Well, here we are....

I know, I know, this is the way I start every posting. It's been forever, once again! But too bad, once you are at this point in pregnancy, you have to prioritize, and I have to choose laying down and resting to typing in my blog. I said to someone to let me know if they create a laptop where you can type while laying down, because that would work a lot better. As I type, my feet are about the size of hot-air balloons and I really need to put them up, but I want to get a post on here.

Ok, so where to start? It's almost D-day, and little Baby Landers could come at any time! And, for the most part, any time would be just fine....however, on a side note, our bestest friend Steve Voss is getting married this weekend in Chicago, and Eli is in the wedding! That means, he is leaving tomorrow morning and returning on Sunday afternoon! We knew when they planned that wedding that I wouldn't be able to go, but we thought that since I will just be 37 weeks, the odds of the baby coming were pretty low for a first baby.

Well, go figure that when we went to the dr. last week he told me that I was already progressing! If you want to know details, I was 1 centimeter dilated and 50% effaced! Trust me, I am very realistic, I understand that I could still be weeks away from delivering, but it definitely surprised us since we didn't expect to hear that anything had happened! Needless to say, it kinda freaked us both out with Eli leaving for Chicago this weekend (that was last Thursday). But my mom is coming to stay with me this weekend, and Eli reported to me that he has printed out all the possible flights back to Harrisburg each day, each categorized by different things....so he is ready!

I was really nervous for awhile, but then I was like, "What can I do?" I know I need to relax and stay calm, and decided that God would handle it a lot better than I would, so I am just trusting Him to take care of us! And I know He will!

We have our bag all packed and ready to go, although I don't really think I have any idea what I really need. After all, I've never done this before! But I gave it my best guess, and now I can say I have my bag packed! In talking with a friend who is due just three days before me, we agreed that is weird that you can feel ready and yet totally not ready at the same time. I mean, my body feels ready, and I think my mind feels ready, but yet I feel totally unprepared. I absolutely do NOT want to pretend to know what to expect in all of this. I think I have probably educated myself to the MAX, but at the same time, my own experience is going to be completely unique, and no one can tell me what that will be. I am so very thankful to have my amazing husband right by my side, as well as wonderful sisters, a supportive mama, and great friends! It really makes a huge difference.

I go in to the doctor again tomorrow. We tried to get in earlier before Eli leaves, but they had absolutely NO openings! Apparently, there are a million and one expected births in the month of August at Hershey! So I will attend my first doctor's appointment alone, and hope that he doesn't tell me there have been any enormous changes, since by that point, Eli will be midair!

So, in conclusion, I drop Eli off at the airport in the morning and my mom comes in the evening, and meanwhile, this little guy will just have to stay hidden until Sunday, or at least until Eli gets in on a last-minute flight back. I am so very sad not to be able to be at Stevie Ray's wedding, especially since we have waited SO LONG to meet this marvelous lady we hear so much about. He completely understands, but we were so looking forward to being part of his special day and spending time with him and Erin and the Voss family. But I guess I will live vicariously through Eli, and will send my best thoughts off with the new couple. They have promised, and I am publicly proclaiming their commitment, that they will come to PA to see us after little Landers comes (hopefully this fall). That's pretty much all I can do from here...

Oh, and one last thing. We finally decided on a name! We are keeping it a surprise to others until the baby is born, but we were totally stuck between two different names. We asked God to help us know what he wants us to name the baby, and he gave us a clear sign the other night! So now we are ready to go! Let's do this thing.

Here's this week's picture, see if you can tell if the baby has dropped or not:

It IS a miracle...

So a friend from high school sent me a Facebook message today, and in responding to her, I realized that I expressed some of my deepest feelings about being pregnant - so I am going to share my response to her and hopefully be able to express my feelings a little better:

"Thanks for the encouragement!! I actually am enjoying my pregnancy...people keep telling me I have a glow about me, which I don't really understand, but I LOVE feeling this little guy move and roll and stick his foot out so that I can feel it poking through! I was telling my hubby yesterday that it is hard not being able to breathe, and it is very hard to get comfortable when I am trying to just sit and read or something (I am in an online grad class right now), but other than that, I have had an ideal pregnancy!

At the same time, I am scared about a lot of things - giving birth, taking care of a newborn, our changing life, but I just can't wait to hold our little boy in our arms and fall so deeply in love!! I also can't wait to see Eli become a daddy; I think it will transform our relationship forever!"

I realized that I hope that I am not complaining too much and giving the impression that being pregnant is not the miracle that it is...because it truly is a miracle and something so unique that God provided just to women! It has changed my life, and I just wanted to share that!

Here I am this week:

I didn't realize I'd be so exhausted...

So here I am, a whole month since my last post....and a whole month bigger!! I didn't realize I was going to feel this tired and blah...that's what I told a friend about this blogging stuff - I'd love to keep posting regularly, but it usually ends up needing to be a choice between doing the wash or putting my feet up or blogging, and I have to prioritize!

