Santa Came!!

Christmas morning was dark and early for me, 2:30 early. I have no clue why I was awake other than my mind was running and I couldn't shut it down to go back to sleep. Despite my lack of sleep I got myself in the shower and prepared for the grandparents to come over for breakfast and presents.

Here is the video of her coming downstairs to see her gifts that big guy brought her. She was a very good girl this year!

Her smile was so big! I wish I had gotten a picture but I was videoing so I didn't. I'm hoping one of the grandparents got that picture.

Admiring her kitchen. It makes bubbling and sizzling noises.

Brantley had a very fun stocking this year. Mommy and Santa did a much better job on her stocking this year. 

Brantley got this totally adorable table and chairs from my parents Christmas morning and she loves it. We have it downstairs sitting by her kitchen and she enjoys setting the table and playing away.

After opening presents we had to get ourselves together and ready to head down to Prattville to see as much of Chase's family that we could fit into one day. I was already so tired but I was excited to see everyone!

Christmas Eve Events!

Christmas Eve morning we loaded up and headed out to my Aunt and Uncle's house for brunch. We had a wonderful time with my mom's side of the family. We had a pretty large crowd this year although there were some people who weren't able to come.

My Aunt Mary Jo decided that she wanted us to act out the Christmas story for every one and asked Chase and I to play Mary and Joseph. We didn't have any lines, thankfully (my acting skills are terrible) we just walked in and sat down and Aunt MJ read the story from Luke.

We all had a really yummy brunch and enjoyed each others company. Brantley liked playing with the Santa and angel figurines that were on the bookshelf in the kitchen. That is until she opened her Thomas the Train from my Grandmother Harris.

Grandmother loved her Christmas present from us. I made small plates at Painted By U for all of the Grandparents and Great-Grandparents this year with Brantley's foot on them, pictured below. 

We also gave each Grandparent some of the portraits we had made of Brantley before Christmas, which I will be sharing in her 23 month post shortly. They turned out SO great!!

The Harris family, minus a few folks.

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To finish out Christmas Eve this year, we went over to Bebe and PawPaw's house to have dinner with them and my parents. This is a new tradition that we started last year. I love this tradition because I love when Brantley gets to spend time with both sets of grandparents together. We love them all so much!

I made them a new calendar for 2012 with pictures from 2011 like I did last year, along with portraits of BR and the footprint plate. They loved it all!

Brantley got her grocery buggy and play food from her Bebe and PawPaw that night. She loves cutting the food with her little knife and cutting board. I think it's pretty cool as well honestly. If your child has a toy kitchen and needs new toy food to go with it, I recommend the Just Like Home food that is velcroed together so the child can cut it apart over and over again. Huge hit!

Chase and I got to open a few presents as well and we are very thankful for all that we received. We are truly loved and blessed!!

Next up...Christmas morning!!!

Zoolight Safari

Last night we took Brantley to Zoolight Safari at the Birmingham Zoo. This was her first time to go to Zoolight Safari and she loved it! The weather was perfect and we all had a really great time!!

This was Brantley's face showing her pure JOY when we were waiting to ride the "choo-choo tain". She was so darn excited and loved every second of it. Brantley loves her some choo-choo trains and big trucks. She is her daddy's girl!

Everywhere we looked there were lights. It was pretty amazing to see the zoo all decorated like that. I can only imagine how long it took to hang and put out all those lights.

Brantley liked the section with the ginger bread house cut outs.

Waving at the snowman as we were walking by.

War Eagle!

 And of course, we had to ride the carousel before we could go home. The surprising part was that Santa and Mrs. Claus took a break from the photo booth to ride the carousel as well. They rode in the sleigh behind us. Brantley was pretty happy that they were riding with us. She kept waving at Santa and telling him "Hey!"

So we had a really great time and I'm pretty sure that now this will be a annual tradition for our family. I hope that everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

My Big Fat Belly - 17 Weeks

How I'm feeling at 17 weeks: I'm feeling pretty good still. My only complain is that my uterus is really sensitive to the touch so wearing jeans or anything other than pajama pants is pretty uncomfortable. The trips to the bathroom have definitely picked up at night and during the day. I'm still sleeping pretty well but I am 100% sure that will change before this pregnancy is over. Oh and just for me to remember... the girls have gotten a little bigger this week.

Baby Movements: The baby has been moving a little bit each day. Nothing really big or frequent but every now and then I feel a kick or two. I feel the baby ball up more than I feel him/her kick.

Gender: We will find out January 11th. I'll be almost 21 weeks but that was the best they could do because all the earlier appointments were already booked.

