Baby Showers!!

It's getting to be that time where friends and family are starting to gather and come together to shower Baby Girl Pumphrey with all the things she needs. This little girl already has so many people that love her, and they haven't even been drawn in by big beautiful eyes, cute smile or infectious laugh yet (all of which I am sure she will have).

Last week, my co-workers showered her with lots of love. It was a fantastic shower, and the best part was that I knew how to use everything that was given to us. It was a HUGE fear of mine to be sitting in the shower and trying to smile at a gift that I knew nothing about nor how to use it (think back to the show Friends when Rachel had her shower...I didn't want to feel like that). Anyway, we were given tons of stuff from bottles to clothes to books and the staff gave a group gift of the playyard we signed up for on our registry. Whew! A big thing off our list. We were very excited to receive this gift because we planned on using this bassinet option as Baby Girl's bed until she is 15 lbs. We didn't want to see any of our friends nor ourselves waste money on a bassinet and sheet and the stuff to go with it that wouldn't be used past a certain weight. Plus now that we have a playyard we can take her to grammy's in houston with no trouble, and it comes with a flying bag, so grandma and grandpa can enjoy her in Seattle too! Anyway, we are so blessed and thankful for everything given to us, and don't worry the sign-up sheet for babysitters and holding time has a few spots open...in 2013 that is...just kidding. Thanks for all the love!



The decor

Then this past weekend, Saturday, I threw Mike a little "Diapers for Dad" shower at one of his favorite places, TopGolf. We have been a couple of times, but because it is a little far out there for us and especially for our Fort Worth friends, we haven't been nearly as many times as Mike would want to, so I invited a bunch of Mike's buddies to join him at TopGolf. The motto was "Diapers. Dudes. Drinking. Duh!"...and that's just what they did. The guys were told in the invitation to bring a package of diapers in order to gain a gamer card - and you should have seen what our dining room table looked like when Mike got home. WOW! The boys did VERY well! Oh and the best part, I sent Mike to the party with a shirt that read "I'm on Diaper Duty" I think he liked it a lot. I bet we will be seeing more of it soon ;) Needless to say, from what I heard they all had a blast. They had "manly" foods served - angus beef sliders, pulled pork sliders and daddy juice aka beer. I love that I was able to throw him a party, and that so many of his friends/relatives could make it out - I think there were 20-22 people in attendance, and the best part - I haven't heard a single complaint :)

I will have to post the picture of the dining room table and/or the closet with all the diapers pilled on/in it when I download it from the camera. Again, truly blessed. And I will get Daddy-to-Be-Mike P to pose in his fun shirt.

Lots of love,

Jaime

Illinois: a wedding, lots of food and pregnant women dancing

Whew! Last time I wrote was on May 2, and so much has happened since then - and many of them firsts. Where to start...Mike and I were given clearance from my doctor that we could safely travel to Illinois for Mike's brother, Richard's, wedding, so booked a flight and headed that way Thursday, May 3, but before we got on the plane, we had to do the unthinkable...leave our fun-loving, happy-go-lucky puppy, Boscoe at a boarding place. I think I barely got any sleep the night before wanting to spend the entire morning before his drop-off playing and loving on my puppy. We set off on our journey to Paradise 4 Paws around noon...we're pretty sure Boscoe thought he was headed to see Kingston because he was excited to be in the car...but we were really leaving him for 4 days! Mike took the leash when we got there, and walked him around the facility, took him to the pet water fountain in the lobby, and we said our good-byes to a very happy dog. We got him to the facility in time for "play time" in the pool area, so I am sure he was in heaven when we left him. Then they drove us over to the airport. This boarding place was pretty cool. It is about 2 miles outside the airport, so with your stay you get airport transportation and free over-night car parking. Anyway, we got to the airport, went through security and headed to the plane. The flight was short and sweet. Once to our destination, we met up with Vance, Lisa, Faustine (+1...yay! Baby Girl will have a friend in Seattle too!), Craig and Marley, Richard's boston terrier. Got our wheels for the weekend - a suburban, and were off to Illinois! Drove through some pretty iffy weather...the weather radar on the ipad showed we were in the black...never having seen black on a weather map until then, I hope to never see it again. Safely made it to the hotel, dropped off our bags, then headed back out to meet Mylie!!! When we got to Mylie's parent's house, they were busy making the wedding cake, so our trip over was a little short, but well worth it. It was nice meeting everyone, and we got to reunite Marley with Richard...and introduce him to Mylie's 2 dogs. That night sleep was awesome! Then Friday we woke up, met for breakfast in the lobby, and figured out the plan for the day. We had thought about heading over to Wrigley Stadium, but quickly dropped that idea when we found out the stadium was 3 hours from Peoria, and we wouldn't make it back in time for the rehearsal. Instead, the boys hung out and a few of us played mahjong. I would love to be able to insert that I won, but Vance and Lisa had the table. I think Faustine and I might have one a hand or two, but nothing compared to them. After a few games and lunch, we went to Mylie's grandparent's house for the rehearsal. They had a pretty nice house with some cool antique gas pumps and very eclectic array of tools hung on the wall of the garage with one interesting feature - a chicken foot giving the finger - I think that was the most photographed thing of them all the whole night. They served us some of the best food that night - pulled pork with sweet baby ray's bbq sauce, the BEST mashed potatoes EVER and 3 kinds of dessert - my kind of people! Then we went outside to get the actual rehearsal in before the sun was completely gone. Afterwards we went back to the hotel where the boys had some fun! I think Mike made it back to the room a little after 2 am, and things were still going on - you know what they say, what happens in Illinois stays in Illinois. Then next morning, Saturday, the girls were up and at 'em by 7 am eating breakfast and heading over to the wedding site to start decorating. Mylie wore the cutest hoodie that said future Mrs. Pumphrey. We got everything done there, and then went off to eat...again. Now that I think about it, we ate a lot, like food was at the center of everything we did. After eating, we had a little bit of down time to shower and rest before heading back to the wedding site to see a wedding!

