Dave says good-bye to bachelorhood...finally!

Well, we decided to bite the bullet and get a mom-mobile! We needed something a little easier to get in and out of than Dave's 2002 Solara. He was very upset to part with it. I reminded him that I had to give up my house for the good of the cause...he had to sacrifice too! We also needed something that Dave could use to get things from Home Depot without begging a friend with a truck to help us. We weren't ready to completely commit to a huge SUV. We also weren't ready to go to the mini-van life (we seriously considered it though). So the Element gave us the most options with the least money. They also had a special going with .9% APR so we really couldn't pass it up. Dave's a little troubled with the fact that whoever has the baby gets the Element and who ever doesn't gets my little Mazda. He's trying to figure out how we can pay that off soon and get something he likes better! I'm thinking I got the best of this deal! We also may have found a new tenant for the Round Rock house. Our tenants will be leaving at the end of Jan. Our salesman is looking for a house up there. We think it may be a little small for him and his family, but we'll definitely talk to him about it! Keep your fingers crossed!

Connor is doing fine. We went to the doctor on Fri. He's still measuring exactly what the books say he's supposed to....even though I feel like an elephant! He gets the hiccups a little more strongly these days. He's getting kind of tight in there so I can feel lots more. He's still butt up and likes to stick it out. His feet are in my ribs on the right side and they move often...esp. when I'm "asleep." We finished our Child Birth Prep class. Connor's bag is packed for the hospital and I have a list of what we'll need to take. The pet-sitter is on notice. We just need a baby!

Our Christmas was nice. We got some fun toys. The doge were into their stockings. Sophie had de-stuffed her toy and Marley's before we finished unwrapping all the presents! Dave's trying to get some of his house projects finished so he can start brewing his own beer which he's named Lot 1 Lager. We've had a nice week off and are looking forward to another. Although we should probably get off the couch a little more in this coming week and get some of the projects finished that we had planned to do.

Hope everyone has a Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Last night we had a little Christmas party. We are thankful that we have so many great friends and that a few of them were in town to join us. Here are the Wyatt's. Aleah (in the middle) was in my first grade class 3 years ago. Her little sister, Lauren, was in my first grade class last year that I left for my new job. Aren't they cute?

Dave got some really big presents this year. They were so big that he actually had to wrap them himself. I hope he doesn't look too closely at the tags because he did those himself too!

My dad's cousin, Joyce, sent a hand-made sweater and blanket to Connor for Christmas. They are beautiful and very special.

Connor has been busy lately. He's not letting Mommy get much sleep. I think he's trying to dig his way out! The books say that he is around 4 lbs. and 17 inches. One even said "No wonder you're feeling massive!" And that's pretty much how I feel. He decided to try hanging out on the right side this week, but he changed his mind and went back to the left. He's still getting the hiccups a couple of times a day (2 am is the current favorite time). We go back to the dr. on Friday.

Sophie too has been busy....stealing. We have baby gates around the house these days. She's eaten her fair share of books, notebooks, carpet, grass, trash and who knows what else this week. We need to be better about walking her. I contacted a doggy daycare center. She can go for $20/day and I think it's worth it to the house to send her once in a while. She's definitely spending more than that in destroying things. We did get a laser light last night and that was big hit with the pups! Sophie runs around chasing it. Marley just stares at your hand waiting for you to drop it so she can try to eat it! Fun for all!

We hope that everyone is happy and healthy and stays safe this coming year!

Baby Days!

We had a doctor's appointment on Friday. Everything's fine. Still gaining weight as fast as possible, but Connor seems happy so I guess I'll just have to deal.

Saturday morning we had our 2nd Lamaze class. We got to see a birthing video. I'm thinking I can handle the pain part of the labor. It's the actual coming out of my body part that is giving me a hard time. I mean I've walked 21 miles in the rain with huge blisters on my feet, walked 26 miles in a marathon and run 21 miles with severe leg pain. I've worked through pain before...granted not in that part of my body, but I have had severe pain before. It's the whole baby coming out of my hoo-ha that's got me worried. We went to the Labor & Delivery floor and got to see a room. Then on the way out we saw our doctor. Atleast we know she knows where the hospital is.

