Busy...

I think everyone is busy this time of year but it seems like the past few weeks have flown by. We have had Simon & Ellie for almost two weeks, family in town for the holidays, and Sean started a new job in new car sales at Park Place Mercedes! He has only been in training so far but loves it.

I am almost 6 months along and feel great! All of my mommy friends tell me to enjoy the second trimester and how I feel now because the third trimester tends to be a little more uncomfortable. I have energy, am used to being pregnant, and am amazed daily as I feel the baby move all the time. Sean felt the baby kick for the first time on Chirstmas Day. It was the best present we could have wished for! The look on his face was priceless and I will never forget it.

I have pictures to post from Simon's basketball game and Ellie's holiday dance performance from two weeks ago, Christmas, and will have some from New Year's Eve. My camera battery died so it is charging now and I promise to post pictures soon. In the meantime, here is what babycenter.com says about how our baby boy is developing at 23 weeks:

How your baby's growing:
Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With his sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that he's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see him squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in his lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing him for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze him when he hears them outside the womb.

I love that he can hear our voices and is getting used to the normal sounds of the house. My mom says that I need to read to him and I told her that he gets read to and Kindergarten lessons every day when I am at school! Speaking of, I have to get ready now. I am having lunch with my friend Courtney that I used to teach with at City Park. She lives in Frisco now and is a busy stay at home mom with her 1 year old Jacob so we don't get to see each other as much as we would like!

Happy New Year!

5 month update & more pictures of our baby boy!

We had a doctor's appointment today and everything is wonderful! I cannot believe I am 5 months already. I am getting a little spoiled with the ultrasounds and getting to see our baby boy but I think this will be the last one for a while. This is only the second ultrasound with my regular doctor, the other two were with our specialist testing for down syndrome. Once again, our little guy is measuring a little over a week ahead of my estimated due date so we expect him sometime the last week of April! His head, brain, stomach, and arm all measured around 20 weeks 5 days but his femer measured 21 weeks 6 days which means he has long legs! We are not surprised. We know he is going to be tall so as long as he is coordinated and an athlete like his Daddy. =)

The first picture is "evidence" again that yes, he is definitely a boy. The second picture is my favorite, he is sucking his thumb! We are going to frame this one. The last two are of his head, body, and arm. In the third one his little fist is up by his head. If you click on the pictures you will be able to see them enlarged. Thank you Aunt Alli for scanning, spacing, and aligning the sonogram pictures for me!

We picked out nursery furniture this week and are currently looking at bedding and deciding on a theme. A lot of you have asked if we have decided on a name yet and no, not yet. We have our top two first names but have several middle names we like. We may not decide until he is born so I guess there won't be any official monogramming anytime soon! I guess you can just call him my family's nickname anytime they ask about him which is "Little Booger" which Sean has shortened to "Booger". I guess we should decide on a name soon because I would rather not have that one stick !

I almost forgot, here is what babycenter.com says about how our baby boy is developing:

How your baby's growing:Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

Well, it says our baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces but he actually weighs 14 ounces right now, almost 1 pound already! We realized weeks ago that this will not be a small baby! I asked the ultrasound technician about his length but his legs were curled up under him and she wasn't able to get a measurement from head to toe. Our next doctor's appointment is Monday January 5th and I will have a glucose test done, which is a pre-screening test for gestational diabetes. I have 8 more days of school then will be on Winter Break! We have Simon & Ellie for 10 days over Christmas so I know we will be busy and the time will continue to fly by. I will post again next week!

Love,
Tiffany & Sean

Still in Red River!

We are still in Red River, N.M. We were supposed to spend several days at my brother's house in Eagle, CO but my nephew Adyn came down with the measels! He had one vaccination for measels already but isn't due for his second until after his 5th birthay in February. There was only a 5 to 8% chance he could actually catch them and the measels seem to be so rare these days. It was the first case in Eagle County in 18 years! We were all very worried about him but he is doing much better now! We were so sad we did not get to spend the holiday with them but tried to enjoy ourselves by having a small family Thanksgiving in R.R. Here are a few pictures:

Tiffany, Mom, & Grandmom getting everything ready

Tiffany, Sean & Chloe relaxing after dinner

Papa, Mom, Sean & Tiffany at the treelighting ceremony


We went to the treelighting ceremony in the middle of town after we ate dinner. It snowed all day long on Thanksgiving and hasn't really stopped since! I am watching it snow out the window now and even though I have been here 10 days, I wish we could stay longer. We had a wonderful week and are driving back to Dallas & Ft. Worth tomorrow!