The wedding was gorgeous! It was an indoor/outdoor wedding with the ceremony outdoors and the reception inside a giant white air-conditioned (!!) tent. The tent had some great lighting with lots of candles and twinkling lights around the poles that held the tent up. We did some dancing - I did the pregnant woman's version of "shout" - after the song one woman actually came up to me and asked if I was trying to cause a delivery for that night - I think she was over reacting a little, but I did kick up my heels during a few songs. It was so much fun!

The next morning, we ate some more breakfast, and then piled in the car to make our way to St. Louis. During the ride we played car bingo, ate at Dairy Queen and laughed a lot.

And that was our weekend!

I was a little swollen Monday - I had sausage toes, but the swelling since then has left, and everything seems to be back to normal. I went to the doctor this afternoon for my check-up, and I was told my BP is perfect, my glucose levels are perfect, and the baby's BP (150) is perfect. Next appointment is May 24, and it will probably be the same as this appointment. I was told the one 4 weeks from now will be the "fun" one that Mike will want to be at because we get a look at the baby and I get checked to see if anything is happening internally that is either good/bad or shows signs of baby coming. My doc said, "That's the appointment where it all starts getting real!"

And on that note, I will end this long post. Pictures to come of the wedding and the fun we had in Illinois soon!

Lots of Love,

Jaime

PS

Mike and I finally got registered...Babies R Us and Burlington Coat Factory's Baby Depot :)



Mike and Richard



Me and Faustine...playing with the brochures from Men's Warehouse



Mike and Richard with their Grandparents



Craig and Faustine...and October 2012 Baby!!!



 

Me and Mike...and June/July 2012 Baby!!!



Taylor and Amanda...and October 2012 Baby!!!

 

Richard and his Uncle Matt!





The beautiful center pieces that we put together. Mylie did a great job envisioning her reception site; we just helped set things up.





all the pregnant ladies








Mike's Uncle Vaughn, Aunt Tawanna and Grandpa Olan :)




Richard with Lisa. I think Mike and his mom have a picture like this from our wedding.




Mylie - the new sister in law :)



Handsome Men!



G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S DRESS!



 



The very fun bridesmaids



Mylie and her father made this cake together. What a talented family ;)



Richard surprised Mylie with her brother on scype all the way in Afghanistan. It was a special moment when he presented the gift during the wedding ceremony. Brownie points forever!




