Week 20/21 (Blessings #34)

The last two weeks have flown by so quickly! My Mom flew in last Friday to help us pack and move. I honestly don't know what I would have done without her. She worked so hard and did so much. By the time she left on Tuesday, we had pretty much everything unpacked, put away, organized and decorated. The new house is pretty much done, we have one more trip to make on Saturday to get the drapes down and clean the carpets. We are beyond grateful for the wonderful friends we have that helped us move. It makes us realize how very blessed we are. I did take pictures of the new house, but I am waiting for the office computer to get put together and to use Chip wireless card (our Internet won't be installed for two more weeks).

I am excited to have more room for Hayden, the girls, guests and us. I love the charm of the house. It's perfect for us at this stage in our life.

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Being pregnant is really enjoyable now, so far I am down to hugging the toilet once a week or so. I have realized that this happens when I don't get enough sleep. I can really feel Hayden moving around now. Chip felt him kick for the first time last night - that was a pretty awesome moment to have together. Our son - growing inside me - it is definitely some kind of wonderful - the very best kind. Hayden has two or three really awake moments - normally after I eat or right before I eat. I like to think he is reminding me to eat and then thanking me for it. At night, right before bed, he really moves around. I love being able to feel him. He is our precious gift from God and I am beyond grateful.

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I promise I will write more later - off to finish my workday and then movie/pizza night with my sweet husband.

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Blessings

1. Awesome friends
2. Feeling Hayden move
3. Our dogs becoming more calm by the day
4. Being settled in
5. Carrying our baby

19 Weeks (Blessings #33)

This week has been so exciting! We found out the sex (for sure) and we are having a precious and perfect baby BOY! Hayden Henry Frohling is still set to arrive on December 29th. We can't wait to meet him in four months. We have picked a theme for his room - vintage sports (in earth tones). YEA!

I am enjoying being pregnant, but struggling slightly with my changing body. Every other woman (but me) looks adorable. I know it is just the enemy trying to turn this blessing into something else. Our baby is a perfect gift from God and my body has been perfectly made to carry our child. I am beyond grateful for this!

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This weekend we had a girl's trip to the Rockvale Outlets in Lancaster, PA. A four and a half hour drive (one way) that was 100% worth it - not just for the shopping (which was amazing), but more for the girl bonding time that I SO needed! I am grateful for a sweet and loving husband who encourages me to have that time. Next time, it may have to be a weekend trip as there is also a Tanger Outlet right up the road and we were near Amish country. We shopped all day and loaded up the car. Seriously, picture an Armada with a Yakima (luggage thingy) on top full of bags and the inside of the car completely weighed down with our finds. The car was so loaded down that the tire light even came on. Now that is a successful shopping trip. Jamie was a trooper and drove both ways! As someone who cannot drive long distances very successfully, I was beyond impressed. I think I speak for Jamie and Katherine when I say that we all had a wonderful time and enjoyed really getting to know each other.

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Blessings

1. A much needed girls trip & incredible girl friends
2. An encouraging and supportive husband
3. Wonderful doctor
4. Finding out we are having a perfect baby boy
5. My Mom coming on Friday
6. Not freaking out about turning 29 tomorrow...

17 and 18 Weeks (Blessings #32)

The picture above is of Chip with our nephew, Nathan, at a fish hatchery in Sitka, Alaska. Chip is so patient with kids - seeing him with Nathan just shows what an incredible Daddy he will be. It melts my heart and makes me so thankful to God for the incredible husband I have. He is truly amazing and I am beyond blessed to be married to him. I am so excited for our baby to get here in December - I can picture the evenings and days to come. The jellybean asleep with Chip on the couch, playing with the dogs, playing in the yard, just enjoying life as a family.

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The last two weeks of pregnancy have been so great! Chip encouraged me to get a membership at Massage Envy for a monthly prenatal massage and I had that last week and goodness - it was amazing!! My morning sickness has gotten better - I am only friends with the toilet a few times a week now. I still have to get up at night to go to the bathroom, but we got a window unit for our upstairs (for some reason - our upstairs is 10 degrees hotter than downstairs, even with the AC set at 72) and it has helped me sleep about five hours before I have to get up. I think my body is preparing me for when the jellybean gets here. :) We had a doctor's appointmnet this past Monday and everything is great! I still only feel fluttering sometimes, but I know I will start to feel the jellybean more in the weeks to come. The heartbeat was strong and I don't have to do back for another month (my placenta previa is not acting up). YEA!