Love,

Tiffany & Sean

18 week update

We are still in Red River, N.M. but I thought I would go ahead and post what babycenter.com says is going on with our baby boy this week! I have been feeling him move all week long, especially when I am eating or at night when I am going to sleep. It is amazing!

Your pregnancy: 18 weeks
How your baby's growing: Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Love,
Tiffany & Sean

Oh Christmas tree!

Sean's mom and the kids were here last weekend. We decided to put up our Christmas tree and decorations. Since we will be out of town for Thanksgiving, I thought it would be nice to have the house already decorated when we get back. Thank you Janie for all of your help!

Simon & Ellie helping put up the tree

Sean putting on the final touches

Our Christmas tree!


Simon & Ellie at home after their Chirstmas portraits were taken
That is Ellie's favorite "model" pose!

It's a BOY!!!!

We went to our follow up appointment with the specialist yesterday and had an ultrasound. We are so excited to announce we are having a boy! Dr. McGhee said everything looks perfectly normal. We feel so blessed and cannot wait to meet our son. The doctor even said he is "princely looking and has a strong jawline". Not sure how he can tell this already but of course I wasn't going to question him. Surely he knows what he is talking about since he sees so many babies via ultrasound pictures each day! Again, our baby boy is measuring about a week and a half ahead of my due date of May 1st so we expect him to arrive sometime in mid to late April.

In the first picture our baby boy is kneeling. You can clearly see his head and spine. The second picture looks like a face and part of the body to me but I am not really sure. The third picture is, um, "proof" that he is definitely a boy! We will have another ultrasound at our 20 week appointment on December 9th with my regular doctor.

I am packing right now and will be leaving for Red River, N.M. early in the morning with the family. We will be there until Monday then will drive to Vail/Eagle, CO to stay with my brother and family for Thanskgiving. Sean has to work but will be flying in on Wednesday! I am sure I will have a little time to write on the blog since I can't ski! I even asked my doctor (ok, I wasn't really serious) and he said no, skiing right now would not be a good idea. My brother suggested that I can ride the gondola in circles and occassionally get off for hot chocolate. Not exactly what I had in mind. =)

Love,

Tiffany & Sean

16 weeks and maybe an announcement on Tuesday!

We went to the doctor this afternoon and did not have an ultrasound. Since we will have one on Tuesday at our followup appointment with Dr. McGhee, the genentic specialist, my doctor wants to wait until my next appointment in four weeks. He said he would rather me see the baby and have pictures from the ultrasound with Dr. McGhee at 16 weeks then again at 20 weeks with him so I guess that is something to look forward to. We did hear the baby's heartbeat (he said it was perfect!) and we went over the lab and bloodwork results from the last appointment. He said everything is completely normal so that is wonderful news. Hopefully baby will be cooperating on Tuesday and we will know whether to start shopping for pink or blue!

Here is what babycenter.com says how our baby is developing this week:

Your pregnancy: 16 weeks
How your baby's growing:Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

Janie, Simon, and Ellie should be arriving any minute! I will update on Tuesday and post pictures from the weekend.

Love,
Tiffany & Sean

15 week update

We were supposed to go to the doctor on Monday but the doctor's office called two hours before our appointment to re-schedule. There was an emergency at the hospital so my doctor had to cancel all of his late afternoon appointments. We are re-scheduled for Friday the 14th at 3:15 p.m. If he/she is cooperating during the ultrasound, we will hopefully be able to announce if we are having a boy or a girl! =)

Here is what babycenter.com says about how our baby is developing:

Your pregnancy: 15 weeks

How your baby's growing:Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods.")