The Pumphrey's



The Horrer - Pumphrey Bunch



Latest doctor's appointment and 'babymoon'

Our last appointment, the 30 week-er, was supposed to be last Tuesday, but I rescheduled it due to work (a good thing, I promise!). I ended up meeting up with Dr. Larsen last Thursday. It was exactly 1 hour and 12 minutes long...how do I know the exact time, well, they gave me a 60-minute timer right when I got into the exam room, and I am always looking at the time in the waiting room. Anyway, why was a timer given to me? I had a test. My glucose test. I would not describe this as enjoyable, but I also wouldn't put it in the horrible category - I would say it was just unpleasant. They gave me 5 minutes to down a small plastic cup of orange flavored juice. The juice was more like orange soda minus the carbonated soda water, just the flavored syrup. You can bet I was wishing I had my toothbrush after downing it, but I had to wait. And did I wait - an hour. I got my weight in (lower than average, but perfect for the baby, YAY!), my blood pressure taken (which I was told was "like you aren't even pregnant" I am going to say, that's a good thing), and waited some more. Once the 60-minute timer went off, they took a few vials of blood to test the sugar and other levels - and I got a shot. I am A- blood type, so as a preventative for other babies Mike and I might have in the future, I had to get an Rh factor shot...in the left butt cheek. It hurt. They keep the medicine in the fridge, so they warned me beforehand that it would sting - and that it did, but I am a trooper when it comes to needles.

The trick is not to look when they poke you, and to continue talking to the person administering the injection. I promise I warn these folks that I have to talk to get through the shot...they usually seem ok with it. I guess if I were a nurse I would rather have someone talk my ear off about the weather or their dog or even their new shoes than to hear anyone cry or whimper due to the necessity of getting a shot. I will teach Baby Pea the same techniques - you know this little girl is going to be a talker!

Oh, and her heart rate was 148. Doctor said it's fine that it went below 150 - I, of course, got a little nervous since every other appointment it has been higher. She said that as the baby gets bigger and space gets tighter that it is only natural that the heartbeat will drop a little. We would only be concerned if it went below 130. She is in the cradle position low in my belly, so doctor said she is making my pregnancy easy because if she were higher it would be more difficult to breathe, but her position to me makes for long nights and many potty breaks along with a little difficulty bending over.

That's my appointment, but here's the best part about the last week - baseball and old friends. Each year for the past 6 years I have been a part of handling a special group party at the office, and this year I got to show off the belly...I think there were more hands on my belly that ever before! The comment that was made was, "...and to think I knew you before you were even engaged..." To fun! It happened all week long during the Rangers home stand. It made me pretty proud of our clients and made me realize that our clients choose us because we are a lot like them - we are all so personable.

Now onto the fun! Work is over this lovely Monday in 15 minute, and when it is over my weekend begins! Tomorrow Mike and I head out to Illinois for Mike's brother's wedding. Our day will start probably with some last minute packing, then playing with Boscoe and taking him on the longest journey of his life...to Dallas. We are sending our little boy to Paws 4 Paradise, a beautiful doggy boarding place complete with his own 4x11' suite and a dog bone shaped pool, cuddle time, recess and nightly bedtime brushing. What a spoiled little guy. It was actually a groupon deal or we probably wouldn't be setting him up in such accommodations. Needless to say, once we get there we will tour the place with Boscoe to transition him into the facility, say our good-byes and head to the airport to fly to St. Louis to meet up with family where we will then venture to Washington, Illinois...and from there the fun begins, but this post ends. More to come when I return from our last vacation as two to watch two become one!

Lots of love,
Jaime

Baby Belly Pics

I know a bunch of people have been waiting to see these...my belly progress...I know there are weeks missing, and for that I am sorry. I will be better at this photo thing at week 30...I hear that is when the BIG changes start to happen, although I would say not fitting into my pants was a pretty BIG change for me. I am currently in love with the belly band and stretchy sun dresses :)

WEEK 16

WEEK 27

WEEK 28...and the belly button is still in!

Lots of Love,

Jaime

Pumphrey Family Update

Odd title, huh? But all of a sudden I wanted to write about everyone, me, Mike, Baby Pea and Bosoce. That puppy dog is getting cuter and cuter as the months go by, and I realized he never gets any time on here for praise. He has been quite the social dog recently. He met up with his BFF Kingston (Stephanie and Richard's dog) a couple weeks ago for a fun outing. They did so well together walking the Trinity river then hanging out at the Edgett's. We are now working on making this happen a couple Sunday's a month. The last weekend, we took Mr. Boscoe to the Fort Worth Food Truck Park with Steph, Richard, Kingston and Delana (+Ryan, who will join us in less than 3 weeks!!!!) (too fun!). Boscoe really enjoyed the time outside, meeting new people and other puppies, AND trying the new food. Mike and I both had what Lee's Grilled Cheese Truck called the Back Breaker. This was the BEST grilled cheese I have ever had. It was made with sourdough bread, cheese, macaroni and cheese, and bbq pulled pork! I could only eat half of this sandwich, and Mike's sandwich was not cut down the center well, so he ate all the layers off the top to the bottom slice of bread, so what did we do with the left overs - let's just say BOSCOE was in HEAVEN!

