So, I get out of the shower yesterday morning and just glance at my ever-changing belly in the mirror and I see something that looks a little different... Not that any of you want to know this, but I have a deep belly button - probably most chubby bellies (like mine) are blessed with this... Anyway, I look again and I can see the END of my belly button starting to come out - NOW, it isn't poking out or nearly poking out - I can just see the end - something I haven't EVER been able to do! So, after inspecting, I scream at Mark to come and look - he comes running and then laughs because I'm freaking out about it it!
Moving on to last night - I get ready for my bath - take off my gym socks and look down and see that I can see EVERY INDENTION of my sock and then I look again and I can see where my trouser socks were from work - So, again, I scream at Mark and it was decided that my legs were a bit swollen - NOT a lot, but still!!! I didn't expect all this stuff to start happening so soon! Granted, I will be 18 weeks on Tuesday - but STILL!
So, I tell the ladies at work today about my new experiences. They are all mothers themselves, so they are getting a kick out of me being pregnant - and I proceed to tell them and actually pull down my sock (you probably thought I was going to say pants to show off my belly button, huh?) to show them where it was swollen and they laugh because you can see the indention of my polka dots on my leg today too! They assure me that it is normal and my Director even shared her strawberry cake with me and told me that it was a fruit serving... and then proceeds to tell me that she could only wear a pair of flip flops her last week of pregnancy - I think they like to "softly" scare me and then laugh at my reactions! ha ha!
Friday, February 13, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
17 Weeks!!!
We are happy to report that Baby Lima is looking great!!! Yes, we got to see the little one punching around and kicking around in my stomach today! It is AMAZING!!!! The four chambers of the heart are formed and the heartbeat was 157 beats per minute. Praise God!
We had our normal dr. appointment today and I had been feeling really sick on the way. I had my puke bag in my lap and everything driving. Dr. Sharp thinks it is reflux - it feels more like trapped gas to be honest. All I know is it hurts really badly. So, by the time we got to the dr. I was all out of sorts. My BP was good and my sugar was good and it was determined that I've gained 2 pounds the entire pregnancy - I was quite concerned about this, but Dr. Sharp says that I shouldn't be... We went back to the examining room and he listened to the heartbeat - Well, Mark heard it and Dr. Sharp heard it but they were talking and I didn't hear it... He tried to "find" it for me again and couldn't - so we went to the ultrasound room. I know that he wanted to calm my frazzled nerves! It is amazing to see our little one jumping around and we even can count fingers! Needless to say, I felt much better. I will have the "big" ultrasound next month, but a sneak peep was a good thing to get today!
Mark and I are doing well - Mark is amazing and helps so much - I could not ask for a better partner. He surprised me with a fun day get-a-way on Saturday - we spent the day outside hiking and climbing on rocks. I'm def. showing and filling out the maternity tops (thanks, Sherrie!). While praying in church on Sunday, I looked down and couldn't see my feet! Ha! I love it though!!!
One more thing - I have three really close friends that are pregnant - Grace and Rachel are due one week after me and my college roommate - Holly is ten weeks behind me!!! She called to let me know this on Saturday. Please keep them in your prayers as well! Holly conceived during her husband's military leave (he was home 18 days!) and he is back in Afganistan (I think) or Iraq now. He is scheduled to be home in early June. Please pray for safety for him and for Holly too!
Okay - here is what our baby is doing this week. I hope you all have a great week ahead. We are so grateful for friends and family to share this with.
Fetal development in pregnancy week 17:fetus in fourth month Don't be too shocked but... your baby is EVEN bigger than it was last week, not to mention getting cuter, and smarter every day! As you’ve come to expect, there’s no shortage of growth and development this week: your fantastic little bean stalk has added yet another half inch to their overall height-- making them nearly half a foot long! Their little limbs have reached (or are within one week of) their relative proportions, and will continue to grow evenly with the rest of the body after this week. Reactive listening has begun for your baby, even though their ears are not yet structurally complete or fully functional. Meanwhile, different parts of their astonishingly complex brain are developing to process your little one’s hearing and other senses, (you know, sight, smell, taste and touch). Mind boggling factoid of the week: if you’re having going to have a little girl, her ovaries have already produced millions of primordial egg cells, which, within a few weeks, will develop into actual eggs! Phew… just wait till she’s a teenager eh?
