18 Weeks and It's a...BOY!

Friday was my 18 week anatomy ultrasound! I'm so glad that we didn't have to wait till 20 weeks! Brent and I headed to Baptist bright and early. My appointment was at 8:45am so we got there at 8:30am. On the ultrasound appointment cards, it always says "arrive 15 minutes early...if you are late we might have to re-schedule your appointment"! We didn't want that to happen!! I woke up at 5am Friday morning and could not go back to sleep...I was so anxious for the appointment. When the ultrasound started, Brent turned back and looked at me with a huge smile. He and I were both excited to see to see Baby E again! It's so cool and special to see the baby's heart beating and see it moving around and wiggling its arms and legs. We were in there about an hour. The ultrasound tech had to get lots of measurements of our little one. It was only about 20 minutes into the appointment when she asked "do y'all want to find out what it is?". And of course we did!! Right before she told us, my heart was beating so so fast! It felt like it was about to beat right out of my chest. and then there it was, the 3 words that we had been waiting 18 weeks to hear..."IT'S A BOY" she said. I had mixed emotions at that point...things were racing through my head...no cute ruffles and hair bows but balls, trucks and "a momma's boy" :)  After the ultrasound, while in another room waiting for the doctor, it really sunk in and I got so excited!  I am an only child and most all of my cousins minus one are all girls so this boy thing is new to me! Brent and I couldn't be more excited about having a baby. It's such an exciting time.  Here are some of the 18 week ultrasound pics...

Big Boy! He weighed in at 1/2 a pound.

I remember the ultrasound tech saying " awww look at that sweet boy!" She was just as excited about this as we were :) This is either him sucking his thumb or rubbing his nose...very cute!

One of his little feet

The "It's a Boy" picture

As most know, we were having a Gender Reveal party on Saturday night so we had to keep  this a secret for over 24 hours! Brent and I wanted to tell everyone but we had to wait! The Gender Reveal Party was a lot of fun! I will have lots of pictures of that soon! And of course they will be posted...here are just a couple that I took( I actually asked Libby, my brother in laws girlfriend, if she would mind taking some since she was coming and she said she definitely would!! So once I get my hands on those :), they will be posted). Thanks Libby for taking those special pics for us and so glad you could come and be there for the revealing! 

The theme was "Pink and Blue"-

Boy and Girl sugar cookies that I made

Guess how much candy is in each jar game...

Like I said, there will be many more pictures soon! Baby E has a name now! 

Rowen Thomas Easley :) 

Brent and I both love the name that we chose. Now we and others can call him Rowen but "baby" is still fine too! Today we went canoeing with a fun group so I will get to that at a later date but on a finishing note:

:)

              

Loving These Things!

I am loving a couple things that will be going on this weekend so here they are!:

I'm Loving

that in 2 days Brent and I will be finding out if we are having a boy or a girl! We.Can't.Wait! This week has flown by so far and I think it's because I have something HUGE to look forward to! We head to Baptist @ 8:30am Friday morning!  So we will get to find out bright and early! The last ultrasound we had was at 11 weeks and here is what Baby E looked like at that point...

I'm guessing he or she is going to be quite a bit larger. I can't wait to see our baby again! It was pretty active in this ultrasound...wiggling around and moving its arms and legs. Hopefully it will be moving around like last time so that they can easily tell if it's a girl or a boy! We definitely HAVE to find out because...

I'm Loving

that on Saturday evening we are having a Gender Reveal Party!! About 24 people are coming over to my parents house. We are grilling out and having lots of yummy foods for dinner. The party theme is "Pink and Blue" so all the decorations and the desserts will be pink and or blue. I don't want to spoil anything but there will be pom poms similar to these that I have made-

 

There will also be a couple pennant banner flags similar to these that I have made too-

( mine are the no sew kind! )

There are tons of other cutsey things but you will just have to wait for pictures on those things ;) I love parties and I love getting together with family and friends so this will be one wonderful evening!! Oh! and if you didn't gather this from earlier, Brent and I are finding out the sex of the baby Friday morning but have to keep it a secret until Saturday night when we reveal it at the party!! It's gonna be hard but we can do it. haha!

I'm Loving

that we are going canoeing Sunday afternoon with a group of friends. My arms were sore after the last time that Brent and I went. It's definitely a good upper body workout. I think there are about 16-20 people going so it should be a fun time. We are going down the Harpeth River...I think. Here are a few pictures from when Brent and I went last time-

I think canoeing is fun! The cicadas have gotten SO much worse in the last week but for some reason I feel like they won't be flying over the water much. I hopefully won't be proved wrong!!