This belly feels so big and in the way, that sometimes it's hard just to do the day-to-day stuff. The amazing thing is that this is the time when my belly will grow the fastest, since this is when the baby is growing the fastest.

Since my last post, Sara and I traveled to California and back, my parents and Aunt Duckie came and helped to get the nursery all set up, and I grew a lot! California went well and it was wonderful to see family members who I haven't seen in over ten years, but it was also good to be home. I didn't realize how much I would miss Eli (and Rooney, admittedly) and it was tough because I had to take care of myself and I was very emotional! But all and all, Sara and I did well, and I didn't even really want to kill her :) Haha, just kidding, we had a good time.

Last weekend, my parents and Aunt Duckie came up to help us do whatever we needed to do. Eli needed to replace the insulation in the attic, which was a HUGE job, and fortunately my dad was able to help him to do that, which was SUCH a weight off of our shoulders. Also, the nursery was halfway set up, but there were bags and gifts and diapers and things all over the place. So my mom and Aunt Duckie helped to wash everything and get it all organized and put away. We bought all of the little things we needed to complete the nursery, and we even decorated! I will post a few pictures as soon as I get a chance. It feels nice to just sit in there now, knowing that it is really ready to add Little Boy Landers. All in all, we had a really good time this weekend and it was such a huge help to us!

I have been SO fortunate in my pregnancy so far, and one blessing is that I have slept really well. But now, it's getting harder just to simply lay down without effort. I have a gigantic body pillow that I sleep with to elevate my legs and my belly, so essentially there are now FOUR people in our bed, which leaves very little room. Every turn or roll over or anything takes massive effort, which means that I wake up! It doesn't help that I have to pee about four times a night....but at least when I sleep I actually sleep. And please....don't respond with a comment that says that I should enjoy the sleep I am getting now...I am well aware that things are going to get really tough, and that I will be exhausted when the baby comes.

I've actually been getting pretty nervous about the labor and delivery and the baby coming. I can't believe how out of control my emotions feel, and I can cry at the drop of a hat! I was sobbing at the finale of The Bachelorette the other night! Then on the way to work I heard that song on the radio by Mark Schultz about Walking Her Home, and I started crying then too! Crazy...

But lots of things are falling into place now and that feels really good. I had an appointment with a pediatrician today so that we now have a pediatrician, the nursery is ready, we have pretty much all of the essential items we need, so we are really getting ready. Now it is just Eli and me that have to get ready....but how do we do that? I don't know....I guess that just happens....

I'm back again....

So here I am again...I know, I know, it's been forever. My friend Rebekah from high school is amazing about updating her blog a couple times a week, but it just takes a lot of energy, and I don't always have that after a long day at work!

There are so many updates to provide, but I will start with an update on my back pain. Some of you know that I have had back pain for probably at least two months now, resulting from my changing belly and posture. For awhile heat and rest worked to relieve it, but it has been getting progressively worse over the last few weeks, so I started physical therapy this week. She informed me that because of my long waist and posture, I have weak middle back muscles, and normally my abdominal muscles are strong enough to keep me up, but now that my abdominal muscles are weak because of the pregnancy, my middle back muscles are collapsing, thus causing the pain. So they have me doing exercises and stretches at home to strengthen my middle back and abdominal muscles, which should in turn help the pain. But no one told me that physical therapy meant they would make you exercise! 7:30 AM this morning was my appointment, and it kicked my butt! Oh well, hopefully these things will help to improve the pain over the next few months as my belly grows even bigger!

We went up to Eli's parents' house this weekend for Cailer's shower...it is so funny because it was such a Landers' shower :) They wanted just a little get-together, with no fru-fru games or unnecessary socializing...so we ate, did the gifts, and called it a day! I warned them that the Schwab shower at my mom's house in a few weeks will most likely be all the fru-fru stuff they hate, with a LOT of socializing! Haha...they said they are prepared and can handle it!

Here's Cailer and me with our bellies...she is 5 weeks ahead of me and due July 31st.

Because she is so little, my belly literally fits right over hers!!

It was wonderful to be up at their house though, it is so beautiful up there in Sullivan County, and I love it that Rooney can just run free and explore, and he comes back to us when we call him so we don't have to worry. He was an angel this weekend, even with tons of people around! Go figure....I don't get that dog! Since I was so proud of him for behaving well this weekend, I decided to take him to the softball game last night even though I said I wouldn't take him anymore....well, I'm not going to take him anymore!! Stupid dog, still barking and lunging at that men. I just don't understand because he was PERFECT with all the men this weekend...he's unpredictable and that's the problem. If anyone wants to contribute to the "Get a behaviorist for Rooney to nip this in the bud before baby comes" fund, please make checks payable to me! Haha....

Maile and Chris got a new puppy that they brought up this weekend, and he just adored Rooney...they were like brothers! The puppy wanted to do everything Rooney did, if Rooney sniffed something, so did the puppy. If rooney walked somewhere, so did the puppy. It was cute. The puppy kept trying desperately to get Rooney to play by jumping up on him and standing on his back, but Rooney just did his own thing. He did play a few times, and it was sooo funny!

