14 weeks

Well, I finally took a picture of my belly. It has definitely grown, although I don't think anyone else can really tell! I wish that I was showing more, I know that I still do not look pregnant at all. My parents came into town this weekend, and it was great to spend some time with them. I went shopping on Saturday with my mom and sister, and we made our first trip to a baby store! We went to Lone Star Baby to look at baby furniture and other room decorations, and we were overwhelmed by how adorable everything was! It is going to be really hard not to go overboard on buying baby stuff and decking out the nursery. I can't wait to find out if it's a boy or a girl so that I can start shopping! While the girls went shopping, Frank went with my Dad to the Byron Nelson and then he came home and cooked a huge feast of shrimp, prosciutto-wrapped scallops, jalapeno poppers, chicken, steak, corn on the cob, and a delicious salad for everyone. Steve and Casey came over and joined us and we had a great evening. Frank's absolute favorite thing to do is to cook and entertain family and friends at our home, and he was definitely in his element this weekend. He invited some friends over Sunday morning and cooked everyone a huge brunch. The man is a cooking machine!

I have been feeling well this weekend after a rough day on Friday--I think that watching the Grey's Anatomy finale on Thursday completely wiped me out, and I woke up Friday morning with red, swollen eyes and a terrible headache. I had a couple of late nights and early mornings working last week, and that was tough. However, I have felt great this weekend, and hopefully that will continue. I go in for my next doctor's appointment on Tuesday, so please keep Baby B in your thoughts and prayers.

Girls' weekend

This weekend Lindsey, Brooke, Marisa, and Jennifer came to Dallas for a girls' weekend of shopping, eating, drinking, and relaxing. We had a great time, and I am so happy that they came! Jennifer brought me a bottle of alcohol-free wine that tasted surprisingly like the real thing, so I got to pretend that I was drinking with everyone. We went to a fundraising benefit for Animal Rescue of Texas on Saturday night, where Jennifer fell in love with a dog and Brooke won a bottle of Veuve champagne. One of the funniest moments of the weekend happened when Marisa called out a guy for not donating money when he happened to be one of the event's biggest sponsors. She said "I'm an asshole," and the guy said, "Hi Asshole, I'm Michael." It was hilarious. I miss you ladies already, and we missed Katie and Corey who were not able to make it.

I am now 13 weeks pregnant and feeling generally better, but I am still having sporadic stomach problems. I am hoping to get back into working out now that I have more energy. We go back to the doctor next week for a routine checkup, and then back to the doctor to find out the sex of the baby in 5 weeks! People seem pretty split on whether they think I am having a boy or a girl. Frank feels pretty strongly that I am having a boy--he has even dreamed about it--but I am not so sure. We can't wait to find out!

Happy Mother's Day!

I am officially 12 weeks pregnant today! Depending on which book you read, I am either done with or almost done with the first trimester. Thankfully, I am feeling much better and starting to get more and more excited about our baby. I wanted to thank all of my extremely thoughtful friends and family members who have sent us sweet cards in the mail. They always make my day! And I wanted to especially thank everyone who sent me a Mother's Day card--they were completely unexpected and so thoughtful. I am extremely excited to be a mother, and I can't wait until next year when I get to join all of the other amazing mothers out there! Happy Mothers Day to my wonderful mom and wonderful mothers-in-law. I hope you are all ready to be grandmothers!

10 weeks

We went back to the doctor today for our 10 week ultrasound, and everything looks great! We were able to hear the baby's heartbeat, which was beating at 170 beats per minute. The doctor said that the baby is developing right on schedule, and my due date is still set for November 22. Thank you everyone for all of your thoughts and prayers. We are very excited!

