18!!

Yay-aaaa!! Can't believe how fast this is going! I feel like I just typed last week's blog. So tomorrow I'll roll 18 weeks, beginning my 19th!

For some reason, I seriously just can't wait to get to 20 weeks. In my head it seems if I'm 20 weeks, then the rest of my pregnancy will go faster and seem more down hill, rather than up! By the way, I'm totally awesome at wishing time away. ;)

It IS the halfway mark, so we'll be really excited to get there!

Yesterday, I felt some pretty crazy movement! I hadn't noticed much up to this point, and anything felt at all was always blamed on gas. But in the afternoon, I had eaten a handful of dried figs. Loaded with sugar, I know. But they were yummy, and apparently gave Luke a sugar rush?? There was some fluttering for almost an hour! Today, there has been more movement, so I'm pretty excited about this! Totally can't wait for Nate to be able to feel him moving. :) He can't either!

Next appointment is March 14!

17 weeks!

So, tomorrow I'll have finished my 17th week and entering into the 18th! Yowzers! We had an appointment yesterday. It wasn't a big appointment like we originally thought, but we heard Luke's heartbeat. It thrills me every time!! I just love hearing those sounds of life inside me that are so precious to my ears.

The next appointment is March 14, and THIS will be the biggie ultrasound! I'll be between 20 and 21 weeks at that point, so over the half-way point! Nate and I realized that in 5 months-ish, we'll be parents. Weird. But, awesome. We are beyond ready to be parents!!

Bedding!

So here's the FANTASTIC bedding we've picked out. It's Pottery Barn Kid's "Jr. Varsity" set. We liked this set for 2 main reasons:

1. We were both heavily involved in sports our whole lives so we naturally love sports and wanted a sports-themed room for Luke. We also partially expect him to be quite athletic, as he will be one tall boy! We fully expect that full-ride scholarship to play somewhere one day. No pressure little man ;-) Just kidding. We want one thing for him, that he would grow in wisdom and stature and ultimately love the Lord more than himself, living his life daily for Jesus Christ!! We pray this daily over him.

2. We do not want a bumper. Shortly after finding out we were expecting, we saw a news story on our local station here in Houston. I've never thought much about it, but this story shed a whole new light on things. Check it out if you're interested: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Healthday/story?id=4509124&page=1

This set has everything bought separately, so we don't have to ultimately end up with a bumper we don't know what to do with, which would normally come in a set.

So there it is! We can't wait to start decorating. I feel weird doing it right now at 16 weeks, so we'll wait a little while longer. Maybe around 20. I told Nate I hoped to have the nursery completed by 32 weeks. So that gives us plenty of time! We're stoked!!!

Meet Luke Andrew!

Here HE is! Yes we found out last week, at 14 weeks, that we're having a sweet little boy! We couldn't be more excited! I have the best doctor in the world, who so nicely agreed to let us have an ultrasound at a regular appointment. She's the absolute best. So there's my shout out to Dr. Westmoreland!

Yesterday I was in the car and just nearly broke down thinking of the blessing deep inside me. We are so, so thankful and completely in love with this child. We have a different appreciation for Luke and what this pregnancy means to us. I just can't explain the thankfulness to the Lord for his increasing faithfulness and redemption. He IS the great Redeemer and makes ALL things new!

A few cool things. Nate and I both (he didn't come to this last one, thinking it was just a normal appointment) are going to our next appointment on Feb. 14. This will be the big mid-pregnancy ultrasound so he's stoked to see Luke in person and how much he has changed since our first ultrasound at 10 weeks. It's doubly special, because February 14 was the due date for our first. I thought I would have a hard time with this date, but again the Lord shows his faithfulness and is so good to us. His timing is extra perfect. We're also expecting Luke in July, which is when we lost the first! We just feel the Lord renewing and redeeming what was lost and healing us daily. He is so good!

So our next appointment will be in about 2 weeks! Again, we can't wait. I'm pretty sure these are the only doctor's visits we actually look forward to and enjoy!

"For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to Him." 1 Samuel 1:27