It's all of us here this time for the latest update!! We do our best to keep things "up-to-date" but frankly, sometimes life just gets in the way... hahaha... Between softball season, laundry to do, packing to get started on, garbage to take out, growing people and preparing to move, there's just ALOT going on in our lives right now!! hahaha..

Everyone is wonderful - just eating and resting and growing and doing our best to take time out to smell the roses and really enjoy this pregnancy!! We're having a blast!!! It's really been wonderful. =o)

We've started to collect paper boxes from work so we can begin packing to move to our new apartment at the end of August. Those boxes are stacked everywhere, and Mommy being the neat freak that she is, well, it's starting to get to her!! hahaha......We're sooo blessed with how we found our new home!!! Our apartment manager was moving to a smaller place, and her apartment was becoming available and she offered it to us first!!! Obviously with less than 800 sq ft and a new person coming into our lives, we were desperate for more space. Our new home was becoming available at the exact time our current lease was expiring. Perfect timing! We were able to get a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom FIRST FLOOR apartment with 1120 sq ft - yea for Daddy who's knees were having a hard time on those stairs!!! The apartment also has a few upgrades like California Closets and hardwood floors - love that!! It's WELL within our budget and we're sooo blessed for that!!!

Mommy bought her first body pillow to help with some of the aches and pains that she's been having at night. She's spent a few nights getting up in the middle of night to move to the couch because you can sleep upright comfortably in there.... The corner of the couch is an easy nook to snuggle up in and get some rest!!! Eventually she realized that the huge body pillow was not exactly what she needed; she really needed something to support her tummy at night. Daddy convinced her that he was RIGHT and she broke down and went to Babies R Us and got a Body Wedge. It's basically like a HUGE wedge of cheese that slips right under the belly when you lay on your side for perfect support. Now I'm not saying that later, as I get bigger, that I won't need the body pillow but for now, this works. Still a little achy but comes with the territory, right?!

One of Mom's new cravings is filling comfort food. Macaroni & cheese, turnip greens, pinto beans with onion, cornbread, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, etc... Is anyone else hungry now?!! hahaha.... I'm sure that it's a phase and it will pass, just like the crunchy stuff and the veggie soup phases passed too!! =o)

On Saturday August 1, Daddy's church team, Team SOS, had a BIG tournament in Dayton, Tennessee. It was the ASA Church State Tournament and everyone traveled out of town to watch the team play. We left work early on Friday and got home to pack then we were on the road again. It took us a few hours to get to Dayton, but eventually everyone ended up at the hotel. We watched the movie Taken in the Theatre room and that was cool!!Then we we all went next door for dinner as a group - and our group is HUGE!!! Sorry guys, that's a comment on the number of people, not your girth!! hahahaha. Later we had devotion as a group and then everyone went to their rooms to try and get some rest for the next day....

Despite the rain from the previous few days, the tournament had a good turnout - 13 teams total and they were pretty good too!! We had a really big tent set up in the outfield so the wives could watch the games, but still not have to sit in the sweltering heat. I'm still not sure how the guys did it!! I know that they were burning up in those uniforms!.. But everyone managed to stay well hydrated while they played and rested and cooled down between games.



As the day progressed, the guys never lost a game and stayed in the winners bracket during the entire tournament. They played their last game that day at 6:00 pm and they won!!! They won the ASA Church State Tournament and it was awesome!!! Great day of ball and friends and fellowship!! So proud of all of them.... And of course, on the way home, we had to stop in Cookeville at Golden Corral to celebrate!!! Those boys LOVE a buffet!! hahaha.... =o)

We spent much of week 18 washing uniforms and recovering from the weekend!! We had so much fun, but it took until at least Wednesday to catch up on our rest!!! We recently found out that some friends of ours (Kristy & Matt) are also expecting and it's quite possible that they are expecting MULTIPLES!!! WOW!! She hopes to find out soon (they have 2 already!!).... That would be so exciting.. I know how excited we are with just one, so she's got to be overjoyed - scared, but overjoyed!!!

