And now that the cat is out of the bag...

Here is the whole story. I was in the waiting room of the radiology department, less than an hour after drinking a quart of water. I watched the minutes tick by, and angrily decided that making a pregnant woman drink 32 oz of water and then hold it was torture of the cruelest and most unusual kind. The very friendly tech finally called me back, and I thought, lets get this over with for God's sake, before I pee all over the floor!

He squirted some warm jelly on my belly, and I looked at my moniter above me, and saw the baby's head. In that moment, my overfilled bladder completely left my mind. I was entirely amazed by that squirming, wiggling person on the screen! The tech pointed out the baby's various parts, such as the brain, kidneys, spine, bladder, etc.

Then it was time to see the GOOD parts. He zoomed in, under the but, and VOILA, nothing there. I knew I was seeing nothing, but he confirmed it by saying "It's a girl." He then informed me he'd known this during the entire ultrasound. He got in even closer, and we saw the three lines that form very definate girl parts.

After taking some profile photos of her doing things like sucking her thumb, and kicking her feet up above her head, the tech turned off the machine, and my need to pee became sudden, and instant. I dashed to the bathroom (which was mercifully close to the ultrasound room), and after I was done, I was handed a disc with the very precious first pictures of my baby.

I sat down in my car, pictures of my very own little princess clutched in my hand, and allowed what had happened to really sink in. I was having a baby girl. Not just a baby girl, but a daughter. Someone who was going to be my little shadow, and Daddy's little girl. Someone who might grow up to be ballerina, or marine biologist, or maybe even a mommy herself.

What did I do to be so lucky to have my own daughter? I then cried my eyes out with complete joy.

So anyway, that's the story. But I know what you really want is photos, so here they are!

This is a great shot of her face. I like to think she was feeling very vogue.

Here she is crossing her feet. What a little lady!

In this photo, she has one thumb in her mouth, and the other hand resting against her forhead. How sweet!

Those are some looooooong legs that she certainly did not inherit from me!

Here she has both of her hands behind her head. I found this very funny because that's how I sleep!

And finally, here is me at 19 weeks pregnant, almost halfway through.

New Things I bought for baby!

Making room for one more

The time is drawing nearer that there will be an extra body in this little house of ours, so I had to begin changing some things around, especially since some baby gifts have started to arrive. The crib and changing table were delivered last week, and put together for me, thanks to Aunt Mary and Uncle Dennis. I had a queen size bed in the nursery, and I was a bit worried about how I was going to get rid of it, but luckily, the maintenance man, who happened to be here to fix toilets the same day the delivery man was here, said he could use it and would gladly take it. I also got my kitties a new Regan-proof litter box, and I moved it into the bathroom. The animals are a bit confused by all of this though. The bed that I got rid of was their bed and I've moved their litter on them, and Smokey, who is used to being able to do as he pleases, doesn't understand why I won't let him sleep in the nice, comfy crib. So anyway, here are some photos of the beginnings of my nursery.

I love, love, love the crib and changing table. They are so beautiful and old fashioned. The crib is a breeze to put together, too, and simple to use. Both rails drop and raise, and you simply remove them to make the crib into a toddler bed.

I also had to clean out the closet, so I moved around some of things that were in there (mostly it was suitcases and pet stuff), which means I had to reorganize some of my other closets, too.

Besides getting ready for baby, I also spent last week preparing for halloween, even though me and Regan had to celebrate alone. I put all of my pieces of candy into one big bowl, and was mixing it up, when I suddenly realized Regan was not trotting around at my heels like she usually does. It had gotten very quiet, and I wondered where she went. I went into the living room, and she was hiding all the way under the couch. "What are you doing," I said as I peeked at her. There she was, happily munching on a three muskateers bar, which I must have dropped on the floor!

Last Halloween I had dressed up in a very sexy Hermione Granger costume, but I didn't think that it would work too well on my 4 months pregnant body. So I decided to pull out my old Renaissance Festival costume, and turn it into a witch costume. Overall, the costume cost me $1 at Walmart (for the hat). Even the makeup was all regular makeup I had in the house.

So anyway, we got into costume and went on the porch with a cauldron full of candy and a cheerfully glowing Jack-O-Latern, and got a whole 3 trick-or-treaters. So needless to say I have TONS of leftover candy, which will be all to tempting to me in my pregnant state. We still had lots of fun, though.

