Surprise!!

The first week of May my work threw me a surprise baby shower! I couldn't believe it, it was so nice of them to do. All the ladies in the office cooked food and had presents, then money was collected throughout the whole dealership to buy me stuff as well. With the money collected they got me the Pack-N-Play we wanted and a playcenter as well. Then all the ladies in the office had clothes, diapers, and tons more stuff for Gabe as well. It was so much fun and really meant a lot to me.

Doctor Update

I went to the doctor today, I am now 34 weeks! I have been cycling through the doctors in the group so that I will at least have met them once in case they are the one on-call at the hospital when I go into labor. They have now taken me off the Prilosec and put me on a prescription drug called Prevacid, for the heartburn. It is not fun having chest pain for hours in the middle of the night, hopefully the Prevacid will be a little stronger. They also checked and said that Gabe is head down and ready to go, but I haven't started dilating yet. Everything is looking good, we are counting the days!!

Relaxing in the Pool

The past couple weekends have been spent outside here at our house. Alex, Mandy, Emma, Gigi and PopPop have been cooking out and swimming. Emma loves getting in the pool and is not scared of putting her face right in the water or anything, she is such a water baby!!
I am sure the next couple months weekends will be spent much the same way!!

A Baseball Baby Shower

My mom and sis-in-laws threw Michael and I the best baby shower a couple weeks ago. It was all baseball themed, since that is what Gabe's room is all done in. We could not believe how many friends and family came and all the wonderful gifts we recieved. It is such a blessing to have such a great support system around.

We have nearly all the essential things we need for his arrival and are now just awaiting him anxiously!!

Gabriel in 4D

We went to Look Who's Kickin' today and had our 4D ultrasound, it was amazing! It was incredible to be able to see all his features and everything while he's still in my belly. When she first started he had his foot up in front of his face like he was trying to suck on his toes.

He is making Mommy so unflexible, while he is incredibly flexible himself!! We got to see him sucking his thumb, blinking his eyes, and smiling. His Daddy yelled at him to turn over and everyone started laughing, then Gabe starting smiling. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen! We have the entire thing on a dvd so I will be watching him all the time until he gets here. We think he has my eyes and Michael's lips. He has a sweet little button nose and strong jaw too. We are so ready to meet our son!

Happy Easter!

I hope that everyone's Easter was as nice as our's was. We started our morning out going to church at Lake Morton Community Church, where we have been attending for the past month. Michael and I are really enjoying it, we want to find a church home to raise Gabriel and our future children in. After that we had to run home and grab the fruit salad and corn casserole I

made for lunch at Grammie & Papa's.

It was so nice to have the whole family together Aaron, Angela and Charles came from Orlando for the weekend and Alex, Mandy, and Emma were there too. As well as Uncle Andy, Aunt Angel, Cierra, Cailey, Caleb, Grandma J, and my parents. Lunch was so delicious I cleaned my plate and that rarely happens anymore. After lunch Mom and Dad had to give their grandkids Easter baskets, even Gabe got a Superman Easter basket! It also had baseball booties, bid, hat and socks and other cool stuff. I know next year he will have a blast hunting Easter eggs with his new basket. Emma and Charlie had such a good time with eachother, that was until Emma started beating him on the head. I think she scared him more than she hurt him, she just doesn't realize her own strength. Of course we had an egg hunt for the younger kids and Emma did really well for never having done it, Michael even found some for himself. Grammie also has a candy hunt for all the big kids since we don't want to hunt eggs anymore, I found enough candy to last me the next couple months. It was just a really great day, I can't wait till next year when Gabe is here to enjoy it all with us!!

Our Pool Escapades

When Michael and I bought the house last August the pool did not look like this as most of you know already. I think it was about November probably when during the night someone came into our backyard and opened up our filter and then turned it on so the water was pumping right out of our pool. The pool was completely empty, we decided we weren't going to fill it back up till Spring because we wouldn't be using it again till then anyways. Well since now and then from the rain, water was filling up the deep end along with leaves galore. It was absolutely disgusting!!
Michael and I have been trying to figure out how we were going to get the water out, until someone finally told us about a sump pump. So this past Saturday we went and rented the pump and started to work. My Mom came over and later my Dad as well when he got done working. It was not a fun process but we got all the water out with the pump, then sucked up all the wet leaves with Dad's shop vac. Then the guys pressure washed as much as would come up. After that we poured bleach all over the deep end and the black stain came right off. They pressure washed all the bleach down and then sucked up the water left with the shop vac.

We turned the hoses on at about 4:00 p.m Saturday afternoon and by 6:00 p.m Sunday afternoon the pool was full again. It looks so beautiful! I can't wait for next weekend when it's hot and we can swim again.