We started registering (for non gender specific stuff) at Babies R Us and Target. I did buy a stroller today that I found on MamaBargains.com and I think it will be perfect! It is an Easy Walker SKY (in brown) and i got it for over 60% off!! It will work until the baby is 70 pounds and we got the carrycot so it will work when the baby is tiny too.

In other exciting news, we found a house to rent. We weighed buying a house versus renting and decided renting would be best for now. When we move in a few weeks, I will post pictures. It has stained glass windows, a huge porch, a deck with seating (think fraternity house style deck), a yard, jacuzzi tub, an enormous kitchen and hardwood floors. It has tons of charm and I am so excited! It is in a great area and we are down the road from some friends. It's perfect for us - more room for guests and room for our jellybean, girls and us. My sweet Mom is coming to help us pack - I miss her and can't wait for her to get here. I'm not allowed to move stuff still so she is a huge lifesaver (plus she is OCD about organizing like me so I totally trust her).

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I babysat for two of our friends Tuesday night. They have a three year old and a 15 month old. We had a blast - we made baseball cookies, played with cars and dinosaurs and cuddled. When we were sitting in the kitchen watching the cookies "have a party in the oven," the three year old (who is the sweetest little boy) decided to talk to the jellybean through my belly button. He told the jellybean all about baseball and dinosaurs. It was about the most precious thing ever! It melted my heart and made me think about when our jellybean is three and (if things go like we hope) talks to the next baby through my belly button. Seeing how sweet and gentle the little boy was with his little sister just made me think about our future kids and how they will be with each other. It's a pretty awesome thought! The couple I babysat for are just so nice and Godly - I think we will grow to be awesome friends and that they will be great mentors for us.

In a week, we find out the sex! YEA!! I can't wait...

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Blessings

1. Supportive husband
2. Amazing family
3. Awesome coworkers
4. Finding a house
5. Our jellybean

16 Weeks (Blessings #31)

Time is going by so fast and yet so slow...I can't believe that we are already 16 weeks. I am almost five months pregnant - our jellybean will be here in 24 (or less) weeks. WOW!



This past week has been interesting with the symptoms I've had. I broke my face. Yes - you read that right. Actually, I broke a bunch of blood vessels in my face due to being violently ill after taking my prenatal one night. I went to work thinking I had a rash and a couple of my coworkers "diagnosed" me and saved me a trip to the doctor. Luckily, it's getting less red. So - if you get violently sick and break out in red freckles - rest assured it is most likely broken blood vessels and not a weird rash...



We also had another doctor's appointment this week and heard jellybean's heartbeat again. What a wonderful sound! We go back in two weeks and then (if everything looks good), I could get off pelvic rest after the anatomy ultrasound on August 7th. YIPPEE!!



In other news, my sweet best friend, aunt and sister in law are throwing us a shower in Texas in September. It touches my heart and is so sweet of them! My lifegroup is also throwing me a shower the Monday after (so I will have a long weekend stay) - I can't wait to see these sweet ladies again and show them the growing belly! Our precious miracle has been so prayed for and is already a very loved & blessed baby! I plan to start registering at Target and Babies R Us soon - at least for the basic stuff, I will register for the sex specific stuff once the anatomy ultrasound confirms the boy bits we have seen so far.

We are also looking for a rent house with a backyard for the girls. We weighed buying versus renting, but since we are not sure how long we will be here and with the housing market being so much more expensive here, we opted to rent. We will see how it goes and have faith that God will lead us to where we need to be.

Life is good here and we feel so very lucky. I am adjusting to living in the Northeast and am so thankful that I can be pregnant in Pennsylvania summer weather and not be suffering like some of my sweet friends in the Texas sweltering heat!! Texas had had record highs and we have been blessed here with some lower than normal temps. Seriously - Texas had a high 97 today and our high was in the low 80's and it's already in the low 70's at 7 o'clock at night. Texas friends - come visit!

Blessings

1. PA weather in the summer
2. More energy
3. Being able to feel little flutters of our jellybean in my tummy
4. Amazing friends & family
5. Our awesome God

15 Weeks (Blessings #30)

Wow - I can't believe it. We're fifteen weeks pregnant and the jellybean is the size of a naval orange/apple/tomato - depending on what book/blog you read. I have felt flutters and can tell (I think) were the jellybean is when I am lying down. I am excited to start feeling more movement soon and especially excited for when Chip will be able to feel our baby. He can tell where the jellybean is too by pressing on my abdomen. Our baby - wow! Our baby is growing and is perfect!