Then we got to babysit James and Laura's baby, Addie. It was fun. She's a good baby. Sophie spent the first 15 minutes trying to get at her, but then she settled down. Marley did her usual "Baby? What baby?" and sat on my lap while I was holding Addie. We were supposed to double swaddle her but couldn't figure out how to do it with a little blanket so we just used the dummy proof one....which thank goodness Laura has gotten us 2 of those so maybe Connor will be alright. We had a good time! Dave told her about how to buy pickles at the store and also a story about a princess buying a king an office chair. (His birthday present.) I want to know why he was a king and I was a princess in the story. Addie got to sleep in Connor's room. It is all ready to go and she seemed to think the mattress with the vibration motion to it was a grand idea. Hurry up Connor!

Lamaze

Yesterday was our first Lamaze class. The lady changed the name while we were there to "Prepared Childbirth." She talked for 2 hours about what's happening to our bodies. We watched some videos...not too explicit, but she said those are coming next week. We did one breathing exercise, one yoga pose to help with back labor and then 12 MINUTES of silent visualization. That was where I hit my biggest problem. It's hard to relax and see colors wash over you, but when you're huge, on the floor with 20 strangers and about to pee your pants. Only one color is washing over you...YELLOW! I didn't feel like I could get up and go because there were bodies all over the floor and of course we were on the opposite side from the door. I'm not the most graceful person anyway, but add 30 lbs. and limited downward vision and you have the recipe for disaster. So I sat there and looked around and waited for the end. Then took off at a sprint to the RR.

The class did kind of spark us to action though. We went to Target and got some "emergency" baby supplies just in case Connor decides to make an early entrance. We met a lady at Beagle Brigade whose baby decided to make his entrance at 33 weeks and that's only 3 weeks away for us. So it's time to start packing bags and getting ready. We figure this will most definitely ensure that he's late!

Connor is still VERY busy. He kicks and punches all day. This morning when I got up he seems to have moved upward...not too comfy for Mommy! He still gets the hiccups a few times a day. It helps me figure out where he's sitting. The book says he will start gaining 1/2 lb. a week from now on. WOW! Like I'm not large enough.

On Friday I went to the maternity store to buy some nursing bras. That was hard work! I hate bras, but the nursing tank tops are bunchy. The bras are like wearing a protective vest. Their large and armor-like. For a girl who's used to wearing little bras, these suckers are definitely a change.

I've also been busting my butt this weekend to get ready for my Level I Assessment for grad school. I have to write 6 papers. Right now I actually have 5 done. That's amazing considering that I don't have to have them done until Tuesday. Last night I was working on my personal and professional goals. That was surprisingly hard. At this point in my life my professional goals don't really matter. And my personal goals are all tied to being a good mother and wife. So, I was honest about the stage I am in life and I hope that goes over well. I'll let ya know!

BTW, I have tried to edit this post 5 times to get the paragraph breaks in, but they are refusing to cooperate. Sorry if it's hard to read!

29 weeks

Well, here I am! Connor is growing everyday. I went to the doctor yesterday and he's getting big and so am I. He's head down and I'm hoping he stays that way. I kind of suspected he was because when he gets the hiccups, about 3 times a day, I can feel them "down under." Everything is right on target and actually they told me I was measuring wrong and my belly is measuring exactly the way the books say it should...it's my butt that's the problem now!

Marley also went to the doctor yesterday. We had to take her to a veterinary internist, who happened to be a beagle owner. She did an ultrasound and found that her kidneys are full of stones. So much so that surgery would do more harm than good. One way of treating them is to change her diet again, but that would trigger her pancreatitis...which we've survived once and are not wanting to repeat. So our option is to put her on some meds for the rest of her life that will hopefully prevent the development of any new stones. So we went to the pharmacy today to fill it. I was a little concerned after the almost $400 vet bill. H-E-B has new drug plan prescription card that we can put the dogs on. It costs $5 to join and then each month we get $5 off her meds...making them $13. So, we're going with the medicine.

