Registering

This was an experience. I thought our three hour trip to Target for our wedding registry was long. Boy! Was I wrong! We spent 4 hours in store on Saturday and 4ish hours online on Sunday. But, we are done. 200+ items later. There will be plenty of options for our family.

One of the hardest decisions was choosing a theme. The boy sets aren't as cute. Plus, with my butterfly obsession, a girl nursery is easy to decide. We talked about a Gator theme. Ultimately we decided on a Dr. Seuss theme, Oh the Places You'll Go. We are really excited about it. Since we can't paint the walls, we are thinking of some craft things we can do to decorate.

Month 5

 This month was very exciting! We finally found out what our baby is and.... it's a boy!! I am enjoying the second trimester. I have more energy! I have fewer food aversions. And, I think I am finally over my sinus issues... well, for now. They come and go. I'm glad we know the gender but it has made me want to shop! We bought Lincoln his stocking. I wanted to make sure it matches our other ones. Then, we were at the cutest baby boutique in town (and owned by a fellow Gator) and I bought a cute little Gator backpack. Lincoln had to have it!

It's a ....

BOY!! We found out our little one's gender today! It was very exciting and it's nice to refer to our baby as something other than "it". We are naming our little guy Lincoln Dutch. Our name actually has a lot of meaning and it's different! Lincoln is after a very special guy to us, Sam. He has been there for both of us, especially Brad. We hope our little guy is half the man that Sam is. Dutch comes from a few different people: my grandpa (on dad's side) was called Dutch. Plus, my grandpa (on my mom's side) used to call me Dutch when I was little.

Everything looked great on the ultrasound. Lincoln was very active so it took a while to figure out if had boy parts or not. He was moving his legs and arms around like crazy. I am a little worried that he's going to be an active dude. Either way, he will be perfect. I am also measuring 4 days ahead of schedule. I will post a picture later this weekend.

Charity Ball

Every year Junior League's main fundraiser is our Charity Ball. This year's theme was "Once upon a time" and the decorations were beautiful! My friend Lauren and I decided we were going to go before we found out or even planned on getting pregnant. Little did we know that both of us would be pregnant. The challenge was finding a dress that had "room to grow" since it will also be my Christmas party dress. Luckily, I made out like a bandit at David's bridal! 

My committee members: Jamie, Lauren, and me!

We put a frame around our baby bumps!

We had a lot of fun in the photo booth. Melanie sat at our table and she is also pregnant. So, here is a 'Knocked Up" picture! :) 

Ball was a lot of fun. I thought going to ball would be more fun than buying a raffle ticket. Plus, I already won some diamond earrings from buying a raffle ticket so I thought I would give someone else a chance. 

Month 4

This week we hit the 4 month mark. I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going already! In a few short weeks we will know if Shumlet is a boy or girl. :)

I had an appointment last week and I have gained 11 pounds so far. Not too shabby. It is really hard to be "okay" with gaining weight, but I know that my job is to worry about growing our precious baby and not losing weight. That will come later.

Second trimester has treated me well. I have had more energy! I actually feel human again! I have started to feel Shumlet moving around. Nothing major, but I keep feeling some little flutters every few days. I can't wait until I can feel Shumlet kicking me. I say that now... :)

Thank you for the continued prayers/thoughts for a healthy pregnancy and baby!

Weekend fun

I say fun but that isn't the best way to describe it. Itchy would be more appropriate. I started with a small patch of hives on my elbow Saturday morning. This morning I woke up and they are everywhere!!! The only thing in my diet that changed is I had a diet coke at the movies Friday and coffee yesterday. I haven't had caffeine since I found out I was pregnant. I wonder if my body is rejecting it. I have been taking benedryl but it is not helping much. I think it could also be hormones. Either way, I hope they go away soon!

Month 3

Tomorrow marks 12 weeks. I am very lucky. I have had an easy pregnancy so far and I pray that it stays that way. I get a little queasy in the morning, but a little snack helps. I have had some sinus issues, but nothing I can't handle. The only thing that really bothers me is the lack of energy. I feel like I should be doing more than laying around every time I am home. I haven't crafted since I found out I was pregnant. My fall decorations aren't out... they may not even make it out. But, I am okay with that. I am resting and taking care of myself and Shumlet.

We are getting more and more excited. I can't wait until we find out what Shumlet is. Then we can start calling him/her by a real name! Thank you for all the prayers for a healthy pregnancy! They are working!

Wow!

It is amazing how loved out baby is already!! I am so thankful for all of our family and friends. We are lucky to have you and I can't wait for Shumlet to meet you. :)

Things are going well here. I have some nausea in the mornings but snacking helps. My clothes are tighter, especially since I got rid of most of my bigger clothes. Fortunately, some friends gave me some maternity clothes and that is all I am wearing! My new wardrobe for the next several months! The only food aversion I have at this point is chicken, which is so sad since I LOVE chicken!

Once again, thank you for all of the prayers for Shumlet and a healthy pregnancy.

Call me slacker!

