34 weeks 4 days

How far along? 34 weeks 4 days
Total weight gain: 23 lbs
Maternity clothes? of course
Sleep: depends on the night! Not the greatest
Best moment this week: spending the weekend with Paige and also having a surprise lunch with Erin!
Miss Anything? bending over and still being able to breathe and being able to paint my own toenails! Movement? tons! She is going to be a night owl I think.....
Food cravings? not anymore
Anything making you queasy or sick? nah
Gender: girl
Name? still not sharing it with the world wide web!
Labor Signs: had some braxton hicks a couple weeks ago...other than that nothing
Symptoms: nothing yet...
Belly Button in or out? still in!
Wedding rings on or off? on...but they started getting tight this weekend :( hoping it's just the heat
Happy or Moody most of the time: happy most of the time
Looking forward to: 2 more showers and meeting our little Jellybean!

                                                                   5/3/12--34 Weeks!

32 Weeks!

How far along? 32 weeks
Total weight gain: 20 pounds
Maternity clothes? all the time unless I put on Justin's sweats and t-shirts
Sleep: pretty good...wake up 2-3 times to flip over b/c my hips are hurting.
Best moment this week: good check up and more and more movement from Jellybean
Miss Anything? bending over and still being able to breathe
Movement? a lot...sometimes hurts from time to time
Food cravings? nah
Anything making you queasy or sick? nope
Gender: girl
Name? have one...not announcing it to the world yet
Labor Signs: nope. have some pelvic pressure sometimes but not really pain
Symptoms: nothing much...I've been blessed with a healthy pregnancy so far!
Belly Button in or out? in...but getting close to popping
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: happy most of the time when I'm at home. When I'm working I lose my patience pretty quick.
Looking forward to: our first shower on Saturday and seeing some of my good friends I haven't seen in awhile!

4D Ultrasound

We went for our 4D ultrasound this morning! Baby girl wasn't very cooperative at first but she finally let us get a few shots of her face. Her heartrate was 160 and they estimate her to weigh around 3 lbs 12 ozs! That's about 9-10 more ounces than typical 31 week babies weigh. I'm only 30 weeks and 5 days today (April 10). I guess we will see how much weight she gains over the next 9 weeks or so! I'm guessing she's going to be somewhere in the 8 pound range when she's born! Her head was down today and her feet up in my ribs! I guess that's what I've been feeling and has been making it hard for me to breathe!

Our parents went with us today. They were so excited to get to "see" their granddaughter. My mom even took a camera to take pictures of me during the ultrasound! Luckily the ultrasound technician has dealt with excited grandparents quite a bit! At first they had a hard time making out what body parts were what on the screen. We had to go straight to Wal-Mart to make copies of the pictures after our appointment so the grandmas could have their own copies.

We are all so excited and can't wait to hold and kiss her! Until then here are some pics of our precious little one...it's amazing to see what she is going to look like even if they are slightly distorted because of the fluid and her movements!








The last picture is of her heart and her heartrate. You can see her ribs and spine too! I think she is going to have her mommy's long, skinny feet though!

For some reason the pictures have my age as 27 years 11 months....that is obviously wrong! It should say 31 years 11 months! I wish I was still 27....

28 weeks!

How far along? 28.5 wks
Total weight gain: 14 pounds (as of last Tuesday)
Maternity clothes? yes and I need more spring/summer clothes
Stretch marks? not that I've seen....
Sleep: 3-4 hour spurts b/c my hips start hurting and I have to flip
Best moment this week: We spent the weekend relaxing and celebrating my mother-in-law's birthday
Miss Anything? sleeping though the night....but I guess the good Lord is preparing me!
Movement? oh yeah! More and more each day
Food cravings? still love my doritos and ice cream (not together!)
Anything making you queasy or sick? nah
Gender: girl
Name? yes...not really a secret but we aren't openly sharing either
Labor Signs: nope
Symptoms: just hurting hips
Belly Button in or out? in...and I think it's going to stay that way
Wedding rings on or off? on but some days they are tight near the end of the day
Happy or Moody most of the time: happy
Looking forward to: our 4D ultrasound in a few weeks!


Here I am at 28 weeks!

Pitter-Patter

A friend told me a few months ago that is was time to start blogging again since our little family is going to be growing just a little come June! It's been over a year since I've blogged about anything! We are so excited about this new adventure we are about to embark on!

We found out we were expecting back in October. We told our parents a few weeks later and let everyone else know after the first trimester--except for a few friends who knew from the start!

I'm now 25 1/2 weeks and we know that our Jellybean is going to be a little girl! Luckily my pregnancy has been a pretty uneventful one because so far everything has gone smoothly and we pray that it continues to do so! We go Tuesday for a checkup then our April appointment will be the glucose test--which I hope and pray I pass! We also hope to do the 4D ultrasound in April so our parents can come to see our little one! They are all very excited and Jellybean is already so loved and spoiled I can't even imagine how it will be when she finally gets here!!!

