We're Back!

I don't know about all of you, but I have no clue where these past 2 months have gone!  Seriously, how is that Thanksgiving has come and gone with Christmas luring in the not too distant future?  In any event, I hope you and yours had a very blessed Thanksgiving.  As for us, we had Neal's parents and sister in town and entertained 13 people on Thanksgiving Day!  It was a feast to say the least, complete with Turkey and all the fixings, amazing desserts, and a game of corn-hole to conclude the evening.  Although we weren't able to be with all those that we love, we still enjoyed the day and found many things to be thankful for; I hope the same can be said for each one of you!

Our Thanksgiving Table!

Now to all things baby, which is why you really are probably all here and still reading.  The baby and I are doing great!  I am feeling well, minus some aches and pains here and there.  The baby is moving around a ton and is growing like a weed.  I may have started off growing slowly, but now there is no stopping us now!  We are slowly getting ready for the baby to come, adding things to the nursery here and there.  Such an exciting time!  This past weekend we went to the park and had Julie, Neal's sister take some maternity photos for us while she was still in town.  Julie is the artistic one in the family and did a great job capturing this special time!  I hope you all enjoy the few that I have added.

In other news, some of you may know but for those of you that don't, I stepped down from my job in early November.  This decision was not made lightly, but ultimately Neal and I felt that it was the right decision for our growing family as I am preparing to be a stay at home mom.  To us, this transition feels like a natural one, however others reactions have been, well, interesting to say the least.  People either respond by saying "good for you", or "a stay at home mom; I'm surprised to hear that, aren't you going to go crazy?".  All I have to say is that we are extremely fortunate to be able to keep me home and I am thoroughly looking forward to my new "career"; I can't think of anything I would rather do, especially when raising kiddos in this day and age!

Well, I think those are all the updates for now!  Hard to believe that we are in the last two months of pregnancy and pretty soon our little bundle will be entering the world!  We are so excited to meet our little boy OR girl and know that God's perfect timing for his/her arrival is at work!  So, needless to say, we have MUCH to be thankful for this holiday season.  I hope that each one of you can find something to be thankful for as well...no matter how big or small! xoxo

Lots to Celebrate!

After numerous wedding invitations this past summer, and close to ten friends having babies within the last five months, 2010 has certainly made it's mark.  Today Neal and I are blessed to be celebrating one of those milestones; a healthy baby to be after our 20 week ultrasound!  Unfortunately Neal was unable to go to the ultrasound with me, but he was able to come today to hear that the ultrasound showed a perfectly healthy baby and that all the Down's Syndrome screens were negative!  With that said, the ultrasound was pretty amazing.  The baby was moving all around, and was of course the most beautiful baby I have ever seen.  I even behaved myself and didn't sneak a peak to see if it was a boy or a girl!  There are a couple pictures below.  One is a profile shot, and the other is a foot.  I'm not really sure why the tech gave me a picture of the foot; I laughed when she handed it to me.  Maybe she saw the size of my feet and decided to show me that the baby is following in my footsteps, I don't know.  Either way, it's pretty funny that we have that foot picture, given the fact that my feet are a constant source of jokes to many and pure amazement by others ("how does something so small have feet that big...HOW?" is the general statement/question).  In any case, needless to say we are so thrilled to have the "big" ultrasound behind us, and feel more blessed than ever to have a healthy baby on the way!  This week also marks the halfway point; wow!  And let me tell you, this baby is certainly on the move and likes to make his/her presence known.  So fun!

As for our "to-do list", we are well ahead of schedule.  The nursery is painted and the furniture put together and in place!  Picking up the furniture was somewhat stressful for me, but lots of fun for Neal.  He had to buy a trailer hitch and rent a trailer in order to transport the crib and dresser from the store.  Neal had tons of fun doing this, and of course thought of many different uses for the trailer (many of which were vetoed - including putting Sadie in the trailer and taking her for a spin).  In any case, it's fun to see things all come together, and now it's time to just sit back and relax!  

Otherwise, things out west are going well.  We miss you all and hope that you are all doing well!  Enjoy the fall time in New England and make an apple pie or two for us!!

Neal with his "man" trailer.  It was really cheap...$20 bucks for a day!

Crib and Dresser

The Setup.  Very comfy chair!

Big Foot

Profile shot with a knee bent

21 Weeks....1/2 way there!

So, we forgot to take a picture at dinner....so better late than never!