Here is them playing:



So in other news, I noticed that a thing or two have been already been purchased off of our registry...I was not cheating, but I went in to check on something, and noticed that they were taken off the registry. This is getting exciting!

I don't know if you have heard of Freecycle; it is a Yahoo group where people post things they are getting rid of, and you can respond if you are interested and then you go and pick it up. Everything is free, and you never know what will pop up on there...I have gotten some good stuff! The Harrisburg group is huge, so you have to respond really quickly in order to get stuff. Well, last week I happened to be checking at exactly the right time when I saw that someone posted an offer for a bassinet and an Eddie Bauer vibrating bouncer....and I was the first to respond so I got it! I went and picked it up, and what a find! The basinett will be perfect for what we need; it has an area of discoloration where her baby pushed his head against the side, but it is white so i think I can just bleach it. And the bouncer was in perfect condition! It vibrates and folds completely up so you can even travel with it! I was sooo excited! I love Freecycle! If you want info on it, let me know!!

I need to start getting the room ready by clearing out the closet with all the linens in it that is in the nursery right now, but I just don't know where I am going to put them...it is a little overwhelming when we don't really have that kind of storage upstairs, but I will figure it out. I have to make room for things that I get from the shower before the room just gets full of stuff and I can't even move around!!

What else is going on? Well, we are starting small group this weekend with a group of young married couples and our friends Brandon and Carla, who have set it up. We are really excited, since we haven't been in a small group in over a year, and we are missing that part of our lives. It is good because Brandon and Carla have a little boy who was born last September, so they are kind of at the same place as us. I'm a little nervous since I don't really know any of the other couples, but it will be good to get to know them better. AND....everyone, except Brandon and Carla, lives on the East Shore! Finally, a group of people we can relate to! Haha...just kidding...but it will be good to have some friends on the East Shore, since the only ones left over there are us and Sara and Terry. We love you, Sara and Terry, but sometimes we just need some other peeps to hang out with!

Finally, Sara took me out to buy me a maternity bathing suit this week. Let's just say that she is "renting" my non-maternity clothes for the summer. She came over and raided my closets for everything I can't fit into, and she is taking full advantage of all of those clothes. In exchange, I made her buy me a maternity bathing suit that I need. I think that's a pretty good deal, right? Haha...as long as she doesn't shrink or ruin everything! It was kinda weird to be buying a maternity bathing suit, since we will be going to the beach the beginning of August and I will be massively huge by then! I can't imagine any of those suits will look good on me, but I found one that I think will at least function for me. I didn't purchase the thong like I had planned, but I think the tankini will work out okay :)

Okay, I think that's enough....here's a belly pic for you from this week. 26 1/2 weeks now! Saturday I officially start my third trimester!!!


Sorry it took me so long to do an update!! Sara and I head to California at the end of June, so I'll write a little more about that later!

I AM still alive!!

Haha....so here I am! Truth is, there are a lot of nights where I want to sit down and write a post on here, but my back hurts so much by that time that I just need to lay down, and I can't position the laptop so I can write at the same time!



My back has been really sore lately, and the only thing that relieves it is laying down on my bed for awhile. I called the doc about two weeks ago, and the nurse told me a physical therapy consult was a good idea and she would have the doc call me to set it up. Well, five days later, some other random doc calls (Kristen, it was a Dr. Hallowell??) and asks, "Any bleeding? Contractions? Still feeling the baby move?" Then she says, "Well, there is no reason to be concerned then...." I was like "Lady, I'm not concerned, I'm uncomfortable!!" Anyway, she was not helpful and told me to just wait until my appt on 5/30. That stinks.....



So much has happened since I've last written on here. I guess the biggest news is that we have the nursery painted, we have our crib, and things are actually moving along. It still feels so weird to think that this is just real life now....a baby is on the way. Last night I was relaxing watching tv, and I got up to go to bed, and I forgot that I was pregnant with this big belly!! It was actually a little bit depressing, to be honest, because I just don't feel very attractive lately. Eli is wonderful, always telling me how beautiful I am as a pregnant woman. But sometimes, all this new weight just feels big!



Eli and I started on our budget this month with our MICS (Money I Can Spend) money. Thanks to Sara and Terry, who have used this method for years, we are now practicing what it is to be living on one income. It hasn't been too bad so far, and actually it really helps me to think through things before I just go and buy them. I keep telling Eli that I should get some extra as a pregnant woman to fill cravings, considering almost all my money this month has gone to things like McD's hot fudge sundaes, iced coffees, snacks on the road, etc., but he just won't let me :) Oh well, I will have to curb my cravings at home.



