Halfway there!

It's hard to believe that my pregnancy is already half done!  I feel like it was just yesterday that I received the phone call I will never forget telling me I was pregnant.  

Thankfully my sweet baby boy has been kinder to his momma the past few weeks.  I finally feel a little bit "normal".  I can eat without wondering if it will stay down or not.  I definitely have more energy even though I still have trouble staying up past 10pm.  I have started running again sone...mostly in intervals with uphill walking on the treadmill.  So, it seems like I might actually enjoy the rest of this trimester!

I can't say that I look pregnant at all yet...however, my belly is definitely growing.  I'm sort of in the "did that girl just eat a really big meal?" stage.  I look forward to actually looking pregnant at some point.  When that happens I'll post a belly picture :)

The absolute best thing that has happened in the past few weeks is that I have started to feel the baby kick!  At first, I wasn't really sure what I was feeling but it's definitely become more pronounced...a few times Chris has even been able to feel.  I could spend hours just sitting and waiting to feel my sweet boy move around.  He certainly has days where he is more active than others but from all that I've read, that's normal.  

We go back to the doctor on Thursday for our second anatomy scan.  I'm praying that our little boy cooperates and they can get all the pictures they need.  I'll be relieved when everything checks out normal!

Just 20 (or so) more weeks!  I cannot wait to hold my sweet baby for the first time!

It's a...

For quite some time now, I've been convinced that our baby was a girl.  I'm not sure why...I guess I bought into the wives tales about the high heart rate and extreme nausea meaning girl.  Well, I found out today that I was wrong!  We went in for our anatomy scan and the woman asked us right off the bat if we wanted to know the sex.  We said yes and she said, well I already know.  It's a boy!  I guess "it" was the first thing she saw on the scan.  I was honestly pretty shocked and Chris was beyond ecstatic. Sweet baby boy was quite active the entire time.  Actually, it seemed like he never stopped moving.  She would be looking at something in the front and all of a sudden he would flip over and we would see his spine.  She was able to point out to us most everything- the stomach, bladder, heart, arms, legs, cerebellum, and of course, his "boy parts".  She also was able to tell us that he weighed 9 ounces, right where he should be for 18 weeks.  However, because baby boy was so active, she wasn't able to get all the pictures of the heart (even though we clearly saw it beating well!) and face that the doctors like to see.  So, we have to go back in 2 weeks for another anatomy scan.  They told us that this is absolutely nothing to worry about...it's normal for this to happen.  I'm excited that we get to see baby again so soon and praying that everything checks out healthy and normal!

It's so much fun to finally call our baby a "he" and maybe even by name soon (but we're keeping that a surprise until April...sorry!).  After our visit we went and bought a few little outfits, of course one of them had little footballs on it.  I am looking forward to starting on the nursery.  Our crib was actually delivered today! I know it seems really early for that but my parents so generously offered to buy it for us, and it was very much on sale.  So, it will sit in the box in the basement for a few months but I'm excited that it's here!  I have diligently been doing my research on baby items and I think we'll start registering soon.  To any of my mom friends, I'd love some advice on things you think are absolutely necessary to have (besides the obvious of course)!

Here are a couple of pictures from our visit today of our sweet baby boy:

 

Sweet boy's foot

Profile view, look at his sweet little nose!

Definitely a boy!

I think he's saying "I'm #1!"

 

The first of many...

I'm sure this will be the first of many pregnancy posts.  Let me start at the beginning...

I found out that I was pregnant on August 8th.  It didn't exactly happen in the "typical" way.  I actually never even took a pregnancy test!  Let me explain.  We had been trying to get pregnant for quite some time so my doctor finally referred me to a fertility specialist.   I was pretty anxious leading up to this appointment because I had Googled every possible thing that could have been wrong and what kind of treatments I might have to go through.  So, during the appointment the doctor and I talked for a while and then she did a routine ultrasound.  She finished the appointment by telling me that she just wanted to run some blood work and see if anything came back abnormal and oh, by the way, she was going to do an early pregnancy test just in case.  I honestly didn't think anything of it.  Well, imagine my surprise (and overwhelming joy) when I got a call later that afternoon from the nurse telling me...I was already pregnant!  All I can say is that the Lord is faithful because, although it may not have happened in my timing, I had prayed that I could get pregnant without any fertility treatments.

Now, at 17 weeks pregnant, I can honestly say that the past 3 months have been some of the most joyful and the most difficult of my life. I think I had a very idealistic view of pregnancy....I didn't think about the hard part.  Like...

1) Nausea.  I'll start with the obvious.  There have been very few days since I was about 8 weeks pregnant that I haven't seen a meal or two come back up, or at least felt like it was going to happen.  For this reason, I have yet to gain even a pound.  Never in my life before have I wanted to gain weight but I am excited to hopefully soon have a "baby bump"!  Anyways, knock on wood, I have had two good days in a row without feeling too sick so maybe it's finally subsiding!

2) Fatigue.  Like, feeling like I was hit by a truck fatigue.  It was honestly hard to make it through some days without thinking I was going to fall asleep at the wheel on my way home from work.  This, thankfully, is gone and I finally have some energy back.

3) Major changes to my exercise routine.  This has been one of the hardest things for me to deal with.  The two aforementioned effects of pregnancy have made it really hard for me to keep running.  I have always had this unrealistic thought that I would keep running right up until the day I gave birth.  Yea right.  So, I have resorted to walking and doing the elliptical at the gym.  I still try to exercise at least 5 days a week and, for the most part, have been successful in doing that.  If the nausea really has subsided (I hope!!) I may try running again a few days a week...just a few miles.

