24 Weeks

 It's crazy to think that in 4 weeks I will be in my third trimester! The past few weeks I have actually really enjoyed being pregnant. Our little boy started moving like crazy and Mike was actually able to feel him moving around too. I LOVE feeling this little guy moving around. Every time I feel him move its just a wonderful reminder of the blessing I have to bring a little boy into this world and it makes me more grateful. So far I'm not even annoyed when it happens at 3am....although I'm sure that as I get bigger it will get much harder.

• I am still going to the gym 5 days a week for over an hour. I love exercising and that it gets me out of the house for a little while if I don't have anywhere else to go.
•  I can still wear all of my pre pregnancy clothes and the pants all still fit very comfortably. I have maternity clothes and I will admit that sometimes I will wear one of the shirts just because they are nice and loose :) I love that I still have lots of room to grow.
• I'm still sleeping well at night. I get up a few times but I don't have trouble getting back to sleep which has been great. 

His heartbeat was at 141 bpm. Like I said, he is a very active little boy but in the words of my doctor, "we like them that way" :)

Hopefully we'll get to have an ultrasound and see him again soon but since I'm measuring right where I should be and my weight is stable and we're both healthy....no ultrasound right now :(

We've been starting to get things ready and I've been spending lots and lots of time designing what I want his nursery to look like and I've almost decided.....I think I'm too much of a perfectionist but oh well :)

Valentine's Day

We had a very simple Valentine's Day this year. Mike and I don't really go all out for this holiday. We don't do presents and I beg and plead for him to please not get me any candy or junk and I'm grateful he doesn't. This year Mike was home from school the entire week before Valentines day due to the winter storm. We got a couple inches of snow and the roads were icy (I suppose...we didn't test them) so we were home. I think this was the first time that we were actually able to spend the whole day together which was awesome :)

The roads were really icy in the morning on Valentine's Day so this is what I found in the way of flowers when I got home from my morning workout :)

Honestly, I'm glad he didn't try to go out. I know he knows how to drive in icy conditions but most people around he don't. I also think its sweet that he even thought to do this and honestly I was impressed. I can't make a paper flower to save my life.

After relaxing and doing some shopping during the day. We got all dressed up and Mike took me out to dinner. He surprised me by taking me to Ruby Tuesday. It was delicious! The food was amazing and the service was awesome. Then the manager came out and told us he felt our food had taken too long to get to our table (we didn't think so but hey we won't correct you) so he said our desserts that night would be free. So we proceeded to order cheesecake! It was one of the best slices of cheesecake I've ever had. It was too big to eat there after we had stuffed ourselves with dinner so we took it home.

On our way to dinner :)

Yes that is chocolate sauce covering it and yes I was a very happy pregnant woman that night :) My mouth is watering right now just remembering how yummy it was :)

 I love that I got to spend so much time with my wonderful husband. He spoils me so much and is just the sweetest and most self-less person I know. I'm so grateful for him and I can't wait to see him with our baby boy! I'm grateful that he works so hard to be a good chiropractor and plan ahead for our family so he can take care of us. He puts up with me which right now really makes him a saint because I am not the easiest person to live with these days :) I love you Mike!!!!

A Special Day

 *I know this post is late since I'm already over halfway done being pregnant but I just don't want to forget this special day.

I have spent many years imagining the day that I would find out I was going to be a mom. I imagined how I would tell my husband. I imagined how we would tell our families and when we would tell them. I tried to picture if I would be surprised, scared, happy, sad or maybe a little of everything. The way that this all happened was not at all like I imagined. It was nothing like I thought it would be but it was perfect :)

Since I found out we weren't pregnant the first time we tried, I thought it was only fair that this time Mike get the phone call instead. I was so scared the answer would be no again that I decided I would rather here it from mike than a nurse on the phone. So I took the blood test on October 4, 2013 and went to work. I'm pretty sure that was the least productive day I've ever had. I went through the motions just waiting for 1 o'clock when I could go home. Finally Mike told me he was home and waiting for me and that they had called. So I left work at 1 and drove a little faster than usual home. When I got there, I didn't want to get out of the car. I was so scared. So I sat in the car for about 15 minutes after I got home just trying to get the courage to go into the apartment. Finally, I got out and walked slowly up the stairs. Then I couldn't open the door so Mike started to open it. He kept telling me to just come in and find out. So I opened the door and this was waiting for me....

I couldn't believe it. The only thing I could say for about 2 minutes was "really?" I kept asking if he was kidding. Then he let me listen to the message from our doctor confirming that we were indeed pregnant. I was so excited and shocked. All I could do was hug Mike and jump up and down. We had imagined this for so long that now it was real and honestly had no idea what to do next. All I remember feeling in that moment was gratitude. I was so grateful it had worked and that we had a little miracle on the way.

A part of me wanted to shout to the world that we were expecting but another part of me wanted to keep my secret for as long as I could and just hold it close. It seemed too good to be true and I really just wanted to savor the moment. We knew our parents knew the date of the IUI though so we couldn't really keep it from them. So we bought a cookie cake and wrote 'congratulations grandma and grandpa' on it and drove down to Charleston. 

This day was worth the wait. The moment I found out we were going to be blessed with a baby suddenly made every shot, every blood draw, every ultrasound, every doctor's appt and sleepless and tear filled night worth it. We already love this little boy more than words can describe. I know that the fertility trials made me appreciate the opportunity to be pregnant and become a mother (in a few months) more than I would have otherwise.