I bought baby BOY clothes..

Here are two pictures from my latest baby boy shopping outing (by latest I mean my first ever).

We are going to dress Lil Chapps right. Or at least try to...

Preppy clothing here we come.

(My sister better have a girl because I already have quite a few girl "hand-me-overs.")

My New Favorite Snack

PICKLES!!!

Dang that girl has been drinking lots of beer...

or is she just in the early stages of pregnancy?

I am officially in that awkward stage of beer belly vs. baby lump/bump/pooch. Some clothes you can't tell anything is different...some clothes I look like I have fat rolls and have been drinking too much...and some clothes my belly looks a teeny bit round.

Waiting for that time to actually fully pop so I'm not feeling self conscious about having a "big belly" and not a "baby belly."

As much as I don't want to post this picture, we gotta start somewhere huh? Here is me at 15 weeks....

Lil Chapps is a Boy!! (We think...)

Aaron and I went to the doctor on Thursday to do our first trimester screening tests. Unfortunately, we discovered that Lil Chapps was too big and too far along to perform the tests for Down's Syndrome, Trisomy, and Congential Heart/Birth Defects. However, the ultrasound and screening from the doctor provided a lot of information. Baby Chapps has a very clear, defined, dense nasal bone. This is a good indication that Down's Syndrome is not an issue at all. Usually children with Down's have no nasal bone at this stage. Also, the doctor measured the fluid sac at the back of the baby's neck, another indication of Down's or Trisomy. The baby's fluid sac was translucent and thin (two great signs). Also, the doctor was able to detect the areas of blood flow that are currently present in the baby. Most babies with any birth defects only have one area of blood flow on one side of the stomach that is smaller in size. Our baby had the expected two areas of blood flow that were large in size...third good sign that nothing is wrong. The heart beat was very strong and regular...fourth good sign! Lil Chapps was moving and kicking and punching like crazy. HE (yes, he) was awfully comfortable and sleeping at the beginning of the ultrasound when doc came in and messed up his world. :) He was originally all curled up in the smallest part of my uterus, an area the doctor says is very comfortable for the babies. Then doc started pushing really hard on my tummy and Lil Chapps started jumping and kicking and moving all around. So cute! The doctor then asked us if we wanted to find out the sex of the baby because he was able to tell us at the point. We were very surprised since we didn't think we would be able to determine the sex until the beginning of February at our next appointment. The doctor said that he is 99% sure it is a baby boy! We are still digesting the fact that we are pretty sure that we know the gender of our baby. Aaron is totally convinced, but I am still holding out for the next ultrasound in February to be 100% sure! My world is a little rocked since we had already chosen a baby girl's name, baby girl bedding, and bought some baby girl clothes. Not that we are disappointed at all, nor were we expecting a girl. It was just a lot easier for us to come up with a name we both liked and find bedding that we really liked for a girl. These two tasks for a boy have been tougher...But we know it will all come together. We got to record our whole ultrasound appointment on DVD and we'd love to share it with anyone who might be interested. We are going to try to post part of the video on our blog once we figure out how to take out a clip from the DVD. Here is the latest ultrasound picture of our little one! Check out the toes on the one ultrasound picture!

Rough Week

Oh boy has this been a rough week! I think Lil Chapps is trying to make sure that I know he or she is in there and doesn't want me to forget about the little one. And I'll tell you...there is no way this week that I could ever have forgotten that I'm pregnant. Being nauseous is an understatement this week. I wake up, get sick. Get out of bed, get sick. Brush my teeth, get sick. Get in the car to go to work, get sick. Get to work, get sick. Make it through the day without getting sick, but nonetheless feel like I'm going to toss my cookies at any point throughout the day. Try to eat dinner, get sick. Brush my teeth for bed, get sick. Get in bed for the night, get sick. I think you get the point....All of this on top of dealing with a bad cold/sinus infection this week where I can't breathe, can't stop coughing, and feel totally run down. So this week has been nothing short of wonderful!!! (Note sarcasm). I am counting down to 13 weeks (10 days away) where hopefully this will all be over! I think Lil Chapps is trying to test my limits already...but I'm gonna win this battle! Baby just doesn't know who they are messing with ;)

Merry Christmas

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Week 10

It's already been 10 weeks! Crazy! Aaron and I were talking about how Christmas Eve will mark the end of my first trimester. I will be 1/3 of the way through my pregnancy already. Over the next two weeks Lil Chapps will be forming toes, fingernails, bones, baby teeth, ears, elbows, and knees. Lil Chapps keeps his or her eyes open and will be forming eyelids in the next week. Just amazing! Lil Chapps is already a boy or a girl and has the parts to decide this...but the baby has decided to keep it a secret from us until February when we get our next ultrasound. :)

Aaron and I have moved on to the second "tier" of announcements. This past week, Aaron told one of his best friends, Wes, since he lives in Charlotte and we had the chance to see him. I had the chance to tell my best friend Polly, also in Charlotte, this weekend. The excitement and reactions from both of these important people in our lives has meant the world to us. Aaron is going to tell the rest of his best friends on Friday night about our news. We can't wait!! It's been so hard to hold it in, but now that we are slowly announcing our blessing, we are getting more and more excited about the months ahead. We are no longer going to have to watch what we say, no longer going to be afraid of slipping...

We have been very busy with work, life, holidays, and crossing things off of our "baby bucket list." We are in the process of rebuilding our deck, and we are just waiting for it to be stained to be completely finished! (Will post pictures later...) We are working on new locks, security system, re-shelving closets, landscaping backyard, etc. We are taking one thing at a time, as to not get too overwhelmed. Aaron says that his way of "nesting" is by working on all of these things and taking care of the house.

This week I will be posting a picture of me and my "baby belly" (which is sorta non-existent right now) so we can all watch the growth over the next few months. I am planning to take a picture at the beginning of each month from now until the end of the pregnancy to see the rate of baby growth.

So glad to be sharing our good news with you all!!