So you all know how I collect milk ads and purchase a lot from Ebay? Lately, I've been so frustrated by those people who wait until the last second, and then they outbid you. So you think you won it, and then two minutes later you get an email that you were outbid at the last second! Anyway, I saw the cutest Got Milk baby boy newborn set on there. It had a bottle, bib, onesie, blanket, pacifier, and a bunch of other stuff that was blue with the Got Milk logo. It was going for 5 bucks with 5 bucks shipping, and I was going to use my MICS money to get it. I watched it until it was 11 minutes from ending, and there had been no other bids on it the whole time. Well, I was SO disappointed when someone else outbid me with 30 seconds to go. I was so excited about it! Oh well, I guess I should just let it go :)



It's been so long on here that I don't really even know what else to add. I guess I will add the latest belly pic. I'm looking forward to summer coming up, and especially to Sara and my trip to Cali to go to our cousin's wedding. It will be so good to see family that we literally have not seen in 14 years! Pretty bad, huh? We were hoping to do some sightseeing in San Francisco, but that doesn't seem to be working out to well with our family's schedules. It will be good times though, as long as Sara takes care of me when I need it! If you see her, remind her that she needs to take care of me while we are out there. Those flights and the time change are gonna be tough!



Believe it or not, I am really looking forward to getting some swimming in this summer. I feel like it will be very refreshing during this very hot, swollen, summer for me, and maybe I will feel a little lighter in the water!! Hopefully I can find a pool to swim in!



We are looking forward to a weekend with no plans this weekend. Last weekend my parents stayed with us, which was great, but it was also crazy with all the yardsaling and the whole family over in our little house on Saturday!! My mom and I got some awesome deals at the yardsales though. Up at at 'em at 7:30. Early bird gets the worm! Our deal of the day was this big Little Tikes toddler swingset, with 6 different swings (baby swing, normal swing, those up and down swings, etc.) and a slide....for 30 bucks!!! We took it apart for now and put it away until it is time to use it, but I was really excited about it.



Ok, that's enough rambling for now....here's what I look like now:

I know, it's not the most flattering picture, but I am trying to get one each week, and this was the only chance I had to take a pic.

I'll write more soon!! If you have any ideas to help with backache, feel free to share!

Baby's Room

Well, it only took us about 500 hours at Home Depot to pick the colors for the baby's room. We knew what we wanted, but we just couldn't figure out exactly which hues! It was actually kinda frustrating, cuz we kept asking each other, "well, which one?" And neither of us could decide. We don't know how to do paint stuff!

Oh well, we took our best shot. Eli primed it yesterday and painted the bottom half today. It is a really sweet shade of baby green :) He is going to finish the upper half tomorrow and then put the chair rail up. He's a wonderful guy! It is going to be really cute. We finally picked our bedding and crib, so things are moving in the right direction.

Last night we hung out with our college buddies, since Ari was in from Pittsburgh, and it was her birthday too! Good times....I was laughing so much that seriously, last night after we got home, I was miserable. My back was aching so bad and my stomach muscles were so sore from laughing. But I guess it was worth it! Friends are fabulous!

So my back has really been aching a lot....it started out over a month ago that it would be sore around 8 pm and I would need to lay down and rest with some heat. Well, by now, it is sore by about 11 am and not too much really helps it except laying down, and even then, when I get up it is sore again. I called the doc on Friday about getting some physical therapy or something else that might help, since I know it is only going to get worse. Sometimes it really hurts, but this is the price we mothers pay! Hopefully I will hear from the doctor tomorrow with some good news. Anybody with advice, feel free to give it!!

Well, on that note, I'm gonna lay down and get some rest. Later!

Running Errands - who knew it could be so fun?

This morning I spent the day with Amy, Emma, and Collin at Hershey's Chocolate World. We saw the Really Big 3D Movie. Good thing Amy had a BOGO ticket, because it was completely not worth it. They make you stand in this big room for like 15 minutes, waiting to get in, and then they tell you that you can go in. That means entering another, smaller, room, where you watch a boring short movie about the history of Hershey or something. This whole time, you and whatever children you have with you are standing. Then you finally go in to the theater and see the movie with 3D effects, which is pretty cool, but it lasts about ten minutes. Poor Emma was scared by the "silly, scary guy" on the movie, and just kept asking me to hold her more tightly. Then we got some lunch at McDonald's and Aunt Sara met us at the playground for some fun.

Moving on, later on this afternoon, Eli and I ran out to do some errands. We were looking at some baby bedding, buying some maternity undies (for me, not Eli :) and returning some things. Then we decided to stop over at Babies R' Us to look at a few of the things I registered for online and to look at their baby bedding one more time. We went over and looked at the carseat and stroller we chose, and we wheeled it around a bit to check it out. It got really good ratings and we liked it, so we chose it online, but hadn't really gotten to try it. I was showing Eli how to put the carseat in and close the stroller and stuff, and as he is carrying the carseat around, I had this "OMIGOSH" moment, realizing that in just a few months, there will be Eli's little baby boy in that carseat! It was weird, but really exciting.

