Double Digits!

I am finally, officially under the 100 day mark! Only 99 more days until my due date and my last day of work!

My last prenatal appointment was my least favorite so far. First, I got on the scale and, to my horror, I had managed to gain 12 lbs in four weeks! It really perplexed me since I've been trying a lot harder to eat healthy and I've been exercising much more often. Since I hadn't gained any weight until this appointment, I'm still okay. It was more of a self-esteem crusher. After finding out my weight, I learned that I would be doing my one-hour glucose test that morning. Suprise!!! Apparently, the hospital automatically schedules is during your first appointment after you hit the 24 week mark. It would have been very nice to get a little bit of notice, especially since it caused me to get to work much later than I had planned. Finally, my due date has been pushed back six days. Instead of May 7, I'm now due on May 13. There was a miscommunication about my first ultrasound, and that is what they are using to date my pregnancy. I know she'll come when she pleases, but now I will have to work until May 13 (instead of May 6, like I had originally planned). I also won't get induced before May 27, unless there is a medical reason to do so.

I am slowly getting used to my *new* due date. I will be 26 weeks tomorrow, and the third trimester is right around the corner! Lately, I've been feeling very pregnant. My belly has really popped out! Household tasks like cleaning the shower are a lot more difficult than they were a few weeks ago. Baby girl is doing well. I absolutely love feeling her move and kick! Most of the time when Chen puts his hand on my belly, she will immediately stop kicking. She also likes to sleep in the same position every night. After her evening/nighttime gymnastics session, she curls up right under my belly button with her butt up until after I wake up. The movement is without a doubt my favorite part of pregnancy. We are doing a 3D/4D ultrasound session on March 12, and we cannot wait to see her again!

Here are a few belly shots of my huge 25 week belly!

It's *Still* a Girl!

Yesterday, we had our anatomy scan. Everything looks great! Our little girl is definitely still a girl! More importantly, she is healthy. It was very nice to see her again, even though the images weren't as clear as they were in the elective 4D ultrasound. It didn't help that she was being stubborn. Every time the ultrasound tech or doctor would try to get a face shot, she would cover her face with her hands or turn the other way. Baby also kept kicking at the ultrasound wand. Unfortunately, they couldn't get the classic profile shot, but here are the two face shots they did manage to get:

December

December was quite a busy month! Two days after our ultrasound, I flew to Orlando for the conference my work was hosting. The conference went well! It was much less stressful than the conference last December, but this one only had about 900 people in attendance (compared to the 7,000 in attendance in Anaheim). We still had to pull 10-16 hour days every day, but it wasn't quite as overwhelming.

Chen flew up to Orlando after he submitted the final papers for his classes. The first few days were boring for him since I was busy with work, but we still had a lot of fun. We ended up spending half a day in Downtown Disney and bought a lot of cute things for baby girl. The weather much colder than we expected and Disney World's park schedule did not work to our advantage. Unfortunately, the schedule meant we had to lump Magic Kingdom and Epcot into one day. We had so much fun! Thankfully, my energy came back around the time we left for the conference...otherwise, 13 hours of Disney would have done me in.

Here are a few Disney pics:

On the ferry boat to Magic Kingdom.

The castle.

Us at Magic Kingdom.


Entrance to Magic Kingdom.

Me at Epcot.

Chen at Epcot.

When we got back from Florida, we only had 8 days to get ready for Christmas. The conference and time at Disney really drained all of my energy. Despite being tired exhausted, it was a wonderful holiday. We were able to spend a lot of time with family.

Because of the conference, I had the week after Christmas off. We took the time to start in on baby's nursery, since it was my last vacation time off before maternity leave. Chen and I assembled the furniture, then Chen painted the room. There is still a lot to do, but here is the nursery so far:






Once we set up the bedding and finish painting the walls, we hope the nursery will look something like this:

Everything else with my pregnancy is going well. It's hard to believe that my due date is a little less than four months away. Baby girl is getting much stronger and much, much more active! We have our anatomy scan in the morning, so we will get to see her again. Pictures to come in sometime in the next few days.

It's a..

GIRL!!!

Since I haven't officially announced it on my blog, yes, I'm pregnant! She is due on May 7! I'm 18 weeks and finally feeling pretty good.

We did an elective 3D/4D ultrasound to find out the sex. It was worth every penny! Chen, my mom, in-laws, grandma, aunt, and Bethany were all able to come and watch the ultrasound. The sonographer got some great shots. It was incredible seeing our little girl move around, kick, stretch, yawn, suck her thumb, and cover her face. Although the ultrasound can't be used for official medical diagnoses, the sonographer said everything looks perfect. She has all her little fingers and toes. Her spine and her palate are perfectly formed. Right now, she weighs 7 oz.

Here are some pictures from the ultrasound:


She was snuggled up and sleeping when we started the ultrasound. Once I drank some juice, she perked right up.


Yawning. This one is my favorite.

Poor Blog!

I am a terrible blogger! It's been over four months since my last post and almost seven since my last update. Hopefully, I will get in the habit of updating in the next few months.

Look for an awesome update in the next week or so!

Project 365

Tonight (or tomorrow), I will be starting Project 365! After seeing two friends start the project, I have decided to jump on the bandwagon. The goal of Project 365 is to take a new picture every day. It is a unique way to look back on your year and document your experiences from a different angle.

Since I rarely post on this blog anyways, I will be adding my Project 365 posts in addition to my normal ones. I love using pictures to blog anyways. A picture is worth a thousand words, and they express so much more than I could ever articulate. Our first wedding anniversary is this weekend, so I think this will be a great way to start our second year of marriage!

When Everything Falls Into Place...

February was not a good month. Obviously, life could have been worse, but it seemed like there were so many road blocks and question marks. Tons of school stress. More work stress than I had before the conference. Finances. Health issues. An insurance debacle that ended up costing us a lot of money and a considerable amount of stress. It just seemed like we kept getting bad news.

March, on the other hand, has been a wonderful month! First, I finally got my raise. I had found out it was coming in November, but it took several months to go through. Then, we got even better news. Chen got admitted to the ASU/Barrow Neurological Institute Neuroscience PhD program! While we were excited, we were unsure of how we were going to pay for the program and living expenses. He had applied for the BNI scholarship, but, with seven applicants and two spots, we were a bit nervous.

Then, earlier this week, Chen found out that he got the scholarship! Not only will BNI pay his tuition, but also give us a generous monthly stipend for the first year, health insurance, and guarantee that he will have a job for the next FIVE years! I am so proud of him! He has put in so much work in this field, and it will be an amazing experience.

Now, Chen is busy trying to get everything finished so he can graduate. He will be doing his Interdisciplinary Studies internship at the Foundation! That's right, we're going to be coworkers for eight weeks! With a few more online classes, he should be done on time.

Now that we have a plan for the next few years, everything seems to be falling into place! We are so grateful for the opportunity Chen has to attend graduate school! I think, this month, I'm just all around grateful.