After a week of lots of family time and lots of eating (thanks mom and all thanksgiving leftovers!) Mark and I have rolled (literally) into the 18th week of pregnancy. I went to the midwife on Monday with my mom and all is well and I'm definitely on the growth charts now! Let's just say this week was a 5x weight gain compared to any other week....gotta love the holiday cookin'. Baby UD is doing well and we are scheduled for our "anatomical ultrasound" on Dec 22. So stay tuned...we do plan on finding out if our little one one is a girl or boy.

We had a great time with my parents here for one week. We listened to the baby's heartbeat, shopped for many groceries and of course some baby odds and ends. My mom cooked dinner nearly every night and even left us an extra casserole in the freezer! And my dad fixed all our old door knobs and locks, hung pictures and mirrors and replaced light fixtures. Our house is truly better since they breezed through with their servant hearts and hands. Thanks mom and dad! Also a special thanks to Sandy, my sister in law, whose biscuits served me for an extra 4 days only (yes, I ate them all, yum!)

Somehow in all the excitement, we did manage to get my parents out the door for an outing to Bosque Del Apache on Saturday to see the acres of wild birds that migrate through NM for the winter. We saw 3 bald eagles, hundreds of sandhill cranes and other fowl.

The pictures are of thanksgiving dinner, and bosque del apache with the bald eagles. No belly pictures this week!

In the midst of fall

Every week there is a new discovery. This past week I was feeling the baby move when ever I would sneeze or scream really loud, and then over this past weekend I started feeling it during yoga, or sitting in traffic or at other random times. But on Sunday, the kid was awake ALL day. No joke, I think it took 4 or so 10 minute naps and that was it! I'm sure that it gets crazier as little BUD gets bigger, but I have no doubt that this child is active and probably determined (why should I doubt when that is the mix in our genes). Every few minutes it was a "flutter, flutter, flutter" near my navel and followed intermittently by the less rhythmic "thud...thud, thud" a few inches away. Even Mark can feel it moving too. And I finally have a tiny "baby bump" to corroborate my claim to pregnancy.

We are also listening to the baby's heartbeat on our Amazon purchased fetal heart doppler. It may sound a bit paranoid, but really it is pretty entertaining for us! Mark has listened to the heart and assures me that it is making good whooshing noises. And now we are just waiting for a month to pass so we can find out if it is a little girl or boy. I get the feeling it is a boy, but Mark says I'm wrong...so we will just have to wait and see! As Mark and I get more acquainted with our baby, our dog has been getting more attached to us. In the picture above, Mark is demonstrating the nightly routine of "snuggle time" with Davy Crockett which is now a prerequisite (for him) before going to bed in his kennel. What to do with this furry toddler when the baby comes!

And I've finally stopped getting sick at work, yeah! It is a terrible thing to have a post brain surgery patient tell you "Honey, you look pale. Do you need to sit down? I have some crackers by the bed." Oh well, humility is a good thing and sometimes God teaches you that when you think you are playing the role of healer, helper or teacher you are really the one who might benefit from healing, helping or teaching even from those you thought sicker than yourself.

On a different note, I have been really encouraged lately from some great praise music and I thought I would share the lyrics of one with you. It can be downloaded free from http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2008/05/01/i-have-shelter/

I have a shelter in the storm When troubles pour upon me Though fears are rising like a flood My soul can rest securely O Jesus, I will hide in You My place of peace and solace No trial is deeper than Your love That comforts all my sorrows

I have a shelter in the storm When all my sins accuse me Though justice charges me with guilt Your grace will not refuse me O Jesus, I will hide in You Who bore my condemnation I find my refuge in Your wounds For there I find salvation

I have a shelter in the storm When constant winds would break me For in my weakness, I have learned Your strength will not forsake me O Jesus, I will hide in You The One who bears my burdens With faithful hands that cannot fail You’ll bring me home to heaven

For the last week in October, Mark and I flew down to Houston to be with the family for the weekend. It was a quick trip, but I will hopefully be seeing all of them again soon. My three nephews were C3P0, Jango Fett, and Darth Maul....so of course I had to be princess Leia. Though I'm pretty sure she was never pregnant in any of her movies. My favorite moment was at Black Walnut in Rice Village where all three boys were in my lap or surrounding me and asking to "see" and "touch the baby. They all had their hands on my tummy at one time and Sam was the first to assure me, "I feel that baby aunt Steph. It's tiny."