Afterwards since we were in the area, and wanting to make the rounds among friends, we stopped at Kortney and Joe's house to find them doing yard work, and Josie dozing among them. They are such a great family, and seem to have transitioned so well with Josie - she is getting to be so cute and smiled at me!! I am so excited to see how well she does with our baby when she arrives. I still can't believe that by July our group of friends will have 3 little ones under the age of 1. It is mind-blowing!

This same weekend we got to hang out with Lindsay and Dillon, and Ryan and Christina. Our mutual friend, Kelly, just got married. What a wedding! She was gorgeous, and put her own personal touches to the wedding that made it so memorable. For instance, she had the flower girls come down the aisle before her, but once the wedding march came on and the doors opened for Kelly, we saw three little "princess" girls ahead of her all in white with tiaras - I just loved it! Then the reception was at the Blue Mesa grill with casino tables. Mike loves the casino theme, and I enjoyed coming up with my "Boo-ya" moves at the roulette table - Dillon did his best moves too :)

The rest of the weekend was all about garages. First, we went garage sale hunting, found a couple things like computer games, a lazy susan and a couple pieces of clothing for Baby Pea. Second, we dealt with our garage door. Unfortunately, we have to replace the door that we have, but glad that this is happening now and now when the baby comes. Next we will deal with our car issues, like my driver's side window being stuck in the down position...yesterday, was fun and a little terrifying for someone like me who parks near the grass under a tree and is deathly afraid of bees...I was so nervous that a bee had gotten in may car while I was at work. Crazy thing is, I was more nervous for bees being in my car than for someone stealing my car or breaking into it. My priorities might need a little help LOL.

Mike's big weekend is this coming weekend. There is a show out in Carrollton that he has to attend, then there is an AWESOME pancake breakfast with the City of Everman Fire and Police. We LOVE going to the breakfast because the chief is just fun. He will talk with everyone. He has a memory for faces and names, and the food is fantastic! They serve this ben-e-keith sausage that I only wish we could buy at any grocery store - YUMMY! Then we are going to one of Mike's buddy from softball's house for a game night, and of course, we are hoping to do a doggy meet-up for a walk with the Edgett's. It is going to be one full weekend!

And little Baby Pea, well she got a new outfit from mommy and hangers! A little girl can never have too many hangers! Her heart rate has stayed consistent every time we have been to the doctor's. Today is was 152 beats per minute. Dr. Larsen also said that at this point she is pretty sure that we (baby and me) should be able to go to Mike's brother's wedding May 5 in the Chicago area. She suggested flying over driving due to the fact that we would be suggested to stop ever 2 hours to walk around in order to keep blood clots from forming. We (baby and me) will get the complete go ahead on April 24 when we go back for our monthly check-up.

Next appointment April 24 (as a 30 year old!!!! whew!!!!) calls for the glucose test and my RH factor shot...it will be one long appointment.

Next post will be all about the TEXAS RANGERS OPENING DAY! 10 days away!

Lots of Love,
Jaime

...and the kick is good!!!

No, I'm not talking about how Peyton Manning has joined the Denver Broncos...

Mike felt the baby kick!!!! She must have really enjoyed my splurge on some Ben & Jerry's Double Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream last night because Mike undoubtly felt the kick and all the movement!!!! He was pretty impressed by all of her turns, kicks and everything...even turned to me at one point, and said, "...so this is what you feel all the time??" I love that he can now share in some more cool moments with baby even before she is here with us.

Food for thought...

I thought the title would be a fun to tell about my first baby class as a future mom. Last night, I went to an intro to breast feeding class with Delana. Delana is due April 18, but pretty sure she is going to pop sooner than later (so excited!!! she is having a baby boy - possibly my future son-in-law...baby girl has a few suiters already and she isn't even here. Hope she is happy with mom's choice.) Anyway, we met up at Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital, which neither of us chose to deliver at but the location is ideal for a meet-up. We found our way to the meeting room to find the instructor and one other couple in the room...and the instructor was having technical difficulties with her computer connection, and ended up forgoing on the use of the computer entirely. A couple other couples and moms started to arrive, and class started up. The first thing we came to know about Irene, our instructor, is that she is a HUGE proponent of breast feeding not only because of the healthy aspects of it but also because she nursed her kids...but that's not the most impressive thing about Irene...she nursed her baby girl for 10 months and her baby boy for two and a half years!!!!!!!!! Both Delana and I were pretty sure that if our kids can walk and talk...and have teeth...that there is no way we will still be nursing but rather heading to the grocery store and grabbing some steak for them to chew on, but to each their own opinion.

