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. :)

The Announcement was Made...

Well, it must be official; it was on the afternoon announcements at school yesterday. Tim was subbing for the co-teacher in my 6th period when the end-of-the day news started, and then...there it was "Mrs. Dooley's pregnant!" It was pretty exciting. The 9th graders of course wanted to make comments like, "I knew you were getting fat," and "We know what that means y'all have been doing!" The student making the announcements had my permission and was totally pumped up that we allowed him to tell the school. I must say, it was easier telling everyone at one time like that, and I'm glad we decided to approve it! I knew I would have to tell soon because my belly is getting harder to hide!

In other news...we had a doctor's appointment last week. It went well. I took the glucose test and had to drink a yummy orange drink, but we don't have any results yet. We heard Peanut's heartbeat...155. Sounded great! While we were listing to the heartbeat, we heard him (or her) kick! It was pretty exciting since I haven't felt any flutters yet. I'm really ready for that, by the way! During our next appointment we will have another ultrasound! I'm thinking putting those pics in frames will be perfect grandparent Christmas gifts! The only negative from the visit is that I lost another 2 pounds. The midwife said it's not bad, but that I need to be gaining by now. The only time I will ever hear that, I'm sure!

We had a great Thanksgiving with the fam. Here are some pics of the day...

15 weeks

Here are the promised pics...we need to be better about taking them, but there are not a lot of changes that can be seen. The first is at 6 weeks, then at 12 weeks, and one on the beach at St. Simon's from GA/FL weekend (13 weeks).

I'm feeling a lot better now. I still get a little gaggy (is that a word??!) in the mornings every once and a while, but not often. I'm loving chips and dip of any kind, and for the past couple of weeks, I've wanted Brunswick stew. In fact, I want some right now! I bought my first piece of maternity wear. It's a BeBand to wear over my pants. It's made to go over unbuttoned pants or too big maternity pants. I'm wearing it over neither. I've lost about 15 pounds, so I'm still wearing my regular pants. The problem is...it hurts to sit down with a belt on. The band has allowed me to continue to wear my regular clothes without squishing peanut with a belt :)

Peanut is about the 3 1/2 inches long right now. It's crazy to think of the amount of growth taking place. He or she has toenails and everything! Speaking of he or she...we're still very excited about our decision to wait and be surprised in May. We're talking a lot about the nursery these days. We went to Target and bought several plastic storage containers this week to start packing some of our things away. Over Thanksgiving break, there will be a transformation from scrap booking room to blank canvas to get ready for Peanut's room. I'll make sure to document that with lots of pics too. Any suggestions on what to do/where to put all of the scrap booking stuff? We have to extra room and very little storage, but I can't get rid of everything...I just can't do it!

Showing!

One of the administrators at school yesterday said she could tell while she was walking down the hall. She wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing to say I was showing...I told her it was definitely good!!! I'll make Tim take a pic tonight, and I'll post later this week so you can see if you think I am or not! :)

If you're in the Atlanta area and get Fox 5, watch in the morning. We're the team of the week, and they will be broadcasting and presenting awards during our pep rally in the morning! Go Bears!