Yay for Daddy!

Yesterday Daddy felt the baby move!!! It was so exciting! Most of her moves are still so deep in my belly but every once in a while she'll push outward. Well Jimmy just happened to be there for one of those. I looked over to see if he had felt it and his face lit up. It's great to feel a connection like that between the three of us.

Week 23

The weeks seem to be going by so much faster in this second half than they did in the frist. Baby is 23 weeks old today and her momma turned 29 years old this very day! I'm relieved, excited, surprised, and comforted to think of the opportunity to be a mother. It's something that a lot of girls plan on without much thought of whether or not something could go wrong. I know I took the whole process for granted before. I thought you just find someone you want to marry (that part I knew would be hard- but I'm very lucky) and then you just start having babies whenever you want. I never imagined the emotions that come with it even before the baby arrives. I never knew how invested your heart could get in the possibilities and how much reality could hurt. And I know how blessed we are to be expecting this precious girl. And I know that a lot of people have it harder than we did. So today I am grateful. At age 29 I get to become a mother.

I still feel great but the new thing this week is I'm experiencing night-time mind racing. I just get so excited thinking about everything! I try staying in bed but after an hour I get up and look on line at baby stuff, piddle around with hair bows, plan her crib bedding, etc. I feel like I could stay up all night keeping my mind occupied. Last night I stayed up till 3!! Jimmy's favorite question to ask me when he comes in for lunch is, "What time did you wake up this morning?" So waking up at 10:30 every morning is not a good habit... I totally agree! But I don't know what's come over me. I feel like once 10pm hits, my brain kicks into high gear and it won't settle down! At some point over the past 20 weeks I read that this sort of thing can happen. I'm not sure if I should try harder to control it and keep on a tight schedule, or let the craziness run it's course for a couple weeks. Maybe I'll cure cancer or something while I'm up thinking!! You never know!

She likes to move it, move it!!

Every time I feel this little baby move it makes me smile! These past couple days she has been most active in the morning around 10 or 11. I wish I knew what she was doing exactly. Is she just waking up? Trying to tell me something? Whatever it is, I love it.
Something new that I noticed today is that my attraction to chocolate is baaaack. It's not in any way a craving, but I had such an aversion to it the first trimester and I wondered if I'd ever really be into it as much as I was before. There are still several things that I cannot eat because of aversions I developed last pregnancy. SO- I feel that chocolate and I have a healthy relationship at this time and I would like to keep it that way. Hopefully the 3rd trimester doesn't bring on crazy cravings. It's been pretty good so far.
On a side note- we're getting ready to plant some pumpkins. They'll be ready just about the time this baby is!

Week 22

The 22 week belly!

Everything is going well with this sweet girl. She's growing, moving around, and I'm feeling great! My parents ordered her a pack n' play before they left and it just got here so for Father's Day we put it together! It's SO CUTE! I can't wait to see this little sweetie sleeping in there! Jimmy was happy that right on the directions it was printed that one needed to read all the directions before putting it together. He loves doing that anyway... and I'm glad! He's such a careful person. We make a good team.Thanks Grandpa and Grandma! This gift will make the first several weeks easier on this momma!
Before my mom left, and even before she knew we were expecting, she was inspired to make a baby quilt. She whipped up this adorable, soft quilt.It was a lot of work in the midst of everything else she had to do! We are so happy she took the time to do it and baby girl is going to love it!

Week 21

Could it really be week 21? How exciting! I can imagine myself at the top of a hill just looking over the top, ready to start my way down the other side. The anticipation is so exciting! I enjoyed the first half so much and it seems to get better every week!

This little girl is growing and taking my belly with her! I am feeling her move several times a day now. It's still those tiny flutters and Jimmy can't feel them yet. My sister said maybe around week 24 he will be able to. I just feel bad that all he can do is watch me grow larger and larger and not feel what's causing it.

We just got back from our doctor's appointment. He checked everything out on this little lady (and yes, he confirmed that it is a lady) and said that she's growing well. 1 pound and 1 ounce today! What a good girl! She was very sleepy during the appointment so nothing too crazy but it was good to see her. She just keeps those arms up to her head all the time. Jimmy said she must be shy. We only got 1 (alien-ish) picture from the doc.... we're just glad we got all those cute pics from the 3D place in Utah.

Her pack n' play, the first of many big-ish purchases, should be here next week. Maybe I won't set it up immediately, or maybe I WILL!

The Announcement

Maybe we should have waited and told my parents that we were having a girl some exciting way, but we just had to call them as soon as we knew. I hope they don't mind! But we did wait a whole 60 minutes (hehe) after our appointment on Saturday till Jimmy's family got to Grandma Newton's so we could announce the gender in person.

Jimmy and I each held a balloon...

We counted to three and then the person holding the boy balloon was supposed to release it so that only the balloon applying to the gender was left... funny Jimmy... he sat there for a second. The suspense was even killing me!

Then he let his go and.... IT'S A GIRL! How exciting!

(I had to include this cute picture with g-ma in it! So cute!)

20 Weeks

Picture from Riley and Justine's Wedding at the Draper Temple.

HALF WAY THERE and feeling GREAT!!!
The most exciting part about this week is that last night, before I went to bed, I felt the BABY MOVE!!! I was kneeling over saying prayers and she was just going crazy. I felt her move for almost a minute. Maybe I was squishing her so she was trying to tell me to sit up and give her more room. This morning I felt a couple little movements right when I was waking up. Hopefully now I will feel her more and more and soon Jimmy will be able to feel her too!

Something BOO-tiful this way comes!

We're having a...

We just can't wait to see this little girl! It's so great knowing who will be coming in October. She already has more clothes than I do and we just found out yesterday!

WELCOME, WELCOME, WELCOME EVERYBODY!!!

Welcome, family and friends!!!

In 24 hours the word will be out! Tonight we are in Texas packing and anticipating our trip to Utah and the release of the ballyhoo! We are certainly excited about the arrival of our first baby! Feel free to check back from time to time to see how things are coming along. I started journaling about this baby for my peace of mind and never planned on going public with it. There's nothing worse than someone who only talks about their baby. But with my mom leaving the country and the other grandma 3 states away, I knew they would want to keep updated.... the grandpas too, of course! SSOOOO- I apologize if this is too much baby talk! But that's why it's on a totally different blog. You can visit, or not visit. Totally up to you! =)

FYI- within the next week and a 1/2 we will know the baby's gender! {How exciting!}

-Jimmy, Julie + Baby