little girl in 22 short weeks!!!

Hope yall are having a great week!  Please continue to keep us in your prayers!!

Itching Belly = Stretch Marks?

If the answer to that question is yes, then please don't answer that question!

Hope everyone had a great Easter weekend and is recovered/recovering from the storms.  It really breaks my heart to see all the damage from the tornadoes.  It all makes me really nervous for hurricane season--the winter snows were really bad, tornadoes have been really bad, I'm REALLLLY hoping we catch a break during hurricane season. 

On a happier note, we had a great Easter!  Ryan and I went to church at Southside UMC--we have been trying out churches in our area since we moved to Jacksonville.  We have been on a mission to find "our" church and have pretty much decided that Southside is it.  We know we love the Sunday church services and we will start the New Member classes in the next couple of weeks to learn more about their ministries and programs.  It will give us a better idea whether or not it really is "our" church.  Sorry...back to Easter--after church went to Ryan's parents house.  The Huntleys had just gotten back on Saturday night from being in Italy and Spain for about 3 weeks and I'm sure they were beyond exhausted.  We had a great time on Sunday with Mr. and Mrs. Huntley, Brad, Lindsey, Lindsey's mom, Barbara, (she was in town from New Orleans), Jason, Stephanie and Libby.  I love when we all get together--we always laugh, wondering what we did before Libby!  She is definitely the center of all of our attention!  I missed everyone in Iuka!  I always miss everybody, but especially so during holidays.  From the looks of the pictures on facebook, it looked like they were have a great time, too. 

The pregnancy update: 

Due Date:  October 4, 2011, I am 17 weeks.
Size of the baby: approximately 5 inches and weighs about 5 ounces (I'm not sure what the fruit/veggie comparison is?)
Weight gain/loss:  At my last doctor appointment I had gained 5 pounds (so a total of 3).  I'm just going to leave it at that until I go back to the doctor because I FREAK every time I step on a scale.  I'm not exactly sure how much I weighed at my last appointment,  the nurse just told me I gained 5 pounds.  So, now when I step on the scale, the number is SHOCKING.    
Maternity clothes: Well, I did it.  I wore maternity pants to work one day this week--and.it.felt.great.  I'm still pretty in between regular pants and maternity pants.  And by "in between" I actually mean there is NO CHANCE IN HECK I'm fitting into my regular pants, even with the belly band.  So I'm wearing lots of dresses, which is my favorite thing to wear during the summer anyway.
Gender:  We aren't finding out!  We are still VERY excited about our ultrasound on Monday!  Danielle, one of my co-workers, is Haitian and she did her "Haitian Gender Predictor" on me this week.  She said she has never been wrong (10/10) and once she is wrong for the 1st time, she'll never do it again.  Danielle wrapped a spoon and knife in separate dish towels and set them out on her desk.  I had to walk in and choose one, "without thinking."  I choose the dish towel with a spoon.  Spoon = girl.  She announced to our office that I am having a girl--I don't think I'm ready to paint to room pink, though! Ha!
Movement:  Still no movement.  I keep telling myself that if I really focus I will feel something.  Still nothing.
Sleep:  The crazy dreams have started.  I have about 3 dreams every night.  Thankfully, no nightmares.  I'm guessing I have about 3 every night because that's how many times I get up to go to the bathroom.  Last night I chased tornadoes.  One night last week I dreamed that I was refusing to wake to go to the bathroom, so I started sleeping in Depends.  I woke up terrified that I had actually peed in the bed! (I didn't!!) Ha!
What I miss:  Ahi Tuna. 
Cravings:  Still no "cravings."  Everything that I'm eating I would have eaten before I was pregnant.   
Symptoms:  Weight gain, crazy dreams, itchy belly, etc.
Best moment of the week:  Everyone at work telling me they see a little bit of a belly! (I think they actually mean, DANG! Where did that belly come from?!)

Geez, this is a long post.  But one last thing, we tested our windows and walls for lead based paint.  The window tests were positive.  Dang it.

Red or pink means there are traces of lead (not sure if you can tell, but 3 were red or pink):

Hope you all have a great week!  Please keep us in your prayers!

16 Weeks

I missed week 15, because it was tax week.  I told my self that I couldn't get on the internet to do anything except taxes and I just kept putting off doing our taxes!

Due Date:  October 4, 2011, I am 16weeks
Size of the baby: approximately 4.5 inches and weighs almost 3 ounces (size of an avocado)
Weight gain/loss:  I had a doctor appointment last week and I had gained 5 pounds!  So far, I gained a total of 3 pounds.   
Maternity clothes: Still not wearing maternity clothes.  For about the past week, I've only worn dresses or pants/skirts with an elastic waist or drawstring.  Finding an Easter dress has been a challenge!
Gender:  We aren't finding out!  The "big" ultrasond appointment is May 2nd and we are thinking about going ahead and finding out...hahahaha just kidding, Lori Beth. 
Movement:  None yet.  Still DYING to feel some movement! 
Sleep:  I'm sleeping good, except getting up at least twice every night to go to the bathroom.  I'm not exhausted all the time anymore--I was actually able to watch the entire episode of Modern Family last night!
What I miss:  Clothes that fit--shopping is not very fun right now! 
Cravings:  Still no "cravings."  Everything that I'm eating I would have eaten before I was pregnant.   
Symptoms:  Gaining weight and I think my belly may be starting to look like a little bit of a "baby belly."
Best moment of the week:  Getting to hear the heart beat at my doctor appointment. It was really loud and strong compared to the last time.  

