6th Wedding Anniversary!

Adam and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary this past Sunday. I didn't really expect that we would do much since we decided our present would be learning baby's gender. But Adam surprised me with an impromptu trip to Cincinnati for a day. We left Saturday morning and went to the mall to look at baby stuff, and get Adam tea and Teavana. Then we went to Dave and Buster's where I hit the jackpot of tickets:

After Dave and Buster's we went to the Cheesecake Factory for Dinner! YAY!! It was so delicious, AND we heard the song we danced to for our first dance. It was wonderful and so special. We got a piece of cheesecake to share for the road while Adam watched the Celtics lose to the Heat :(

On Sunday we went swimming at 9:00 a.m. and then we went to Bob Evans for Breakfast. We went to IKEA and bought a new rug. Woooo! So exciting, I know. Then we went to the Cincinnati Museum of Art. 

We could not take a good picture. Attempt 1: Adam's eyes are closed.

Attempt 2: Kate was talking!

Following our adventures to the art museum we went to Newport on the Levee to hangout before went to the Cincinnati Reds game. The game was a blast!

Great seats where we could see everything!

The blimp did a fly by!

We had a great anniversary!! Here is to many, many more! :)

17 Weeks

Adam and I went to our 16 week appointment on Friday. This was a routine check-up to see how baby girl was doing. Baby was great. Her heart rate was 148 and she continues to grow exceptionally well. At 16 weeks the top of the fundus (uterus) is supposed to be 1 1/2" below the belly button. My uterus was right at my belly button. My belly measured at 17.5 cm. Yay for our little one growing so well. We had a great appointment and our truly blessed.

For our 17 week update, I didn't do the chalkboard. I was so excited that our pool was raring to go and that I was finally able to wear my cute swimsuit my mom bought me! I love that my first maternity item was a swimsuit. Not the most practical, but certainly the most fun! Thanks Mom!

How far along? 17 weeks 3 days

Total weight gain/loss: Up five pounds from my original weight.

Maternity clothes? I have been going back and forth between my normal clothes and maternity clothes. Maternity clothes are way more comfortable.

Stretch marks? Not on my belly yet.

Sleep: I am still having a hard time sleeping through the night. I wake-up for a 2 a.m. to get a snack.

Best moment this week: Finding out the baby V is a GIRL!

Have you told family and friends: Yes!

Miss Anything? Eating normally. I had a scare with not getting enough calories this weekend. I just want to make sure that I am getting everything that the baby needs. I have always grazed my way through life, so finding extra times to eat will be tricky, but I am certainly up for the challenge. It might be Smashburger every week from here on out! :)

Movement: I am still feeling a lot of movement and it is getting stronger. At my appointment the midwife told me that the baby is VERY active. 

Food cravings: Nothing particular. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Smells, especially people wearing too much perfume or cologne. Poor Adam, we went to the art museum in Cincinnati this weekend and we had to map out our route away from a woman who's perfume was just too strong. I have never had that happened before where I was so sensitive to that kind of thing. 

Have you started to show yet: The bump is growing, growing!

Gender: GIRL!

Labor Signs: Nope

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!

Looking forward to: More movement and thinking about what we want sweet girl's nursery to look like. 

We bought our first thing for baby this weekend. We bought her this blanket to match what will hopefully be her crib bedding :) It is so stinking cute!

Penelope stroller blanket- Pottery Barn Kids

Baby is...

Right when we left the ultrasound

We had our gender determination done at Lexington Fetal Photography. We couldn't have been more happy with the experience we had there. Cindy was wonderful and was super helpful in all things about becoming a new mommy. We were only suppose to get four 2D pictures, but she blessed us with 24 pictures and a couple in 4D so we got to see what our sweet baby girl's face looks like. Here are some pictures:

She is definitely a girl!! Baby was very cooperative!

There she is looking right at us!

Here she has her hand up by her ear like she is talking on the phone. We joked that she was practicing asking Daddy for the "pink dress, green dress, purple dress...." Haha

Sweet little girl's face!

There she is with her mouth open :) 

Flowers from Mom and Dad V!

For as much as I guessed recently that the baby was a boy, I couldn't be more elated that we are having a little girl. It is a dream come true for me. Of course you all know that Adam has been saying since day one that baby was a girl. Here it is in writing...Honey, you were right!! We are so happy and so in love. November cannot come fast enough. Thanks for taking the time to read all this and be excited with us. We are so blessed!

She said, "Excuse me, sir. Would you believe that I'm the very woman who was standing before you at this very spot, praying to God? I prayed for this child, and God gave me what I asked for. And now I have dedicated him to God. He's dedicated to God for life." Then and there they worshiped God. 1 Samuel 1:26-28 (MSG)

 So thankful and so in love! :)

Bow or Beau?

Okay, I put a poll so you all can cast your votes on what you think we were having! It's on the right! Take  a guess...

Just for fun I let you know what the "Old Wives Tales" say:

1. Chinese Gender Chart: According to this you enter your age at conception and your due date. The gender chart calculates these dates according to the chinese lunar calendar. Survey says...GIRL!

2. Heart rate: The rules are if the baby's heart rate is over 140, it's a girl.  Below, it's a boy.  Baby Vodicka was bopping along at around 142.  Survey says....GIRL!

3.  Where it sits:  If your belly is high, it's a girl.  If it's low, it's a boy.  I think my belly looks "low" but then again this is my first pregnancy.  Survey says....BOY!

Those are all the wives tales I have experienced/tried. There are others like the ring test, the necklace test, etc. etc. They also have at home tests that you can do that have a 50% accuracy rate :) Guess we'll find out tomorrow!

16 Weeks

I am so excited this week! I got the best surprise from Adam for our anniversary. He decided that we would go for a private ultrasound for an early gender determination!!! I can hardly believe it. Of course this totally changed my plan for the chalkboard this week. I was going to write that the baby was the size of an avocado, but now we can take a guess a gender! WOOO! If you have talked to me recently, you know that I am going to be happy with anything and that I was okay to wait. Adam, however, can hardly stand the suspense. Hence, our appointment TOMORROW!! YAY! Hopefully Baby V cooperates!

How far along? 16 weeks 4 days

Total weight gain/loss: Up four pounds from my original weight.

Maternity clothes? I have been going back and forth between my normal clothes and maternity clothes. Maternity clothes are way more comfortable.

Stretch marks? Just on my hips :/

Sleep: My new thing is waking up at 4:15 a.m. I don't know what that is all about, but I usually go get something to drink, go to the bathroom, wander aimlessly around the house. I think God has a sense of humor and is just preparing me for what is about to come my way.

Best moment this week: The surprise that we are going tomorrow to find out Jellybean's gender. 

Have you told family and friends: Yes!

Miss Anything? Being able to sleep through the night. 

Movement: I can feel the baby whenever I am sitting or laying down. He/She is an active little squirt. I have a feeling that we are going to have our hands full.

Food cravings: Vanilla ice cream cones.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Penelope and her nasty dog habits. Yes...I had to give her ANOTHER bath this week! 

Have you started to show yet: I have a little bump. I love it! Many people have commented that I have started to show. My favorite was one of our youth kids grandma told me that her favorite phrase of our (mine) generation is "baby bump" and that she thought that I had a cute baby bump :) Loved it!

Gender prediction: Boy...but we shall see tomorrow!

Labor Signs: Nope

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: I hate to admit this, but hormones are getting the best of me. I can hardly believe that I get upset over 90% of the things that I get upset about. Fortunately I don't get mean, I just get weepy. I am still elated to be pregnant. 

Looking forward to: Finding out what baby is tomorrow and going to the doctor on Friday. This is going to be a wonderful week!

15 Weeks

Well we are plugging right a long with this pregnancy! I thought I would continue to update my chalkboard every Saturday but that has gone out the window since I have been on summer break. I have been so much busier than I could ever imagine! Adam and I attended four graduations and one party over the weekend in addition to all the other fun stuff we typically cram into Saturday and Sunday. It was also Memorial day and we wanted to have a day off to get things done around the house. Any way, enough of the long winded recap of our last few days. Here is our week fifteen update!

How far along? 15 weeks 5 days

Total weight gain/loss: My weight has fluctuated all over the place. It still has only been 2-3 lbs. I am getting a little nervous that the baby isn't getting what it needs.

Maternity clothes? I caved in the heat this week and pleaded with Adam to take me clothes shopping. I got several tops, two dresses, and the best invention known to man kind...maternity leggings :) I officially transitioned into maternity clothes so that I have some room to be comfy.

Stretch marks? No, hoping my Palmer's Coco Butter continues to hold up its end of the bargain

Sleep: I have had a hard time sleeping but that is mostly due to the fact that I can't figure out how to be comfortable sleeping on my left side anymore. Being a lifelong stomach sleeper, this sleeping on my side thing is tough!

Best moment this week: Adam and I were driving home from the mall when all of a sudden I felt the strongest movement from the baby yet! There was nothing I could do but laugh. It was surprising and the most fun feeling ever!

Have you told family and friends: Yes!

Miss Anything? I really want a ham sandwich. I miss that I cannot eat lunch meat. It really limits my lunch options! 

Movement: Besides the big kick I felt in the car, I have only continued to feel little flutters here and there. I think it largely depends on what position the baby is in to whether or not I can feel very much.

Food cravings: Chips and Salsa! Yummy!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Penelope rolling in possum poop almost daily. Adam and I have been at a loss as to why this is the summer she decided that she loved rolling in scat. Silly pup! The smell makes me sick.

Have you started to show yet: I have the littlest bump. I love it!

Gender prediction: Boy

Labor Signs: Nope

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy/Thankful

Looking forward to: Going to our 16 week appointment. I can hardly wait!

In other news, Adam has been so anxious to get the pool up so that I can get swim and get some relief from the heat. Unfortunately, the pool has been completely uncooperative. Mostly it is the task of leveling the ground. Here's some pics as we try to get the pool going. (p.s. Adam is the best. husband. ever.) 

The culprit

Sweet husband

Trying to level out the ground! What a hard worker!

Shopping While Pregnant 101

So I had a little lesson in shopping while pregnant yesterday. It all started when I returned to the place where I first learned I was pregnant! (Yay David's Bridal) I finally broke down and decided that I NEEDED to get my dress for sissy's wedding. There are some bigger fish to fry before this baby comes and Karen's wedding is the absolute biggest! So with 13 weeks to go till the big day I figured I'd go get my dress.

Karen and I had been in conversation about what style dress would be most comfortable/practical/fit with the party etc. She gave me tons of leeway since I am the matron of honor and she knew I'd be 6 months pregnant. (By the way, my sister is the BEST) So I went armed with a couple of styles that I saw online plus the original style that she picked for her girls. When I got to the store, the consultant said that she believed that we could make the original dress work but we would try on some other styles just to make sure.

This is where everything got a little sketchy. She asked me my start size and we pulled dresses galore in 5 different sizes. Then she asked me my bra size. DUN DUN DUNNNNN. I know I have been walking around for at least 4 weeks now in an ill fitting bra. It's been something that I simply have not wanted to deal with. To give you a perspective on how bad the problem is, I had SEVERAL women in our church tell me that they knew weeks before we announced our pregnancy that I was pregnant because "I finally had developed a chest". Church ladies are tactful like that :) Any who, we got the bra thing figured out and then I was introduced to this:

This, is the belly pillow. HAHA. I did not even know what to do or say when this was handed to me. I just busted up. For 25 minutes at David's Bridal I got to pretend I had the most radiant baby belly ever. Downside, real baby felt squished and the bruising that I mentioned last post didn't get along so well with this pillow.

After the consultant and alterations lady humming and hawing about what size dress would be the best, I finally decided to go with Karen's original style. The girl trying on wedding gowns next me even gave me this compliment: "Gurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrl, you got booty in that dress!" Um, yeah, not what were going for, but it needs some alterations. Lord knows, that my belly won't come close to how "enhanced" I was with the belly pillow.

TADA!!! We have a dress! And I don't look like a stuffed sausage. Karen's color is black :)

What the dress would look like in real life:

 Tiny, but you get the idea. Photo: davidsbridal.com