Holy Belly!

This weekend was my very dearest friend's bachelorette party at the river! We had such a great time relaxing and floating the river. A few days before we left I decided to try on my one piece to make sure it still fit. Well, I got it on and the front had to stretch so much that, let's just say, there wasn't quite enough fabric to stretch across the back! Sooo I figured rocking the bikini was better than the thong. (: I thought I'd be a lot more self conscious than I was, but once we got on the river I really didn't care! It was a wonderful weekend and I can't believe Macy will be married in like 3 weeks! Craziness.

The reason I thought I would be more self conscious in my swimsuit was because I felt like I was really just starting to look pregnant instead of fat. The whole way home yesterday I was super uncomfortable and my stomach REALLY felt like it was stretching. I woke up this morning feeling the same way. I got a few things done right after I woke up, and then when I walked into the bathroom I did a double take at my reflection! This is what I saw...

Please ignore everything in this picture besides my ginormous belly. I took this picture to send to Clayton...so I wasn't terribly concerned about what it/I looked like! I was still in my PJs. (: But I just had to share because I am still in total shock! I sent this to Clayton (and a few others) and said "Where in the world did this come from?!" I sent it to Macy, who saw me in my swimsuit this weekend, and asked her if I was crazy or if this just appeared overnight, and she agreed that it definitely happened overnight! Our sweet Knox must be growing like a little weed in there. I have always heard that all of a sudden overnight you just look pregnant...but I guess I never really believed it. Let me tell you, I am a believer now!

Jessica, Mom, Mom-in-Law and I leave for New York tomorrow, so that lovely picture will have to hold you all over until we get back!

It's a BOY!!!

My plan was to make this whole post all about the party, and then reveal the gender at the end...but that is certainly not going to happen! We are beyond thrilled to be having a sweet baby boy. Knox Joseph Pavlic will be joining us in December! I am so completely in love with our precious boy! Here are a few pictures from the party...

Mom, Dad and their only son Mac. All Team Blue! Even Mac has a ribbon, but you can't see it in this picture!

Clayton and I with the cute cake! Thank you so much Michele Pinkerton! It was so cute, and tasted absolutely amazing!

Cutting into the cake...

So thrilled!

The blue cake with the cute table decorations! We had Clayton's and my baby cups, my baby spoon and rattle, and Clayton's ceramic bootie! Our moms went above and beyond to make this so special for us.

The "Daddy Doodie" apron! Thanks Amber and Richard...definitely one of the highlights of my night!

The grandparents!

Just a few of our wonderful friends that came to celebrate with us!

It was such a fun evening and we loved getting to share Knox with everyone at the same time! Even though it killed me all day not to know, it was so worth it! I am so excited that our baby (it) is now a he and has a name! Now, time to start shopping!

THE Ultrasound!!

We had our ultrasound this morning and it was absolutely amazing! I am totally in love with this precious baby growing inside of me. It's so crazy to see it moving around. She actually pointed out that at one point he/she was "chewing." It was incredible! Baby P is measuring just perfect...not ahead, not behind. He/She is weighing in at a whopping 8 ounces right now!

The lady that did my ultrasound ended up being a long time family friend (she planned it that way when I told her I was coming in) so it was so special to me to have someone that cared so much doing this for us. She really took the time to show us every little thing. We got to see all the little leg and arm bones, all the facial features, little hands and feet...all of it! It was just absolutely amazing.

Here are the pictures she gave us...

The traditional side view. He/She is all balled up.

Okay, I always talk about how creepy 3d pictures are...and I'm not going to lie, the one of my own child is no different! But you can really see his/her little face. (: For those of you confused, the nose is more to the left on the face...if you look at that other thing as the nose, it REALLY looks like an alien baby!

Baby P's little foot! The foot is measuring right at one inch. It's crazy to think that those tiny little feet are growing like crazy in there!

She gave us a disk with 10 more pictures on it, but told us not to look at it until after the party because it also has the gender picture on it! I left the hospital and went straight to pick up my mom and we took the envelope to the precious lady that is making the cake! She is dropping it off at the house at 6, and we are cutting it right at 7!

So I said in my last post that I'd be so shocked if it was a girl, right? (If not, I just told you!) Well, Mom recorded a gender reveal party on GMA a few weeks ago and I just got to watch it a couple of days ago. One of the women was just like me...totally convinced it was a boy and would be totally shocked if it was a girl, and everyone agreed! Well, they cut into the cake and it was pink! So we will see. We will, of course, be thrilled either way. I couldn't care less, and secretly I know Clayton doesn't care either even though he says he really wants a boy.

I can't wait to post pictures from the party tonight!! I will try to do it in the morning before I leave town, but if I don't get to it, I promise to post them Monday!!

