Thanksgiving

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, Kyle and I did! I was able to switch days off with one of my co-workers, so I came up Wednesday afternoon to hang out with the fam. Kyle had to work unfortunately, so he wasn't able to come up until late Wednesday night (actually Thursday morning). It was so nice to see both sides of the family! Everyone is so busy with life these days, so it's really neat to be able to catch up and get to spend time with eachother.

Sisters!

Kyle and I with Grandma and Grandpa Book

What is Grandpa looking at? lol :)

Granddaughters

All of the grandkids! There were so many cameras going it was hard to get a picture that we're all looking at!

Some things never change... the kids table!

We had a blast and were sad to leave, but Kyle and I both had to work the next day... Kyle had to be at Sports Authority at 4:30 am for Black Friday! I felt so bad for him, he worked 11 hours yesterday with only a half hour break, needless to say he passed out on the couch as soon as he came home! The store that he works at is right next to a Best Buy, Target, Old Navy, all sorts of stuff... he said the frenzy was pretty crazy!

I'm already halfway through 25 weeks, here is what's going on in utero:

The baby now measures about 13.5 inches from head to heels and weighs about a pound and a half; think an average rutabaga (where do they come up with this stuff?!) She's beginning to exhange her long, lean look for some baby fat. Her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out, and she's starting to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair, and if we could see it we would be able to see it's color and texture. It's so fun to imagine what (and who) she's going to look like!

Kyle started to feel the baby kick yesterday! He was so excited, she REALLY kicked him right where his hand was. I was really happy that he was the first one to feel her, that was really special. We can't wait to meet her in just a couple months!

Something else really exciting happened this week... my mom got a new car (it's little and red, SO cute!) and my parents offered to give me and Kyle their Saturn! We couldn't believe it, it was so generous and couldn't be better timing with the baby coming. It's bigger, nicer, safer, all those good things... my mom called it the "mom mobile" and that's definitely what it's going to be! :) Thank you so much you guys!

We both have a three day weekend, which is really nice... we're doing a lot of relaxing! We're also going to go out and buy lots of Christmas decorations, we don't have any, but we really wanted to do it up right for our first Christmas in our new home! I'll be sure to post lots of pictures once we're done! :)

MD appt

I had a doctor's appointment on Thursday, and it went really well! I was in and out within an hour, which is pretty awesome for that office. I only have one more appointment before I have to start going every other week... hard to believe I'm already almost to that point! It was nice to go on my day off so I wasn't stressed out about returning late to work.

I'm measuring good, and my blood pressure and everything looks good as well. My doctor gave me this sugar stuff that I have to drink for a glucose test, which checks for gestational diabetes. I'll be taking it in the next 2-3 weeks. Basically I chug this drink and get my blood drawn an hour later... hopefully I pass, otherwise I have to do this other test that's much more involved with blood draws like every three hours... wish me luck!

Anyway, she said I'm healthy and everything looks great... she gave me an A+! Kyle and I will be heading to Gig Harbor for Thanksgiving, we hope to see as much family as we can since we won't be there for Christmas... if we don't see you Thursday, happy turkey day! :)

This last weekend was pretty lazy, which was so nice! I definitely needed it. Our graveyard shift person retired and our swing shift person quit, so we've all been covering a lot of extra shifts at work... I've worked at least one double a week for the last four weeks in a row, and that on top of starting 10 hour shifts, I've been exhausted! There have been a lot of exciting things happening at work though. Last year we got new ultrasound machines (from the company who shall not be named) that we didn't want to get in the first place, but our sister hospital wanted them, so that's what we got... they were horrible! They constantly froze on us, broke down, and basically were a big headache, not to mention we didn't like the image that it made. Well, after a year of endless frustration, we finally got rid of them and got the original machines that we wanted in the first place! They arrived last week, so we've all been busy training on them and learning how to use them. I know this is a dorky thing to say, but they're so beautiful! Brand spanking new, so shiny. :) We're really hoping these ones work out!

An example of the beautiful picture that the new machine makes! Baby with her mouth open... My friend wanted to practice the OB measurements, and I was a logical volunteer. Taking one for the team! :)

Growing like a little weed!

On Saturday night Kyle and I met up with a couple of my co-workers and their husbands for a night at McMenamin's Edgefield, which is a really fun hotel that has bars, restaurants, a movie theater, a little golf course, all sorts of stuff to do. We spent the evening just hanging out, drinking (a virgin for me of course!), and wandering around the hotel. I'm so blessed that I work with some of the coolest people around, makes getting up and going to work everyday a lot easier!

Tomorrow is my day off, and I'm really looking forward to catching up on my sleep and spending some time with Kyle... who by the way got a seasonal job at Sport Authority! He has orientation tomorrow, and will apparently be working in the camping/hunting department. He's been applying for jobs for months, but this economy is tough... one of his classmates is a manager there, and told him he might be able to find him some extra work for the holidays. It's all about who you know! I also have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, I switched days off with someone so that I didn't have to take time off work to go... another awesome advantage of only working four days! It couldn't have come at a better time either, because after my appointment next month I'm going to have to start seeing her every other week. I'll definitely post a quick note and let you know how it goes...

24 weeks today! Here is what's happening:

Baby is growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since just last week. She is about a foot long (think an ear of corn!), and her body is starting to fill out proportionally. Soon she'll be putting on all that adorable baby fat! The brain is growing quickly, and taste buds are beginning to develop. The lungs are developing branches of the respiratory tree, as well as a substance that will help the air sacs inflate once she arrives into the outside world. Her skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon. The book says that my uterus is now about the size of a soccer ball!

This Saturday night Kyle is doing a casino night in Albany that's part of a fundraiser for Tanner's baseball team. Sue and I are going to see New Moon, the new Twilight movie! I am so excited, Kyle thinks I'm dorky but I loved the books and can't wait to see the movie. :) Can you believe that Thanksgiving is next week?!

Lions game!

Kyle and I drove up to Gig Harbor friday night (glad that we made it alive, some of the worst driving conditions either of us has ever been in!) to spend the weekend with my parents and go to the Lions vs. Seahawks game. Saturday we kind of lazed around, and I got to see Elena because she came and did my mom's hair, which was nice... I always love chatting with her, even though it didn't feel long enough! My dad had to work that day, so my mom, Kyle and I went out to dinner at Round Table and rented a movie... it was nice to have a low key evening.

Sunday though... it was time for football! Kyle has been a huge Lions fan for years (we're not sure why, but there you have it!), and he was so excited to be able to see his team play in person. My parents bought us the tickets for Kyle's birthday next month, which was awesome of them (thanks guys!) and so we trekked up to Seattle for the 1:00 game.

The view from our seats!



Kyle said that if the Lions could end every game after the first half, they would have a winning record

The Lions fans...

... and the Seahawks fans! :)

Unfortunately the Lions lost, although not the biggest shock in the world... they couldn't do much after the first quarter, but they looked great then! Afterwards we went out to dinner at a new restaurant in Gig Harbor called the Blazing Onion, it was delicious! It was a lot like Red Robin, we actually tried to go Saturday night but the line was out the door... I've been saying for years that the harbor needed a place like that for people to eat and hang out, of course they figure it out after I leave! :)

Today was my day off, so Kyle and I ran errands and made another trip to Babies R Us... that place is starting to become very familiar! I've been feeling the baby move a lot more, and although I'm still wearing my regular clothes, I'm definitely showing a lot more.

Almost 23 weeks!

Cute little profile!

I started to get a little belly around week 16, but around week 20 my belly popped out big time and has been continuing to grow! Here's what she's doing this week:

Baby's sense of movement is well developed by now, and she can feel me moving around. She is now more than 11 inches long and weighs over a pound (about as much as a large mango) and blood vessels in her lungs are developing for breathing. My weight gain hasn't been too out of control, it's funny because I don't feel like I'm really gaining weight but every time I step on that scale I watch it inching up! I've probably gained about 18 pounds or so, but I figure for being more than halfway through the pregnancy that's not too bad... still seems like a lot when she weighs only a pound! :) I'm hoping the final count isn't much more than like 35 pounds, which is actually within the recommended range... we will see!

My new work schedule is going well so far, it's definitely going to take some time getting used to and I'm pretty exhausted by the time the day is over, but it's totally worth it to have that extra day off! Back to the grind tomorrow... hope you all have a good week!

Halloween weekend!

This week I started four ten hour shifts at work... I've had my day off and only worked one day and I'm doing fine... I'll let you know how I'm doing at the end of the week though! My day off is going to rotate every month, and this month it's Mondays. It's neat to have a three-day weekend, but it's also nice when your week is broken up a little bit so it doesn't seem so long. Either way, it's an awesome transition for me! We had a very productive day off too, poor Kyle was exhausted but he was a good sport; we went to Target and Baby's R Us to start working on our baby registry, and we also went to the mall, Shane Co. to get our rings cleaned, Costco... tiring, but so nice we could do this stuff together, and on a weekday when it's so much less crowded!

Unfortunately I got a cold this weekend, so I spent most of Halloween with my hand attached to a box of Kleenex. Never had a fever or anything, and actually Kyle and I got sick around the same time with the same symptoms... he got better much faster than I did though! I'm still getting over it, but I'm definitely much better.

Last weekend we went down to Albany to watch the duck game (they beat up on USC!) and also to celebrate Tanner's birthday. He turns 17 on Wednesday! We all had pizza and Bryan made Tanner a funfetti cake, it was super delicious.


Tanner guessed the gift, but he was still excited so that's good! :)


We all chipped in and got him an authentic Jonathan Stewart Panther's jersey... Jonathan Stewart used to be a running back for the ducks and now plays in the NFL

The baby got him Reese's hehe

The birthday kids! Tanner's girlfriend Brittney's birthday is the day after his!

Baby Hall at 22 weeks:

The baby is starting to really look like a miniature newborn at nearly 11 inches long and almost a whole pound (this week she's the length of a spaghetti squash, whatever the heck that is!) Her lips, eyelids and eyebrows are starting to look more distinct, and she's even developing tiny tooth buds underneath her gums. The eyes have formed but the irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. Her pancreas is developing steadily, which is essential for the production of important hormones. If you could see the baby now, you would be able to see her covered in fine hair (called lanugo) that she'll sport until she adds a padding of fat to fill them in.

I'm sorry I'm still having trouble with ultrasound pictures, now I got them to upload but they're uploading sideways and look all weird, so I'm still working on it! I promise I'll have some by my next post! :) I'm feeling her kick more and more everyday, it's the weirdest sensation, so hard to even describe... but really cool!

Kyle's second class is done this week (theories in education), and he's started an internet class as well... he's really enjoying school and doing really great on all of his assignments. Thanks for all the positive thoughts being sent his way! :)

This next weekend Kyle and I are going to Gig Harbor and then on Sunday we have tickets to the Lions vs. Seahawks game! For reasons unknown Kyle is a huge Lions fan (it's certainly not for the winning record... sorry sweety!) and we're going to go with my parents. Should be fun, hopefully it doesn't rain on us!

Hope you all have a good week!

Happy birthday Tanner and Brittney! :)