Happy New Years Eve

I cant believe this is the last day of 2006... what a ride it has been to say the very least!

We had a great past few days... after the unplanned trip to the doctor and day off of my feet I felt a lot better. Dont want to have to rehydrate with that much Gatorade again anytime soon though! Friday night we had our friends Carey and Zach with his little girl Kya, Mike, Gene and Megan over to hang out. It was a great time... we just sat around and watched football and caught up since it had been awhile since the last time we had seen most of them. Megan and Gene brought us this beautiful angel statue for the baby's room... we have it sitting on her bookshelf right now. It was so nice of them to bring it for us. Allie had a great time running around playing with Kya until it was her bedtime.. then she kept going into the guest room to check on her! It was so cute... she is going to be such a great big sister for Madalyn (once she gets over the original shock of not being the only baby in the house anymore!)

Yesterday we got to have a lazy day where we did basically nothing all day... it was the first time in awhile that we have had one of those. Later in the afternoon we went out to Publix and bought some crab legs and oysters and came back to the house and had Shawn's brother and his friend over for dinner and more football watching. It was great... perfect weather to fire up the grill and cook outside. I even particpated in eating some of the seafood...

Hope everyone has a happy and safe new years eve!

A little scare

Well we had a little scare today... last evening I started having some cramps and was really uncomfortable. I figured it wasn't anything to worry about, so I went to bed. But when I woke up this morning I still didnt feel right, so I called Shawn's mother. She said I might be dehydrated and that can trigger preterm labor, which was probably what all the cramping was related to. So she recommended I head over to the doctors office. I went over there and they were able to fit me in right away, so we could check everything out. I wasn't dilated at all but my cervix was a little soft, so they put me on the fetal monitor to see if I was having any contractions. I got to lay there for about half an hour and listen to her heartbeating... no real contractions, so he said I was fine to go home and drink LOTS of Gatorade because he thinks I am probably a little dehydrated. So Im on bed rest for the day... sitting on the couch being bored. But he seems to think everything will be fine once I get my electrolytes back to normal.

So it was a little scare... but I feel MUCH better knowing that she is fine! I hate to feel like I was worried for nothing, but I would hate it even more if I ignored what my body was trying to tell me and put her into danger!

While I was there they called and checked on my Glucola test, and my sugars came back okay! My doctor still wants me to watch my carb intake but at least I wont have to check my sugars 4 times a day!

Glucola screening, take two!

This morning I had my second glucola screening, which meant nothing to eat after 7 last night. Normally I wouldnt even eat after that anyways, but something about not being allowed to eat makes you hungry! I planned to get up at 7 am today and head to the lab... but didnt actually make it there until 10 am. Big mistake. I knew I would be starving by 1, which I was. They drew my blood 4 times... and almost forgot the last one (it should have been done at 1:25) so I had to remind them... and they drew it at 1:45. Not such a big deal to them, but pregnant ladies arent meant to fast for that long. I think I could have eaten paper by the time I left there. I should have brought some food to have in the car, but wasnt that smart! Now I have to wait until Friday to get the results back. I actually got a LOT accomplished while I waited for my blood to be drawn... updated my whole address book and make a bunch of wedding related phone calls, so it really was a productive day when it came down to it.

Apparently October is a popular wedding month here.... so its been hard coordinating everything on the date we want! Luckily I am up for the challenge right now, with not much else going on in my life (the calm before the storm!)

Yesterday we went to visit Brian and Kristi in the hospital... Kristi is another female firefighter who works for the city of Newberry and she just had a baby boy Kole Roberts on Christmas Eve. He is so adorable! She had lots of advice for me, which is really nice... and the best thing about Kristi is that she doesnt sugar coat things and can tell me how bad contractions really hurt! She ended up having an emergency C Section after his heartrate started dropping.... but she said that as fearful as she was about having a C section, she would do it again in a heartbeat because its way less painful than labor! At least it eased my C section fears a little bit! I think seeing Kole actually here made it all the more realistic that soon we are going to have a little one of our own! Kristi was 14 weeks ahead of me in her pregnancy... so its hard to believe than in 14 or 15 weeks Madalyn will be here! 3 and a half months seems so far, but when you think of the weeks it isnt far at all!

I am very quickly coming to the end of my second trimester, which really is the "honeymoon phase" of pregnancy. I can already see where the third becomes more uncomfortable. My belly is getting HUGE (I will post belly pics soon... I PROMISE!) and its hard to get comfortable at night. I cant wait until we find our rocking chair... because then I can go sit in her room on all those sleepless nights and remind myself that it will all be worth it in the end! :)

Merry Christmas 2006

Our Christmas has been so wonderful! Since I had to work today we ended up doing most of the celebrating on Saturday and Sunday. The best part of the weekend was early Saturday morning when we first woke up and Madalyn was kicking me... finally hard enough for Shawn to feel. He felt her kick several times, and then could see in my belly where she would make it move when she kicked! It was so amazing to be able to share it with him after all these weeks of him not being able to feel her.

What a whirlwind weekend we had! Saturday morning my parents came and spent the day with Shawn and I. Mom took me shopping (we havent done that in ages!) and we left the men at home watching movies. While we were gone Shawn and Dad finished the hutch for the changing table and put it up... what a great surprise! When we came home we watched the basketball game for awhile, then Jenna, Brad and Savannah came over for presents. It was wonderful getting to see my neice open all of her presents... she loved the play money piggy bank we bought her and she kept banging all of the plastic coins together. She has grown up so much in the last month since i saw her!

After dinner my parents and I headed to Cabana Cove for dinner, then came home and opened our presents. My parents bought me a photo printer... so now I can overwhelm everyone with baby pictures just as soon as I take them! :) They bought Shawn a new tool chest which he absolutely LOVED, and a remote control so we could eliminate having 5 remotes just to operate the TV!! It is really nice and programmable.... right up his alley. He loved them so much... and my Dad had a great time picking out little trinkets for Shawn's toolbox. It is so special to me to have a family that has welcomed Shawn and his family as they have.

The next morning we had Shawn's parents over for breakfast and opened presents with them and we got a DVD video camera! So we can make lots of home movies of the baby... it was so exciting! We had planned to go to Orlando that afternoon, but our plans changed so my parents went home to meet Brad and Jenna and we had Shawn's family over for dinner and a movie last night. It was a great Christmas Eve.... and so wonderful to spend time with our families. Shawn's mother even bought something pink for the baby... guess she is finally starting to believe she is going to have a granddaughter!

Allie had a great time opening her presents and got lots of toys to play with. I think her sheep is her new favorite....

Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Cups of Coffee

A MAYONNAISE JAR AND 2 CUPS OF COFFEE

When things in your life seem almost too much too
handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough,
remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in
front of him.

When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty
mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked
the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and
poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly.
The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the
golf balls. He then asked the students again if the
jar was full they agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.
Of course, the sand filled up
everything else. He asked once more if the jar was
full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and
poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty
space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided,
"I want you to recognize that this jar represents
your life. The golf ball s are the important things-
your God, family, your children, your health, your
friends, and your favorite passions--things that if
everything else was lost and only they remained your
life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house,
and your car.

The sand is everything else -- the small stuff.

If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued,
"there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.
The same goes for life. If you spend all your time
and energy on the small stuff, you will never have
room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to ..nyour
happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get
medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner.
Play another 18. There will always be time to clean
the house and fix the disposal."

Take care of the golf balls first -- the things that
rea lly matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just
sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee
represented.

The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just
goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's
always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

Glucola Screening

So this morning as I sit at my deck (I hate saying my desk! I hate light duty!) I get a call from my doctors office saying that I failed my Glucola test and that my sugar was 152 and 130 is the highest they can accept as "normal." So next week I have to go in for the 3 hour test.... which means sitting there and drinking that nasty stuff again and constantly getting my blood redrawn. The nurse said its not too much to worry about because I hadnt fasted before the first test.... but I HAD fasted, so I would get a more accurate result. So that makes it a little more worrisome...

And on top of that Im anemic! I expected to be, because I have been exhausted lately and doing small things wipes me out. So Im not at all surprised I have to start taking iron supplements.... just one more pill for me to have to swallow. They have to be taken 2 hours after a meal, and I need to make sure Im getting enough Vitamin C to help me absorb the iron.

Im honestly not really stressed about if I have gestational diabetes... just frustrated because i try to eat healthy and for the first time in my life I feel like my body is turning on me (probably because of dealing with my knee on top of all this!) If I have it, I have it... it just means I have to be even more careful about what I eat... and that really is not a big deal. It just means better meal planning and packing food when I come to work. I know it wont hurt her, and my doctor wont let me deliver vaginally if there is a chance it wont be safe for me or for her.... just my biggest pregnancy fear is having a C section and if I have GD it will increase the likelihood that I may need one. I think thats the biggest worry that I have.

I think I will go for the test next week. I wanted to go Tuesday because at least then Shawn could keep me company, but unfortunately they are closed so I will be sitting there by myself for 3 hours. Maybe I can bring a pillow and a blanket and take a nap!

Madalyn Jean's room

The baby's room is coming along! When we see Grandma and Grandpa Hill this weekend they are bringing the hutch to go on top of her changing table, and we will be ordering the crib shortly after Christmas. Now we are on the hunt for the perfect chair! I cant wait to get the hutch all put up because then we can start putting her books and her stuffed animals away. Tonight Shawn and I put up the wallpaper border.... no easy task, let me tell you! I know if he didnt love me so much he would have said "screw it" halfway through because it was such a pain! But its all finished now and looks great!

And he is out back putting up even MORE Christmas lights... though these are blue icicles that hang from the fence that I think we will leave up all year because they look so good!

Looks like more light duty

So today had my recheck at the doctors for my knee and he was much better than the first doctor that I saw. But he didnt have good news... He thinks I possibly have some torn cartilage, which basically means a torn meniscus... but wants an MRI to be sure. I would need surgery to fix it... but no surgeon will want to operate on me being pregnant. So... leave there with the idea that I am going for an MRI to figure out exactly what we are looking at... but then get a call back that the MRI place wont do one while I am pregnant. Long story short, still on light duty, and looks like for awhile because noone can do anything for until Madalyn is born, but cant come back to work until my knee is better. So this is my new home (scheduling) for now. It sucks... I want to be on the road so badly... and this is so boring. I am trying to see the bright side here... which I guess I feel better because the doctor said there was something wrong and Id rather think there is something wrong then think that Im feeling pain for no reason!

So anyways, light duty for me for the time being.

Allie has been a bad dog lately... she decided she wanted to sleep on a fluffy cloud bed and pulled all of the stuffing out of her bed while she was in her crate. So now she gets to sleep on the metal because Im not going to buy her another bed until she grows out of her destructive phase! She looked so guilty when she was caught...that it was almost cute. Almost. Then I remembered how much money her bed was! At nights we have been letting her sleep with the crate not locked and she always comes to sleep on the side of the bed that I am on until about midway through the night when she goes to the guest room and sleeps on that bed! in the mornings we find her all curled up with her head on a pillow.... she is so spoiled! Yesterday I was trying to wrap presents and I had a phone call while in the middle of wrapping hers (yes, I wrap dog presents!) and I came back to the room and she had decided she wanted to test out one of the presents and was standing there playing with it. I dont think she quite understood the concept of waiting until Christmas!

Cant believe how close Christmas is.... its right around the corner! My family is coming up Saturday and I think Saturday night we are going to have our exchange of presents... then brunch with Shawn's family and mine Sunday morning, then that afternoon we will head to Orlando to have dinner with Jeff, Casey and Josh Swanson... then back to Gainesville because both Shawn's mother and I have to work on Monday! It will be busy but it will be nice to be able to see the whole family in two days!

Guess I should head to bed (good thing about light duty... not wondering how many calls I will have tonight.... just have to be up at 0600 for scheduling...) I have to go get blood drawn for my first Glucola test in the morning... and all I have heard is horror stories about how nasty the stuff is!

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Another day, another dollar...

Well today is my first official day of light duty... and totally not baby related. According to the GENIUS workmans comp doc in a box I have a sprained left knee. Which he could tell without even looking at it... must be MRI vision or something. So I am on light duty today and will go back Tuesday for a recheck in the morning and see what they have to say.... fun huh? I am also going for my glucola screening Tuesday morning as well... will just get up early, drink the nasty looking stuff, go get blood drawn then head to the doctor. If he clears me for work then I get to go back on the road... if not, I get to head to HQ for some paperwork, then back to St 16 for scheduling again. FUN! My OB doc is still letting me work for now, so I feel like I am using up my last time on the road by being off for my knee which sucks!

I am amazed at how busy Miss Madalyn is these days! She is kicking up a storm... it is such a great feeling. Its like she is playing in there or something. Last evening before we went out I was laying on the bed and Shawn came over and kissed me on the stomach and as soon as he touched me she kicked him! It was so cute, like she was saying "hi" to her Daddy. He didnt feel it though, but every time he touched my stomach for like 15 minutes she would kick! I just know that she is going to be a Daddy's girl... and I know that he will spoil her rotten! One of these days I will scan the most recent ultrasound picture that I have and get it on here....

