Secret Baby Diaries: So In Love

November 11, 2012 - What a difference two weeks makes! At today's ultrasound, not only had all of the doctor's concerns completely vanished, but we actually saw what looks like a real baby wiggling around on that screen! It was just amazing, and I could have watched that screen for hours. What a wiggle worm you are, little bean. :)

Dr. Moses said everything looked just perfect now at 9 weeks 5 days, and my next appointment isn't until a month from now, which seems so far away after these one- to two-week visits.

Next week is our big reveal! I am soooo ready to tell our families, but since we've kept this secret this long, I think we can keep it for another week. We're going to Vicksburg on Sunday then Hattiesburg on Thanksgiving Day, so it should make for a fun week. EEEK I'm getting excited! :)

Secret Baby Diaries: Watching You Grow

October 31, 2012 - We had second doctor’s appointment yesterday, and Dr. Moses is very pleased with your progress, little bean!

When we were able to see the flicker of your heartbeat at last week’s appointment, things really felt real. It was a nice, strong little heartbeat measuring at 126 beats a minute. Then at yesterday’s appointment I was actually able to HEAR your heart beating at 154 beats a minute. It really and truly brought tears to my eyes. You’re measuring right on schedule at 7 weeks 4 days, which is just one day off from our June 14th due date.

There have been a couple of small things that Dr. Moses wants to keep an eye on in these first few weeks, but she hopes that these concerns (if you even call them that) will correct themselves as you continue to grow in the next few weeks. We are really, really pleased with her as our doctor. She told us to let her do the worrying because there was no need for us to do that. I trust her in that regard, and it’s actually wonderful to have the opportunity to see you again as you grow. The amount of growing you’ve done in just one week is amazing.

It’s settling in for us now, and while we’re so very anxious to share the good news with our family and friends, we’re confident that we’re making a smart decision in just waiting it out a few weeks. IF we can stand it, we want to wait until Thanksgiving to tell everyone. I’ll be 11 weeks by then, and we can’t think of a more perfect time to share the news.

This is an extremely difficult but wonderfully exciting secret to keep. :)

Secret Baby Diaries: The Life-Changing News

OCTOBER 15, 2012 - I am now four days pregnant… actually, according to BabyCenter.com, I’m 5 weeks, 5 days pregnant, but I’ve only known for four days now. It’s finally sinking in, although it’s still very, very surreal.

I gotta tell you... seeing that pregnancy test turn positive was something I was really starting to wonder if I would ever see. So, you can imagine my surprise/shock/excitement/disbelief when I took that test on Saturday and it might as well have screamed at me, “YOU ARE HAVING A BABY!!!”

September was such a whirlwind, and pregnancy was definitely NOT at the forefront of my mind. We went to Disney World, we went to New Orleans, I turned 32… it was a crazy month. I’ve heard that it always happens when you’re not worrying about it. I don’t know if I truly believe that because when you want to have a baby, it’s never really NOT on your mind, but I guess sometimes there are other priorities, and having fun in September was definitely my priority.

So, back to Saturday… the test said positive, Derek and I just looked at each other in shock, we hugged, I cried a little, we laughed in disbelief, and then he said, “I think we need some doughnuts.” So off he went to pick up some breakfast. That was that.

We are finally settling in with the idea that come June, we’ll have another little person in the house. For now I’m trying to take it easy, get some rest, and keep my nerves in check between now and our first doctor’s appointment next week. I’m DYING to tell somebody, but we’ve decided to keep it to ourselves, at least for a little while until we’re a little further along.

It just still seems so surreal to be writing this post, and it was the strangest feeling to actually say the words “I’m pregnant” when I called the doctor’s office yesterday. I am very, very humbled and thankful, and not a day goes by that I haven’t thanked God for this opportunity and prayed that He will keep this baby safe and healthy.

Let the REAL journey begin…

Special News to Share!

This Thanksgiving was especially enjoyable for us because we got to share some pretty amazing news with our families...

