A Week Full of Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving celebration started last weekend when we went to Muncie to visit Brent's family. His mom cooked a wonderful meal and we were able to relax and hang out with the family all weekend long. We were also able to spend some quality time with our niece, which we LOVE! She is at the age where she is fun to be around and you never know what she will do or say next.

On Thanksgiving Day, we did things a little different than we normally do. Normally we go to my Granny's house (dad's mom) and spend the day hanging out with that side of the family. Then on the Saturday after, my mom cooks for her side of the family. This year my mom decided to cook on Thanksgiving day so we had lunch with my parents, brother and my Nanny. After lunch, my mom had a family open house for everyone in the family that wanted to come over for dessert and to hang out. This worked out wonderfully! We didn't have to run around here, there, and yonder all day and we were able to actually enjoy each other's company. Since Brent has to work really early the day after all the holidays, our holidays sometimes pass in a blurr with the running and we don't get to sit back and relax. That was not the case this year and I hope we have started a new tradition!

On Friday, I had to work the first half of the day but that afternoon I met up with my mom and Nanny to do a little shopping. I usually avoid big holiday shopping days because I HATE crowds and people breathing down my neck while I'm trying to look but thanks to my Nanny she kept me entertained enough that I didn't worry with the crowds. It has been awhile since we have done a shopping trip together and I forgot how much fun she is to shop with. She is an unusual shopper because if it ain't on sale enough or if she doesn't have a coupon, she ain't buyin'. And if something is marked wronged or the price doesn't suit her, she just walks off leaving the clerk and item in the dust. These things used to embarrass me when I was little but now I think it is funny and I do the same things! I'm not as extreme as her; I might buy the item then return it later, but I don't pay full price for much. She called me a tight wad at one point and I asked her just who she thought I got that from! It truly is an adventure shopping with her and I can't wait for our Christmas shopping date I have planned!

I also finally got all my Christmas decorations up; after 3 days! I usually do it in one day, but I kept getting tired so I had to stretch it out this year. Thanks to my in laws, we got a new tree this year. Well new to us. The tree didn't suit their needs so last weekend they gave it to us. We were so excited A. because it was pre-lit and bigger than our old one and B. because it was FREE!!!! (Something else I got from my Nanny, we LOVE free stuff!) Our tree no longer looks like the Charlie Brown Christmas tree! Ha! It wasn't that bad but it was still pretty pitiful! Now everything looks great and I am officially in the Christmas spirit!

Belle is on the MOVE!!!

That's right folks, Belle is moving around in my stomach!

Last week I started feeling little bubble like movements. Thinking it probably wasn't gas since nothing was coming out (thank goodness!), I just knew it was Belle moving. She didn't move around a lot at first, but as the week went on she really started moving more. On Sunday night I was laying in bed feeling her movements stronger than before. I put my hand on my stomach just to see if I would be able to feel her on the outside. Well I did! I got so excited and yelled for Brent to come back there so he could feel. I put his hand where she had been kicking and every time I felt her I would say 'did ya feel that?' 'How 'bout that one?' 'There she goes.' Finally he told me to stop talking because apparently he needed full concentration when trying to feel her. He is almost positive he felt her, but also said it could have been me moving.

The next night she really had a fit and was kicking and moving around like crazy. Once again I yelled for Brent and told him how to lay his hand. As soon as he laid it on my belly she kicked him one good time! His eyes got big a saucers! He laid there for awhile and every time she kicked he would say 'did ya feel that?' 'There's one.' I said 'hello who do you think she is kicking!' It is by far the coolest thing so far in the pregnancy!

They say you can tell what her sleeping patterns will be when she is moving around and if that's true then I am extremely happy! I usually feel her right when I wake up at about 5:25. I set my alarm about 15 minutes earlier than I need to get up so while I am laying there those few extra minutes she usually starts moving around. Then I can typically feel her again several hours later and then she is on the move right before I go to bed. Tonight, however, she has been moving most of the night. I have a feeling she is trying to make some room in there after the HUGE lunch I had at work. We had our Thanksgiving lunch today and I stuffed myself to the brim! I'm pretty sure when I go to the doctor next week, I will have gained about 6 pounds from this week! Oh well! It will be well worth it!

HIS Daughter

Brent called me yesterday at work saying he wanted to go shopping for some "outfits." Knowing my husband I knew when he said outfits he could only be referring to baby clothes. I said, "are you wanting to get clothes for Belle?" (That's what we call her since I'm scared Brent will accidentally say her real name in public. Ha! and yes we have a name!!!!! And wouldn't you like to know what it is :)!!!) He said he felt bad because we haven't bought anything for HIS daughter yet. Since I love to shop, especially now, I was totally game!

