isn't she cute?

Here are some new ultrasound pictures from our appointment today. I thought I would be freaked out by the 4-D pictures, but they are really cute. Dr. Drake thinks she looks like Mike, which thrilled him! Everything looks good, the little chunker is weighing about 3 lbs. 11 oz. and all other development looks great. We continue to be a mixture of excited/nervous/impatient to meet this little girl.

Well, May was a very busy month so this is likely to be a lengthy post. The month started off with me in quite a funk. Mother's Day was really tough for me and as my pregnancy neared the timing of when I lost William I kind of withdrew from everyone. So, if you are one of the people whose phone calls/e-mails I didn't return I apologize. However, I am feeling much better and have since had many exciting events to take my mind off of my own anxiety.

The biggest event was the birth of my nephew, Oliver Ethan Wells on May 22, 2009. He arrived 9 days after his due date by C-section as he decided to flip into a breech position after labor had been induced. His mama (Amanda) was brave and beautiful through it all and he is extremely lucky to have such loving parents in Charlie and Amanda. We got to be in town the day he was born and got to spend some precious time with the new family at the hospital. It was all I could do not to steal him and bring him back to Iowa and I can't wait to see him again in August. Here are a couple of pictures.

Me, Oliver, Annie (my sister) and Charlie (my brother and the proud Daddy)

Oliver Ethan Wells just a few hours old

Also while we were in Kansas my Mom and sister hosted a lovely baby shower for me. It was really nice, the food was great, and I had a great time. Thanks guys. While at the shower I had my Dad take a belly shot, so here you go Jessie.

One of the guests at the shower was Jordan, my very best friend from middle school/high school. She drove up from Oklahoma with her darling 7 month old son Will and spent the night with us. It was so special to be able to spend time with her, and Will is hands down the happiest baby I have ever met. He laughed and smilied constantly and completely fell in love with Mike. It was really sweet and made me excited to watch Mike as a Dad. Thanks for coming Jordan, love you!

My final bit of exciting news is that we have another new member of my family, my cousin John and his wife Lindsay welcomed their son John Thomas (Jack) into the world on May 26th. We got to go meet him last weekend and he is seriously cute. He has the longest arms and legs of any newborn I have ever seen and looks an awful lot like his Daddy. Lindsay and John are doing a great job as Mommy and Daddy and we are very happy to have Jack in our family.

So, there you have it. I must say that all of these new babies are making me very impatient for this little girl to get here, although I know she needs a few more weeks in the oven. As Mike says, we are hoping for at least medium-well if not well-done.

As for this little girl, things are progressing very well. I am at 30 weeks and am growing rapidly. I have another ultrasound scheduled for this Thursday, I'll post pictures if we get any. We are getting ready around here, bought the car seat this past weekend and are going to get the nursery in order this weekend.

Thanks for checking in!

sorry...

I'm here and I whole-heartedly apologize for the lack of recent updates. Lots has happened and I promise to do a detailed update tonight when I get home from work. In the meantime, everything is great with the baby so don't worry.

updates...

Everything with Baby looks good, we had an appointment last week and things are continuing to progress as they should. She is kicking like crazy these days which is a wonderful comfort to me. It really makes me realize how small William was because at 30 weeks, he never kicked as hard or as frequently as this little girl. At the time I had nothing to compare it to. It's fun to lay down and be able to see her kicking (I never got to do that with William). She is most active after lunch and at night. I am also realizing how little William was because of how huge I am. I have been getting lots of comments about how I've "popped" and I am already bigger around than I was at 30 weeks with William. At our last ultrasound (which was April 7) they stated that she already weighs more than William did when I delivered at 30 weeks. (I'm currently 25 weeks). The doctor says my weight gain is right on track (8 pounds) and that I am growing as I should. It seems funny to me that my perspective is so much different this time around. When I was pregnant with William I was kind of excited by the fact that I wasn't getting very big because the doctors felt like things were fine and I was excited not to be gaining too much weight. This time I welcome the giant belly! Our next ultrasound is next Thursday (05/07/09) I'll try and post a new picture at that time.
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Also, my brother Charlie and his wife Amanda are expecting their first baby (gender unknown) anytime now. She is due May 13, but is already dialated a little. Please keep them in your prayers for a safe and healthy delivery. I'll be sure to let you know when there is any news!
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Another update: I HATE RAIN! This in itself is very sad for me because rain and thunderstorms used to be favorites of mine. However, recently every time it rains outside, it seems to rain somewhere in our house. We have had roofers out several times and each time they do a temporary fix and then it rains somewhere new in the house. I am afraid the ultimate solution is going to be quite expensive! Oh, and in case you were wondering it rained ALL weekend and is supposed to continue ALL week. Awesome!
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That's all for now.

