Miracle in the making...

The Cutest Little Pig. EVER!

2010-10-31T19:39:00.000-07:00

So tonight was MG's first Halloween! Even though she can't eat the candy (and mama doesn't need it) we had to get her all dressed up and show her off! While I don't know how to sew (like some awesome people) I DO know how to use a credit card!! And hunt down ADORABLE costumes! So without further delay here's our little piggy!

Wiped out, Mama forgot her blanket so she had to use my sweater:)

Helping pass out candy!

And trying some:)
*it's closed, no worries!

Pumpkins!

2010-10-31T10:19:00.000-07:00

So we tracked down some pumpkins, it wasn't easy since we waited until the day before Halloween BUT daddy pulled through and found some:) We then came home and had a little photo shoot with said pumpkins before mama and daddy carved them up!

Creepy Hotel, Farmer's Market, Awesome Park and Mimi & Aunt Ashie!

2010-10-31T09:40:00.000-07:00

So last weekend MG and I left town around 1:00 and headed to Springfield, IL to meet Mimi and Aunt Ashie. That's about the 1/2 way mark between us and they HAD to see this girl! She's growing and changing so much from month to month that going from the beginning of October until Thanksgiving is just too long. We had a lot of fun and we're definitely planning on doing it again. We stayed in a semi-creepy hotel (no pics of that) it wasn't a bad hotel, it was in downtown Springfield right across from the governor's mansion, just old and therefore kinda creepy. I'm sure the scary movies I was watching by myself weren't helping the cause any:) Saturday morning we went to a really cool farmer's market and got some great produce. Next, the girls took me shopping, since I HATE shopping for myself and found (and bought) me a few new much needed outfits, YAY! Then we just hung out, it was great! Sunday we got up and went to a really awesome park and let Mary Grace play on the swings for the first time (great idea, Ash) and she LOVED them! It was so fun to see her sweet face light up while playing! Then it was breakfast, Target and time to hit the road. I'm so grateful for the time we got to spend together, it's so important for Mary Grace to know these very important women in my life! Enjoy the pics from our fun weekend!

Such a happy girl after her bath:)

Playing with Mimi and Aunt Ashie before bed.

Such a sweet face!

All the girls!

Swinging is FUN!

I LOVE the swings!

Wow, look at me!

Getting pushes from Mimi

The slide is AWESOME too!

I LOVE Aunt Ashie!

And she Skypes' too!!

2010-10-15T19:22:00.000-07:00

Since we're so far from family and friends it's nice to let them (mostly Ashley and my mom aka Mimi) see MG live! That way they can see how she's moving and talking and playing and growing! Mary Grace is pretty animated with it too, she totally puts on a show... when she wants to! Here are a few pics of MG skyping with Aunt Ashley and Uncle Jeremy. If you want in on the MG skype action just let me know!

I had to add this one because they have the same face! LOL

And she eats, like actually eats! Food! Not boob food, real food!

2010-10-14T19:55:00.000-07:00

So we started MG on food last weekend. Am I a horrible mom that twice this week I've forgotten that we started and didn't feed her? I mean of course I fed her, just not real food, boob food. She doesn't complain and let's be honest, after working all day and playing and snuggling I just forgot. Oh well, I'll work harder next week. Anyway. She did sooo well! We started with avocado and have since tried banana and butternut squash. The avocado and banana were pretty chunky, I figure it'll make for an easier transition to full on table food. She did awesome with it, opened her mouth for more, picked pieces up off her tray and generally loved it! And the homemade food is soooo easy! Plus with her being a little older we won't do purees for long, pretty soon it'll be chunkier and chunkier and then just what we're eating. That's cause I'm lazy;) Here are a few eating pics, cause lets face it, we all love babies with food on their faces!

Shout Out!

2010-10-13T19:37:00.000-07:00

So my awesome sister has started a new project and a blog to go with it. It's a great blog that journals her struggles and successes with her journey to a healthier life! I'm so proud of her!! Check it out!

http://www.tomorrowstartshere.blogspot.com/

6 months! Really?! 6 months?

2010-10-04T19:30:00.000-07:00

So, the title says it all! Our sweet Mary Grace, or as Tracy put it "our new baby" is no longer that! She's a big 6 month old! She's doing so much, talking up a storm, ba ba, ma ma, da da, and many other syllables she's stringing together. Rolling all over the place, sitting, trying to pull up and getting on all fours. I really can't believe how quickly it's going by. As I sat in her room nursing her tonight I got tears in my eyes, my baby is growing and changing every day and soon she won't be a baby anymore! We're soaking up every moment and know how incredibly blessed we are. Here are a few pics of our 1/2 year old;)

The Unlucky Lucky...

2010-09-08T20:02:00.000-07:00

So I was reading another blog tonight, friend of a friend type thing. This poor couple has been going through the whole miserable infertility and road to a baby for quite some time, probably around the time we started trying for MG. I think about them often, I guess because they're going through the same struggles we were, there's a connection even if you don't know the person. So I was just dropping in to check on her (kind of a stalker, not in a bad way) and I read that she got a BFP! That's big fat positive for those of you who don't speak the lingo. YAY! So exciting, but then I keep reading and it seems things aren't going well, not sure if the pregnancy is going to last, and then I tear up. And then it hits me, I'm so lucky. Truly. Okay, sure, it was hell going through what we had to, there were some rough years in there with no baby in our arms but look at us now. Blessed. We traveled a rocky road but we came out on top, we got the grand prize! We are the LUCKY ones. Not everyone who travels this road gets to the finial destination, some just keep trucking along hoping upon hope, failed attempt after failed attempt. Those on the outside may ask, "why keep going" those are typically the ones holding their little ones safely in their arms. They can't possibly understand. Moving forward is just that, moving. Working toward a goal no matter how hopeless it may seem. So to those unlucky ones, those who have tried time and time again with no little one in their arms, I am praying for you. You are not alone. Infertility is the worst kind of pain and I wish it upon no one. We are the lucky ones.

Lack of sleep and other things.