Rocky Mountain Rendezvous

Frank was working in Calgary last week, and we decided at the last minute that I would fly up on Friday night and spend the weekend with him in the Rocky Mountains. We had always talked about going there together, so it was the perfect opportunity! I got in super late Friday night, and we left Calgary bright and early Saturday morning to head to Banff. We ate breakfast at a cute diner a friend had recommended in Calgary, and then hit the road. We got to Banff around 10:00, and we spent a couple of hours exploring surrounding areas before heading into town. When we got into town, suddenly there was a crazy blizzard! The snow was falling faster than I have ever seen, and at least 3-5 inches fell in the next half hour.

We decided to leave Banff and head to Lake Louise, where we were staying. Lake Louise is breathtakingly beautiful. The Fairmont is right on the lake, and it has incredible views of the lake and surrounding mountains and glaciers. It truly feels like you are in the middle of a postcard. We decided to be brave and do a 3-mile hike up one of the mountains by the lake. Frank basically forced me to do it--I was complaining almost immediately, because I am (a) pregnant and (b) extremely out of shape! It was hard, but we made it to the top, and the views were incredible. After our hike, we went on a scenic drive through British Columbia and Kootenay National Park and had dinner at the Storm Mountain Lodge, which was amazing if anyone happens to be in that area. The next day we drove about an hour up the Icefields Parkway toward Jasper, and this road is the most scenic I have ever seen. It is literally just a road surrounded by trees, mountains, glaciers, and lakes in every direction. There are no signs of civilization, and it is truly gorgeous. Then we headed back to Banff to check out the town and have lunch. It was a whirlwind weekend, but it was a great getaway and a truly awesome experience.

We have our 10-week doctor's appointment tomorrow, please keep Baby B in your thoughts and prayers!

8 weeks

This is a big week! Yesterday we went to our first doctor's appointment and had our first ultrasound. The doctor confirmed that I am in fact pregnant, and everything looks great! The baby is developing right on schedule, and we saw the baby's little heart beating away! We are so excited and relieved to hear good news. We are going back to our next appointment in two weeks, and we should be able to hear the baby's heartbeat at that appointment. I wish I had a picture to put online, but I did not get a digital photo at this appointment. I will make sure to bring my memory stick to the next appointment and get one then. It is so amazing to see that there is really a little baby growing inside me! I can't stop staring at the little picture.

Frank and I decided to tell a bunch of close friends and Frank's family the big news, and everyone is so excited for us! It feels great to be able to share our excitement with everyone. We are still waiting until our next appointment to tell my coworkers and the rest of the world, but we are happy to have so much support from the people we love.

I have been feeling exceptionally sick the last couple of days, and I decided to stay home from work today to rest. Will the morning sickness ever end??

Please continue to pray for a healthy Baby B!!! Also, we found out last week that our great friends Ryon and Sara are expecting a baby a week after us. It will be so nice to have someone else to go through this incredible journey with! We are so excited and praying for a healthy Baby Vestal as well.

Easter weekend aka "The Big Reveal"

This weekend we went to Houston for Easter and to tell our family our big news. We arrived late Friday night after a long drive and I was exhausted. My parents kept joking that the only reason we decided to come home for Easter was because they decided to do a big easter egg hunt with money in the eggs! Little did they know that we did not care about the money eggs but that we had a big surprise for them! On Saturday, Allison and Steve showed up around noon and my grandparents came over around 4:00 p.m. Shortly after they arrived, we handed out gifts to my grandparents, my sister, my dad and my mom. We gave my grandparents their souvenier from Africa, gave my sister her birthday present, and then told my parents we did not want them to feel left out so we got them gifts. My parents recently adopted a new dog (Daisy), and we gave my Dad the book "Dog training for dummies." Then, my mom opened her gift--a onesie we had made that said "I love the Gramps!" She definitely did not get it at first, but soon figured out the big news! Frank wisely thought to get the big reveal on video, and the look on my mom's face is priceless!



Everyone was shocked, but so excited for us. We spent the rest of the weekend celebrating Easter, the baby, Allison & Steve's birthdays, and Frank's exciting grad school news. Frank officially accepted his offer to attend Auburn's EMBA program, and we are very excited for him!