The Big Reveal

I thought about waiting until this afternoon because I bought some really cute stuff I want to post pictures of, but I guess I'll do that later. Well....the verdict is...

It's a BOY!

(I believe the little blck spot is his bladder)

Introducing Toots Thorne!

They aren't the greatest quality because I took pictures of the printout from my phone so I would be able to post them on here and facebook before I went home. Everything looked great with him and he is actually measuring three days ahead (meaning due date would be January 14 instead of January 17) but the doctor said since it's within three days of the original due date that he wasn't going to change it. Also, all my weekly update e-mails about how big the baby is said he should be 10.5 ounces this week and he was weighing in at a whopping 14.6 ounces! He's a big boy! We got to see him kicking around and sticking his hands up in the air. She had a hard time getting a profile picture because he had his face burrowed into me so she kept trying to shake him around to show us a profile and finally got it. The doctor said he is too big now to get a measurement because they can't get his whole body on the ultrasound screen at once. But, when she was taking the measurements, she was going ALL over my belly up to my belly button, so he's taking up most all of the space.

If the baby was born on January 14th, he would be born on my Papa's (mom's dad's) birthday, so that would be exciting.

Those of you that voted "boy" were right! I will post pictures of the adorable things we bought after the ultrasound tonight. If you've got any baby advice or advice about little boys, please post it!

Half-Way

This week, I am 20 weeks pregnant - half-way through the pregnancy! Sometimes, it seems like it has gone by soooo fast. Other times, I think I should already be past this point. But, it seems like lately it has started going by much faster.

We went to Beaumont this weekend to see my friend, Sarina, who lives in New York (she was visiting her family), and to see Tim's mom and get baby furniture from Tim's dad. Tim's dad and stepmom gave us a crib, changing table/dresser combo, and a glider with foot stool. We are sooo happy to have this stuff because now we don't have to buy it and that helps us with expenses a lot! We also had a great time visiting with Tim's mom and she bought us the cutest baby stuff. I will post pictures soon. We got two A&M pacifiers and an adorable black onesie that says "...then comes a baby in a baby carriage..." I thought it was especially fitting since that's sort of how I announced the pregnancy on the blog.

Here is my 20 week belly picture. Ignore how exhausted I look. I drove home from Beaumont so Tim could do some work in the car and I am reallllly tired now.

And here is what's going on with Baby T this week:

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

Here's a picture:

So tomorrow is the BIG day. I'll have a "real" picture to show you, a gender announcement, and a name announcement. No more calling the baby "it" and/or "Baby T!" I thought the appointment was at 10:00 AM but when they called to confirm it on Friday they said 10:50 AM. Tim and I are going to be there a little early, though. It will probably be tomorrow evening before I get to post because I have to go back to work afterwards and I will want to scan the ultrasound picture to show y'all. If you haven't voted on what you think the gender will be, you have one more day! It says there's two days left but I made the poll when I wasn't for sure when I would have my appointment, so it's really over tomorrow.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Ka-Pow

If you are friends with me on facebook, you're seeing this for the second time. Sorry!

Tonight, I was listening to the baby's heartbeat with my doppler. Usually, we use it on Sundays, but since I am going to the doctor on Monday, I decided to use it today. My mom gets worried if there are doppler waves hitting the baby two days in a row (haha). Anyway, I found the heartbeat and it was REALLY loud. Louder than it normally is but I knew it had to be the heartbeat because it was as fast as it normally is and there is nothing else in my body beating that fast. As I was listening to it, I felt the baby kick (or maybe punch) where the doppler was. I'm just now also being able to feel some kicks/punches from the outside. It hit exactly where the head of the doppler was! I laughed and said "do you not like that?" and, right after I said that, the baby kicked/punched it again! It cracked me up.

I cannot WAIT to see the baby and find out what it is on Monday! This is one weekend I actually hope goes by fast! I'll probably do one more post on Sunday with the weekly update and belly picture so that Monday's post can be solely devoted to the ultrasound and gender reveal.

Have a great weekend!

