We are 9 weeks!

"Over the next four days, fingernails, toenails, and hair follicles will appear (these are all specialized parts of the top layer of skin) and your baby will assume a more upright posture. The joints that began to develop during Week 6 now resemble adult joints. Week 9 is a period of rapid growth. The average rate of growth until birth is .06 inch (1.5 mm) in length per day, but the baby will begin to grow even more rapidly at this point" The Pregnancy Journal.

I am really excited that we are growing and doing well. The baby is working hard and I am starting to get my appetite back. On Saturday, we went to a restaurant called Flappyjacks for some breakfast. It was so nice to actually want to eat and be able to eat! Of course, when we came home I was so tired and had to take a nap! :) Naps are very common now. I get very sleepy and sleep seems to be the cure.

Andrew has been working very hard lately, and not just at home! ;) The Citrus Basketball team played a terrific game last night and won their conference championship! He was really pumped up! The gym was backed and you could tell Andrew was excited! I was very proud of him! :) By the way - Citrus beat Bakersfield last night! :) hehe

Andrew and I also got to see baby Hudson for a little bit today! Julie and Dave are doing an amazing job with their little boy! He is tooooo cute! Andrew did a really good job rocking him too! He was a pro! Thank you Jules for the diapers too! ;)

Well, I am really looking forward to March 17th as it is the next time we get to see our little baby! Thank you for all your prayers and love!

I Love The Smell Of Bananas In The Morning

Hopefully this story won't be to graphic, but it is about morning sickness!! Just an FYI!

What a day, today was. Our appointment was set for 9:00 AM this morning. Both Shannon and I had arranged to be off of work this morning, so that we could be there together. We got up early and went to the store around the corner to get something small to eat before our big moment.

Shannon usually has to have something to eat early in the morning, otherwise she gets real naseous. So in our infinite wisdom, we bought her a banana, thinking it would be light on her stomach and easy to digest.

Boy were we ever wrong. As we exited the store parking lot, and headed towards the doctor's office, the anticipation began to build. You could tell that Shannon and I were both excited and nervous. Normally this wouldn't be such a big issue, but normally one of us isn't pregnant (I'll let you guess which one ;). With nervousness on her face and banana in her belly, things quickly turned South.

About half-a-block from the doctor's office, Shannon began to frantically tug at my sweater, and telling me that she was going to be sick. Now granted, she has really only thrown up once since we found out she was pregnant over a month ago, but she has been sick to her stomach more times than I can count.

As I looked over and saw that her face was greener than the 18th hole at Augusta National, I tried to immediately pull over to the side of the road. She protested however, and insisted that I wait until I get to the next shopping center to pull over (which living in Southern California is never to far away). I said "OK, but here's our bag if you get really sick!"

Not a second later, out of the corner of my eye I saw her lunge for the bag, only the bag wasn't close enough. She proceeded to expel all of her breakfast over my sweater, jeans, steering wheel, and drivers side door and window. I have never seen anything like it in my life.

Now normally I'm not the type of person who enjoys being thrown up all over, but I must say (without trying to pat my own back) I handled it as well as it could be handled. I calmly pulled the car into the shopping center parking lot, made sure she was ok, and ran into the only place that was open, a smoothie store.

What I wouldn't give to have seen the look on the faces of those working in the store, as a I walked through the door with what looked like a mixture between baby food and a smoothie all over me. Not one to beat around the bush I quickly asked, "Where are your napkins?," and was met with a stunned stare and a point to my left. I grabbed as many as I could and walked out to the car to clean up my wife, myself, and my truck.

After we were as cleaned up as could be, considering the circumstances, we decided to just proceed to the doctor's office, since now we were just across the street from it. With Shannon having barely a spot on her, and me with a quite a few spots on my person, we rode up the elevator and strolled into the office as if nothing happened.

Fortunately though, both doctors were out of the office performing an emergency C-Section, so we would have to come back at 11:15. That allowed us time to go back home clean up, and reassess the situation.

Shannon felt terrible, but really it wasn't the worst thing in the world. No one had died, and really all that resulted was another load of wash, and my truck smelling like Banana Nut Bread for the rest of the day. When all was said and done, and three hours later when we were able to see a little heart flicker on a screen, it was definitely worth all of the trouble.

February 19, 2008 - Baby's First Picture

This is our little peanut. We are trying to get a better/clearer picture soon. This was just taken with my phone. His/her head is to the left of the picture. It was soooooooo neat to see the little flickering heartbeat on the monitor. I think I am going to have Andrew give the whole details of today - trust me - it's a good story! More later! Much love to all!

Waiting....

With two days left until we get to see the first picture of our baby, we both thankfully have a three-day weekend, to decompress and relax. We are excited beyond belief about seeing our child for the first time, and I know we are both counting days the hours. While we are both blissfully aware of our upcoming child, I think Tuesday will be the day that it really starts to sink in.

What a week and half this has been. Along with waiting for Tuesday to finally get here, this past week Shannon and I celebrated our first Valentines Day as a married couple, and Shannon's 24th birthday. Shannon even surprised me with a Valentine's gift from our unborn baby. It was a beautiful gesture, as I got an awesome card and some baby bibs that said "I Love My Daddy." Don't worry though I got a pink and a blue one since the baby doesn't know quite yet what it will be.

Once again we are so excited about Tuesday and can't wait to share with everyone the first pictures. I'm sure will we have pictures up on here either that night or very soon thereafter.

Hooray for Presidents and Birthdays!

Ok - I know I am silly but I love being a teacher and having all of the fun holidays off, like President's day! Andrew and I got to stay home today and get some errands checked off the list! We finally got my car a bath today! It looks brand new! :) This week is going to be pretty busy! Andrew works late on Wednesday night, Valentines Day and Jan's Birthday is on Thursday, and then my 24th birthday is on Friday the 15th!

In baby news, but not my baby :), my friend Drea found out today that she is having a little boy! It was fun to get a text early this morning that said she was going to have a little Noah! I'm really excited for her! I cannot wait until we can find out what we are having too. A lot of my girlfriends have had boys lately, so I am hoping Andrew and I break the trend and have a girl! :) We shall see! I also found out last night that another one of my friends and my "older sister" is having her 4th child! Whoa who! Babies everywhere!!!

Andrew and I so far are looking forward to th 19th to see our baby's first picture! I think that is a really sweet birthday present! ;) Keep us in your prayers! Love to all!

With Shannon handling the last couple of posts, I thought it might be time for a little different perspective. While there have been lots of changes around the house, the most important changes are going on inside my lovely wifes stomach. It's amazing to think that in just 9 short months, a little cell grows into a bundle of joy. With all of that growing going on, there comes some pains, and Shannon has been dealing with them admirably.

With a ton of added responsibility heaped on her in a matter of mere weeks, she has handled them all with a great attitude no matter how hard the situation (Even giving up her beloved Dr. Pepper!). I can't imagine how hard it must be to have all of those changes going on in your body, and still having to deal with a husband like me! She has all ready begun to show signs of being a great mom, and I can't wait to grow with her in that department.