The Zooper!

The Zooper Waltz -2006 - in red -- its ours! I took my parents and aunt on a baby shop excursion on Sunday, and showed them the Zooper, which CJ and I are liking as our #1 pick. The woman at Baby on Grand informed us that the Zooper is raising its prices on all 2007 models by $100 - just because! Nothing new has been added! *gasp* So I was on a hunt for the 2006 model - online - in RED! I couldn't find it, but Amazon.com came through. It's ordered by my dad, and is going to be one of Keifer's baby shower gifts from my parents! YAY! How fun!

Baby Ballroom

On Saturday, my parents, Aunt, and myself went to watch my mom and aunt's cousin Leland and his wife Leslie perform at their dance studio. They've been taking ballroom dancing lessons for about 3 years or so and are now competing in it on a regular basis. It is so much fun to go and watch: its like watching "Dancing with the Stars" right in front of you. Anyways, their studio had a fundraiser show on Saturday, more of a performance and entertainment show vs. a competition. They had a silent auction going on, with many cool items and events to bid on. The Baby Ballroom class was not getting many bids (it only had 1 to be exact) , when Leslie mentioned to me she really wanted me to take Keifer to dance classes when I had him/her. I decided to make a bid on the baby ballroom class, a 6 week class valued at $75. The opening bid was $20, so I bid $22 and I ended up winning! So when Keifer is born, he/she and mommy already have one class on their schedule: learning to ballroom dance!

PG ladies are bringing sexy back! *yeah*

WHOOT!
My PG friend Allison and I are hitting JT's
tour on January 27th here in St. Paul!
(*Justin Timberlake*)

Can you just see us? I'll be around 30 weeks PG and she'll be about 5 weeks behind me, grooving and shaking our expanding booties to Justin's sexy love sounds. LOL.

Oh Keifer - Mommy is having SO MUCH FUN living it up at all these concerts before you are born! You surely WILL come out dancing! LOL

1 week and 1 day til the Red Hot Chili Peppers! WHOOT!

What?

Can someone please explain to me what the hell Hank Azaria was doing in my dream? *perplexed*
He was "courting" me -- weird!

Nursery bedding

My friend Brittany in Ohio rocks! Not only did she score me an awesome floor lamp shade, a table lamp and my mobile for an unheard of price from Pottery Barn Kids, but yesterday, she scored me my bedding for the nursery on clearance! YAY! PBK is clearing out their Farmyard Friends Collection from their stores (not the online stuff, that will stay the same)....so the prices were great! So we are done with our bedding shopping! YAY!
So now we have the cool mobile, the crib sheets, the crib bumper, the crib skirt and the "stroller" blanket (because I had to get the super soft blanket with the doggie and kitty on it! Of course!). We're not going to get the quilt or anything else, because 1) I've heard you don't really do much with the quilt, and 2) I don't want the nursery to be "overdone" with the animal theme. What we have is perfect, so no more farmyard friends other than what I have now! YAY! I am so excited! Hugs to BJ for being such an awesome person and friend! And many thanks to Keifer's Grandma (Nana) Dian (my mom) for purchasing this wonderful bedding for her future grandchild!

17 weeks - Keif is like an onion (he/she has many layers?)

Hee Hee, that is my little "jab" at Shrek.....I told CJ when I met him on the internet (Match.com, baby!), that I was similar to an onion -- many layers to this girl here!
I'm 17 weeks and I'm truckin' along! YAY! I thought I was in the clear for no more morning sickness -but Sunday driving home from our visit in Duluth, I honestly felt like I had the WORST hangover ever. I was so sick to my stomach and had the worst headache. I got home, and went straight to bed for 5 hours that afternoon. Monday AM, I was throwing up before work again, and ended up coming home at lunch, only to sleep the entire day away again. Either I was fighting a bug, or Keifer's sudden "growth spurt" here in this fourth month is keeping mommy on the edge yet again. Oh well, I'm still so happy to have Keifer rolling around inside me,that I'll take it as long as it means a baby in the end.
Last night, lying in bed, I could've sworn I MIGHT have felt the little bubbles that everybody talks about. I called CJ in excitement, but they were gone. I swear I can feel the "energy" of a little one in there, so maybe it WAS Keifer telling me goodnight. Who knows.