Disappearing Act

We had a busy weekend! Friday, we both worked until 12:00 and then left to go to Boerne for the weekend for Stephanie's wedding and to visit family. We got to Boerne around 6:00 and had hamburgers with my family - my grandparents, aunt and uncle, and cousins also were in town for my uncle's 50th birthday.

Saturday, some of the family went golfing and me and my cousin, Abby, went shopping. When they got back from golfing, we had lunch and then my mom took me to get some maternity jeans and some other maternity clothes. Tim and I went to the wedding Saturday night. Stephanie looked beautiful and I know she and Ross are going to be very happy. We are glad they are going to be living in Dallas so we will be able to hang out with them!

Sunday, we got up and had breakfast, lounged for awhile, and went to lunch at Los Barrios in San Antonio. If you are ever in SA, you seriously need to look this place up and go there. It had the best cheese enchiladas I've ever had in my entire life. And, believe me, I've had a lot of cheese enchiladas. It's kind of in the ghetto but tons of people go there and they have a guy who stands in the parking lot and watches the cars at all times. We left Boerne and stopped in Waco to have dinner with my dad, Nancy, and the kids. It was a yummy dinner and a really yummy trifle (sp?) dessert. They also gave Tim a giftcard to Best Buy for his birthday to use on Wii games. The Wii is something that got stolen when our house got broken into (see post in March about that) but my mom and stepdad are giving Tim their Wii because they don't use it. We ended up not getting back to Fort Worth until almost 10:00 PM and the crashing.

I was supposed to have potentially two trials to help with this week, but one of the defendants took a plea and the defense attorney has pneumonia on the other one, so neither one of them are going this week. Today was still really busy and hopefully the rest of the week will be just as busy so it will go by VERY fast and we can get to Monday to find out what the baby is!

Here is a picture of my belly this week. The "disappearing act" referred to in the post title is about my belly button. I don't think it's going to pop out - I think it's just going to stretch with my belly and completely disappear. I have a really small belly button as it is and it's looking more like it's going away rather than popping out or anything. Maybe I'll take a picture of it next week and show y'all.

Here's what's going on with Baby T this week (last time I'll have to call "it" Baby T!! Yippee!):

Your baby's sensory development is exploding! Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to her, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.

Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

And here's a picture. All I've got to say is, if the baby is really like this in the womb this week, I feel very sorry for it.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Let me know how it was - I don't get enough comments from you guys and, when I do, it totally makes my day :) Oh, and don't forget to vote on the baby poll on the right side if you haven't yet to guess what the baby is! I'll reveal next Monday night.

Pop!

I "popped" this weekend. I thought last night I had but when I took my weekly picture today I knew for sure. I'm not sure if I mentioned this earlier this week, but I got to go in front of the Grand Jury for the first time ever at work and present a case to them for indictment. It had already been indicted once but they added some charges to it and the attorney on the case was out of town so the other attorneys let me present the case. I got my first indictment! It was pretty cool and the process wasn't bad because it is a very laid-back atmosphere.

Friday, we went out with Jen and Alan and their son, Conner, for dinner at Central Market. I "met" Jen on The Nest and she recommended our OB to us. I was glad to finally meet them and we had a great time! Jen brought me an awesome diaper bag FULL of great stuff that she found she likes whenever she had Conner. It was so thoughtful and we love the bag.

Saturday, I went to Waco to show Grace, who was in Zeta with me, around Waco because she is starting Baylor Law in the Spring. I told her some stuff that I knew but, unfortunately, the law school was locked! I couldn't believe she drove from College Station and I drove from Fort Worth and I wasn't able to show her around. Then, I drove back to Fort Worth and Tim and I drove to Dallas. He went out with some of his friends and I went to a bachelorette party for my friend, Stephanie, from law school (she was also my PC partner). It was really fun and I *think* she had a great time as well :) Here is a picture of the bacheloretter herself - one week before she becomes Mrs. Roark.

Today we slept until noon because I cannot remember the last time I was up until 3:00 AM. Apparently pregnancy also makes you recover from staying up late less quickly because I could not seem to wake up today. We went to the grocery store, then I fell asleep on the couch, and we watched the PGA Championship. I was so happy Y.E. Yang won! I think it's super cool when someone wins who has never won before.

