8 weeks and counting

This weekend we went to Jon's Moms house for her 50th Birthday dinner celebration. My mom decided to take it as an opportunity to make some pictures. (surprise, surprise!)

Here we are at 31.5 weeks pregnant! I am feeling GREAT and can't complain at all!

Our Family Picture! Can't wait until Carter is in it!

Yours truly... :)

On Sunday I got to see my best friend of 26 years! Her brother is getting married and Mom and I went to the tea! Here is Carly and Me. Couldn't have asked for a better BFF. Love ya, Carly!

We were really excited to have My Mom and Kemp come back with us for the night. She took me to Posh Mommy to pick out my Baby gift! (A beautiful piece of furniture! THANKS, GRANJAN AND BIG T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Here we are at Cracker Barrel for dinner!

Jon and Kemp coloring together.. Jon is going to be an amazing daddy..

As if I didn't eat enough at Cracker Barrel..Jon and my Mom FORCED me to eat an Ice Cream Sundae. ;-) I had been craving one for about 4 days, but TRY really hard to be good and not eat things like that. I have done SO good with my weight gain and don't want to ruin it at this point, BUT I gave in. And man it was worth EVERY single CALORIE!

(Don't worry Mom documented me eating it! HAHA!)

Drive Thru at Mickey D's..

OMG, so good. And worth it!

The next day we got up on went to Posh Mommy. Here is a picture of my BEAUTIFUL gift. I couldn't be happier and more excited. Thank you so much, Mom and Dad! This is something Jon and I couldn't have afforded ourselves. Carter is SO BLESSED to have you to call Grandparents.

After we got the armoire, we decided that yes, I was hungry again. HAHA. We decided on Logan's. I have had the ODDEST pregnancy craving. SWEET POTATOES. I have always HATED them, but ever since I have been pregnant, I can't get enough of them!! Well, I saw it on the menu and I was done. Sweet Potato it was for lunch!!

Mom and I

My YUM Sweet Potato!

After we ate we headed back to Birmingham to take Kemp home. That boy is the sweetest thing in this world and has the BEST manners of child I have ever known.

Last night we had dinner with Kelley and Ryder at the mall. Here we are with our Bumps:

Today we picked up Daisy from Playschool. That child CRACKS.ME.UP! She is her Mom MADE OVER. Everything she says is HILARIOUS and kinda bad. HAHA. Here we were today spending some time together...

Well, there is my life over the past few days! It has been a whirlwind, but so much fun! :) I am going home tomorrow and will be back AGAIN next weekend. I am having Maternity pictures done with Amanda Traywick next week. Check out her Website. www.amandatraywick.com

She is also doing Carters newborn pictures, which I am SO excited about!

Well, I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL WONDERFUL week!

Love and Blessings to all,

Katie

Blessed.

This week has been a very very hard week. I had a friend who was 5 weeks behind me in her pregnancy. (Which made her 25 weeks.) She was pregnant with a sweet little girl.
I found out on Friday that she had been admitted into the hospital due to preeclampsia. Her blood pressure was through the roof and they wanted to keep an eye on her. I chatted with her for a bit on Facebook and she had the BEST attitude. She knew that God was in control and He was going to take care of her and the baby.

On Monday night I got news that she was being induced because her blood pressure was high again. On Tuesday morning, I got the most heartbreaking news...

She delivered her sweet baby and yes, you guessed it, the sweet baby girl just didn't make it. I was so shocked and honestly just plain SAD. I kept thinking about me being in her position and how I don't know if I could deal with it.

I went out to try and do some Birthday shopping and the song "Homesick" by Mercy Me came on the radio. The words that really hit me and I immediately thought of my friend were "I close my eyes and I see your face; if homes where my heart is then Im out of place; Lord won't you give me strength to make it through somehow; I've never been more homesick than now." I sat in my car and sobbed thinking about them. The pain, the hurt, the confusion as to why it happened.

But, I chatted with her again on Facebook the following night. Let's just say she has the most amazing strength that I know I would NOT have.

I sat on the couch, cried and just praised God for blessing me with a normal pregnancy. Why was I so fortunate to have such a great pregnancy? I took a vow to myself and to Jon that I will NOT complain about my back hurting or little man kicking me in the middle of the night. In turn, I will consider it all a blessing. Because I know, that my friend would give ANYTHING to feel her sweet baby girl kicking again.

I had my doctors appointment and was drawn to tears as I heard his sweet little heartbeat. After this weeks events, there was nothing more I wanted to hear. Feeling him kick each time makes me realize just how blessed I am.

Please pray for my sweet friends, the McKays. They need all the prayers they can get right now...

Long time no post!

Well, I know its been a while since my last post and I PROMISE to be better once Carter is here!!!

What have we been up to?? Well, lets see..We are entering the 30th week of our pregnancy which is crazy hard to believe! Where did those last 25 weeks go?? It seriously sees like just yesterday we were announcing to our families that we were expecting. I am so anxious for the next 10 weeks to fly by. I just want to see my little man and hold him in my arms and kiss him! Feeling his sweet little kicks and flips make me smile. I know some people get annoyed with it after a while, but I love feeling him and knowing he's there and ACTIVE!

