20 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights...

How Far Along: I'm 20 weeks, halfway there!

Size Of Baby: Baby Hornaday is the size of a banana.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I still don't know. I need to weigh myself, but I'm definitely getting bigger!

Maternity Clothes: It is about time for me to buy some maternity pants! I so appreciate everyone that left comments about jeans on my last post. I tried on a few different styles at Motherhood Maternity yesterday. I found some I really liked there. I am still trying to decide exactly what kinds I want and from where, but my regular pants (with my bella band) are all just so uncomfortable! I am still wearing all of my regular clothes, but this will change soon!

Gender: We are SO excited to find out! Our doctor wants to wait until I'm 24 weeks before doing another ultrasound, but I'm REALLY hoping we can get one a few weeks early so we know before Christmas. I'm not good at being patient!

Movement: This baby is a mover and a shaker! I love how much he/she has been moving lately! I think I felt a little kick on the outside yesterday, but I'm not positive. I can't wait for James to feel him/her!

Sleep: Sleep is the same… still sleeping great! I wake up every night to use the restroom, but have no trouble falling right back to sleep.

What I Miss: Nothing I can think of. Mt. Dew maybe :) I wish they made caffeine free Mt. Dew!

Cravings: Cereal and orange juice.

Symptoms: I am still feeling great! So thankful.

Best Moment This Week: Feeling the baby move. I can't get enough of it. I just love feeling him/her moving around.

Help!

It's about time for me to buy some maternity jeans. My regular ones are becoming too uncomfortable! The problem is, I'm totally unsure how to go about this. There are so many different styles for the waist, and I have no clue what is the best option. Full panel, roll panel, low rise... I just don't know what will fit the best! I've never been much of an online shopper. I enjoy looking online, but I like to go into stores and try things on and see what they really look like and how they fit. However, the malls around us do not have maternity sections in the stores I'm looking at. So I feel stuck! I have found some options I really like at old Navy. (The two pictured above are my favorites!) I also love the selection at Gap, but they are so pricey! I am also wondering, do I pick a size the same as my pre-pregnancy size or go bigger? I'd really like for the jeans to last most of my pregnancy. Is that even possible? This is just all so new :) I know I should not be stressing about this, but I am. I'm not even sure how it works to return close that you order online! So, do any of you have any suggestions? What has worked best for you? I'd LOVE any help with this. Thanks friends!

19 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights...

How Far Along: Due to a crazy busy schedule last week with Thanksgiving, I never posted my 18th week highlights. I did however manage to take one picture, so I will post that with this weeks pictures. This week I am 19 weeks!

Size Of Baby: Baby Hornaday is the size of a large heirloom tomato.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I honestly don't know. I need to weigh myself!

Maternity Clothes: I am still wearing all of my regular clothes. I wear my bella band with all of my pants. I wish I could live in sweatpants!

Gender: We are SO excited to find out! Our doctor wants to wait until I'm 24 weeks before doing another ultrasound, but I'm REALLY hoping we can get one a few weeks early so we know before Christmas. I'm not good at being patient!

Movement: This past weekend I could feel that baby move a lot! We were at a high school basketball game where it was really loud and he/she was movin' and shakin' all over the place. The same thing happened at church Sunday during worship. It's such a wonderful feeling!

Sleep: Sleep is the same… still sleeping great! I wake up every night to use the restroom, but have no trouble falling right back to sleep.

What I Miss: OH my word, we found caffeine free Pepsi this week and I AM IN HEAVEN!! SO I'm really not missing anything!

Cravings: Nothing really, but I could eat cereal at any time... Golden Grahms and Reese's Puffs!

Symptoms: I have felt great this week. I've not had any headaches for the past two weeks. I am so thankful! I make sure to eat a snack between all of my meals and this seems to keep the headaches away. I may gain 100 pounds, but at least I'm not getting headaches! Ha!

Best Moment This Week: Feeling the baby move! I just love it. Also, my belly has been getting a lot of attention and it's so fun when people make comments and ask me about the baby!





18th week belly picture on Thanksgiving!

16/17 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights...

How Far Along: Well, we had a doctor appointment yesterday and our doctor officially changed our due date. We are now due April 26, 2011... 5 days earlier than we had originally thought! Therefore, I am now 17 weeks!