I have been a major slacker in the blog world lately. To be honest, I have been exhausted!! August was a whirlwind month with a ton of fertility treatments and getting ready for school to start. After tears, prayers, hormone shots, and other medications for the past month it has all paid off. I am pregnant!! As of tomorrow I am 9 weeks pregnant. Brad and I are very excited and thankful to all of our friends and family and the support and prayers they have provided for us.

One thing I have learned in this journey is that God is faithful. Not that I didn't know this before but waiting on His timing has been the hardest thing ever! But looking back, getting pregnant almost 2 years than I wanted to has been the best thing to happen. If I would have gotten pregnant in my timing, I wouldn't have lost over 100 pounds. Because of His timing I will have a healthier pregnancy and a healthier baby.

Here is my 1 month picture. I was exactly 4 weeks pregnant and knew for only a few days at this point. Since we went through a fertility specialist, we found out very early! It was the hardest two weeks of my life but I am thankful for the good news. In fact, when we went to the doctor for our first ultrasound he kept telling us how proud he was. Apparently the odds weren't good. But, we had a lot of people praying and God is more powerful than medicine! Little Shumlet is our little miracle! We can't wait to meet this precious gift in April.  ( I can't get this picture to turn for some reason. Sorry!!)

Just keep swimming...

I love good news! Especially when it is news that I have been waiting for. Hoping for. I'm not pregnant, but things are progressing the way our RE wants them to, which is good news! Please keep us in your prayers as we continue on this journey. I am thankful for all that God is doing in our lives and the prayer warriors that I have joining us on this journey. Thank you. For your prayers. For your support. For being our friend!

And we keep going...

Well, we went to the doctor the other day and my eggs are growing but not fast enough. So we are tripling my dosage. I feel bad for Brad because I have already been emotional enough. I am sure you are thinking it can't be that bad. In the past two days I cried during an episode of Restaurant Impossible and the new Batman movie. I am in trouble during the Olympics. There were a few other concerns that the dr had but nothing major. We go back on Monday for another ultrasound to check those eggs. Let's hope they mature more than I have during the past 31 years. :)

In other news, Brad's sister Janelle, moved in with us. I have been busy taking her to interviews this week and she has already gotten 2 jobs. It's nice to have a built in buddy to watch chick flicks with me. And another amazing tid bit. While Janelle was in an interview today I walked around Bealls and tried on a size 10. Just because. I didn't expect them to button. But guess what?! They did!! I don't know the last time I wore a size 10, if ever. I am so pumped!!

Tell me more, Tell me more!!

I am linking up with Amy Lemons over at Step into Second Grade for her "Tell me more, Tell me more!!" linky party. These are in no particular order. Just a few random things about me. 

 1. My husband and I are a house divided, well at least for one game a year. The Florida vs. Vandy game. Brad went to Vandy for his undergrad degree and we both got our graduate degrees from Florida. No matter what, my blood still bleeds Orange and Blue.

 2. I am a huge proponent for raising money for cancer research. I raise money every year for Relay for Life. This year I surpassed my goal and raised over $1200!! My family has breast cancer, leukemia, prostate cancer, and bladder cancer. If there is anything I can do to help find a cure for this disease I am all for it!

 3. I'm a movie star!! Just kidding! I'm not a movie star but my friend and I had a documentary filmed in our classroom. I am proud of this movie. We noticed some segregation in our district and decided to connect our  kindergarten students through pen pal letters. I was honored to present this project at numerous conferences. I wish the documentary would have gotten more recognition because the guys did a great job on it. Who knows, it's never too late!

4. I was born in Boise, Idaho! I try to go there often to see my grandparents. I love it there and it isn't too hot!!

5. Brad and I grew up together. We were in the same second grade class (for 2 weeks) and went to middle and high school together. We started dating our freshman year of college and survived 4 years in a long distance relationship. I love this guy more and more every day! 

6. For the past 10 months Brad and I have been changing our life style through Take Shape for Life. I am the smallest I have been since early middle school. Brad has lost 125 pounds and I have lost 107 pounds! I am so proud of our accomplishments and thankful for Brad's support. I couldn't have done this on my own and it was something we needed to do. 

Cricut card making

I was a crafting queen today! Here are a few cards I made using my Cricut Imagine cartridges. 

1. A card for a super special guy. 

I used the cuttlebug to emboss the background paper. 

2. A birthday card for a sweet friend. 

The card already had the back design (same with the next card). 

I have really enjoyed the look of adding a little piece of ribbon to my cards. I like the look it gives. 

3. A get well card for my Granny. She is having heart surgery tomorrow. 

Please say a few prayers for her!

Classroom Pinterest crafts

During the past few days I have been busy working on Pinterest crafts for my classroom. Here are a few of the things I have made. 

1. Dismissal boards: Each kid will have a clothespin with their name on it. The clothespin will go on the ribbon for whichever way they travel home. This will make it easy if a kid changes transportation methods throughout the year. All items were cut out on the cricut. I used "My Community" cartridge, "Everyday paperdolls", and "Winnie the Pooh Font".

