waiting for baby...

I am trying to catch up on my blog posts! My parents arrived in Alabama on December 10 and we spent our days anxiously waiting for our little boy to come! We took them on a tour around town and showed them the tornado damage and took a tour around campus. We also went on a lovely little walk at the Riverwalk park and enjoyed the Black Warrior River. Mom and Dad loved Alabama. :) We celebrated Christmas one night and had fondue. It was delicious! Mom and Dad are hooked. We also played lots of CLUE. Mom and Dan are very shrewd. And looved that game! Of course once the baby came we were plenty busy loving our sweet baby. Dad left on Sunday and Mom stayed until Thursday and helped. She was so sweet to take care of us and help us during the overwhelming transition phase. She cooked, cleaned, did laundry, and took shifts with the baby so we could sleep. It was a sweet memory for me to have my sweet mother with me, a memory I will always treasure and never forget. It was so wonderful to have my dear parents share this wonderful experience with us and I'm so thankful they came!

We hid behind the column at the airport and surprised them.  It was GREAT.

Mom is always collecting leaves and other nic-nak's from nature. :)

Outside of Bryant Denny stadium 

Bear Bryant

The soon-to-be mama & papa :)

Admiring the history of Alabama football. Of course my Dad read every word on every plaque. He was a little naughty and was rooting for the Cornhuskers in Alabama territory!

Tender hand-to-hand moment with the statue. She's the funniest! She was being naughty too and sneaking around in the gameroom looking at the playbooks!

Me and my two favorite guys on the Black Warrior :)

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We loved the beautiful green moss

Fondue night!

Mom loves the calendar we made her!

Dad writing his history :)

Mama bear, soon to be Grandma bear

Thank you so much to my sweet parents for taking care of us and visiting us! We love you!

shower lovin

My beautiful work friends threw me a baby shower... I LOVE THEM!

Donna, Jada, Sue's sister, Ann's daughter, LeeAnn, Rachel, Sue, Ann, Rachel's daughter Anna Taylor, and Sue's granddaughter! 

Picking up some last minute items at Buy, Buy Baby!

My wonderful friends from church threw me a baby shower too! It was so much fun and I am a lucky girl to have such good friends!

me and sweet Katlin Wyatt

Ciara, Sister Andrus, Aubrey, and Cheyenne

Raime drove down from Birmingham! It was SO fun to see her!!

Jen Youngberg, Kim, and Kelly Batteen... These sweet girls threw the shower for me. :) Kelly drove down from Birmingham, too! gotta love the straight on belly shots!! So flattering. 

31 weeks

loving carrying this little man around all the time.

b e s t e s t   f r i e n d s   e v e r 

thirty weeks

original dress designed & created by the beautiful jean locke.

We are getting soo excited. He could be here in less than two months! It's hard to believe. We've bought him some adorable little outfits that I can't wait to see on him. I love my big belly. I love watching him tumble around and jab and kick. He's always up to something in there. I'm starting to forget I ever wasn't this big. The thought of being my previous size just baffles me. I've been going on walks and bike rides... and I always pay. I'm sore for days afterwards no matter what I do. But I have to prepare for the big L&D! I have the most handsome and supportive husband who never lets me forget to have fun and laugh at my silliness. We are so happy and so thrilled!

twenty-eight weeks

dad, mama, and baby are doing fabulous! little dan is growing so much and getting stronger and stronger. mama is loving her H&M maternity jeans (highly recommended). daddy is loving football season. and baby is loving when daddy plays with him (poking, proding, etc). we are a happy family!

pardon my fuzzy camera. the lens got a little scratched as the lens cover worked it's way off while in my purse of a long day of travelling.. so now all our pictures have a fuzzball in the middle. will most definitely be needed a new lens before baby comes!

twenty-seven!

I'm so behind/totally missing so many of my pregnancy updates! I have all sorts of cute outfits goin' on now that my belly is fully pregnant, but now my camera lens has been damaged and my pictures all turn out ultra fuzzy/scratchy (that's why my face looks all faded). Excuses, excuses...

ANYWHO... the Mulder family is doing quite fab. Mama and son are healthy and happy. He's jabbin and punchin and kickin and running. Always perks up when Daddy comes around. :) I am feeling healthy and energized and happy. I am in the doctor-approved weight gain zone... yay! I had to "cut back on carbs" for a while there (per Dr's advice)... It wasn't easy, but all is well. Tums are my new pocket mate. Who knew they work such wonders?!

twenty two weeks!

i'm a little behind, considering i'm twenty-six weeks now... but i'm trying to stay on top of it. weeks go by fast! at twenty-two weeks, i was still pretty able to hide my belly, depending on my outfit. this was our first night in las vegas when we went out for our trip. by the end of the trip, i was much bigger, indeed! (or should i say, "we" were much bigger...) i love my little baby. :]

twenty three weeks!