This week, babycenter.com tells me Keifer is: Your baby weighs about 5 ounces now, and he's around 5 inches long about the size of a large onion. He can move his joints, and his skeleton until now rubbery cartilage is starting to harden to bone. His sense of hearing is also developing. The umbilical cord, his lifeline to the placenta, is growing stronger and thicker.

Yay for his/ her hearing developing. Daddy is still reading the board books to Keif everynight and I hope the routine gets ingrained in his/her little developing brain. Keifer is also lucky, because mommy is always reading, singing and listening to music at work with her school kids, so he/she is getting LOTS of good early development sounds!

Doggie big brother love & family time

Treble (Tboy), as I've mentioned before, has been unusually snuggly lately. He always wants to lay next to me or ON me, right on top of Keifer. Last week, I noticed that sometimes when I'm up walking around, all I have to do is call him, and he'll come up and jump up and I swear he's saying "hi" to the belly. He even licks at it. Its so damn sweet! My Tboy - protective big fur brother! This past weekend, I had a 4 day weekend (MEA teachers' workshop weekend in MN). Thursday, I had a great lunch date with my friend Missy and her daughter, Madysen; Missy and I came home and took turns listening to our babies heartbeats on the doppler. It was so fun! Missy is scheduled for a cesarean on November 13! Ugg - 3 weeks til we meet baby #2! We are so excited! Then CJ and I went and saw "The Departed" w/Leo, Matt Damon, and Jack. It was awesome - I was worried because I had heard its pretty gory - and lately I can't handle violence or gore like I used to. But it wasn't as bad as I had anticipated and I highly recommend it. I was pretty impressed w/Leo and Matt's acting chops. LOL, as if I am some important critic.

Friday, CJ took work off, we packed up the Envoy and the kids, and we hit the road to Duluth. Its' been since August since I've visited and since July (before our BFP!), for CJ. We arrived at my parents around lunch time on Friday, and my cousin and aunt, and cousin's daughter, CJ and I's Goddaugther, Aubrie, came to visit. I, of course, broke out the fetal doppler and we had quality family time listening to Keifer's heartbeat thumping away. Aubrie was adorable - she was perplexed as to what we were doing, and when she heard the heartbeat, she actually picked up the doppler and put it up to her ear, like a phone. LOL. It was priceless. At one point, she looked at her mom, my cousin Becky, like "what is going on?". She is just such a love. My heart just swells when we are able to spend time with her. Saturday we visited my Grandma and Papa in their new assisted living digs - but they both were really sick with horrible colds. Then, my mom and went shopping and mom bought me 3 new maternity tops - one for CJ's uncle's wedding in November, and one for my rock concerts coming up. She also got me a new bra - a bigger bra that soon I'll be wearing all the time. I'm just at such an uncomfortable place with the bra situation. I never imagined the girls would grow this fast, not that I'm complaining. LOL. But it gets pretty uncomfortable and I'm at a horribly "in between' situation size-wise. *(sigh)*. Such is life.

wild and wacky dreams

As I've stated before, I've always had wild and wacky dreams my whole life. But being PG has made some of them even MORE wild and wacky. The other day at work, somebody asked me if I was dreaming about having my baby yet, or dreaming about the gender of Keifer. Honestly, I have NOT had any baby dreams whatsoever.
Until last night.
I had a dream last night about friends from LONG ago in my life - like elementary school and high school. I dreamed I was visiting them and one of them had a baby that had quite a mouthful of teeth. Everytime she handed the baby to me to hold, the baby would chomp with those little teeth - onto my shoulder or onto my leg. And not let go! And the weird thing, it hurt! Yes, that is weird.
The other part included another friend that had a baby, and everytime she handed HER baby to me,I would drop it. I could NOT get a hold of this baby, and it usually dropped head first. There I was, desperately trying to grab a decent hold on this infant, and the head kept swinging away from me. At one point, the head bumped the ground, and the mom was like "its OK". It was so freaky.
I sure hope this is just a nightmare and not signs of what might come. LOL.

Avocado, anyone? (16 weeks........)

16 weeks. Wow. I'm entering my fourth month of pregnancy. I read in my Pregnancy Journal, that this month my Keifer will make the most rapid growth - he/she will increase his/her weight by 6 times during this fourth month, and will reach half the length that he/she will be at birth! He/she is getting tiny little toenails, and the thought of little toes, so precious, is so exciting. 4 more weeks from today and we'll know the gender - can you tell the countdown is making me crazy?

