9 more weeks!

I am still a little shocked when I say it out loud. It seems like just yesterday we were telling our friends and family the wonderful news and in approximately nine weeks we will be able to look at our beautiful baby girl. We are going to the Dr. every two weeks until the end of October and then we will start going weekly. She moves all the time and it is so neat. We went to the Dr. Friday and I had gained 3 lbs. (total of 24 so far), I was so excited to not have gained 7 lbs. like I did that one month. Then Good Ole' Negative Nelly piped in: Mama says "Well it's only been 2 weeks!" We all laughed, because I hadn't realized it either and of course when Mama did she had to share. We start childbirth classes this week and will be touring the hospital soon. We are pre-registered and ready to go. Our next appt. is the 11th.

Our friends Lindsey and Chad had their twins Gavyn and Grayson a week ago today. They are in the NICU at MTMC. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers, everyone seems to be doing really well from what I am told.

I am very excited about the Baby Shower this coming Saturday. I just cannot wait!

Brian is working his last week on night shift this week, and will be back on days after this. We are very excited although I will admit me, Laney, and Lilley have taken over the bed, but we have no problem making room for Daddy!

We have the house decorated and are ready for Halloween. We hope you can make it to the Party October 20th.

Rachel's Recipe

I was looking through one of my older Rachel Ray magazines yesterday, for those of you who get the magazine or watch the show; you know she always has some fun idea for animals. Well, I came across this fabulous salad recipe for both people and their pooches. Laney and Lilley LOVE raw carrots and I give them to them as treats daily, because they seem to help with Laney's allergies.

So I decided to try this little mixture out on them last night.Brian was at Wal-Mart and text me to see if I needed anything and I am sure he was thinking I was having so off the wall craving when I requested: shredded carrots, creamy peanut butter, and an orange. He got everything without a second thought and brought it home for me.

When I arrived from work he was at the grill making dinner and I started dumping the carrots into a bowl and heating the peanut butter so that it would be smooth. He came in and looked at me like I was crazy. I then explained that I was making the girls a salad. (He then gives me the, you are a total weirdo look)I began mixing the peanut butter and carrots together and then grabbed the orange (which he had bought several of) only to hear - let me guess the orange is for them too. I said of course. He then had to leave the room. He told me several times that they would just make a big mess with the salad, which I agreed they probably would. Well we were both WAY WRONG.

Laney and Lilley ate every single bite of their salad and wanted more. The mixture made four servings, but I did not want to give it all to them in one night. I kept telling them they would have to wait until tomorrow. They were so precious just licking their lips for about thirty minutes after eating their fabulous Rachel Ray salad. It was a refreshing, healthy treat that they really enjoyed. Love their little hearts!The recipes calls for some other ingredients for people so if you are interested in the recipe for you or your pooch, let me know.

Back To Work!

Well, tonight is Brian's 1st night on 3rd shift and none of us are looking forward to it. He left a few minutes ago and I am already hating it. We keep telling ourselves how lucky we are that this is only going to be for a short time rather than potentially a few years. Hopefully, we will both be able to adjust to sleeping for this short period of time. He can sleep through almost anything and I barely sleep at all these days so hopefully it will all be over soon. He will remain on 3rd shift until they get someone trained and then he should be back on days. We are praying that he will be back on days before Brylee arrives.

He will be able to join me at a few of my Dr. visits now, and we are both excited about that. Only 11 more weeks!! It just does not seem like it has been that long at all. Minus the sickness at the beginning this has been a pretty pleasant pregnancy.

We had a pretty relaxing weekend and that was very nice. We both went out with friends Friday night after work, and had a great time. Brian went with some friends from work to Toot's for dinner and I went for a Girl's Night Out to Fuji's. I know us girls had a very nice time and the food was very good, of course Christina and I had to stop on the way home at Sonic for a little chocolate. IT WAS FABULOUS!

Lindy and I went and had our nails done yesterday and it was wonderful. I had a mani-pedi combo. The chair massaged me the entire time and the lady massaged my calves, ankles, feet, forearms, and hands. This is MUST for all the Prego's at least every other week. I was so relaxed I could have fallen asleep if the room were not so bright. Lindy had her toes painted and her nails done. We had a great time.

Mama and Daddy celebrated their 29th Anniversary Saturday, and we sent them to Olive Garden for dinner.