i exploded this past week! i love it because people are really starting to notice i'm pregnant and make cute/funny comments to me and daddy. my sweet mama & daddy got me this amazzzzing 100% organic lotion bar from PIKE'S MARKET is seattle that i have been applying to my ever-so-growing belly and i loveee it. i have been having the most ridiculous acid reflux/flatus issues. it's taking over. the baby is kicking like a kangaroo and boy, has he gotten stronger! dan felt him for the first time and he's been kickin, punchin, elbowing, and kneeing ever since. it's fantastic. he loves it when i hike all day and rock him to sleep.

we just got back from a lovely family vacation in british columbia... more updates to come!

results are in...

he's handsome like his daddy :)

twenty weeks.

i'm half-way there! me and my baby are getting to be best friends. it's the most wonderful thing. i feed baby yummy food and it kicks me in the stomach. it's the best. i give my cantaloupe half my oxygen and it gives me acid reflux. i love it more than anything. we like to take walks and eat popsicles together. we also like to indo board together (don't worry, i focus really hard). this baby is going to have awesome balance and boarding skills. we like cuddle. we like it so much we do it all time actually. my sweet little thing still lets me jump and do really high ninja kicks, but won't let me bend over without grunting.

this picture was taken in the parking lot of the doctors office, right after we found out if we were having a little boy or girl! it was the most wonderful, amazing, beautiful, and special experience. i'm in love.

announcement is soon to follow...

may 16: first appointments!

;may 16, 2011:

first ultrasound. was. amazing. incredible. breathtaking. oh sigh... these words are so inadequate. after the tornado i suddenly wasn't sick anymore... at all. it worried me a little bit. is there really a baby in there? but i didn't have any other adverse signs or symptoms so i just said, "my flight or fight system is kicking in. i don't have time to be sick right now!" i just hoped everything was okay.

we went to our mother's class. it was cancelled twice due to tornado issues, but we finally made it! it was soo cheesy. and straight out of the movies. and the best. people have the funniest questions. i went straight from work so i was just really tired and wanted to go home and go to sleep. we talked about what's okay and what's not, they gave us a WIC and an insurance shpiel, and then they drew my blood. i was so brave. i'm not used to being on the other side of the needle! dan was one of the few husbands in the class. there were 3 out of probably 20 women. i was so happy to have his handsome self there with me. we loved to laugh about how funny people are. after the class we stopped by city cafe for some biscuits and gravy and hashbrowns. we are just so southern now, aren't we? it was... divine! as always.

our ultrasound and doctors appointment was on may 11th at 1:30 pm. my doctor's name is James Sid Smith. half the reason i picked him is because of his name. my dad is Syd James, he is James Sid... so he's got to be a good guy, right?!? and of course i did my research and he comes well recommended! he's young. and sweet. we really like him. so we got to our appointment and just marvelled at all the ladies around us in the waiting room: pregnant with children, pregnant with babies, pregnant without babies, daughter and mother, lady and man... i was yet again thankful to be there as husband and wife. my dad wasn't kidding about the blessings of doing things in the right place at the right time! we filled out a history form with the funniest questions and then waited. and waited. and waited as we browsed through baby magazines and i ripped out recipes that i'm just sure i couldn't live without.

then my name was called... we jumped up out of our seats and followed the lady back. we hurried straight down the hall to a dark room. "lay down on the table..." before i knew it there was jelly on my belly and i was staring at a large flat screen tv. the ultrasound machine made a soothing noise that was almost like calming music. so between that and the darkness i was feeling very serene. BESIDES the fact that i reallly wasn't sure if there was a baby in there or not. so she starts slider the little feeler device around my belly and the screen was just grey and fuzzy with no sense. then, in the most magical moment, we saw him! at the exact same moment dan and i gasped as it literally took our breaths away. he was moving. he was wiggling. he was waving his arms and kicking his legs. he was alive. he was inside me. he was real. he was a baby! (i say he because i kind of having a feeling it's a boy, but really i have no idea. and i don't like to refer to the baby as "it"... so for now, it's he.) tears immediately started streaming down my face. it was suddenly real. for the first time it felt real. there is a baby inside me, a real live person. and it is up to me to nurture him and love him and help him grow and be healthy. i know he is healthy and strong because he made it through a tornado and a week of snack packs, no prenatal vitamins, and working outside while i was in survival mode. i know he's strong. he has a strong spirit.

his heart beat was 175 beats per minute. perfect. his heart beat was regular and normal. my heart is literally sustaining another heart. there are two hearts beating in my body right now. i love his little heart. we could have stayed in there forever. just watching him in disbelief. she snapped a few pictures and took me i was 9 weeks and 2 days pregnant. she could tell by measuring him... he was 7 cm long. he is on my right side. i knew he was because every once in a while he would let me know he's there by sending a little sharp pain my way. i felt like i had such the motherly sense when i knew he really was on my right side. :) first maternal instinct! she printed out our pictures and we marvelled as we sat in the waiting room and waited some more.

the nurse then called me back and checked my blood pressure: 110/70. i'm healthy! so happy and thankful. weight: 127. we'll keep our eye on that. we met with our doctor and got to know him a little bit. the appointment went well! i am healthy. baby is healthy. everything is on track. so thankful. so blessed.

next appointment: june 8...

eighteen weeks

feeling great. feeling little tiny mini baby kicks. feeling love.

sweet nothings

"your elastic looks tight... like, you have bulges on both sides."