My friend Erin has been posting a few surveys about her pregnancy so I thought I would steal one! So here it goes...

How far along? 25.4 wks
Total weight gain: by my scales around 13 lbs...but we'll see what the Dr. scales say on Tues.
Maternity clothes? oh yes! Been wearing them for quite awhile now!!!
Stretch marks? not yet....
Sleep: getting more and more difficult. Jellybean likes to move at night and my hips hurt a lot from laying on my side.
Best moment this week:hitting 25 weeks, seeing the Halsey fam. at Brenna's 2nd b.day, spending a quiet evening with Justin.
Feeling normal Movement: yes, mostly at night or if I'm sitting or laying down.
Food cravings? not much anymore...was craving Doritos and Kraft Mac and Cheese but that has subsided!
Anything making you queasy or sick: not anymore! Couldn't stand the thought of meat for almost my entire first trimester!
Gender: Girl
Name? Yes we have one! Not announcing it to the world...close friends and family know though.
Labor Signs: nope! Thank goodness!
Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy unless it's been a bad day at work then I'm just stressed....
Looking forward to: our Drs apt. to make sure everything is still going great, scheduling our 4D ultrasound, scheduling our showers, and getting started on baby girl's bedding and nursery!

Here are a few pics from the last 6 months!

First Belly Shot


First ultrasound photo around 9 weeks

Our Jellybean at 9 weeks

Around 12 weeks


24 weeks!

HAPPY NEW YEAR....almost!

It's hard to believe it's been 5 months since we were married. I thought instead of writing I would just share some pictures to sum up the last few months. Enjoy!

BSG in the fall:

Grandma's 86th b.day

Wedding Celebration in BSG

HALLOWEEN

Our first Christmas!

WOW! 2010 has been such an emotional year for us! There have been some sad moments, but God and our family brought us through it. Luckily we had some very exciting moments too--our engagement and our wedding! The happiest day of my life...so far...at least until we have children!

I know next year will hold many more memories for us as we make our life together. So goodbye 2010 it's been wonderful and I'll never forget you, but I'm ready to see what 2011 holds!

PS: I'll try to do better at updating this thing next year! :)

We are MARRIED!

Yes I know we've been married a month. Yes I know I should have updated before now, but I've not had time to because I've been enjoying married life! It's wonderful. It's everything I've dreamed of and MORE! Our wedding was perfect...well perfect for us! If anything really went wrong we had no idea about it. I do have to send out a huge thank you to my bridesmaids for being by my side all day! I love you girls and you helped make our day more special. I love each and every one of you dearly and I'm so blessed to have you in my life. I know that Justin feels the same way about his groomsmen too--but boys don't share their feelings like us girls do! ;)

Incase you weren't at the wedding--which if you weren't invited and thought you should have been I'm sorry. Our list kept growing and growing and my parents aren't millionaires so we had to draw a line somewhere. I would love to have invited everyone who has ever been a part of our lives...but in the end we just couldn't afford to. Here is a run down of our wedding day from my point of view--which will probably be the only view you get b/c Justin doesn't blog!

The morning of our wedding I woke up at my parent's house--it was important for me to spend my last night as a single girl at home with my mom and dad. I woke up around 4:45 and layed there for awhile and when I finally did get up I found a letter from my mom. She had slide it under my door the night before. As I sat in my bedroom reading that letter I cried. Happy tears of course--almost bitter sweet. Here I was on my wedding day, sitting in the room where I grew up playing barbies, cabbage patch dolls, rainbow brite, talking on the phone to old friends who I have lost touch with, hiding from my brother, crying myself to sleep after the boy didn't call, after the break up with the boy in high school I just knew was "the one", and finally moving out for college. As I was reading this letter I saw it all though my mom's eyes and realized that one day (hopefully) I would write a letter like this to my little girl. Little girl...sounds funny to call myself that when I'm 30 years old, but that's what I am to my mom and dad. I always will be and I don't mind that at all. Ok back to that morning...after reading the letter and crying I decided to go outside and enjoy the sunrise. My dad was downstairs already and mom was still asleep. By this time it was around 5:30. At first I just went outside and sat in the swing that now hangs on our old swing set frame. The sky turned this amazing red/pink color and it made me think of the sunrise as God's love embracing the world. I knew then-and I knew before but I think God needed to remind me that as much as I love Justin, God loves us both so much more! I said a prayer that day for my future husband and our lives together. That was the first time I had watched the sunrise in a long time and I soaked up every minute of it. After enjoying the sunrise I decided to swing on Peighton's tree swing dad put for her in the same spot our old swing used to be. Little did I know that my mom and dad were watching me--after a slight freak out that I had run away when they couldn't find me in the house. I then decided to shoot some basketball. Something I used to do a lot of back in the day with my dad and brother. After shooting for a few minutes my dad comes out to join me. Looking back and after a few people commented it really was a "Father of the Bride" moment. Just my dad and me like old days playing a game of HORSE. I have never beaten my dad at this game. NEVER. He beat me the first game. I beat him the second game. So of course we can not end in a tie so we played one more round and I won. I think he let me beat him, but does it really matter? My last morning as a single girl was spent with my earthly daddy and my Heavenly Father. To me nothing is better and I will never forget that morning. I know I'll cherish it forever.

