Thanksgiving 2011 in Pictures

 This is not the greatest picture because BR's eyes are closed but I wanted to show off her Thanksgiving plate, cup, bowl and utensils. We made yummy pancakes to start our day off on the right foot.

 At Chase's grandmothers house, Brantley got to play on her piano with Bebe. She had a blast! One day the boys (Chase and Glenn) are going to bring the piano up here to their house and Bebe is going to attempt to teach Brantley piano lessons once she is old enough.

Then we headed over to Chase's granddad's house (his mom's dad).

 I love this picture!

After eating Janet's delicious Thanksgiving feast and spending a little time with them it was time to move onto Beverly's parents house.

At first we were there by ourselves for a while and got to rest, which was really nice. Then when Beverly's parents got home they had her niece and nephew with them and the fun began. As you can see from the pictures Brantley got to play basketball with Taylor and run around with Grace (not pictured, oops).
We had a wonderful time visiting with them but it really wasn't long enough. Around 5:00pm we packed up and headed over to Chase's aunt's house for Thanksgiving dinner with his dad's side of the family. I was bad and didn't take a single picture while we were there. We had a really great time there! Chase's dad's side of the family is pretty big and there are lots of little kids so Brantley had a good time playing. Mostly she played upstairs in Will and Reed's room with the cars and trucks.

Thanksgiving Day was VERY long and busy but we still had a great time visiting all the family we don't seen near enough during the year. I so wish Prattville and Montgomery was closer to Birmingham so it would be easier to get by to see them all.

On Friday we went with my parents to spend the day with my sweet Grandmother Harris.

Chase and Brantley playing with grandmother's toys while us girls started preparing lunch.

Before we could eat we helped Grandmother by picking up pecans in her yard. Chase and my dad began by blowing away the leaves so that we could get to the pecans and then the fun began. We eventually broke for lunch, which was delicious and then got back to work. Brantley had a great time helping in her own little way. haha

Four Generations!

BR was not cooperating for the pictures, she just wanted to run and play. Imagine that!

Brantley had a great time helping her PopPop rake up leaves around the yard.

Then it was finally time to go home and BR was asleep within 5 minutes, slept the whole way home (1 hour) and 2 more hours when we got back home. Wow! Good nap!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are extremely grateful for all the family and friends that we have and love. There was a lot of my family we didn't get to see but we'll get to see them in a few weeks for Christmas and I can't wait! God has been so good to us and we are extremely grateful!

My Big Fat Belly - 14 Weeks

Today marks the first day of my second trimester!! Yay!! I'm super excited to be moving into the middle phase of this pregnancy because hopefully I'll feel my best and start to feel the baby moving.

How am I feeling: Today I've been feeling more pregnant. My hips have been hurting pretty bad so I guess this means they've started to open/widen. Other than the pain of my hips opening, I don't really have anything else to report. Thankfully, I feel really great and I'm enjoying my pregnancy.

What I'm looking forward to: Finding out the gender of the baby is going to be at the top of this list until January when we finally find out the gender. Also on this list is going back to the doctor on Dec. 8th when I'll get to hear the heartbeat again via Doppler. I just love hearing the heartbeat.

Movement: Still the same as last week. I still haven't felt any flutters.

Baby's development and size this week:

 

This week the baby is about the size of a lemon. At 14 weeks, the baby is 3.4 inches and 1.5 ounces, he/she has almost doubled in weight since last week and keeps on growing. 

• He's probably sucking his thumb and wiggling his toes in there!
• His kidneys are making urine, and his liver and spleen are doing their jobs, too.
• And he's growing lanugo, a thin, peach-fuzz-like hair, all over his body -- it will help him keep warm!

Doctors appointments: Like I said before I go back on December 8th. 

 

Belly Blog Imported

Hey everyone!

I decided to import my posts from my belly blog here so that I don't have to keep up with 2 different blogs.  Enjoy!

My Big Fat Belly - 13 weeks

How am I feeling: Thankfully, I'm feeling really great. I've started physical therapy for my shoulder injury and surprisingly it's already feeling SO much better. No more constant pain! I'm experiencing no pregnancy symptoms at all, actually, sometimes I forget that I'm pregnant. haha!

Maternity Clothes: I can still wear my regular jeans with a belly band but maternity jeans are much more comfortable so I wear them most of the time. I still wear my pre-preggo shirts because my belly hasn't gotten big enough to stick out the bottom of my shirts yet. haha!