Dave's had a rough week. On Thursday morning I burst into tears before work because he had forgotten to turn on the dryer the night before and I had no bra/tank tops to wear and I couldn't find the only pair of jeans that are actually comfortable. Then today is his birthday. I got up early and made a coffee cake. I tried to surprise him with breakfast in bed, but he got up just as I was walking into the bedroom. I made him go lay back down and blow out the candle. Then I let him get up and go to the bathroom, but I took everything back downstairs and started eating without him. Let's hope dinner goes a little more smoothly.

Stretch Marks???

Ok...so I can't say no one told me about these because Nora did. But seriously, stretch marks on the boobs. Why G*d? Like getting fat isn't bad enough. And these aren't the same light stretch marks that I have from years of gaining and losing wieght. These are nice red marks! What's next?

So, our Thanksgiving was good. As you can see, Dave even got his beef stick. Dave and I made all of the trimmings. We had enough food for 20 people even though there were only three of us. Anyone want a turkey sandwich? Even Sophie was suffering from turkey overdose.

We put up our decorations and have spent the last 4 days protecting them from the baby beagle. She fell into the tree, has stolen and tried to eat atleast three of the five stockings, and has stolen some of the people from the snow villiage and chewed on them. It's going to be a LONG month.

Connor has been VERY busy today. I don't know what he's doing in there, but he has been moving for the last 10 hours. I think he's making his own presents for Mommy and Daddy. I think maybe he's attempting to use one of my ribs as part of his project...not sure though. I go back to the dr. on Friday. I'm thinking of getting on the scale backwards so I don't have to see the weight gain. It's been pretty serious the last month.

Last night my sister begged me not to become one of those pregnant women who let their belly hang out between their pants and shirts. I told her that it was impossible not to become one of those women. I cannot keep my pants up or my shirts down. I don't do it on purpose. I can't help it. It's just one more side effect of pregnancy.

On the Marley front...she has an appt. with an internist on Friday. The trick was that we had to get a referral from our vet in order to get an appt. with this lady! WTF? Marley's been ok the last couple weeks, but we want to make sure everything's really ok.

Poor Marley

Pictures - Not so pretty, but at least they're updated. I should be wearing moo-moo's soon!

Marley had a bad day on Thursday. She kept going to the back door to go outside, squatting for long periods of time repeatedly and then coming in and doing it again. Unfortunately, with all that work...nothing was coming out. She wouldn't lay down and barely sat. I thought we were in for another run to the emergency vet clinic. Then I was laying on the couch petting her and I heard this gushing sound. I looked down and she was standing up and TONS of red urine was coming out of her. I got her outside, but not before we had a big mess to clean up. We got everything cleaned up and let her back in. She jumped on the couch and laid down and slept. She even played a little after that. It was weird. I decided to wait and see how she felt before going to the emergency vet clinic. She seemed fine so we thought we'd just take her to the vet in the morning. So...we think and the vet thinks that she passed some kind of stone that was blocking things up. She hasn't had an accident since and her panties have even been clean. So maybe (keep your fingers crossed) that was the end of it. She's still in panties and back on antibiotics. The vet's sent another round of urine off to the lab to be tested. So we'll just have to continue to wait and see. Good news too... she hasn't lost any more weight, so hopefully that means no diabetes or anything.


On the other hand, Sophie got to have a good Friday. One of my friend's who has a 6 week old baby was not feeling well and needed me to come and watch the baby during the day so she could recover from minor surgery. So Sophie got to meet a real live baby...she stole a pacifier and a diaper and really worked hard at trying to lick baby Addie. All this happened while playing with her favorite beagle pal, Molly. Sophie had soooooo much fun. And I guess it worked out for Marley too. She got to have a nice quiet day at home without Sophie.