4) Crazy emotions.  Let's be honest, I'm an extremely emotional person anyways.  But, the hormones have made me even more so.  I seem to cry at the drop of a hat.  My poor husband having to deal with me...

There are so many other ways that my life has been affected by pregnancy but let me please say this...I am NOT complaining about any of it!  I feel so blessed already to be this child's mother and the physical symptoms are a very very small price to pay.  I am so anxious to go back to the doctor in a week and a half and hear the sweet little heartbeat again!     Oh yea...and find out whether it's a boy or a girl!

a busy week...

Last week was a busy week traveling from NC to Boston/Maine, back to NC, and then to Florida. From Friday to Friday I only spent one night in my own bed.  I took 6 different plane rides (oh, the next time I'm pregnant, someone please remind me that it's not a good idea to fly when you're experiencing nausea already...the outcome is not good...but I'll leave it at that).  But, all this jet-setting was worth it.  I was able to see one of my dearest friends get married, my dear cousin get married, and also had a successful work trip to Orlando.

I arrived in Boston on Friday afternoon, a little later than expected due to a delayed flight.  But, I was welcome to the airport by the precious face of my niece Ava:

So, the first wedding was last Saturday evening.  It was a beautiful wedding in Beverly, MA.  Mallory has been a close friend of mine since my family moved to MA in 1999.  Mallory was a bridesmaid in my wedding but her bridal party consisted completely of family members (cousins, sister-in-laws) and that made it really special.  My dad officiated which, of course, made it even more special ;)  Mallory looked beautiful.  The reception was at a country club in Georgetown.  I have to say, it was one of the most memorable receptions I have even been to.  About halfway through the reception, the fire alarm started blaring.  We were all instructed to evacuate the building.  We found out later that a decorative pumpkin with a candle inside had caught on fire.  But, thanks to the fine work of the firefighters, we were able to re-enter the building about 15 minutes later.  The rest of the reception was wonderful, including the pumpkin cake!  It was certainly a night that will not soon be forgotten by any of the guests!

Mallory dancing with her father, Dave

here comes the firetrucks!

The beautiful bride and I

The second wedding was Sunday afternoon at Point Lookout in Northpoint, Maine.  My cousin and her now husband could not have asked for a more perfect day for a fall, outdoor wedding.  The temperature was in the high 60s with the sun shining.  It was definitely one of the prettiest wedding venues I have even been to.  It was a wonderful day of watching my cousin get married and visiting with lots of family that I don't get to see too often.  

dancing with my dad at the reception

The picture quality isn't great but it's the only picture I took with the beautiful bride!

my cousin Max and niece Ava

I made the wedding cake for my cousin in my mom's kitchen without any of my usual utensils...it wasn't my finest work but I was pleased with the outcome!

the gorgeous view from the wedding venue

I think this is how we all felt by the end of the evening!

I flew back to NC on Tuesday and spent the evening with my husband but had to head out again Wednesday morning for a work trip to Orlando.  We had quite the time actually getting to Orlando after a long delay in our first flight from Greensboro to Charlotte caused us to miss our second flight from Charlotte to Orlando.  Needless to say, we spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out how we would get to Orlando before Thursday (we were initially told there were no flights available).  We ended up switching airlines, flying standby to Atlanta, and then (after missing 2 more standby flights) finally catching a 4:50pm flight to Orlando (our original flight was 1pm).    But, we made it.  After a long but productive day and a half of training sessions, we made it back to Greensboro with no problem.   I'm not sure I have even been so thankful to sleep in my own bed!

A common little miracle...

One of my favorite old country songs calls having a baby a "common little miracle".  I couldn't agree more.  Well, Chris and I are thrilled to announce that God has blessed us with our own little miracle who will be arriving in April!  Finally, something truly "blog-worthy" to post about!

Baby Wrights on 9/6/12 at 8 weeks- Arriving around April 12, 2013!

Cake catch up- September

I've had 2 busy weekends in a row of cake/cupcake making for a variety of occasions- a 1st birthday, a baby shower, a gender reveal party, and a combined family birthday party for a 26, 24, and 2 year old.  Here are the cakes!

Guest cake for the 1st birthday party. Cake was french vanilla with vanilla buttercream.

Smash cake for the birthday boy.

Dark chocolate fudge cake with vanilla buttercream for Alexandra's baby shower!  I can't wait to meet baby Gaskins.

Gender reveal party cake for twins.  Top tier was strawberry cake for the GIRL and the bottom was classic white cake colored blue for the BOY!

These carrot cupcakes topped with either pecans or mini chocolate chips were part of a 4 dozen cupcake order.  The rest were either classic white or dark chocolate fudge.

3 special cupcakes for the birthday folks. 

A day to ourselves...

So it's not often that Chris and I (like all parents) get a day to ourselves.  But, we have some wonderful friends who were willing to keep the boys all day yesterday and even overnight!  So, Chris and I took full advantage of the day and went hiking at one of our favorite spots, Stone Mountain.  If you have never been there, you need to go.  The main trail is a 4.5 mile loop that takes you past a beautiful waterfall.  We took our time and enjoyed the views, something we don't always do when we hike.  We had a wonderful time!

Last night, we actually were able to go on a date!  We went to Vincenzo's, an Italian restaurant that we hadn't tried before, which ended up being really good!  It was nice to have "adult" conversation and not worry about children causing a ruckus in the restaurant!

We had a really great day.  I look forward to another "date day" in the not too far away the future!