Babycenter.com says: At 4 1/2 inches long (head to bottom) and 3 1/2 ounces, your baby is about the size of an avocado. In the next three weeks, she'll go through a tremendous growth spurt, though, doubling her weight and adding inches to her length. Her lower limbs are much more developed now. Her head is more erect than it has been, and her eyes have moved toward the front of her head. Your baby's ears are close to their final position, too. Some of her more advanced body systems are working, including her circulatory system and urinary tract. Her heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, circulating her total blood volume through her body many times. (By the end of your pregnancy, this will increase to about 190 quarts.) The patterning of her scalp has begun, though her hair isn't recognizable yet. Although closed, her eyes are moving (slowly), and she's even started growing toenails.

I don't think I've been able to feel anything inside me at this point - but once in awhile, if I'm sitting or lying down, quietly, and "think" I may be able to feel the little flutter of a possible movement, but I can't tell for sure (therefore, I say no I can't feel anything! LOL). It's almost like I can sense his/her presence inside.

Many of the ladies at work have commented this week to me that they are starting to see my belly pop out - and they are just as excited as I am. I am almost "proud" of my belly - which then makes me almost feel guilty for those that are struggling with infertility -- but I have to remember that we worked hard for this belly and it didn't come without its share of pain. I like to touch it and I honestly can't wait until its bigger and I can stroke it and really know that Keifer can for sure hear me.

Starting to get happy with the scanner!

This weekend was great. CJ and I went and purchased a new KING SIZE bed -- much needed for CJ , as he has become increasingly uncomfortable in our Queen sized one. We'll be getting that delivered on Thursday!
I hit some major sales with my buddy Allison on Sunday and scored 2 sets of nice sheets for an unheard of price. I also scored 2 new pair of shoes (one for Allison, too!), and then we slobbered all over ourselves, 2 PG chicks, at Red Lobster. LOL.
The best part, and most exciting to me, was that CJ "allowed" me to start our baby registry at Target!! (www.target.com and you can see the start! YAY). I went hogwild in the books, as everybody knows I am a book fanatic. I must have been in the book section, scanning some book collections, and a few cool things, for almost 20 minutes! I scanned a few other things, mostly educational type toys, the exersaucer and the swing I know "for sure" we are liking, but we still have major things to decide on. Baby registering is SO overwhelming. I honestly never expected to feel so, so, ....Clueless! We most likely will start a registry at Babies R Us, I already started one with our names, but if we can find most of our items at Target, we'll try to stick to there. However, there are 2 high chairs we are debating on, and one of them isn't at Target, its only at Babies R Us, so we shall see!
Last night, I was chatting with my mom, as CJ and I are heading up north this Friday to visit (I have Thursday and Friday off of work), and I got out the fetal doppler for her to listen to Keifer again. Right away, the little critter's heartbeat was nice and strong. Everytime I hear that, my heart sighs in relief along with me. It was so cute, because after about a minute, the heartbeat started to fade away, so Keifer must have been doing a nighttime dance!
CJ has started reading to Keifer at night, too. So along with our little blue dog that we put on my belly and play every night, we now have daddy reading books to Keifer, too! I'm so excited , can you tell?

no more BO concert

Poor Keifer. No more Bo concert. As you recall, Bo Bice from American Idol fame, and Jordis Unga of Rockstar: INXS fame, are doing a tour and were scheduled to be here October 26. Well, poor Bo has some major stomach/intestinal issues and had emergency surgery again, so he's pulled out of touring right now.
Dammit. I was so pumped to see him. LOL. For some reason, I got hooked on him and his sound and his performances.
CJ and I just saw Jordis this past August and got to meet her, so we were really just going to see Bo.
Luckily Ticketmaster did refund my tickets, minus their $5 service fee (of course).
So next concert stop for Keif: Red Hot Chili Peppers on November 5th.

Can Keifer keep up (or me, for that matter?)

Can Keifer keep up with the always wild (except when curled up sleeping) Sassafras?
You be the judge: this is her, being chased by Allison's dog, Ruby, at the dog park last May. Watch as she quickly does a roll, and keeps on flying around. Keifer better have some fast legs.

Here she is: Click HERE

15 weeks and holding

15 weeks and holding on steady. We had the pleasure of receiving
our fetal doppler this week, so we have been listening quite a bit to little Keifer's heartbeat *(well, OK, I HAVE been listening quite a bit. I've been sharing the lovely sounds with my friends at work. It is just so amazing)*. The heartbeat continues to remain in the mid 150's, but last night before bed, it was in the mid 140's. So baby Keifer must settle in before bedtime, too! LOL

CJ teased me and asked if I'm going to carry the fetal doppler with me everywhere I go. I told him if HE was carrying a baby in his belly, he'd be sharing the sounds, too!