18 Weeks and Extreme Couponing.

First off, I had my 18 week appointment yesterday. Everything was great, and it was the typical "wait for 45 minutes, see the doctor for 5" visit. The babies heartbeat was in the 140s and everything else was great. Nothing to spectacular to report there!

She had me call the hospital to schedule my ultrasound. So I called first thing this morning. Last time I had to call and schedule they were able to get me in the next morning, so I assumed this time would be no different. Most of you know that our gender reveal party is scheduled for Thursday night-plenty of time to have my ultrasound done between Monday and Thursday, right? WRONG!! The lady was so put out with me. She kept asking me all these questions that I didn't know the answers to (I'll spare you the details) and then she would put me on hold to call my doctor's office. So then she says "Okay, can you be here Friday morning at 10?" I literally burst into tears at that point. She, of course, did not feel sorry for me. I told her that I was leaving town Friday morning for 2 weeks (which is mostly true) and that I really needed it to be today, tomorrow or Thursday. She huffed and puffed and called the imaging center to see if they could squeeze me in. So now my ultrasound is scheduled for Thursday at 9:30! Thank goodness. Problem solved. And now I don't have to wait days knowing that I COULD know the gender if I just peeked in that little envelope! I won't have time to cheat. (:

Everyone keeps asking what I think it is, and I tell them I really don't know. That is very true, but I told Clayton the other day that I will be REALLY shocked if it's a girl! I've really felt like it's a boy all along. It really doesn't matter because I couldn't care less what the gender is, just as long as it's a healthy baby! I do catch myself referring to it as "him" and "he" though. I'm just so ready for "it" to have an identity! 2 and a half days!

Yesterday was a really exciting day, because Clayton and I made our first couponing trip! I have been so proud of myself. I look at the Sunday paper and look online and cut coupons for things that I know we need/will use. I can see how people end up looking like hoarders though...it's addicting!

So we drove to Nacogdoches to go to Kroger because they double and triple coupons. I had my list and my coupons ready! Clayton, of course, hated life and would walk off and leave me on just about every aisle while I decided which of my coupons and the sales they had going on was the best deal. But when we got to the register and saw how much money we saved, he was very impressed! Even the lady at the register told me I had done a good job with my coupons and the sales. In the end, we saved $60 and got 49 items for $90 which ends up being about $1.84 per item. It was more than worth the gas, and now I am totally hooked and can't wait for next Sunday's paper to come out!

I guess that's about it for today. I can't wait to post pictures from our party on Thursday!

My Texas

I smile so big every time I hear this song! This is absolutely everything I love about Texas. Just thought I'd share!

I've Been Slacking.

Sorry Amber, I know you didn't have anything to read last week! (: There just really has not been too much going on lately. Okay, that's a lie...there has been a LOT going on...but nothing that seems blog worthy.

I've gotten my eating a little more under control since my last post. All I could think about for lunch today was fruit! We had bunco last night, and that girl that hosted brought a huge tray of delicious fruit and I just couldn't get enough of it. I guess that brings me to my most exciting news...I have finally gained 2 pounds! I never in a million years thought I would be excited about gaining weight, but I was starting to get a little concerned. I just felt like I should have gained at least a little bit at this point. It makes me worry that the baby isn't getting enough to eat!

I just remembered...my eating really hasn't been that great. The other night I had Chef Boyardee Ravioli, and a baked potato. And then I had Chef Boyardee again the next night. Okay...so I've been eating better for one day. That's good, right?

A friend very generously brought me her heartbeat monitor last night, and I have a feeling I am going to be totally obsessed with it. I went straight home and found the babies heartbeat and was so happy to hear that sweet sound! It makes me worry so much less. Thanks Amber (you're getting all sorts of shout outs in this post)!

My next doctors appointment is Monday and I will get my order for my ultrasound then. Everyone keeps asking why I don't wait until the baby is born to find out the gender. I come from a family where we open Christmas presents weeks before and tape them back up so nobody knows. That's why. I hate surprises! Or at least ones that I know are coming. I can hardly wait to find out what this baby is so that it can stop being "it" and have a name!

We are having our gender reveal party next Thursday night, and it is going to be so hard for me to not peek in that envelope! I am going straight from the doctors office to the bakery. Otherwise, I will definitely cheat! I can't stand it! I can't wait to post pictures from our party.

I guess that's about all I've got at this point. Here is the lovely picture I just took. It has to be the worst belly picture ever. But I walked past the mirror earlier and thought, "wow, I actually look pregnant today!" It's just the shirt. FYI, I just typed shit instead of shirt and giggled to myself. While we were at market my mom told Jessica and I that we were so immature and all she had to do was say "poop" and we'd crack up. And of course, we cracked up. Okay, sorry...ADD. Here's the picture! 17weeks and 3 days!