For some reason, this time looking around at Babies R' Us was soo much more real than the last time when we started our registry. It was really cute to see Eli, who normally would have been pulling my arms off to get out of the store, actually participating in looking around and trying things out.

Well, I think that's it for now. This is my last week of my internship, and I only have two more nights of my social service class and then the semester is over!! YAY!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures of my beautiful baby boy!

3D Ultrasound?!?!?

Hey all!!!

Check these out:

This is my little baby boy!!!

So let me tell you what happened:

Yesterday I went over to Hershey to get another ultrasound, just because the sonographer couldn't get a good view of the spine last week. I went in and she started the ultrasound, and fortunately she was able to get some good views and everything was hunky-dory. There was a medical student in there observing. She was moving the little ultrasound-thingy around, and I was like, "Wait, are those 3D??" She was like, "Yeah, I thought I would do a couple for you." How awesome is that!!!?? The ultrasound technician, Jeanie, is one of the women that I work with in my internship at Hershey Med in Maternal Fetal Medicine, and she did our first ultrasound last week. She is so passionate about what she does, and a really great lady.

So then she says to the medical student, "Hey, I wanna show you the 4D ones." WOW!! 4D ultrasound is 3D, but in real-time. So I saw the baby moving, live, in 3D. It was soooo neat....we saw his mouth opening and closing, and we saw him doing some little boxing moves as well. Unfortunately, Jeanie is not able to record the 4D stuff, but she did give me the 3D images that she did.

Eli and I thought this was just gonna be a simple ultrasound to see the spine, and we had no idea that she would do a 3 and 4D one! So Eli wasn't there and didn't get to see them, but he has seen the pictures and he was pretty excited. Last week Jeanie told us that they only do 3D ultrasound for medical purposes, if there are concerns. But she so gratefully did it for me. I said "Wow, Jeanie, I guess it does help to know people huh?" She said "I guess so :)"

On a side note, during the regular 2D ultrasound, I asked if she still thought it was a boy. She zoomed over to the baby's little private area, and she was like "Oh yeah!" Haha...hilarious.

Anyway, I guess I forgot to officially tell you that our baby is a little boy!

Take a guess...

Ok, tomorrow I have another ultrasound just because they couldn't get a good shot of the spine last week. I will post more tomorrow after that...and I will post ultrasound pictures. I'm sure most all of you know by now what we are going to be having....if not, try to guess from this picture.

Don't forget to vote on my new poll!

The Ultrasound

What a day! Yesterday we had our 20-week ultrasound, which is the detailed ultrasound when they check out the anatomy, size, and other things, and they can see the gender! Going in, I oddly didn't have a feeling either way, I really wasn't sure if we were having a boy or a girl. But now we know!! I have to finish telling family and close friends, but then I will post it here later.

It was a great day though. We both took a full sick day, since our ultrasound and dr's appt were right in the middle of the day. We stayed up late and woke up late, then went in for our ultrasound. Our ultrasound was scheduled for 10:00 and then our dr's appt was at 11:20 down the street. Well, go figure, the ultrasound didn't happen until 11:10!! They were running reallly late, so we just kept sitting there waiting! It was frustrating, but it wasn't too bad. The whole time we were waiting, the baby was kicking like a maniac. I guess the baby was telling us to hurry up so we could see him!

This is us right before the ultrasound (what are we having???):

Since my internship works with Maternal Fetal Medicine at Hershey Med, I knew both of the ultrasound techs, and I was crossing my fingers that we would get the tech, just because she is really sweet and passionate about what she does. Sure enough, she calls us in for the ultrasound. So I lay down and she puts the jelly on my belly :) You know, they keep it in a warmer so it's nice and warm! So I lay down and she starts moving around, talking us through the entire time. It was amazing to see the baby kicking and rolling around, and then to feel it in my belly at the same time!! What a miracle! So she shows us all the separate pieces of the baby's body...brain, stomach, bladder, heart, kidneys, arms, legs, everything! It was so neat.

Then she says "Do you want to know the gender?" We told her we did, and she showed us the little baby privates we were looking for! We are soo excited!! I looked at Eli, and he looked at me, and I just felt so blessed. We are going to be a mommy and daddy!

Since I am on a medication and have been the whole pregnancy, our one concern was that the baby may have cleft lip or palette due to the risks of the medication (one of the main risks of this particular med). She looked for us, and the baby's lips and mouth appear to be perfectly normal! I am so thankful! She took videos of the baby moving all around and the heart beating like crazy.

At one point, she was trying to see the spine, and the baby wouldn't roll to the right position. She finally said "Mom, could you tell your baby to roll over so we can see the spine?" So I started poking my belly and coaxing the baby to roll over....AND THE BABY DID!! Haha....the tech said that she has only ever seen that one other time. What an obedient child we have already!

The doctor came in afterward and said there are absolutely no concerns at this point,but I do need to get another ultrasound next week just to see the spine since they couldn't see it yesterday. She put all the pictures and videos on a CD for us, and when I got home and tried to open it, it was empty!! I called over there and Jeanie said she would do another for me and have it ready for Monday when I go back for my internship. I can't wait to post it.