On Saturday Aug 8, we had dinner at Bo & Erin's house; they're old friends of ours and we haven't gotten together in a very long time!! Their little girl Leighanne is 4 years old now (I think) and is just adorable! Those big blue eyes will melt your heart. Our other friends Mike & Andrea were also there with their kiddos - Braden, Addison, and Ethan. Steve & Cara, some more friends of ours, also came and it was a blast!! Its funny how with some friends you can just pick right up where you left off. They're a special bunch and I'm glad that we were all able to reconnect.

Daddy had another softball tournament that day, so he wasn't able to join us for dinner. The church team, Team SOS, played in the ISA Church World tournament in Mt. Juliet and Daddy said it was a great day!! (It was really hot that day, almost 97 degrees, so Mommy stayed home in the A/C and tried to pack a little.) They met alot of church teams that have similar ministries to theirs and had a really good time playing them and getting to know them. This tournament had teams from all over the country playing in it - Mississippi, Alabama, Michigan, Wisconsin, etc - so it was the biggest tournament this year by far!!! They played hard all day, against some GREAT competition (the best they've played against this year, according to Daddy) but they fell just a little short... they placed 4th, but not bad for a World Tournament!!!! And Daddy hit .840 for the tournament too!!! hehehe....Go Daddy!!! =o)

Lil Duck just keeps growing and I am in amazement every day at how this little one is progressing..... During this week - week 17 - the little one weighs about 5 ounces (about as much as a turnip) and is about 5 inches long. The skeleton is changing to bone from soft cartilage, and the umbilical cord is growing stronger and thicker. Even tiny things are miracles, like he/she is starting to develop sweat glands!!! This is a glimpse of what we look like at week 17....





We are getting bigger by the day during week 18!!! Lil Duck is already about 5 1/2 inches long (that's like the size of a bell pepper!!!) and weighs almost 7 ounces (that's like 2 ounces more than just last week!!) He/She is so busy flexing arms and legs. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around the nerves, and this will continue for about a year after the baby's born. Not sure if it's a boy or girl yet - BUT - if it's a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If it's a boy, his genitals are noticeable now. This is a photo of how we look at week 18.



We have a dr's appointment on Tuesday August 11, and it's a big one. This will BY FAR be the best anniversary present ever (our 15 year wedding anniversary is on the 13th)!!!! This is the appointment where Mommy has her glucose test AND we have our first BIG ultrasound!!! We're praying that whether it's a boy or girl, that we're able to tell, and that the little one won't hide anything from us while we sneak a peek!!!! hehehe. =o)

We're so excited to share all of our new developments and accomplishments with everyone. Hope you're enjoying them like we are! Next time we post, we hope we're able to share the gender of our little miracle!!

We love you all,

Mommy, Daddy & Lil Duck!!

Hi everyone... thanks so much for keeping up with the blog...

It's been a while since we've updated but growing people is hard work!! We wanted to update everyone on how things are going for us during Weeks 15 & 16.....

We had a doctor's appointment on July 14th and were still recovering our awesome vacation... it takes a little longer to recover from those trips these days!! We were anxious to see if we would finally get to see our little one for the first time. We immediately asked the nurse if we would be able to have an ultrasound today, but she said no not this time; there wasn't one scheduled for us today. So naturally we were disappointed a little. I think I had gotten my hopes up because so many had told me that their sister/friend/etc had found out the sex around 13-15 weeks and I thought I might be able to also. =o(

The appointment started out a little different than most. Our nurse had to take my blood pressure 3 different times!!! At first, it was ALOT higher than usual - around 145/90. She knew that that was waaaaay off, so we tried it again. Well that one came out really high also - 140/90. At first I was a little concerned... "had my blood pressure gotten that high and I didn't know it? How much salt DID I eat on vacation? Hmmmm"..... So we resorted to doing things the old fashioned way - not the electronic BP monitor - we used the stethascope and sphygmomanometer ( I just call it the BP thingy)... Luckily our nurse was right because it was only 112/60.... Now THAT'S more like it!! My weight was right in target range, and I was surprised with all that I had eaten on vacation I didn't gain 20 pounds!! hahaha....