Shortly after all the introductions, we got a introduction to the breast anatomy. Interesting...then came the nipple. She had a boob stuffed toy that she used to demonstrate a regular nipple, and with the tug of a string an inverted nipple. Again, interesting...then she started the video. This video was probably seen by our mothers...or maybe our parents are in the video because there was bog hair, big glasses, mustaches on the men and oversized blouses on the women. One would think, they would have updated the video in 20 years, but I guess the techniques are still the same - no need to spend the money just to make the people look good. And really, the video was great. I don't think I have ever seen a woman nurse before. I'm pretty sure I learned a few things...I won't go into detail about this part, but let's just say I will follow the 4 P's (patience, perseverance, progress...guess I only remember 3 of them, but the video made me think I was ready for this) and make it through the hard first couple days, and the baby will grow to have many health benefits from my milk (and let's not forget the economic benefit for both me and mike). Hoping the other classes like baby basics, baby cpr, and breathing leave me feeling prepared as well...we will see.

And that's the latest on Baby Girl Pumphrey. Next week, I will probably write about our doctors appointment which is scheduled for next Tuesday, but for now I will leave you with the thoughts of boobs.

Fab Finds for Baby Girl Pumphrey by Aunt Sarah

This entire post is to thank my sister for introducing me to probably one of the most addictive facebook pages I have ever know about…Greatwood Maternity and Baby site. I have been a facebook-er for awhile, but never really thought there was anything good about it – with exception to the social upkeep with family and friends, but then Sarah came along and invited me into this site full of ladies that post cheap items some with tags still attached and some claiming to only have been worn once and in great shape both for baby and for mommy-to-be. She has told me that she is very active on the site, and I really have just been an onlooker – until last Wednesday…when I started tagging Sarah in all sorts of items from little girl dresses to a maternity top. I thought we would probably never win the war that ensues throughout the site…I mean some of these ladies mean business, and are posting that their desire for a dress, top, outfit within seconds of the post, BUT we won! We won a new top for me and the cutest dress for Baby Girl Pumphrey! (And all of it cost less that $10!) Go Sarah!!! Needless to say, I am now totally obsessed with this site. I am also so thankful that Sarah is willing to drive all over her ritzy neighborhood to pick up items that I see and want. You’re awesome! Baby Girl Pumphrey will be so blessed to have an Aunt like you!

Crud…I missed writing again…

(written Friday) I want to preface this with telling you where I am right this very moment. I am sitting at my desk at 12:53 pm on a Friday afternoon waiting for the printer repair man to “work his magic”…yes, that would be the same magic he brought to the table when he arrived at 10 am…I am starting to believe he really brought with him empty promises. Needless to say, I just told him the office is closing for the day. This excuse works in many ways, Barnett is gone to lunch, the accounting office left for their half day and so did the receptionist…leaving me here all alone.

Ok, time to get off my pedestal of belief that if you can’t get a machine to work in less than 3 hours that you probably need to compare your notes to the other technicians, and come back another day.

On to the baby news! You all remember I am still pregnant even though I haven’t been writing my thoughts and happenings down in a timely manner, right? Well, not only am I just pregnant, but I am – scratch that, Mike and I, are having a GIRL! We are so excited! It is such a fun feeling to know what you are having, and the weirdest part of it all is that as soon as we knew the babies gender, the hopes and dreams we had for the baby doubled, even tripled. Who would have thought that would happen??!! Guess it’s because it makes this whole making a family thing even more real…I mean now we are thinking up names, room colors, clothes, and so forth – even to the point where we are wanting to make sure she has money not only for college but also for a future wedding! Whoa!

So before we even knew it would be a girl, we painted the room.  I give Stephanie, my design inspiration, and Lindsay, my architectural designer (also nicknamed the “government worker” by Mike – that’s a fun story I will have to tell at a later time) all the credit on how the accent wall looks. We used a paint called Grace’s Smile by Mythic. It has little to no smell to it, and it baby and mommy to be safe so I didn’t have to wear a mask J The before and after pictures are below.