2010-08-27T20:48:00.000-07:00

Soooo, I pretty much hate blogger for uploading pictures, it's the reason I never post on this dang blog. Besides, I don't really think anyone really looks at it, besides my gals and they can see MG's pics on FB. So I am going to blog, mostly for me, and if you want to read, great, if not that's fine too. ps. I think I added too many commas.

I keep saying how I want to get a journal and write all this down, but what is a blog if not an online journal. So here goes. All what you might ask? Or I might ask. All this amazement that I look at every day. I will say that I honestly think I don't take for granted this amazing gift I've been given. I think a lot of that has to do with all we've been through to get our little miracle (if you don't know what "all we've been through" is, start at the beginning). I absolutely know how precious she is. Now don't get me wrong, all parents know how precious their kiddos are BUT when you have to wait and pray and pray and wait to MAYBE have a baby it really puts things into prospective. She is our dream come to life. I have discovered patience I never knew existed, and ways to function with minimal amounts of sleep. Here's an example. My little darling was up at 3am this morning, not that unusual, but that she was up and wanted to play was. I woke up and looked at the clock, "holy cow! it's 3am! Mary Grace hasn't been up yet, HURRY! go check, make sure she's breathing" (I will also say I'm ALWAYS grateful and amazed that she is) so I walk in to take a peek and she looks right at me with a huge, gummy grin. I can't help it, I break the cardinal rule of no eye contact after bedtime, I smile back. That's it, it's all over. I nurse her with the hopes that she'll become milk drunk and fall back into her peaceful slumber... nope. She tricks me a little, nurse sweetly, close eyes, nod off. I remove her from the boob and BAM! eyes wide open, gummy grin looking right at me. Sooo we rock and snuggle and sing a few songs, I check the clock, 3:45. Oh crap, I've gotta work in the morning. So I'm now really trying to get her to go back to sleep, she's not having it. She's not the least bit crabby, nor apparently the least bit sleepy. We rock some more, I lay her in her crib with her blanky. However, because I am panicked that she will either a) smother herself with her blanket or b) choke herself, I cannot leave the room. I snuggle into the chair with a baby sized blanket, not near enough to cover me up. She lays there peacefully for 5, 10, 15 minutes. Safe to go back to bed, I go to remove the baby death trap from her crib and she shows me that she in fact was not sleeping, just enjoying the beautiful wall art that mommy painted for her (big mistake on my part!). So in hopes that she'll go back to sleep so I in turn can go to sleep I take her into the guest room so we can snuggle in there. She'll have none of this laying still UNLESS she can play with (and by play with I mean rip out) momma's hair. So I of course let her and by 5:30 my sweet girl is back asleep. I, (bald patch and all) am right along with her. Then the alarm goes off. Up to start a new day, and not even really missing that sleep. It is worth it. Every minute I spend with her is priceless. I fall more in love everyday.

Just for the record, this was NOT last night. This was a night that she was actually sleeping.

A fresh start:)

2010-08-27T20:26:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. I am so far behind it isn't even funny. It's hard keeping up with this since it drives me CRAZY with how slow it is to upload pics... however, Elise is doing a great job and she's given me new motivation! I'm gonna try to get on here once a week and upload pictures and tell everyone how our week is going. It would help if you're reading this you let me know (by leaving a comment) that way I know I'm not just writing it for myself!!

Soooo.... here's what's been going on with us since the last update. Mary Grace is growing like a weed. She'll be 4 months on the 1st, and I go back to work on the 9th. Where has my time gone! We went for a weight check last week and she's 12.15lbs, growing girl!! She's rolling over on occasion from tummy to back, nothing regular, she's also trying to roll from back to tummy. She smiles and talks all the time and loooves when you sing to her. Her favorite is Old McDonald!

We've done quite a bit of running around this summer, inculding a trip to Chicago with her first plane ride, a trip to Vegas with another plane ride and an upcoming return trip to Chicago for a wedding! She is becoming quite the little traveler, and has done AWESOME on the plane! Let's hope she does the same when her and I drive by ourselves next week!!

Without further delay here are some pics from the last month+, enjoy!!

UPDATE: Blogger wasn't letting me upload pics even though I wrote out this blog about 3 weeks ago! Also, since originally writing this, Tracy is now back in action too... I'm looking bad :)

First plane ride, home from Chicago!

Would NOT wake up, even in all the O'Hare chaos.

Before boarding, such a happy girl!

Happy 2 months!

2010-06-07T20:52:00.000-07:00

I can't believe 2 months have already flown by! Mary Grace is such a sweetie! She's doing all kinds of fun things, holding up her head, which she's been doing for awhile, everyone always comments on how strong she is. She loves to sit up and stand if you're holding her (obviously) she's cooing and trys to "talk" all the time and she gives the sweetest smiles. Also she's sleeping through the night! Yep, I didn't want to jinx it but she's been sleeping through for about 2 weeks, goes down around 8 and doesn't wake up until somewhere between 5:30 and 7:30! I do kinda miss our one nighttime nursing session but I'm loving my sleep too:) Here are a few pics of our happy little lady!

Chillin with Harry!

Trying out her bumbo seat:)

Happy girl!

Pretty girl!

2010-05-22T19:31:00.000-07:00

We went to my work the other day and out to run a few errands, it had been raining for like a 7 day strech, it was great to get out of the house! She of course had to get all prettied up:)

What a smile!

2010-05-14T14:17:00.000-07:00

So this little girl has been smiling since about 2 1/2 weeks, I mean REAL smiles, you talk to her, she smiles. However, in the past few days she's been giving those big toothless girns, they make me so happy!! Here are a few to make you smile to:)

Say What?!

Mmmm, maybe...

Here's a taste

Oh, I just can't help myself!

Silly girl

Okay, okay!

HERE YOU GO!!

Happy One Month Sweet Baby Girl!!!

2010-05-13T14:55:00.000-07:00

Of course this is two weeks old... sorry! But I can't believe how quickly it's going by. We love, love, love this sweet little girl!