We had our normal dr. appointment today and I had been feeling really sick on the way. I had my puke bag in my lap and everything driving. Dr. Sharp thinks it is reflux - it feels more like trapped gas to be honest. All I know is it hurts really badly. So, by the time we got to the dr. I was all out of sorts. My BP was good and my sugar was good and it was determined that I've gained 2 pounds the entire pregnancy - I was quite concerned about this, but Dr. Sharp says that I shouldn't be... We went back to the examining room and he listened to the heartbeat - Well, Mark heard it and Dr. Sharp heard it but they were talking and I didn't hear it... He tried to "find" it for me again and couldn't - so we went to the ultrasound room. I know that he wanted to calm my frazzled nerves! It is amazing to see our little one jumping around and we even can count fingers! Needless to say, I felt much better. I will have the "big" ultrasound next month, but a sneak peep was a good thing to get today!
Mark and I are doing well - Mark is amazing and helps so much - I could not ask for a better partner. He surprised me with a fun day get-a-way on Saturday - we spent the day outside hiking and climbing on rocks. I'm def. showing and filling out the maternity tops (thanks, Sherrie!). While praying in church on Sunday, I looked down and couldn't see my feet! Ha! I love it though!!!
One more thing - I have three really close friends that are pregnant - Grace and Rachel are due one week after me and my college roommate - Holly is ten weeks behind me!!! She called to let me know this on Saturday. Please keep them in your prayers as well! Holly conceived during her husband's military leave (he was home 18 days!) and he is back in Afganistan (I think) or Iraq now. He is scheduled to be home in early June. Please pray for safety for him and for Holly too!
Okay - here is what our baby is doing this week. I hope you all have a great week ahead. We are so grateful for friends and family to share this with.
Fetal development in pregnancy week 17:fetus in fourth month Don't be too shocked but... your baby is EVEN bigger than it was last week, not to mention getting cuter, and smarter every day! As you’ve come to expect, there’s no shortage of growth and development this week: your fantastic little bean stalk has added yet another half inch to their overall height-- making them nearly half a foot long! Their little limbs have reached (or are within one week of) their relative proportions, and will continue to grow evenly with the rest of the body after this week. Reactive listening has begun for your baby, even though their ears are not yet structurally complete or fully functional. Meanwhile, different parts of their astonishingly complex brain are developing to process your little one’s hearing and other senses, (you know, sight, smell, taste and touch). Mind boggling factoid of the week: if you’re having going to have a little girl, her ovaries have already produced millions of primordial egg cells, which, within a few weeks, will develop into actual eggs! Phew… just wait till she’s a teenager eh?
Baby in my belly:
Our baby:
Monday, February 9, 2009
Day Get-a-Way
Mark surprised me with a day get-a-way on Saturday. First of all, it was absolutely BEAUTIFUL and second, I didn't know where we were going and I didn't really care! He gave me hints on Thurs. and Fri. - it began with a "G" and it had water... I decided it was going to be Guntersville! It wasn't - we went to Palisades Park in Oneonta and then to Camp Sumatonga. I had never been to either and Mark grew up going to Camp Sumatonga with different church functions. Both were great and the weather was perfect. Me and my pregnant belly climbed all over rocks and up hills. At Palisades, we walked around and looked off the rock ledges. Then we got to play on the playground equipment. They had the old school stuff - you know, no plastic - all metal! My favorite was the slide and the swings - Mark rode the Merry-go-round and I almost puked just watching him go around in circles. We def. decided that was somewhere to take the baby in a year. We then went to Camp Sumatonga. The picnic at the outdoor chapel was so peaceful - just to be out in nature under then natural outdoor chapel was more than I could have imagined. Then we played on the rocks and walked around all over the place. Mark told stories about all the things he used to do there! We both decided that we wish we had been camp counselors at somewhere like that... The day was wonderful and we are really taking the advice of "enjoy each other before baby gets here" seriously.
I leave with pictures of our adventure
Thursday, February 5, 2009
And baby makes 3
Mark and I are having excited that we are a growing family! I can't believe that we are going to be parents!! It is an awesome but scary feeling at the same time. We could not be more excited, though. We aren't going to find out the sex, so we are calling the baby "Lima" right now - that is what Mark said the name would be until we could call the real name out. Below are some recent pictures of us and the baby. I'm 16 weeks and 2 days, so I'm def. in the best part of pregnancy (from what I hear!). Much more to come on this topic... My goal is to start posting a lot more to keep updates coming along.