Movement: The baby is moving like crazy but unfortunately I still can't feel the kicks and flips yet. I'm hoping I'll start feeling them in the next few weeks.

Baby's development at 13 weeks:

At 13 weeks, the baby is about the size of a peach! The baby is about 2.9 inches long and weighs about .81 ounces, and -- proportion-wise -- his/her head's now about 1/3 the size of his/her body.

• Can you believe she's forming vocal cords and teeth?!
• And even though she's still teeny, she already has fingerprints.
• Her intestines are moving from the umbilical cord to their more permanent place, in her tummy. 

Doctor's appointments & What am I looking forward to: Let's see... I'm looking forward to feeling the baby move/kick. Also, I love hearing the baby's heart beat by Doppler at each appointment. My next appointment is December 8th (I'll be 16 weeks).

I'm bummed that we won't get to find out the gender of our little peach until after Christmas because my doctor wants me to be more than 18 weeks. I'll be 18 weeks on Christmas day so we have to wait until just after Christmas to find out for sure.

 

  When you read that your belly shows faster the second time around, they aren't kidding or at least in my case that is definitely the case. haha! I'm feeling great and the baby is growing perfectly.

Below is a picture of me when I was 13 weeks pregnant with Brantley Rae.

My Big Fat Belly - 11 Weeks

At 11 weeks, your fetus is about 1.6 inches long, and she's got about a 1:1 head to body ratio. She now weighs in at about .25 ounces.

• You can't see it, but she's moving fluidly and gracefully in there.
• Her skin is see-through, but she's on her way to looking more like a baby.
• Her fingers and toes aren't webbed anymore.
• Tooth buds, hair follicles and nail beds are forming.

 ~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~      ~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~     

On November 10th, I had my genetic screening ultrasound and blood work done. Both tests came back great, thank goodness! The baby was wiggling all around during the ultrasound, but I unfortunately can't feel the kicks yet.

The heart rate was 160bpm so that's still great. The baby is developing just as he/she should. I'm so happy to have gotten to see the baby and hear the heart beat again. Music to my ears!!

Note: Sorry I've been so bad about posting lately. I'm not really sure why I can't find the time to update but I'm really trying. I just always feel bad about it and then I just don't do it. Hopefully, I'll get better soon!! I'm hoping to post 13 weeks later this evening after dinner.

12 Week Ultrasound

On November 10th, I went for my genetic screening at Brookwood Hospital. I got to see the baby on ultrasound and hear the heart beat. The nurse took LOTS of measurements and pictures for the doctor to look at. I only got to bring home 2 of those pictures though but I'm thankful for those. 

The baby is growing great and measured 5 days ahead of my due date, but my doctor isn't changing my due date as of now. Unless the baby continues to grow fast then maybe she would move  my date up a little but probably not.

Since the screening, I've heard back from the doctor and our baby has a 1/10,000 chance of having Down Syndrome and/or any spinal malformations. Thank you, Lord for allowing our baby to grow just as he/she should be. 

You may be wondering if they predicted the babies gender and they did. Both the nurse and doctor guess GIRL again but we won't know for sure until after Christmas when we have our next ultrasound aka the "gender" ultrasound.

So I'm happy to share all the good news about Baby Williamson!! 

I hope everyone is having a great week!!

The Rail is Off

Like I said yesterday in THIS post, my shoulder took a turn for the worse over the weekend. That being said, we made the decision to turn Brantley's crib into a toddler bed by removing the front rail. I was a little afraid she wouldn't like it and that she might get out of bed at night or in the morning before we were up, but she has done amazing!! No crying, no getting up (at bedtime, in the middle of the night or in the morning), and she really likes it.

She still has her pacy but this is one step closer to her being a true big girl.

I love that she can just climb in the bed and I don't have to pick her up to put her in there. She's so great!! All the sleep training I did back when she was a baby has paid off and she loves to sleep in her bed, crib or toddler bed.

Elf Party at the Blue Willow

Last Friday, we went to the Holiday Elf Party at the Blue Willow in Cahaba Heights. It was very crowded but still fun. Brantley and Alice got snowmen painted on their hands. Brantley loved the life sized elves but Alice was terrified. :o)

Brantley led Tori around the most of the time so that she could stand by the elves. haha

We attempted pictures with Santa and unfortunately, neither of the girls liked him all that much. I don't understand why?! He's so sweet and cuddly. haha

Alice went first.