The next weekend is when (blog post finished today, Monday) we had Lisa, Mike's mom, come into town. She requested in the very beginning to be able to scan the belly to tell the gender. I got permission from my doctor, and let it all happen. We also had our friend's, Candice and Buc, come out and have some fun with us. They are due July 4...4 days before me.

First, we did the drano test. The test requires one to pee in a cup, then pour it in a glass jar with crystal drano, stir and if there is a color change that means boy and if no change...GIRL! We had little to no change, meaning girl. Oh, and I should mention for those that decide to try the test at home, pregnant women must not do the mixing, the fumes are toxic to pregnant peeps, so have your hubby or mother-in-law do the mixing like I did :)

The machine was brought into the room, and we sent Candice and Buc upstairs, got the scype running with Vance and the speaker phone with my mom and niece. I laid down, got all gooped up, and Lisa proceeded to scan the top of my belly. She was a mover :) and a little uncooperative, so I laid a little more on my right side to see if we could get a better view, and sure enough, GIRL! Mike was thrilled! He kept squeezing my hand in excitement. Lisa was overjoyed since she had wished for a girl. Vance started thinking about how to spoil her; my mom was excited, and Brianna was thrilled to be able to pass down some of her favorite clothes to her new cousin. Everyone was happy!

Afterwards we switched rooms with Candice and Buc as they got scanned, but the conclusion of that story will come at a later time -- they have decided to keep the gender from the family, and will announce at a family gathering in California at the beginning of March. Either way, we are over the moon excited for them, and even more excited that we found out they live rather close to my mom, which means more people to visit and/or hang out with we we head south :)

The next day was filled with baby shopping. Baby Girl Pumphrey has the best wardrobe an unborn child could have ranging from cute pajamas with lamb feet to beautiful lady bug jumpers and a couple gorgeous dresses for special occasions and baseball games with clients when I return back to work. Oh, and the little one has the most beautiful bed. She got some new linens, blankets and changing pads. All she needs now is a bumper and pillows and fun decor on the walls, and we could be ready...hope you didn't believe that, we still have a closet full of junk and a couple baby classes to take, then maybe we will be ready for baby.

Accent Wall Before

Proud Papa with Crib he put together on superbowl sunday

Nursery furniture with accent wall on right

just a fun pic of my companies old office entrance which will be part of the ballpark concourse

our old entrance...

Baby at 18.5 weeks...measuring in at 19.4 weeks

Lisa with all the baby goodies :)

Flowers for Baby Girl Pumphrey to have in the office to show her off

PS We are over that hump...4 more months and a couple days left to go!

Where am I...

Sorry guys, I bet you all have been waiting around refreshing your internet browsers every hour on the hour and sitting on pins and needles waiting to hear what else has been going on with the Arlington, Texas Pumphrey's, but nothing has been written in weeks -- I hope you didn't give up on me! I was having fun, enjoying my vacation since I believe I will be working every day until the baby comes, so I can make sure I have enough time saved up to stay at home with the little pea...and, well, we only have one computer, and it was being used by the Mr. of the household most of the time...so you can see my dilemma.

But I am back, with a few fun stories :)

Let's go back a week or so, and I will tell you all a fun story about a baby we met. While at my friend, Stephanie's, house for her cousin-in-law's birthday, a baby arrived...she was precious, and the best part was that Mike and I were there and our friend, Joe, who is expecting a little one any day now...well, all eyes went to the three of us..."Wanna hold it?" "Come on, you know you wanna..." ...no of us jumped at the opportunity. We were all a little scared -- reality had just walked into Steph's house. I would say about an hour later I decided I would hold the little baby. I can't even imagine what my face looked like. I am hoping it didn't look as scared as I felt because even though I was just sitting there, I feared the possibility of dropping the little baby. So many scenarios ran through my head, but then she giggled and smiled at me. It's like she knew, and at that time, my shoulders eased up; I loosened up, and I started thinking, maybe I can be a mother :)

Then, we headed to an ugly Christmas sweater party held by our dear friends, Joe and Kortney. I am impressed by them so often especially lately. They are due January 12, and have been busily fixing up their house, decorating the nursery and working, and added to the top of their to-do list, they had a fantastic party! Mike and I were reigning champs on the sweaters, but this year, we got side-tracked by many other things that we had to abdicate the throne to some other friends, but just wait until next year...!

