Parker's First Party!

We had our first baby shower last Sunday! A wonderful friend of my mom's and her daughter...who happens to be a great friend of mine, threw it for us. We got some AMAZING gifts!!!!! My parents gave us the crib, Tim's parents gave us the high chair, and two of Tim's aunts and cousins-in-law gave us the "cadillac of pack and plays". We got lots of cute clothes, books, bath stuff, a vibrating seat, and a shirt for me that says "Baby Loading.

..Please Wait". I love it! People keep asking us how they're supposed to get anything for Parker not knowing if we're having a girl or boy, but I think I like it even more! It's fun to think about how cute a girl will look in a little outfit with a big bow or flower, but then how a little man will look in the same outfit. I've always thought I had a good imagination, so maybe we're just putting it to use a little more! Julie and Aarika who threw the shower along with Regina (Julie's future daughter-in-law) had the place decked out in rubber duckies. It's funny...I've always liked rubber duckies. (That's how I wanted my bathroom decorated in high school.) Som it only makes sense that we register for things with rubber duckies on them. I mean, hey, they're yellow, and that's good for a girl or boy! They even made cupcakes that had duckies on them! Here are some pics...

More later...new things are happening every day!

More than a Miracle

Have you ever thought about pregnancy? I know those of you with kids have...of course...but the further we go, the more I really think about it. The way that Parker can move around and everything else inside of me stays where it should be, well, all I can say is it's more than a miracle! To think that not only is there a little person living inside of me right now, but knowing that I'm living with the same body is crazy! Of course there are plenty of changes...my internal heater is on overdrive, my hair and face are all kinds of oily, I sleep more than should be allowed (that's my favorite!), and the gag reflexes find a new source everyday...but those changes aren't enough to stop the everyday. God is amazing! How can people be pregnant, have a wife go through pregnancy, or even think about having a baby, and not realize that He's got it all under control. He planned it all out...perfectly! It really is more than a miracle!

28 Weeks

Wow! Things are going soooo fast! I wish I had a chance to get on the computer everyday and go on and on about the things I'm feeling. Luckily, I have a little time today. (I took the day off of work for a dr's apt.) First, I want to say congratulations to Bekka. Liam is beautiful. I hope things are going well...and that you're taking a ton of pictures! Ok, so here's a little update...We have a name...PARKER. Boy or girl, we love it! For a boy it will be William Parker, and for a girl, Parker Elizabeth. Not sure where the name came from on our long list, but it's perfect!

We had the 28 week visit today at the doctor. Things went great. It was the best visit yet! The midwife we met with today was our favorite so far. I've gained a few pounds, but I'm still not up to where I started...which is wonderful! My belly is measuring right where it should be, and I didn't even bruise where they took blood for the glucose test.

I've been feeling good lately. School stuff is a little stressful right now, but 2 hour naps a couple of days a week help with that. The baby moves all the time. Tim gets to feel him/her quite often, and he's seeing my belly move now, too! The only problem is my red face. My skin has started breaking out. Luckily, Belk has a free gift for Clinique right now, so I hope a little new make up will fix that!

With all of the feeling good, one would think that we're making all kinds of progress on the nursery...WRONG! We've barely even begun working on things. Hopefully, there will be some before and after pics to post!

Here are some recent pics...

This is the newest belly pic...taken Valentine's Day

Tim and I at a UGA basketball game.

Happy New Year!

Ok...I know...it's 3 weeks late, but I'm going with the saying "It's better late than never." I hope your new year has started off on the right foot. With 3 snow/ice days this week, I'm pretty pumped up about mine! Reading Lindsay's blog, I was inspired to tell you about NY 2008.
Tim moved back to Georgia from Florida in 2007. He had been working and going to school in Orlando. We've gone to the same church for a while, and when he moved back, we were once again in the same Sunday school class. He had asked me out several times, but I always had an excuse not to go. He told me that he was going to Atlanta for New Years, and he asked me to go. I, of course, already had plans. Plus, it was going to be a little reunion for his high school class, so that was an added reason to stay away! My group of friends has been doing something since NY 2004 that I can remember, but something happened to ring in 2008. They all cancelled! Everyone found something to do with other people, so I was left with nothing to do.
I'm guessing you can see where this is headed...
The week of New Years came around, and I still had nothing to do. Reluctantly, I called Tim and asked if the invitation was still good to go with him. He said yes, but we confirmed that this was not a date! For "not a date" I remember stressing out about what to wear (that should have been a sign!). He picked me up and we headed to 14th street for the party. His little reunion was just that. There were less than 20 people in his graduating class, and not everyone was there. Turns out, he went to school with an amazing group of people! I totally felt welcomed and had a really good time leading up to midnight. Keep in mind that this was not a date, and we let everyone know whenever they asked! As 12 o'clock came closer, something happened, and then by the time it arrived, there was a major change! It started with a kiss at midnight...and 4 months later we were engaged! I'm not sure how God worked it out, which is good with me, but he did something in both of us that night. From that point on, it was pretty obvious to us and those around us that we would be together for much longer than we imagined going into that night!

Tim's Christmas Gift

We woke up a little early early yesterday to finish wrapping gifts and to get things ready to go to my parents. We also like to have a little "just the 2 of us" time to open our gifts. Since we let the fat cat sleep with us, Tim woke up before me and had to kick her out, so he was sitting in the chair in our bedroom when I awoke. The first thing I felt was Peanut saying Merry Christmas very vividly by roaming around my belly! I told Tim to come feel, and for the first time, he could! I think it was the best Christmas gift I could give him, and I think he agrees!

Here are a couple of pictures from our last Christmas with only 2 people in the house...

Peanut's Pictures

We just got home from our doctor's visit. We had our 20 week ultrasound today!!!!! I know I may be a little biased, but my kid is so cute! The nurse told us that our baby has chubby cheeks and is very photogenic. I must agree; he (or she) did keep looking at the camera. During most of the time while we were watching, he had his hand up to his mouth, so we're thinking we have a thumb-sucker. I'm good with this, because I was too! It was super tough, especially for Tim, but we kept our eyes closed anytime the nurse got close to the legs. We didn't even see the feet until we got the flash drive home. Now, onto the most important part...the pictures!

A few other things from the visit...

the glucose test was great...I was right where I need to be.

all of the results from the blood work that was done last visit came back negative (down syndrome, spinabifida, and something that I can not remember right now)

I GAINED 4 POUNDS!!! Finally :)

Movement!

Yay...Peanut is moving!!! It's small and I can't feel it often, but he/she is moving! It happened the first time at Applebee's when Tim and I had a hot date eating dinner on Thursday at 5 pm...yep, early bird special! I felt it again yesterday when I was driving. I'm going to say it's when I sing, not because my singing is great, but because I enjoy singing Christmas music so much. I think when I'm super happy, Peanut feels like dancing! In the book we're keeping up with, it says that the baby is sleeping like a new born. I guess that means there's more still times than those when Peanut is jumping up and down. :)