Busy Weekend

Well, Jonathan and I are recovering from a hectic, but fun, weekend. It started out Thursday night with Jonathan's birthday. He's the big 2-7 and feeling a little old. :) We didn't really get to celebrate his b-day because he had to work a 12 hour day and didn't get home til nearly 9pm. Too late for a party with family, considering that's bedtime for the kids. I did make him dinner, though, and had two fancy chocolate cupcakes I bought at the store with candles for him to blow out. Friday morning, we got up and headed to Indiana. On Saturday we went to IWU to see my brother graduate. That was fun being back on campus, though it's hard to believe it's been four years since we graduated! After graduation, we all went to Outback to celebrate Jacob's graduation, Jonathan's birthday and my sister's 19th birthday (which is today, actually--Happy Birthday, Em!).
Next we headed out for Cincy to visit our good friends Adam and Tonya and the Chrises for the rest of the weekend (Jonathan took Monday off work, so we had a little extra time). We had a great visit with everyone and got to meet the Chris and Chris' new little girl, Linnea, who was born back in February. We all went frisbee golfing on Saturday and I must say, we were quite a sight! We brought Peyton along with us, so we had two strollers, a dog, and a pregnant lady waddling around. What has happened to us?? haha

Visiting Family

I went down to Indiana this weekend to see my sister star in her high school play. She had a lead as Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls. Way to go, Emily! :) While there, we got some pictures of Luke with his Aunt Emily and his Grandma and Grandpa. I'm about 29 weeks now. Woo hoo!

His Name Is....

This is the latest ultrasound (sorry about the lousy color) of our son. It's a profile shot and he's sucking his thumb. :) I checked with Jonathan and he was okay with "officially announcing" his name. haha Although we haven't completely decided on the middle name, we are planning to name him Luke.

Nursery

Jonathan got the nursery painted! Isn't it so cute?? (I'm freaking huge, I know.)

Our New Purchases

We're very excited about our new purchases! Jonathan and I were having an issue with what to do about a car seat and stroller. Jonathan's sister gave us her old car seat/stroller combo but told us the car seat was outdated and she recommended getting a new one. Then his other sister offered to give us their newer stroller but they're keeping the car seat (for their new baby due in June). So we were going to register for a car seat, but weren't sure if we could find one that would be compatible with either stroller. We were out with his sister's family and they suggested going to Sears so they could show us what kind of car seat would work with their stroller. While there, we found a stroller/car seat combo that was on clearance! Plus, Jonathan signed up for a Sears card and got an extra $15 off. Jonathan's parents had given us some money to use for the baby and we had just enough left to cover the stroller and car seat! We were so excited! (Okay, maybe excited is a bit too strong of a word for Jonathan, but I was excited at least!)

Our other purchase was a couch, which we desperately needed. People came over to visit us and we never had enough seating! Plus Jonathan and I could never sit together and cuddle to watch tv (it's hard to cuddle in a papasan when one of you is seven months pregnant!). We found the couch at a store in Grand Rapids that sells gently used furniture. It's practically a brand new couch and we got it for just $200! Jonathan was actually excited about this purchase! :)

I Survived!

Well, I had my glucose screening test last Friday and I made it through with no problems! A big thank you to those who recommended the orange flavor over the cola. It tasted like flat orange pop...not too bad but by the end of the glass I was glad it was gone! I'll try to get the latest ultrasound picture on here by the end of the week. It's so cute--he's sucking his thumb! :)

Update on Baby

I had another doctor's appointment this morning. All is well with baby and me. We do have a name picked out that we've been calling him, so I suppose I could just start calling him that on here, but I'd better check with Jonathan first. He's afraid of commitment when it comes to this poor kid's name. :) Anyway, his heartbeat was 138, which is great. I have to get my glucose screening in a week or so. My doctor said he wants to see me in four weeks, and then after that appointment it will go to every two weeks! How exciting!! I am still feeling pretty good, although I am starting to understand what pregnant women always meant when they said they were "uncomfortable". I feel like I weigh 500 pounds and switching sleeping positions is next to impossible. And I'm only at the start of my third trimester! Jonathan keeps reminding me it will only get worse before it gets better. Thanks, hon. Such great support. ;)