I'm Loving

that the sun is out and shining bright! It's suppose to be a nice weekend over all. A 30% chance of rain doesn't scare me! It doesn't ever rain when there is a 30% chance. That's good because I would love to soak up some more rays Saturday, Sunday, and Monday! I went to the pool last Saturday from 11am-1pm. It felt so nice and I love how there are never tons of people at our pool. Everyone can have their little piece of the pool and enough room to spread out. I did get a little burnt so I will need to put on a little bit more sunscreen. I usually have more sun on my skin by this point in May...hopefully this weekend will help my tan! 

There's our fun filled weekend. I'm just LOVING all of these things!

~ Brent and Rachel ~ 

Monday Morning Magic

I hate Mondays! Well, not really hate but don't like them too much! haha. I mean who does?..you are just coming off of a weekend of not having to WORK but rather relax and enjoy time to do whatever you want! Well, I think I have found my cure for "the Mondays". At least for the morning part of my Mondays...I'm still struggling here since venti iced vanilla latte's from Starbucks are not part of my life currently but here is what made my morning...

A nutella and peanut butter sandwich for breakfast! Genius! I reached up in the cabinet to grab the peanut butter and saw the nutella and a light bulb instantly went off in my head! I love nutella! If you have never had it, you must try it :) It's basically hazelnuts, skim milk, and cocoa! I literally drove to work with a smile on my face while I was eating the nutella/peanut butter piece of heaven! I rarely have a smile on my face while driving to work because I am still half asleep and wishing I was still in bed! Maybe this will change things! I also had a new beverage to add to the happiness...

A Naked juice!

I had never had one before and yesterday at the store Brent told me to grab one and try it today. I got the Berry Blast...it's SO good! They are a little bit thicker than an ordinary juice but not quite as thick as a smoothie. The best part is that they are super healthy. They are all-natural and just have fruit in them. It even breaks down exactlly how much fruit and what kind of fruit are in each drink on the side of the bottle. For instance, mine had 5 blackberries, 4 raspberries, 4 strawberries, 3 1/2 apples, and 1 banana. It's only 130 calories( just saying that b/c most 8 oz servings of juice have more calories than that ) and it has 340 mg of potassium! YUMMY! Once again, if you haven't tried one, give it a try! There are tons of different flavors. I have found my Monday Morning Magic!

* I have gotten asked quite a few times in the past couple weeks if I am having any cravings. I hadn't had one until I guess last week or the week before and really didn't realize that it was a craving till this past weekend when I consumed quite a bit of it...Fruit Tea! I have always loved fruit tea but I want it everyday now a days. Brent and I make the super simple recipe of tea( decaf of course! ), orange juice, and lemondae. It's especially nice when it's hot outside...I can't even imagine how much fruit tea I will be consuming this summer! That, I believe, is my one and only craving so far. Happy Monday :)

~ Rachel ~

17 Weeks!!

I am 17 weeks and 1 day today! And this past week is the first time that I have really felt pregnant! My stomach is really starting to show! I am feeling great. No complaints here :) 

Baby E is now the size of an onion! This baby is growing like a weed. At week 17, the crown to rump length is 4 3/4 inches and baby weighs about 3 1/2 ounces. Pre-pregnancy I weighed 120 and now I weigh 133! I have gained 13 lbs. It's mainly in my stomach but a little has gone to my upper legs. I have to keep telling myself that it's okay because I am PREGNANT! Baby E's fat has begun to develop. Fat will continue to develop from here on out for baby. I still haven't felt baby E move yet...I don't think! In 6 days Brent and I will find out if Baby E is a girl or a boy!! 6 days! We will be sharing the sex and the baby's name at the "Gender Reveal" party on Saturday!! Brent and I can't wait to share the name that we have chosen for a boy or a girl. I'm super excited about sharing this moment with family and friends. And those who can't make it will definitely be getting a phone call right after the announcement! 

17 weeks( and 1 day ) May 21, 2011

This jean skirt fit perfectly pre-pregnancy. It is unzipped and 

unbuttoned in this picture! haha.

I went to the pool for 2 hours and got some sun earlier today. Now about my bathing suits! I have 2 out of...10 that fit just okay! It is time to get a bigger suit especially since we will be heading to Destin in less than a month. I don't want to wear a tankini and especially not a one piece so I need to find a store that sales 2 pieces for pregnant ladies! I feel perfectly fine in a 2 piece :) Well, going to workout. Everybody enjoy your Saturday afternoon!

       

Loving some good things today!

I'm linking up with Jaime for her WILW blog...I guess I need to figure out how to tag her name so you can go check out her blog as well! 