The first picture where I was starting to show.
Our first Dr. appointment
Mark with the two positive pregnancy tests - and a glass of wine!
The first picture where I was starting to show.
Our first Dr. appointment
Mark with the two positive pregnancy tests - and a glass of wine!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Us
We celebrated our one year anniversary on January 12! One whole year - in a way, it feels like it has been much longer (in a good way) and then again, it feels like yesterday. I'm all sentimental about us and our little love story - just because I think it is a really good one! So indulge me as - this might be my first real post, but I won't write this much every time - I promise...
Mark and I had finance class together at JSU - my first semester there and his second year there... He was tall and dark and handsome and wore a navy shirty with sorority/fraternity shirt the first day I noticed him ( I didn't notice it was from Auburn, but thought he might be a frat boy - and mom had warned me about them!). I was a naive, scared girl with short blond hair. I can still remember the room and the places we were sitting (a couple of years ago, we went back to that same room in the Merrill Building) - I was close to the front (yes, I've always been a dork) and he sat down behind me. He said - "You have the prettiest eyes I've ever seen." This SCARED ME TO DEATH!!!!! I knew he was a bit older and he was handsome and I certainly thought he was HOT - but to this small town girl, I probably just muttered "thank you" and turned around instead of batting my eyes at him and flirting a little... Well, my best friend in college was sitting beside me and I told him from now on that he was to sit behind me in finance class!!!
That semester rocked on and I gained a little bit of confidence and we talked. Mark eventually came over to eat lunches that I made after we were finished with morning classes. These lunches were usually Chicken Helper - with extra mushrooms - because I knew he liked mushrooms! My roommate - Holly - at the time just laughed at how "cool" I was in front of him but then would FREAK OUT when he left - he was never just "Mark" he was always "Mark Casey" He had a girlfriend and I had a boyfriend and we flirted a lot, but that was about all. Even then, I knew that there was just something about him - Momma even told me that "one day I would marry that boy, or he was a serial killer" - what she meant was - she just had a feeling about him... We didn't have any classes together in the spring of 2001 and he graduated. We didn't talk for two years - he was always in the back of my mind. There was just something about him.
On the last day of February 2003 I received an email from Mark Casey - it said something along the lines - "Are you the Allison Jones that graduated from JSU and majored in Marketing - I've been looking for you for a while" My heart dropped - I can still remember it being my first day on a new job, I snuck to check my email and then I had the biggest surprise of my life! From that point on we were friends... We talked every day via email - even if it was questions like - "what are you having for lunch?" We still talk everyday via email and we still ask questions like that (even though we watch each other pack lunches!).
He was dating whoever and I was in a relationship. We spent the next year and and a half emailing - Feb. 2003 - Sept. 2004. I gave suggestions on where he should take girls for dinner or what he should make them for his date. I listened to when he didn't know what to do. I celebrated his parents moving back to Gadsden. He listened to me try to make my relationship work. He listened to me when I was heartbroken about my relationship ending, my brother having to have heart surgery AND my grandmother passing in ONE month. We were friends - that was all. He was still "Mark Casey" and there was still something about him.
He lived in Montgomery in the Fall of 2004 and I had training down there for a week each month for six months. Some months we would see each other, and others we would not. He did take me to the Montgomery Fair (which he thought was very stupid!) BUT we had the best fun - we ate corn dogs and funnel cakes and watched the pig race. Christmas night of 04, I ate dinner with his family - whom I had never met and we went to the movies. It was fun. We were friends.
On January 19, 2005, he called to ask me out on a date - We went to Albertville to Mike's going away party... in the back of a tahoe - the very back. I didn't mind... He called me the day Allan had heart surgery to check on me - he was in Florida with his "friend" - his old girlfriend. I was sitting in the waiting room with my "friend" But there was just something about him.
He had promised me that he would take me somewhere after Allan's surgery and everything settled down - so in the early spring - he took me to the beach. We had a wonderful time. Learned so much about each other and just enjoyed each other. I couldn't believe how stress free it was OR the fact that I WENT TO THE BEACH WITH MARK CASEY... but again, I played it SO cool... in front of him.
We saw each other only a few times that spring. We went on with our lives - him dating, me learning to date again... still friends that discussed lunch every single day.