Doctor Visit Update

I went to see Dr.Mammel yesterday and everything went good. I have finally put on weight above what I weighed at my first visit, it was a wopping 3 lbs. I have started walking on the treadmill and working out some with Michael, hopefully I can only gain about another 10-12 lbs. Dr. Mammel has put me on Prilosec OTC, hoping that it will prevent my horrible heartburn I have had this entire pregnancy. I had my sugar test as well and it was all fine, no gestational diabetes this time!! I now will be going to the doctor every 2 weeks, I can't believe I am that far along. Gabe is now moving around ALL day long, he is such a busy boy in there. Next weekend we will be going to Tampa to have a 4D ultrasound done and we are so excited!!

Gabe's First Game

Gabe has been to 2 baseball games already!!! With baseball season here, of course Michael and I had to take in some spring training games at Tiger Stadium. We got tickets for the outfield berm so we could just lay back on the grass and watch. It has gotten to the point that sitting up straight in a chair is really uncomfortable for me, my belly is just getting bigger and bigger! The second games we went to this past Saturday was the Braves and Tigers. We took a big blanket and pillow so I could prop myself up, so I could still watch the game. Everytime I would sit up for a minute Gabe would kick me, as if he was telling me to lay back down so he would have more room to spread out. We really had a lot of fun!!! My next doctor visit is Tuesday and I have to have my sugar checked and all that fun stuff, it will be a long visit. I will have a new post about all that next week.

I just keep growing and growing...

I am getting in trouble for not keeping things up to date on the blog, so her goes. Gabe's room now has furniture, border paper, molding and the closet organizer in. All that is left to be done is little decorating things, which I am stumped as what to do. Michael is going to get some help from Papa to build a shelf to hang on the wall with hooks on the bottom to hang his hats and baseball glove from and also a small bookshelf/cube thing (we know what we are talking about, it's hard to explain). We have gotten all registered at Target, Babies-R-Us and Pottery Barn Kids online. The biggest things we need are his carseat/stroller combo and a glider for the nursery. I know plans are in motion for the baby shower, look for your invitations soon. I had a doctor appointment last week and everything looks great he said. I have gained back 8 of the 12 lbs I lost so Dr. Mammal says I have still lost 4 lbs, I like looking at it that way too. My belly measures 2 inches larger than the average he said but that doesn't mean anything except for that my body has adapted well to the pregnancy. They say he is a little over a pound and a half and about 15 inches long. I feel great except for the constant trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night and having to keep the house 3-4 degrees colder than I used too and still being hot all night long. It is so neat and creepy to feel him moving all the time now! Once I lay down at night he really goes crazy kicking and moving around, Michael loves to push back at him because Gabe pushes right back. We just can't wait to meet our son!

Shop till we drop...

On Saturday Gigi, Pop Pop, Alex, Mandy, Emma and us all went over to Brandon to shop for Gabriel's furniture. We went to Baby Depot and they had such a huge selection of cribs and changing tables. It took Michael and I all of about 3 minutes to find the one we wanted, it was exactly what we had in mind. Gigi and Pop Pop bought Gabriel the most beautiful cherry walnut crib and changing table. After that we went to the Brandon Mall and Michael found the cutest Atlanta Braves baseball hat and booties, he can't wait to put them on his handsome son. Of course after we got some dinner we all came back to our house to put the furniture together. It looks so perfect and I couldn't be happier. The room is coming along so perfectly, we just can't wait to bring Gabe home to it!!

Gabriel's Room in Progress

Last Saturday while Michael and Alex were gone helping Dad tarp a roof, Mandy and Emma came over to paint Gabe's room. We actually had painted it a blue just about 2 weeks before we found out we were even pregnant. I really loved the color so we decided to leave that blue at the top of the walls and then paint the ceiling the blue as well. The rest of the wall is a tan or khaki, it all looks amazing with wood floors. We also tore out the old closet shelf that was in there and replaced it with an organizer, that looks so great.

Emma loved helping paint, we came back once with more paint and she was holding up a paint brush. She even found herself a little tiny roller in the tub of painting materials. She was very persistent about getting a feel of the paint. Mandy finally just look her clothes off so she wouldn't get the paint of it. It was a good thing because she did get a good handful of paint by the end of the day. It was so nice of Aunt Mandy and little cousin Emma to come help in Gabe's room, I will make sure he gives them lots of sugar to thank them when he gets here.

It's a Boy!!

Michael and I have been eagerly awaiting the appointment we went to on Feb. 6th, to find out the sex of the baby. We are getting just what we wanted a precious little boy, Gabriel Michael!! It was so amazing to see how big he had gotten since we last saw him, Michael was shocked when he first appeared on the screen. The sonogram tech said he weighs about 13 oz. and is 10 inches from head to feet. It was incredible to sit and watch him twist and turn and to see his little heartbeating. We can't wait for him to get here!!

Sad to go.