Tomorrow is Christmas shopping day... I think we are going to head out early to try to beat the crowds. Ha ha ha... Im sure they will already be there! I want more than anything to get all of the Christmas presents bought and wrapped tomorrow... I certainly hope that isnt too lofty of a goal!

Some of my girlfriends are planning to throw an engagement party for Shawn and I... plans are still early in the works, but we are probably going to have it January 14th.... so i am super excited about being able to get everyone together and celebrate all of the happy things going on in our lives!

Here's our stroller!

Well we finally found the stroller Monday after my doctors appointment, which has been no easy feat as the only pattern that I like is now discontinued.... but when we walked into Toys R Us to do some Christmas shopping I found a brand new pattern that I fell in love with... so we snatched it up. So we are now chair shopping because thats the last big purchase that we need to make...

Still a girl!

We had our 23 week doctors appointment yesterday and our ultrasound and she's still a Madalyn Jean! I wasnt worried about it, but the night before I DID have a dream we had a boy that had only pink clothes! :) But this ultrasound definitely confirmed it. And the amniotic band has moved to the side of my uterus, well out of her way... so hopefully she will not have any problems with it. I will still be getting ultrasounds from here on out... which is so neat to see her grow! She looks like a little baby now... and during the ultrasound she was sleeping with her arm over her face like it was too bright for her to sleep! I wonder if she will do that when she is born....

Madalyn is 1 pound, 4 ounces right now and is measuring exactly where she should be. They are still saying her due date is Friday April 13th... and she is so active. I was surprised she slept during the ultrasound because usually she kicks me all day and all night. Her kicks arent quite strong enough for Shawn to feel... partly I think because she is shy and whenever he puts his hand on my belly she stops kicking!


We went and bought our stroller yesterday... which was a great find! I had fallen in love with a pattern that they discontinued and have been on the prowl for that pattern. But we went to Toys R Us last night and they had a brand new pattern called Kendall which is so much cuter than the other one! I fell in love with it... and they had the exact stroller I wanted so we bought it. It was a huge purchase to make... but Im glad we have it, and now have all the big ticket baby items except for the baby monitor and the rocking chair. The stroller is grey with light blue and lavendar and light green plaid... its so cute and good for a boy or a girl (so we can save it for the next one!)

And now we are all registered at North Florida and will be scheduling our childbirth classes soon as well. Its so exciting! I think we are going to take all the classes... childbirth, baby care and breastfeeding.... so it should be very informative.

The other exciting news of the day... Shawn called a little while ago and had gotten a call from Shands... I am hoping to set up an interview! So we are keeping our fingers crossed as far as that is concerned. It is in the financial affairs department, so he will be dealing with people AND money so it will hopefully be a little more exciting for him than just the banking and money end of it.


On a somewhat sad note, Allie's toy squirrel offically passed away a few days ago... his arm was ripped off in a traumatic wrestling incident and all of his insides were ripped out. Luckily Publix has a stockpile of squirrels, so we were able to find her a new friend right away!

We're Engaged!

Well.... it's official! As of last night, Shawn and I are engaged! And the best part of the whole thing... (well other than the fact that the man I love asked me to be his wife of course!) is that he surprised me, which is no easy task! I was completely unsuspecting... even though we had talked about rings and what I liked and disliked, it wasnt something I was expecting any time soon...

We had a great day yesterday... went Christmas shopping, which also turned into use buying some things that we needed for the house so we just browsed the stores all day. When we came home we showered and changed and went to dinner at Los Margaritas (where we went on our first date!) and then came home before we had to head up to Gators Dockside for Liz's birthday party. I wanted to lay down for a little while and relax before we went back out, so Shawn let Allie out and came back into our room and lit a candle and put on this classical music CD we have and we were just laying there talking. He gave me a massage and I was almost asleep when he asked "how much do you love me?" I told him that I love him more than I ever thought it was possible to love someone, which is the Gods honest truth. I had turned my head away and he asked me if I thought I love him enough to marry him. I said of course I did, still completely unsuspecting... but when I looked back at him he was holding the box with the ring. I was like "are you kidding me?!" Then he asked me to be his wife.... and it was beautiful! Of course I said yes... and I was in shock to say the least! The ring is beautiful... exactly what I wanted.... and I don't think I have ever been happier in my life.

The ring is too big right now (he didnt have it sized because Im sure my fingers will be swollen later in pregnancy) so we went to the mall to get a ring guard and then were running late to Liz's party so we went there... and I didnt want to tell everyone because it was her 30th birthday... but of course some people noticed, so we told them we werent going to make a big deal about it until today because it was Liz's night.

So now we have to pick a date and think about all that... and look in to how we can have a small wedding but still be able to include all of our friends and family that are important to us. I think I am still in shock... I really can't believe we are engaged!

Pictures

Here are some recent pictures.... one of our tree, some of the outside lights, Allie next to the tree, and one of my holding Savannah before she opened the ornament that Shawn and i bought her...


 

Getting ready for Christmas...

Well I know it seems like so far away.... but I always try to kick off the holiday season right away. Especially since I am working on Christmas Day... I feel like I will miss out on the big day, so I want to start early! And I have to admit... last year I was hardly in the Christmas spirit... complete with me carrying my tree fully decorated (except for the few special ornaments that I have) down to the curb the morning after Christmas!Which I had totally forgotten about until yesterday when I got everything out and there were no tree lights, garland and ornaments! So Shawn and I went shopping for which he totally deserves sainthood for.... and braved the crowds to get our ornaments and Christmas tree. The tree is decorated blue and white and silver... so we can combine both out Catholic and Jewish holidays. It looks beautiful, and so far Allie has only stared at the lights, not bothered with the tree at all. In fact, yesterday we heard an ornament shatter and went running expecing to find her starily guiltily at the tree.... but she was actually sleeping in her crate and the casualty was in fact my fault for not securing the ornament well enough to the tree!

Shawn, in good Clark Griswold tradition, started putting some lights up outside the house, and they look beautiful. We also put out our stockings and bought a small one for Allie.... so we are basically ready for the holidays. While shopping yesterday we started thinking about the future Christmases.... where we will be buying bikes and dollhouses and wrapping them from "Santa"..... and we were both so excited about the baby! It reminded me of all of the happy Christmas memories from my family growing up.... which were such wonderful thoughts. It is so exciting to be able for Shawn and I to establish our own holiday traditions for our family.