Talking girl:)

First bath... and a few more:)

2010-05-13T11:33:00.000-07:00

So I know I'm waaaay behind! I'm gonna add a few things that are quite old but want to have them on here anyway.

Her first bath was a bust, she was sooo mad! However, the next was better and now she LOOOOVES bath time! I do bath, daddy does lotion and pj's, she's such a snuggly bug afterward!

Sponge bath!

Mad!

Daddy always snuggles with her for a few minutes before getting her ready for bed:)

And then again after

Exhausted.

Meeting Mary Grace...

2010-05-04T07:51:00.000-07:00

The pictures say it all, everyone is in love with our sweet little Mary Grace:)

Her Ya Ya and Grandpa...

Mimi:)

Aunt Ashie and Uncle Jeremy... Ashley realized that Jeremy was getting a picture with MG before her so she jumped in there;)

Such a proud Auntie!

The girls

Our new family

Kinda creepy (but proud) looking Uncle Chance

Uncle Jeremy

Meeting Harry!

A few weeks after Mary Grace was born our very good friends Elise and Matylda came to town to pay us a visit...

Cuddling with Elise

Meeting her new friend, Maty was too cute, so excited about a baby!

Mimi Liz

Noe came too!

Swapping girls;)

Welcome to the world sweet Mary Grace!!

2010-05-03T19:51:00.000-07:00

I know it's been forever since I posted but we've been adjusting to our new life. Mary Grace arrived April 1st at 1:26 pm, 7.2lbs and 21 3/4 inches long, head full of dark hair and blue eyes, she's beautiful!

Just a few minutes old!

Soooo happy:)

He's so proud!

Loves his little girl

She was screaming until she started getting her hair washed~ she LOVES getting her hair washed;)

L.O.V.E

D-Day!!!

2010-04-30T15:41:00.000-07:00

So here is the final belly shot, I was 39 weeks 4 days and ready to meet our little girl!! I thought I looked so good but looking now my face was swollen and I looked kinda rough! LOL!!

Waynesville Shower!!

2010-04-30T15:16:00.000-07:00

After weeks of trying to get the stupid slideshow to post I've given up, I have no idea why it hasn't worked but I don't know what else to do, sooo I'm adding a link to the slideshow of my totally AWESOME shower!

So two of my besties threw me an AMAZING shower a couple of weeks ago. Everything about it was perfect, and it was even more special because we've always done showers together for eachother so it was nice that it was my turn;) Plus I think the showers have gotten better every time, LUCKY ME!! We played some fun games like guess the baby, it had pics of me, Ashley, George, Chance, my mom, and his parents plus a bonus guess... which was Elise! LOL! ALso guess the baby animal... which I won, 100%! Because I ROCK!! And don't say owl, which most people got although some were confused, they must not know me very well!! The decorations were awesome, cake was beautiful, and the favor... the princess tree was PERFECT! It was made all the better by all the people that graced the day, both Elise and Tracy came from out of town to throw this wonderful shower, also my awesome mom and sister came to celebrate along with our chosen family, the Burcham crew. George's grandma and aunt and cousin also came in from out of town. Mix that with all of our wonderful Waynesville peeps and it was a perfect day. Thank you sooooo much girls, EVERYTHING was AWESOME!!!!

http://s99.photobucket.com/albums/l292/heatalle20/Slideshow/

Maternity Pictures!

2010-03-15T08:35:00.000-07:00

So a couple of weeks ago George and I went and had maternity pictures done. I really liked a lot of them and really HATED a lot of them! Here is the link...

http://amypennington.com/

then go to LOGIN... Allen

Class Shower!

2010-03-15T08:32:00.000-07:00

So my super sweet 2nd grade class had a shower for me on Friday. Two of the mom's got together, sent home "invitations" and even brought cupcakes (pink of course) and juice (yes it was pink too). Several kids brought gifts, little outfits, toys, board books, bath supplies, wipes, and a gift card. It was so stinkin sweet! They are all VERY excited about the baby and we had a great time. I only got a group shot, it's hard to take pictures with 22 7-8 year olds clamoring for your attention! They LOVE doing silly pics so I've included that one in there even though it's blurry. And you'll notice most of them have the baby bottles that were on top of the cupcakes, they got a huge kick out of those!

37 Weeks!! Only 15 days to go... WOOHOO!!!!!

2010-03-15T08:24:00.000-07:00

So here's a quick shot of 37 weeks... I can't believe we are almost there. While I'm SOOO excited to meet our little girl, I am also sad at the thought of not being pregnant anymore. I have loved EVERY single minute of it and it's going to be hard to share her after all this time;) Plus like Ashley pointed out... now I'll have to worry about what clothes look like again! Everythng is pretty cute when rocking a baby bump!

HUGE!!! (excuse the bruises... yes my husband beats me)

And because I like this guy;)

(even if he does look kinda goofy!)

Take a guess!!

2010-03-13T10:23:00.000-08:00

So I've been told with only 17 days to go we need a poll (we all know who Miss Bossy is! lol) So here is a place for you amazing people to put down your ideas (I know you're blog stalking, LEAVE A COMMENT). So answer some questions and in just a little over 2 weeks we'll know who the winner is!

gender - serioulsy if you get this wrong I've got some BIG problems!
date of birth
AM or PM birth or specific time
weight
length
eye color/hair color (or no hair!)
Name Guess???

The catch is...in order to win and receive bragging rights, you have to put your answers in the form of a comment to the blog. This is all done in fun, but I know there are a couple of competitors out there just waiting for their bragging rights!

And thanks Elise... because I stole this off the "Plum Poll"

35 Weeks!!

2010-03-01T18:10:00.000-08:00

So this is a HORRIBLE belly shot... seriously I'm grungy and skanky and you can see my UGLY strech marks, BUT I haven't posted one in FOREVER so here goes!

Chicago Shower!!