I found some pictures online of a 3-D ultrasound of a 15 week old fetus. This is what Keifer looks like! AMAZING! Every day, I get more and more excited to meet him/her. I know its quite a bit of a ways off, but time is going by so quickly, it'll be here before we know it *so CJ: ya better get crackin' on that guest room/future nursery!* I had lunch this weekend with two different sets of friends, and both days, I found myself literally GIDDY and gushing about how happy I am that I was so blessed and lucky enough to GET PG, and how excited CJ is, and all the plans we have. *(sigh)*.

Babycenter. com sent me my weekly PG update: At around 4 inches long, crown to rump, your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 ounces. He's busy inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid, which will help develop the air sacs in his lungs. His legs are growing longer than his arms now, and he can move all his joints and limbs. That means his hands are more functional, too. Sweat glands are appearing, and although his eyelids are fused shut, he can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, he's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but his taste buds are beginning to form. And if you have an ultrasound, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or girl! (Don't be disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down the gender depends somewhat on how clear the picture is and the position of your baby during the ultrasound; he may be curled or turned in such a way as to keep you in suspense.)

Thank God that my morning sickness is no longer seeming to be an "all day" sickness. I'm still gaggy as usual in the AM's, and yesterday AM I took a drink of water after breakfast, and promptly regurgitated it all right back up, all over the carpet at my feet, at the paws of Treble and Sass. Luckily it was just the water! Poor Sass was freaked out by mommy spewing water all over and was a bit nervous. LOL. The headaches are still consistent, with no rhyme or reason as to when they might show up. I'm sleeping very well still, though, so that is a relief. On Monday evening, I had my first prenatal massage (how cool it is to write that) and it was heavenly. The problem is: I could get one everyday! Just sitting at work on the computer gives me neck and shoulder tension and I'm ready for a good shoulder rub again right now!

Treble is already a protector

When I got home from my Embryo Transfer in July, all looped up on Valium, and was put on 2 days of bedrest, the first "being" who greeted me and made sure I was comfy was Treble. He jumped up next to me in bed, as CJ got me all prepped and ready, and I'm not sure if Tboy could "sense" there were embryos in my uterus, but he did lay right on top of them for about 10 minutes straight, making sure I was OK.

Last night, when CJ and I got home from work, our fetal doppler that we rented had arrived. We rented it for 3 months, and it allows us to listen to Keifer's heartbeat at home. We immediately (or should I say CJ immediately) broke it out and I quickly laid on the couch so we could attempt to find the heartbeat. I have to admit, it was frustrating at first, and I snapped at CJ. I took over the wand and when we found the heartbeat, it was like listening to a tiny part of heaven. I called my Dad, he listened, and then I called my Grandma Gina's, where my mom was packing up my Gma's things for her move into assisted living later this week with my Grandpa. I played the heartbeat for them both, and my mom said the heartbeat sounded like a "kettle drum". The average beats were around 152 beats or so, so it was near the number I heard last week at my OB appointment.
What was so cute, was, when Treble saw we were done listening to the heartbeat and I was lying on the couch, relaxing, he jumped up and immediately settled himself down RIGHT ON TOP of where Keifer is located. Smack dab on top. Like he almost "knew" that 's where the baby is. Can he sense it? Does he know? Or is it just the "comfy" spot on his mommy's tummy? Sass was in her heaven, chewing her nylabone like a crazy girl (they do this when they are really excited or happy), but Tboy, he was catering to his mom and giving her lots of love. *sigh* I love these damn dogs. I hope in the future, Treble and Keifer are good pals. I think Treble will be his/her protector. I have this "feeling".
(* I also took the doppler to work today, and a few of my coworkers got to "meet" Keifer by hearing him/her thumping away. It was funny - my lying on this dirty floor in their office and all of us ohhing and ahhing over the swoosh swoosh of my placenta sounds. LOL*)

Can't. Get. Enough. of.......

Lately, I can't get enough Grape Juice. I salivate for it. The smell of grapes in a grocery store makes me want some. Yum.

Boy or Girl?