So after work we headed to the mall and hit the department store first. I was pretty sure I wasn't going to find anything in there, but to my surprise we hit the jackpot! They were running a super sale and we found the cutest outfits! I even found a really cute Christmas outfit for next year that says Baby's 1st Christmas! Not only did the great sale surprise but Brent surprised me when he informed me that money was not an issue when spending it on HIS daughter. Ok, I'll play that game too! So I started grabbing more oneies. I'm only wondering how long those two things will last. I'm thinking sometime early April at 2:30 in the morning, she will become MY daughter and when she figures out the difference between designer and knock off money will be an issue. I was my daddy's girl but everything had a price tag! But hey I will ride this train for as long as it keeps chuggin'!

Let the Emotional Roller Coaster Begin!

I had my first breakdown today. Brent and I are in search of a daycare and we had a walk thru today at one of our top choices. Everything about the facility was wonderful! They take very good care of all the children and have plenty of staff for their growing numbers. But as soon as I walked in the room where newborns stayed, I had to fight back the tears. Actually I had to fight them back the whole time! It had nothing to do with the staff (very friendly!), or the babies (very content and happy!) but everything to do with the realization that I'm going to have to turn over my child to these people everyday and they are going to be just as important in her life as I am. I didn't see one bad thing about the place but that didn't stop the flood gates from opening as soon as I hit the car. I have no idea what came over me and at some point Brent looked over at me and said (in his oh my gosh my wife is crying again and I have no idea why voice) 'honey are you seriously getting this upset?' YES! He told me I could quit my job (not an option) but I know that there is nothing wrong with daycare. I was a daycare baby. I think kids need to be around other kids to develop social skills and have other kids to play with. I still can't for the life of me figure out why I got so upset and for that matter, still getting upset thinking about it. I'm praying that it is just the hormones and that I won't have to have a police escort the day I drop her off for the first time. The only thing that is helping me get through it is knowing that Brent is off one day during the week and one day he goes in at lunch. So technically she will only be there 3 and a half days a week. I feel so silly for already getting this upset over, of all things, daycare! I hope this isn't the beginning of a very emotional 4 months!

Too Stinkin' Cute!

We all know I love surprises! No matter how big or how little...I love them! Whether it is coming home to find the laundry done thanks to Brent or a new shiny piece of jewelry, I light up! Today I had the cutest surprise sitting on my desk.

My good friend that works across from me had left this little package on my desk. First, light up in my face. Then I open the package...

Then comes the second light up plus an 'oh my gosh! These are the cutest things ever!' They are little pink baby shoes with big pink and white ribbons! She got them from the children's store that I was just in this weekend. She saw them and couldn't resist getting them for us. She made sure they were the last pair so I wouldn't come in the next day and buy the same pair. Man, this girl is going to be decked out! Thanks Jennifer! You're the best!

20 Weeks

Or so I think! I forgot to mention on Wednesday when we went to the doctor that the baby actually measured a week earlier. Since it was only a week the doctor wasn't going to change my due date but told me not to be alarmed if I'm a week past my due date.

I'm still doing great. The only issue right now is sleeping. I can't seem to sleep at night because I'm not a side sleeper and that is the only position I'm supposed to sleep in. Not only just my side, but preferably my left side. I wake up a lot with my arm hurting from sleeping on it or changing positions. It is quiet annoying but I will just have to get over it. I'm also experiencing major "growing pains" that sometimes keep me up. I think on Saturday I woke up at about 4:30 and never really got back to sleep. Oh the joys of being pregnant! At least none of my body parts are swollen...yet.

As far as our weekend went, I stayed pretty busy. Since Brent and I were up with the chickens on Saturday we decided that we would start clearing out the pink room. We only got as far as the closet because I had no idea how much stuff was in there and I had already filled the other closet with stuff from in there so the rest of it went in the floor. I'm feeling at little overwhelmed with making room only because I HATE clutter and it is everywhere in my house! Our back bedroom is currently filled with maternity clothes and clothes I'm taking to consignment. The pink room floor is almost unseen with things that need to make their way to the attic. It is a mad house around here! I'm hoping soon I will get my house back!

Later on Saturday, my mom came up and we did a little shopping. There was a local gift shop having their Christmas Open House and I was on a mission to find Christmas stockings for us. Well I was denied, but at least my mom racked up and got some of her Christmas gifts out of the way. Next to the gift shop is a children's clothing store and of course I went over to look. They had the CUTEST things and I picked out several outfits that I wanted. They had a pair of bloomers that I just HAVE to have! I'm hoping since most of everything I picked out was Christmas stuff that she will run a sale after the holidays. We also went to the mall where my mom just had to buy a few clothing items for the baby! They were really cute and Brent and I had so much fun looking at girl clothes. OK, I had more fun that he did but he wasn't totally miserable. He seems to have an opinion on how I will be dressing her and we disagree on a few things. Like bows as big as her head. According to Brent they have to be proportional to her head so NO big bows! Ha! I will let him live that dream for awhile then throw on those big bows when he isn't around. They are just too cute!

Today, the hospital where I will be delivering had a pregnancy fair. We got a lot of free goodies and signed up for a million door prizes. We also got a tour of the labor and delivery wing. Things are starting to set in with me that I'm having a baby. That all this isn't just a dream. Brent is starting to really get excited and is hitting the door running with all the information we are getting. He actually asks more questions that I do. Actually, he asks ALL the questions. I seem to also be in a daze. Not sure why; maybe just overwhelmed and need time to process.