After the ultrasound (We know what we are having, and we are thrilled!):

It was an absolutely beautiful day! We went out to lunch at Panera, came home and took Rooney for a hike - what a workout! Then I took a little rest and we spent the rest of the day hanging out outside. It was just an amazing, wonderful, beautiful day! I praise the Lord for all of the amazing things He does in our lives, and especially for this little life growing inside, that will be out with us in the world before we know it!

I think Eli was just soo happy and he was taking all these pictures of me on the beautiful day...Even though they aren't the most flattering pictures, I will post them anyway:

Last but not least, we spent the evening together and watched the movie "Juno." Well, for some strange reason, it made me sob! Hormones, an exciting day, who knows? But it is an excellent movie...

Today it is off to Eli's softball tournament, then we head up to Allentown for college friends' Bruce and Steve's house parties. We can't wait to spend the beautiful day up there with friends! Tomorrow baby Collin gets dedicated.

I will post the pics and videos as soon as I get them from Hershey on Monday....

Until then, keep guessing the gender!

Sorry it's been awhile!

Here's the newest belly picture for you all:

Ok, Ok, I've been chastised for not updating this blog. But please, give me some grace. I am at the very end of my semester (only about three more weeks, yay!) and I have two GIANT projects I am working on. Just what I need, boo....

Anyway, the biggest news this week is that Eli felt the baby move!! Amazing! We were sitting on the couch Saturday night and I was feeling the baby kicking around a lot. Of course I told Eli the baby was moving, and like always, he put his hand on my belly, even though he knows he can't feel the baby yet. But, he goes, "I just felt it!" "Right there?" "Right now!" Oh my gosh! He was feeling the baby....he felt it like 5 times! I thought it was way too early for him to be feeling the baby; I mean, the kicks I feel are still not too strong yet. But sure enough, he was feeling the little one!

Once you feel the baby, it just makes everything so much more real! Having Eli feel it was even more amazing than feeling it myself (well, maybe not, but it was great!)

My belly keeps growing, and I am just about out of regular clothes that I can force myself into. So maternity clothes it is. Fortunately, empire waists are the style now, so I bought a bunch of cheap non-maternity ones to wear. I told Eli yesterday that I need to pull out my maternity camisoles. I wear them under my regular shirts every day, and yesterday it kept ending up ON TOP of my belly and I had to keep pulling it down! Then Eli said, "Yeah, if I reach over to you during the night, your shirt is always above your belly!" Haha....guess I got to move to some bigger stuff.

I'm eating like a pig, and it's actually kinda embarrassing. Yesterday before class I bought a foot-long sub at Subway (only $5 right now) because it was cheaper than a 6 inch. I knew I would only eat half, but I was planning to take the other half home. Well, I ate the whole stinkin' foot-long sub!!! Oh my gosh! Maybe I don't really have a pregnancy belly at all, and it's just all the food I've been eating! But my weight gain is still on-target, for now, so I guess I don't have to worry too much. And FYI, Blizzards are a pregnant woman's best friend...so if you ever want to treat me to one, I'm in!

This weekend we ended up moving the rooms around so that the nursery is ready to be started. I think we ended up doing a lot more than we actually planned, and I was exhausted at the end of the weekend! But it feels great to have that done, and the guest room actually looks a lot better where the office was. Now it is just time to get rid of the awful neon pink in the nursery! I never thought it was so bad and I just thought it was funny, but I can hardly wait to get rid of it now!

We also picked up our glider for the nursery this weekend. It is so comfortable! A Dutailier of course, thanks Aunt Duckie for the wonderful gift! It is so comfortable and will hopefully make nighttime feedings a little better. But Eli swears our baby will be sleeping through the night at 2 weeks! Haha....he's just teasing though.

This has all been really fun, except for the backaches...

We have our 20-week ultrasound on FRIDAY!! and we will be finding out whether it is a boy or a girl. I know, one of those "New Age" couples who doesn't like surprises. Haha...yea right. We just want to know. You all will hear about it as well, if you care that is :)

I WILL ADD ANOTHER BLOG AFTER THE ULTRASOUND AND APPT, I promise.

Amazing Day...for so many reasons...

So, the most amazing thing happened yesterday. A friend of mine came to know Christ! I have been praying for her for awhile, but God was moving in her life and yesterday was the day! I am so thankful for Crosswalk and the wonderful things that it has taught me about what it truly means to be an ambassador for Christ, and how we really need to reach out to others. It is so different from the things I heard growing up, and it's been tough, but God is good, and He has shown me amazing things! God bless my new sister in Christ and I can't WAIT to watch her grow!

In baby news, it is amazing that I can now feel the baby pretty regularly. I obviously can't predict it, but when it happens, I know exactly what it is. It is the most amazing feeling. To think that I am now 18 weeks! Time is flying!! I am just so thankful for all of the wonderful things that are happening in our life right now.