I'm loving

 my health and safety! I have a few points for this one. 1. I thank God everyday for the health that he has given me and I never want to take it for granted. As I look back to my mom's parents, my Granny and Papa, they are as healthy as they were 20 years ago! They have never had any major problems with their health...no cancer( and i'm not counting skin cancer), no diseases, no major illnesses and that's the same for my parents. They are in their mid 50's ( I'm sure they don't mind that I'm sharing thier age! ) and have never had any problems with health. As for me, I have never had to go to the hospital, I RARELY get a cold, and I am very healthy. Now, part of it is how my parents have raised me but that other part of health...the parts that you can't control....I have been blessed by God to not have! And I am very grateful and I pray everyday that he continues to keep illness away from our family.

 2. I had a major " thank you Lord for blessing me with the safe, comfortable life I have living in America" last Sunday. We are so blessed to be in a country that has no fighting( as in war type fighting ), no bombs going off everyday, no violence in the streets etc...The war hit home last week and at church on Sunday when it was announced that Kevin Baldulf died while fighting for the country. He was in the Marines. Kevin attended the same school as I did and he was in the youth group with me at Woodmont Hills. Keep his family in your prayers...especially his twin brother and mother, Jenny. I teared up at church while our preacher was praying about this b/c like I said it really hit home this time. It wasn't a random name of a soldier that was being talked about on the news. SO I am LOVING and very thankful for my safety and my wonderful life here in America!

On a lighter note :)

 I'm Loving

in just a little over a week Brent and I will find out if Baby E is a "she" or a "he" which also means we will be registering for baby stuff very soon!! We are so excited about this. haha. We have already compared prices at a few stores and have made our list of baby items that we will be registering for. There is SO much out there! I spent a few hours, yes hours, the other day looking through pages and pages on Target.com and Babies-R-Us.com and thinking "wow this registering thing is going to take a while"! After reading review after review, I think we are good to go and ready for that scan gun! Come on May 27th! and May 28th..the big reveal party day!!

I'm Loving

that it's almost Saturday aka sleep in for a long time day! haha. I love the feeling of going to bed Friday night and knowing that I don't have to set an alarm and I can wake up whenever my body feels like it on Saturday morning. I'm trying to take advantage while I can :) I have always been a person who needs my sleep! Ask my mom :) I just really don't do well with little sleep especially now! I have definitely noticed that my energy level has gone back up from where it was in the first trimester but when I get home from work in the evening, I could go straight to bed and not wake up till morning! I haven't tried it yet but I might soon!

I'm loving

my husband, Brent! He is the best and I'm glad he is all mine! He is the sweetest and most kind and thoughtful guy in the world. I love you Brent and I'm so glad that we have an entire lifetime together!

We have a great life together!

~Brent and Rachel~

Hold the Feta...

Brent and I went out to dinner Friday night and we decided pizza really sounded good! He suggested PizzeREAL and I was all about that idea. We both love their pizza and think it's the best in Nashville! It's located in East Nashville at 5 points. If you never go to East Nashville, you should. At least go over to that area for eats! They have some of the best restaurants in Nashville. Our favortie mexican place...Rosepepper... is in East Nashville as well as our favorite pizza place. There are several things I really like about PizzeREAL besides the pizza.

 The actual building is... well, not a building but an old victorian house that they converted into a restaurant. I love the vintage feel of the inside( I'm a BIG atmosphere person when it comes to restaurants! ). They also have a great front patio but it was raining when we got there so we had to sit inside. You sit wherever you want and the whole ombiance is laid back, comfy, & casual. I am pretty sure it's family owned and operated but I don't know that for a fact. The pizza is made to order and made with super fresh ingredients. We started with a greek salad. Love it! It was greens, red onions, kalamata olives, tomato, feta, and their house greek dressing which I really want the recipe for!! We held the feta b/c it's on the "please don't eat this while you're pregnant" list. Another food that I love on salads that I have had to give up! haha. It's a pretty large potion...totally enough for 2 people. Out of all honesty, I could have eaten it by myself! I absolutely love salads!! I am glad Brent and I split it though or I probably couldn't have eaten more than 1 slice of pizza. I think 2 things make a great pizza...the dough and the sauce. Both of theirs are fantastic! And not to mention the ooey goey cheese and all the fresh toppings! Our pizza was topped with pepperonis, sausuage, onions, mushrooms, and kalamata olives...needless to say we had our sodium quota for the day with all those kalamata olives!  