Thanksgiving was great.... my family was able to come up for dessert with Shawn's family, and Jenna and Brad brought Savannah up so she got to meet Shawn's nephew Josh. We had a great time, then yesterday morning Shawn made a huge breakfast and we had both of our parents over to eat. We showed them the ultrasound video of the baby and just hung out together for a few hours.... and had a great time. I think our parents get along really well... which definitely makes things a lot easier for Shawn and I! So altogether we had a great holiday surrounded by our family and friends.... and it was really a good time.

Today is the FSU game... so GO GATORS!

Thankfulness

Well its the night before Thanksgiving, and I am working... but luckily it has been a not too busy day. Which I greatly appreciate, because I have been able to get caught up on a lot of paperwork and all. I thought this might be a good oppportunity to think and reflect on all of the things that I have to be thankful for. There are so many.... but here are a few that come to mind.

FAMILY
I am so glad to have a family as wonderful as mine. I am incredibly greatful to have people that I can call whenever I need someone, who are always there for me, and who are able to share in the excitement of my pregnancy. My sister has been a wonderful source of information, and seeing her yesterday reminded me how exciting it is going to be to be a mother. I am so thankful that we all have our health and our happiness, and I am incredibly proud to be able to say that my family is amazing. I love how close I am with my parents, and I am so thankful that I have such an open, honest relationship with them. I am also so glad for Shawn's family, who has welcomed myself and my family into theirs, and who are so excited in anticipation of the new baby. It is wonderful to have them so close that we can see his parents and brother Ben often, and his other brother and family arent too far away in Orlando.

SHAWN
There are no words to express how thankful I am to have found a man as wonderful as him to be both my future husband and the father of my baby. No matter what I need, he is there to provide it, and yet he challenges me in a way that no one in the past ever has. He has taught me what it is to trust again, and what it is to be able to just "be" with someone and be truly happy. I can honestly say that I have never met someone who I have loved as much as I love him... and it is the best feeling to know that he loves me back without complication. We have been through so much together, and no matter what we know that we have each other. He is a constant source of inspiration for me, and I am so proud to have him as a part of my life. I know he will be an amazing husband and an even better father, and I am so thankful that he was brought into my life at a time where we were both ready to try out a relationship again.

FRIENDS
This year has been a difficult one for many of my friends, and we have all been though some trying times. It is with true sincerity that I say that I have the utmost admiration for my friends.... as they have shown me strength that I have never thought possible. My friends have also taught me that family does not necessarily have to be related by blood.... and I do consider many of my friends to be my brothers and my sisters. I have seen an incredible amount of selflessness from my friends and this has inspired me in many ways to do all that I can for those around me. It has also taught me to be nonjudgemental... and sometimes that the first impressions of people may be way off from their true character.

I know there is much much more to be thankful for that I am sure will occur to me later.... but for now these are the things I am thinking of. I am also thankful that so far I have had a relatively uneventful pregnancy... and now that I feel the baby move it reminds me of the exciting journey that Shawn and I have ahead of us. The baby is so active... whenever I sit down for a few minutes there she is, kicking me and swimming around. It is the strangest feeling... the other morning I just laid in bed and giggled every time she kicked... and I cant wait for her kicks to be strong enough for Shawn to be able to feel them. Every time I feel her is like a remider of this little person that is growing inside of me that will one day very soon be our daughter Madalyn. I am so thankful for this wonderful gift of motherhood that has been given to me....

Introducing....

Introducing Madalyn Swanson... due April 13, 2007. She is 18 weeks, 6 days here and has lots of fun sucking her thumb and jumping on my bladder!

Baby girl Swanson

I will post pictures soon I promise... especially if Shawn gets to his parents to scan them and email them to me. Otherwise it will be tomorrow before they are posted. I have a video of the ultrasound but so far have been unable to actually figure out how to get it onto Youtube. So if anyone out there knows how to convert video files, please let me know! I would LOVE to figure it out... especially for when we have baby videos to post later on.

So my doctor actually came for my ultrasound.... he wanted to see if the Swansons were finally going to have a girl in the family! It was nice having him there so he could actually see her and not just get the report later on. This will be the first girl in Shawn's family... they have boy cousins, nephews and brothers... so I am sure she will be spoiled rotten. (Her Daddy will make sure of that!) Just as I suspected she was misbehaving... was sitting in my uterus with her legs crossed so it took almost half an hour before we could get a shot of her girl parts! Then she decided to take a nap and slept for a bit before the tech shook my belly to wake her up to try and see what she was. So uncooperative! Not that I expected anything else from this child... Jenna's baby is just like me as an infant... so I am certain I will have a baby Jenna.... a darling infant and a terrible toddler!

The ultrasound looked good... she is measuring right where she needs to be, which is what Ive worried about because I havent kept a whole lot of food down. Ive only gained one pound since my last visit... and I had actually lost a bunch since I became pregnant. She is 10 ounces... so she is pretty much the only extra weight I have right now. But its nice not to have to worry about all of the stuff that goes along with gaining too much weight. And my blood pressure was good.... so far, things are looking great. I did have what my doctor called an "amniotic band" which apparantly is very common... just scar tissue in my uterus that hopefully will just snap when my uterus expands more. Its kind of like a rubber band, and is no big deal as long as she doesnt get tangled up in it. He told me not to worry about is, so I will trust him. But I do get another ultrasound next month and probably every month until she is born... which will be neat to see her grow.

During the scan she was using my bladder as a trampoline, which was so funny because I suspected she might have done that! Whenever I sit for long periods of time I have to go to the bathroom so bad, regardless of if I have had anything to drink. She also sucked her thumb and was turning somersaults. The tech and my doctor are positive she is a girl... there are the telltale 3 little lines (which he called hamburger and buns.... gross!) in all of the pictures.

As far as names are concerned we are going to name her Madalyn for sure... just working on a middle name. I think we will call her Maddie for short... it is so exciting to see this little person growing inside of me that already has such a personality! Its like it isnt just a "smudge" anymore (though I think that nickname will stick!) and is actually our daughter. I have never ever seen Shawn so excited as he was yesterday... he called everyone and told them it was a girl. He will be such a great Daddy. : ) We went to the mall and went baby shopping... not that she will need much clothes as we have already inherited some of Savannah's but we wanted to buy something pink... so we bought the most adorable little dress with little pink flowers on it and a little white and pink onesie with rosebuds on it. I think Shawn would have bought everything pink if he could have!

Hopefully my next post will be pictures....

