Avacado Baby

On Sunday, I'll be 16 weeks along- 4 months pregnant! I get e-mails, and notifications every week or so with updates on how the baby is developing, and changes to expect in my body.

This picture came up, and made me laugh a little. Yay for Baby-Bean-Avacado-Dorr!

Belly @ 15.5 Weeks

Belly @ 15 1/2 weeks. I said I was going to do belly pictures every 2 weeks...but I gave in.

Clean White Trim

It's coming right along, and I love to come home every day (or so) and seeing all the progress that gets done while John and I are at work. Simple things like white trim around the siding, garage, and windows go a long way!

This is the first time we've hired anyone to do anything on the house (other than the total gutting of the upstairs bathroom when we bought the house...that was a MASSIVE undertaking!!). Although John misses getting his 'hands dirty' so to say, he likes being able to pick and choose which projects to spend his time on. Currently, he's working here and there on the NURSERY! We just started saying that...for a while it was the 'second guestroom'. he installed cherry hardwood floors a few weeks ago, right before family came to visit. He made (all by himself...my little carpenter) and put up wanes coating on the lower part of the walls. There is still a lot to do (painting, trim, decorations obviously...) but it's come a long way! Up until the beginning of April, the room literally had no flooring in it! John had to tear the flooring out so he could install the can lighting in the kitchen. I'll post pictures of the NURSERY in a few days or so.

For now, here are pictures of the clean white trim...

Controlling the uncontrollable

On Sunday, our pastor taught on the illusion that we are in control of our situations, when the reality is that we're only in control of our response to the situation we go through. I have heard this many time, but this time was completely different. Of course God was speaking through our pastor to me directly!

The night before, John and I just had a conversation about how I am trying too hard to control the pregnancy, and not giving it to God. I am completely aware of this weakness in me when it comes to our pregnancy.

I totally recognize that I cannot control the fate of this pregnancy, and I have a teeny, tiny, insignificant part in this whole thing. I know that if it's God's will for Baby Bean to thrive, and survive...it will happen. At the same time, I want to be a good mother, and I want to do everything I can on my end to be proactive during the pregnancy. I want to educate myself, consider the pros and cons of different tests/diagnoses, stay on top of my appointments, ask the doctor questions and get clear answers, and everything in between. I'm not one of those people who throws her hands up in the air, and says..'Well, it is what it is...what can I do about it?'

With all of that said, me not giving God control is a pride issue, which is translated into sin. Me not trusting God that He will sustain this pregnancy, and give John and I a healthy baby is a sin, and I want to stay far away from that! The more I focus on me wanting everything to work, and my part in making everything work- the less I focus on God's will, timing, and plan for John and I.

I am constantly praying for God to help me trust Him, allow him to change my anxiety into excitement, and that ultimately our story can be a witness to others of God's faithfulness.

Siding makes everything better

Since the last post, a few days ago, the second front window has been installed and more siding! Give it a few more days, and the dormer windows and siding will be done too! Yay for progress!

The Belly Book

My best friend Katey bought this pregnancy journal when she was pregnant with her daughter, Rae. She loved it, but I think I loved it even more! It was so fun when we visited to look through her pregnancy journal, and see all her ultrasounds by week, read about major milestones, and get to peek into the special 'details' of her pregnancy.

The book breaks your pregnancy into the three trimesters, and designates certain pages for you to put belly pics, ultrasound pics, write about hearing the heartbeat for the first time, journal about cravings, write about how you told your partner you were pregnant, and lots more.

I decided that when John and I became pregnant again, I would buy the same pregnancy journal. I waited until I was out of my first trimester to buy the book (as I did with many things: not reading baby or maternity articles, not allowing myself to look at any baby 'stuff' and so on...) I bought this book on Amazon about two weeks ago, and it's been SO much fun to journal in along the way, about the BIG and LITTLE things.

I'm hoping it's something fun for people to flip through when they come by the house to hang out, to show family and friends from out of town who haven't had a chance to hear the 'details' about the pregnancy, and ultimately...to show Baby Bean when he/she is old enough to appreciate it!

By the way- this would make a GREAT gift to give a spouse, friend, or family member after finding out their pregnant! Many people don't even know these cute little journals are out there, and would probably love a simple place to 'house' all their thoughts.

Even more attractive from the street...

Front of the house

Front of the house again

NEW window on first level

OLD window on first level

View from the street...Y-I-K-E-S !

I came home from work today, and saw the front of my house a complete disaster. It's all good though, because the new windows are being put in, and siding is going up! It's pretty UN-attractive from the street, but give it a few more days/weeks...and it'll be a totally different story.

The front two windows (on the bottom level) are a larger size than the ones we had before on the house. John chose this because when the front porch is built on, it won't look so awkward. Larger windows meant cutting into the sheet rock- a.k.a. big mess. All of the other new windows going in are the size, which makes for no mess, and still a beautiful improvement on what was there.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the end product: new windows in every room, new custom trim around each window, new front porch off the house, new front door, new french door going to the back deck, new garage door (already done), new roof (already done), and new chimney (already done).