It was not fun at all packing up our stuff to leave. Michael was not ready for the trip to be over at all, he had such a great time. He would move up there if I would agree to it, the cold agrees with him. Emma enjoyed herself as well, she was all tuckered out for the car ride to the airport. We all can't wait till next year!

Last night in New Mexico...

On our last night in Angel Fire, New Mexico we went out for dinner. Since it was Michael's birthday we decided we would go out and celebrate! Grammie, Papa, Alex, Mandy, Emma, Michael and I all went out to Zebadiah's for dinner (Papa thought the sign said Frederick's, it was a huge joke all week!). It was a nice to sit and talk about everything we had done all week.

Snowmobiling!

We went over to Bobcat Pass on Friday afternoon to go snowmobiling and it was the most fun we had the entire trip! They guided you out to there piece of property and just let you go, it was probably over 100 acres. Next time we do it we have to get our own snowmobiles becasue Michael and I both wanted to drive ourselves!! Grammie and Papa were the first ones to fall of and Aunt Angel wasn't far after them herself.

Happy Birthday Michael!

Michael was lucky enough to have his birthday fall on the 19th of Jan. while we were still in Angel Fire. Me being the amazing wife I am gave him his presents early because they were more Xbox 360 games. Alex and him had a blast playing them all week, since of course we had to bring it all with us. I also being the amazing wife ordered him a cake there in Angel Fire at a great little bakery so he would still have a birthday cake.

Sledding and Sleigh Rides

We had a ton of fun sledding down the dam at Monte Verde Lake, it was really steep! I went down with Michael most of the time becasue we were a little too worried about me going all by myself. Most of the time they weren't on the sled by the time they hit the bottom, you had flown off!! We also got to go on a sleigh ride which was pretty cool. The snow was just a bit too deep for the horses, they had to stop and rest a lot.

Snowy days!

We had a blast sleding down the hill by the cabins and Michael got a chance to ski for the first time. My grandparents so went with us all got him a private ski lesson for his birthday present. It turned out to be a lot harder than Michael imagined it would be and didn't try again the rest of the trip. Our neice Emma loved the cold weather all except for the having to bundle up to go out in it. She was less than amused by all the clothes and funny hats we kept putting on her. She loved sitting in the snow so she could touch it and play with it. I think we really all liked doing that. I am not sure that I have ever seen Michael have as much fun as he did just diving into the snow face first.

Playtime!

We had a few problems getting up to our cabins but thank goodness a snow plow came down the mountain just as we got stuck and pulled up both up to the cabins and plowed off our parking area. The guys all had to shovel off the walkways just so we could get to the front doors. We couldn't believe how deep the snow was. We had such an amazing view from our cabin as well.

Snow, snow and more snow!!

The first night we stayed at the hotel in Angel Fire and when we woke up it was snowing more then any of us had ever seen!! It was so beautiful and we had to go out and play in it. It wasn't much fun moving all our stuff back out throught it and trying to get the vehicles out to go up to the cabins.

Angel Fire, New Mexico

This is really ridiculous it has taken me this long to update our blog, the next couple posts are from our trip to Angel Fire, New Mexico. We were there from Jan. 13-20 and we had the best time! It was Michael's first time in a plane and seeing snow, so it was great being able to be with him experiencing it all with him for the first time.

Quick Update

I was suposed to have a visit with Dr. Mammel today but over the weekend I was having issues with some headaches, dizziness and overall exhaustion. I called first thing Monday morning and they wanted to see me that day. So I went and saw Dr. Mammel he said it looked as though I was getting a sinus infection and that would be causing the pressure headaches, as for the dizziness I was just needing to slow down a bit. I have lost another 2 lbs, so altogether that makes a total of about 12 lbs since I got pregnant. He says that is no big deal I will begin to put some weight back on pretty soon. Our next visit is Feb. 6 @ 3:45, they will be doing the sonogram!!! YAHOO!!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

I hope everyone is happy I am posting a new blog, I have been getting fussed at quite a bit!! Well I haven't had much to update, the doctor visits have just been the same stuff. At the last visit the baby's heartbeat was 161 beats per minute (faster is usually a girl) and I had lost a couple more pounds. I have another visit next Wed. and then 4 weeks from then I will be having another sonogram to find out the sex of the baby!! Michael and I are so excited and anxious to find out we can hardly stand it! It is a good thing we are going to be out of town in New Mexcio from Jan. 13-20 to keep our minds of it a little bit. The vacation will be so much fun considering Michael has never flown on a plane or seen snow, it's so great being able to experience these things with him for the first time.

We as well hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, as I know we did!! I got Michael his XBox 360 (against my better judgement, haha), games for it, a movie and some clothes. He got me a gorgeous diamond bracelet and earrings, as well as some clothes. I guess I had been a very good girl this year!! We are really thankful for everything that has happened this year. Our engagement, new house, Me a new SUV, the wedding and then with the amazing news that we are going to have a child of our own. Life is good!!!