Baby....

- Get Your Own

New Allie Pictures

Allie's pet squirrel. She loves to play with her newest toy! Allie is now 7 months old and is quite the little entertainer!

Boy or Girl Smudge?

Well tomorrow is the BIG day... when we find out whether we are shopping pink or blue (HOPEFULLY!) I am sure the baby will be misbehaving! :) I still don't have that "mother's intuition" about boy or girl. I have had a few baby dreams and then it is a girl, but mostly I think it has been a girl in the dreams because the baby I am closest to is Savannah, so when I think baby I think of a girl. I dont know though... and I really dont care what it is as long as it is a healthy baby and I have a healthy pregnancy! Shawn swears it is a girl, I think because there are no girls in his family... he has 3 brothers and both of his nephews have been boys. But there are no boys in my family... I have a sister and a neice. We will see.... I'd love to hear feedback on what everyone thinks it is! :)

Smudge's first concert

Last night we went to see Sister Hazel and Hootie and the Blowfish at the ODome... so it was officially Baby Swanson's first concert. I think baby (and mommy to be) had enough of it pretty early though... we left about 45 minutes into Sister Hazel's show because I was so exhausted and had to work today.

It seems the morning sickness is back with a bang. I had about 5 good weeks... and then welcome back nausea and vomiting. I almost puked on a patient today! Luckily I was able to call Mama Swanson and she had some great advice, and my doctor called in some Zofran for me so I am all taken care of now (hopefully!) I have tried the medicine because by the time I got it, the morning sickness had passed. But at least I am prepared for next Monday at work now. I am so lucky to have people looking out for me... and it doesnt hurt to have an OB doc in the family!

We are headed to the Gator game tomorrow... I will be sitting in the Champions Club with Jenna and Shawn will be with Brad and Chris Martin out in the stands. Im so excited I get to play with Savannah (and maybe return her toys from the last Gator game I saw with her... Allie kept stealing them and taking them outside in the dirt.) Then hopefully we will get to drive out to Crystal River for dinner with my parents.... so looks like I may get to see the whole family in the same day, which I dont think has happened for a very long time!

The Longest Hour

This past week was absolutely surreal to me. One of my friends was on trial for attempted murder, and while it certainly seemed to everyone that it was in self defense.... it was hard to leave that decision up to a jury. I have always believed in the American Justice system, but I feel now that it has failed a very dear friend of mine. When the judge returned the verdict of guilty, i felt as if i could not catch my breath. Noone had anticipated this verdict, even under the worst of circumstances. We had all thought maybe he would be in prison for 3-5 years for assault charges.... but attempted murder is a completely different ballgame.

This week I saw another side of my friends. I saw their strength in times of turmoil. I saw how people who may not know each other extremely well can come together when they are needed, and who now share a bond that we will never forget. Friday night as we all sat around on my porch and talked about our friend and the trial there was an entire range of emotions. There was laughter as we remembered the good times, sadness as we remembered the bad, fear as we thought about how badly we needed each other and he had noone.... and thankfulness that we were all able to be there for each other. We cant reach out to our friend right now, but we can pray for him and hope that somehow he knows that we love him and are thinking of him.

I have never been extremely religious... but I have always believed that no matter what tragedy comes before you that if you were not strong enough deep down to deal with it, then it would not have been presented to you in the first place. We all need to learn from these experiences. I know love, and I know true friendship. I have seen the unconditional love that a father has for his son, when he says he would gladly trade places with him in that jail cell without a moments thought. I have seen a mother trying to pick up the pieces and get everything in order.

Myself, I have learned that sometimes tears arent the answer. Shawn and I went through this together, and as this was the friend who introduced us in the first place, it is hard to think of our lives moving forward without him as a part of them. I saw his strength in this sad time, and saw how he was able to comfort his guy friends. He told me how proud he was of me, for enotionally being strong and being there for our friend's girlfriend... and that meant a great deal to me. I feel like we have grown tremendously as a couple through this ordeal... and that gives me hope that we can weather anything brought upon us.

I know that my friend knows how much we love him, and I pray that God will grant him the strength to get him through this.

I get knocked down...

Ever feel like you just cant get ahead? I do, especially today. I really have tried to put 100% of myself into the things that I do... and sometimes I feel like it isnt worth it. I wanted more than anything to be a Firefighter Paramedic. I remember calling my parents and telling them that I wanted to take a break from school to pursue fire rescue as my career. I wanted so badly to be able to help people and to be able to challenge myself on a daily basis. I also wanted more than anything to be a part of the fire department family. It was hard to convince my parents of these things, and for the first time in my life I felt like they didnt agree with a decision I was making. But I did it any way, and worked hard to get into school. I sped through EMT, Fire Fighter One, Paramedic, and Fire Fighter Two so that I could get a job doing what I knew I would love. I remember so well the day that I graduated from the Fire Academy... it meant more to me than anything I had ever accomplished. I remember testing for a job with ACFR and finding out that I achieved the highest score in the history of the exam for a job. I remember the day I got sworn into the department after having been there almost a year. It was by far my greatest accomplishment.

I love my job. I love helping people. I love taking a patient to the ER and giving my report, and having a doctor tell me that I did a great job with the patient. I love holding people's hands when they are upset or scared and being able to reassure them.

Unfortunately, however, my job does not love me. I used to feel so confident at work, was so certain of who I was and what I was doing. Now I feel like every time I turn around I am getting hit with more negativity and I honestly dont know how much more I can take.

I stopped by the station today to talk to a very dear friend of mine, someone I have known for many years and has always treated me like a daughter of his. I wanted to fill him in on some things. He is in charge of scheduling during the week days. During our conversation he asked me how long I was planning to stay on the road before I went to light duty. I told him as long as I possibly could, because I love my job and am in no way cut out for working in the office 40 hours a week. He mentioned to me that he had gotten into trouble because of me. I am in a staffing position, which means that I basically fill in the empty spots where people have taken vacation days. I hate staffing more than anything and miss having my own truck and station, but I deal with it because these are the things that you do while working for the fire department. The past few weeks one of the Rescue Lieutenants that works at a slower station has been out after having shoulder surgery and so his slot has been opened. For 2 shifts I was stationed there. On the first of the 2 shifts someone apparently called our Deputy Chief and complained that I was at a slow station "because I was pregnant." The Chief then called the scheduling office and made a big deal about me being given special treatment. I dont understand who would ever make such a big deal about this. I really dont. My friend explained to him that I am on staffing, and staffing people fill in the holes when people are out.... and thats the way it works. There was no special treatment at all.