Brantley felt the same way as Alice this year. We're going to take her to see him again at the mall in a few weeks and hopefully we'll get a better picture then. Probably not, but maybe!

Trip to the Zoo

Last Sunday morning Chase and I decided we needed to have a little family fun so we headed to the Zoo. Brantley loves watching the monkeys and this trip she played on the little playground for the first time. Cutie-pie!!

Brantley really liked this elephant or "eoufant" as she calls it.

We had a great morning at the zoo and lunch after was great too. Brantley Rae was one tuckered out little girl. She feel asleep about 5 minutes after we got in the car on the way home.

Let me explain...

I have been MIA for a few weeks because I've been down right busy with work and taking care of munchkin. I hate that I've slacked on the blog but I'm hoping to get back on track soon.

What's been going on...

My shoulder injury has taken a turn for the worse so I'm most likely going to be leaving my position at work this week and hopefully start physical therapy next week so that I can try rehabbing my shoulder. At times the pain is unbearable and I can't move my arm much at all. My doctors can't really do much for me since I'm pregnant so I rehab is my only option at this point. I don't want to spend the next 6 months in this much pain during the duration of my pregnancy. 

I have a really hard time picking up Brantley so carrying babies at work is also out of the question. My hope is that with me being back at home more, I will be able to find the time to blog easier. I'm crossing my fingers!!

Anyways, I've taken today and tomorrow off of work for sure so maybe this afternoon I can get so updating done on this blog and the baby bump blog. Check back this afternoon! I hope everyone has a great week!!

Belly Update

So, I've gotten a little behind but I'm going to make this a catch up post. Here are my pictures from last week and this week. I will be 11 weeks on Friday so maybe I can do another post this weekend and stay up to date. I'll try!!

How am I feeling: Thankfully, I'm still feeling okay. I haven't been sick at all and I know I'm very lucky. I have been very tired when I get home from work and find it very hard to do anything productive. Most afternoons you can find me on the couch watching TV or napping after I've had some lunch. I have 2 complaints at this point... indigestion (burp!) and peeing a lot during the night. I don't notice the frequent bathroom trips as much during the day but at night I'm getting up at least 3-4 times a night. Bummer!! My shoulder is still giving me trouble so that keeps me awake and makes sleeping uncomfortable as well.

Maternity Clothes: I've started wearing my maternity jeans already because I'm tired of pulling on the belly band and trying to keep it from riding up when I sit down. I'm wearing a few maternity shirts as well just because I have them and they are comfortable. ha! 

Baby's development at 10 weeks: 

Now, she's about 1.2 inches long and weighs about .14 ounces. Her body length will almost double in the next three weeks.

• Baby has working arm joints, and her cartilage and bones are forming.
• Her vital organs are fully developed and they're starting to function.
• Her fingernails and hair are starting to appear, too.
• Plus, she's swallowing and kicking in there. (Can you believe it?!

Doctors Appointments: Yesterday, I went to see my Dr for my New OB visit. Good news, we were able to hear the baby's heartbeat with the Doppler!! The heart rate was 172bpm. So far so good! I go back to see her in 2 weeks and then we will start my every 4 week appointments then. So I'll be 12, 16 and then 20 weeks. She told me that we can find out the gender either the last week in December or the first week in January.
Next Thursday, I'm going to be doing the genetic screening just like I did with Brantley. The reason we choose for me to have it done is that if there were to be anything wrong with the baby's development we would want to know and to be prepared for what is to come. Please pray with us that the baby is developing just as it should be and there is nothing wrong. Thanks! Bonus... part of the genetic screening is to do an ultrasound to check for a risk of Down Syndrome. We get to see the baby again!! (That would qualify for What I'm looking forward to!) When I did this with Brantley I got to see her squirming all around even though I couldn't feel her moving. It was really cool so I'm pretty excited. Also at that appointment with BR, the doctor told me that she thought "it" was a girl but at 12.5 weeks it was still possible that "it" could be a boy. I'm hoping that this time they will guess BOY, but either way we'll be happy.


Belly Pictures:

I'll try my hardest to make another update this weekend (possibly Friday) so that I can stay caught up.