* this is not our pizza but looks pretty close to what we had*

Like I said before, if you have never been to East Nashville for food or if it's been a while, get over there and try one of the local places! It's fun to eat local and support the community :)

Brent and Rachel

16 Weeks! Oh little baby bump...

15 weeks has come and gone and now it's time to say "hello" to 16 weeks and a slightly larger belly. "Watch what you say... tiny bones forming in baby's ears mean the little one can now pick up your voice. Eyebrows, lashes and hair are starting to fill in, and taste buds are forming. And, if you're interested, an ultrasound might be able to determine gender." -thebump.com

This must be a pretty large avocado...avocados around here aren't larger than naval oranges but this one must be! So baby has graduated orange status and moved to avocado size! Crown to rump length at 16 weeks is 4 1/3 to 4 2/3 inches. Weight is about 2 3/4 ounces. Baby has lanugo hair all over it't body and the umbilical cord is now attached to the abdomen. At this stage, legs are longer than arms and the arms and legs are moving. Brent and I actually saw the baby's limbs moving at the 13 week ultrasound. I think it would be so cute to see the baby sucking its thumb at the ultrasound in 2 weeks! Also at 16 weeks, you might be able to feel the baby moving. I'm anxiously awaiting this!! I talked to my sister in law, Kelli, yesterday about the baby moving. She told me what it will probably  feel like and she said it's the greatest feeling! It's usually felt between 16 and 20 weeks. I'm guessing that it will be moving for a while before I notice it but maybe not! I'll keep you updated about the baby's movements :) 

April 13th, 2011

16 weeks

Pregnant women are encouraged to eat snacks throughout the day. This is not just b/c they might be hungry but a nutritional goal in pregnancy is to eat enough so important nutrients are always available for your body's use and for use by the growing fetus. I saw lots of strawberry's at the store earlier today. I will be getting those to snack on for sure! I love strawberry's and watermelon in the summer time!! 

I love to lie on my stomach when I fall asleep and I usually lay pretty flat on my back while on the couch watching tv. Well, 16 weeks is a turning point for sleeping habits. NO MORE lying flat on my back while resting or sleeping or exercising(no more abs on the floor in otherwise). Laying flat on your back puts extra pressure on the aorta and vena cava, which can reduce blood flow to the baby...we don't want that! It's super important b/c in the book that I am reading( Your Pregnancy week by week ), it says it a couple time in the 16 week chapter!! There are pillows made called "C" pillows that a pregnant women can buy to help them remember to not sleep on their back but I think putting some pillows behind me from our guest bed while I am on my side will work just fine. **Anatomy ultrasound is in 2 weeks!!**

               

Sneak Peek!

Happy Friday! I just can't wait for the weekend to be here strickly because...NO WORK! Well, a few other things too. I'll get to those in a minute. Brent and I have been looking at baby bedding recently and have found some that we really like...before I show you those, we definitely know of some things that we both don't like. For a girl, we don't like pink and brown together. Ugh! We just don't like the way those colors look together. Also, for a girl or a boy, we want the nusery to be simple. We don't want to walk in and think "wow it's looks like a pink or blue explosion!". Some of those baby blankets and nursery sets out there are WAY TOO MUCH!! Ok,  you have waited long enough...here are some potentials that we have our eyes on!

Girls first:

I love the crisp look and the pretty purple!

This is the blanket in that set! Love!

We also love the paisley print of this girl set.

Boy's Bedding:

This bedding is all boy! We really love the patchwork blanket.

The lamp that goes with this bedding set.

And then this one is like the girl set above but in boy colors!

This sets are what we are loving right now! Something might change when we go to register but I don't think I will ever not like the purple girls bedding. It's so cute! :)

In a whole different direction, tomorrow I am going to get a facial with Crystal! I have talked about her before but she hands down gives the best facials!! I drive to Mt. Juliet to see her...that should tell y'all something. It only takes me about 25 minutes though! I can't wait! I usually go every 5-6 weeks. It's definitely something that I look forward to. She gives the royal treatment that's for sure. Her facials even come with a neck and shoulder massage and a hand softening treatment!!

This is in her treatment room. She has wonderfully soft music playing the whole time and relaxing scents that make me drift off occasionally :) If you want her info, let me know...and did I mention that her prices are unbeatable?! Well, they are!

Hopefully the sun will be out this weekend and we can hit the pool again! We went to the pool last Sunday and it was great! Both Brent and I got some great sun. It feels so nice to lay out under the warm sun! I LOVE SUMMER!!