Okay, here we go. A photo recap of one of the better nights of my adult life. I was a bit skeptical about going to this concert. I had seen NKOTB in 5th grade and honestly thought I had matured past it and would think the concert was lame. WRONG! As soon as I heard those familiar songs I was back in my bedroom, singing and dancing in the mirror and practicing kissing on my Jordan doll. The baby enjoyed it as well, she was especially active during Step By Step. What good taste my little one has in music. Enjoy!

Here they are in their white outfits (there were several costume changes). I believe they were singing I'll Be Loving You Forever here.

Here is Jordan doing a solo number and if you look at the bottom left corner of the picture you can see a fan that was used to blow open his shirt. It was very dramatic and the ladies went crazy!

Here's Joey really getting into it while performing Please Don't Go Girl. Don't worry Joey, I'm not going anywhere.

The bad boy, Donnie. He is very dirty by the way and changed some of the lyrics to Cover Girl (my favorite NKOTB song)to create an adult version. I kind of liked it.

Oh-Oh- Oh-Oh-Oh, The Right Stuff...

They may all be in their 40's but they definitely remember the moves. I wish I had gotten some pictures of some of the more die hard fans, but I was so mesmerized once the music began that I just didn't get the chance. Sorry...

just wait...

I haven't had time yet, but be prepared...there is a very exciting post coming soon. Let me give you a little hint. Last night I spent a little time hanging tough with the 5 boys from bean town and about 15,000 screaming women who were WAY too old to be behaving the way they were.
p.s. there are pictures...

here comes the crazy...

Ever since losing William I have jokingly stated that during my next pregnancy I would need to move into the hospital and be hooked up to a fetal monitor 24/7 for peace of mind. I really haven't been that bad, I may have a constant hum of anxiety running through my body but I think I've done a pretty good job of keeping the crazy to myself. That is I was doing a good job, until Tuesday. Let me explain. Up until last week I wasn't feeling too much movement from the baby which my doctor told me was to be expected because the placenta is on the front side of my uterus. But then, starting last week, I started feeling her more and more and then this past weekend she was kicking like crazy all day and especially when I would lay in bed at night. Then Monday came and it started happening less and less. Then Tuesday came and I wasn't feeling anything. Cue the crazies. I started having all sorts of scary thoughts because this is what happened with William. Flashbacks of that horrible day this summer flooded my brain and I was in a panic. There was this panicking part of me, but arguing with that part was the I-don't-want-to-be-overly-paranoid-and-make-the-doctors-think-I-am-nuts part. Guess which part won? That's right, the nuts part. So long story short we went in, heard the heartbeat and got another ultrasound. The doctors couldn't have been nicer and more understanding. In fact, the nurse told me to come in everyday if I need to (I don't think she realized the can of worms she was potentially opening). Anyway they explained that the baby is still small enough that she can move around to different areas of my belly so sometimes I can feel her a lot and sometimes I won't feel anything, but that is normal. In fact when we had the ultrasound she was moving like crazy and I couldn't feel a thing. They told me that it would be around 27-28 weeks when I should be feeling really consistent movement. So with that reassurance, the crazy has been soothed and locked away until a future date when something else freaks me out.

So here is a cute new picture from Tuesday's ultrasound. We can't tell if she is about to suck her thumb or if she is using her fist as a microphone, something her mother has been known to do. Isn't she gorgeous?