Size Of Baby: Baby Hornaday is the size of an onion.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Yesterday at the doctors office they said I have gained 5 pounds. However, I had gained weight before our first appointment so I think it's more than that (which is why previous weeks say I've gained more than 5 pounds), but we will stick with 5 pounds :)

Maternity Clothes: I am wearing all of my regular clothes, BUT I am loving leggings and my bella band! My friend Alyssa gave me a HUGE tub of maternity clothes to borrow! I am so thankful for her and am so thankful to have so many cute clothes to be able to choose from in the next few months!

Gender: We are SO excited to find out! Our doctor wants to wait until I'm 24 weeks before doing another ultrasound, but I'm REALLY hoping we can get one a few weeks early so we know before Christmas. I'm not good at being patient!

Movement: I have felt the baby move a few more times and simply LOVE it!

Sleep: Sleep is the same… still sleeping great! I wake up every night to use the restroom, but have no trouble falling right back to sleep. And, like clockwork, I typically fall asleep on the couch every night by 10:00!

What I Miss: Pop, pop, pop.

Cravings: Cereal, candy, orange juice.

Symptoms: I'm still getting terrible headaches. Our doctor said everything is looking great, so he was not sure what is causing them. His suggestion was to eat small snacks between meals to make sure my blood sugar does not get low. He thought this may help my headaches. So, today I had a snack before lunch (which I had already been doing), one after lunch, and another one when I got home because we ate a late dinner. I am so happy to say I did not get a headache today!! So, I'm praying this is what was causing them and that I will continue to be able to prevent them from happening! I've also had a few really bad dreams in the past week.

Best Moment This Week: My belly is getting bigger and lots of the ladies at work have been making sweet comments about seeing my bump! Of course, I LOVED being able to hear the little heartbeat yesterday at our doctor appointment. I have also been so thankful for all of the wonderful comments people are leaving me on facebook and on my blog. It's so nice to hear words of encouragement and advice from girls that have already experienced what I'm going through. I feel so blessed!

15 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights...

How Far Along: I'm 15 weeks!

Size Of Baby: Baby Hornaday is the size of an apple.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 7 lbs

Maternity Clothes: I went shopping for new clothes this weekend! I have been so much less stressed while getting ready for work this week, it has been wonderful. I did not buy any maternity clothes; I’m just not quite big enough for them yet. I didn’t buy any pants either. Pants are just so expensive and I know I will grow out of them so quick. I did buy several dresses that I can wear with leggings and a few longer sweaters. I could live in leggings! I am wearing my bella band with my normal pants, and although it’s not the most comfortable thing in the world, it works! If only I could wear sweatpants to work!

Gender: We are SO excited to find out! I would LOVE to find out before Thanksgiving, so we can tell all of our family then. Do you think we can do that or will it be too early? We have a doctor appointment next week, so we will see!

Movement: I have felt the baby move a few more times. I absolutely love it! It is such an amazing feeling and can’t wait for it to happen more and more often.

Sleep: Sleep is the same… still sleeping great! I wake up every night to use the restroom, but have no trouble falling right back to sleep. And, like clockwork, I typically fall asleep on the couch every night by 10:00!

What I Miss: Pop, pop, pop.

Cravings: Same as last week… Golden Grahams, orange juice, and lima beans.

Symptoms: I have continued to have some really bad headaches again this week. Nothing seems to help them. Sunday night was terrible, all I did was lay on the couch with pillows over my face! I’ve also been very emotional. I don’t like that feeling at all. I just wake up feeling sad for no reason. I’ve been praying a lot about this, and it has been better the last two days. I have so much to be thankful and hate feeling sad.

Best Moment This Week: While we were shopping this weekend we decided to check out the discounted Halloween area at Target. We started looking at the costumes and the first one we found was a little monkey costume for a 6 month old. I turned to James and said, "We will have a 6 month old next Halloween!" We both loved the monkey outfit and it was super cheap so we bought it! It’s so fun to buy things for our baby! I can’t wait to find out if we’re having a boy or a girl so I can really do some shopping!

14 Weeks and 3 Days!

Pregnancy Highlights...

How Far Along: I'm 14 weeks! (Technically I’m posting this late, so I’m truly 14 weeks and 3 days!)

Size Of Baby: Baby Hornaday is the size of a lemon.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 7 lbs

Maternity Clothes: I am still wearing all of my normal clothes, but can’t button any of my pants! Well I guess I should say I cannot comfortably button any of my pants and these days I am totally going for comfort! I am so thankful for my bella band. It is a life saver. I don’t find it to be the most comfortable, but that’s probably because I double it up. If I don’t, the thing is huge! I am going shopping this weekend and hope to buy another pair of leggings and lots of tops to wear with them.