If you have been wondeing what Brent has been up to then I can help fill you in on that. Session down at the Capitol is going on right now and they are moving right along with passing new bills and making ammendments to old ones etc...he sent me a few links to read up on yesterday and I will attach those down below just in case you want to see what's going on in State Government! And to see what kind of bills Brent helps write...

http://blogs.knoxnews.com/humphrey/2011/05/house-sends-compromise-anti-me.html

http://www.newschannel5.com/story/14625172/bill-to-curb-teacher-bargaining-headed-for-house-vote

~Brent and Rachel~

Mother's Day

Sunday was a great day for various reasons! It was mother's day...it was new arrivals day @ church...and it was super sunny! Brent headed to Lebanon to go to church and lunch with his mom and I stayed here so I could sit with my mom at church. I got my mom a really pretty pink orchid boutonniere( isn't that what they're called for women too when it goes on the lapel?). 

It was very similar to this one. You will see later on in the post!

Church service was great and it was New Arrivals Day too! There were about 25 new babies in 2010. They are all so cute. They show a slide show of the babies and their families before they all come up front. There were some funny pics of those cute babies. My mom leaned over to me during the presentation and said "Next year, y'all will be up there!"
Yes we will and I can't wait! Our first little step to announce the baby at church is to put a little construction paper flower on the "watch us grow" board in the children's wing. Brent and I are going to fill out the sheet this week and turn it in on Sunday. Then our little flower will go on the board with the other babies flowers that will be born soon! Do you want to know the names that we have picked out for a boy and a girl????? Sorry, still not sharing :) You can wait till May 28th, can't you?!  Anyways, back to my mom's day...after service we ALWAYS go out to eat. This week my mom picked CPK( California Pizza Kitchen )! Love that place! haha.

 My mom and my dad both got salads and I got the cranberry walnut chicken salad sandwich.

My sandwich...yum!

My mom's waldorf salad

My dad's cobb salad

  The chicken salad sandwich and the cobb salad are my favorite meals there! It is always a good time catching up with each other over events from the previous week and upcoming stuff during our Sunday lunch. I got my mom a few presents... I got her a yard flag with flowers on it and the small flag pole to go with it. I also bought her a necklace, bracelet, and earrings from Belk. I love Belk's jewelry and dresses! 

The sun was VERY bright hence the squinty eyes! 

I think my mom had a great MOTHER'S DAY !! :)

~ Rachel ~

15 Weeks!...it's flying by!

I am showing a little more each week. This week, Brent and I have noticed a lot of growth from the previous week but when I put my work clothes on, there is not a lot of bump showing yet...some but not a ton.

There is only one pair of work pants that I am able to wear out of my 4 or 5 pairs now. When I wear them, I have to leave the buttons unbuttoned and just zip the zipper to keep them on! My mom has offered to take me maternity shopping for a couple weekends now and today I took her up on the offer! We headed to Motherhood Maternity in Cool Springs and they had a lot of cute things! I got 2 pair of pants, a dress, and 3 shirts! Here are a few of the things that I got-

These navy pants are so cute on and so comfortable!

I got this shirt to go with the navy pants. It will be cute with shorts too.

This one is super cute :) I love the ruffles!

This dress looks a lot better on me.  Just being honest here!

Like I said, I got a few other things @ Motherhood Maternity too. And then we checked out Target for some shorts and I did get a pair of cute shorts there. It was a fun day shopping with my mom and she was so nice to buy me all of these much needed items! Thanks Mom!

At 15 weeks, the baby is the size of a softball or naval orange. No wonder my bump is starting to grow! I have a softball/naval orange sized baby inside of me! haha.

The baby grew 1/2 an inch this past week and it's eyes and ears are still moving to the correct places of the side of the head and face. If you were to take an x-ray of the baby, you would see the skeleton! It's tiny little bones are ossifying quickly! Good thing I love calcium rich foods like milk and yogurt! Speaking of yogurt, I just love Chobani brand yogurt. I love that it's all natural with no additives! A few months ago, Brent and I decided to try our hardest to purchase and eat all natural/organic foods. It's going good so far. Brent has been shopping at Whole Foods and said it's actually not that much more than Kroger. He does the grocery shopping :) The grocery store loves me b/c even if I have a list, I will buy lots of stuff that's not on the list...my stomach does the talking when I am in the store :) I still feel great when I go for funs and lift weights. Dr. Kyzer said that I probably won't want to run after 20 weeks b/c it's like running with a bowling ball in your stomach she said. Haha. Yea, I don't see that being too comfortable. I did talk to Brent about signing up for prenatal yoga which I plan on doing in the near future! That's it for week 15! I have heard that some people have started to feel their baby move at week 16 so I am so excited for that to come but kind of nervous too b/c I don't know what to expect since of course this is our first baby!!