We go back to the doctor on Monday to hear the heartbeat again. We scheduled the anatomy ultrasound and it will be on August 7th. At that appointment I will be a bit over 19 weeks and we will be better able to see jellybeans parts - although we are both pretty certain from our previous ultrasounds that our jellybean is a boy. We are thrilled either way - if it turns out the jellybean is a girl we will be just as happy.

It's really starting to truly sink in - there is a baby growing inside me who will be here in five months. My belly is more baby belly than beer gut looking. We've made it - over three years of trying, the doctor visits, the treatments, the scares and nervousness and prayers upon prayers. It has all been worth it because it has led to this baby - this baby that we are supposed to have - the one that God has intended to be our first child. WOW!

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Chip and I both had to work for a PR event this past Saturday. The event was amazing and we got to watch fireworks from the top of a submarine. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity for which we are grateful. As a result of working Saturday, I get to work a half day tomorrow. YEA! I am taking the chance to treat myself. I am getting my hair done, running some errands and getting some new undergarments as I have outgrown mine. I am looking forward to it and so grateful that Chip wants me to take time for myself. Keep your fingers crossed that the hair turns out good.

Blessings:

1. Meeting new friends
2. Fireworks - so magical
3. Incredible husband
4. Healthy baby
5. Being able to be pregnant and carry our child

13 Weeks (Blessings #29)

This week has been a bit scary to be truthful. I had spotting and cramping Tuesday night and had to go to the doctor for an ultrasound on Wednesday morning. Thankfully, our jellybean is perfect! I have a condition called placenta previa. It is not anything to worry about unless I start bleeding a lot. It is not a danger to our jellybean at all - for which I am so grateful! I am on pelvic rest until my uterus and placenta move up and the spotting stops. Pelvic rest means that I cannot clean, exercise, do any heavy lifting and I have to basically stay off my feet as much as possible. Chip has been so great and his attitude has helped me so much!

The silver lining is that we will have more ultrasounds to see our little jellybean. I am grateful for such wonderful, supportive friends and that our baby is perfect and healthy. The rest we can handle.

In just a few more weeks we will find out the sex, however, our doctor in Texas and the ultrasound technician from Wednesday are thinking blue... We are ecstatic either way! The ultrasound was so amazing - jellybean is really moving around and having a blast in his mommy's tummy. It's such a gift to be able to carry our child!

Blessings

1. Understanding doctors
2. Incredible husband
3. Sweet dogs who lay in bed with me
4. Amazing friends and family
5. Our healthy jellybean

11 & 12 Week Update (Blessings #28)

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind! After the desk catastrophe, things slowed down in the clumsiness realm. The baby is definitely growing - and making Momma sick on some days. I am hoping that the morning sickness will go away, along with the fatigue. I think our girls have definitely figured out that something is changing - they are both so protective of me and won't even let me walk down the stairs alone. Addison walks right next to me and won't go down the stairs unless my hand is on her back - I guess to brace me. Izzie walks in front to protect me in case of a fall. Sweet girls!

My in laws came last week and are leaving tomorrow morning. It has been so awesome having them here - we relaxed, walked, shopped, saw Legally Blonde, went to a strawberry festival and just enjoyed each other's company. We even got to see the Pens win the Stanley Cup - so cool!! I can't believe we live in a city where our teams won the Super Bowl and the Cup in the same year!

My mother in law and I went to go see Legally Blonde the day after the Pens won. When the lead actress came out for her bow, she had on a Pens jersey. Needless to say, the audience went crazy! The show was AMAZING - I totally recommend it!

Other than that, we haven't really had much go on. I go back to Texas for a quick trip on Friday and will get to see my friend Kathy and her new precious babies! YEA! Also, I will be released from Dr. Doody!

OKAY - now I need YOUR help! Chip and I need some suggestions for girl names. So - please comment or email me your ideas.

In the meantime, I promise to try and be more entertaining with my posts. :)

Blessings

1. Great inlaws
2. Being 12 weeks already
3. Being able to stand fruit again
4. Pittsburgh temperatures (where it is not 100 degrees)
5. Sweet family