On The Move..

Hello to you all again!  Before we update you on all the happenings of these past couple weeks, we just want to thank you all for your overwhelming interest in this blog!  We are having a lot of fun creating it and feel so blessed to have you all following in anticipation and excitement with us.  Now to get on to the good stuff that you all came here for!

Well, we have had a busy two weeks!  Neal's schedule as of late has been a huge blessing.  Needless to say we are taking advantage of his "down time" and getting things checked off our list (and having tons of fun doing it!).  One of our first major accomplishments was painting the nursery!  In order to do this we had to do some "spring cleaning" and get rid of a few pieces of furniture.  One of the items we had to part with was our futon.  I loved that futon.  It was perfect for guests and was pretty comfortable, but alas we have to make room for a much more important addition.  I'm pretty sure you all won't miss sleeping on it when you see an adorable baby in it's place.  Well, we listed the futon on craigslist, and after having it sitting in our living room for the past week, we finally sold it!  Yay!!!  Not only that but we sold it to a nice family with two children who desperately needed it so we are happy it could go to good use!  On the down side, we no longer have stadium seating to watch The Office on...oh well.

As you will see from the pictures below, we chose to paint the nursery green.  Neal wanted something bright, I wanted something more subdued, and in the end I think Neal won but who's counting?   I will admit that when we were done with the room, I had a brief moment of "what did we do? it's really green!"  But, alas, once the blue painters tape came down from around the trim and the plastic was all picked up, it grew on me.  It's bright, cheery and perfect for a little baby to be.  Once we know the gender we will mix in pinks or blues, but for now our accent color is white.  So, dad, color is not that scary!!   By the way, for those of you who may be wondering, our semi-theme is frogs.  I say "semi" because we aren't necessarily centering the room around frogs, but they will make their way into the room here and there.

Our next big project was picking out furniture and making a baby registry!  I know, I know, I am only 19 weeks pregnant but we are trying to get as much of the big stuff out of the way before Neal gets busy next month.  So, last Saturday our day consisted of a very in depth tour of Babies R'Us, which lasted much longer than it should have.  Let's just say we had a take a break, get lunch, and then resume the "tour".  All in all, it was very successful.  So successful in-fact that we came home with a changing table! Again, we are way too prepared but here is the story with the changing table....

We had been eyeing this particular changing table for awhile now and knew it was the one we wanted.  We thought we could place the order for it and pick it up down the road, but when they checked the availability it was on a 6-10 month backorder!  Now, for those of you doing the math that just would not work.  Luckily, Neal left me to test a comfy chair while he took matters into his own hands.  Next thing I knew, we were buying the floor sample for a discounted price.  Got to love a husband that likes to be over prepared!  The fun part came when we had to fit the table in the 4Runner.  I was certain it would fit....no problem!  Well, Neal and one of the workers at the store tried to get it into the car and it wouldn't go!  Bound and determined to get this thing home, into the 4Runner I crawled and what do you know, Neal and I made it fit!  Our first piece of furniture is in the room!  So exciting!

The next wave of excitement came on Sunday evening while I was relaxing on the couch.  I felt a little kick/pulse coming from the baby belly!  I had been feeling twinges and tickles here and there but this was something you couldn't miss.  The neatest part was that Neal was actually able to feel it for a brief moment!  How exciting!  Over the past couple of days I have felt little kicks and pulses here and there and am convinced it's the baby saying hi.  So, like the title of this blog states, the baby is on the move! 

Well, after a very successful week, we are just going to relax and enjoy the weekend, sans baby!  We may even take in a Padres game with some friends (I know, a Red Sox game would be better, but beggars can't be choosy...maybe I can get them to start playing Sweet Caroline at the 7th inning stretch!)  I hope you all have a wonderful, safe and cool labor day!

P.S. - I would like to share with you all the quote of the week.  One of our friends just had a baby and fortunately her husband was allowed to stay home from training to be present at the birth.  When Neal and I were talking about the logistics of being able to keep the guys home and how hard it can be to sometimes make that decision due to the uncertainty of when the baby will come, he came out with "You know, it's hard because having a kid is not like having Macy's deliver a couch."  No, Neal, it's definitely not.  I just sat there laughing in awe!

19 Weeks...the ever growing belly!

                            

I helped with the trim only, then Neal took over.  Sadie just loved the fashionable mask I wore and just kept licking it and giving kisses!  P.S. - Dad, we only use Purdy brushes; you are right, a good paint brush makes all the difference!