Mom captured it on camera! :) Thanks mom!

Moving on to our hair appointment--4 of my girls went with me to get our hair done in Dublin. Lori is amazing! She used a curling iron to curl my massive head of hair and it looked beautiful! All the girls looked beautiful! It finally started to sink in that I was finally the Bride when Lori put the hairpiece in my hair. I have been a bridesmaid so many times it really was a dream come true to be the bride!

Lori trying her best to make me beautiful!

Paige getting all dolled up!


Erin, Karen, and Sarah looking all beautiful!

After we had our hair done we headed to the church to get ready since John and Cindy (our photographers) were going to start shooting group shots at 2 and we still had to do our make up and get dressed! I had my make up done by Liz Shaver--a friend of my mom's who sells Mary Kay. I think she did a great job and I still looked like myself and it was very natural. Everyone kept asking me if I was nervous, but I really wasn't. I was going to be marrying my best friend why should I be nervous? I finally got into my dress and we had our pics made and as the seconds ticked by I started to get excited! I wanted to see Justin. Hear is voice and become his wife! From 2-4:30 seemed to take forever! It was finally time for us to walk over to the sanctuary. It was HOT. We stood outside for a few minutes before we moved into the vestibule. When it was my turn to go down the asile they closed the doors so I could move over to the doorway and the harpist started playing the bridal march. It sounded beautiful and all I could think was open the doors already I want to see my future husband! IT seemed to take forever because dad and brenda were fixing my massive train (it was like 7 ft or more). When the doors opened and I saw Justin all I remember thinking was I'm the luckiest girl in the world! I don't remember walking down that long asile I was focused on Justin and of couse I got a little teary eyed--especially when I realized that Justin was on the verge of tears too. It came time for my dad to give me away--which is something he had been saying for a few months that he didn't think he could do it--and even told my brother the day of the wedding to be on standby to walk me down the asile b/c he wasn't sure he could do it. I'm a daddy's girl incase you haven't figured it out yet! Well he did it and did it without crying, but during the ceremony I did hear some crying and I found out later it was my dad. The best words of the whole day were when the preacher said "I now pronounce you husband and wife". This was the moment I had been waiting and praying for my whole life.

After the ceremony we rode in a white limo to RU to Muse Hall for our reception. It was beautiful. We danced some--the dj and music is a whole different story--we were not happy with it at all. But it was still fun and it was nice to get a chance to speak to everyone who came to share our day with us. I hated we didn't get to talk to everyone for very long, but as I said before we had over 200 people there to talk to. If we didn't speak to you I'm sorry! We really do appreciate you being there!

We left the reception running though sparklers--and no one got burned! Our car was covered with TP and condoms and the car was filled with balloons--regular balloons and animal shaped balloons. (which made for some fun on the drive to Charlotte the next day) From RU we headed to the Inn at VT and our honeymoon began! :) The next morning we had breakfast at Panara Bread and headed to mom's for a brunch with our families and to open the wedding gifts so our families could see all the wonderful things we got. From there we drove to Charlotte to spend the night and ended up having dinner with Paige and Josh. It was a nice surprise and we had fun hanging out with them. The next morning we flew to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic for our honeymoon, but that's a whole other blog! Let's just say it was heaven on earth! We had an amazing time and did not want to leave.

Since we have been home and getting into the swing of things as a married couple things have been wonderful! Of couse we have our quirks we are each getting used to, but I wouldn't change a thing! I hope we are always this happy and in love and I know that as long as we keep God in the center of our marriage we will be. We have started reading the Bible together from the beginning each night before going to sleep. We are also reading a devotional called the Love Dare that was given to us by Lisa and Kevin who also got married this summer! We are only a few days in but I think it's going to be a good devotional for us. It will challenge us and bring us closer together as we grow in our marriage during the coming year.

On a side note I want say that our photographers were amazing!!! I would recommend them to anyone! His name is John McCormick. I will link his website below and you can go look at our wedding pics if you would like. When you get to his website follow these steps to see our pics:

1. Click on weddings
2. Click on "your stuff"

3. Click on Justin and Sheri

4. Enjoy! There are over 700 pics so prop up your feet and enjoy!

5. You can also look at my wedding portraits if you want from that same page-- instead of clicking on Justin and Sheri you can enter the password sherim in the box for Sheri Miller.

Here's the website: http://www.johnmccormickphotography.com/