Eli is the sweetest thing too. When I tell him the baby is moving, he runs over and puts his hand on my belly, desperately trying to feel...I keep telling him that he won't be able to feel for awhile, but he just loves his little baby so much, so I just let him :) I am so thankful to have a husband and best friend that is so wonderful and loves the Lord and his family so much. It is going to be so special to be a little family and see him caring for his new little baby.

Only two weeks until we find out what we are having! Eli says to the baby last night, "Okay, baby, we will see you in two weeks..." I'm like what are you talking about? Then I realized he meant the ultrasound :) So sweet!

Here's me now:

Family and Friends are Great!

So this weekend was just a really great weekend...we went to this children's consignment sale at Sara's church and even though they have it regularly, this was the only time I've ever gone since I finally have a reason to go! It was so weird to be able to look at baby things and actually consider buying them...for myself! I took care of baby Collin most of the morning, and it just all of the sudden felt real to me. I did find some good stuff for good prices and I can't wait until the next one in August!

I talked to Eli's sister Cailer yesterday, who informed us that they will be having a little girl! That's what we all figured for some reason. But now I feel like we really are going to have a boy! Not ONE person has said they think we are having a girl, although I always felt like that's what I wanted, but now I'm thinking a boy would be great! Who am I kidding? Any kind of baby will be great! People comment that I am "carrying high," which apparently means there is a boy in there??? I don't get it!

Once again, my belly has popped a little. It kinda feels a little weird now almost. And after I eat a meal and my belly is really full, it feels like it is just pulling outward. Like my skin is stretching or something. It's weird, and I bet I am weird too, but oh well. Eli and I had dinner outside on the deck for the first tiem this spring, and we realized that next time we have our first dinner outside, we will have a little one with us! Weird...

I need a little leeway over these next couple weeks as I am finishing my semester. I have about 6,345,333 projects and papers to do, and it doesn't leave much time to write on here. And when I do, I feel guilty, like I should be working on one of those 6,345,333 things instead.

We took the funniest picture of Collin this weekend, but of course Sara hasn't posted it yet, so I will have to wait until I get it from her, and then I'll put it up!

Ok, I swear this time....

Alright, so I am sitting in grad class having a group discussion on Monday night, and this thing taps on the bottom of my belly in three different places! I swear, that was it! It felt like something just moving across the bottom of my belly, but I only felt it hit three different times. I'm trying to concentrate on the discussion we are having, but also realizing that I just felt the baby! Haha....it came and went, and now I am waiting to feel it again! I felt a little tap yesterday, but that was about it. I admit, the first time I thought I felt it, it must have been something else. But I knew that was possible. This time, I'm sure. Baby is gonna start moving like crazy now!

I got a daily email about the baby's development the other day, and it said that by now the baby can sense light, so if you out a flashlight to your belly, he will move away. Well, I sat with that stupid flashlight for a long time last night trying to make him move, but nothing...maybe our baby just doesn't mind a little light!

Also, last night I had a dream that Aunt Duckie was with us, and she told us that we could actually see the baby by just opening up my belly pouch. So we did, and there was the baby. She also informed us that you could actually take the baby out and hold it for a bit, as long as you don't undo the umbilical cord. Sure enough, our baby was a boy! We held it for awhile, and then carefully positioned it back in my womb for it to grow the rest of the way. How weird!!!! Does this mean it's a boy??

Hangin out with the Fam

Well, we got together at the Landers' house this weekend. Cailer, Craig, and Craig's daughter, Sophia, were able to come up this weekend, so Eli and I went up since we haven't seen them since they got married in August. We went down to Williamsport and got Caleb and his baby Alivia, so they spent the day with us yesterday, and even Keith came up and hung out with us! It was a really great time. It is so weird how this family has exploded in just the last year. We have two new husbands, one new baby, and two little ones on the way! Unfortunately, Maile and Chris couldn't come because they had a concert or something to go to.

It was really neat to see Cailer, who is 5 months pregnant, just five weeks ahead of me. Her belly seems a lot more "real" than mine....but I guess it tells me what I will look like in a few weeks! They find out what they are having really soon, so that will be neat. I think Mom and Dad are just thrilled to have all these new family members. We always tease Mom that she acts like she is so tough-skinned, but she becomes a blubbering, goo-goo ga-ga grandma when she is around Alivia! It's cute!


This is Cailer and me with our bellies: I'm only slightly taller than her! :)

It was really great to see everyone, and things are just so different now than they were before. Caleb is soo sweet with his little baby, and it is amazing to see him as a daddy. Keith loves Alivia, and is so sweet with her as well. I had a good time with Sophia, although she is extremely competitive, and can have some wild melt-downs when you beat her at Guitar Hero (which only Caleb is able to do). Let me just say though, when Dad Landers and I played against each other (on easy of course), I beat him! We are soo pathetic :) Sophia's fun though, and actually had some great answers for Scattergories!