In June I got a job in Tuscaloosa. We were in the U-Haul (me and Daddy) just past the McCalla exit on I-59, when Mark called asking me how the move was going and if I was taking notes. I told him it was going well - why? His response "because I'm moving to Birmingham in a few weeks, I got a job at corporate." My heart stopped - I said a prayer to thank God right there. My friend was moving an hour from me - he would be the closest person I knew to me. God has the best timing.
He moved, football season started, we spent almost every weekend together... still dating other people during the week (Has anyone ever tried to date on Mon., Tues., Wed., nights?? (Thursdays were reserved for packing of cleaning - depending on whether Alabama played at home or not) it is difficult - no one wants to date on these days and I was not available for the weekend - sorry-) I was spending the weekend with that guy that just had something about him. Our weekends consisted of going out on Friday night, football games on Saturday and eating TCBY and sleeping on Sundays.
Throughout the rest of 2005 and 2006 we continued to date others as well as each other. Funny thing is, God never put anyone in my life or his... no matter how much we looked around, searched around - there was just no one... We were still friends. We were more than friends - even though at times we didn't want to admit it because admitting it might mean that the other might leave or it wouldn't work out.
In the Fall of 2006, things got serious - we decided that we would see only each other and see where that took us. We discussed getting married in Feb. 2007 and on May 2, 2007 Mark proposed. in Tuscaloosa. on the quad. while sitting at a bench that we can always walk past and say "that was the place" There was just something about him. I applied for jobs in Birmingham in the Fall of 2007 - thinking that it might take me a while to find something that I liked and wanted. The first interview I went on, I got the job - again, God's timing is perfect.
We planned the wedding of our dreams with the help of so many family and friends. We shared the days leading up to it talking about our 11am wedding - we are such morning people and our trip to Jackson Hole, WY. We were both marrying our best friend. We knew each other better than we thought we did. There have been tough spots - quite a few along the way - but they have made us stronger. Mom was right - we did get married. Holly called to tell me that I was getting married to"Mark Casey" We were united in a beautiful ceremony at 11am on January 12, 2008. There was "something about him" and there still is...
Mark and I had finance class together at JSU - my first semester there and his second year there... He was tall and dark and handsome and wore a navy shirty with sorority/fraternity shirt the first day I noticed him ( I didn't notice it was from Auburn, but thought he might be a frat boy - and mom had warned me about them!). I was a naive, scared girl with short blond hair. I can still remember the room and the places we were sitting (a couple of years ago, we went back to that same room in the Merrill Building) - I was close to the front (yes, I've always been a dork) and he sat down behind me. He said - "You have the prettiest eyes I've ever seen." This SCARED ME TO DEATH!!!!! I knew he was a bit older and he was handsome and I certainly thought he was HOT - but to this small town girl, I probably just muttered "thank you" and turned around instead of batting my eyes at him and flirting a little... Well, my best friend in college was sitting beside me and I told him from now on that he was to sit behind me in finance class!!!
That semester rocked on and I gained a little bit of confidence and we talked. Mark eventually came over to eat lunches that I made after we were finished with morning classes. These lunches were usually Chicken Helper - with extra mushrooms - because I knew he liked mushrooms! My roommate - Holly - at the time just laughed at how "cool" I was in front of him but then would FREAK OUT when he left - he was never just "Mark" he was always "Mark Casey" He had a girlfriend and I had a boyfriend and we flirted a lot, but that was about all. Even then, I knew that there was just something about him - Momma even told me that "one day I would marry that boy, or he was a serial killer" - what she meant was - she just had a feeling about him... We didn't have any classes together in the spring of 2001 and he graduated. We didn't talk for two years - he was always in the back of my mind. There was just something about him.
On the last day of February 2003 I received an email from Mark Casey - it said something along the lines - "Are you the Allison Jones that graduated from JSU and majored in Marketing - I've been looking for you for a while" My heart dropped - I can still remember it being my first day on a new job, I snuck to check my email and then I had the biggest surprise of my life! From that point on we were friends... We talked every day via email - even if it was questions like - "what are you having for lunch?" We still talk everyday via email and we still ask questions like that (even though we watch each other pack lunches!).