As for Connor, he's growing everyday! I measured my belly and it's 2 inches bigger than what the books say it should be! Oh dear! Thank goodness Daddy got a promotion this week and Mommy got approved to go half-time at work starting in January. So hopefully all this will help with the ever expanding belly and the draining energy. I must admit though that most of the pains I have been complaining about haven't been so bad in the last two weeks. Maybe there is hope for me!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Baby Care Class

So yesterday we went to our first class at the hospital. It was a baby care class. We got to watch a bunch of old videos about not shaking your baby and making really loud shushing noises in their ear so they calm down. We also got to use a plastic baby doll and practice giving it a bath, changing it's diaper, swaddling it and holding it. Then we went to a friend's house and practiced holding her 5 week old. We each managed to get her to fall back to sleep, so we were feeling pretty sure we should be able to do it with our own! Sophie went to visit too. She didn't really pay any attention to the baby, but that was because karma was playing a nasty little trick on her. Our friends had company and those people had a little boy dog named Marley. Marley thought Sophie was very cool and spent the entire time either trying to hump her or bite her. She was so exhausted by the time we left! She's still pretty mellow today!


On the baby front, I felt like I was really big by the end of the day yesterday. Then when I got up this morning, my belly button was even more poked out...almost half way out! I really look pregnant these days. No hiding it. I'm 6 months on Mon. so I guess that pretty much explains it. I've got less than 100 days to go! That's amazing. Dave and I are both ready to meet Connor, but I'd like him to be healthy so I want to wait until he's ready.

Cloth diapers for everyone!

So we took the dogs camping with us this weekend and ended up in the emergency vet clinic! Marley cannot control her bladder and is peeing blood on top of that. The vet's not sure what's going on. The urine tests came back not really showing any problems, but obviously there are. So we're going to wait until the antibiotics are done and then check again. Meanwhile it's panty time! Sophie thinks they are pretty cool and really wants to chew on them. Marley is actually ok with that idea as long as that gets them off of her. The bright side of all this....the dogs are bonding.

My dreams have continued this week. I dreamt that my belly button finally popped. It was kind of like a pop-gun or a jack-in-the-box though. It was on a string and it went far. I had to try and pull the string back and get it all back in my pants. Not pretty!

I'm almost through my class...yeah! I turned in a project last night and only have to go two more times and turn in one more group project. Then I will have 18 hours which is about half way. I need to make some presentations in front of three faculty members in Dec. and then I won't go back until Aug. probably. I still really don't want to be a principal though. The more classes I take and the longer I work...the more sure I am of that. But in order to be any kind of leader in a district, you need this Master's. So that's what I'll do.

Well, time to check the puppy panties. I guess I need to go buy another pair too because she pees in them every night and they have to be washed every morning. Poor old dog!

Sophie's Costume

Sophie tried to choose her own costume this Halloween. While I was painting my toenails she came racing up and ran into the brush. If you look at her nose, you can see a dark red streak across her nose. Then she took off and wouldn't come anywhere near me. So I had to leave it! Baby Beagles obviously aren't getting enough attention! And boy, oh boy, she does not know what life is about to be like!

I've been pretty tired this week. I could barely move the last 2 mornings because I was so tired. I worked late a couple of days and then with class until late on Tues. nights, I'm just so tired. I decided to come home early today (1:30) and try to take a nap, but Baby Beagles don't like to nap. At least it's more rest than being at work....well that may be debatable. I really shouldn't blame it all on Sophie. Marley is very fond of making puking sounds at 5 am. That tends to steal an hour of sleep too! Plus, any noise or movement wakes up Connor...oh, yeah and Dave snores! So, I guess you're really getting the picture for why I've been so tired. I don't know what I'll do when Connor actually gets here! I'll be a mess!

I think that tomorrow when I hit 25 weeks that that will be the beginning of the third trimester. I can't believe it! I've started having bad dreams. The strange thing about these dreams is that even though they've both been bad...I've not been concerned in either dream. Sunday night I dreamt that I miscarried. I was in the shower and it all started coming out. When Connor came out, he looked like a Buzz Lightyear plastic doll. Then Wed. night I dreamt that he came two months early, but all I said was, "I'm so glad we got the room painted early!" Not sure what's up with all that, but I guess I'll just be glad that they've not been sad!