2010-02-28T19:26:00.000-08:00

So my sister (with much help from my mom) threw an AMAZING baby shower for me in Chicago two weeks ago. Everything was so beautiful and the food was soooo good! She of course went over the top and I loved it all! Baby girl and I were showered with love and fun, fun, stuff from family as well as some good friends. My Aunt Toni made the most AWESOME owl cake with adorable little cupcakes (with help from my cousin Taylor). Everything was PERFECT!! I can't express how thankful I am to everyone, and especially Ashley and my mom for all their hard work! Thank you guys!!!

Now to what you really want, pictures! I don't have as many as I would like but a good friend of my mom's took several so I'll have those next weekend.

Some of the BEAUTIFUL flowers with the cute little ribbon detail Ashley did.

Pom-poms hung all over the ceiling and the table with the raffle tickets and envelops for thank-you's

Yummy cake pop favors!

The AWESOME diaper cake with the sweetest little owl hat!!

Handmade stir sticks for the yummy cocktails... I did not partake in those!

Candy Bar Game!

The AMAZING cake made by my Aunt Toni, and the adorable cupcakes made by her with some help from my cousin Taylor! They did a GREAT job!!

Opening a few gifts, mostly the pictures Ashley took of me opening gifts I look like a HUGE nerd, the first one is opening the AWESOME gift from my cousin Amanda, a scrap book from EVERY post off the blog, right from the begininng of IVF until now! Yes I'm crying!! The second are some owl pj's from my cousin Al, I have a matching robe (courtesy of her mom at Christmas) think I'm excited?! LOL

Our most gracious hosts... Miss Stella and her Mama and Papa... Auntie Ashie and Uncle Jeremy!

And the walls are DONE!!

2010-02-10T19:12:00.000-08:00

So I started the mural for the nursery last Saturday. My mom and aunt were supposed to come down in a few weeks to help me with it but schedules were full and times are crazy, I was on my own. I've had this mural planned out in my head for some time so it was really fun to watch it come to life, and to be honest, it turned out even better than I could have imagined! I LOVE it SOOOO much!!! Everything about it is perfect and I can't wait for our little girl to enjoy her new room! Sorry ahead of time for the picture overload! I just wanted to show the progression!

This isn't how the room will be set up, we're still not sure of how that's going to go since we don't have the bookshelf finished yet nor is the dresser in.

And the crib is up!

2010-01-31T16:15:00.000-08:00

Two posts in one day, wow! While I was out this afternoon George worked hard and got the crib up! He did a great job and was very proud of himself, as was I :~) It is so exciting to have this piece of furniture up in her room! We haven't ordered the dresser yet, we'll probably do that next weekend but we do have the hutch that has to go over the top of it that we'll have to get put together. Big thanks to my mom and George's parents for our awesome bedroom furniture!! I'm posting a few pics of what the crib looks like although it's not in the right spot in the room nor does it have any of it's cute bedding in! That to come later:~)

Daddy working hard to get it finished!

Proud Papa!

Can't have a picture without at least one owl!

And done! It's beautiful!!

31 weeks!!

2010-01-31T09:03:00.000-08:00

I know it has been FOREVER! I have no real excuses besides being L.A.Z.Y! Actually, there isn't a whole lot to post, I'm still feeling great, getting bigger, and anxiously anticipating the arrivial of this little girl!!

My last appointment went well I'm up a whopping 12lbs and measuring about 3 days ahead of schedule (that can change at any time, not a big deal). My doctor did say that because of the diabetes she will NOT let me go past my due date. In a way this is good and bad. I REALLY don't want to be induced for several reasons, on the other hand at least we know she will be here by April 2nd and no later!! YAY!! I was sent for a growth ultrasound this past Tuesday and baby girl is measuring PERFECT, she is weighing approximately 3.2lbs (in the books it says anywhere between 3-4lbs.). We weren't able to get many good pics though because she was totally squshed up, feet literally on top of her head! She has been like that at EVERY single appointment since 20 weeks, at the 26 week ultrasound we were able to get her to move around and strech out but this time she was being stubborn (she must get that from her dad). She was also sucking on her bottom lip, I thought it was so funny that the ultrasound tech could tell that, I could see that she was sucking but once she pointed out that it was her lip I could really tell! And I was able to see her "breathing" which was really cool, getting practice in for when she's on the outside!!

I'm adding one pic from the ultrasound, the one that shows her foot on her head! And a couple of belly shots, they aren't that great but they're from my phone, I can't find my camera case so I'm not able to plug my camera into my computer, so I'm working with what I've got;)

28 weeks

29 weeks

30 weeks

Future Gymnast?

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!

2009-12-29T16:49:00.000-08:00

So we are about to become the proud parents of a little girl! Here's the breakdown of the opening of "THE ENVELOPE" It goes like this...

5:30 pm December 23: I BEG George to plllleeeeaaaasssseeee open the envelope, NO ONE would have to know! His response, "nope, there's no way you could keep that secret for a whole 24 hours" okay so he knows me well.

I wait.

Around 9:30pm December 23, PLLLEEEEAAAASSSSEEEE can we open it now? We're going to bed soon, I can for sure keep the secret then, "nope, it's not Christmas.

I wait (not very patiently I might add).

7:00 am December 24, Me: IT'S CHRISTMAS, LET'S OPEN IT! Him: It is NOT Christmas and I'm sleeping, leave me alone...

I wait.

9:30 am December 24, Me: lovingly rubbing my sleepy hubby's back... my mom is now at work, Ashley is getting her hair done, I'm desperate, I might have to work for this envelope opening, but at this point I'm willing to do what it takes! LOL!!! He rolls over and looks at me like you've GOT to be kidding. I beg again and show him that I have taken it upon myself to go out to the car and get said envelope... he tells me to OPEN IT!!! So before he changes his mind I rip it open, now for some reason I'm a bit nervous! I slowly take out the picture that the ultrasound tech has put in there for us and I pull out the card stock that she wrote it on, we both open it... GIRL! I cry, he is grinning ear to ear. We are so happy! Now... plan how to tell the rest of the family.

Since we are not with George's family we call his parents first, George's dad says he knew all along, his mom is happy... what will they do with a girl? LOL!