I am so frustrated about this! I mean... I am really trying to do the best that I can. I am working more than full time, plus am in school full time, and on top of that am dealing with being pregnant. This is the first week I have felt halfway decent since July! I dont know how to react. I am so hurt over this... and I want nothing more than to just be able to go to work and love my job again. But I feel like I have been stabbed in the back so many times by this department... and I thought the fire department was a family. When people in your family have a lot going on in their lives, you are there for them and support them and help them in whatever way you can. I must not be a member of the family then, because it seems that not only do I not get any help, I get knocked down at every opportunity.

I dont know what to do anymore. I know I am going to go to nursing school. But being an RN is so far away.... we are talking years before I can change careers. All I know is it is getting harder and harder to hold my head up.

Smudge moved!

So it finally happened.... I was laying in bed Friday morning at work and though I was awake I was not quite ready to get out of bed yet. While laying there... I felt the baby move! At first I wasnt sure if I was really feeling it or imagining it... but it felt like popcorn popping inside of my belly. I layed there for a few more minutes and felt it again. It was the strangest feeling! I havent felt it again since then, but probably because Ive been so busy that when I hit the bed at night Im asleep and then I wake up and get moving right away. I know soon enough it will keep me awake all night making its presence known!

Jenna and Savannah came to visit yesterday while Brad went to the Florida - Georgia game in Jacksonville. Shawn actually stayed in and watched the game with us, which was so sweet of him. I think he wanted baby time! He had so much fun playing with Savannah, and she absolutely adores him. Its so amazing how much she has grown up in the past few months. She had lots of fun crawling around the house, and I think Allie had fun running around the yard with her cousin Peyton. She actually went and layed down in her crate last night before it was bedtime just so she could get some sleep, poor thing. All in all it was a nice day, and Jenna and I got to swap clothes (her digging through my pre-pregnancy things that I have boxed up and me getting to borrow all of her maternity clothes.) What else are sisters for? It was great to get to spend time with them... and Jenna is the best Mom... it is so fun to see her with Savannah.

And my first official week of school is over... with all of my assignments completed and in on time. YAY! Its strange being back in the "student mode...."

The Hippie Show

Here is a picture of Kristina holding my neice Savannah Belle from a recent Florida football game....

Last night I had to work at a concert at the University of Florida bandshell. The band was called the String Cheese Incident, which I had personally never heard of so I didnt quite know what to expect. Apparently they are really big with the hippie crowd.... so for 8 hours I got to watch flower children dancing around barefoot and smoking pot in the middle of a field at UF. Needless to say it was quite interesting. I was amazed at the impressive amount of hula hoopers that there were walking around with their hula hoops and dancing. The music was actually fairly good, but the people watching was much better!

I am finishing my last 48 hour shift today and tomorrow.... my last trade time to pay back from vacation in early September. Then all of the additional hours I work will at least be overtime and not a trade.

Shawn is at home finishing the nursery today.... he tried to get the new paint on the walls Friday while I was at work but ran out of paint before he could finish. It was still a very nice surprise to get home Saturday morning and see it almost finished. The new color matches perfectly with the bedding, so I cant wait to get the walls finished and hang the valence so we can see how it all looks together.

I start back at school tomorrow... which will be the first time in almost 2 years that I have to be studying! But Im sure it will fly by... I am taking Accounting and Medical Ethics this semester. Ive emailed with both of my professors already and they seem very cool. So far my entire experience at Saint Leo has been very positive... they are very helpful and nice to work with. Next semester I will be eligible for a FRAG grant, which is a grant they give people in the state of Florida who choose to go to private schools. I should get enough money from my grant to pay for all of my classes, so hopefully school will basically be free for me! That would certainly be nice.

I talked to Helene last night for awhile. She is having a coed baby shower, which seems like it will be fun. She says she has a bunch of games for the guys, including one that challenges them on "Daddy skills" so that will be funny to watch! I cant wait to go down and see her and Jim... the last time we say them was in July and it seems like it has been so long! Her baby is due in January and she is having a little girl that they plan on naming Lana. She said she also has some maternity clothes for me... so it seems that I will have quite the wardrobe to choose from, which will be nice.

We went down to Macintosh yesterday before I had to be back at work. Shawn and Ben's boss has a huge house down there so they had a barbeque while the festival was going on. I didnt get to stay very long, but definitely had fun while I was there. Shawn ended up talking to one of his friend's wives who works in the financial department at Shands and said they just posted a job that Shawn would be very qualified for with his background in banking. She said for him to get his application in and she would make sure it gets looked at, so we are keeping his fingers crossed. It would combine banking with healthcare, which is what he was looking for, plus it would be 3 12 hour days so that would work out much better for us then him working every day.

Our Nursery Theme

Here is a picture of the theme we have chosen for the baby's nursery. I think it will mesh well with the beach them of the rest of the house. : )

Fifteen Weeks

Well as of yesterday I am officially 15 weeks pregnant. I finally figured out my due date and it is Friday the 13th of April! Good thing I am not superstitious about things like that!


I had a doctors appointment on Wednesday and so far everything is going well. I absolutely love my doctor... he is so nice and funny and treats me like an equal instead of a patient which is nice. I am so relaxed around him. It doesnt hurt that he is family either! The other night I was sick so Shawn called him at home to see what medication I could take... cant beat that kind of service!

We got to hear the heartbeat again, which was the first time Shawn got to hear it. As soon as he put the doppler on my belly we heard it, which was cool since he didnt have to get my stomach all goopy with gel trying to find it. It is still in the high 150s-160s, which has my mom and sister convinced is a girl. We will find out for sure next month... November 17th as of right now. Shawn is going to take a day off of work to be able to go which is nice because the only appointment they had was in the middle of the day. So then we will know if we are having a pink or a blue Smudge! And everything I have read says that I should be able to feel the baby move probably sometime next week or so.... and I cant wait for that. I think that will make it real.

Last night we went to dinner with friends, which was very nice and unexpected. We went with Kristina and her boyfriend Billy and Megan and her boyfriend Gene, who is like a cousin to Shawn. So that was very nice... and Kristina, the wonderful friend that she is, had a glass of water waiting for me when we got to the resturaunt with an umbrella and a piece of fruit in it so it looked like a cocktail. It was so cute.!

Jenna is out right now in search (hopefully successfully!) for the diaper bag I fell in love with last weekend. She is going to try and snag it for me, so if Graco discontinues the pattern I can have it. I love my little sister and she has so many great suggestions on how to get everything organized before the baby is born! She told me that she actually preordered her birth announcements before Savannah was born and had the envelopes sent to her so that she could work on them before she had an infant to deal with. I never in a million years would have thought of that!