I had another Reiki session yesterday and Susan did the crystal thing again over my tummy. Last time, the crystal said I had more than one baby and they would all be girls. LOL. Obviously, I only have one baby inside me, and we're in the dark about gender until November 15. Also, the last time I saw her, she was feeling "girl" when she did Reiki on me.

This time, the crystal predicted I will have a boy. I personally have no idea or no preference as to what the gender is. Some people swear they know their entire pregnancy. My mom said she knew with both my brother and I. When I was born, she had my name picked out and knew I would be a girl, 100%. With my brother, she felt the same way (it was a boy, Darren). So maybe my mom telling me that Keifer is a boy is true. LOL. I guess everybody has a 50/50 chance of being right! 5 1/2 weeks to go until we know!

Out of the mouths of babes, and more clothes!

On Friday afternoon, I had 2 packages sitting on the front steps of our house. They were both from Pottery Barn Kids: YAY! My friend Brittany in Ohio, from my wonderful message board, she works part time for PBK. She scored CJ and I our Farmyard Friends Mobile that I have lusted over, and she also found us a floor lampshade that has farm animals silhouetted on the shade. When you turn the light on, they look like shadows. Not only did BJ score us these cool items for clearance price, but this sweet friend of mine also "threw in" a matching table lamp with the same shade! AWWW! That sweet pea! I'm so excited to eventually decorate with all these items. Now, if only CJ will get going on starting to clean out our guest room - I told him I'd rather do it now than when I am big and lumbering around like an elephant.

As we were in the garage unpacking these boxes, one of the neighborhood girls came over to visit. We live in a townhouse, and the house directly behind us (we share main walls) has 3 kids -- Andreah, Avery and Alese. Alese is the same age as our niece, Abby - that is 5. She likes to chat chat chat to us all the time. So Alese was watching us open these nursery items and I told her "Alese, guess what? We are going to have a baby!". Her eyes were priceless to watch. She was so in shock and it looked like happy shock. Her eyes got huge, she smiled really big, and after a few seconds said, "maybe the baby will be one of my friends!". I said of course! I also told her the baby would be here after the snow came and then is starting to melt, and that it is due right around Easter! (Actually the due date is the Tuesday before Easter Sunday). Alese said, "well, maybe you should dress the baby up in an Easter bunny costume!". We all laughed, and then I turned to CJ and said "actually, that might be a cute baby announcement: maybe put Keifer in an egg?". Alese heard this and piped us, "Maybe you should put the baby in an Easter basket!". So who knows, maybe we'll do that! LOL

Later, CJ took the dogs out again for their after dinner disposal, and Alese came over to him and said "I know something about your wife!". CJ said, "oh yeah?". She said, "yeah, she's going to have a BABY!". LOL. Out of the mouths of babes.

Today, CJ and I trekked up to Maple Grove where my friends gathered; these were the same friends (and house) where I received my "I'm PG" phone call from my RE clinic. The boys watched the football game, and the girls went to lunch. My friend Kris recently had a gorgeous baby girl, Anna, in May, and had 3 grocery sacks full of maternity clothes for me! It was like heaven for me to dig thru all these clothes! Thanks to Kris, I hopefully will no longer need any more maternity clothes! YAY! Of course, when I got home, I wasted no time in adding them to my newly rearranged closet (along with the new pair of jeans I got on clearance at Gap and the shirt, also on sale!). I should be set, save for a special occasion or two that might be coming up. Also, I have 3 rock concerts to attend in the next 4 months. Any ideas on a cute, funky, "rock star" type shirt that I could look at? Just because I'm PG doesn't mean I don't want to look like a rock mama! LOL

I added the 14 1/2 week fully clothed Keifer belly pic, and look at the stack of new clothes for me to wear thru the winter now!

Eau de Poo: the new gag trigger

Its finally happened. Finally, after 14 weeks of PG, I can no longer clean up after my furkids on our walks without gagging and almost tossing my cookies into a neighbor's yard. I wondered if it would happen. For so long, our walks have been like a respite for me, cool, fresh air, shared joy of being outside and together, frolicking down the sidewalk.

The other AM before work, I caught a waft of the poop bag and stood there, gagging on the sidewalk, praying nobody was driving by or looking out the window. Last night, CJ and I had did our 'after work' spin around the loop, and I'm usually on poop patrol as he takes over the handling of the kids and their intricate leashes (lots of spinning and switching hands when you walk these kids). I did my duty, and immediately started gagging again. I handed the poop bag off to CJ and decided I can no longer have any duty when we walk together except to be the furkids' mama. LOL.