Fast forward... 11:30 am. My sister is now home, we're starving so we're going to get lunch. We want my mom to join us; we've planned how we'll tell them. My mom being the procrastinator she is still wants to do some last minute shopping, I tell Ashley to convince her to come... Ashley has now figured out that we opened the envelope, she's FREAKING out. We won't tell until they are both together, she freaks more, calls my mom insisting she HURRY up and get to where we are!! FINALLY my mom shows up... we hand them each a little bag... they must open it together, inside each bag is a tiny pair of pink socks, tears and hugs all around!

Christmas Eve night... my whole family gets together, for some reason this year we were all there early (unheard of for my family) we're itching to tell and I have NO poker face so when someone asks (everyone at some point) if we know I can't contain myself, I grin! BUT we're waiting on the Pie family before we announce. Finally everyone is there... it takes one of my uncles (not sure which) 2 times with that obnoxiously loud whistle to quiet down my loud ass family. We're all here, together, and it's a GIRL! Tears, hugs, woohoo's!

And that's our day! Well worth the wait. We can't wait to meet our little lady! And of course mommy, Aunt Ashley, and Mimi (still testing that out) went shopping the day after Christmas and indulged in some sweet girl shopping, I'm in trouble I can tell already!

Oh yeah... because this post isn't long enough... we had a 3D ultrasound on Sunday, they were not the best images and since I have an anterior placenta (in the front) the baby was kind of smushed up aganist it so it was a little hard to see her face, plus she was bent in half with her legs over her head! We did fially get her to strech out a little bit and here are the pics of that.

Forgot one!

2009-11-30T18:17:00.000-08:00

This was a funny one, Ashley and I were getting ready to leave so I was saying goodbye to George (while asking if he liked my new outfit) he OBVIOUSLY LOVED my new outfit, as he never took his eyes off the football game;) LOL! And Ash caught it all!

22 weeks and a visit from my sister!

2009-11-28T12:31:00.000-08:00

Everything is going really well, I'm feeling the baby move a LOT but unfortunetly no one else can at this point. George is dying to feel this little one and I can't wait for that too! Thanksgiving was good, just George, Chance, and myself but lots of yummy food! I picked my sister up from the airport yesterday and we went and saw New Moon, did a little shopping (she helped me pick out a new outfit, yay!) and went to dinner. It is so nice having her here. We're also going to paint the baby room this weekend, just the base color for now, a really cool blue and then my mom and aunt are going to come down and help me do the tree and owls. That's all for now, I've included a few new belly pics, it's really sticking out there now!

It's a.... SURPRISE (until Christmas at least!)

2009-11-11T18:55:00.000-08:00

Here are the rest of the pics...

The envelope with the goods inside! We even had her staple it shut:)

This is Petri looking at us.

George's favorite... flexing muscles! Little fist and all, right after she got this shot the little stinker punched me! LOL

20 week ultrasound!

2009-11-11T18:44:00.000-08:00

Okay I wasn't able to upload all the cute pics that I wanted to, stupid blogger! I'll try again when I get done posting this. The ultrasound went great! When we first went in little Petri was literally folded in half, it was so cute! By the time we were done he/she was sprawled out with hand behind his/her head laying just like mama was! It was adorable. The tech was sooo sweet and we were in there for about an hour. She explained everything as she went and told us that everything looked really good. We saw all 4 chambers of the heart, both sides of the brain, fingers, toes, arms, legs, EVERYTHING... EXCEPT the goods:~) LOL! We were strong and held out, the tech had us turn away twice so she could check, then double check and says she's 90% sure of the sex. She wrote it down in our envelope along with a "money shot" pic! I did find out that my placenta is in the front, nothing harmful but that is why I'm only feeling small movements down low, probably punches since the head is down. Baby is measuring great, and we couldn't have been more happy with what we saw. Can't wait to meet our little one! I've posted a couple of profile shots below and hope to post more later.

17 weeks, waaaay cuter picture! LOL

2009-10-24T14:27:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I made George take another picture today before I went to a wedding shower. I looked much better and not quite as bloated:)

Slacker here...

2009-10-24T07:50:00.000-07:00

I know it's been awhile since I've updated but there's not much to talk about but I'm VERY busy with my class! So here's what's going on with us... I'm actually starting to show, about 3 weeks ago I started to notice my clothes fitting a little more snug but I now have an actual "baby bump" I've gained about a pound so I'm happy with that! I've decided that I HATE maternity clothes, especially pants, but I need something comfy, luckily my mom found these amazing knit pants at New York and Co. that just slip on, no buttons, snaps, zippers or best of all huge panel! LOL!

I ordered a heart doppler so we can listen to the baby's heartbeat each night, George thought I was slightly crazy but he thinks it's really cool to hear as well. And it's EXTREMELY reassuring to know this little one is safe and sound! I am starting to feel some movements but it'll be nice when I can tell the difference between baby moves and gas:) I guess that's all for now, I'm posting (against my better judgment:) a belly pic below, I was trying to wait until it looked more like baby and less like chub! haha I think I'm close!

And a note on the photo... I look REALLY rough BUT I had been at parent teacher conferences so it was a VERY long day!!

12w5d, baby is growing!

2009-09-25T10:52:00.000-07:00

Well we had our appointment today, got another u/s, it was awesome! We were really able to see a lot. Fingers, toes, elbows, face, big ol' head! We loved it! We went to a different doctor today, this is the one we'll be using. We both really liked her, she was very thorough and George loved her middle eastern accent LOL! Anyway Petri was measuring well, heartbeat looked great and I still haven't gained any weight, YAY! I might try to scan in some of the pictures later but they were pretty crappy. Thanks for all you're prayers, I feel like now that I'm in the 2nd trimester I can finally breathe a little easier!

9 1/2 weeks, new doctor, awesome ultra sound, GREAT DAY!

