Twins?!?! Are you serious?!!?

NO, I'm not having Twins! At least not that I know of! The title of this post comes from a comment a co-worker made a couple days ago. Before I throw her out to the wolves that are reading this and I know y'all mommies out there will sympathize with me, (even if you've never been there, at least because you'll feel sorry for me!), let me at least explain to an extent...

First of all, I go from days where I feel like I barely look pregnant to days where I feel I could pass for being 6 months pregnant. Okay, okay, so the latter definitely out weighs the barely-pregnant-feeling these days, I've definitely got the "Baby Bump" going on (and then some!). On top of that, I'm at the point where the clothes in my closet that still fit me are slim pickin! Luckily (or unluckily as I soon found out), I have a few shirts that could maybe pass for maternity shirts. You know, the ones that have the high waist and then sorta flare out. They were in style at some point, probable not so much anymore. This particular shirt, while definitely not a maternity shirt (it was purchased at American Eagle about a year ago), seemed to add to the pregnant look. I was surprised myself at how pregnant I looked when I put it on, but I shook off the little mini-me sitting on my shoulder saying, "People are going to think you're 6 months pregnant!" and wore it anyway.

With all that said, here's how the [brief] conversation with my coworker , who will remain nameless, went:

HER: Wow! You've really got a baby bump now!

ME: Yeah, it's starting to get obvious!

HER: How far along are you again?

ME: Almost 14 weeks.

HER: You're really showing then!

ME: (slight pause...) Um, yeah, um, I think this shirt adds to things somewhat...

HER: Do twins run in your family?

{At this point, it's a good thing she couldn't read my mind!}

ME: [awkward laugh] I don't think I'm having twins.

HER: Well, you could be!

ME: [again, awkward laugh] Well, I'll cross that bridge if I ever come to it. See ya later!

Not sure what she said next cause I was outta there!

Again -- TWINS?! Are you serious!?

I don't hold anything against her. But, it is hard being at the point where none of your clothes fit, but you don't feel quite ready for maternity clothes. (And thanks to some great friends, I do have some to get me started!) Then someone makes a comment about you being "too pregnant looking." I just remind myself that no matter what, my goal is to keep myself healthy and to keep the most precious life that's growing inside of me healthy. If that means dodging uncomfortable conversations and comments, then so be it!

And so goes mommy-hood! :)

This picture is obviously unrelated. It's from our trip during Spring Break to VA Beach. I just wanted a picture of me and my amazingly supportive husband, who I feel extremely blessed to be sharing this whole experience with. He is going to be such a wonderful Daddy! Words can not come close to expressing my gratitude for how much he supports and loves me, unconditionally. I am so looking forward to the amazing plans God has in store for us and our growing family! :)

WOW! (Can't think of a better title!)

We got to hear Baby Keene's heartbeat again yesterday! And, this time Wes was able to record it on his phone, and let me tell you, we have worn it out! It's just so awesomely amazing to hear it and to know that the little life inside me is thriving! Wes and I grin big corny grins from ear to ear every time we replay that most precious sound!

Yesterday wasn't a scheduled visit, our next one is next week on Thursday. I was having some pains in my lower abdomen so we went to the doctor to get things checked out. Everything is fine, great actually, and the pains are just normal "growing" pains, so-to-speak :) It was well worth any discomfort to hear Baby Keene's heartbeat again! And we love to hear little things about the baby, like for example, the doctor described him or her as "a very active baby." He or she was moving all over the place yesterday, according to the doctor anyway as I still can not feel the movements. (Oh how I can absolutely not wait for the day I can feel that life inside me!) Of course, the extra movement may have been due to the pieces of chocolate I indulged in after lunch... I haven't had a drop of caffeine since I found out I was pregnant (well, other than whats in decaffeinated tea, and the little mini chocolate Hersey bars I indulge in from time-to-time....), so Baby Keene may be a little sensitive to the small amount of caffeine that's in chocolate. (Is there really THAT much in there?!)

Oh, and the doctor said the heart rate is 144, very healthy and very strong! So, there goes the old wives' tale and from what I remember, from 120 to 140 is a boy, and 140 to 160 is a girl..... So, is Baby Keene a girl?! I don't know, but what I do know is that we are dying to know!!!! We absolutely do not have any preferences. We could think of a million and one reasons we'd love to have a son and a million and one reasons we'd love to have a daughter. Either way, we have been mulling over some of our favorite names (that we've actually had picked out for years now....) so that when we do find out, Baby Keene will not be nameless! ;)

Baby Keene is already a CHAMP!!!

Several people have asked why we waited so long to share our "news." Well, yes, for us, 11 weeks was a LONG time! Our first real doctor's appointment wasn't until April 9th, so we decided we would wait until we saw the doctor and heard the baby's heartbeat before sharing our news with everyone.

April 9th.... a big date in Baby Keene-to-be's life and in the Mommy- & Daddy-to-be's lives!!! We were just one day shy of 11 weeks. It was Wes's first time at an OB/GYN appointment, so I think he was somewhat nervous. I think naturally expecting mommies and daddies are a little nervous at the first appointment anyway. However, those feelings of nervousness were soon replaced with feelings of joy, excitement, and elation!

After all the "routine stuff" the doctor does at the 11-12 week appointment, she got out her dopplar "thingy" (for lack of a more technical term) and said she was going to see if we could hear the baby's heartbeat. She started off "warning" us that we may not hear the baby's heartbeat because it was still a little early. If we were not able to hear the heartbeat, she would do an ultrasound. My response -- While we would love an ultrasound, I'll be a little nervous if we don't hear a heartbeat... She assured me that it is very normal to not hear the heartbeat this early and to not be concerned if we weren't able to. Regardless of her words, I was nervous and with an exchanged look with Wes, I could tell he was as well. I think thats normal, right?

