Aloha

I procrastinated writing this little monthly update bc I was still holding out hope that I would find a way to recover all the lost pictures from my phone. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, so here it goes…
July started off with a fun filled trip to Austin, TX. We went to Barton Springs, and another fun creek type swimming hole, we ate at some really cool restaurants and went on a boat ride around downtown to watch the bats fly from under the bridge ( congress street bridge, I think ). We also shopped all the little stores down 6th street. We had a great time even though we didn’t see a single firework for the 4th of July due to the state-wide burn ban. Libby went to a new sitter while we were gone. They loved her so much that she almost didn’t get returned to me ;)
We returned from Austin to some bad news, and so went the month of July. Cope has heartworms!!!! He has been on Heartworm prevention since the day we got him and apparently not all heartworm pills are created equal. So, to all my dog loving friends, BUY THE EXPENSIVE ONES!! And give it on exactly the same day every month. YES, one or two days late does matter. Thankfully, his case is not severe, but the treatment still needs to be done and is VERY hard on pups :( he has to stay completely inactive for the duration of his treatments and won’t feel very good at all. We start the first round tomorrow morning.
On a happier note, baby H is doing great! I’ve grown quite a bit in the last four weeks and I’m finally feeling those precious kicks and movements :) we had our half-way point ultrasound done and did not find out the gender of the baby. It was so hard not to look! I’m getting more and more excited about this baby everyday. Jake, my brother, and my dad worked very hard putting down new floors and painting in the baby’s room. The furniture is all setup and waiting on our sweet baby.
I also opened the box to my embroidery machine this month. It was no where near as hard as I thought. The projects I chose to start with were time consuming, but fun :) I can’t wait to have more time to play.
The month came to a close with me getting a virus on my phone from opening a contaminated picture on facebook and ultimately losing all of the info on my phone. This was devastating to me since my whole life is stored in my phone, including every belly pic I’ve taken since I found out I was pregnant! The pictures, and my calendar are the two things I wish I could have back. But, oh well :( lesson learned…sync your phone!
I’m not making any hopes for August, it will be what it will be :)

June 2011 We kicked the month off with a weekend trip to Houston to celebrate a cousin’s highschool graduation with a back yard fiesta. The food was good, but the company was better. We also celebrated alot of birthdays this month. Mr. Donnie (FIL), Libby Lou, Blake (godchild), Bryce (friend) and Chris (brother) all turned a year older. More cake than anyone should eat in one month!! The garden is flourishing now that we finally got a few days of rain. I’ll post a pic of some of the veggies. After much deliberation I decided to post belly pics. So, to be fair to myself I’m posting one pre-prego pic, well right after I found out around 5 weeks, and one from this week (week 17). Don’t judge me! My belly is huge. I swear I’m not eating like a pig. And i really havent gained any weight. My doc says all is fine with the big belly and no weight gain. He also said that the baby is still doing very well and I should start to feel the baby move in the next week or so. How Fun?? At our last appointment the baby kept kicking the heartbeat monitor. It was so loud that the doc was laughing. Jake says that’s our little punter!!! We are headed to Austin, TX for a little fun in the sun, but I’ll save that for JULY!!

Well, I thought April was busy, then along came May! We are finally able to share the great news that we are expecting our first child in early December (12-8-11 to be exact)! We are so excited and scared and nervous, but mostly excited :) My belly is growing, and I’m experiencing all sorts of pregnancy related things. Pleasant and unpleasant! The baby is growing perfectly and his/her little heartbeat is very strong. The doctor is predicting a boy, which makes Jake very happy, but almost everyone else that has voiced an opinion says girl! If we decide to find out the gender via ultrasound, we should know by the end of July. We are really thinking hard about not finding out, and just waiting until delivery, the good ole fashioned way. We shall see…

On to more good news, Jake started a new job with a company out of New Orleans, he will be working mostly from home and establishing contacts in most of the plants in and around Baton Rouge. We are really excited about his career change and hoping for the best!

I am also making a slight job change, largely because it would be very hard to travel to and from Houma with an infant, but also because a position in an office that I have dreamt of working in literally fell in my lap! The office is 10 minutes and NO TRAFFIC away from my house, which sure beats an almost 2 Hr commute one way to Houma. I’ve worked in this office on and off for the past four years and absolutely love the doctor and staff. So I’m really excited. On the other hand, I’m so sad to be leaving hands down the BEST office I’ve ever worked in, not to mention my FIRST job as a hygienist. Add to that, I’ll be giving up the once a week over night visit to my parents house where I am completely spoiled rotten and surrounded by the people that love me unconditionally even when that is unwarranted! Ha Lots of things changing in our life but all for the better ;) Jake and I also became the Godparents of the sweetest little girl, Blakely Grace Wood.
Here’s hoping for a calm June…