2009-09-05T10:37:00.000-07:00

Well my appointment this week was AWESOME!! We were there forever but the nurse was amazing, so sweet and funny and the Dr. was totally goofy but we both really liked him. The u/s was the most wonderful thing! Little Petri actually looks like a baby! We saw big head (takes after mama) and tiny little arms and legs. The Dr. was so great too as he was doing the u/s because he said at this stage the baby is moving around so he just held the u/s wand in place for awhile until the baby moved!!! We were so shocked to see that, even George was like WOW! We also got to hear the hb. I forgot to ask what the rate was but he said it was a nice strong hb so I'm guessing that was a good thing. Baby also measured right on date, 9 weeks 4 days. We didn't get any still shots because the camera was broke but we did record it and they told us if we take it to Walgreen's they will put it on a disc and we can print out pics. I have another appointment next week with another Dr. at a different hospital. I would cancel all together because I liked this one so much (plus the nurse said he's really easy to talk into doing extra u/s!!) BUT this office doesn't take my secondary insurance and the other place does. Once we get the quotes from the insurance company we'll be able to better decide where we're going to go. But the good thing about that is another u/s next week! LOL!

8 week visit... HUGE bust!

2009-08-29T12:47:00.000-07:00

I'll start by saying that the Dr. we were going to yesterday was and hour+ from where we live but the Dr. came highly recommended by a friend so we decided to give it a shot. I was scheduled to work 1/2 a day and have a sub come in at 11:30 that would have given us plenty of time to get to the clinic by 1:00. Well, she didn't get there until about 10 till 12 so we were already running late. We quickly got on the road, it was drizzly and traffic was bad. At about 12:45 we were still 30 minutes away. I called the office to let them know we would be about 15 minutes late. The (bitchy) receptionist informed me that their policy isn't to take anyone after 10 minutes. I explained the situation and she said I could ONLY be 15 minutes late or they wouldn't see me. We were hauling ass to get there and pulled up to the clinic at 1:17, George dropped me off at the door and I ran in, the clinic was HUGE so it took me a few minutes to get up there. Got there at 1:20 and the (bitchy) receptionist was SO RUDE and said I was too late and I would have to reschedule. Well I immediately burst into sobs. I asked if there was anyway they could make an exception since we drove and hour+ and these were unusual circumstances and since this was my first pregnancy and first OB appointment and I was very anxious to see the baby. I told her we would sit around all day if we had to. She just responded with a "Nope" so hateful! I walked out of the office to find George, I was literally hysterical, I know a little over the top but I was soooo upset and she was soooo mean! George went in and was very polite and tried to talk to her but I guess she was just as rude, he even asked if there was anyway we could see a different doctor and she told him "not for another few weeks" he then asked if there was another OB practice and she said "yes but I guarantee they won't get you in either" I honestly still can't believe how hateful this woman was. So to make a long story longer... we didn't get in, called around and FINALLY got in to a Dr. I've never heard of, but who had a VERY NICE receptionist who I told the story to and was appropriately appalled and said they would get me in on Thursday and to bring a video tape because they'll tape the u/s! YAY! After that I had some retail therapy and then went for a great early dinner complete with Italian donuts with chocolate dipping sauce at Olive Garden, YUM! LOL! So that's my day! It was horrible but ended up being okay, sad that I have to wait another week but I'm feeling better about everything being okay with little Petri, I have no reason to think otherwise. Hopefully I'll be able to put some pictures up next week of how much Petri has changed!

Oh the comments!

2009-08-19T12:00:00.000-07:00

Why oh why can people not keep their weird and rude comments to themselves! I know everyone says when you're pregnant that everyone feels like it's their business, boy am I finding out how true that is. At first it was nice having everyone fawning all over me, asking how I was, how I was feeling, what symptoms did I have. Now... well now it's just ANNOYING! Hey people, maybe this bitchiness is a symptom! I guess I'm a little freaked because we don't get to see the bean this week, we have for the past 2 and it is sooo reassuring. Not only that, I am virtually symptom free and it kinda freaks me out, even though I've been told by friends, family, and my nurse (yes I called) that it is completely normal. However, some people on a daily basis are asking me if I have morning sickness, no didn't have it yesterday, the day before, or today, if I start throwing up I will run straight to you so you don't miss it. Not only am I getting that question (daily) but when I resopond "no" some look at me like I'm sprouting a third head! Seriously you've NEVER met another pregnant person without morning sickness, come on! Then their are others still who proceed to tell me that if "you have morning sickness you have less chance of a miscarriage", or that "morning sickness means a healthy pregnancy". So now I'm about to miscarry at any given moment or not have a healthy pregnancy...WTH! Okay, totally sorry to bring down my normally fun and enjoyable blog with all my crankiness! I go to the Dr. next Friday and then I'll have my reassurance again... at least for another week. I tell ya, I'm not going to quit being anxious until I can feel little Petri doing high kicks inside of me!

Nick name!

2009-08-14T15:34:00.000-07:00

So we've decided that we've got to stop calling this baby "it" LOL! We were trying to come up with cute nick names, the short list was Mader or Mato (since I can't get enough tomatoes!) George suggested something... (obviously got vetoed since I can't even remember it) but we finally decided on Petri... why you ask? Because the little one was conceived in a petri dish! LOL, we are huge dorks I realize this but we want something cute and clever! Oh by the way, I think I've convinced George to wait until this little one makes his/her appearance to find out the gender! YAY!

The Belly Bean is growing!

2009-08-12T17:57:00.000-07:00

We had our second ultra sound today which sadly George missed. He had meetings in the morning and I had our Meet the Teacher night at school this afternoon and since I HAD to be there I had to schedule by which time worked best for me. Luckily a friend volunteered to go so I didn't have to make the 2 hour trek alone. I was very nervous this week because I'm into week 6 and all the books say that if you're going to get morning sickness this would be the week. Well silly me, instead of being grateful that I'm keeping all my meals down, I was worried! Yes me the puke-a-phobe! I was just afraid that something was wrong... I was WRONG! We got to see our one little belly bean growing strong. The second embryo didn't make it, and while we're sad about that we're rejoicing in the fact that we have one baby growing strong and healthy. I was so excited because I knew that we'd get to see the heartbeat and I was totally SHOCKED that we got to HEAR the heartbeat, it was the most amazing sound ever! It was a strong heartbeat at 122 and it was great to hear it, very reassuring! This was our last week with the RE, we've graduated to a regular OB and we'll see him in 2 weeks, 2 weeks of waiting to see the baby again... I'll survive, I think:~) The first picture shows the heartbeat at the bottom, the other 2 are just showing how big the belly bean's getting! Can't believe the change from last week!

6 weeks!

2009-08-08T13:23:00.000-07:00

Well we're 6 weeks tomorrow! So excited, hopefully Wednesday when we go back to the RE we'll be able to see two healthy heart beats, I don't think we'll be able to hear them yet but seeing is believing! Here is a littlebit of what's going on this week.

How your baby’s growing: This week’s major developments: The nose, mouth, and ears that you’ll spend so much time kissing in eight months are beginning to take shape. If you could see into your uterus, you’d find an oversize head and dark spots where your baby’s eyes and nostrils are starting to form. His emerging ears are marked by small depressions on the sides of the head, and his arms and legs by protruding buds. His heart is beating about 100 to 160 times a minute — almost twice as fast as yours — and blood is beginning to course through his body. His intestines are developing, and the bud of tissue that will give rise to his lungs has appeared. His pituitary gland is forming, as are the rest of his brain, muscles, and bones. Right now, your baby is a quarter of an inch long, about the size of a lentil bean.

Baby or babies?

2009-08-05T16:05:00.000-07:00

Well we went to the doctor today for our first ultra sound. Needless to say we really don't know anymore than we did this morning. We know we're pregnant but still don't know if it's one or two. We were able to see 2 sacs but the Dr. was only able to see the yolk sac on one of them. He did say that the 2nd sac could be a vanishing twin or it just might be to early and it could still catch up. Now that I know they are both in there I really want them both! Praying hard that the smaller one catches up and that the other continues to grow! I've posted a pic, it's crappy because I don't have a scanner so I have to take a picture of the (crappy) u/s picture with my phone then post it. Also I took a 2nd pregnancy test last week just to make sure I was still pregnant, the 2 lines popped up in like 2o seconds instead of the 2 minutes I was supposed to wait! (George totally made fun of me)

It's official... We're PREGNANT!!!

2009-07-27T16:06:00.000-07:00

Really the title pretty much sums it up. We are over the moon excited right now and totally in shock (well I am, George says he already knew). We'll go next week to see if there are one or two babies in there. Either way we are thrilled and so happy that we'll finally be parents. I want to say at this time a HUGE heartfelt thank you from George and I both to all of you, our amazing family and friends. We have had nothing but love an support from everyone and you have really been a big part of this process. We love you! Keep praying though, we need to get through this first trimester!!

Not a very good picture but you can see the word!

Pregnant until proven otherwise!

2009-07-17T15:46:00.001-07:00

So today was the big day, the day when they put those little embies into their new home for hopefully the next 9 months or so. The transfer was actually really easy. The hardest part was that I had to have a full bladder and for me that is HARD! I decided that I wouldn't start drinking anything until we were almost to St. Louis, well even with only having a sip of water an hour into the trip I had to make a pit stop. About 15 minutes before we got there I had a couple of good swigs of water and thought I would be good... WRONG! We got to the clinic and sat for about 10 minutes before I had to "let a little out". It was miserable. By the time we got into the transfer room I was in pain, they put the ultra sound wand on my tummy and I thought I was gonna lose it! But he said it looked good and if I could hold it for 10 more minutes that would be great... UGH! The transfer itself took no time. A lady came in with this catheter type thing and said "two blastocysts for Heather Allen, is that you?" I felt like I was being given my dinner order! LOL! Anyway they ran the tube into my uterus and injected them and that's where they are! hey transferred 2 perfect grade embryos. They were literally the best they could be, exciting!! Afterwards the Dr. went ahead and did a catheter for me so I didn't pee all over the floor... oh sweet relief! Anyway I've posted hopefully the first of many pics below. The first one is of the actual embryos and the second is them in my uterus!

Friday I'm getting knocked up!

2009-07-15T09:21:00.000-07:00

So quick update: The nurse called this morning and said that we'll be going in for a day 5 transfer on Friday! That is so ideal because I've done a lot of research and it seems that the best results come from 5 day transfers! All 13 embies (embryos)are still growing although 2 are lagging behind she said they were 5 cell and should be 7 or 8 by now, but they still have a chance to catch up. We're really excited and anxious for Friday, can't wait to get those little embies in their new "womb" LOL!

A Bakers Dozen!

2009-07-13T12:03:00.000-07:00

Okay, so we got the call from our RE (reproductive endocrinologist) this morning and 13 of the 19 fertilized! That means at this moment we have 13 little babies growing, crazy! Now we just hope and pray that a good number of those will make it to transfer. We're hoping to put 2 in this week on either Wednesday or Friday and then we'll freeze the remainders for future snowbabies!

First POI Down!

2009-07-12T17:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, so POI stands for progesterone oil injection. Progesterone is the hormone that makes the uterus all nice and squishy so that the little embryos want to stick around and get comfy, it's something the body produces immediately after conception. Since conception took place this morning in a lab I'm injecting it instead of producing it LOL, hopefully in a couple of weeks I'll be producing it too! Anyway back to the shot. It's ugly and big and thick and the hormone is actually in Castor oil so that's what is injected, ouch! However, a good family friend who is a nurse came over to do it for us. I was afraid if George hurt me (intentionally or not) I would get upset and be ugly to him, if someone else did it not so much. So the nurse this morning said to put the vial of oil in my pocket about an hour before injection time to warm it to body temp, it goes in more smoothly that way, then ice the area for about 10 minutes and after it's over apply heat. Tami came over and told me me to lay down so I wouldn't be putting pressure on the leg, she then proceeded to talk about how huge the needle was... not scaring me at all! But she came in, injected it before I knew it and I didn't feel a thing!!! I was so pumped, I even had to ask her if she had put it in, painless!! So one down and many, many more to go. Below is a picture of the needle, not going in, but at least you get to see how big it is:)

19 is the magic number!

2009-07-12T11:25:00.000-07:00

So here I am in bed resting after my egg retrieval this morning. Everything went really well. We got up at 5 (after not going to bed until 12 because we watched some stupid UFC fight at our neighbors, that turned out to be actually kind of entertaining... anyway) got to the doctors about 8:30 and they took me straight back and started an IV. I just want to say that everyone there is SOOOO nice, they are just the sweetest. They brought George back and showed him how to give me my inter muscular injection since we start that tonight, although he's passing the job off to a friend of ours who is a nurse (thank God!) and then we sat and waited... after about 20 minutes of George acting like a total toddler in the room, messing with my bed, trying to look under my gown, pushing buttons, you get the idea, they finally came in and gave him his cup and took me away. I went into the OR and they got me situated and I was out like a light. Then about 20 minutes later they were wheeling me back into my room. It was over in a flash. The nurse told me they got 19 eggs and I just started crying. George was like "what's wrong, are you in pain?" and the sweet nurse said "no more like relief, it's pretty typical" LOL! She was exactly right. So now we start the game of waiting. The office will call us tomorrow to tell us how many eggs fertilized and then they'll watch them grow and decide if we will transfer them back on Wednesday or Friday. Hopefully we'll have enough fertilize and grow properly that we'll be able to freeze them for some future snowbabies! I'm off to rest for now, I'm having some light cramping which is totally normal but still uncomfortable. Nothing like staying in bed on a rainy day anyway! Thanks for all of your prayers, keep em' coming cause we're not done yet!

sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY!!!

2009-07-10T11:19:00.000-07:00

So it looks like Sunday will be the day that they go in and retrieve my eggs! I went to the Dr. again this morning, 3rd time this week. I had more blood work and another ultra sound. The Dr. said my eggs look good and have progressed nicely. I'll do another shot tonight that will tell my body it's time to ovulate and then I go in on Sunday and they'll take the eggs out and fertilize them. Thanks to a little hint from Autumn (study showing better preg. rates with massage) George has agreed to buy me a massage package (I think he's just to lazy to massage me himself) so I'm going in for a massage tomorrow at 10:30 and then again the day before the transfer. Thanks Auti! Please more than every keep us in your prayers!

Egg Update;)

2009-07-07T19:35:00.000-07:00

So I had a monitoring appointment today, basically the doctor does an ultra sound to check to see how my follicles are growing. He counted between 12 and 14 and they were all good sizes. He sent me home to do 2 more days of medications and then I go back on Thursday for another ultra sound. He said everything is progressing nicely and it looks like we'll do the retrieval either Saturday or Sunday! This means that they'll go in and take the eggs out and fertilize them with George's guys and then we'll wait 3-5 days to see how they're doing, which ones fertilized, and which ones are ready to make a home in my cozy uterus! LOL! Very excited and cautiously optimistic. Please keep praying for us!!!

And here are some pictures of me getting the shots for those of you creepers who just had to see it:) LOL!

Another first...

2009-07-01T23:27:00.000-07:00

Well I started the medication tonight that is going to make many, many eggs grow so we'll have a better chance of getting that baby we so hope for. I was kinda nervous about taking it, not because it's a shot but because it's something new and seemed somewhat complicated. I was told that I need to take it at the same time each day between 7 and 9 pm. I decided 7 would be best so that's what I was going to do. By the time I actually got everything ready it was 7:30 so I guess I'll be doing it at 7:30 each day. Here's how it works. I get 5 little vials, one is a liquid and the other 4 are powder form. I take a syringe with a GIANT needle and draw out 1cc of the liquid and reconstitute it into the first powder, then I swish it around a little bit (as Ashley helped remind me) then make sure to get ALL of the liquid back out of that vial to stick into the next one, repeat 3 more times. Once I've gotten everything out of the vials I get to take that huge needle off and put on a tiny one so I don't puncture an organ when I inject it into my stomach. The first vial I wasn't that great at and Ashley took over for me to make sure I got everything out. The next couple I did okay and I got everything where it needed to be... my tummy! I had an audience, Ashley, Autie, and Alison were my cheerleaders, actually come to think of it Al and Auti were pretty dead silent until it was all over:) LOL. I loved them being there though, knowing how it all works and being part of this crazy process. I know Ash really wanted to give me that shot but I felt more comfortable doing it myself the first time. I know I'll let her before I leave, she even said she'd wait until I was too sore in the tummy then she'd be happy to do it in my arm, what an awesome sister, can't wait to inflict the pain! Just kidding, it's her nursing instincts taking over! I guess that's all for now, hopefully I'll get a picture of that big needle soon and all the meds that go into it.

Blogging Virgin!

2009-06-28T14:19:00.000-07:00

I'm going to attempt to journal this crazy ride George and I have embarked upon. I know some of you are interested in the craziness we are partaking in at the moment so I thought what better way to share our most personal, intimate moments than to send them out over the world wide web! LOL!

As all of you know we have been trying to start our family for awhile now and have just recently started the process known as IVF. That would be in-vitro fertilization for those of you hiding under a rock who have not heard the term. It is an expensive, scary process but one that we are running into head on. We want a baby that bad. Ya know, our own little person to screw up as we see fit. The first part of this process is the lovely giant bag of medications I've started taking. I'm posting a picture of said giant bag... well not actually the bag but the crap that came out of it. I was extremely overwhelmed when I first got it but I've gone through it and I'm good to go now. Right now I'm just taking the meds, they are okay, I've not had many side effects, one day of crazy hives, (they went away on their own, no anaphylactic shock or anything) I've been a little snippy, and somewhat emotional, but I guess that's to be expected since I'm pumping myself full of hormones! I'll start the meds that make my eggies grow next week and hopefully we'll be pregnant before July is over!