I tried to explain to Regan that as a foofie little lapdog she was supposed to like wearing a costume. She begged to differ.

Are you done torturing me yet?

Finally, on behalf of Dave, I'd like to thank everyone that has sent him a package. He has started to receive some of them. Things can get rough over there, but receiving a package from home really gives him something to look forward to!

Un update at last!

I finally got a new cord for my digital camera, so I am now able to begin posting new photos again. As many of you know, my mom was in town this last week. We had a great time. We went to Opryland, the big mall in Nashville, registered at Babies R Us, visited the zoo, a haunted house, and downtown Clarksville where we frequented antique shops, the museum, and saw a play at the theatre. My mom was happy to enjoy two restaurants she hasn't seen in years; Jack in the Box and Captain D's. Another perk of my mom being around? She actually could take a belly shot of me, instead of me trying to do it myself and chopping off my head. So here it is, a long awaited photo of that VERY quickly growing little baby.I may be shoving it out a teensy weensy bit, but for the most part, that is what I look like now. I am 15 weeks pregnant, that's almost 4 months folks! In other pregnancy news, after lunch the other day, I felt what I could best describe as a poke from the inside. Was it gas? Possibly. A muscle spasm? It could have been. But maybe, just maybe, it was a little being, saying, "Mom, lay off the dang saurkraut already, will ya?!?

And finally, I'd like to post a few photos from our trip to the apple orchard, with the Dexters, in September before Dave deployed. Enjoy!

Just a quick update

I had my first official OB appointment today. After giving me the usual prodding exam, it was time to use the doppler. Don't worry, the midwife told me, 10 weeks is early and we might not hear anything yet. If we don't you can come back in a couple of weeks and try again. I was desperately hoping we could hear because Dave will be gone in a couple of weeks.

Well, she put the doppler on my belly, and to both her and my surprise, we heard an immediate thumpthumpthumpthump loud and clear. It faded in and out and rolled around as if our little peanut was dashing all over the place. "Now hold still there, little baby!" said the midwife. Dave was invited in the room and beamed as he too heard the strong 150bpm heartbeat.

I wanted to shout, "IT'S ALIVE Muhahahaha!"

Seriously though, hearing that little beating heart coming from inside me, with the sound of my slower one in the background, was by far one of the coolest and most miraculous things I have ever experienced.

Hi, Everyone! Well I've got some new pictures from recent activities that I'd like to post, as well as a new belly picture. This weekend we finally got some rain, and there was a big temperature cool down. (Wow, a chilly 86 degrees!) The cooler weather made for a lovely weekend for Riverfest, which is like the Arts, Beats, and Eats festival of little Clarksville. The lovely river you see is a five minute drive from our house, and Dave drives along it every day on his way to work.

This is the whole of Riverfest, and as you can see it pales in comparison size-wise to the large late summer festivals of Detroit. It is a big deal here, though. I think all of Clarksville turned out to visit. We ran into our friends within 10 minutes of being here.

Ummmm....Yeah. The Bass Pro Shop (the same one that had the gun-toting child display) was here hosting a catfishing competition. Yes, those are giant catfish in that bucket. They were keeping the fish in a giant portable tank. Kinda weird if you ask me, but it's all part of the local culture.

Here we are standing by the river at Riverfest. It was a nice, breezy day.

Here is my nine week belly picture. There is a little less bloating and a little more baby, I think. You might not be able to tell, but I can feel a little, round bump beneath the skin on my lower abdomen!

Look! The baby got it's first presents sent from Grandma Bozyk! She sent us a cuddle blanket, receiving blankets, socks, onesies, and an ear thermometer (leave it to a nurse.) It's very exciting to imagine those little socks being full of little feet!

How is our August is going...

Hey everyone! I meant to post sooner, but alas I have discovered the joys of morning sickness, which, has nothing to do with being in the morning. Dave and I have been able to find some time for fun, however, and we managed to get in a trip to Nashville. Of course all we could afford to do was stand outside the Grand Old Opry and look at it, and take a stroll through Opry Land Mall (which is the spitting image of Great Lakes Crossing, by the way) but it was still a good time! So here are some goodies to feast your eyes upon!Here we are on our way to Nashville. Dave is singing his heart out in case you were wondering.

Hmmm...I think this place might be pretty famous. I don't know though, it has to do with country music. And we all know how I feel about country music.