Nothing Too New

It's been a couple weeks since our last post, so I thought we'd update it. Only, there's not much to update you on! Jonathan did get the nursery painted yesterday and it is so stinkin' adorable I almost can't stand it. :) It makes it seem that much more real that this little boy really is coming...and soon! I go back to the doctor next week on Wednesday, so we'll see how things go then. I think I have to take the glucose screening test soon. I've heard it's awful from everyone except my sister-in-law. Get this, her doctor lets her eat 18 jelly beans before she comes in for the test instead of drinking that stuff. She's done this with all three pregnancies! Now, has anyone else heard of this?! I want to know if I can get that hook-up.

Jonathan and I are both working. I've been subbing quite a bit (four days last week!). I enjoy it, though it is tiring after four days straight! The kids make fun of me for my Indiana accent. Apparently, I say certain things wierd. I think they don't know how to say things right in Michigan. I want to take a poll. How do you say the word "crayon"? This is the toughest word for me to say (and I use it a LOT when subbing for kindergarten!). They say it "cran" but I say it more like "crown". I had a kindergartener seriously look at me like I was crazy after I told her to pick up her crayons and she sneered and went, "Did you just say crown?!". It was kind of funny actually. So, wow, this update turned out to be longer than I thought. So, let us know what you think: what is the appropriate pronounciation of crayon? :)

IT'S A BOY!!!

Thanks for your patience...I know it took a while to get the post up. Yes, it's true, we are having a boy and Jonathan is SO excited! :) Though we weren't given a percentage by the ultrasound technician, she did point out his, um, boy parts and they were all clear enough for even Jonathan and I to tell what they were. haha It's so much fun now being able to refer to our baby as a "he" and not an "it". We think we have a name picked out, but Jonathan doesn't want to commit yet, just in case he comes up with another great idea (like Arson--ha!). We got to meet my parents on Saturday and share the news with them. They were thrilled, though not all that surprised--my mom has said from the beginning she thought it was a boy. Jonathan is very proud that the Athearn name will carry on. He has done something his brother can't (or at least hasn't yet): produced a boy! ;) Needless to say, we are absolutely thrilled and cannot wait for his arrival. He has been kicking harder and more often lately and Jonathan was able to feel him kick for the first time on Saturday, which was awesome. It's so wierd to see my stomach twitch and move when he kicks! I forgot to mention in the previous post that the technician said she measured me a bit further along than my doctor, so she gave us a range on my due date from July 3-8. So, he may be here sooner than we thought!

Another Ultrasound

I went to the doctor this past Wednesday and everything looks great with baby and I. I really put on the pounds this past month, though. I can't fit into any of my old clothes anymore and my appetite is insane! Jonathan's upset about this part of the pregnancy because instead of getting all of his meal and part of mine, now he's lucky if I don't eat part of his! :) I was scheduled for another ultrasound and luckily didn't have to wait long--we went Thursday night! It was SOOOO amazing--the baby has grown so much! It was cool to be able to see the baby move on the screen and feel it at the same time. Everything looked good on the ultrasound, too. Our baby even had its fingers in its mouth...too cute!! For those of you who are wondering, YES WE DO KNOW WHAT IT IS!!!! We found out, but will have to wait to post it. We're meeting my parents tomorrow to tell them in person. So, until then...
p.s. Thanks SO much for all the great baby advice...it's been very helpful! :)

Looking for Advice

We're probably going to be registering for the baby here in the next month or so. We've been out looking at various things at different stores and one thing is for certain: we have no idea what we're doing! It's kind of overwhelming, trying to figure out what things are a must, what things we can do without, what brands are good, what things you can skimp on and what things you have to go with top-of-the-line on. So, we're asking for help! If you have any advice about baby stuff, let us know. We'd really appreciate it!! :)

Picture Time!