Heartbeat

I got to hear the heartbeat today at my 14 week appointment. I didn't cry...although I thought I would. It was such a cool sound. The doctor moved my doppler around a little to (shake things up a bit in my belly), and we got to hear the baby kicking, and moving around. She said that if we go by wives tales...it's girl (because the heartbeat was fast), but I don't know...something is actually telling John and I that Baby Bean is a boy. In about a month, we'll find out!

Belly @ 14 weeks

Many people have asked for 'belly pictures'...so here is the first one. My good friend Jen took belly pics every 2 weeks, and it was so cool to see the progression of her belly getting bigger! I'm going to try and do that- belly pics every two weeks.

Birthday on the Beach

All the boys

Claire, Katey, Stew, and Matt

Angela, myself, and Danielle

John and I

Matt, Daniel, and David

We celebrated Jon Lancour's 30th birthday on the beach with a bunch of friends.

It was so great to chill on the beach with friends, tiki torches, sand, and the waves in the background. Things have been pretty busy lately, so it was GREAT being able to hang out with everyone! John and I always feel so blessed to have great friends we can share good times, and laugh with.

Easter (just a few weeks late...)

John built a fort for the kids out of couch cushions, and blankets. Sam used John's headlight to explore...it was so cute!

Sam bossing Rebecca around...probably something to do with how the eggs will be counted.

Stella loved Kaya's crate!

Getting ready with their Easter baskets.

Kaya and Stella enjoying the view

My whole side of the family came down for Easter, and we had a really good time! This was the first time my brother, sister-in-law, and their two kids have ever been down, and the first time the whole family has been down all at once. I wasn't able to get a lot of pictures, but here are the one's I was able to get.

To, Leah...Love, God

I saw this verse on another blogger's blog today. Although I've read this many times before, and seen it on plaques in baby rooms...today's interpretation was different.

It's like God wrote me a verse...

' I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him.' ~ 1 Samuel 1:27

Ant Invasion

How gross is this?!

This is only after like an hour of the gel being on these little cardboard tabs!!

About two weeks ago, John and started seeing a few ants here and there on the stretch of counter tops where the sink is in the kitchen. I went looking for Terro brand ant traps, but couldn't find them, and settled for a different brand. No big deal.

A few days later, they appeared in the dishwasher...gross! I had to douse the ants in a Clorox/water solution. It helped for a little bit, but then the ants came back! John took the dishwasher apart, and we found ants in the dryer vent in the dishwasher (weird)! While we had company, it was a HUGE pain in the neck, and we found ourselves running the dishwasher everyday, just to keep the ant down. (The ant traps clearly weren't working.)

I called Katey to remind me of the brand, which is Terro, and bought them this morning. It's a different way of killing the ants: you put a little drop of this gel ant killer on these little cardboard tabs, the ants eat the gel, bring it to their colonies, and all the ants die! I remember this working great last year when we had ants, so I was anxious to try it again.

I put the tabs, and gel down about two hours ago and it's creating an ANT INVASION already! Oh my goodness! I had to take pictures of it because it's pretty amazing how many came out of where ever they've been hiding.

The next step...

I announced a few days ago that John and I are expecting a baby in October...and so far, all of our appointments and ultrasounds have been great! I still experience some amount of anxiety, doubt, and stress surrounding the pregnancy. Many people (including the doctors) have said that getting through the first trimester is HUGE, and that the chance of miscarrying is much lower, but...there is still a chance. I knew someone who went in for her 20 week appointment, and expecting to find out the sex of the baby that day, instead, they found out that she had miscarried. I know it's rare, but I'm sure my friend didn't think she'd be in that tiny percentage.

I guess the next step is to continue to pray continually (which I feel like I'm always doing!!) for Baby Bean, and his/her development. I am doing everything I can on my end to ensure a healthy 'home' for Baby Bean- taking my prenatal vitamins, finishing up the last of the progesterone hormones, eating well, and resting when I can...the rest is up to God!

If you feel lead, we would so appreciate your prayers throughout this entire pregnancy!

Prayer for the following:

* For a healthy baby to develop
* Good news at each appointment/ultrasound
* Peace for both John and I in between appointments
* More energy for Leah (the pregnancy and meds have been wiping me out!!)
* Allowing excitement to overcome Leah, instead of fear and nervousness

We'll continue to keep you posted along the way. Our next appointment is in about 3 1/2 weeks. We'll get to hear the baby's heartbeat, and they'll measure my belly.

Meet Baby Bean...

Happy Daddy!!

Baby Bean @ 12 weeks

Baby Bean @ 10 weeks

Baby Bean @ 8 weeks

Baby Bean @ 7 weeks

Baby Bean @ 6 weeks

We are SO excited to share our good news: we're pregnant, and I'm due October 14th! I'm a little over 12 weeks along, and things are going really well :-) Here are our ultrasounds up to this point: