Christmas

I cannot believe that Christmas has come & gone. We still have our Christmas decorations up, but I really enjoy looking at them until the beginning of the year.

Things are going well for me. I'm feeling great! Earlier last week, I was sick with a cold, but I feel much, much better. :o) I think taking the prenatal vitamin everyday helped. Of course, when you are pregnant, there's really not much that you can take, so it was really tough to "feel better" with meds that didn't really do the trick.

Our Christmas went well. We kept saying to each other, "Next year will be so different." On December 23rd, we had a party at my parents' house. My parents, my brothers, Pat, Rachel, Kyle, Brennan & us were the only ones to attend. We had a great time...the food was amazing (all appetizers) & we played several fun games. I actually won a game...Christmas movie trivia. It was great to see Dad because he had just returned from business in Sweden. My dad has always called me "Pumpkin" & he calls the baby "Pumpkin Seed"...adorable, right?

Christmas Eve is always spent with Luke's side of the family. We had a great time with Luke's parents, Em, Neil, Mike, Cheri, Dylan & Austin. We ate, opened presents (we are getting five windows from Luke's parents...yay!) & played a Christmas trivia game. I was so tired at the party though...it's hard to attend night parties now because I'm so tired around 7:30 or 8. When we got home...Santa had come! There were gifts from Santa to us & Miley! The best gifts of the night...wine cooler, new camera & a raccoon toy.

Christmas morning we hung out at the house for a bit & then we went to my parents' house to open Christmas presents there. The best gifts of that day were...chili stockpot & Miley's bubble coat. We got some great things, but we really enjoyed our Christmas with everyone. The remainder of the day was spent eating, laughing, watching basketball & some Christmas movies. All in all, it was a great Christmas.

We were not able to see Gabe, Chris, Mason or Mackenzie for Christmas, but we plan to get together to celebrate soon! I cannot wait to see them! I hate living so far away, but it's so wonderful when we do see each other.

This week is going to go by very quick. Today I have a doctor's appointment. My mom is going with me because Luke will be working when I scheduled the appointment. Is it normal to be nervous for these "check-ups"? I'm normally nervous for any appointment, but when it involves another person, it seems to be even more nerve-wracking. Tomorrow Miley is getting groomed...she loves it there! I also have tons of school work & house work to do. The house is so messy & it could use a good cleaning...ahhh, to be rich & have a maid...lol. I know, money can't buy happiness, but I know a few ways that it would make life easier...lol. We also would like to have our friends Pat & Heather over for dinner, but we'll see if they have the same night off this week. So much to do & I know it will fly by. I hope everyone is doing well & had a great Christmas. Love you all!

Am I finished with morning sickness?

Last Tuesday was the last day that I've had morning sickness. I hope this means that the morning sickness is gone for good! Our book told us that by week 10 I should begin to feel better with the morning sickness, so hopefully I'm right on track. Luke says that my pregnancy is "by the book", so I hope he's right!

I'm still very tired early on though...I get tired around 3 & then again around 7:30. Today has been a great day though, but I have a headache now, but I'm sure it will go away soon.

I was observed last Monday by our principal & it went well...I was so sick the day he came in. I hadn't told him our "big news" yet, so today I made time to let him know. He's very excited for us. He has three children & two were born in July. He said it's a great month for a teacher to add to their family. I was observed today by my administrator & during her time there, I had announced to my class that I was pregnant...they were so excited. I did make the announcement to all of my classes today...they were thrilled. :-D My department head observed me today & I meet with him tomorrow to discuss the observation. I'm sure all will go well...I'm in my last year before tenure, so I get a lot of visitors.

Luke & I are so excited about our little addition. Several people have told me that I'm starting to "glow" & even more people have told me that they think I'm going to have a little girl...we shall see. I hope we find out at our next ultrasound which is February 8th. According to my calendar, the ultrasound should tell the sex by January 31st...hopefully this is accurate & the baby cooperates!

Thank you for all the thoughts & prayers...they are GREATLY appreciated! We hope to see our family in Kentucky soon. I do apologize for not sending Christmas cards this year, but I'm so tired by the end of the day that it's all I can do to just type this blog. Love you all & I hope that your Christmas festivities are going well!

Let the games begin

Luke & I have recently announced that we are pregnant! I'm actually 9 weeks pregnant (10 weeks on Tuesday). We are so excited about this new adventure. Through some convincing by my mom, I've decided to try & keep a blog throughout my pregnancy (& even perhaps when the baby is born). So, here are some things going on in our lives....

We found out I was pregnant on Saturday, October 29th. I took an at-home pregnancy test & it came back "positive". I had taken another one too early (on Tuesday morning) & it came back "negative". Luke & I had been trying for 3 months & the birth control was still in my system when we conceived, so we were very surprised that we had a "positive" test. As the New Englanders know, we had a winter storm that hit on the Saturday we found out I was pregnant...Winter Storm Alfred. I took another test the following Tuesday, just to be sure, & it also came back "positive".

Next in line was to make an appointment with my OBGYN, which was scheduled for Monday, November 28th. We couldn't wait that long to tell our parents & siblings, so we told them our exciting news. Everyone was beyond excited. While waiting for our doctor's appointment, we purchased the book "Your Pregnancy Week by Week", which was recommended by our friend Katie Siegal, we are so happy we got the book...it's been amazing. We have also been taking "belly pictures" on Sundays. Also during this time of waiting, my morning sickness has been HORRIBLE! I've actually missed two days of school because of it. Luke has been wonderful helping me out with all these changes...he asks me everyday (at least twice) how I'm feeling, he cooks dinner every night (the sight/smell of food makes me sick), he's cleaned up after me, he's been super supportive & helpful...there's so many wonderful things he's been doing for me...I'm so blessed to have him as my life-long partner.

We went to the doctor on Monday, November 28th & it was confirmed that we are pregnant. We got to see the baby on the ultrasound & we heard the baby's heartbeat...AMAZING! It brought tears to my eyes. The baby's heart rate was 173 BPM...nice, strong heart. The baby looks good & I do too, so everything is going well so far. We really wanted to wait until after Christmas to make the big announcement, but so many of my coworkers were thinking that we were pregnant because of the amount of work I have been missing, so I felt like it was time to tell people, so I did when I returned to school on Wednesday, November 30th (I missed Tuesday because of morning sickness).

My due date is July 3rd...Luke thinks it will be July 4th (he's so patriotic). We both think our little one will be a girl, but we will be so thrilled with a boy or girl. We are just hopeful we have a healthy baby (& I hope this pregnancy becomes easier...lol).

Things are going very well for us. I feel so behind with Christmas because of my morning sickness & I've been very, very tired during the week, but I know that our family understands, so I'm not worried. Please keep reading & please keep me in line with creating new posts!