When Dr. Lipsitz arrived, she asked all the usual questions - How are you sleeping? How is your appetite? Has the nausea subsided? Is your energy back to normal? I was a little concerned because my hips had been hurting at times during the night, but she reassured me that it was normal; just use a pillow between your legs to relieve some of the pressure on your hips. My appetite was doing better BECAUSE my nausea was going away (FINALLY!!!). I hadn't gotten back into the swing of things with being so tired and having no energy but she said that it would come back soon. Around 15-18 weeks, most realize that they've slipped back into their usual routine with no problems.

Although we didn't get to "see" the baby, we did get to hear the heartbeat again. I assumed she would be able to find it quickly again, and after a minute or two when she hadn't, I started to get worried. Donald and Dr. Lipsitz both could see the concern on my face. She immediately said "I can hear the heartbeat just fine. I'm just trying to get it into a position that you can hear it clearly too.".. and that definitely calmed me down.. She had moved about 3-5 inches to the left of where she was a few weeks ago when we heard it the first time and I almost said "You're in the wrong place lady", but her years of medical school WAY out trump mine! hahaha. She found the heartbeat where we could hear it and it was just like I remembered..... "Wub, wub, wub, wub".... so sweet!! It was a little deeper than last time, but it was healthy and that's all that mattered... Our little one is growing so fast!!

July 16 was my birthday and we went to one of my favorite restaurants, Tully's, with Jim & Jill (Uncle Rico & Aunt Jill) to celebrate. I'm finding that my tastebuds are a little different now than they were a few months ago because I ordered the crabcakes (so excited about them) and they were, well, different.... so I ate what felt like half of Donald's steak and my sides, and of course we got dessert!! CHEESECAKE!! YUM!!! We'll definitely go back again, but I may steer clear of the seafood next time. Hahaha.....

Daddy had a softball tournament on July 18th with his team ARS. It was the ISA State tournament. This is the team that he plays on with Jim, Pepe & Joey and the other guys. They played hard all day, starting at 8:00. It was way to early for Mom to get up and going on a weekend so I slept in and went out to the fields later. The guys ended up finishing 5th in the state!! Great Job!!

I can be perfectly honest and say not much of anything happened during week 16 except catching up on some rest and doing laundry. Oh wait, I did get a haircut that week! hahaha.. but like I said, not much happened..

Daddy did have a BIG ball tournament to get ready for on Saturday so he rested during the week with me too!! July 25th was the NSA State tourney and he was playing with ARS again. These guys are great, their wives & girlfriends are fun and they're just alot of fun to hang out with. It was another early start time - 8:00 again - and I slept in again and went to the ballpark later. Plus it was crazy hot that day too.... The guys played a tough group of teams this time around and they still managed to finish 5th in the state again!! So proud of my boys!!! =o)

During week 15, we continue to see alot of changes in our little one... He/She is about 4 inches long now and weighs about 2 1/2 ounces, like the size of an apple. The air sacs in the lungs are starting to develop. The legs are growing longer than the arms now, and he/she can move all of the joints and limbs. Although the eyelids are still shut, the baby can even sense light. Here's a picture of how we look at 15 weeks.



Week 16 we had to prepare ourselves for a growth spurt. We found out that in the next few weeks, our Lil Duck will double his/her weight and add inches to his/her length. Right now, the baby is about the size of an avacado; about 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. The legs are much more developed and the head is more erect than it has been. (This part amazes me) The patterning of the baby's scalp has started but you can't see hair yet. Even the little ears are almost done moving into position. Lil Duck's heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day!!!! AMAZING!!! God is Good!!! Here's a picture of how we are developing at 16 weeks.



Hope everyone enjoyed our latest update. We're finding that for "catch up" purposes, that 2 weeks at a time helps - especially if it's been a busy time for us.. Bear with us as we do our BEST to update everyone on our exciting time!!

We love you all,
Mom