Gender: We are SO excited to find out!

Movement: I am pretty sure I felt the baby move for the first time this week! It was absolutely amazing. I was sitting on the couch and could feel little flutters. I was so excited I about started crying! (I cry a lot these days!) I can’t wait for the movement to happen more and more often. I also can’t wait for James to be able to feel the baby move!

Sleep: I am still sleeping great. I have not been feeling nearly as tired, but still usually fall asleep on the couch around 10:00!

What I Miss: Pop of course!

Cravings: Golden Grahams, orange juice, and lima beans.

Symptoms: I have had some really bad headaches this week. Nothing seems to help them. I’ve also been very emotional. I cry so easily. One minute I am so happy and then the next for absolutely no reason I am sad. Ah, lovely hormones!

Best Moment This Week: Feeling the baby move! It’s the most amazing feeling. I feel so incredibly blessed to be carrying this child!

13 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights...

How Far Along: I'm 13 weeks! Actually, we may be a bit further along than this! Friday we had an ultrasound and the nurse said our baby is measuring a little bigger. So, we may be due about 5 days earlier than we had been thinking, which would put my due date at April 26! I am sure we will find out more information after we meet with our doctor!

Size Of Baby: Baby Hornaday is the size of a peach.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 7 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: I am still wearing all of my normal clothes. My jeans are really uncomfortable, but I don’t feel like I should buy new ones yet because I am just getting bigger. I really want to go shopping and get more outfits I can wear with leggings.

Gender: We are SO excited to find out! I was REALLY hoping we would be able to find out at our ultrasound on Friday, but it was too soon!

Movement: No movement yet, but I CANNOT wait to feel this sweet baby move! On Friday my tummy was going crazy and I thought maybe I could feel the baby move, but I think it was just my tummy growling.

Sleep: I am still sleeping great.

What I Miss: Still POP!!

Cravings: This week I have not had any real strong cravings. I can always eat an apple and this week I ate a lot of candy!

Symptoms: I have continued to have some pretty bad headaches this week and some pain in my side, but other than that I have felt great.

Best Moment This Week: This week was filled with amazing moments. We had our 2nd doctor appointment on Tuesday and were able to hear the heartbeat for the first time. It was one of the most amazing sounds James and I have ever heard! I wish I could listen to that little heart beating every day! The heart rate was 144 on Tuesday. On Friday, we were able to have our first ultrasound. Oh my word, I can hardly describe the feeling. It was absolutely amazing! The picture was so clear and we could see our sweet baby so well! I could not believe how developed all of his/her body parts were! We could see the tiny hands, feet, fingers and toes! He/she moved it’s hand while we were looking, so it looked like he/she was waving at us! The baby liked to have it’s hands up by it’s mouth! Both mommy and daddy were thumb suckers when we were little, so we definitely got a laugh out of this. The nurse said it was still too early to tell the sex of the baby, so we will have to wait a bit longer to find out. We were able to hear the heartbeat again during the ultrasound! The heart rate was 169 on Friday. We got some amazing ultrasound pictures. James and I just can’t stop looking at them! James and I were so excited during the ultrasound that we forgot to take pictures, but hopefully we will remember next time!

Heading into the hospital for our ultrasound...

12 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights...

How Far Along: I'm 12 weeks!

Size Of Baby: Baby Hornaday is the size of a lime.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 5 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: I am still wearing all of my normal clothes. My pants continue to get tighter and tighter! I wore my bella band this week for the first time, and I really liked it. I hope it will keep me from having to buy new pants too quickly. Today I wore leggings to church, and I was so comfortable. I may spend a lot of time in leggings in the following months!

Gender: We are SO excited to find out!

Movement: No movement yet, but I CANNOT wait to feel this sweet baby move!

Sleep: I am still sleeping great. I continue to feel great during the day, but this week I had a hard time staying awake past 9 o'clock! Part of my problem is that I am waking up earlier because I am falling asleep so early, so then I'm tired again early at night! It's a crazy cycle. I am just so thankful to be sleeping so well.

What I Miss: Still POP!!

Cravings: This week I've been craving apples, tator tots, and pizza.

