Results

Last week at our doctor's appointment, they drew my blood for gestational diabetes testing.  The results for diabetes were clear, but they discovered that I am anemic.  I guess this explains why I've been so tired lately.  I now have to start taking an Iron supplement every day along with my prenatal vitamin.  The nurse said anemia is common during pregnancy, and should go away after pregnancy.  Other than feeling tired all the time, things are going well and we are looking forward to Christmas!  I have been making garlands and a wreath to hang on the gates outside our house.  Brad painted the gates black (they were brown), and we're hoping to add lights this weekend.  We finished ALL our Christmas shopping, so I will be wrapping presents and putting them all under the tree, hopefully, by the end of the weekend.

Thanksgiving

We had a good time in Dallas having dinner with my family at my Granny's house on Thanksgiving Day, then another turkey dinner on Friday at Brad's sister's house in Dallas...lots of yummy food!  We had our 25 week appointment today and it went well, except for the hour long wait in the waiting room!  This was the first appointment where I had to go alone.  Brad was so sick he could barely eat or get out of bed.  I've never heard anyone throw up that much.  Poor thing!  We have one more monthly appointment on December 27th, then we will start going every two weeks!  I can't believe it!  Braylon will be here before we know it!  I've been having some growing pains and feeling tired, but other than that, things are going very well with the pregnancy.  Here are some pictures we took over the Thanksgiving holiday.


Cousin Lindsay, future sister-in-law Krista, Mom, & Me



The most amazing hubby in the world & I

My twin brother, Blake & his fiance

Baby Bump

Some people have been asking to see tummy photos...so here's one my Mom snapped of me last month while working in Braylon's room.  I will put some more current ones up in a couple days.  Braylon is getting a lot stronger now.  I can feel him kicking and moving all the time.  Yesterday I even saw my belly move from him kicking.  It was pretty neat!  I can't believe there's only 15 weeks (give or take) to go!

Birthday Boy

Yesterday was Brad's birthday.  We celebrated at home eating Monster cookies and opening presents.  He got a personalized leather shaving kit that goes with all his luggage, all the travel toiletries to go in it, some movies, and pictures of Braylon and I to go in his office.

Lately...

Today is the start of week 23, and here lately I have started to feel a little tired.  But on the plus side, I have now started feeling Braylon move.  I mainly feel it at night after dinner or when I'm lying in bed at night.  Brad can't feel it yet, but I'm sure it won't be too much longer before he can.  Today I added some decals in Braylon's room above the crib by his name, and above the changing table.  There's an owl, bird, raccoon, turtle, squirrel, bear, fox, and some bumble bees and dragonflies...all of which are on his bedding as well.  Too cute...

20 week appointment- half way there!

Yesterday afternoon was our 20 week appointment.  We had another ultrasound to check measurements of everything.  We saw him moving around a lot again.  We also saw him kick me, but I didn't feel a thing.  At one point we saw one hand behind his head, then he had both hands in front of his face.  He opened his mouth once like he was trying to suck his thumb.  It was so cute.  He weighed 15 ounces- almost a whole pound! :)  The doctor said everything looks great, and we go back after Thanksgiving for diabetes testing.  Here are the pictures we got from this ultrasound.

You can see his nose and lips.  It looks like he has his arm in front of his face here.

His foot is a lot bigger now :)

He's still a boy!



This is looking down at him.  You can see his ribs and two black spots.  I think one is his heart and the other is his bladder.  I think he also has a hand over his left cheek, and that's why it's darker on that side of his face.



Almost done!

We added a quote at the top of the wall above Braylon's name that says "A wee bit of Heaven drifted down from above.  A handful of happiness a heart full of love."  We also covered a lamp shade using a blanket that goes with Braylon's bedding.

Pumpkin painting which turned into pumpkin carving...

Registry

Brad and I are now registered at Babies-R-Us and Target.  You may notice that there's not really any clothes on there.  That's because Brad's sisters gave us 3 bags of clothes, so we have plenty for now (THANKS Em and Ali).  But that didn't keep Mommy from doing a little shopping this past week :)  Here are a few things I picked up for Braylon...

Daddy was busy this weekend...

Brad cut these out of a pine tree log, sanded them down, then drilled a hole in the top.  I painted Braylon's name then added the ribbon.



Then we hung it up over his crib.  I also ordered a decal quote that will be hung over his name, so this is still a work in progress.



Brad also put these shelves up for me.

...more shelves...

...and these shelves too.  We just got this night stand, lamp, and little CD player.  Now I'm looking for a rocking chair to put in this corner and some cute curtains.

A Work in Progress



Braylon's rocking chair- It was mine when I was little.  It was white so I painted it khaki and hand-painted his name on the back.  Then my mom made a cushion out of a blanket that matches Braylon's bedding.



The walls were already painted a light green, so we will keep it this color.  I'm thinking about painting stripes on this wall and maybe a tree in the left corner.  I will probably also have his name in wooden letters above the crib and maybe a stencil or decal quote on the wall.  My favorite so far is "Every good and perfect gift comes from above. ~James 1:17"

As you first walk in the nursery




I'm thinking shelves hung on each side of the window with some cute curtains.  Hopefully a rocking chair will fit in the corner.

 

The changing table-  I may put some shelves here too.

Braylon's bedding is on its way!

Baby Braylon




IT'S A BOY!  See the two legs and the little thing in the middle??  I'm convinced!

 



Here's a foot!





You can see a light spot in his head.  That's his brain.  His right arm is up behind his head- hard to tell here but I don't have a better picture.

 

This position looks uncomfortable!  He was moving around a lot.  Notice in the picture above, his head is on the right, and in this one his head is on the bottom left.



 





All Because Two People Fell In Love...

This is my first attempt at blogging. I thought it would be a good idea to help keep family and friends updated on our lives. Not that our lives are full of excitement, but it may be very interesting and entertaining now that we are starting our FaMiLy.

Brad and I found out we were pregnant in June right after my Grandmother passed away with cancer. This gave us both the feeling that we might have a girl. I guess Grandma wanted a boy, because today at our 16 week appointment, we had our second ultrasound and found out we are going to have a little Braylon Thomas!

I secretly wanted a girl, and Brad definitely hoped for a boy. Brad's reaction was priceless! He raised his fist in the air like he had just won the Superbowl when the ultrasound technician said "It's a boy!" We were both excited and immediately started imagining what he would look like and act like.

So from here we are ready to start getting the nursery decorated and organized for our baby boy. I will be posting pictures of everything along the way as soon as I get them uploaded. Hope you enjoy sharing this journey with us! *xoxox*