This is sweet little Alivia, sleeping on my bosom :)

I am so thankful that I married in to this exciting and loving family. It is so different from my family, but it has been so wonderful getting to know them all, and really becoming a part of the family and watching it change and grow. We realized I have been around them for 7 1/2 years, which seems like forever!

So last night, we were trying to figure out what to do; of course I suggested Scattergories. Everyone booed at first, but then we did play, and of course things turned crazy! It turns out that Craig is the worst Scattergories player of all times, as every answer he gives begins with a disclaimer, such as, "you have to remember that other countries think of this differently..." I caught Keith though, because he gives me such a hard time about pushing the limits of this game, but he totally gave Craig credit for all his crazy answers! Haha...oh well, I guess I have to accept the prejudice from him :) Love ya Keith!

Well, that's it for now. Spring break is over, so the craziness of my job, internship and classes starts again this week! I only have to make it til the beginning of May!

"Strange things are happening to my body...."

(That's from "The Other Sister" by the way - only the best movie ever made!)

Haha....well, today either my belly popped out or it was just the particular outfit I was wearing. All day, I kept looking down and being like, "what the heck is that?" Haha....people at the office kept saying things, and my sister Sara accused me of making it up :) Just kidding, she just finds it weird to see a belly on me! I am realizing that maternity pants are SO much more comfortable than regular pants, and I think I may NEVER go back, pregnant or not! We have been looking at baby cribs and baby bedding, which seems a little too early, but people are recommending we start looking to register soon, and then we can keep adjusting it as time goes on. I feel like I will be ready to be a mom, and I know how to deal with newborns, but how the heck do I decorate a nursery??? Well, I guess if I keep my priorities straight, the nursery will fall into place :)

We go to the doctor on Thursday, so I'm looking forward to that, although I don't think he is going to do anything special at this appointment. We will hear the heartbeat though! How wonderful to be in sync with the miracle inside of me....I wonder if he is going to schedule our ultrasound to find out what we're having! Hopefully, it's a baby...:) If I had my way, it would be a beautiful little biracial baby, but I guess Eli has assured me that is not going to happen. Oh well, I guess we will have to adopt one later!

What's it gonna be like?

So last night Eli and I were hangin out with my family over at Amy and Greg's house. Now that I have my new little nephew, Collin, it brings a whole new understanding to what I have to look forward to in a few short months. But even better than that, we woke my niece Emma up from her nap (kiddos waking up are the best!). She saw she was very tired, so she rested in bed a little longer while I read to her. When she finally came out, she came over and snuggled between Eli and I on the couch and wanted to read some books with us. She rested her head on my bosom (which is bigger now that it used to be :), and stayed there for awhile. If being in love with a niece and nephew is this amazing, how much better could it possibly be with my own child?? As I was holding Collin, though, the funniest thing happened. He was getting pretty hungry, but we were all still finishing dinner, so I tried to keep him content for a little longer until Amy could finish eating. I saw him start rooting around towards my arm, knowing that he was getting hungry. Well, he started sucking at my arm! Haha...I tried to tell him he wasn't going to get any milk from my arm, but he seemed content to suck on my shirt, so I just let him. What a moment:)

Amy reminded me that it may be time to register for baby things soon! That's a crazy thought. I feel very odd about registering for baby things, because I feel like that is my husband and my responsibility to provide for our baby, but it will be neat to go look at all the things we might need! I don't want anyone to feel like they need to purchase our baby equipment for us! Now that we are finally done with the kitchen remodeling, we can start focusing on our upcoming baby!

Did I feel you move???

Sooo...I guess I can document my pregnancy a little bit. I am now 14 weeks! Time is flying (kinda). But the biggest news this week is that I think I felt the baby move for the first time! I was at work, and after lunch, a couple people were hangin out in my office, chatting. They asked if I had felt the baby move yet, and I said that I had not. The one girl, who had a baby about six months ago, was telling me how it felt for her, something like a goldfish swimming around a bag. As I sat in my desk chair listening, I swear, I swear!, I felt that exact feeling on the left side of my stomach! I had not felt it before then, and I have not felt it since! Even though I lay in bed and try not to move or breathe and see if I can feel it, no luck. I know it wasn't my belly rumbling, because it was distinctly on the left side of my belly. But I also know that it is pretty early to be able to feel anything, so I acknowledge that it may not have been the baby. But as my belly visibly grows, I am excited to be able to feel this crazy little baby moving around inside of me.

Pregnancy is absolutely amazing, and I am really thankful and honored, especially in light of our previous miscarriage, that God is entrusting us with this little baby's life, and allowing us to experience this miracle!

We go to the doctor this Thursday, and I'm hoping we will hear the heartbeat! I don't think too much else will happen that is exciting, but hopefully he will schedule our 20-week ultrasound (or a little sooner) to find out whether it's a boy or a girl! Stay tuned!

A blog?

So I can't believe I actually created a blog...but I thought it would be a neat memento as we document our growing family. Hope you enjoy it, and I hope I keep it updated!