No one told me...

pregnancy was painful! I've had backaches, leg cramps and now stomach cramps! I've had this really sore spot on my belly for 2 weeks now. I think it's muscular so I haven't panicked. I decided to up my 24 weeks appt. at the dr. today just to check though. Things didn't get better this weekend and sitting or laying down seem to be the only things that help. The dr. said "Yeah, that sounds about right!" She had no other insights! When I told her Tylenol didn't help she said, "Probably not. Try Ben-gay." So not only am I supposed to be in pain, but also stink! Ofcourse, on the up-side...I'm trying to think of what I can get for this. There's got to be a way to use pain to my advantage! Oh yeah! And if you look really close at the photo, you'll see that my belly button is no longer all innie, but I guess that's what happens when you gain 21lbs. But Connor seems happy and healthy, so I guess I should stop bitchin'.

Connor's room!

Dave's been a very busy Daddy-to-be lately. He got the room repainted even though he claims that I am the only person in the world who thought that the Dr. Seuss characters were scary. Anyway, we just need to put it all together, but there's plenty of time for that. Sophie, our not-so-little beagle, has already tried to eat the Snoopy off the lamp. Sophie's going to be a stuffed beagle just like Snoop if she doesn't get her mouth under control.

We also got registered at www.debbiedoesdiapers.com (our cloth diapering service) this weekend. I know it's not the easiest route, but it is the best for Connor and for the world. We're not going overboard though. I'm not taking cloth diapers to Ireland and then dragging all that poo back! I'll keep some regular diapers in the closet in case of emergencies too!

I need to put a picture of my belly up. It's getting big. Connor is a busy boy too! I think he tried to jump out last week. It was the strangest feeling. He's hitting low these days!

22 weeks

Well, remind me to stop complaining about gaining 1 lb. a week. Last week when we went to the dr. it appears I've been gaining almost 2 lbs. a week in the last month! I'm definitely on track to being a whale! (I say as I sit here and eat a cookie!)

We also got registered at Babies 'r Us recently. That was interesting. We walked out of the store after an hour and a half and had only registered for 9 things. Trying to decide which stroller, play pen, bouncy seat, swing, monitor and diaper bag is A LOT harder than one would think! But the rest I registered for online. That was much easier.

We spent last weekend in the Adirondacks with the Kostusiak Klan. A great time was had by all. Dave got to feel Connor (did I mention we picked a name?) kick for the first time. Connor's been busy lately. He's swinging and kicking and having a grand old time in there!

The crib is in! We just have to figure out how to get it from the store. And all the Peek-A-Boo Snoopy stuff will be in on Monday. I just finished taping the edges of the walls in the nursery and we need to hit Home Depot to pick paint (and get rid of the crazy Dr. Suess decor).

Oh yeah! Dave got a promotion! We're not sure quite what it means yet, but at least they are recognizing all the hard work and LONG hours he's been putting in.

Have a great weekend!

Pictures

Well, since he was bootie up, we got a good shot of that right off the bat. So you're looking at his bootie. His left femur is on the bottom and then just above that is how we're sure it's a boy.

Here's a good profile from this last appt. It looks like he doesn't have any arms though because his hands are on top of his head.

Here I am at 20 weeks. Starting to get a big belly and only half way there!

It's a .......

BOY!!!!!!

We are very excited! We are just happy to finally know. He was butt up and showed all his stuff. He had his hands behind his head the entire time and then when the doctor came in to finalize everything, "he" put his hands over his face! He was done...no more pictures. I've got some good pics though from earlier that I'll add later.

So I guess we're going with Peek-a-Boo Snoopy. And we will probably go with Connor Benjamin Kostusiak, but, as you may have noticed, I change my mind often so I can't guarentee any of that!

I think I felt it!

Well, when Dave came to bed last night at 2am he asked me if I was awake. AND....I wasn't until then! So then he fell asleep and I couldn't get back to sleep! So I was laying there and felt something funky. I told one of my friends that it felt like someone trying to get out of a balloon. I'm pretty sure that it was the baby, but who knows. I haven't had time to sit quietly today and see if I can feel it again.

Wed. is the big day. I can't wait to finally find out what it is. People have been asking me whether I think it's a boy or girl and really I can't say. I haven't had any dreams or anything. BUT...yesterday I suddenly started saying "she." I have no idea where that is coming from. It probably just ensures that it's a boy!