Symptoms: I felt pretty good this week. I had a few headaches. It was a busy and stressful week at school, so I think that caused me to feel icky more than being pregnant! I have also felt a little nauseous right around 11:00 am, but I will eat a few crackers or a granola bar and feel much better.

Best Moment This Week: The best thing this week has been reaching the 12 week mark! It seems like a pretty big milestone, and we are just so excited to be getting closer to meeting our sweet baby!

11 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights...

How Far Along: I'm 11 weeks!

Size Of Baby: Baby Hornaday is the size of a fig.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 5 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: I am still wearing all of my normal clothes, but my pants are getting tighter and tighter. This week I had to do the hairband trick a few days and I also bought a belly band! I've not used the belly band yet, but I'm excited to try it out!

Gender: We are SO excited to find out!

Movement: No movement yet, but I CANNOT wait to feel this sweet baby move!

Sleep: I have continued to sleep great. I've had a good amount of energy during the day and evening, but by 10:00 I just can't stay awake. I am so thankful to be sleeping so well!

What I Miss: Pop!! I would do about anything for a large McDonald's coke :) The Quiznos in our town just reopened, so I'm also missing being able to go there for lunch!

Cravings: This week I've been craving pizza, bbq chicken wings, and McDonald's.

Symptoms: This week I felt pretty good. I've had a few really bad headaches, but luckily they happened at night and I could just relax. I've also forgotten to mention how stuffy I have been this whole pregnancy! At first, I thought it was just allergies, but it's not going away. This only really bothers me at night and it's nothing big, but I want to document it!

Best Moment This Week: The best thing this week has just been watching my belly grow. I texted James one morning this week saying how I almost could not button a pair of my capris. He wrote back saying "That just means the baby is growing!" He's so right, and it's exactly what we want... a growing, healthy, baby :) Feeling so blessed to have this miracle inside of me!

10 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights...

How Far Along: I'm 10 weeks!

Size Of Baby: Baby Hornaday is the size of a prune.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 4 lbs (I was using different scales, so this could be a little off!)

Maternity Clothes: I am still wearing all of my normal clothes, but my pants are feeling pretty snug!

Gender: We are SO excited to find out!

Movement: No movement yet, but I CANNOT wait to feel this sweet baby move!

Sleep: I have been sleeping great! I'm still falling asleep on the couch most nights before 10:00, but this week I've had a more energy than I've had in a while.

What I Miss: Pop!! I had the craziest dream last night about wanting a coke from McDonald's :)

Cravings: This week I've been craving cottage cheese, pizza, cinnamon toast, and apples! James has been so good about going to eat where I want and cutting up apples whenever I want one!

Symptoms: This week I felt great. The feeling of complete exhaustion has seemed to pass and I really have not felt sick at all. Such a blessing!

Best Moment This Week: Last night James and I went on a date to Ft. Wayne. After dinner and shopping at Target and the mall, we made our first trip to Babies-R-Us! It was so fun to look at all the baby things, and to start talking about what we like and what we will need. James looked over at me while we were looking at all the baby stuff and said, "You have the biggest smile on your face right now!"

9 Weeks!

I was 9 weeks on Sunday! A couple of the blogs I read have done this "pregnancy highlights" post each week of their pregnancy. I love the idea and absolutely want to do my best to record and remember every moment of this pregnancy!

Pregnancy Highlights...

How Far Along: I'm 9 weeks!

Size Of Baby: Baby Hornaday is the size of an olive.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 4 lbs (I was using different scales, so this could be a little off!)

Maternity Clothes: I am currently wearing all of my normal clothes, but my skinny jeans are definitely tighter than they have ever been!

Gender: We are SO excited to find out!

Movement: No movement yet, but I CANNOT wait to feel this sweet baby move!

Sleep: I have been absolutely exhausted! I fall asleep on the couch almost every night by 10:00! I have been sleeping very well during the night, which I have been so thankful for. I have been getting up 1-2 times a night to use the restroom, which I would rarely do before being pregnant.
What I Miss: Pop!! Oh goodness do I miss it!

Cravings: At first I was craving Mexican. Lately I've been craving fruit, especially apples.

Symptoms: I have really been so blessed with a great pregnancy so far. I've hardly felt sick. Weeks 6 and 7 I felt nauseous some throughout the day, but that is mostly gone! I have been really tired, especially after teaching 2nd grade all day!

Best Moment This Week: We had our first Doctor appointment last Thursday, and it was so exciting just to be there and talk with our Doctor and Nurse. We did not get to hear the heartbeat, but can't wait for that at our next appointment!