We were so fortunate to have my Mom come help us with the nursery last week. She helped me get everything organized. Let's just say that Mr. Carter has more than enough clothes! His mommy might have a bit of a shopping problem. ;-) But what can I say?! I learned from the best of them. AND, I want my little boy looking like a DOLL every day! :) Sitting in his room and seeing the crib and his clothes just make me so excited! There is NOTHING more that I've ever wanted to do than be a Mom and I am finally ALMOST there. :) He just needs to "cook" for a few more weeks!

We've had great reports from the doctors. NO stretch marks, the weight gain has been perfect, NO gestational diabetes and my blood pressure is back to normal. :)(The heartburn is pretty bad but if thats all I'm dealing with-then so be it!) I do have to have a shot called the "Rhogam" because I have a negative blood type and if Carter has negative blood type he will have to have it as well. NO big deal, just more of a pain. I'll have to have it each pregnancy. BLAH. Oh well!

I was able to get the pediatrician I wanted for Carter. I just HAPPENED to stop in there one day last week and the nurse said he was accepting ONE more patient! I filled out my paperwork there and we got in with him! I am so excited. He is a member of our Church and I've heard wonderful things about him. Truly a blessing to get him!

Jon is getting more and more excited with each passing day. He picked out some shoes and a shirt from Gymboree. SO cute to see him SO excited about everything. He is going to be the best daddy. I am SO blessed to have such an amazing support system with him. He SPOILS me rotten. I can only imagine that Mr. Carter will have him wrapped around his pinky within minutes. :) I love you, Jon. Thanks for being so so sweet and amazing. I can't wait to see you become a daddy. Not to much longer now! :)

To my little man...AH, every time I think about you I get teary eyed. To feel your kicks and flips make me so happy. I can't wait for the day that you come into our lives. It won't be toooooo much longer now. I can't wait to hear your sweet heartbeat next week. Always so funny when they get your heartbeat, you start KICKING the doppler. (Are you going to be naughty?!) I love you more than life itself already! Can't wait to meet you sweet boy! Love you always, Mommy!

Well, I guess that's all for now. Ill post more on thursday after our appointment. :)

Blessings and Peace,

20 week appointment

Here are is a picture from our Fetal Assessment. (I have a TON more but they all keep flipping the wrong way and I don't know how to make it not do that!) They said everything looked PERFECT, what huge blessing!!!!!!!! :) We got to see his beautiful face in 4D, which was a HUGE surprise for us! The Sonar Tech said he was in the perfect position for them, so she went ahead a did a few! :) I LOVED seeing his sweet sweet face. She kept talking about his beautiful, pouty lips. I know where he gets those pouty lips from. HAHA! :) Already learning from his Mommy! :)

I have been feeling Carter like CRAZY here lately. Its just so amazing to feel him move. Even at the appointment the sonar tech laughed and said "WOW, he's active! He must have loved your lunch!" HAHA. OH dear, what am I in for! HAHAHAH! :)

We've got the Nursery almost DONE. Can you believe it?!?!? We have a few pictures to hang and one piece of furniture we are getting, but everything is almost done! Jon and I have been working our butts off to get it done! I worked on it a few weeks ago, getting all his clothes hung up. Let's just say. I went through over 100 hangers in a matter of minutes. Carter will be the BEST dressed little boy. I have a HUGE shopping problem and finding him cute outfits isn't helping that problem at all! We have an ADORABLE shop but here called Posh Mommy and Baby, too (we got our chair there!) and they have the CUTEST boy clothes. We all know how hard it is to find cute boy things! I am pretty picky about what I like for him. HAHA. I LOVEEEEEE smocked Jon Jons. MY FAVORITE for little boys! :)

I can't believe that I am 5 months pregnant. It's really flown by, but I really need for April to get here! I am MORE than ready to meet my little fella! :)

I hope you all have a wonderful wonderful CHRISTmas! We will be getting our present a few months later, but think its the best gift we could ever ask for! :)

To my sweet Carter,
I am so thrilled that we got to see you on the sonar. Your BEAUTIFUL face brought tears to my eyes. Your daddy was so cute looking at you. Counted every finger and toe. He was even teary eyed seeing you. WE love you more than anything and can't just wait to hold you and love on you!
We get so excited thinking about how different the Holidays will be for us next year. It makes us so incredibly happy to know YOU will be joining us next year.
Love you,
Mommy

It's a.......

I have been so so so needing to update my blog, but very very busy over the past weeks.

Anyways, Jon and I were able to find out about 3 weeks ago what we are having and we couldn't be more excited and happy....

Its a.............
BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jon and I are elated and feeling so blessed. Blessed that the sonar tech said everything looked perfect. That was our MAIN and ONE concern that HE was healthy.

Baby boys have always had a special place in my heart and always MELT my heart. After working in the nursery I found that the boys are easier than little girls.
Having older brothers always made me want boys first as well. Just knowing they were there for me always was something so special. (and at times a little annoying-HA!)
And then there is Kemp. The moment I laid eyes on my precious nephew I was in love with him. (of course my other nieces and nephews as well!!) But something about being in the delivery room when he was born, made us have a special connection. I'll never forget some of my first words after seeing him is "HE makes me want ONLY boys!"

