Nursery Phase 2

Over this past week we have completed our phase 2 of the nursery.  We now have a room with furniture and a beautiful wall mural painted by my wonderful friend Jamie.  She really did a fabulous job!  Reed is just going to love looking at the picture.  Thank you Jamie, you are an amazing artist!

Also...we are finally registered for baby items.  As you can see there is nothing in the nursery except empty furniture.  The baby shower won't be until March but some of you asked for a head start.  We registered at Babies-R-Us and Target.



Jamie working very hard.



Daddy Do's and Dont's

Well this whole experience has certainly been a learning experience.  I thought I knew that no matter what Jenny is right, however little did I know that Jenny is always right even when she says she is not!  It can be entirely confusing knowing how to respond when every answer has a predetermined path to failure.

With all of that said our pregnancy has been extremely smooth and a blast.  Each week brings us new news about our little boy and with him now practicing karate inside of Jenny's ever expanding belly we can get a feel for how feisty he will be. 

Working on the nursery has really opened my eyes to how close we are to expanding our family.  This opportunity has been a long time coming and Jenny and I are very aware of how our life will change (well at least we think!).  This is all very exciting and I really can not wait until Reed can come home with us.

Jason

Winter Break

I know it's been a while (I'm sorry Aunt Amy).  I actually have some time to sit and write.  Having a class full of 26 six year olds isn't always the easiest job.  This year so far I've already had two kids throw up on me and I had to wear jeans with throw up on them for the remainder of the day.  Oh the joys of first grade:) 



24 weeks



 Let's talk a little bit about our pregnancy... We are 24 weeks along and so far I absolutely enjoy being pregnant.  He moves around constantly and it is such an awesome reminder throughout my day that my little guy is in my belly.  When I lay in bed at night is when he gets really active.  Jason has been talking to the belly at night so I think the baby loves his daddy's voice.  I still eat whatever I feel like eating, although our nurse practitioner just praises vegetables.  I try to eat vegetables when I can, but when I get a craving there is no stopping it.  I can now finish my plate faster than Jason.  The pounds just keep adding up but according to the weight gain chart I am exactly where I need to be so the nurse can't yell at me too bad.  Our big news is that we have finally decided on a name...Reed!  Now we can refer to him in first person rather than he or it. 



My mother standing in the snow

 

This past week we have been very busy working on the nursery and visiting with family.  I drove to Flagstaff with my mother and spent the week with her.  Then Jason joined us on Christmas Eve in Flagstaff.  We had the perfect snow storm, just enough to have fun in but not get stuck.  Our dog Roxy just loves the snow, she rolled in it for hours. 

On Christmas morning Jason and I headed to Parker, Arizona to visit with his family.  Parker had beautiful weather and Jason's aunt Amy lives right on the river.  Of course our dog was in the water within 0.000001 of a second.  We ate steak and crab legs and watched Jason and his dad entertain us with fireworks.  We came home from Parker the day after Christmas and got right to work on the nursery. 



Jason, Dad and Diego in Parker



Roxy jumping (being thrown) into river





4 Wheelin' in the Polaris!



My mother bought us a nice crib and a glider for our darling little boy.  While I was away for the week Jason painted the baby's nursery (trust me...it was hard to be away for that).  He really did a great job!  We put together all the furniture in about 7 hours and decided on what looked best.  Now that we have a room with furniture, it seems to be getting closer.  Today, my wonderful friend Jamie, came over to work on a mural for the nursery.  She is an amazing artist, but I'm not going to show off her work until the mural is complete.  



Jason's paint job, baby blue with chocolate



For Christmas Jason's father and step-mom got us an awesome new camera.  From here on out I will be updating my blog with more pictures of the nursery and the belly.  We get another ultrasound in 4 weeks.  That will be the 3D ultrasound.  Can't wait!   

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.  I still have about a week left, but I will be spending tomorrow in my classroom getting ready for next week.  Go team first grade!

It's a BOY!!!





The baby's profile at 18 weeks





The junk...aka boy parts



Today was our 18 week ultrasound and we found out we are having a BOY.  We were both very excited but I was VERY shocked.  I thought for sure I was having a girl.  It feels very cool now that I can say I am having a son.  After we found out Jason and I went shopping for our first boy outfit.  We came home with a cute little newborn onsie that has little monkey feet.  Then we went out to Outback Steakhouse to have a "man meal."  We both ordered steak and potatoes.  Now the hard part will be coming up with a name...



His little waving hand with 5 fingers showing.



The baby is doing wonderful.  He sure was bouncing around all over the place during our ultrasound.  The tech would go to take a picture and he'd completely roll over.  He is measuring about 1 week bigger and is in the 88th percentile for his fetal age.  He's going to be tall and long like his father.  When the shot between the legs appeared on the screen there was no doubt in my mind what we were having.  It was quite obvious that we were having a baby boy.  The tech kind of laughed and said, "oh yeah, you are definitely having a boy.  Our first baby class starts Wednesday night.  We will meet 7 other couples who are due right around our due date.  Hopefully we can make some friends. 