Onto the preggers stuff. Like I said, I'm pretty sure I "popped" this weekend. This girl on The Bump was saying that her belly hurt before she popped out. A couple days ago, my belly was aching and feeling stretched out and stuff and, sure enough, I'm pretty sure it's sticking out much more. We'll see what y'all think.

You can scroll down and compare to last week if it's hard to tell. Let me know what you think!

Here's a little bit about Baby T (only TWO weeks until I can call it by a name instead of Baby T!): Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper - I've also seen the size of a chicken breast and the size of a sweet potato) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

Here's a picture:

I guess that's about all! I'm sorry if I am boring y'all with my posts. I guess I don't have that much exciting going on or any craziness in my life to tell you about. I hope you will keep reading and keep up with us on this "life journey" though :)

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Friday Fill-In

1. When will we stop hearing about this healthcare crap?

2. Time Traveler's Wife was the last good book I read, G.I. Joe was the last good movie I saw, and Wednesday's The Young and The Restless was the last good tv show I watched.

3. Everything has its beauty but nothing is more beautiful than two people in love and a newborn baby.

4. Penne Grilled Chicken pasta with Sundried Tomato Pesto is what I had for dinner.

5. I'd like your advice about life.

6. December is where I want to be right now.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going out to dinner with Jen (http://www.cspurlock.blogspot.com/), Alan and Conner, tomorrow my plans include going to Waco to show someone around Baylor and Dallas for the evening and Sunday, I want to relax allllll day long!

*Sorry all the numbers are right next to eachother with no line in-between. I've tried 5 times to fix it but it won't let me. Grrr*

THREE weeks!

Nothing too exciting to report from the doctor today. The heartbeat was 160 and the baby is still reallllly low. The doctor said because I have such a long torso, the baby will be lower and have more room to stretch out and I wouldn't be showing as much because my uterus isn't as high as most people at the stage I am at.

Exiting news...we get to find out whether Baby T is a boy or a girl in THREE weeks! August 31st at 10:00 AM we are going in for our BIG sonogram! Yipppeeee! I can't wait!

I made a little poll on the side to get your opinion as to what you think the baby will be...So cast your votes :)

Oh, and in case it makes any difference, I did an Intelligender test at about 12 weeks where you pee and put it in this little jar with stuff in it and swirl it around and if it turns orange it's a girl and if it turns green it's a boy. It turned green for us. I've been craving more sour stuff that sweet stuff (haven't really craved chocolate). Tim and I have felt from the beginning it would be a boy, as has most of our family but his dad, my mom, and my stepdad think it is going to be a girl. The heartbeat has always been very fast, so old wives' tale says "girl" for that. Just a little bit to confuse you!

Knowing is half the battle...

This was my first week of work in the Gang Unit at the DA's office here in Fort Worth. It was interesting and I learned a lot. I got to sit in on some plea negotiations, a Grand Jury, take witness statements, and do some Grand Jury summaries. I feel like the weekend went by SO fast, though, and I'd like it to be a little longer. I think I'm probably just a little worn out still from the bar and all that stuff. I know I'll have plenty of time to rest once the internship is over and before the baby comes.

Friday, Tim and I just hung out at the house because I just told him I wanted to relax at home. Saturday, I got my haircut in the morning, we went and got barbeque at Railhead Smokehouse on Montgomery St. (It's yummy! Go there if you live in Fort Worth or are visiting), to Academy, and we went and saw G.I. Joe last night (that's where the post title comes from). It was good - if you like action movies. Tim had really been wanting to see it but I also thought it was worth seeing. Today, we went to church in the morning and Tim got a blessing for his birthday on Tuesday. We also have two new priests starting at our church and there was a reception afterwards for them, so we went to that. We came home and took a very short nap and then Tim washed my car and I cleaned the house. Just got back from the grocery store a little bit ago and we are watching Saving Private Ryan. We're having hot links (smoked sausage?) for dinner because it sounds REALLY good to me and I don't usually crave any meat. It seems like the only meat that sounds good since I have been pregnant is brisket and hot links - haha. Not the healthiest meat for me to want to eat. Just a regular old weekend - nothing very exciting to report.