Jon of course is thrilled of the idea being at the ball park and doing all things boys! :) He would always say "I think its a girl", but I think he kept telling himself that so he wouldn't be disappointed if it wasn't a boy. When we found out, my heart melted over Jon's excitement. He was beyond happy and hasn't stopped smiling since the day we found out and I haven't either!

We have decided to use family names for our sweet little boy. We are going to name him Terry Carter after both of our dads and will call him Carter. We are so excited to finally be able to call our angel boy by his name!

Carter is definitely growing and I definitely have a bump. I love looking down and seeing it. I can't help but smile. And, I felt him move for the first time a few days ago and it was amazing. Jon is definitely ready to be able to feel him move. The doctor said it wouldn't be to to much longer until he could feel him as well!

I am so thankful that at my last appointment my blood pressure had gone down and was back to normal. It had been high but my doctor did assure me that preclampsia could NOT happen until after 20 weeks. HUGE relief and something that did worry me ever since my last appointment. I am also very thankful that the morning sickness has FINALLY gone away. My mom told me just the other day that Carter must be going to be a sweet baby since he was giving me all that trouble for a bit. HA. :)

Anyways, I guess thats all for now!

To my sweet CARTER BOY,
I could not be more thrilled to know you are a healthy boy! I keep imagining what you are going to look like and wonder if you will look more like your daddy, more like me or a good combo. For your sake, I hope you look like your daddy.
I already love you more than words can explain. It has been fun buying you little gowns and getting things monogrammed with your name on it.
I love you and can't wait for April to get here!
Love always,
Mommy

Here are some pictures of me at 19 weeks.

3rd Doctors Appointment

Well well. It sure has been a while. I have been hearing "UPDATE your blog from EVERYONE!" And I really have NO reason as to why I haven't. :)

We had a WONDERFUL time in Disney World. I will need to have a special blog entry just for that. But we really did have a fabulous time and hated for it to end!!!

We had our 3rd doctors appointment yesterday. (I am a little off on my weeks due to Disney and then my doctor being out of town!) My doctor wasn't there yesterday so it was a SUPER fast appointment. They are having me come back in 3 weeks to see him. I have lost a total of 4.5 pounds. The morning sickness has been terrible for me. I think I am (FINGERS CROSSED) getting over that stage of my pregnancy. Praise the Lord for Zofran. :) My blood pressure was a bit high and I had a trace of protein in my urine. They told me NOT to worry until this happened and I was 30 weeks. However, my name is Katie and I am going to worry over EVERY little thing! SO, PRAYERS please that I can get my blood pressure down. I should probably mention that I have always had EXTREMELY LOW blood pressure, so this is very unusual for me. :) Hopefully when I go back in 3 weeks we will be back to normal and NOT have any traces of protein in my urine.

Everything was great with the little one. They did find the heartbeat with NO problems. She found it immediately. It still brings tears to my eyes to hear that little heart just going. His/her heart rate was 150 bpm. EVERYONE thinks I am having a boy due to the heartbeat. I don't care what we are having, BUT, my nurse told me there is NO truth to the heartbeat test. I will be interested in seeing if it does have some truth to it. Either way, I don't care. We will be perfectly content with whatever God has in store for us. This will NOT be the only one for us. SO, we are just going to enjoy this baby and pray he/she is healthy. :)

Well, I guess thats it on the update for now! Again, PLEASE pray that I can get my blood pressure down! :)

Blessings and Peace,

2nd Appointment

Jon and I had our second doctors appointment today. Our usual doctor was out, so we saw another one. Who was REALLY funny and made us feel really comfortable.

I was REALLY sick the past few days with the stomach bug and couldn't wait to get to the doctor to get some medicine! The morning sickness has been a KILLER for me. Thankfully, he prescribed me Zofran. (and all I can say is thank the LORD for insurance! Otherwise it would have been $399.99! YES- you read that right. And all I had to pay was $10.00! Not a bad deal!)

Anyways, the doctor said everything looked wonderful. We even got to see our little angel again. I was really happy because Jon missed the first appointment. He found the heartbeat and showed us on the screen. You could see it flittering. It was so unreal. This time, it was more real for me because it actually looked like a baby. I couldn't believe how much he/she has changed in the past few weeks.

It is so surreal to me, to see MY baby on the monitor. I can hardly keep my eyes off my picture they gave me. It is really really neat.

Jon has been absolutely amazing while I haven't been feeling well. I am so so so blessed to have a husband who will do anything for me and not complain one time. He cooked, did the dishes and 3 loads of laundry without me even asking. (Jon, thank you. YOU are such an amazing hubby and I couldn't have been blessed with anyone better. I love you so much.)

To Baby Cullen,
I can't believe how much you have grown in such a short time. I am constantly amazed with you already. You are already so loved. I can't wait to find out what you are. Not because I care one way or another but so I can start calling you by your real name. Carter or Bella. What are you, sweet angel?!? I love you more and more each day, angel.

Blessings and Peace,