welcome 2014!

I am an extremely neglectful blogger.  I always thought that with a baby on the way I would be blogging more and constantly posting baby bump pictures, funny how real life gets in the way and things go to the way side, right?  I will try to be much better this year, especially once the baby arrives as I know family and friends will want to be seeing pictures of HIM!  That's right, I don't think I ever announced officially on the blog but the baby is a BOY!  We are so very excited to meet our sweet boy in about 15 weeks!  15 weeks!  Oh my goodness, I cannot believe that's a real number.

Let me think of baby updates that will interest the blogging world...I had an ultrasound on New Year's Eve and I got to see more of my sweet boy because he was hiding the last time we went in for an ultrasound (before Thanksgiving).  This time he showed us his beautiful face and more body parts (he wouldn't show his fingers before and refused to let us get a profile shot but this time he was much more cooperative).  The ultrasound tech was even able to slip in a 3D picture of him, I was shocked!  They don't usually do them this early in the pregnancy (they like to wait until the 3rd trimester) but she wanted to see what she could get.  Here's the 3D picture of him:

What you can't see here is that the umbilical cord is going across his face which is why his nose looks a little funny and it wraps up in the picture so his fingers look a little funny too (the object next to his face is his hand/fingers).  But rest assured, everything is in perfect shape!  It's crazy how quickly things move around in there because a split second after she took the picture we could clearly see his nose and then the next second we could see all of his fingers.  I'm just happy to have a healthy baby and keep praying that he will stay that way.  His growth is on par with where he should be, he's in the 49% for weight which is great.  I'm in my 6th month now and from month 6-7 he should double in size (mostly adding fat, as you can see in the picture he doesn't have a lot right now).  So I can only imagine that I will be getting bigger as well.  I've noticed an increase in my appetite and I'm trying to stick to healthy choices although I'm definitely not perfect and have been grabbing BBQ chips (my most recent craving) and anything with chocolate on it.  Again, all in moderation.  I went for my OB check up on Wednesday (different than the ultrasound appointment, I have to go to a different office for that) and the doctor said that everything is going great!  My blood pressure is great, weight gain is normal and baby's heart is strong!  I couldn't ask for much more.  I just keep praying that everything will continue to go so smoothly.  I've been feeling him move around A LOT!  His favorite times to get to moving are around 11am-lunch time or a little after and late at night.  The boy is a wiggle worm around 11pm-1am and likes to throw kicks and punches.  While I was waiting on the doctor the other day I looked down and could see my belly moving.  Active child! 

We're signed up for birthing classes at the beginning of February, Lord help us.  Although I think I know a lot about the subject I know I'm going to learn sooo much and I can't wait to see John's face after some of the details!  We've purchased the crib and it has already arrived, yay!  The next room in the house to be painted is his nursery and for all those that are wondering we're doing green walls with navy and white accents for bedding/things around the room.  We have mostly decided on a name but not completely and we've chosen to keep it a secret until he arrives.  I think that's about it for the baby updates.

Now updates for us in general...we were able to travel a lot around the Christmas holiday.  My sister graduated from NCSU a week before Christmas so I was able to go down there and be a part of that!  We were able to celebrate a night of the Christmas season with my family before heading over to TN.  Mine and John's gift to each other was a few days alone in a cabin in Pigeon Forge.  Even though it rained the entire time, we made the most of it and had a great time just the two of us!  We then headed over to John's family and got to spend Christmas with them!  We had a wonderful time in TN for Christmas, it was great to see so many family members and some of John's old friends.  My sweet sister-in-law, Heather, and Kathy's best friend, Bev, threw a baby shower for me and baby boy which was absolutely adorable!  You can look at the pictures of the event over on Heather's blog.  The theme was "baby it's cold outside" and it was just wonderful!  I felt so loved and it was great to celebrate such an exciting time in our lives with the women in the family and some of Kathy's good friends.

My parents came for New Years so that they could see the ultrasound and they were awesome and helped us paint our basement!  The entire process only took a couple of days and if it weren't for them there is no telling how long it would have taken.  We have been blessed with so much help around the house from family.  I feel like the house renovation process has been taking forever but without our families it would be taking sooooo much longer!  John's parents have come up twice (bringing his aunt and uncle one time) and helped with most of the main floor paint (guest room, hallway, entrance way, living/dining room) and they helped build the fence in our backyard which Dixie is loving!  I promise I will post pictures of the house updates, I think I just want the house to be a little more "finished" before those go up.

Whew!  I feel like I just did a marathon update!  I hope you all enjoyed the glimpse into what's been happening lately, I promise to be better!