                                             

                              

Neal enjoying the painting party!

                                      

The finished product...equipped with the changing table!

                           

                                      

A Test Run...Are you With Us?

Hello!  We decided to jump on the band wagon of million other American's and test out this blog phenomenon.  Whether we will have any followers or will keep up with it on a routine basis has yet to be determined, but given the fact that we have friends and family scattered across the country, we figure it's worth a fair shot. 

As many of you reading know (perhaps there a few that have forgotten, though we doubt our parents would allow that to happen ;)), we are expecting our first bundle of joy on January 29, 2011!  We are so thrilled and excited to say the least and feel so blessed that many of you have joined in our excitement as well (thank you!).  In the midst of all the excitement, the reality of being far from family and those that we love has set in.  We realize that our phone calls and visits and far to infrequent, and although this is in no way is a substitute for either of those things, our hope is that it will serve as a way of keeping you all better informed of what is going on and help you to feel more connected to us, especially as we welcome this new baby into our lives and begin a whole new journey!  After all, technology is amazing these days, so why not put it to good use?!?  

So, for those of you who want updates on our latest adventures, pictures of the growing belly, and yes, a picture or two of the renowned Sadie, stay tuned!  Here is just a little preview to entice you....

Well, as you can tell from the countdown, we are 17 weeks along!  This week a belly finally started to pop out!  And not just a belly that to the average person looks as though I consumed far too many hamburgers and milkshakes in one sitting, but an actual baby belly!  Yes, it is still very tiny, but it is indeed there.  In fact, we went grocery shopping just the other day and as I was walking over to Neal with the cart he was just staring at the belly, chuckling.  He said "wow, you have a belly; it just popped out!".  Now, on the average day this is not necessarily something you want to hear from your husband....in the middle of the grocery store none-the-less....but I was thrilled!  And just for your eyes to behold; a picture!  Again, it is very small as I'm sure many of you are thinking, but I assure you, it is there!

17 Weeks

We will wrap this up by answering a few questions that I get asked about 5 times a day.

1.  How are you feeling?  

The first 12 weeks I had a very poor appetite, and certainly did not have an appetite for anything healthy (which raised many concerns in this Heaton household :)).  Although, if I didn't eat the nausea would set in so it was a fine balance, but one that was manageable.  I also battled extreme fatigue during that period, but all in all I really can't complain; I was very fortunate!  Fast forward to 5 weeks later and the Wood family would be proud of my appetite!  I am back to loving food and eating healthy, though I do crave things such as pickles, beef, french fries and pretty much anything salty.  This has been a complete switch as I used to be more of a sweet fanatic than a salty one.  However these days, the occasional milkshake or scoop of ice cream will satisfy me for awhile!

2.  Boy or Girl?

We will find out in about 5 months!  Many people have given us the crazy eyebrow raise followed by a "wow" when we tell them we are going to wait, but we want to be surprised!  After all, when else can you truly be surprised in life?  This is usually followed up by "well, what are you hoping for, a boy or a girl?"  The answer to that (to which people are often untrusting that we are telling the truth), is that we don't have a preference!  There are wonderful things about having either a boy or a girl, so we are excited about whatever God gives us!  We are just praying for a healthy and happy baby!

And the final question and perhaps the most difficult to answer is...

3.  Will Neal be home for the birth?  

The short answer is...we do not know, and we won't know until I go into labor and this baby decides to make his/her official debut!  I realize this is probably hard and sad for many of you to hear, as it is for us, but we are at peace with it and are not worried about it! The reality of Neal's job and the uncertainty of his schedule is something that we had to be ok with before we got married and certainly before we decided to start our family.  I know that he will do everything he can to be by my side, but at the same time I know that if he isn't able to be here it is for a good reason.  One of the reasons why I love him so is because he is unselfishly dedicated not only to our marriage and family, but also to his country/job/men.  After all, we are not simply preparing for a birth, but are more importantly preparing to raise a child and that type of dedication, loyalty and love is something that we are going to work every day to instill in our children.  So, for now we are just so thankful for this blessing!  The rest is all up to God's timing!

Well, I believe we have rambled on long enough.  This should get everyone up to speed!  Even if we have just 1 or 2 followers we will keep this thing going.  Until the next picture of the belly....