Trip to Atlanta

This is a 15 foot beluga whale


This is looking up at the head of a whale shark. The head is real boxy and the mouth is 4 feet wide...but the opening of the throat is only the size of a quarter!! How strange! This one was 22 feet long.



Me and my friend Alisa enjoying a Braves game


This past weekend we took a trip to Atlanta. As I approach the third trimester, we figured now would be a good time to sneak in a quick trip to relax and just get away for a while. We arrived around noon on Saturday and checked into our hotel. The hotel was right downtown so it was just a short walk to get to the Georgia Aquarium. This aquarium is fairly new and is the world's largest aquarium!! It was really cool, we saw 22 foot whale sharks, a beluga whale and tons of other sea life. After that my good friend from college, Alisa, and her husband Matt picked us up from our hotel. We went and grabbed some dinner and headed to a night Braves game. We had a great time and the Braves won! The next day, we got up and ate breakfast and headed to an afternoon Braves game. A friend of Jeremy's provided us with some great tickets, right over the Braves dugout behind first base. It was really hot that day, but with a lot of water and some occasional clouds we made it through. The Braves lost that game, but it was exciting to watch. By the time we made it back to the hotel we were exhausted, so we ate dinner at a restaurant in the hotel and relaxed in our room the rest of the night and watched the Olympics! We headed back Monday after breakfast. We had a really nice time and really enjoyed each other's company. We're really trying to enjoy our alone time, because we know in a short while that will come to an end (except of course when one of the grandmas comes and let's us have a getaway!) However, we're excited and looking forward to taking our little baby on some trips in the future!

26 weeks!

I know I sound like a broken record by now, but I can't believe I'm 6 1/2 months pregnant! Time keeps flying by and the whole thing is still so surreal to me! You'd think I'd be used to it by now, but I still can't believe I'm having a baby! Anyway, I've been feeling really good lately. I continue to feel the extra weight, mostly just when I'm working. The days I work, I'm so tired when I get home I often sit on the couch, scrubs still on and all, and immediately pass out for about 30 minutes before I can do anything else! My back and legs are a little more achy than usual, but not too bad. Otherwise, the baby continues to be very active and I love feeling he or she move so much! The picture above is of me in my "modified" scrubs. I just purchased a pair of scrub pants with a stretchy cotton waist band and I've began wearing mens undershirts as a top! Not too fashionable, but it works and is very comfy. We are so excited and thankful for our precious little baby and continue to pray the Lord's protection over me and the baby as we continue cruising through the second trimester!

24 weeks!

This past weekend marked 24 weeks! We had a doctor's appointment on Monday and everything looked great. I'm measuring right where I should be and the baby had a nice strong heartbeat. This week I go for my glucose test to make sure that's good. My only complaint these past few weeks has been raging heartburn and indigestion! Tums definitely aren't cutting it anymore, my doctor said to try some acid reducing pills. I'm quickly learning the foods I can and cannot tolerate. I've decided to give up red meat once again. During my first trimester, just the thought of if made me gag. Eventually, I got my taste back for it, and was craving hamburgers again. I definitely still love steak and burgers and other red meat dishes, but they just don't like me...they tear my stomach up!! Anyway, the baby continues to be very active. Now, I not only feel the baby from the outside but I can sit and watch my belly bounce all over the place! It's so amazing! Jeremy finally got to feel a really strong kick last night. He was so cute, he sat right up and said "Whoa!" and had this huge grin on his face! It's getting very real for both of us! We just continue to thank the Lord for our healthy baby and ask you all to pray for a continued smooth and healthy pregnancy and baby. Also, of note, we want to mention that our good friends Vince and Sara had their baby girl Marisa today! We can't wait to meet her : )

The beginnings of a nursery....

A few weeks ago, Jeremy and his brother Tanner cleared out our extra bedroom and painted the baby's room. A few days later the furniture arrived. We decided on a mint green color for the walls that matches the bedding we picked out. The bedding is a mint green and white gingham that will work for a boy or a girl. However, after the baby is born I want to make the room more girly or boyish according to what we have. We figured we could always add blue accents if it's a boy and pink or purple if it's a girl. The paint color turned out beautiful and the guys did a really great job. We love our furniture that we picked out. The crib converts to a toddler bed, a day bed and eventually the head and foot boards to a full size bed. We also got a double size dresser and hope this furniture lasts for years to come!

Girls Weekend

Jesse and Miranda's sweet baby Miller

This past weekend, Miranda, Heather and I met in Cary, NC to have a girls weekend at the Kaluka's home. We missed Sara and Stephanie, but we had a really nice time. We went Registering for my baby stuff on Friday when we got there. Since Miranda's still a fairly new mom, I'm six months pregnant and Heather is newly pregnant...you can imagine there was a lot of talk of babies going on! Saturday Jesse came and got us and took us out on the lake on Miranda's parents boat. We had a really nice time. Jesse was tearing it up on the water skiis, but unfortunately the picture above shows hows Miranda looked most of the time! Saturday night we went to the movies and got some pizza, and headed out around noon on Sunday. I'm so thankful for my friends and the time we get to spen together. It was a nice weekend to getaway and be with good girlfriends. Thank you Jesse and Miranda for having us in your home and thank you Jesse for taking the baby and giving up your house for the weekend. I look forward to the next get together!

22 Weeks!

Time is really flying...I can't believe I'm already 5 1/2 months into my pregnancy! I've been trying to work out on my treadmill on my days off. The picture above is of me right after I finished. I normally wouldn't post pictures of myself looking that way, but I just happen to pass by a mirror and I hardly recognized myself! I've really gone through a growth spurt lately, and I had to get Jeremy to take a picture of my "bigness!" It's probably not as noticeable in pictures as it is to me, but I can tell my belly's getting bigger because my belly button has hardly any indentation at all anymore! I guess the next step is for it to pop out! I'm loving every second if it though. I'm really enjoying my pregnancy and just embracing it all. I continue to feel great and I have a pretty hearty appetite! The baby is moving like crazy lately. Every day is different, some days i'll feel the baby kick and move all day long, other days especially when i'm working , i'll only feel it when i finally sit down and relax. Normally, it feels like thumps and kicks and movement, but this morning I actually felt it roll around across my belly! It's so crazy, we continue to be amazed everyday by this little one. Continue to keep us all in your prayers as our precious little one continue to grow and get even stronger!

Our niece and nephews

As most of you know, we now have one little niece and two little nephews. I love these kids so much, it's amazing that I'll love my own even more! I understand it's a different kind of love for your own children. Karli is about 15 months old, baby Thomas is almost 6 months old, and Robert is a little over 5 years old. These kids are all so beautiful and all have such different personalities. I don't get to see Thomas as much because he lives in New York, but I miss him SO much in between visits. He's so beautiful and loving, he's really a good baby. His mom, Elise, is great about keeping everyone up to date on pictures, so it's so neat to see him grow and change so rapidly. He' s such a happy little boy and can't wait to see him again soon! Karli's my little girl. She's got the face of an angel, but it's so funny to see her little personality coming out lately. She definitely gets so mad when she wants something, but she's so cuddly sometimes and has to hug and kiss you five times when you leave! I think she's half prissy and half tom-boy! She loves purses, shoes and cell phones...but she won't let herself stay pretty long! She gets her hair messed up and loves to wrestle! Little Robert is a piece of work. He's such a smart little boy and has a huge imagination. He wears his heart on his sleeve and always tells you how he's feeling. He has tons of energy and is definitely into superheroes and rock n roll these days. This boy will grow up to be either a rock star or a movie producer! In any case, we love our niece and nephews very very much and can't wait for them to meet their new little cousin!