My Progression

I'm really glad I have been taking progress pictures of my belly. It has been so much fun to watch! Anyway, here is the progression of my pregnancy so far.

14 weeks

15 weeks

16 weeks

18 weeks

20 weeks (or close to it)

24 weeks

I feel like I am growing so much more quickly now! I look back at the earlier pictures when I was so convinced I was showing. I will say that I WAS showing, but compared to what I look like now, that was nothing! I know I'll only be getting bigger.

As for the baby, she is kicking up a storm!!! I first felt her move at 14 weeks but it was really really faint. Starting at 20 weeks, I starting feeling her kick SO STRONGLY! And now, she has only gotten stronger! I can honestly see my stomach moving when she moves and Nate has even been able to feel her kick that strongly since 20 weeks! I think I just have a really strong baby and it will probably hurt toward the end. I'm just praying for no broken ribs!

Nate and I are doing well. We're both busy working. He is getting ready to start school again soon and is beginning to prepare for interviews for recruiting season this fall. We're both excited, anxious, and nervous. The next couple of months will be very very busy and will just fly by! We love this time of our lives and how we are just living so spontaneously! Life is good!

Shopping Spree!!!!

Yesterday I was finally able to go buy some maternity clothes. I have been getting bigger and bigger lately, not all my shirts are fitting anymore!! I also thought I had a stomach ache yesterday but really, my stomach muscles were just expanding! I wasn't the best feeling and getting bigger makes you feel... well... big. Anyway, my mom and step-dad are in town and they came with Nate and I to go shopping, and they were so nice to buy me 2 dresses and 2 shirts! Nate and I bought a bunch of shirts and a pair of pants and they are all SO CUTE!!! The best part of the trip was that Nate saw my huge pile of clothes that I had and decided he would come in the dressing room with me to speed up the process. So he wouldn't let me hang anything up and he had the next shirt ready for me after I had gone out and showed my parents my clothes. He didn't mind shopping when the process goes by a lot quicker and he actually had something to do rather than just sit and wait! Yea for shopping! Below are some of the outfits we bought.

Hilarious

I may be biased, but I think my baby is just down right hilarious! She isn't even born yet and she has already got loads of personality! She probably has no idea what she's doing but it seems like everything she does is intentional. Here are the reasons why...

1) Well this isn't so funny, more sweet than anything. When we went to our ultrasound and found out about her clubfeet, I was really bummed because I couldn't get a profile picture because she was facing my spine, showing us her back side. When we found out that clubfeet could be related to some spinal defects, we were so grateful that with her position we were able to get a really good look at her spine. Such a blessing in disguise because I know now that I would have been freaking out even more if we just had an "okay" view.

2)This is sweet and funny. She has been kicking up a storm! The kicks became so strong beginning in my 20th week, which let me know that she is really able to move her legs. I mean seriously, you can see my stomach moving and everything! I just really feel like she's trying to let me know that everything is going to be okay.
The funny part of this is that every time I lean forward when I am sitting down, the little girl we love so much just kicks and punches until I straighten up and give her more space... the ATTITUDE she has!! Furthermore, Nate went to hold my hand the other day and had his arm resting across my belly and she decided to kick his arm until he moved it! For some reason, this is absolutely hilarious to me. Can you imagine when she gets bigger?!! What will happen when I wear a pair of pants and she doesn't like where the waist band sits? We're going to see full on fists flying out at anything that makes her feel a little less comfortable. I might not think it's so hilarious then, but really... the attitude is great!

3) I'm pretty sure she knows where my bladder is and thinks it's funny to step, hit, or nudge it in any way. Today, I almost lost bladder control about 20 times during school. I'm just sitting there, taking my test when all of a sudden I could swear that I was going to pee my pants in front of everyone! It's like she has found a new pillow or toy that she just can't get enough of. Needless to say, I have had to make several bathroom trips to avoid any accidents that may come my way. And yes... I know it will only get worse.

Anyway, we're feeling much better about her and her situation and I feel like I can tell she has some personality already coming out. It's getting me so excited for her to be here!!

Drumroll please....

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!!!!! Haha, Nate and I are SO excited and happy to know that we have a sweet little daughter growing inside me. At first she was being really shy so the ultrasound tech kept poking at her to open her legs and finally she went spread eagle! She already has her mother and father's (mostly mother's) stubborn personality! Anyway, we weren't able to get a profile picture of her face because she was facing my back, but we did get a good look at her spine, heart, and brain and everything there looks good so far!

One thing they did find, however, was that her feet didn't develop properly. It's a condition called Clubfoot (basically her feet are turned inward). So yesterday and today we've been researching about it, and we've come across several people who had it when they were younger (including Mia Hamm, Troy Aikan, and Kristi Yamaguchi) and some friends whose baby has it now. Of course it's a concerning thing, but they did a thorough ultrasound and are pretty certain that this has only affected her feet and nothing else. It is also something that is correctable in almost all cases (especially if it is only affecting her feet). We won't know exactly what her situation will be until she is born. More than likely she'll have to go through some treatment right after she's born for a little while, and luckily they have clinics in Utah that specialize in treating it. We feel really confident that things will work out the way the Lord intends them to.

Anyway, we don't want people to feel sorry for us. More than anything, we feel sorry for our precious baby, but everyone says she won't even remember it when she is older. We also don't want people to feel like they can't talk to us about it or ask questions. We're concerned, but the last thing we want to do is avoid the situation like it doesn't exist. We love our little girl more than anything and this little trial she will have to go through just makes us love her even more. She is already such a blessing in our life and we're so grateful that the Lord is entrusting her in our hands.