Congratulations to Blaire & Matt LaVoy!!!! Blaire had a beautiful baby girl, Harper, on Friday November 7th! Kim and I went to the hospital on Saturday to visit. I didn't have my camera but here is a picture from Alli's camera when she visited on Friday:

Blaire & Harper
What a beautiful Mommy & daughter!

Sean's mom is coming in town this weekend and the kids will be here too. We are having Simon & Ellie's Christmas portraits taken so I will try to take some pictures of them all dressed up. If we have any exciting news on Friday, I will post an announcement after our doctor's appointment!

Love,
Tiffany & Sean

Halloween 2008

Ellie the cat

Simon the ninja



Ellie on her way out the door for round #2 of trick-or-treating


Coco exhausted after round #1 of trick-or-treating

Ellie and Simon

14 weeks

I can't believe how fast the weeks are flying by. I am trying to catch up on all of my posts. I feel great today but I was afraid I was getting sick since I have had three kids out with a stomach virus this week. I slept for almost 13 hours on Tuesday night and feel so much better! Here is what babycenter says has been going on with our baby this week:

How your baby's growing:
This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.

In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

Friday I will be 15 weeks and we have a doctor's appointment on Monday. Hopefully after the ultrasound we will be able to officially announce if we are having a boy or girl!

Love,

Tiffany & Sean

TCU Homecoming & Class of 1998 Reunion

The girls at dinner on Friday night. The pregnant girls are in the front! Leigh is due around the same time I am and Blaire is having her baby on Friday the 7th. I feel so blessed to still be so close to such great friends from college.


Kim, Tiff, and Alli.....college would not have been the same without these two!


The girls in front of the sign in the tent at the Class of 1998 Reunion.

Sean and Tiffany at Fox & The Hound watching the game. Go Frogs!

13 weeks and end of the first trimester!

I am so happy to be at the end of my first trimester! I have been so busy these last two weeks I haven't really noticed if I am tired. I actually feel pretty normal. We had a great time at my ten year college reunion! I will try to post a few pictures tomorrow. We have Simon & Ellie this weekend and will be taking them trick-or-treating on Halloween so I will have more pictures next week!

Your pregnancy: 13 weeks
How your baby's growing:Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce.

I guess our baby is a large shrimp since we know he/she was already 3 inches long last week! I am sure he/she has grown a little since then!

Love,
Tiffany & Sean

Results of Nuchal Translucency Test

We went to a specialist today, Dr. McGhee, for our Nuchal Translucency Test. We decided not to have an amniocentesis, since it is not recommended unless I am 35 or older, but to have a non-invasive pre-screening test done for Down Syndrome. (The Nuchal Trancslucency Test, performed between 11 and 14 weeks of pregnancy, uses ultrasound to measure the clear space in the folds of tissue behind a developing baby's neck. (Babies with DS and other chromosomal abnormalities tend to accumulate fluid there, making the space appear larger.) This measurement, taken together with the mother's age and the baby's gestational age, can be used to calculate the odds that the baby has DS. Nuchal translucency testing is usually performed along with a maternal blood test.)

Dr. McGhee did the ultrasound and we got to watch the baby move around for at least 15 minutes! In the top picture the baby is waving (or I think about to suck his/her thumb), the middle and last picture are from about waist up. Apparently he/she was not in the right position for the doctor to measure the space in the neck for a while so we had to wait and watch. The doctor pointed out two hands with five fingers on each one, two feet, two eyes, a nose, mouth, two ears, heart, liver, and all the major organs! He said our baby is very active! Once the baby was in the right position he measured the space in the neck and immediately said 1.19. Sean said, "Oh good!" but I had no idea what 1.19 meant. Dr. McGhee said that if the number was 2.5 or above his voice would be changing dramatically right now and we would be having a very serious conversation but since it was a low number all signs are indicating that we have a healthy baby! We will get the final results when my bloodwork comes back on Thursday but everything looks good. Conveniently Sean was out of the room when the nurse took my blood this time, ha! We will go back in 3-4 weeks for a follow up where Dr. McGhee measures the space again to make sure the number still falls within the normal range.