Also yesterday I got an email at work saying they are looking into getting an on-site daycare for infants and toddlers. It's about $300 cheaper than the typical daycare center AND IT'S ON-SITE! If that goes through, that might change some of my plans for going back after "she" is born. We'll just have to keep our fingers crossed that it comes through!

I'm going to attempt yoga again this weekend. I'm sure I'll have a funny story from that, so check back!

We ordered the crib!

So we got the crib and the dresser in this picture, but in a little bit darker wood color. It was expensive, but it's real wood and furniture that Baby Stuzey can use his/her whole life. I'm very glad to have this ordered. They say it can take up to 12 weeks for it to come in. We went to USA Baby to order it and happened to walk into a HUGE one-day sale. There were people crawling all over the store, but we got it done and got a decent price so we're happy.

This morning I attempted to go to my first pre-natal yoga class. I say attempted because the teacher didn't show up. So I came back home. I haven't done much in the way of exercise the past 4 months and this was supposed to be my kick-start! BUT....I guess I'll go get a Dr. Pepper and wait until tomorrow!

Not long now!

We had a doctor's appointment this past Thursday. We actually got to speak to the dr. and ask her some questions. We liked her so we've decided to stick with this office. But the big news of this visit is that we have an appointment for the anatomy ultrasound. So we will find out on September 26th whether it's a boy or a girl. I can't wait!!! Then maybe I can make a decision about the theme and get the registry done and choose paint and .....

Luckily, one of my friends is due on Sept. 26th. That way we can practice a little before having to actually take one home with us. We've signed up for all the classes the hospital offers. Hopefully with all of these things, we will have a small idea of what to do with it! We're pretty nervous. Dave seems to think that I just automatically know what to do and is trusting me to make the decisions. I think that's a lot of pressure for a girl! I told him I know what to do with them when they hit school-age, but no ideas before that! I guess that's why they make books and websites!

Well, I'm 16 weeks and I think there's no hiding it anymore. I've pretty much moved into maternity clothes full time...atleast out in public. I need to go buy some more. I only have 3 pair of work pants and that won't cut it. The nausea seems to have gone away, but I still am not very interested in food after about 5pm. Most of my meals include lots of bread, some kind of fruit or vegetable and cheese. I try to eat peanut butter or eggs atleast once a day to get some protein though. My none meat days are back. I'm still gaining weight at about 1 lb. a week though which I don't understand. If the baby is only 5 inches long and 3 oz., how have I gained 9 lbs??? One big change is that I can no longer watch A Baby Story. I used to be able to watch ten of them back to back and not even have an extra blink. Now if I see the explanation about what the show will be about, I lose it. So I've been sticking to House Hunters and Young & the Restless.

As you can see, Sophie and Marley are tolerating each other a little better. Sophie ran for an hour straight at the dog park today, so it's been a quiet afternoon. Dave's been working a ton so the remote control is all mine!

Well, I hope everyone is having a great Labor Day weekend!

I've changed my mind...again!

We had agreed on the theme for the nursery and even gotten paint samples, but I just don't think I LOVE it! So I've been looking around again. I've pretty much gone back to my original choice. You see...I went with the theme that Dave liked best. I knew I should have just stuck with my first choice! The little lambies jumping the fence with bunnies hopping around http://www.babysupermall.com/main/products/kli/kli1500beds_pop1_kli1500beds.html
is just so cute. The one Dave likes has more colors and has a pretty red with different animals, but again, I just don't love it! http://www.babysupermall.com/main/products/cci/cci2721095.html But then I found one that has Baby Snoopy on it! He's really cute! And now that we have a baby beagle, I think that's cute! Then we could find lots of Baby Snoopy stuff! http://www.babysupermall.com/main/products/lai/lai72004v.html Of course when I went to Babies'RUs today they didn't have any Peek-A-Boo Snoopy stuff. It's hard to make these decisions without actually being able to see these things in real life! So if you'd like to put your two cents in, I may (or may not) take what you have to say into consideration, but it's worth a try! ;P

Back Home

We saw this sign just before leaving GA. We'll miss GA!