Christmas and New Year's were very low-key. We spent both in Texas, at home, without either of our families to keep us company, play games with or watch movies with. I am hoping that next year everything is different - which means, I really hope everyone comes here to celebrate with us, at our home, since we will have the baby and all...who wants to make new parents drive or fly long distances...<hint, hint> Needless to say, the holidays just went by like regular days. Nothing special. We did go to Mike's cousin, Robbie, and his wife, Angela's, church for Christmas Eve service, and afterwards they came over to our house to enjoy a slow-cooked bbq pork tenderloin with mashed potatoes, fresh green beans, corn and biscuits, yummy!

Oh, and I forgot, we went to a Dallas Stars game for Christmas Eve Eve. Mike is always talking about going again this season, so I thought since they had good ticket deals, I would see what I could do...well, no good ticket deals left when I called, but I still got some awesome seats for a price that I could justify (some seats were $300+...crazy) and we found a section and side of the arena that we both really like...Oh, and the Stars won!! 6-3...with 3 of our goals scored in the first 5 minutes of the first period, perfect start to the holiday season. Speaking of, the AV techs must have enjoyed a game this close to the holiday because they put together this entire video montage set to the transiberian orchestra. It was amazing!

The week of Christmas went by like a blur. All I really remember is that I went through an entire roll of paper towels in the process of cleaning the entire house, and filled up an entire trash bag with unnecessarily kept papers and magazines that were filling up the now guest room, future baby's room. Go me! We also spoiled the dog...we were joking last night that Boscoe was in store for a rude awakening today when he would have to be locked up in the crate while we were back at work. No mid morning or afternoon walks...no playing catch...he is probably depressed right now that no one is still home to play with him. Mike has new training tonight for work, and I will be joining Lindsay at yoga class...gotta make sure that me and the baby stay healthy through this whole pregnancy. Not looking forward to tomorrow morning when we rejoin our spin class which we took the last week and a half off from...

Ok, and my last note will be regarding the baby. I went to my last appointment of my first trimester Tuesday last week, and baby is doing great. No pictures taken :( but they did a Doppler test to hear the heartbeat. It came in at a healthy 155 beats per minute! Go little pea! Our next appointment is scheduled for January 24 at 8 am, so hopefully there will be a picture to post. And last but not least, Mike and I visited baby stores to ring in the new year, and we have found our crib...just gotta find a friend who is ready and willing to help us save $379 in shipping fees and help us pick it up at the store :) The shopping part is my favorite. The clothes are too cute these days.

Lots of love everyone!!!

~Jaime, Mike and Little Pea



Mike wore my outfit from last year...a little snug on him :)



Christmas has landed...

Mike and I have been very productive the last couple weekends with getting out the christmas decor. We had hoped to get it all done in one weekend, but last weekend it rained (which is not the best weather to be in while messing with ladders and electricty). However, we did succeed in getting the tree up and the stocking hung! They look fantastic! At first, we were a little nervous to see if it would fit since last year at this time we were still in limbo from apartment living to house living, but it fit and looks wonderful! We are getting quite the collection of ornaments too. Mike and I collect one from ever place we visit...we have one from Fort Worth, Maine, Vancouver, Seattle, Boston and a few others with TCU ornaments mixed in between. The newest addition this year was a "Good Dog" ornament with Boscoe's photo in it...althought we are thinking it should read good-almost-all-the-time dog. Still working on the jumping, digging and the puppy bitting, but other than that we can complain too much about the pup.

We also celebrated Mike's birthday this past week. We are completely the opposite when it comes to celebrating birthday's - while I do the whole month-long countdown, mike goes at birthdays a little more low-key. This year, though, we got a bunch of folks together at Ton's Mongolian Grill - wishing I had gotten a picture because we had most of the original Ton's crew together, plus got a free newbie to join in on the fun - next time, camera!

Oh, and we had another doctors appointment last Friday...nothing fun, just blood work. I did find out that since I am A-, I have to get a shot...I actually think I have to get 2 of them which isn't fun at all, but so far everything seems to be going smoothly! No complications at all just a little woosy at times :)

...Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives...

The start of a blog...

We will see how long this lasts. I am hoping to post as frequently as I can, but I am not a huge fan of using the computer at home. I think work should stay at work, and home fun should be just that fun! Needless to say, you will probably see the most activity either before 8am, during lunch or right after 5pm (we don't want to get the bosses mad.).

So let me follow-up my last post with how the parents took the news.