This is a wild journey and thank goodness I'm not doing it alone!!

Survey Says...

It's a girl!!! We were both 95% sure it was a girl and the doctor confirmed our hunch. We were both amazed at watching the ultrasound. We could hardly tell what anything was and I thought her legs were her arms and her butt was her head! You will see from the video below that to a normal person not everything is easy to pick out. There are a few moments where the video pauses and he was either taking a picture or showing us different things. At one point he puts the monitor right at her heart and you can see the 4 chambers and it beating (CRAZY!!!) and then another time he shows us her brain. There isn't a really good picture of her face because she decided to be difficult and have her arms up the whole time. Even now watching it, it still doesn't feel real. We are in awe and find it hard to believe that that is the baby inside.



Now on to the questions...do we have a baby name? No, we had a boy's name but we haven't been able to decide on a girl's. Not that I would tell anyway. My Nanny told me that was rude, but that's just because she wants to know. But we decided that we aren't telling the names A. because we don't have one and B. because we are trying to pick out a name that no one we know has and if we finally settle on one we don't someone saying 'oh so and so just named their baby that.' Plus some things just have to be a surprise! I will guarantee you it will not start with an A or B. 3 out of the 4 great grandchildren on Brent's side all have A names and actually they all have AMM initials. No B names because Brent and his 2 brothers are B's. If you know anything about me, you know I love being different so I have to think outside the box. Don't worry I won't pick a weird name that no one will be able to pronounce (Nanny!).



Are we excited? VERY!!! As we were waiting to see the doctor after the ultrasound, I started rattling off Brent's To Do List. (as you will notice I said BRENT'S). :) He told me to chill out. That we still had 5 more months and that everything didn't have to be done this weekend. I am such a planner and it drives me crazy to do a little at a time, but to keep my husband happy I will have to learn how to take it slow.



Are you disappointed? Not at all! We have always said we wanted a boy and a girl so it didn't matter which one came first. Plus, with us being so sure it was a girl, today was just confirmation of our gut feeling. I think it will be fun for Brent to have 2 priss pots on his hands!



Well, here is the video of the ultrasound. It takes it a minute to starting showing anything so don't freak out when you stare at a black screen.

The Maternity Store Threw Up...

And it landed in my guest bedroom! Thanks to a wonderful family friend, I had a stack of clothes and 2 totes full of maternity clothes to look through this weekend. Plus, a girl in my Sunday School class brought me a bag full yesterday. It has been awhile since that many clothes were thrown from here, there, and yonder in my house. Sadly, I am not quite ready for maternity clothes yet. I was hoping my now I would have a noticeable belly, but that just hasn't happened. I know I should be grateful not to have spread from head to toe, but it would be nice to not get looks from people when I wander into the maternity sections. I am tempted to where a sign that 'Yes I'm pregnant. I'm allowed to be here!' Oh well! People are assuring me that one day it will all come, until then I will just have to accept my small swell. (I will post a new pic of me on Friday marking my halfway point)

Besides looking through maternity clothes, I spent the majority of my day Saturday with my Nanny. We were working on my wedding quilt. Yes, I realize I have been married 3 years and it isn't complete. I am bound and determined to have it complete by the time the baby comes. Hopefully, sooner because I have lots of other sewing projects lined up for the baby. Whether she likes it or not Nanny is stuck with me for the next couple of months working on this quilt because as I have said I love to sew but I am by no means as good as she is or all that great.

Sunday was a big day in the Miller household. It was Sunday afternoon football and our favorite teams were playing each other. Colts vs 49ers. I'm not sure I have ever actually yelled at the tv during a game before as much as I did Sunday. Our dog, Colt (gee wonder how we came up with that name), was trying to take his afternoon nap in my lap but I keep yelling and clapping and he couldn't get his full nap in. I knew the Niners weren't going to win but they did better than I thought. We only lost by 4 and we were the first to score a touchdown. It also helped Peyton wasn't at the top of his game.

Also on Sunday, I experienced my first "nesting" episode. Our house doesn't have that much storage and every closet is stuffed full. I worried about this issue before I ever became pregnant but blew off the task of purging until I was actually pregnant. Well, the day has come and I am proud to say I emptied out one whole closet and either made room for it in my closet or ditched it. I ran around here like a mad woman throwing clothes, hangers, and whatever else that got in my way. I can't tell you how much better I feel. I am now ready to tackle clearing out the bedroom for the baby. Depending on what we have depends on which room we clear out. When we painted our house we went ahead and painted the bedrooms according to gender. So Wednesday we will see if we are clearing out the pink room or the grey room. Oh what fun we will have! Please feel free to stop by if you like to be bossed around because with my limited lifting ability I'm pretty sure I will be very vocal on how exactly I want it done! Brent is super excited!!!