Just a Few Things That Have Been On My Mind Lately...

*I'm going to have a baby in less than 12 weeks! I'm in awe of how quickly this time has gone by and I'm so excited for her to be here. I had my wisdom tooth removed yesterday and on the drive to the dentist's office I was incredibly nervous. In fact, I was so nervous I started crying. I was petrified that having the procedure done would somehow harm Grace. I realized on the drive to the dentist's office that my life is forever changed. Grace isn't even here yet but she's already a part of me, figuratively and literally. I feel really blessed with the amount of love I have had in my life from my mother to my husband; Fenix, my niece and nephew, my friends, and now Grace. It's like my heart is being opened in an entirely different way. I can't even explain it. I'm just so grateful to have her and now that she's on her way there's no way I can imagine my life without her. In some ways I feel like she was a part of me long before Ken and I even become pregnant. She's not even here yet and Ken and I have already discussed how he'll be walking her down an aisle one day.

*I have an amazing husband. I really do. He has been so good to me. He's taken on so much at the house, especially since my tooth has been bothering me. He's done pretty much all of the cooking and cleaning in these last few weeks. He's rubbed my back constantly to help me fall asleep. He has put up with my temper tantrums (and believe me, I've had them) when I've gotten frustrated over my tooth flaring up. He hasn't been disappointed when I've had to cancel plans or dinner. The bottom line is, he has really taken care of me. I know that's his role as a husband, so I'm not surprised, I'm just so grateful for him. It's not even just these last few weeks, it's how Ken always is. The other day we were doing some quick shopping at the store that he works at and we ran into one of his elderly customers. Ken and introduced us and she told me what a good husband I have and what a great help he is to her. This isn't the first time that this has happened either. I really appreciate my husband's compassion.

*I'm lucky to have the friends that I do. Friends that pray for me when I need it and friends that stop by with a milk shake and to check up on me when I've had a procedure done. I really appreciate my friends. I am very fortunate.

There really is no reason for this post, other than to say that I've been feeling very grateful lately.

2 in the morning!

Well, this is a little rant that I wrote a few nights ago, while waiting for my mouth to feel better. I never ended up finishing it, so I didn't post it. In retrospect it makes me laugh. My intention was to write more than just about my tooth, but I never got that far:)

Two in the morning. Yup, that's right, I am currently blogging at 2 in the morning. For those of you who know me, you know that the act of me blogging at 2 a.m. or really the act of me doing anything other than sleeping at 2 a.m. is beyond absurd. I'm a sleeper. In fact, I'm one of those who generally falls asleep around 10, unless I am actively doing something. By active, I mean up and about active. If I put in a movie then there's a possibility I'm out as early as 9. It's kind of sad really, but I've learned to accepted the fact that I have the sleeping habits of someone twice, possibly three times my age.

So, you are probably thinking what could possibly be worth blogging about at 2 in the morning? Well, to be honest, nothing! However, for the last three days I have gotten nearly no sleep due to a little issue with my wisdom tooth. I've gone from being nearly narcoleptic to an insomniac in a span of three days So, while I wait another two hours until I can take more pain killer, I've decided to blog. About what? Not sure, so I'm going to start with this:

I hate my wisdom teeth! They have NEVER given me trouble until I was pregnant, and even now it's just one of them. I never thought a tooth could cause so much trouble, but let me tell you it has. I am talking pain like I have never felt before! (Yes, I know, I'm going to be experiencing child birth in three months, which I am sure will replace my wisdom tooth on my list of things that have caused me immense pain, but for now, this has probably been the worst pain yet.) Who would have known? It's a tooth for crying out loud! This is pretty much how my day has gone: Crazy pain, lots of salt water, antibiotic every 8 hours, pain killer every 4 (approved by doctor, so it's baby friendly.) Unfortunately for me the pain killer only works for an hour and that is not an exaggeration. So far, I've used that hour to sleep. I'm not sure what I'll do for the remainder of the weekend, because at some point I'm going to need that hour to do something constructive like school work. Right now my mouth is giving me some weird, unexpected reprieve and is only causing me slight pain. I ate a popsicle, which for the time being has helped. I am hoping that by the grace of God, he takes pity on me, and magically makes the antibiotic kick in. If not, I'm hoping my dentist (who I am begging to see me tomorrow) can somehow get me set up for an emergency extraction tomorrow, so that I don't end up in the looney bin.

Enough about my tooth...

While I had a few minutes I thought I'd post a few more photos of Grace. These were both taken at 21 weeks. I have one from 24 weeks as well, I just need to get it uploaded onto the computer. As busy as my many doctor's appointments have kept me, I've enjoyed catching extra glimpses of Grace from time to time.