And I can't believe I am putting this up, but here is a picture.  This was actually taken on Saturday (4/16).  Sorry if it's blurry, Ryan took it with my iPhone.

Hope everyone is having a great week!  Please continue to pray for us!

Hello, 2nd Trimester!

2nd Trimester is supposed to be a Heavenly part of pregnancy.  So far, so good!  Ha--it's only been 2 days!  I was planning to post a picture this week, but I'm just not ready for my pregnancy photo debut.  Here are the highlights of the week:

Due Date:  October 4, 2011, I am 14 weeks
Size of the baby: approximately 3.5 to 4 inches and weighs about 1 ounce (one book says about the size of a fist, another says lemon)
Weight gain/loss:  At my last appointment I lost 2 pounds...I have definitely gained since then!  When I weigh myself at home it fluctuates quite a bit depending on how long it's been since the last time I ate.  Note to self, don't eat before the appointment. 
Maternity clothes: Still not wearing maternity clothes, yet.  When do women start wearing maternity clothes??  I'm wearing my belly band with all my pants (well, all that button and zip) and quite frankly I wonder why I haven't been wearing a belly band for years?! 
Gender:  We aren't finding out!  BUT, I did do a few gender prediction tests just for fun this week.  But, I'm keeping those results a secret, for now, too (not that I trust them at all!!). 
Movement:  None yet.  I am DYING to feel this baby move...but, I know it could be a while. 
Sleep:  I'm still sleeping great and on somewhat of a more normal sleep schedule. 
What I miss:  Clothes that fit. 
Cravings:  Nothing, really.  I don't know that I would consider it a "craving," but I have eaten a baked potato with broccoli and cheese almost every day for lunch.   
Symptoms:  Hmmmm...I guess just the gaining weight.  I still don't have a "baby belly," but I do have a belly!
Best moment of the week:  Looking at little Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas outfits and realizing that the baby will be here for the holidays!!
Hope everyone is having a great week!  Please continue to pray for us!

Practice Makes Perfect?

It definitely can't hurt, right? Ryan and I LOVE "practicing," especially because it usually involves our niece, Libby!  We had a great time Saturday keeping Libby while Jason and Stephanie went out to celebrate Jason's birthday.  Libby is just so much fun and soooo entertaining.  And she has her "RyRy" wrapped around her finger.  Here they are watering our little garden:

I got Libby's birthday present on clearance at Target during after Christmas sales, her birthday is in June.  When I brought it home Ryan told me (only a million times), "ok, but she isn't getting this until her birthday."  Well surprising enough, RyRy had it out and all put together before it even got dark outside.  She loves it (wish I had a taken a picture)!  How could he resist?  Look how cute:

Even after running and playing at the park all afternoon?!  And if she loves on and cares for our baby as much as she does her dolls (this is "babygirl" in the picture), then she may start babysitting at age 3.  Kidding!  But seriously, Ryan and I get so excited thinking about Libby being the "big" cousin and our baby having someone he or she will always look up to.  We just can't wait to see everything they get into!


Non-pregnancy related update...Kinsley had her prom last night.  Here is a picture of Nikki helping her get ready:

She looked great!  Here is a picture of Kinsley with her friend, Kaitlin:



Gorgeous! Both of them!  Wish I had been there to see it! 

Hope you all had a great weekend!  Please continue to keep us in your prayers, and while you're at it please say a prayer for Ryan's Grandmother McCarthy, too. 



Welcome!

Hi Everyone!  Welcome to our blog! We are hoping this will be an easy way to keep everyone up to date on our growing family (and anything else we have going on).  Although I'm GREAT at reading blogs, I'm still trying to figure out how to actually do it myself.  I think if you click "follow" at the top of this page or add your email address to "follow by email", you will receive an email anytime either of us update it. 

As you probably already know, we are having a baby!  Here's where we are:

Due Date:  October 4, 2011, I am 13 weeks
Size of the baby: approximately 3 inches (about the size of a peach)
Weight gain/loss:  At my last appointment I lost 2 pounds
Maternity clothes: Not wearing any, yet.  I am wearing the heck out of my BeBands (belly bands?) and I got 2 huge bags of maternity clothes from my sister-in-law, Stephanie, last weekend.  So, I am ready!!
Gender:  We aren't going to find out, it will be a big surprise when the baby is born! 
Movement:  None yet
Sleep:  I SLEEP ALL THE TIME.  My bedtime has just moved up to 8:30.  For the past 6 weeks, I was asleep by 6:30 almost every night!  Except when my family was in town and they kept me up to midnight! :)
What I miss:  Sorry, Beebs, I miss martinis...blueberry (from Stonewood), espresso, dirty, grapefruit and basil...I could go on
Cravings:  Anything and everything that has no nutritional value. And fresh grapefruit juice that Ryan squeezes for me every morning. 
Symptoms:  Luckily, I haven't had any morning sickness or nausea.  My only symptoms so far have been being tired and hungry!
Best moment of the week:  Sharing the news with everyone!

Thanks for stopping by, please keep the 3 of us in your prayers!
And here is your first glimpse of Baby Huntley!