We do want to find out if we are having a boy or a girl and the doctor told us what he thinks we are having!!!!! But, we won't be officially announcing the gender until a few more weeks after another ultrasound. Surprisingly Dr. McGhee asked me if I was sure of my due date? I said May 1st is the estimated due date my doctor gave me and I was accurate with the dates I gave him. Apparently our little one is developing quickly. Dr. McGhee said from crown to rump he/she is about 3" long, which developmentally is about 14 weeks, which would estimate my due date as April 19th instead of May 1st!

I am 12 weeks and 3 days. Here is what babycenter.com says about how the baby is developing:

Your pregnancy: 12 weeks
How your baby's growing:The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.

We are so excited to be at the end of the first trimester! I feel great and have my energy back. We have my TCU 10 year Reunion/Homecoming this weekend. We can't wait to see everyone and catch up! I will try to post a few pictures next week.

Love,
Tiffany & Sean

11 week update

We went to the doctor this afternoon and had an ultrasound. Everything is great. We heard the baby's heartbeat it was an unbelieveable experience! The nurse took several viles of blood and I am usually quite squeemish. (ask my Mom, I fainted once when I had blood taken when I was 14) But amazingly I found someone who is worse than me, my husband! I had to tell Sean not to look and that it would be ok. He did stay in the room and hold my hand. Gee, I wonder how he will be in the delivery room? =)

Somehow last week flew by and I missed the 10 week update but he/she was the size of a kumquat. This week he/she is the size of a fig and is doing "water ballet"! Here is what babycenter.com says how our baby is developing. See below:

Your pregnancy: 11 weeks
Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden.She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming.

Our next doctor's apoint is 4 weeks from today on November 10th. I will post a few updates between now and then.

Love,
Tiffany & Sean

Top Golf

Sean and his mini-me!
Simon hitting the ball
Ellie and her Daddy
What a cutie!

State Fair of Texas

We took the kids to the State Fair last weekend. We had so much fun. We spent most of our time on the kiddie rides and walking around. No, we did not try the chicken fried bacon (yuck!) although the line was wrapped around the corner! We did all have corny dogs and split a funnel cake. As you can see, Simon lost his front tooth. (a few weeks ago) The other one is loose so it looks like he will be missing both by the time we have their Christmas pictures taken!

9 week update

I can't believe it is already the middle of my 9th week! I feel great and the nauseosness has almost gone away completely. Here is what babycenter.com says about how our baby is developing:


Your pregnancy: 9 weeks
How your baby's growing:Your new resident is nearly an inch long — about the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. Her eyes are fully formed, but her eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes, and her mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that your baby's basic physiology is in place, she's poised for rapid weight gain.

It says that our baby is nearly an inch long this week but the doctor said at our appointment last week that the baby was already an inch long. We know he/she will most likely be very tall so I guess he/she might already be a little longer than normal!

Simon and Ellie will be with us this weekend and we are taking them to the State Fair so I will try to post a few pictures. On a friend related note, congratulations to Ashley and Wes who are getting married in Kauai on Thursday. I am sad we could not make the trip but we are so happy for them!

Love,
Tiffany & Sean

It's official!!! We are having a baby!

We are so excited to officially announce we are expecting our first baby in the Spring! We had our first doctor's appointment and sonogram at 3:30 this afternoon. Not only did we see the baby's heartbeat but we saw him/her moving around. It was AMAZING! I had estimated that I am about 8 weeks along and my doctor confirmed that I am actually 8 weeks and 4 days which makes our due date May 1st, 2009. We are so excited! I was inspired to write this blog by my dear friend Andrea. She already has two precious children now but it was so fun to be able to see how her pregnancy progressed and now how fast Ella and Will are growing up! I am hoping to post weekly or so updating everyone on how we are doing and our baby is growing. This is what baby center says about how our baby is developing at 8 weeks:

Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl. Either way, your baby — about the size of a kidney bean — is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can't feel it.

Our blog format is only temporary while I am still trying to figure everything out and since we don't have a scanner at home I had to take a picture of our sonogram photo!

Thank you to our family and friends for all of your love and support! We can't wait for you to meet our sweet baby boy or girl.

Love,

Tiffany & Sean