2. No Name board: I can't wait to use this! I get so irritated when kids forget to put their names on the paper. Now, they will have a day or two to identify the missing paper or it ends up in file 13. I am in love with Modge Podge! The font is from my cricut using the "Cuttin' Up" cartridge.

3. Welcome sign: Of course, another pinterest project I had to create! This was a little painful, in that my back was hurting so bad about half way through. I am glad it is done and I'm not sure if I would make it again. I hot glued fabric onto a canvas (because I like the sparkly purple fabric better than any paint I could find) and cut out the letters using the Pooh Font on my cricut. I ran the letters through the Xyron and I pray they stay on! Of course, I had to add in some butterfly ribbon to hang it up with!

4. I am absolutely in love with this idea and I can't wait to implement it in my classroom. Whole class journals! Each journal has a different topic and each student writes a paragraph or two in each one. Each journal has a certain topic. I'm not sure about the logistics of this, but I am excited to figure it out. Plus, what a great way to develop authors! 

By the way, I don't like boring old composition notebooks but didn't want to pay the money for fancy ones. So I compromised! I covered them with paper I already had! 

I hope you enjoyed my Pinterest projects! I had fun making them and feel accomplished for the first time this summer. 

WIWW

I follow several blogs that link up with The Pleated Poppy. Every week I start out by taking pictures for What I Wore Wednesday. Well, I always start off one day and forget all the rest. So, here is my first WIWW and I will try to be better about posting. I wore this dress to church on Sunday. I haven't ever liked wearing dresses but I have actually wanted to wear dresses since losing weight. I got this dress my friend Danielle back home. Shoes are from Target. I love how the dress shows off my curves! :) Okay, maybe next week I will have more than one post!

Frustration

Man! The past few days have been so frustrating! Here is the Reader's Digest version. My doctor wanted me to start injections (Menopur) on Sunday. The office failed to file my prescription early enough and I didn't get it until Monday. Apparently crying to the nurse is what it took to get it all resolved. So, Brad and I had to drive to Houston last night to get the two vials of Menopur that we needed. Since the pharmacy wouldn't let me use a restroom, we did the first injection in the parking lot. We are classy people! At least this isn't the one in my booty. This one is injected in my belly. Now we have several nights of injections and two doctors appointments this week. We are praying that this step works! Thank you again for all of your prayers and support.

Fertility Update

Well, last month's treatments were a total fail. I went to the doctor on the Friday before our Florida trip and found out that I had 3 eggs but they were only 12-13 mm. They had to be 20 mm. So, we were prescribed a home ovulation kit so we could self monitor. I ovulated, but the doctor thinks it could have been a false positive. So, on to the next step.

We had a doctor's appointment yesterday. We are doing another round of Letrezole but stepping it up a bit. In addition to the Letrezole, I am taking a steroid and an injection of Menopur to "mature" my eggs. The injections are every night, starting on Sunday and given in my belly. I'm not looking forward to the side effects and I hope I do not have horrible mood swings. Plus, it's a good thing I am on this diet because I'm sure I would gain weight if I wasn't. So, for the next month I will be happy to maintain between the hormones and steroids. Brad had a panic attack when we found out the percentage for multiples increased to 25%. I was excited, but contained it because I knew Brad was freaking out. We go back for two ultrasounds, once on day 10 and another on day 12. If everything looks good, Brad administers the HCG shot into my bum to make me ovulate. Like every month, I hope this works. The doctor seems hopeful. Thank you for your continued prayers. We really appreciate them.

Kickin' it in Ktown

Our trip in Kissimmee was a whirlwind trip! We saw a lot of people and got very little sleep. But, it was worth it!

I saw my Grandma Murphy for the first time in years!!

This is the new look of OHS. Not the OHS I went to. It's a little sad. 

Brad and Adam have been friends forever!! It was great to see this guy!

We got to meet Macey Lynn. She is such a cutie! I wanted to take her with us to Texas. 

Another visit with the silly Shumbera kids. I can't believe how much they have grown. 

I love this picture of us with Chancey. :) 

Do we look like naturals?

Brad and his dad, stepmom, and half sister.

Clermont fun

Warning: this is a picture heavy post! We were only in Clermont for one night but we squeezed in a lot of fun! 

Cross chilling out at swimming lessons. 

 We went to dinner one night. When we came back, Cross was ready to get in the pool. We were too busy taking pictures. 

Mom and her daughters. 

This is the first picture with mom and Danny in a while. 

Danny is such a goof ball!

Watch out! I got this guy in the water twice on vacation!

I love this picture of Cross and KK

Cannon Ball time! Check out my mom doing a cannon ball!!

Baby Shower!

A few weeks ago I threw a baby shower for my BFF Katie. I spent the week before crafting away. I made a banner that says "Amita June", the baby's name. Katie loves Winnie the Pooh so I used a lot of Pooh stuff. :)

I made two sets of burp cloths, nothing fancy but still cute. 

Then, I packaged them with a pretty little bow. 

Finally, I made my largest sewing project to date, a baby blanket. The fabric says "I love mommy. I love daddy." It is so cute! And the blanket turned out cute. Thanks pinterest for the easy blanket tutorial!