They are all over the moon! My mother will be going by "Grammy" as she alreasy does with Brianna, and Lisa and Vance are figuring out what they would like to be called. I was thinking it would be fun to go by "Mamacita," (taking from the spanish heritage of Jaime / hi-meh) but I think I will stick with the tried and true "Mom"...and Mike will probably go by "Dad."

Lisa is even going to do the untrasound in late January, early February to determine the gender of the baby (hopefully my mother will be able to come up to see this too!). I think we have given the family a good note to end the year on (this was a tough year for the Pumphrey's and Pacilio's with the loss of our grandmothers and a dear friend of ours in the beginning of the year), so to be able to share this news with everyone was a delight.

Oh, and my bosses have been so supportive. I feel very blessed to have them on my side. When I broke the news to them, it was soon after we found out, and the scared-jaime came to them with tears and fear that I would have to find a new job. Jim assured me that they have never fired anyone for getting pregnant, and with that assurance it seemed to rest some of my fears...but then I went in to tell my other boss, Mike. The tears started falling again, but his excitement turned my tears into laughter. Then there is Kellye, she is awesome. I gave her a beautiful quilt that my grandmother made, and the very next day she hands me this beautiful blanket that her granny made for grandbabies...she is so excited for us, and wants us to keep the gender from her until it is born...whew, that's going to be tough, but for her anything! I tell ya, I really do have the best bosses in the entire world.

Then word spread everywhere, and to everyone. It is such a blessing to have friends and family that are supportive and excited for anything and everything that happens to you because with each phone call my heart only got bigger and my excitement for the future got bigger too.

Thanks!

Oh, and I forgot to mention the most excited person...my sister!

The email that rocked the world...

Family & Friends,

I didn't get to everyone last night, and for that I am sorry (but don't worry I am still going to call even after this email is sent!). Oh, and for those I did reach and left a voicemail saying call me, we'll chat -- I left my phone on silent and left it at home when Mike and I went out...can I start blaming things on pregnancy brain?? Oh, that's right folks, I am preggers!

Right now we have an 8 week 6 day old blueberry in my belly that we have been affectionately referring to as the Pea in the Pod. Someday this little pea will have a name and a gender and all the other cutesy nicknames, but for now he/she will have to be OK with being referred to as a pea -- that's right, I can do anything I want, there's no talking back yet!

We don't know much about the Little Pea with the exception that the Little Pea does not like to lay down; I am hugely uncomfortable when I lay down to go to sleep. I am told this could end, but as I get bigger I will get even more uncomfortable, fun?!?!

And what I am sure you all have been waiting for...the story as to how we found out about all of this...

The Little Pea officially made his/her presence known November 14, 2011 although Mike and I didn’t have this confirmed by the doctor until November 28. We knew something was up in the beginning because I was completely drained of energy and hungry but not hungry, sleepy but couldn’t sleep, and I felt like I was coming down with the flu. Turns out it was a baby, something we are finding out slowly but surely is way more exciting that the flu!

 We took a couple home tests -- I didn't believe it when I saw it for the first time, so I googled "best time to take a pregnancy test" and followed their suggestion, the test still came back positive...

We met with my doc, Dr. Alicia Larsen, on the 28^th, and found out that the Little Pea had been there long before we even thought, and then we found out that we were due July 8, 2012 (which happens to be a home game against the Twins...kinda funny since I am a twin...oh, but we are only expecting 1 baby to be born). Anyway, I was stunned, scared, happy, joyful, and anxious, worried and on cloud nine all at the same time. Mike just kept smiling at me, and kissing my head – which made me a little annoyed because I thought I was the only one freaking out on the inside, but the truth came out once we left the doctor’s office – we were in the same boat.

...and that's pretty much the story.

To start a family was in our plans, just not this soon, but God superseded our plans, and said we would be parents. We are putting most, if not all, of our faith in Him to help us during the next 7 months to get the house ready, get us ready, and to provide us with as much guidance as possible. Luckily we have a fantastic support system, locally and on all the coasts - knowing this keeps us calm. We would love your prayers for strength, health and steadfastness.

We will probably be setting up some sort of blog that we can post fun belly pictures, baby stories and home improvement stories, but we haven't gotten that far just yet - when we do, you all will definitely get a link where you can watch us as we become parents -- of course, that's only if you promise not to laugh too hard when we make mistakes.

　

Lots of love!

~Jaime & Mike

　

Baby Pea at 8 weeks 3 days

P.S.

I have 3 close friends expecting too (one due January, the other in April, and another friend due 4 days before me), and my primary doctor had a baby in November, so be careful of the water these days...