We got the nursery bedding last week.... we are doing an Under the Sea theme, which fits great with the beachy theme of the house and all, and it pretty gender neutral so it wont matter if we have a boy or a girl. It is so adorable and I was so excited to get it.... now we just have to find the furniture that we like!

Allie says HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

 
 
  

Date Night!

Well since I am sitting at work and am actually NOT busy for once, I guess I may as well update this. This weekend I actually got to visit with my mom, my sister, my neice and my brother in law... unexpectedly. It wasnt under the best of circumstances, as it was because Miss Savannah was sick... but it was nice to see them and to get to spend time with them. It was great too for Shawn to get to spend time with my family, especially since I spent an entire week with his parents when we went on vacation!

Other than that, not much is new. I have actually had 2 vomiting -free days in a row, which may not seem like much to celebrate... but trust me, it IS! Maybe as the dreadful first trimester ends things will be getting a little bit easier to deal with.... I certainly hope so! And I am not working as many 48 hour shifts in a row anymore... so I (almost!) feel back to my "normal" self.

Last night Shawn and I had "date night." How silly that you have to schedule a date night with your boyfriend who lives with you... but so it goes when we both are as busy as we are. We got dressed up (okay, I wore jeans, but these days anything other than a work uniform or pyjama pants is dressed up!) and we went to Yamato for dinner (the baby has expensive taste already!) We had a great time... just hanging out the two of us (and the other 5 people at our table) and talking and having fun. It was like the days before we knew I was pregnant and all the stress began... when we didnt have a care in the world. It was wonderful to have our date... and it reminded me of the million reasons why I love him. Then we went home and laid in bed playing with Allie and we watched football... I cant imagine a more perfect night. We even went through the baby name book my mom got us and talked about names.... (though I think we rejected more than we decided were maybes!)

We find out in about 5 weeks what it is... thats when I think I will start planning a lot more. Though I am going to order the nursery bedding this week....

Jaime's "Surprise"

Let me preface this entire entry by saying that I am the luckiest girl in the entire world to have a guy as great as my boyfriend. But this story is so funny that I have to share it, because it is definitely something the two of us will laugh at for awhile.

He told me the other day he had a surprise for me, that I would get when I came home from work (after a 48 hour shift.) I was busy at work, so it was at the back of my mind. So I had all but forgotten about it when I came home from work this morning and was greeted by the smell of... paint. I walked into the what will be the baby's nursery and he had gone and gotten paint to surprise me! The room looked amazing.... and completely the wrong color! We are planning to do an ocean theme in the nursery, so we wanted to go with a mint green color for the walls and accent with light green gingham. The color of the walls was a light green... like the color of a light Granny Smith apple! It was such a pretty color.... but would definitely not match the bedding we had chosen.

I didnt know what to do... he obviously went to such lengths to surprise me. He even painted the ceiling! I wanted to rush out to the store and get the right color and hope that he wouldnt notice! But I know I am not suppossed to be around paint fumes.... I looked up the picture of the bedding online, hoping that in some way it might match. It wouldnt. Then I looked at every website I could think of hoping that they might have something similar that might match the green... but I couldnt find anything.

I called him and thanked him so much for my surprise... and then he said he knew it was the wrong color. He thinks it might have been mixed wrong because it looks nothing like the sample he had chosen. I still felt so horrible! He said he would repaint it... and we joked about the room needing a base coat.

So this afternoon I went to Lowes and spent an hour in the paint department trying to pick a color that will match the bedding. I just hate that my surprise for him means more work for him! :)

Sisters.... for Jenna

Here is an amazing thing I have recently discovered. Im not saying it isnt something Ive always known... but it is something that seems to finally make sense to me: I love my sister. I dont mean in that way that families have to love each other... more in the way that she is someone I completely respect, admire, and strive to be like.

Jenna took the path less taken these days. At 17 she met her husband, at 20 she was married. For me the entire concept of being married at 20 seemed like a prison sentence. She was pregnant at 22 and thrilled about the idea of being a mother. She wants to stay home and raise a family. Again, not something that ever appealed to me.

We were roommates in college, and I remember getting so frustrated with her, not understanding why Jenna didnt want to go out and party with us. I knew the bouncers at the coolest clubs, could always get in free wherever we wanted to go... but still she would rather stay home and talk to her now- husband on the phone. I didnt understand it at all.

But now, as I face this new chapter of my life, it amazes me how much more I understand my little sister who had crossed so many bridges before me. I thought I was completely satisfied with my life.... I have a great career, I am well respected by my peers, I am always surrounded by friends and have parties to go to and places to see and be seen. Then I meet Shawn... and all of a sudden I am my sister. I want to get married. I want to be a part of a family, to have that to come home to. I see him play with our puppy Allie and I realize what a wonderful father he will be. I have become my sister. I would love to be able to stay home and be a wife and mother that way, and I am so proud of my sister for doing as so few do and making that committment to her family.

When I found out I was pregnant I called Jenna and we talked for an hour, with me trying to figure out how to tell her. I feared being scolded... but instead when I did tell her she was so excited that Savannah would have a cousin so close in age. We were worried I may be miscarrying, and it was Jenna who called to see if everything turned out alright. She bought me my pregnancy journal, so every time I write in it I think of her doing the same when she was pregnant with Savannah.

As I make this new journey in life... travel down a road I didnt expect to be on... it is my sister who has become my source of guidance and inspiration. She takes after the other woman that I admire more than anything... our own mother... who have both done such a wonderful job raising daughters. It is amazing how strong of a bond family is.... and how planning for another member of the family brings everyone closer together.

For the first time in my life I can say that Jenna is not just my sister and my friend, but my best friend. She is the one who has been there for me even when I did not expect her to be. I am so grateful for this opportunity to get to know someone I have spent my entire life with in a different way.

Exciting news

Today has been a great day where I feel like I have gotten so much accomplished! First of all I had my doctors appointment with my new doctor (Dr. Muskus) yesterday and he was awesome. First we sat in his office and actually went over my bloodwork and all, and everything looks great. Im glad to know Im healthy! Ive lost weight, which was expected considering how much I have been throwing up lately. He gave me some new prenatal vitamins which will hopefully help with the nausea. (NOTE TO JENNA- you are so so lucky!)

