Nursery Update

Of course it's still a work in progress, Shane and I are always looking for ways to add character to the nursery.  Several weeks ago we bought wooden letters that spell out 'Addison'.  After 20 minutes of shopping through the craft section at Wal Mart, we found some paints that match our color scheme.  I took pictures of our family painting night and the finished product.

Another great addition to the nursery is two giant teddy bears (the softest I've ever felt in my LIFE) that Shane bought for Christmas.  If you ever visit, you'll have to give a hug to these two... they're so soft and cuddly!  See the pictures below.

    

  

23 Weeks

I'm typing this from bed right now so excuse any typos ahead of time :)
I've been struggling with a cold over the last week.  Luckily, blogging is something that can be done from bed!  Having a cold is just the start of how moms-to-be are forced to "suck it up" for their baby.  What I mean by that is, there really isn't much that my doctor recommends to moms when they're ill other than lots of rest.
Last night, Shane and I were listening to the heartbeat with the handheld BebeSounds monitor and Addie kept kicking right where we were listening.  We watched the device on my belly move up and down as she kicked, it was really neat.
Next week is my 6 month Checkup.  This will be the appointment that they test me for gestational diabetes.  They'll have me drink an orange syrup-like drink about an hour before the appointment and I can't eat after midnight the night before.....mmmmm.    I'm not sure if the doctor is going to do another sonogram or not, since he wasn't able to get a good glimpse of Addie's face last time.  If Doc decides to though, I'll post the picture on here then.
Here's my newest baby bump picture, although, now it's more of a MOUND than a bump.  I've been told that usually around now, women start noticing the first signs of stretch marks.  While I haven't seen any yet, I'm sure they'll show up soon enough  :...(

22 Weeks

Addison is kicking more and more every day.  It really doesn't seem like she kicks on any "schedule" but she really gets active after certain foods and even more when I lay on my left side.
I've posted my most recent belly pic below.  I know it's been a month since my last pic, I'll try to keep up on it more now that winter is here and I don't want to leave the house! lol
Right now I'm 12lbs up from my pre-prego weight.  It feels like its more like 20lbs!!  According to the doctor though, everything looks great and we're on a good path (both weight and overall health).

Kickin' Daddy

Addison finally said "hi" to her daddy.  We just arrived home this evening from being in Arkansas for the holidays and decided to relax and watch some tv.  Addie was kicking up a storm tonight and, up until now, Shane really hadn't been able to feel it when he would put his hand on my belly.  Around the third or fourth kick, Shane flinched and smiled really big.  Shane was so excited to finally have felt her move.
It's such a strange feeling,  Addison's movement becomes more pronounced every day.  Being able to feel what's going on also helps make everything seem more real and comforting.  It's an amazing feeling!

The results are in....

Shane and I had talked about baby names long before even talking about having a family.  After finding out that we were pregnant, we narrowed down our favorites to 5 boy and 3 girl names.  We then decided it would be unique and exciting to have our family and friends vote on their favorites of our top picks.
In October, we sent out voting slips with our top 5 boy and top 3 girl names (click on the picture below).
After a month and a half, the results are in.  The doctor has confirmed that we will be having a baby girl.  The name that took the lead for the girls was Addison Elizabeth Handley.  We've attached a picture of the voting slip and the results slip below.

19 Weeks

Today Shane and I conquered our Christmas shopping.  I've decided that there needs to be "expectant mother" parking at ALL malls and stores! Just Kidding.  While we were out, we found a really cute wall hanging to put in the nursery.  I'll post a picture on here within the next week.
Over the last two weeks, I've been feeling "flutters" more frequently.  It seems like they happen most when there is a lot of noise going on around me.  I can feel them several times in one day and then go a few days with nothing.
Despite several calls from the doctors office to reschedule, and reschedule again....we are set to find out the gender of baby minnow next week!!  Originally the appointment was set for Wednesday the 16th at 10am.  Then I got a call from the doctors office asking if we could move the appointment to 11:30.  Of course, I accepted, even though a later appointment meant that we would have to wait longer to find out the sex. Then another call came in a few days later asking if we could move it to later in the afternoon or perhaps a later date.  UGH!!!  Luckily, I was able to keep the appointment for the same day, but we moved it to 3:00 Wednesday afternoon.
I'll keep everyone posted as to what we find out.  Of course Shane and I will be happy no matter what the gender is!

The Nursery

We're still working on the nursery, but here are some pics of the before and after.  Shane has put so much work into this little room!  Shane laid the carpeting himself, assembled the furniture, hung the curtains and blinds, and he even painted the ceiling fan to match the accessories!!  What a great guy!
The color is a little off in these pics and really doesn't do the blankets and curtains justice, but you get the idea....