Blessed!

We could not be more excited about this precious gift from God. I have wanted to be a mom for as long as I can remember, and I'm so thankful I have been given the opportunity! James and I are feeling so happy and blessed.

Looking for a good book?

Reading has always been one of my favorite hobbies. I just love getting lost in a good book! I find that during the school year I have a hard time getting through novels. (I'm going to work on changing that this year!) However, during the summer I'm able to get caught up on all the good books I've been wanting to read. I read some wonderful books this summer! I enjoy all genres of stories. Mystery and romance novels are at the top of my list, but this summer I read a good variety of books! Here is a list of the books I have read recently in no particular order!

The Last Song
Written By Nicholas Sparks

Same Kind of Different As Me
Written By Ron Hall and Denver Moore

First Family
Written By David Baldacci

The 8th Confession
Written By James Patterson

The Pact (A Love Story)
Written By Jodi Picoult

True Blue
Written By David Baldacci

And the Shofar Blew
Written By Francine Rivers

Her Mother's Hope
Written By Francine Rivers

I would highly recommend all of these books to anyone. Well, all except one, but I'll get to that in a minute! It's hard for me to pick a favorite because I really loved all of them and Francine Rivers, David Baldacci, and Nicholas Sparks are my favorite authors. BUT, if I had to pick JUST ONE I'd choose "The Same Kind of Different as Me." This story is a true account of the lives of Ron Hall and Denver Moore and how their journey's through life intersect. I laughed, I cried, and I could not put the book down! The one book I did not enjoy was "The Pact (A Love Story)." I know people rave about Jodi Picoult as an author, but this story was just depressing. It had bad language and I did not enjoy the whole premise of the story.
I'm excited to start "The Shack" as my next book to read. What are some good books you've read lately?

Mexican Pizza

I love to cook and I'm always looking for new recipes. I came across this recipe for Mexican Pizza and thought I should share it! It's quick, easy, and so delicious!

I found these Tostada Shells at Aldi's!

Here's what you will need:

-tostada shells

-refried beans

-1/2 pound ground beef cooked and seasoned with taco seasoning

-shredded cheddar cheese

-taco sauce

-chopped tomatoes and black olives (I don't add these, because I'm not a vegetable fan, but I do add the olives for James)

Preheat your oven to 400*F

Place tostada shells on cookie sheet

Layer heated refried beans, ground beef, and cheese on tostada shells

Place another tostada shell on top

Spread taco sauce on top of shell and top with cheese, tomatoes, and black olives if desired

Cook at 400*F for 8 minutes

Enjoy :)

4th of July

I love all holidays. The 4th of July is always fun around the lakes. This past weekend was full of fun 4th of July activities and I loved every minute of it!

On Friday Lisa, Mandy, and I met for lunch at Spikes. I don't go to Spikes often, but it has such a fun atmosphere. It's all outdoor eating with sand volleyball courts and a stage for bands and singers. It's quieter at lunch than dinner, and we had a great time talking, eating, and being outside!




After lunch we headed to Mandy's mom's house to spend the afternoon on the lake. The house is gorgeous, with a wonderful back deck and a huge yard right on the water. I would love to have a house like them one day!! The weather was perfect and we got to enjoy the wave runners, the water, and the sun.




Friday night James and I went golfing and watched the movie Up!


Saturday James and I drove to Indy for Loretta and Caleb's wedding. Loretta and I met in college. Her cousin Anna and I were roommates our Freshmen year at Indiana Wesleyan. It was so good to see all my best friends from college. Meagan and Loretta live in Oregon and Liz lives in Colorado, so we don't see each other often. The wedding was beautiful and I am so happy for Loretta and Caleb!












We drove back to Warsaw Saturday night after the wedding and Erika and Alex stayed the night at our house. We got up Sunday morning and James, Alex, Erika, and I all went to lunch. It was great to see the two of them! Sunday afternoon James and I were able to relax and get things done around the house. I also made these cupcakes!


I made the cupcakes for a little 4th of July get together we had with our friends Sunday night. The Harstine family and James and I went over to the Duncan's house for fun, food, and fireworks! We had a great time. We had another beautiful evening and really enjoyed the time with friends!

I am so thankful for all of the men and women that are fighting or have fought to give us the freedom that we have. I feel very blessed to live in a country that gives us the freedom to make our own choices. I hope you all had a wonderful 4th!