We went to Indiana this weekend to visit my family, so you know what that means...access to a computer where we can actually post pictures! We hope you enjoy our mass picture update. :)

21 weeks

I'm starting to feel pregnant!

Baby Athearn

This is our ultrasound from a while ago. I was only 15 1/2 weeks, so our child looks a little alienish. Oh well! :) We should be going back for another ultrasound in the next few weeks. Hopefully it will look more like a baby then and we can tell whether this is a boy or a girl!

Just Chillin'

Well, Peyton certainly is loving her new home. Whenever she gets quiet and I don't see her around, chances are I can find her here. She loves to sit on the stairs and look out the windows by the door. She can see other people's backyards and bark at their dogs from there. It's one of her favorite places to take a nap, too!

The Nursery (So Far)

Thanks to my gracious sister-in-law, Michelle, we already have some major parts of our nursery! (i.e. the crib, changing table, a stroller, etc.) We also happened to find the perfect bedding last weekend--and it was 50% off, too! We're planning to paint the nursery purple if it's a girl and green if it's a boy.

Home Sweet Home

Since we are now pretty much "officially" moved in, I thought I'd post some pictures of our house now that our stuff is there. :)

Three Month Pic

Getting Kicked Never Felt Like This Before!

I am currently 19 (almost 20) weeks along and right around the beginning of this week I started feeling these strange sensations. Not wanting to get my hopes up, I chalked it up to some gastrointestinal action. However, it has been happening numerous times per day every day since then! I can only guess that I am getting kicked by my very active child! :) My sister-in-law told me I'm probably past the stage where it feels like butterflies and am on to the definite kicking stage. I would have to agree with her! It is such a cool feeling, though.

Jonathan and I had a good Valentine's Day yesterday. It turned out better than expected. Wednesdays are always hectic because Jonathan goes straight from work to the church where we help with Awana. I was planning on a late, fast meal (of Hamburger Helper or something delicious like that) around 8:15 when we finally got home. But, fortunately, school was canceled yesterday which meant no Awana! So Jonathan actually got home at 6:00 (one to two hours earlier than most nights) and I fixed us a nice, candlelit dinner. Very romantic! I tried to make him a homemade chocolate cake with homemade frosting. Lets just say I am not a baker. I have tried this before and somehow forget that I CANNOT make it work! Oh well. Jonathan was sweet enough to tell me it wasn't that bad (I was ready to throw it in the trash!). I am really looking forward to tomorrow evening when we will go out to celebrate V-day. My husband actually planned an evening for us all on his own. We are going to the restaurant of my choice (still to be determined) and then he is taking me to the Grand Rapids Symphony!! Yes, I know, I could not believe it either. I have the best husband in the world...

SUPER BOWL CHAMPS!!!!!!!

So I know I'm a few days late in this post, but I've been snowed in (west Michigan's got it's worst blizzard in a while!). But, I am SOOOOO stinkin' excited! The Colts actually won the Super Bowl!!!!! Thank you to all those who made comments supporting my Colts. And for the anonymous Bears fan who left the "Go Bears" comment, I am truly sorry for your loss. hahaha :) Jonathan and I couldn't make it to our Super Bowl party because of the blizzard, so we spent it with his mom. It was still fun! (Though I did have to control myself more in front of his mom--I don't think she's seen my true side that comes out when the Colts play!).

Congrats to our friends Chris and Chris on the birth of their first daughter, Linnea. It makes us that much more anxious for our little one to get here! I went to the doctor yesterday for the routine check-up and everything is great! My doctor said I'd get another ultrasound in another month or so and hopefully at that time we'll be able to find out what it is! I think that's all the updates for now...

GO COLTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!