We pulled in to Austin late Tuesday afternoon and Lydia was able to catch a flight home at 7:30pm. We got everything we wanted in the car and it's already out and waiting to be dealt with in the garage. I'm still getting the run around from the police. The coroner won't return phone calls. The investigator says she can't help us by talking to the doctor to see if he was being treated for anything. The lawyer wasn't really interested in talking to us when she found out how much the "estate" was worth. We may just have to accept the fact that we may never get any answers and that sucks!

I did get a chance to talk to my doctor yesterday. The chances that the baby has Down's Syndrome or Trisomy 18 are 1 in 10,000. Those are great odds! That means no more testing! My pants are becoming REALLY difficult to button. I've gained 8 lbs. already. We need to start getting the room ready and looking around at furniture. WOW! Money is just flying out of the house these days and I think that this is just the beginning. These poor little dogs don't know what's coming!

Please make plans!

Well, after dealing with my father's affairs for the last 3 days, I think I have a new soapbox. Please get your affairs in order. Please write down your wishes somewhere safe and tell someone where to find them. Write down your passwords and organize a list of all you pertinent legal/monetary information. Update this regularly. Get a life insurance policy...no matter how small it is.

We have found a mess here in GA. We have had to go places and find/see things no daughter should see. We have had to make arrangements that we know he would not have wanted, but that we felt were the best and most respectful ways to handle things. We have gotten very few answers to our many questions. We still don't know exactly what happened and will not get a coroner's report or toxicology report for possibly 3-6 months. No death certificate until then either which makes handling legal affairs a little difficult. We have had him cremated...he's sitting in the other room right now. We did look at the ashes and were amazed that they are not grey but beige. We have found a beautiful new cemetery in north GA that is a national cemetery for veterans. He will be placed in a columbarium (granite vault) on Monday morning with a plaque to come soon after. We had a memorial service on Thursday that was very nice. We have honestly done the best we could with this very difficult situation. We will be heading home with many of our family heirlooms that he luckily still had on Mon. afternoon.

On an up-note, my doctor left a message on Fri. saying to call them that it was good news. Hopefully that means that our testing from last week came back negative for chromosomal defects. With everything that's been going on, I really haven't felt too hot. Hopefully I will be home soon and back in a good eating routine. This poor baby is getting a lot of sweet tea down here in the south! It will have a massive sweet tooth after this visit!

I hope everyone will take some time after reading this to make things easier on their loved ones by writing down their wishes.

Ultrasound - It's just 1!

Today was our first ultrasound. It was very cool! We were able to count 10 fingers and see a nose and feet and everything! They don't do gender until 20 weeks so we won't know that until the first week in October. Our little Stuzey was very active today. It was kicking and waving it's arms and flipping around. I'm hoping that it gets all of it's activity out now and is calm in the outside world. It's amazing what technology can do. The baby is only 2 inches long. Everyone said everything looked right on target and sometime around Feb. 16 we should be getting our Valentine's Day present!

We did get some bad news though today. My father was found dead alone in his home this morning. My sister is on her way here this evening and then we will be driving to Atlanta to see what needs to be done tomorrow. Because he was alone, there needs to be some investigation by the police. We should know more by the time we get there Wed. evening.

Starting a baby blog

Well, yesterday when I was talking to a friend in Houston, she suggested that I start a blog so that everyone could be updated on our little Stuzey on their own. I thought it was a good idea so here goes.

I am officially 12 weeks pregnant. Dave and I are both hoping that the already waning morning sickness symptoms completely go away this week. They really started to ease up around 10 weeks. I could finally start walking our baby beagle, Sophie, again. The nausea has been pushed back until about 5 pm most days. (Why again is it called "morning sickness"?) My clothes are really starting to not fit and it's NOT pretty! I've gained 6lbs. which is killing me because I had worked very hard to lose those 6 lbs. I think once I pass that number that I've never passed before I will just stop thinking about it!

I have two unfounded fears these days. 1) I'm not really pregnant and just gaining weight at an alarming rate! 2) There's more than one baby in there! Luckily, tomorrow...Monday 8/6, we have an ultrasound appt. and our 12 week appt. So I figure between those two, both my fears will either be realized or not!

As you can see, Sophie and Marley cannot wait for more stuff, and people, to chew on!

So check back this week and hopefully we'll have some pics up of our little Stuz!