Merry Christmas!!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

Hope everyone is making awesome memories with there families!

Love, 

The Anthony's

Our Baby Moon & 23 week update

     
     We are just cruising along over here…23 weeks…crazy how times flies!   

Kyle and I went on a weekend getaway…or as I call it, our “baby moon”.  Kyle had to be at a seminar in Knoxville for one night so we decided to make a long weekend out of it.  We stayed one night in downtown Knoxville and the rest of our weekend in Gatlinburg.  Knoxville was surprisingly fun!  We enjoyed a great little dinner downtown after Kyle’s work seminar.  It was a local little spot that was near the University so there was a good amount of college students there…made it fun.  I fit right in with my big ol’ belly! ;)

The next morning we drove up to Gatlinburg (the mountains) and that is where we spent the rest of the weekend.  We ate at a lot of great little places and did a lot of the touristy activities.  Over the 2 full days that we were there we visited a bunch of the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not attractions…aquarium, car museum, haunted house mini golf and a magic show.  We had a lot of fun and it was great to be able to spend time together. 

On our way to the mountains.

 Dollywood!!

The view from our room.

The Aquarium.

Sunset from our room.

Magic Show!

Yeah..I made him get in! ;)

Stud.

And...we got stuck for 45 minutes in a parade of the way home.  Traffic both ways were just stopped totally...only in Tennessee!

•  How far along? 23 1/2 weeks.
• Total weight gain: Up 10ish lbs.
• Maternity clothes?  Yes.
• Stretch marks? Nope.
• Sleep: Great.
• Miss Anything? Nope…not yet.
• Movement: Yes, a lot!!
• Food cravings: Any sweets.
• Food aversions: Nothing!
• Gender: BOY.
• Labor Signs: Nope.
• Symptoms: Nothing at all.
• Belly Button in or out? In.
• Wedding rings on or off? On.
• Looking forward to: Going to CA for Christmas.

                    

   

 Fun baby fact (from pregnancy journal):

     

  This week your baby's eyelids will open, although he won't be able to see much because the womb is dark - it will get lighter as the skin stretches - and his visual range is limited until a few weeks after birth.

 

Happy Thanksgiving & Our 1st Baby Shower

This year Kyle and I spent Thanksgiving in Utah with family and friends.  Our flights weren’t bad at all, thankfully.  Now that we live in Nashville there aren’t any direct flights to see family so we get to have a layover every time! ;) That’s what we get for moving so far from everyone! 

It is always great going to Utah because there is so much family that lives close together.  It makes it real easy to get together for games, food, movies, baking and catching up…perfect little vacation.  

This year I am thankful for so many things, I don't even know where to begin.  

Just a few:

Our Heavenly Father whom I receive blessings from every single day...

A wonderful caring husband that supports and loves me...

Our families and there unconditional love for both Kyle and I...

Baby Parker - he has blessed our lives so much and he isn't even hear yet

We were also blessed enough to have our first baby shower!  We planned on having our baby showers a little early just so I don’t have to fly all over when I am huge and uncomfortable.  Kyle’s Mom and Aunt’s did an AMAZING job planning the shower and getting everything together.  I was so impressed.  Kyle’s Aunt Karen had the shower at her house and really went above and beyond with all of the little details.  She is so crafty and creative!  Everything turned out perfect.  It was great seeing all the family and friends and being able to catch up.  

Thank you to everyone who came to the shower!  Baby Parker is already so very spoiled!!

So...I have a new love in my life...

besides this bouncing baby boy that never let's me forget about him. ;)

It's name?

PINTEREST!

If you haven't heard about it then you better get with it!

Check me out here:

http://pinterest.com/valmarant/

P.S. It's slightly addicting!

20 weeks - half way!

It has been a big week over here! We had our 20 week ultrasound which is also sometimes called an Anatomy Scan.  This is a big scan that provides a lot of information about the baby.  We left the doctors office with a bunch of pictures and we were also told that baby is FOR SURE a boy! YAY!

     NOTE: He now looks human! =)

The ultrasound took about 30 minutes and the ultrasound technician measured everything! Baby boy’s head, heart, kidneys, arms, legs, feet, hands and chest all measured perfectly! He is in the 75^th percentile and is estimated to weigh 13 ounces already!

Fun fact from my pregnancy journal:

At 20 weeks your baby’s first teeth will have developed in his gums.

Let’s hope he doesn’t have 6 wisdom teeth like his Momma! =)

• How far along? 20 weeks, half way!! Yikes!
• Total weight gain: Up 4 lbs.
• Maternity clothes?  All of my clothes are now maternity except sweats.
• Stretch marks? Nope.
• Sleep: Great.
• Miss Anything? Nope.
• Movement: Yes, he is an active one! =)
• Food cravings: Chocolate…yum.
• Food aversions: Nothing!
• Gender: BOY…for sure!
• Labor Signs: Nope.
• Symptoms: Nothing much besides my belly starting to itch.
• Belly Button in or out? In.
• Wedding rings on or off? On.
• Looking forward to: Seeing all of our Utah family is less than a week!

18 weeks

IMPORTANT ANNOUCEMENT: 

I feel human again!!  =)

I am not having any symptoms which I am loving!  I am eating what I want, sleeping like a baby and not falling asleep the second I walk in the door.  Life is good! 