More Dreams

Poor CJ. Not only does he have to deal with my constant whining about my morning sickness, frequent headaches, and wardrobe choices, but he also has to deal with my freaky dreams. LOL. I know he thinks I'm a nut job, but I had the craziest, vivid dream last night. I compare it VERY MUCH to the plot line of McDreamy-Meridith-Finn- and Addison on Grey's Anatomy!

In my dream, I was "with" CJ, but not sure if that meant married or boyfriend/girlfriend. Apparently I was also considered Matthew McConaughey's girlfriend, but I was leaving Matthew to go be with CJ. Matthew lived on a boat (?) or something and he also had another girlfriend (would this be the Addison?). I remember crying and crying to Matthew about something (?), and then I was driving with CJ up and down Grand Avenue in West Duluth of my hometown (Duluth). My cell phone kept ringing, and CJ was telling me to ignore the phone, as it was Matthew continuing to call me.

Yes, I have the wacky dreams, they make no sense. But its always fun to be fought over by your hubby and Matthew McConaughey! LOL.

OB recap -the heartbeat was AWESOME

I just got back from my OB appointment this AM. I got to meet Dr. S., who was very nice and as Addie (my OB nurse practitioner I normally see) said, he was VERY chatty. Dr. S. is the OB who delivered my nephew Mason, so I trust Jill that she really likes him.
We only really talked and then we got to listen to Keifer's heartbeat. If you recall, last time it was hard to hear - as Keifer was a "critter on the move". Today, as soon as Dr. S. put the monitor on my belly - WHAM! You could hear the heartbeat loud and solid as could be. It was the best sound in the world! He estimated the beats around 154, which is pretty middle-of-the-road as far as numbers go. He said not to take stock in numbers, anyways, as in trying to determine if its a boy or a girl.

Speaking of which, boy or girl, mark your calendars! November 15 at 2:30 I have our 20 week ultrasound scheduled, and we will find out if Keifer is a Keifer Lynn or a Keifer Dale! I can barely wait!!!!!!

14 weeks -- *WHEW*

Time is flying by - thank God. I honestly never in my wildest dreams imagined I'd be lucky enough to get to this point: 14 weeks PG! And - *knock on wood*, the past few days, I've only been gaggy in the AM before work -- and I've been feeling somewhat better during the day. Possibly a tich more energy? Less nausea? I still can't think of food until I am hungry - at that exact moment, then I'll want food. Like last night, I was glancing through Sam's Club's catalog which included mostly food. I had the hugest craving for breaded cheese sticks. YUM. Where can I go to get some of those? I think Arby's or Burger King? I'm going to have to investigate that now. LOL. (*yum, Arby's, now I 'm craving a Giant Roast Beef*)

Babycenter.com tells me: Head to bottom, your baby's 3 1/2 inches long about the length of a lemon and weighs about 1 1/2 ounces. Her body's growing faster than her head, which now sits upon a more well-defined neck. By the end of this week, her arms will have lengthened and will be in proportion to the rest of her body. (Her legs still have some growing to do, though.) She's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair all over her body (called lanugo). Her liver starts secreting bile this week, a sign that it's already functioning properly, and her spleen starts contributing to the production of red blood cells. She's also producing and discharging urine into the amniotic fluid, a normal process that she'll keep up until birth. You still can't feel your baby's movements, but her hands and feet (which are now half an inch long) are more flexible and active. Thanks to brain impulses, her little facial muscles are getting a workout as she squints, frowns, and grimaces. She can grasp now, too, and she may be able to suck her thumb.

As early discomforts (nausea, fatigue, breast tenderness) begin to fade, you may start to regain some energy and feel more comfortable with how your body's changing. (Although the top of your uterus is only a bit above your pelvic bone, that growth may be enough to push your tummy out a bit.) Starting to show is an exciting pregnancy milestone and it will likely give you and your partner the visible evidence of a baby that you've been waiting for. Take some time to plan, daydream, and enjoy this amazing time. It's normal to worry a bit now and then, but you can also breathe a little sigh of relief knowing that with the start of this trimester your risk of miscarriage has dropped significantly. Now try to focus on taking care of yourself and your baby and having faith that you're well equipped for what's ahead.


From a lime to a lemon -- little Keifer seems to be in the development of some good lemonade. Yum, lemonade!