Well, as of yesterday, I am officially at 25 weeks. This time has flown by! It's hard to believe that in a little over three months she'll be here. Ken is hoping for a Cinco de Mayo baby. He's been saying that all a long actually, I just never gave the thought any credit until today. Grace measured 5 days a head of where her due date put her at our 20 week ultrasound, and my fundal height (I believe that's what its' called) consistently measures a week a head as well. So maybe, just maybe, Ken will get his wish:) Poor Grace may be spending all of her birthday dinners at a Mexican food restaurant. In fact, if she is born on Cinco de Mayo, I think she may be be getting her first sip of a non alcoholic margarita on her 1st birthday as well as her own cake:)

For the past 2-3 weeks now we have been able to feel Grace move from the outside of my belly. Each night I lay on the couch or my bed with my shirt up waiting for her to move so that I can watch and feel it. It has been one of the neatest experiences ever. I can't even describe it. It has me grinning every time. I keep thinking that the complete awe of it will wear off, but so far it hasn't. Last night I had Ken try to hear her heartbeat by placing his head by my belly (I read online that at this point in the game, you can sometimes do that). Well, we had no luck with him hearing the heart beat, but Grace did give him a few swift kicks in the head:)

I Came Across This Photo Today...

and my gosh did it make me laugh!

It's a Girl!

Ken and I went into the doctor this past Wednesday for my 20 week appointment and it looks like we'll be welcoming a little girl into our family come May:) We are psyched! Fenix was really hoping for a girl and to be honest, I secretly (and sometimes not so secretly:) was really hoping for one too. However, I know we would have been just as happy with a boy. I actually was expecting a boy, so I was pleasantly surprised to find out it was a girl. Below is a the latest ultrasound picture. She was being somewhat difficult and spent most of the ultrasound curled up, which means we will be going back in a month for another ultrasound. I also attached a picture of my growing belly (at 20 weeks) and the slice of cheesecake that Chile's gave us (we went out to eat with my sister and the kids after the ultrasound) to celebrate our new addition.

"Today we have lost the comfort of Elizabeth's presence but, she remains the heart of this family."


I pulled this quote off of an article written about the passing of Elizabeth Edwards. I didn't follow her life or her husband's, but the quote really touched me and it puts into words how I feel about my mother's passing.

Well, I've made it facebook official, so now I suppose it's time for me to make it blog official:)

Ken, Fenix, and I will be expanding our little family come May. Yup, that's right! We're pregnant! (Well, actually I'm pregnant, but you knew what I meant:) And, we are ecstatic! There honestly are no words to describe this feeling or how excited we are. I really feel like we're ready. This is our time. Even though we've just been married three years, I feel like we've waited a while for this...and patiently too (for the most part:). We wanted to wait until the right moment. It's still really hard to believe. In fact, when I look at the 12 week ultrasound, it's still almost unbelievable. There's a baby in my belly! Who would have known?! It's crazy to think there's a living thing in there. I'm sure it will be a bit more believable when I start to show, or possibly I'll spend my entire pregnancy in a state of awe.

I will be 14 weeks tomorrow and the baby should arrive sometime around the 12th of May. Already this baby has perfect instincts and is waiting (well, planning to wait), until after ISATs. Then, I should have the entire summer with him or her.

Ken and I went in 7 weeks ago to have out first ultrasound and then a week and a half ago I went in on Thursday to have a test done that involved the ultrasound (had I not had the test done, we would have had to wait until 20 weeks to see our little poppy seed...err...lemon, again. Each week there's a new food that the size of our baby is compared to, and right now I think we're at the lemon stage). The first picture of the baby is just a little blurb, so it was amazing to see the baby at 12 weeks. It actually looks like a baby! And, it was moving like crazy! On the Friday following the ultrasound, Ken and I went to my doctor's appointment, where we met the doctor finally (who I love), and we got to hear our baby's heart beat! We saw it on the first ultrasound, but nothing could compare to actually hearing it. The minute she located it, Ken and I were grinning like crazy. I think that has been my favorite moment so far.

I feel really grateful that Ken and I were able to get pregnant this time round. We gave ourselves a very small window of opportunity, so I can't help but wonder if we have someone pulling for us upstairs:) I'm really excited to be embarking on this journey with Ken. It means a lot to me that we're bringing a life into this world, especially after losing my mom. I couldn't imagine traveling through this experience with anyone other than Ken. I'm already confident we'll make good parents, because I feel like we've done a really good job on working together as parents to Fenix.

We had names picked out going into this experience, but at this point, there are no guarantees. We've enjoyed looking into other possibilities and I think at this point we're pretty undecided as far as names go (especially in the boy department.) We should find out the sex RIGHT before Christmas and we're really looking forward to sharing whether it's a boy or girl with our family on Christmas Day, especially Fenix, who is pulling for a girl. I'll be happy with either. At some point I'd like to have a girl, because I'd like to have the same relationship with my daughter that my mother had with me. But this time round, I really don't know that I have a preference. I'm just so excited for him or her to get here!