Well, as I said, nervous feelings didn't last long! As soon as the Doppler "thingy" touched my stomach, and I mean literally right away, no moving that thing around, there was Baby Keene's heartbeat fast and strong! Even the doctor was surprised at how loud and clear it was! Wes and I both had tears in our eyes! It was so amazing!!! There really is a baby in there!!! And, he or she (I almost just typed "he"...) is making sure Mommy and Daddy know that "everything's good here!" The doctor didn't tell us what the heart rate was and I was so excited that I forgot to ask. (I've heard the old wives's tale that if it's really fast, it's a girl, if it's not as fast, it's a boy.....we'll ask next time!) Wes tried to record the heartbeat on his cell, but was so excited that he wasn't able to find the application! Good thing our doctor is patient! :)

Anyway, Baby Keene is already a CHAMP!!! He OR SHE is in there growing and growing! We can't wait for our next doctor appointment on May 7th....

Another thing I just have to share... When we left our appointment, Wes and I had lunch together to take in all that we had just experienced. Then, I went back to work. However, Wes took a detour to Baby's R Us. I got a phone call a little bit later while he was still at the store. He was checking out the things they have that allow you to hear the baby's heartbeat from home. Isn't my husband the sweetest!? He is so excited about being a Daddy!

Right now, at 12 weeks, Baby Keene is just over 2 inches long head to rump, about the size of a lime, and weights half an ounce!

Baby-to-be Announcement!!!! (Yes, you read that right!)

Drum roll, please……. It’s the moment everyone’s been waiting for…. Okay, so maybe not “everyone,” but definitely our families, many of our friends, and of course, Wes and I!! We are very excited to announce to the online world, that we are expecting Baby Keene in approximately 6 ½ months! We are just shy of 12 weeks, and I will tell you that the pass 11 weeks have been the most difficult weeks EVER. No, not because I’ve had morning sickness. (I’ve actually been very blessed and have not had any type of sickness-praise the Lord!!!) But because we have had to keep our wonderful news a secret for so long!!! Words cannot convey how difficult that has been for me and Wes. Telling some family and a few close friends did make it somewhat easier; however, when you’ve got news like this, you want everyone to know!!! (Wes combated the feeling a couple times by just yelling, “I’m going to be a Daddy!!!” as loud as he could in the safety of our home!)

The upside to waiting to share the news was that we had some time to come up with creative ways to share our news when the time came. (I would share some of the ideas Wes and I had that didn’t make the cut, but they’re so corny that I don't think I can bring myself to list them!)

The picture to the right shows how we made the announcement to some of our friends and family. (Doesn't Wes look like a proud Daddy-to-be?!) The shirt was an Easter gift to Wes from me, just in time to serve as a prop in our announcement.

This picture shows how we announced our news to our neighbors, who almost from the time we moved into our house over three years ago, have been telling us it’s time to have a baby. Wes and I wrote this “memo” on our driveway then texted them to come outside because there was something in our driveway we wanted them to see. (We were going to try to wait until they just happened to see it on their own, but couldn’t wait!)

This picture shows their reaction!

Wes and I invited my family over for dinner to tell them. Before dinner, Wes was saying the blessing and he asked God to be with me and the baby I was carrying. I think that’s all he was able to get out before everyone started screaming and jumping up and down. (I don’t think we ever did end that prayer with AMEN!)

We feel so extremely blessed to have the support of so many friends and family. It is so wonderful to know that there are people close to us who are so supportive and as excited for us as we are for ourselves. I thank God for providing us with those people in our lives, and especially for our future baby. He or she will be so loved, not only by "Mommy" and "Daddy" (YAY!!!) but by so many around him/her.

One thing is for sure.... We are going to have to practice a new response to the infamous question, "When are you all going to have a baby?!?" We've gotten so used to hearing the question and almost blowing it off. Now the answer will be, "BY NOVEMBER 1st!" :)

Spring Break 2009

It's Spring Break, well, it's almost over now [tear]. Typically, I spend SB getting a jump start on some Spring Cleaning. Not this year! While I had dedicated Monday to getting some cleaning done, it didn't quite go as planned. ("Planned", ha, that's funny!) I spent most of the day doing laundry and organizing closets. If you're anything like me, then you completely understand how organizing closets can EASILY take an entire day! Oh, and no, I didn't even get that task done before I decided I had enough! Sad, I know.

Yesterday was much more fun. I spent the day with my Grandma who is visiting from Pennsylvania. We started out with a quick trip to the Goodwill so I could drop off a couple bags of clothes from my closet-cleaning-extravaganza. We then headed to the Antique Stores downtown Shelbyville. One of my favorite places to shop, though I think Grandma enjoyed it even more than I did! Next, we ate lunch at Zaxby's before heading to Springfield to visit Mikie, Holli & Tatum. After a bit, I also paid a quick visit to Wes's mom and sisters. Wes's mom recently hurt her back (herniated disk, ugh!) so I made a baked spaghetti casserole to take over to them. After visiting a little with them and playing some with Xavien, I headed back to Holli's. More love for Tatum and then Grandma and I were on our way back to Shelbyville. Of course, we HAD to stop off at McD's for icecream first! :) We got back to Shelbyville at about 6:30, but after starting the day at 8:00 and running all day long, I was beat. Yes, my Grandma wore me out! I don't see where she gets her energy! I am not ashamed to say that I went to bed last night at 9:00!


As for the rest of SB, Wes and I are leaving in the morning for VA Beach to visit some family. We're looking forward to a change in scenery and catching up with Ron & Brittany!