Jason and I look forward to watching our first son grow and change.  We can't wait to hold him in our arms.

He's already loved so much and I can't imagine my life without him.

17weeks



16 weeks



16 weeks



Today we are officially 17 weeks pregnant.  Apparently our baby is being compared to an onion.  That's such a lovely thought...our little onion.  Which then makes me think of Shrek, so then I think of Ogres.  So now I'm having a green, bug eating, monster.  AWESOME!

Anyways, next Monday, November 15th is our gender ultrasound.  We finally get to see whether our baby is a boy or a girl.  Jason and I have done many of the "at home" gender tests.  So far every single tests points to a girl.  We checked the Chinese calendar, the Mayan calendar, the color of my urine, how high the baby is sitting, and the heart rate.  These tests have concluded that we will be having a little girl.  According to my mother this isn't possible because scientifically it just makes sense that we would have a boy.  According to my Father we are having a girl because "paybacks are a bitch!"  We would like for all of you to cast your votes on our little one.  The winners really get nothing out of it, but it's still fun.



Bowling for Julia's 30th Birthday!



Our lives have been very relaxing the last few weeks.  Jason and I are completely obsessed with Dexter the TV series.  Our new favorite hobby is to order the seasons on Netflix and watch them five hours at a time. We have also been busy with hanging up things in our new house.  I have a very difficult time deciding which picture goes where.  We are really looking forward to having Thanksgiving in Flagstaff this year.  It will be nice to get out of the house and go somewhere new.  I heard that snow is a possibility.  Our dog Roxy would sure LOVE that.  Diego, not so much, he refuses to walk or pee in the snow.  He literally shivers like he is dying while Roxy does dive bombs into snowbanks.   They sure keep us entertained.  I have to say so far pregnancy has been a pleasant experience.  It sure is weird watching my belly grow, and other parts that I don't want to grow.  I'm just waiting for that  first movement of the baby.  According to the books, you can start to feel flutters at 16 weeks.  I haven't felt anything yet but I just keep waiting.  I will let you all know the outcome of the sex ASAP.

3 Year Anniversary



Baby Harmon 14 weeks old



 The baby news... Today we are offically 14 weeks pregnant.  I am still feeling great, my only problem is that many of my clothes seem to not fit anymore.  Last weekend I bought my first pair of maternity jeans.  I LOVE THEM!  I believe that ALL women should own a pair of these fantastic jeans, pregant or not.  I wish I could wear them everyday.  The baby is doing great, it actually is measureing 5 days older which could mean a sooner due date.  Currently baby Harmon is about 4 inches long and weighing about 4 ounces.  In the picture the baby has legs that are curled up, you can see it's cute little knees.  The baby's hand is in a fist (obviously it takes after me).  I think the face is absolutley adoreable.  It kind of looks like a grumpy face maybe he or she is not a morning person?  We go back for another ultrasound on November 15th and we get to find out the sex of the baby.  Either way, we will both be excited for have a little bundle of joy.

 



A lot has happened in the past 4 weeks and I fianlly have some time to catch everyone up.  We are finally moved into our new house.  It's definitley bigger than the old house so we have some empty rooms to fill.  We now have a new address as well.  I will post that at the end of the blog for those of you who want it.

Today Jason and I have been married for 3 wonderful years.  Every day we grow more in love with one another.  I appreciate everything he does for me.  I couldn't have asked for a better man.  Even though we have only been married for 3 years we have actually been together for 11.  To celebrate our anniversary we went to San Diego to visit our good friends Janae, Kellen, Rylan, and Layla.  Even though the weather was cloudy and chilly we still enjoyed each moment to catch up and just stare at the ocean.  They literally live on the beach (my dream come true). 


Jason and Rylan watching the dolphin show at Sea World





Janae and baby Layla


I will post pictures of the new house and of my belly at a later date. 
New Address:
1067 E. Julian Dr.
Gilbert, AZ 85295

Beach cruiser down Misson Beach



10 Weeks!



Is that really my belly?



Baby Harmon 10 weeks old

Today we are officially 10 weeks and 5 days pregnant.  We had our first "real" ultrasound last Monday and were so excited to see our little one for the first time.  Hearing the heart beat for the first time is one of the most beautiful sounds I will ever hear.  So far everything is checking our perfectly and they say our due date is APRIL 19th, 2011.  It feels like that is so far away.  I still have yet to get morning sickness,  although I do have a strange appetite.  I eat whatever sounds good and whenever.  I can't sit down and have 3 meals anymore, that just doesn't work out for me.  Right now I am not showing to the untrained eye.  My belly just looks like I drank too many beers the night before...I wish.  My doctor told me I should be gaining about 1 pound a week for the next 10 weeks, oh joy. 

Jason and I have been busy packing our house.  We officially move in 2 weeks.  We got the keys and garage door openers to our new house last night.  We are so ready to live in town and be close to friends again.  For those of you who don't know we are moving to Gilbert.  My drive will be about 5 minutes to work and Jason cut his driving time in half to about 25 minutes.  We are very excited to open the next chapter of our lives.  Now back to football... Let's GO CARDINALS!



Goodbye six pack!