Chance and his friend Kody stayed the night last night. They went to the movies and then on the way home I had a craving for cake. We stopped by Kroger's at which time Chance and Kody were acting so silly. I never realized boys acted so weird. It was hilarious. We ended up with a cake and brownies, both of which were very good, but it turned out that I really wanted a piece of the cake we had a Lindsey's Baby Shower. But I made due.

I went today and bought some good supportive shoes so hopefully that will help with the swelling. I will keep you posted.

EVERY TWO WEEKS!

Well let me start by saying THANK YOU ROWENA!! For those of you who do not know Emily's grandma makes the BEST EVER homemade bread, and when Brian arrived from taking Emily home Sunday night he had quiet the surprise for Baby Reese. Rowena had baked a loaf of bread for Ms. Brylee Taite and I can tell you that we all enjoyed every bite. It was sooooooo gooooood!

We had a Dr. Appt. today which went very well. We are at the point that we will be going to the Dr. ever two weeks. And as Robyn informed me tonight, only eleven more weeks to go. I am thinking she will arrive between Dec. 11th-15th. Brian thinks she will arrive the weekend of Thanksgiving. Please tell us your thoughts.

Our visit today was with Dr. Moss, whom we liked very much. Mama and I felt that she was very thorough. I only gained 3 pounds this month which was far better than the 7 pounds the month prior. So all together I have gained 21 pounds so far. Say your prayers that I can keep it below 30. We are exactly 28 weeks and 4 days prego and measuring at 30 weeks which she said was good. She felt for my uterus and said this baby was everywhere. She also noticed some swelling in my ankles and told me to get some better shoes for support.

The one think that she told us that we found very funny was about the heartbeat. Dr. Moore does not guess because she said there was no truth to it, well Dr. Moss does. She asked what we were having after telling us that the heartbeat sounded very good and when I said GIRL, she was shocked. She said that she would have definitely guessed a BOY, but that the ultra sound tech had never been wrong before. Of course my Daddy said there was a first time for everything.

Annette that I work with is constantly saying that Brylee will be a BOY. She has said it so much that I dreamt the other night that I called her from the delivery room to tell her to get to the hospital and to make sure she brought my child something blue because she was right it was a BOY and if someone did not get there fast he would be going home dressed in pink to a pink room. Of course she thought it was hilarious. Either way we will be thrilled, although I am sure that we will be bringing home a Baby Girl, it was pretty funny to hear. We go back the 28th.

Brian will be starting 3rd shift Sunday night. He got very lucky though, because the guy on days turned in his notice thus leaving Brian as the Sr. Controls Tech. So, once they get someone else trained he will be back on days. Say a prayer that he is back on days before Brylee arrives.

Love You All!

Bowling!! We went bowling tonight and had a really great time. We were joined by Grandma, Granddaddy, & Patsy. Emily got to use her bowling ball for the first time since receiving it for her birthday. She did really well and was telling us on the way home that it was her LUCKY BALL! She also was a big help to all who bowled, she was giving out tips! As you can see from the above she has a style all her own. Hope you can join us next time.

Week 27

Brylee Taite is growing and it is becoming more obvious to me in many ways other than the growing belly. I am noticing a little more discomfort from day to day, but I wouldn't take anything for her little movements. It is truly an amazing experience. Here is an update on where we are at in our 27th week.

Your baby is really starting to get big. This week she weighs almost 2 pounds and is about 14.4 inches long with his legs extended. She now sleeps and wakes at regular intervals. She may suck her fingers, and although her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with assistance — if she were born prematurely. Chalk up any rhythmic movement you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on.

We have our next visit the 13th, and should start going a little more than every four weeks soon. We are getting ready to pre-register at the hospital and possibly for some classes. Tell us what you think about the taking the classes, are the necessary?? We are looking at childbirth classes and breastfeeding classes. What do you think?

Mama bought Brylee her 1st Titans outfit last week and she was tickled to death to have found a pink one. They are big Titans fans and Bama fans so she now has a pink outfit for each team.

We spent the extended weekend just hanging around the house and making two trips to the Boro. We were trying to find Emily's hamster Chewy Ricky Bobby a new house. We bought one Saturday and assembled it, placed him inside, and watched. After a few minutes we decided he needed a bigger home. So we went back Sunday and got him a bigger house with some accessories. He seems to really like it. Here he is just sleeping so soundly on the top of his new house.