Baby Grey is on the way!! We were 11 weeks pregnant on Thanksgiving Day and could not wait to share the good news with our families and close friends (which, of course, includes all 10 of you who read this blog). We're due June 14th.

We're still keeping it off Facebook for a few more weeks, but we couldn't hold in the secret any longer. We've actually been to the doctor three times so far and had three ultrasounds. We got the "all clear" two weeks ago that everything looked as perfect as can be, so we felt comfortable sharing the news.

I've actually written a few "secret" blog posts in between finding out we were pregnant and telling family, so I'll post those in the coming days. I will officially have PLENTY to write about from now on, so get excited! Ha!

But seriously, we're very excited and very humbled. The past few months have already been an amazing journey as we've watched this tiny little bean grow. We know we're in store for a pretty awesome adventure. :)

Road Trip

I took the day off from work on Friday and headed out for a beautiful road trip to Birmingham to see my friend Brooke and do some Chrismtas shopping. The weather was absolutely GORGEOUS for my drive, and all the trees were a perfect array of fall colors. It was completely enjoyable, especially when I put in my old CDs and opened the sunroof. Great day!

We went to dinner Friday night then did a little shopping. Saturday we got our day started bright and early with the outlet mall, then headed over to downtown Homewood for lunch at my favorite Alabama sandwich shop, Momma Goldberg's. We walked around their cute little downtown and did some maternity shopping for Brooke, whose sweet baby girl is due in February. Then we stopped by the Summit to finish up some shopping before getting ready for dinner out with another B'ham friend, Wendy. Fun but busy day!

It was so much fun to catch up with old friends, and I'm pleased with the amount of shopping I got done. Two more good Saturdays like that and Santa will be done! I love, love, love girls' weekends, and I know I've said it before, but they're just so good for the soul. I love them so much that I've got another one planned for December! Girl time + Chrismtas shopping = perfect weekend. :)

Homebodies or Hermits?

What a wonderful weekend spent at HOME. We seriously barely left the house all weekend, and it was so nice.

We had some friends over on Saturday to watch all the great football games that were on, and we tailgated in the living room with hot wings, pigs in a blanket, and Rotel. We ate for about 8 hours straight, and it was ALL gone by halftime of the LSU-Alabama game.

On Sunday we kept a fire burning all day and just enjoyed being lazy. Derek read his book and watched some movies on HBO, and I read my book and watched back-to-back Christmas movies on the Hallmark Channel. Because of the time change, it felt like the day lasted FOREVER. I feel well rested today though, so I suppose it was worth it.

This weekend will officially kick off the holiday season for me as I head to Birmingham for a girls' weekend of Christmas shopping. I can't believe it's already two weeks from Thanksgiving week. Where on earth does the time go?

Watching those cheesy Christmas movies is one of my favorite holiday activities, so after yesterday's marathon, I'm completely in the spirit! Happy November 5th - only seven weeks til Christmas! :)

Happy Halloween from Hans and Heidi

We celebrated Halloween a little early this past weekend with by going to a fun costume party Saturday night. We decided to re-wear our costumes from last year since we were in D.C. for Halloween. I somehow lost my blonde wig between there and here, so I had to buy a new one this year. This one was even better! (I had a lot of fun being a blonde for the night!)

We met some friends at Nick's in Fondren before the party to watch a little bit of the State-Alabama game, then it was off to the party. We've been to this same party for a few years now, and there are always some super creative costumes there. It's always entertaining, and if you know Derek, you know that Halloween is like his Christmas. :)

We didn't win the costume contest... our friend Mark dressed as Alice from the Brady Bunch got third, Flo from Progressive and her husband, Mayhem from Allstate, won second, and a couple dressed as the Spanish Day of the Dead with incredible makeup won first. It was a lot of fun!

With Halloween falling on a Wednesday, I doubt we'll do much else related to the holiday. We might carve some pumpkins and watch some scary movies and hand out candy to the few kids who trick-or-treat at our house, but that's ok. Halloween is just three weeks before Thanksgiving, which is about four weeks before Christmas.

Here's to the official start of the holiday season!