We also have a picture of a pretty man sitting by a pretty garden near the Grand Ole Opry.Like Great Lakes Crossing, the Opryland Mall has one of those huge hunting and fishing stores with real waterfalls and live fish. I don't recall any displays of children playing with guns in the Michigan store, though.

Well that is pretty much all I have from Nashville, but I did have a request from a young cousin of mine to see a picture of a real army guy. Luckily for him, I happen to know one of those.

Hmm...Is he taller than the front door?

Last but not least here is a belly update for us all. Don't worry, I'm not showing. What you see is entirely bloating and fat, ick. This is seven weeks, time is flying. (Hey Dani, my baby has less of a tail now, hehe.)

Baby Pool

Here is something fun for everyone to do regarding the baby.

This link will take you to our baby pool, where you can make guesses about our baby's birth.

Our Baby Pool

A new addition

Well, as most of you now know, the May family is about to grow. I got a positive pregnancy test two days ago, which was a happy surprise. I thought I had started my period. I had the usual signs, sore breasts, sleepiness, moodiness, and even some brown spotting. I waited and waited for the crimson wave to show but the it just didn't! So I had one pregnancy test left. I had been testing all month due to my sore breasts, which by this time I assumed was just PMS. I decided to take it. Dave looked at it, said nothing, and tossed it to me. While it was sailing through the air, I said something along the lines of, "you can just tell me it's negative." But I looked down, and lo and behold there it was!!!

We were nervous, excited, scared, thrilled, a million emotions all mixed into one. We decided we just tell our mothers and sis for now. But then my mom begged,"please,please let me tell Aunt Mary." I said alright, but the next thing I know, Jerry is calling me up, "mom says you have something to tell me and she can't tell me!" So I realized this little secret just would not keep.

I called the Dr. (I had already had a well visit scheduled) to find out what to do. I was told by the nurse in the general clinic, "well I'm going to cancel this appointment because you won't be needing it. I am going to transfer you to the OBGYN clinic. Congratulations." The OBGYN clinic told me that I was about 4 weeks along, with my due date being around April 12. At my first appointment they will give me an orientation, and set up my appointment to hear the heartbeat. (The the thought of a little heart beating inside me made me cry happily.)

I started to worry that maybe one test wasn't enough. What if it was wrong? I decided I better take one more, just to be sure, and here it is! Two lovely pink lines.

I am doing pretty good, just a little sleepy and very hungry thirsty. We are both very happy to be parents, and can't wait to meet our little boy or girl. I will keep everyone posted and let you know how things are moving along. Just for fun, I thought I would try to post pictures of my belly every couple weeks, so we can all watch it expand together. So here it is at around week 4.

And finally here is a the gift I got from my very thoughtful husband. For all my hard work getting myself knocked up. (HaHa.)

Yeah for furniture!

Here are some photos of our little townhouse. So much love to everyone who helped us out with furninture and household items.



Here is the living room. We don't have a ton of space in it but everything fit nicely. I especially love the fireplace and all the wrought iron decor! On the other wall is three bookshelves loaded with books.





Look at the lovely donated couch, coffee table, lamp, stereo, tv tray and vcr. The only thing I had of my own was the TV and DVD player! Dave hung that mirror over the fireplace so high that even he can't see it.



Ahh the kitchen. The washing machine is behind that little closet door you see there. Thanks for that table Aunt Pam and Uncle Fred, and the little kitchen hutch, Mom and Dad May!


Ummm....yeah, don't mind Dave he got a little too excited with the kitchen utenils. There is a widow above that sink which faces into the backyard.

Here is our bedroom. We took a few other shots of it, but they came out pretty blurry. It's a pretty large bedroom. We fit in it a queen size bed, two table stands, a chest and dresser, a guitar, hope chest, stand alone mirror, and jewelry armoire and still have plenty of room to walk around.

This is the command ceter. (AKA office/extra bedroom) We have our lovely donated desks, as well as an extra queen size bed where anyone

who would like to visit us can sleep (hint, hint). Don't worry we'll kick Regan off.

Ok so, here is the outside of the house. The forest I am standing next to is our backyard. There are also shots of our neighboorhood and my garden.

And finally some lovely photos of our babies.

Smokey and Leia hiding under the bed from their new baby sister.

Regan likes to sleep by Daddy's boots.