My sister has encouraged me to be writing down all the crazy pregnancy stuff that happens each week to keep a record to refer to next pregnancy or just to show our little one how much love and work went in to making him/her and their little apartment for 9 months. This past week, for example, I got ill in 3 different maternity stores and had to christen their bathrooms with the contents of my tummy. It happened again, while I was driving in traffic. Thank goodness I had not cleaned out my car and still had a partially empty coffee cup nearby.

Also, I am trying to scan in a picture of our last ultrasound, but to no avail. Our next midwife visit will include my mom and dad since they will be in town for Thanksgiving. Did you know you can buy those doppler machine things for around $70? No kidding, thats only a couple of co-pays added up, but I suppose I will leave it to the professionals.

And yesterday was our (mine and Mark's) 2nd wedding anniversary! We actually both forgot, even though we carpooled to work and ate breakfast together! I thought that didn't happen until after 10 years. We're just ahead of the curve. We celebrated with a great dinner and Mark bought our family 10 photo sessions over the next 5 years for family portraits! And how embarrassing that I only got him a T-shirt. I suppose that "we're on a budget" thing only applies to Christmas and birthdays. Ha, he loved his shirt though so hopefully I'll have a picture of him in it for our next blog.

As the first trimester closes....

I failed to mention in our first post (very long ago, i know) that we are calling the little one "BUD" for Baby Uterine Dweller. So if you hear me refer to baby UD, its not a derogatory thing, just the endearing truth. Its amazing to think i'm already heading out of this first trimester and yet at the same time I cannot wait for month 8 and the finality of then holding our little one for the first time.

This past week marked a great change in my level of energy. My energy is bordering normal (thank goodness) but this tiny baby is causing lots of trouble as it tries to grow big enough to come out of my lower abdomen. This trouble includes squishing my insides namely my bladder. Oh well, thank goodness for pubmed and the ability to research your own diagnoses and come up with your own treatment plan for such issues! I think it should resolve itself pretty soon though.

Also to note this week, I'm finally beginning to think about the prospect of stretchy pants. Not necessarily wearing them, just preparing myself for the day of reckoning.

Th most important part of the week was when I went with my dear mother in law (Sarah) to my first ultrasound to rule out the possibility of twins. My sweet hubby was at clinic all day, but thrilled to hear the news that i am carrying just one, 6 cm long bundle of energy. We have pictures of a little face, little hands, little feet. It was so neat to see it move and jump around, though as much as I focus on it I cannot seem to feel it! Maybe soon!

We are coming to Houston to visit family and friends next week. Hooray! As much as we miss Texas, it is amazing to wake up and see a mountain with snowy peaks on your way to work. We are loving Albuquerque, and working on getting our house in order while we still have the time.

Visitors are more than welcome!

Allright folks, if you haven't already heard the news officially from us...WE'RE PREGNANT! Don't worry, if you're shocked and thinking to yourself, "wow, they just moved!" then know that our first thought was very much the same since we expected it to take more than two weeks after our move to Albuquerque. But here we have it, and I must say that Mark is the one with the energy to carry most of the excitement these days. I am currently at approximately the 8 week mark, and have only experienced morning sickness on a very minimal scale. Praise God!

Between the two of us, Mark is having a little bit of a more difficult time with keeping in his great joy, but it's so fun to watch him get so excited! We have found a fantastic church and are looking forward to the support and encouragement of new friends. The grandparents are thrilled, but not very surprised as they had been praying for this blessing for a while....and why should we be surprised when prayers are answered?