The most exciting thing is that I got to hear the baby's heartbeat! My uterus has expanded into my stomach a little bit so we were actually able to hear it. It beats so fast, like 160 beats a minute! Hearing that made it more real that Im not just sick with the worst case of the flu ever... that Im actually carrying a baby that will be our child! : ) He is very optimistic that this may be my last few weeks of bad nausea and mood swings, which will definitely be something to look forward to....

Today I found out that I FINALLY got everything settled with St. Leo University and I will be starting there Fall 2 semester which is October 23rd. I am taking Accounting and Medical Ethics and will then have 17 more classes to get my Bachelors of Business Administration with a focus on Health Care Administration. So I am really excited about that, especially since they are letting me take out loans to pay for everything so I wont have to stress about money to finish my degree. I think it will take about a year... but I am so excited about being back in school!

The house is finally coming together as well. It is nice enough out tonight that we have the windows all opened and the fans going... its nice to be able to air everything out. We have been able to leave Allie out in the house for short times and she hasnt gotten into any trouble, so thats good!

I think Saturday we are going to look at new cars (Jeep Grand Cherokees!) so I can get something more family-friendly than my Wrangler (though I will be so sad to see it go!)

Doggie drama

So this morning I come home from work and there is a dead dog lying on the side of the road in my driveway. I wasnt sure it was dead, but it didnt move when I honked at it and then I saw it wasnt breathing. I have no idea how it got there or what happened to it since it didnt look like it had been hit by a car or anything! Insane! Then I get out of the car and there is a baby chocolate lab in my laundry room. Apparantly it belongs to my neighbors across the street but it had gotten out of their yard. I tried to call them but their phone has been disconnected. I knocked on the door but there was no answer even though there is a car in their driveway. So I've ended up puppysitting it all day. I was so happy to be able to go let Allie out and see her... my nice normal dog. She played with the puppy (who is named Bam Bam by the way) for awhile but she plays a little too rough with it.

I got the joy of cleaning bathrooms today and cleaning the rest of the house and the storage area... so much for a day off! On Saturday we cleaned up what will be the baby's room and will be painting that soon... as soon as I figure out what color I want. I think we will do it a very light green/whitish color... I want to decorate the nursery in an "under the sea" theme. I think green will work best, and it wont matter if we have a boy or a girl.

Well time for more cleaning I guess. And more puppy playtime!

Funny how 2 pink lines can mean so much!

Tomorrow is officially 6 weeks since I found out that I was pregnant. I hadnt even missed a period... just didnt feel right. I remember having some cramps but knowing I wasnt going to start my period. I took a test from the hospital on a hunch... and there were two pink lines there. I didnt even know if that was positive since the test didnt come with any results... I had to go online and look up that brand to see what two pink lines meant! And then I remember thinking... how many ways is my life about to change?

The scariest part was my doctor wanting me to have a blod HCG test. I went and had my blood drawn, which I truly hate... and I remember looking at the test order and seeing the reason for the blood test... "threatening miscarriage." Those were scary words considering that I was beginning to be excited about the thought of being a mom. And Shawn was so excited about becoming a father... I didnt want to get all happy about something, then have it go away. Though I know thats common... it was still scary to think of it in anything other than medical terms. But thankfully everything came back perfect and looked like everything was right where it should be progressing for 5 weeks....

In those early days of knowing we were pregnant it forced Shawn and I to talk about aspects of our relationship that we might not have even brought up for months or even years! But we had already talked about marriage before we knew we were pregnant, and we both agreed that it was a step we wanted to take. I have never been as happy with someone as I am with him... and we make a great team. He is my best friend, and someone I know I can always count on. I am so lucky to have him as my boyfriend and future husband.... and father of my child. His every moment is spent trying to make me happy or to ease the stresses of first trimester pregnancy. I have never had a man care for me the way he does, and it isnt something that he does because he feels obligated.... he truly likes to make me happy.

I think I pretty much knew for awhile that I would end up with Shawn. There was always this calm about our relationship... from the night we met over a year and a half ago at Gators Dockside we were just able to talk about absolutely everything. Then we were hanging out as friends and one night after bar hopping we were back at my house laying on my hammock swing and we kissed. We both knew we had crossed that "buddy" line, but neither one of us seemed to really care. The next day I had a barbeque at my house and we went next door to invite my new neighbors, and the girl asked if we were married. Shawn joked "not yet..." but it was the first time in a long time that the thought of marriage to someone didnt make me want to turn tail and run.

July 6th was when we officially became an exclusive couple. (Incidentally the date of my LMP...) We had been dating since April and it was as if we used that time to sort out all of our old relationship hangups. I loved spending time with him and knew that I wanted more, but I just wasnt ready for anything serious because I was still afraid to get my heart broken. We went to dinner on July 6th at Los Margaritas and we closed the place down! We sat there for hours and just talked about everything and nothing and laughed... and at one point the subject of "us" came up. Shawn told me that he didnt want to be with anyone else, and I felt the same way. We both agreed that it was silly that it had taken us so long to figure that out... but we were glad that we had gotten past our fears.

Since that moment we have been inseparable. We went and saw his brother in Orlando, then my parents and sister and brother in law in Bradenton... and havent spent one night apart that I wasnt at work.

We certainly werent planning to have a baby this soon... but it is very welcomed. Shawn is an amazing boyfriend and will make a wonderful husband and father. We share the same opinions on parenting and relationships.... and life, while it has taken an unexpected turn, has definitely put us a path that will make us both extremely happy.

It was a great experience to have Shawn there at my first doctors appointment. I had a transvaginal ultrasound and we could see some "smudges" floating around. Ive called the baby Smudge ever since. I have another appointment on Tuesday, and hopefully will hear the heartbeat! Shawn's uncle is my OB/GYN and Im keeping my fingers crossed that we can have another ultrasound and maybe see the baby again! It would be nice to know a more approximate due date... my last appointment I was told anywhere from April 12th to 17th.... way too big of a window for me! : )

Some recent pictures...

Giving blogging a shot

Well, since my sister is the most expert blogger in the entire world, I figured that I better catch up! It just dawned on me today how much I love to go to her blog and read about her life and what Savannah is doing these days (you better get crawling girl, how else are you going to give your Mommy a taste of her own medicine?!) So I figured that I should start, especially at this time in my life... because I will never get these days back.

When I found out I was pregnant I remember pulling up Jenna's blog to read exactly what she was going through, when she had her doctors appointments, what they did at each appointment... and it was such a great source of information for me. It was like she was right there with me telling me what to expect.

I probably wont be as good at this as she is, but I am certainly going to try! I will have to go back a few months and tell the story... but hang in there and everyone will be up to speed and you can follow the saga from there... And leave comments!