Although this blog is helping me keep track of what is going on with my pregnancy I also have a pregnancy journal that I picked up from Barnes and Nobles.  I write down what I am feeling like week to week, if there is anything new and there are some spots where I can add pictures of ultrasounds.  One of the things that I love the most about the pregnancy journal is that there are little updates of what is going on with the baby and what he is up too.  

Here is this weeks:

Your baby’s eyes are now sensitive to light and his eye muscles are strong enough to move from side to side while looking down.  He will also be able to hear loud noises, though he will be unable to interpret them until the third trimester.

It is so crazy to me that he is already so far along in his development! Grow baby boy, grow!

• How far along? 18 weeks
• Total weight gain: Down still.
• Maternity clothes?  Yes, all of my jeans are now maternity but I can still get away with regular shirts and sweats.
• Stretch marks? Nope.
• Sleep: Great.
• Miss Anything? Nope.
• Movement: Yes, our little man is moving around like crazy!
• Food cravings: Not anything particular this week.
• Food aversions: Nothing!
• Gender: BOY!!!!
• Labor Signs: Nope.
• Symptoms: Not much...odd.  I am feeling normal again.
• Belly Button in or out? In.
• Wedding rings on or off? On.
• Looking forward to: Visiting family in Utah later this month.  

16 weeks - belly picture!

Not much has changed in the last week so I am keeping this short and sweet!  

This is what's new this week...first belly picture – 16 weeks!

 Yikes!! =)

15 weeks and it's a....................................

                                                           .

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                                                           .

                                                           .

                                                           .

                                                           .

                                                           .

                                                           .

                                                           .

                                                         

                                             BOY

Being the impatient person that I am I couldn't wait until 20 weeks to find out what we were having so we went to an off site ultrasound location.  The ultrasound technician made it clear that sometimes babies don't cooperate and that we may have to come back in a couple weeks to try again.  Luckily, our little one cooperated just fine and was putting on quite the show in there. 

Ultrasound tech: "So..it is defiantly a boy!" 

Me: "Awww...a baby boy, he is so cute!"

Kyle: "So how sure are you that it's a boy?"

Ultrasound tech: "Ummm...99%.  Let me know in April if I am wrong!"

This is what a 4D ultrasound looks like at 15 weeks 3 days. Usually 4D ultrasounds aren't done until 28 weeks.  He is boney but still cute....to me!! =)

• How far along? 15 weeks 3 days
• Total weight gain: Down still.
• Maternity clothes?  Nope, not yet.
• Stretch marks? Nope.
• Sleep: Great.
• Miss Anything? Being able to work out like I did before getting pregnant.
• Movement: Nope, not yet!
• Food cravings: Mexican food and gummy bears…yum!
• Food aversions: Nothing!
• Gender: BOY!!!!
• Labor Signs: Nope.
• Symptoms: By the end of the day I am pretty tired.
• Belly Button in or out? In.
• Wedding rings on or off? On.
• Looking forward to: Feeling our little baby BOY move around.  

Blues, greens and yellows here I come!

10 weeks!

Time is dragging over here and I think it is because of this lovely little symptom called ALL DAY SICKNESS!  In my world there is no such thing as morning sickness.  Other than this all day sickness things are going good with baby and I.

This is our ultrasound photo from a couple weeks ago.  Baby looks just like Kyle and I, don't you think? =)

• How far along? 10 weeks
• Total weight gain: Down still.
• Maternity clothes?  Nope, not yet.
• Stretch marks? Nope.
• Sleep: Great…but I need more of it!
• Miss Anything? FOOD!
• Movement: Nope, too early.
• Food cravings: What food?
• Food aversions: Everything besides apples…weird.
• Gender: 5 more weeks and hopefully we will be able to find out.
• Labor Signs: Nope.
• Symptoms: All day sickness.  Tired ALL the time.
• Belly Button in or out? In.
• Wedding rings on or off? On.
• Looking forward to: Feeling good enough to eat again.

Baby Time!

So…uhh…looks like it’s baby time over here!

Kyle and I couldn’t be more excited for our new addition that will be here in 9ish months!  My due date is April 4^th, 2012! Ahhhh…crazy!  I already have a great doctor and he only delivers at a certain hospital so that is already decided.  April is so perfect here in Nashville...no snow, warmer weather but not humid yet…PERFECT!

It’s time to start researching baby girl and baby boy nursery ideas, thinking of possible names and reading about what we are going to be going through for the next 9ish months…I need to be prepared! =) 

Some books that have been recommended to me so far:

Belly Laughs – done!

What to Expect When Expecting

Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy 

It’s time to get busy!

Wedding Bells!

The summer wedding season has begun! Come June we have been having friends and/or family getting married every month.  Since we live in the middle of nowhere (just kidding, sort of) we had to pick which events we were going to.  We decided to go to Idaho for Kelsey’s wedding this month!  Kelsey is Kyle’s cousin that we don’t get to see all that much.  Most of the Anthony family lives in Idaho so we don’t get to see them as often as we would like.  Kyle’s Aunt Laurie was also there visiting and I had never met her before so that was great! 

It was great being able to just relax and spend time with family.  Cole’s family was also able to make the trip up there so it was great to see them and the kids.  Elizabeth and Nathan are getting so big and they are getting the cutest personalities.  

On Friday we went to the wedding at the Idaho Falls Temple.  It was beautiful!  Saturday was the reception in the botanical garden and it was great!  The weather turned out to be perfect even though the clouds were a little scary looking! =)

The weekend flew by and we had a blast!  Our flight home didn’t go as planned (thank you mother nature)but we made it!