Long overdue!

It's been 10 weeks since my last post, which means I am now 23 weeks pregnant! We've hit some major milestones these past 10 weeks.  I've definitely got a nice baby bump going on, we have both felt the baby kicking, we've had another ultrasound and discovered that we are having a BOY, and have been making plans for the baby's room. It's been a very busy 10 weeks so I'll try to play catch up with a shortened version:

• My nephew, Ostin, turned one on August 14 and we had a pool party over at our aunt and uncle's pool.  Mom came in town too and stayed with us for a couple of days.




Ostin covered in blue birthday cake!

• The following weekend, Jonathan and I went to Kansas City to visit our newly engaged friends, Nathan & Sarah.  We also got to spend some fun times with Daniel & Wendy and two of my closest girl friends! It was a fun weekend and we should not wait so long next time to make a visit to KC!
• Roger, my father in law, and I went on a trip to Tennesse on August 25-29.  On the first day, for the first time ever, I felt the baby moving! I would call it a fluttery feeling... but I knew exactly what it was! We went to a BBQ and music festival in Nashville, ate our way across the state, went on a couple of touristy visits, and all in all had a great time.  Roger may have gotten food poisoning though because he became super sick on the last day of our trip :( 
• On September 12, we had our 20 week (halfway mark!) doctor's appointment.  We had an ultrasound, standard and 3D, and found out that Jonathan was right, we are having a boy! The ultrasound technician could not see a certain valve in the heart due to Baby's positioning, so we will have another ultrasound in 4 weeks to determine that this valve is developed correctly.



profile and left shoulder - 3D Ultrasound

• For my birthday, we had all of our immediate family over to announce it's a boy! We surprised everyone by coloring the inside of the cake blue. My friend Lauren made this cake special for us :) It was a really great day and I loved having everyone over to our house.  The next day, I was laying in bed and felt the baby kicking and moving so hard - I looked down and could actually SEE him moving in my belly. It was so weird/amazing!  It didn't happen again with Jonathan around until a few days later, so when he finally got to feel the baby, it was twice as amazing!

Baby Reveal Cake by Lauren Kerkhoff

These days my only symptoms are a sore back and uncomfortable clothes.  I finally bought a pair of maternity jeans.  They were $56 from the Motherhood store in the mall.  Of course I ended up having to buy the designer jeans because I would not fit in any of the generic smalls or mediums... I'm in a halfway size which stinks.  I can't even button my "fat" jeans anymore so now I'm down to wearing my one pair of maternity capris and one pair of maternity jeans... of course at home I only wear sweatpants and oversized basketball shorts though!  Luckily my friend is coming over this weekend to let me look through her maternity clothes to borrow.  How sweet of her :)  Cold weather maternity clothes are definitely not on sale yet and of course that's exactly what I need most!

I've been down in the back every few days in these past 4 weeks or so.  After talking to my friend Ashley, I think the baby may be pressing on my sciatic nerve.  When she was pregnant she described her pain as identical to what I've been feeling - shooting pain through my lower back, into my butt, and even upper legs.  When we go back to the doctor I'm going to ask her what I should do because there are some days when I can barely even move... it's a miserable feeling. 

On October 28, Jonathan takes his PE Test (Professional Engineering).  This is a very important test that he's been studying many hours.  He also has been taking about 16 hours per weekend in online classes to prepare.  This test is only offered twice a year and so if he does not pass, he won't be able to take it again for another 6 months.  I'm very optimistic that all of his hard work will pay off and he will pass with flying colors :)

WEDDINGS

Jones & Jesse got married on September 17... beautiful wedding and even better company! Had so much fun catching up with Bo and meeting new friends at the reception :)

Andrea & Ryan get married on October 15... absolutely can't wait! I'm so very happy for them and have had a lot of fun with her as she's planned for this wonderful day :)
Alexis & Joe... newly engaged! They haven't set a date yet but they would like to get married ASAP. This couple is very special to my heart and I think they are wonderful together! Also, I initially set them up so that makes me the ultimate matchmaker :)