Barefoot and Pregnant...

We all thought that "barefoot and pregnant" was a joke. I am finding it absolutely is NOT a joke! I can hardly bear to wear shoes at this point. I am thinking that the only thing that would be good about being prego in the summer heat...flip flops.
My feet are huge and hurt! Can't wait for this part to be over.

(...for those of you who will worry at the idea of my feet swelling...the Doc says it is totally normal and everything is o.k.)

You asked for it!

You've been asking for pictures of the prego. Here you go! HUGE!

For baby Audrey...

We thought we would show baby Audrey what a day in our life looks like before she arrives... and what she has to look forward to.

Do you think this pitiful puppy is going to be jealous of the new baby?

Daddy is going to have 3 spoiled girls!

A few good pics from Boston Shower and our "Babymoon" in Western Ma.

Single Digits!

So we're down to single digits now - less than 10 weeks left! We can't believe it, and cannot wait! We've now taken our "prepared labor class" which we both actually enjoyed (it didn't freak us 0ut.) And we just took an infant CPR class which was really helpful. Our nursery is really coming together - a few trips to walmart, target and babies r us left to go and we'll be set.

Last week we took our "babymoon" to the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts. We stayed in a nice bed and breakfast and relaxed for a few days. It was nice to get away.

When we returned our closest friends, Becca and Travis and their baby Evan came in town to visit us for our church baby shower. It was so nice to have them! And baby Evan got to try out some of our baby gear.

Saturday was our Hope Fellowship Baby Shower, hosted by Connie, Brandy and Joy. It was so nice! So girly and fun. They had it set up like a tea room. All the ladies (about 35 of us) sat at different tables with beautiful china and tea pots. We had brunch and I went around to visit each table and open gifts from those at each table. It was very different - perfect for me and baby girl Douglas. As girly as it gets! Brandy, Connie and Joy did such a great job and I really really appreciated it.

While the girls "showered" the guys all played paint ball. How perfect is that for Troy? They had a great time.

And now the countdown is on. We'll keep you posted on what the Dr. is saying.

Here are some shower pics and one from our trip to the Berkshires (prego me by a covered bridge.)

Preparations Extraordinaire...

We just returned from 2 weeks in Texas with family - we came back to Boston with many a bag full of baby stuff in tow (plus Nettie.) We were blessed with 2 showers while we were home. Troy's family surprised us with a family shower. It was such a nice time - we got so many girly little baby clothes. So fun! Troy's Mom and sister did a wonderful job of showering us with good things and we so enjoyed celebrating with the Douglas/West family.

Then after Christmas we had a "Taylor" shower at my sister's ranch. Sarah, my cousin Christy, and my life-long friend Stephanie outdid themselves. We had a wonderful brunch, got to visit with ladies that have really meant alot to me, and boy did they shower us with wonderful gifts! We received beautiful hand-made blankets that we can't wait for our little girl to cuddle into, goodies to outfit our nursery, a car-seat, sweet clothes, and gift certificates that will help us tremendously. This day was so special.

We are now back in Boston (just in time for absolutely freezing weather) and we are busy working on our nursery. We've put clothes away, Troy painted, I painted a little table, we put the bedding on, hung pictures (straight from the walls from Gran Taylor's house) and arranged it all just so.

We are really looking forward to our shower here in Boston in the end of this month and celebrating with our family here.

This baby girl is going to be here before we know it!

Thought you might like to see a few pictures of the nursery ...so far. The dresser/changing table is in the hallway by our bathroom (the joys of living in a Boston apartment.) But it all seems to fit just fine.

It is definitely girly, just like her Daddy wanted...

19 week celebration!

The day we've been waiting for! Here are the pictures from our ultrasound of 19 weeks. The picture on the left you can see little lips. She was sucking, chewing, talking, maybe singing! Maybe she was saying "GO RED SOX!" The picture below you can see tiny fingers up next to the face. She's exceptional isn't she?

I'm sure you noticed all the "she's". Yes, we have a girl and are so excited! Troy looked at the ultrasound and knew right away.

Pink it is!!!

What is the name? well, if we were having a boy, Troy had made a deal with Jacoby on the Red Sox that if he got an RBI we would name our son after him. :) Maybe Jacobina? Who knows. We'll fill you in as soon as we know. :)

Almost 16 weeks!

So we're moving right along! We will be 16 weeks on Thursday. Can you believe it? Last week we heard the heartbeat again - very strong. The Dr says all looks good. We are very thankful.

On November 1 we will have our big ultrasound where we find out the sex. We absolutely cannot wait for that! Can't imagine knowing who we're expecting!

This brings us to the topic of names - an important topic in our house these days. Funny thing is that we started out this pregnancy with a pretty sure, narrowed list of names and now it keeps growing - making us much more indecisive. We like the idea of knowing the name and calling the baby by it's name once we know the sex. However, we have also been thinking about having a couple of names ready for when the baby is born and choosing after we see him or her. Not sure which way we're going to go on that.

Other than the name choosing, we are busy thinking about decorating our nursery. This is very exciting to me (and my mom and sister of course!) We're planning on getting my entire library of children's books from Texas to Boston. Can't wait to share those books with our baby! He/She is going to LOVE The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Curious George!

And lastly, on the pregnancy front, the nausea hangs around. It is definitely better, but still here. Not to mention the lack of energy. BUT - all is good and worth it!

Stay tuned for Nov. 1. Will it be a boy or girl?

The little Thump Thump

So we had our 11 week appt. today and got to hear the heartbeat. It is pretty amazing to get this confirmation that all is well. The Dr. says that we can rest easily now. I feel like we are finally able to believe that we are having a baby. 6 more months and our life is going to be crazy!

Another great plus is that I am feeling much better these days. I am so thankful to only be sick part of the day instead of all day long. This makes the next 6 months look alot better to me.

We've been getting updates over the internet from many different pregnancy websites. They're kind of fun. My favorite ones lately - the one that said that I probably look more like I have been eating too many donuts than that I'm pregnant. I liked that little affirmation. :) And then today we had an update for the daddy. It said that mommy should lay on the couch (and I quote "where he usually lays") and daddy should clean the house. That's good stuff. Troy says a woman must have written that. I say "preach it sista!"

Oh, and our baby had a few first this weekend: first camping trip and first Red Sox game. How great is that! I could have sworn that I felt the baby cheering and singing "Sweet Caroline" with the crowd. He or she probably even already hates the Yankees. :)