He was dating whoever and I was in a relationship. We spent the next year and and a half emailing - Feb. 2003 - Sept. 2004. I gave suggestions on where he should take girls for dinner or what he should make them for his date. I listened to when he didn't know what to do. I celebrated his parents moving back to Gadsden. He listened to me try to make my relationship work. He listened to me when I was heartbroken about my relationship ending, my brother having to have heart surgery AND my grandmother passing in ONE month. We were friends - that was all. He was still "Mark Casey" and there was still something about him.
He lived in Montgomery in the Fall of 2004 and I had training down there for a week each month for six months. Some months we would see each other, and others we would not. He did take me to the Montgomery Fair (which he thought was very stupid!) BUT we had the best fun - we ate corn dogs and funnel cakes and watched the pig race. Christmas night of 04, I ate dinner with his family - whom I had never met and we went to the movies. It was fun. We were friends.
On January 19, 2005, he called to ask me out on a date - We went to Albertville to Mike's going away party... in the back of a tahoe - the very back. I didn't mind... He called me the day Allan had heart surgery to check on me - he was in Florida with his "friend" - his old girlfriend. I was sitting in the waiting room with my "friend" But there was just something about him.
He had promised me that he would take me somewhere after Allan's surgery and everything settled down - so in the early spring - he took me to the beach. We had a wonderful time. Learned so much about each other and just enjoyed each other. I couldn't believe how stress free it was OR the fact that I WENT TO THE BEACH WITH MARK CASEY... but again, I played it SO cool... in front of him.
We saw each other only a few times that spring. We went on with our lives - him dating, me learning to date again... still friends that discussed lunch every single day.
In June I got a job in Tuscaloosa. We were in the U-Haul (me and Daddy) just past the McCalla exit on I-59, when Mark called asking me how the move was going and if I was taking notes. I told him it was going well - why? His response "because I'm moving to Birmingham in a few weeks, I got a job at corporate." My heart stopped - I said a prayer to thank God right there. My friend was moving an hour from me - he would be the closest person I knew to me. God has the best timing.
He moved, football season started, we spent almost every weekend together... still dating other people during the week (Has anyone ever tried to date on Mon., Tues., Wed., nights?? (Thursdays were reserved for packing of cleaning - depending on whether Alabama played at home or not) it is difficult - no one wants to date on these days and I was not available for the weekend - sorry-) I was spending the weekend with that guy that just had something about him. Our weekends consisted of going out on Friday night, football games on Saturday and eating TCBY and sleeping on Sundays.
Throughout the rest of 2005 and 2006 we continued to date others as well as each other. Funny thing is, God never put anyone in my life or his... no matter how much we looked around, searched around - there was just no one... We were still friends. We were more than friends - even though at times we didn't want to admit it because admitting it might mean that the other might leave or it wouldn't work out.
In the Fall of 2006, things got serious - we decided that we would see only each other and see where that took us. We discussed getting married in Feb. 2007 and on May 2, 2007 Mark proposed. in Tuscaloosa. on the quad. while sitting at a bench that we can always walk past and say "that was the place" There was just something about him. I applied for jobs in Birmingham in the Fall of 2007 - thinking that it might take me a while to find something that I liked and wanted. The first interview I went on, I got the job - again, God's timing is perfect.
We planned the wedding of our dreams with the help of so many family and friends. We shared the days leading up to it talking about our 11am wedding - we are such morning people and our trip to Jackson Hole, WY. We were both marrying our best friend. We knew each other better than we thought we did. There have been tough spots - quite a few along the way - but they have made us stronger. Mom was right - we did get married. Holly called to tell me that I was getting married to"Mark Casey" We were united in a beautiful ceremony at 11am on January 12, 2008. There was "something about him" and there still is...
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Lazy Saturdays and Yummy Burgers
Today is the only Saturday from now until the holidays are over that we have to just be lazy... and that is what we decided to do. We woke up early (4am - usual for us, these days) and watched a movie, laid on the couch and were just plain lazy. I got up and decided to go to some of the local little stores in Gardendale. I found lots of cute things, but you know what I hate most - snooty boutique owners! There is one in our area that I will never grace the doors of again - the girl in there is just rude! How could any retailer be rude in this economy? Mark watched football and hung around the house. Then we grilled the best burgers ever and napped! More football to watch tonight, but I think we are going to WalMart AND Target! What an exciting Saturday night - but I love it!!! I'm sure that I will be asleep before ten again tonight!
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