Belly Pictures

This was taken right after Thanksgiving, I was about 20 weeks along.  It was right around here that I felt my belly had first popped out and I discovered the comfort of maternity clothes!  While mom and Dad were here for Thanksgiving (let's be honest, Dad was here for the Giants/Cardinals game!), Mom and I went to Motherhood for some comfy clothes-ahhhhh!

So that's what my belly looked like on the outside, but here's what was happening on the inside!  This is a picture from out big 18 week high resolution ultrasound where they measure the baby's head, arms, legs, and all the organs.  It was so cool to see the heart beating away, the stomach, spine, even the blood flowing through baby's arteries!  The technician surprised us with a couple 3-D pictures, too.  Although it's not the best time to take 3-D pictures because the baby hasn't yet filled out, it was so sweet to see the baby already seeming to smile an wave hello at us!  Of course, Ant's first question was, "is it supposed to look like that?"  We were assured everything was perfect!

Now this picture was taken at the end of January, when all of the sudden my belly began to grow by the day!  I am just about 7 months along here.
And here we are at 32 weeks!!!!  Oh my goodness!  8 months along!!!!   This whole time, Ant's been doing so well with his running and working out-his belly is shrinking, while my belly has been growing bigger and bigger!  It's so great!  Before I thought bending over and getting up were a challenge, but they are becoming downright comical at this point.  What will the remaining 8 weeks have in store for us?

Murphy and Lucy

Here are a few of our favorite pictures of our favorite four legged family members.  Murphy and Lucy have been with us for almost 9 years now.  We're curious about how they'll take to the new baby, but we feel pretty confident they'll welcome the baby home with lots of kisses.  So far, Lucy has already eaten a couple baby toys, so we already know she won't want to share.  Lucy tends to lose interest in our friends' babies and kids fairly fast, but Murphy on the other hand, can't get enough of babies!  They smell good, they always have snacks, and are so easy to lick!  I know Murphy suspects things are about to change.  She's been extra lovable and likes to check out my tummy...maybe it's because I've been dropping food on it left and right!  Our family is about to change, but the Murph and Goose will always be our babies, too!

Getting Ready For Baby

Anthony and I are fortunate to live close by to Bill and Joan, and Tom, Weez, James, and Justin. But living so far away from the rest of our family and friends can be hard. There is so much so share with you all and sometimes it's hard to keep up. So a friend of mine with an incredible blog inspired me to create one of our own. She said it's "so easy," and I am here to tell you it is not! But I try, none-the-less! I hope this blog helps to keep us connected, especially when the baby arrives. I hope to get better at this and upload pictures and updates as often as I can. We know how much everyone has prayed for us and our baby, and we want to share all the good news with you.

We have been so busy lately cleaning our closets, rearranging and organizing. Nesting, so I'm told. Another friend of mine told me about detailing her washing machine with a q-tip during the last few weeks of her pregnancy. Not sure I'll ever feel the need to be that ready for baby, but looking into the bare linen closet and shelves I cleared out and imagining them filled with baby blankets and clothes does make me smile. Bill has the room all painted, and yesterday Ant bought the chair rail and ceiling fan to install today. By the end of the week, the nursery should be looking good. Getting ready to start the mountain of laundry we've already accumulated. Already feeling like a bad mommy because I went with Tide Free over the crazy expensive Dreft.

I'm feeling really great, despite all the little quirks that pregnancy has. I have developed carpal tunnel in both of my hands, so I have pins and needles in my fingers all the time. No pain though. Writing, typing, and picking up small objects have become quite the challenge. My ankles are taking on a whole new shape as well. Anthony has me on the juice-watermelon, celery, and carrot to be specific-don't knock it till you've tried it-pretty good actually. It has helped reduce the swelling, but it keeps me up all night! What happened to my teacher bladder of steel?

And so now the belly...it's officially big! No one wonders "is she or isn't she" anymore! Getting up and bending over has become a challenge.

The baby is kicking and moving a TON! It is amazing! It makes me laugh all the time. My students are convinced it's a boy because it kicks so much. Bradley told me he thinks it's a boy because boys are really good at kicking footballs. I told him that would make Mr. Mandrola very happy to hear! Other than being able to afford all the things that babies need, Anthony's next biggest concern is how fast we can put a ball in the baby's hands.

So, my next task is to figure out how to upload pictures to these posts. Next time I hope to have pictures of the belly and the nursery for you to see. Only eight more weeks to go!