I am 17 weeks pregnant today. We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow. If anything exciting happens, I will do an update tomorrow, too. We should be going back in 3 weeks to find out what we are having! I *think* I might feel the baby move occassionally but I'm not for sure. All the books say I should definitely start feeling it soon if I haven't already. We did the heartbeat on our doppler today and it was 155 bpm. It has gotten SO much louder since we first started listening to it at about 11 or 12 weeks. It's crazy to hear how much stronger and louder it sounds.

Here's my belly for this week:

And here's what's going on with Baby T:

Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop.

One of my books also says that he/she can start hearing sounds outside the womb now and some of them might make him/her jump. Tim said we can't see any scary movies now because he doesn't want the baby feeling me be scared! haha

Here's what it looks like this week:
Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Blog Award

Sara at This Beautiful Thing gave me a blog award! I know you've seen me mention her blog on here several times, so if you haven't read it, go look at it! She does a really good job keeping her posts updated and interesting.

I love getting blog awards and this my second one from Sara. Thanks, Sara!

The only rule is to share it...I know some of these people don't read my blog, but I think they have great ones, so I am directing you theirs. If you do read mine and see this, I love your blog :) I didn't list a few people because y'all have private blogs, but I didn't forget about you!

When Did I Go From Kid to Grown Up?

Time With The Thompsons

Steece's Pieces

Tubeless in Seattle

Bunches of Burches

The Adams (Not Addams) Family

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Bar, Graduation, Work, Oh My!

Lots of stuff to talk about!

Last week, Tuesday through Thursday, I took the Bar Exam in Arlington. Tuesday was what is called the MPT (basically, they give you a "lawyerly" task to do and you have to write a letter/opinion/closing argument, etc.) and the procedure and evidence part of the bar, consisting of civil and criminal procedure and evidence. Wednesday was the Multistate Bar Exam, which is multiple choice, and Thursday is the Texas Essays, which is 12 essays on different topics. The Multistate (MBE) was REALLY hard. The MPT wasn't too bad and the essays weren't as bad as I thought they would be but I don't have any idea how I did. Hopefully well enough to pass! Unfortunately, we don't get the results until sometime around November 5 or 6th. Boo :(

Also on Thursday, Tim brought me some BEAUTIFUL roses and some birthday cake ice cream (I had been craving it and couldn't find it anywhere). Here is a picture of my pretty flowers.

Friday, Tim's work gave him the day off so we got to hang out together and run some errands. Then, I went to Waco to get my graduation regalia and Tim went with my dad and brother to tour the Cowboy's stadium. He thought it was really awesome. Tim's mom and brother came into Waco on Friday night so I went to dinner with them along with Nancy and my sisters. Saturday was graduation! It didn't last very long, which was nice, and the professor that did the speech did a really good job. We were supposed to have Judge Sessions, who used to be FBI Director and is now a Federal Judge, but he had foot surgery and didn't think he could make it to Waco, so he cancelled. We ended up having my professor that taught PC II and III to me. He did a great speech, though. Afterwards, everyone went to La Fiesta, a Waco Mexican restaurant, for fajitas. It was great having my family there to celebrate with me. Tim and I went back to Fort Worth on Saturday afternoon and went to dinner with one of his friends and his girlfriend and then went and saw The Orphan (scary movie). It was pretty good.

Sunday, we slept in until almost 11:00 (Yay!) and then went to the mall to get me some shirts for work because all of mine were too small. Then we just lounged around the rest of the day.

I started work today and I will work until September 30th. I am working at the Tarrant County District Attorney and I am in the Gang Unit. I was a little nervous about the gang unit at first, but I think it is going to be really interesting and great experience. Today, I went to court with a lawyer to do a plea bargain, read over a case file, and then worked on Grand Jury summaries. I have a bar card, so I might be able to do some actual trial-type stuff.

Last, but definitely not least, a little baby update. I was 16 weeks yesterday and finishing my fourth month. I go to the doctor next Monday (August 10th) for a checkup and I will schedule the big ultrasound at that point. Here is the weekly belly picture:

And here is a Baby T update (I can't wait until I can call it by it's name instead of Baby T!

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and has a nice, quick week!