Here is the 14 week belly picture. I have to admit, looking at it without being covered up makes me cringe. Ewwww. I'm not digging the pictures of it. It looks and "feels" much more pretty when its covered up and starting to emerge as the "baby bump". Hopefully soon, everyone that sees it will be able to identify it as a baby bump and not "is she, or isn't she?".

I have another OB appointment today. CJ is coming with me. We are excited to hear the heartbeat again, and after this time, we plan on renting the fetal doppler. We'll also be meeting my "regular" OB, Dr. S. My other appointments have all been with Addie - but she is a nurse practitioner, not an actual "OB", so I have to see this Dr. S., because I'm supposed to see another "OB". I have to admit, before these appointments, both CJ and I get so nervous. Oye. Please pray that the heartbeat is nice and strong and we can hear Keifer.

2 out of 3 ain't bad!

Whoo hoo! Kudos to my friend, Julie, up in my hometown of Duluth. She read my blog entry the other day, saw my plea for HELP in finding the other two donor egg books for children, and she did some research. Come to find out, Julie did, is that the book "A Part Was Given and an Angel was Born" is published right here in MN and I can purchase it online for only $19.95! WHOOT! (*and secretly, I think part of the reason I'm so excited about this book is that it has 2 doggies on the cover! LOL*)
Now we have two out of three children's books for Keifer that will explain to him/her about how Auntie Mooshie gave us a very special, important part of herself to help create him/her!

*speaking of Julie, she makes WONDERFUL homemade cart covers -for grocery carts, eating out, etc., - and I'd be happy to hook you up with her talent IF you ever wanted (and she did not ask me to do this, **I just plan on getting my own cart cover from her when Keifer gets here!**)*

S/He's gonna come out dancing!

LOL. After I posted on my message board that I just purchased CJ and I tix to go see Bo and Jordis at the end of October - my pal BJ commented that "Keifer's gonna come out dancing!". I'm sure he/she will! I'm so pumped up -- Bo Bice was the ONLY American Idol that I ever got "in to". I even got tix to the American Idols tour last summer of 2005, so I could see him perform. So when I saw Jordis's home page with this announcement, I immediately called CJ to see if we could go. Granted, its a school night, and (in the words of my friend Faye: "My dogs will be barking" aka my feet will be screaming! ), I have to go.

Since CJ and I already met and saw Jordis perform in August, we can skip out on her performance if I'm too tired. Plus, 10 days later is when I get to go rock out to the Red Hot Chili Peppers with my pal, Julie. WHOOT WHOOT! Keifer's gonna be a rock - star - in - training!

Books ( I *heart* books)

If you know me, you know my obsession with books.I've had this obsession since I was young. My mom would read to me every night, (or play the kazoo, my favorite and hers being "The Brady Bunch theme"), and sometimes I would read the books to her from memory. As a teacher of young children, I have collected books for almost 10 years now, adding to the collection every month or every shopping spree, saying "this will be for my children someday". I love books. Love the smell of them, love getting so engrossed in one that I can't put it down, love hearing that new authors I love have new books coming out. I love watching and enjoying young children enjoy books as much as I do. I love acting out the stories as I read them dramatically to the children I teach, and the children I love. The library is my friend. And luckily, we live 1 block away from one!
And, if you know me, you know that my favorite gift to friends of mine (or family) with kids is books.

My hunt for the "egg donor" children's books began before Keifer was even conceived. I looked and looked, but only came up with 2 or 3 books that cover this subject. Two of these books are impossible to find -- one is called "A Part was Given and an Angel was Born". I found it on Amazon yesterday, and *gasp* the price was $42 for this book. WHAT? Obviously I need help searching for this book in other avenues (help, anyone?). Another book I found located in Melbourne, Australia, through an IVF clinic. It is called "Sometimes it Takes Three to Make a Baby". I've emailed this clinic and hope to hear back from them. Keifer's book collection (already big and growing, as I can't stop the insanity of "just one more book" for his/her bookshelves) NEEDS these books, so we can explain the love behind the way we conceived him/her. He/she will also know all about his/her special Auntie Mooshie, who gave her special "cells" to make him/her.

Then, tonight, I stumbled on a new blog about a couple going through egg donation, and she had this link in her blog. "Mommy, was your tummy big?". I'm in tears as I "read it" online. Just click on the title, and you too can read it. The sweetness of it, the simplicity, and the love you can feel in it. This book is perfect for CJ, myself, and our precious Keifer. I need to go wipe my eyes again now. *sigh*.