What I'm looking forward to: Spending Christmas with our family and friends and then of course finding out the gender in a few more weeks.

Baby's Development at 17 weeks:

The baby is now the size of an Onion!

Baby continues to beef up. Now she's about 5.1 inches long and weighs about 5.9 ounces. 

• Her rubbery cartilage is now turning to bone.
• And she's growing some meat on those bones -- putting on some fat.
• She's growing a stronger, thicker umbilical cord, too.

Since I didn't post a picture in last weeks post I added it to this post. I'll be 18 weeks on Friday so I'm pretty sure I won't do a belly post due to Christmas festivities. Look for 19 weeks next weekend. 

My Big Fat Belly - 16 Weeks

How I'm Feeling This Week: I'm honestly still not feeling all that pregnant because I'm showing just enough to feel fat and that's about all. I do have indigestion/burping a few days/nights a week but it hasn't been too terrible yet.

Movement: I can now say that I've felt the baby moving around a little bit this week but it's still very faint. I'm looking forward to feeling him/her kicking much more often in the next few weeks.

Gender: I asked my doctor on Thursday at my 16 week appointment if we could come back and have our 20 week ultrasound at 18 weeks, just before Christmas but she said no. The babies heart and other organs is typically not big enough for them to see all it's details that early and to check those organs is the real purpose for the 20 week ultrasound. She also told me that if I really wanted to know the gender of the baby sooner I could pay $75 and find out at any time. The "parts" are there and could be seen just fine at this point. As much as I would love to do this, Chase and I have (for now) decided that we will just wait until January 11th when I go back for my 20 week visit and ultrasound. I'm still a little bummed but I'll be okay. For now I'm just going with the probability that it's probably another girl.

What I'm Looking Forward To: Like I said before I'm looking forward to feeling the baby move more and obviously, I'm looking forward to finding out the gender for sure on January11th.

Doctor's Appointment: The babies heart rate was 140bpm on Thursday at 15 weeks, 6 days. Dr. S said that was great and that she still thinks it's probably a girl too.

Babies Development at 16 Weeks: This week the baby is the size of an avocado!! Now, she's about 4.6 inches long and weighs about 3.5 ounces.

• She's listening to your voice, thanks to tiny bones forming in her ears.
• She's growing hair, lashes and eyebrows.
• And she's forming taste buds.
• Her legs are much more developed.
• Her head is more erect than it has been.
• Her heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

Bump Pic of the Week: I haven't taken a picture for this week yet and since I'm writing this blog post at almost 3am (I couldn't go back to sleep after waking up to pee at 1:45am) I'll have to come back and add the picture tomorrow after I take one.

My Big Fat Belly - 15 Weeks

This weeks post is going to be a short one because I'm so late at posting it.

This week the baby is the size of a naval orange!

The average fetus at 15 weeks weighs 2.5 ounces and measures 4 inches -- and his proportions are becoming even more normal, since his legs now outmeasure his arms. 

• You probably can't feel it yet, but she's squirming a ton!
• She might even be hiccuping in there.
• She's making lots of progress: her joints and limbs can all move now.

Movement Report: I'm happy and excited to report that I THINK I have felt the baby move a few times this week but the kicks have been so faint and light that I'm not 100% sure. I know he/she will be getting stronger day by day and I can't wait to know for sure when I feel the baby moving around. Big Smile!!

Doctors Appointment: I go to the doctor tomorrow afternoon for my 16 week visit. I'm going to ask with a touch of beg and plead that she let us come back at 18 weeks and find out the baby's gender for sure before Christmas. I'm not expecting her to let us really, but it would be wonderful if she does.

• If she let's us come back on the 22nd or 23rd, I want to have the US tech put the gender in a envelope and wait to open it on Christmas Eve or morning with our parents. I think that would be really special! Maybe my doctor will be feeling gracious tomorrow and say yes!!

The belly hasn't grown much over the past week but it's definitely starting to poke out there pretty good.

BR's Last Day at Preschool

 November 30th was Brantley's last day of preschool at Shades Crest. It was a very sad day for me because she really loved her class so much and I hated to take that away from her. (Note for those of you who don't remember, I had to leave my job with the program because of my shoulder injury.)

Brantley got to play with her friends and give them all big hugs before we left. I almost cried but thankfully, I held it together...until we got in the car.

We both LOVED the Weekday program and miss it a lot. I miss the babies that I cared for and Brantley misses her friends and her teacher but I guess this is the way it has to be for now. My hope is that she will be able to start back next fall a few days a week. We'll see!