THANKS DAN.

better better

it's amazing what six days off work can do. six days to be a wife and a full-time baby-grower!my baby is the size of a sweet potato right now. that's soooo big! i haven't "felt" my little sweet potato yet, but i do oftentimes get random pains and vibrations and stuff that are probably the baby but i just can't distinguish yet. and if i do think i kind of feel something (which i actually am right now) and dan's not around i will ignore it because i want him to be there for the first kick. according to thebump...

"Baby's become amazingly mobile, passing the hours yawning, hiccupping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking, and swallowing."

that sounds like fun. and tiring. i have spent the last week at home, loving every minute making dinners and playing games with my hubby. i even went to the gym twice! and worked out! woah. go me! i feel so hard core in there with my spandex. i love it because i have an excuse not to push myself and get too out of breath. i just enjoy my workout and walk on the incline. it's great. the UA rec center is the bombbb. swimming is the best workout anyways...

we went to the doctor yesterday. blood pressure was 120/70 (so happy about that). weight was 134.5 and the doctor said "you are gaining about a pound per week, which is healthy but we don't want you to gain any more weight than that..." THANKS. somebody needs to "lay off the ice cream..." but i knew i didn't really weigh that much. i went to the gym and i weighed 132.5. thank youuu dr smith. the baby's heart rate was 144 and still beating in there!! such sweet moments. that was the extent of the entire visit. oh, and the usual void in a cup to pass through the whole in the wall. if i had a UTI i think they would be the first to know about it.

our big ultrasound is june 25th. that means we get to see our baby. see the fingers and toes and see if we are having a little rambunctious, red-headed rachy or a bright-eyed baby danny. so thrilled about it either way. (although i am getting a girl vibe)

dan is the ever so studious. he has a whole MCAT study plan he created. he studies three chapters a day and takes practice tests every monday. i'm so proud of him. he is also taking two classes this semester! raquetball and weight lifting. he bamboozles everybody with his racquetball skills (typical) and weight lifting... not his favorite but he's doing great. vin diesel body here we come!

we are craigslist fiends and have almost gotten all the furniture for our new apartment.

futon - $80

loveseat & ottoman- free

tv stand - $40

coffee table & 2 side tables - $40

2 lamps - $10

we take joy in furnishing our apartment for what most people would pay for one sofa. &i'm currently in the process of making a bean bag chair. it's going to be the crowning joy of my life so far. so all we need now is a dresser and maybe a floor lamp. we'll need to buy some organizing shelf/drawer things when we get there, but we have most of the big stuff.

so, why was the loveseat and ottoman free you wonder? here's how the story goes. we found a "loveseat and ottoman - $50" that we liked. it was oversized and soft and comfy looking. the ottoman opens up and is a secret hiding place and the couch part turns into a little bed! how sweet and multi-functional. and it wasn't a hideous floral pattern! it's white and greyish tan pinstripe. so we emailed them and told them we'd like to come look at it. they replied and we decided for the coming monday. they emailed us back and said "i think my wife knows you..." turns out the lady was dan's statistics teacher from last semester (of the tornado) and she had known what happened and they wanted to give it to us for free.

"the universe does make sense" :]

pretty pregnant: week five

april 15, 2011:

it's still sinking in. i still don't feel pregnant, whatever that feels like. i guess a positively undeniably positive test and no monthly visitor is all you need to be pregnant! every once in a while i feel a little tiny pain in my lower right area. i've felt it maybe five times total- in that exact same spot. that must be where the baby is! my back hurrrts. it did hurt a little bit before due to my job, but in the last couple weeks it is much, much worse! i don't understand how being four and five weeks pregnant could cause such yucky back pain, but i think it is contributing. thank goodness to my hubby to rub my back and listen to my gripe every morning, warm baths that are only filled about half-way up my side (i know it's dangerous if your core temp goes up... don't worry), and laying. i refuse to take medication. my baby doesn't need that!

i must include this to give a thorough diary entry... i was nervous. i didn't want to take a test. i couldn't believe it. when i saw two positive lines i ran into my bed and covered my face up with the covers and still didn't believe it. but it's sinking in. i looove my baby (appleseed).

i've been so good at taking my multivitamins every day. i'm trying to greatly increase my fluid intake, eat healthy, stretch, and exercise. i've decided it's okay to increase the monthly food budget while pregnant- vital organs developing over here!!

we are sooo thrilled, excited, happy, elated, and humbled to be with child. dan's been talking to the future child in my belly for over a year now, but now he is actually talking to somebody! we mention the baby in every prayer and give it kisses daily. this will be the most loved and adored baby in history. telling our family and random friends at work/school has been so much fun. they have been so sweet and supportive and excited. we are waiting to truly break the news. we are holding it close to our hearts right now. :) i can't wait for our parents to be grandparents, both of them, for the first time! how special. like i said, most loved baby everrr.

i love you sweet baby. keep growing healthy and strong and i hope you are comfortable in there. i'm reading you scriptures and playing anthony green for you today (it's his birthday) so you will be well rounded. all my love baby!