Busy Busy!

I didn't have time for my usual Wednesday post last week, so I'm very sorry that you didn't get to see a picture of my growing belly (which I'm sad to say, STILL looks like a beer gut). I didn't even have a chance to TAKE a picture! I know, you're all super disappointed. (: I'll try to post one this week.

We've been super busy lately! I'd love to say that we had a nice relaxing Memorial Day weekend, but instead we had family fun (work) weekend at our house! Our wonderful families spent the entire weekend helping us finish up the many projects that we've begun on our house. We accomplished so much, and there's no way we could have done it without them!

I am feeling SO much better these past couple of weeks. I am still tired, but definitely getting my energy back and not nauseous at all. In fact, I can't seem to get enough food! I have become totally addicted to Icee's. I've probably had 10 in the past 3 weeks and probably haven't had that many in the past 10 years. They're just so delicious when it's so hot outside!

I've also noticed that my ADD has become incredibly worse. A couple of Sundays ago in church, our pastor was reading a verse and said "get away from me Satan" and from that point on, all I could think of was The White Stripes album/song Get Behind Me Satan. I'm laughing at myself even as I am writing this! I sang that song in my head for days! And now since I mentioned it, I'm sure I'll continue to sing it for a few more.

I'm so glad to be feeling better, but I didn't realize how absolutely miserable I must have seemed to everyone else. We had Clayton's grandmothers 85th birthday this weekend, so most of the family was in town and every single person that I've seen/talked to in the past 6 weeks commented on how much better I looked and seemed to be feeling. So I'm sorry if you've seen me lately and I've seemed totally out of it! I also didn't realize how reclusive I've been until Friday night when Clayton said "Soooo do you think maybe we could do something with our friends tonight?" I started thinking about the last time we hung out with anyone, and it had been over a month! I felt so bad.

Back to the whole not being able to get enough food thing. I'll share a funny day in my life with you (don't get too excited)! I had lunch with a dear friend at the new tea room in Lufkin on Friday afternoon. I was so excited to try it and couldn't possibly decide what I wanted to eat. Now, keep in mind that for 6 weeks I have hardly been able to choke down a piece of toast. Food has not sounded good at all! So as I'm looking at the menu, everything sounds delicious! My mouth was watering just reading about everything that had to offer this starving woman. I decided on the sampler plate, which was small portions of just about everything on the menu. I started with 2 small muffins and soup which I quickly devoured. Then came the main course...a green salad, broccoli salad, fruit salad, quiche, parmesan chips and I think there's something I'm leaving out. I finished EVERY last bite of it. I was full when we left and I came straight to work. Well, about an hour into the afternoon I realized I was starving again! We're not talking a little hungry and I just needed a snack...I felt like I hadn't had a thing to eat all day. So I had some fruit snacks. That held me over for about 30 minutes. So then I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. That lasted about another hour. Then more fruit snacks. When I got home, I was not particularly hungry until Clayton and I started talking about dinner. I told him I wanted a steak, so we decided on Outback. When we got there, I asked him if HE wanted some cheese fries...and being the sweet husband that he is, he just smiled and said "yes, those sound great!" So we had delicious cheese fries. And bread. When our meal finally came out, the girl said "Ma'am is this chicken flat bread yours?" I started laughing and said "No, that big plate with the steak on it is mine!"I could tell she was embarrassed for me. (:

Soooo I think those 3-4 pounds I had lost won't be gone for long! I'm trying to eat semi-healthy...but my sweet tooth is definitely coming back!

I decided this morning that I'm going to go look into a blow up pool to put in our backyard for the summer. It's so stinking hot. I'll let you know how well that goes over with Clayton. (: I guess that's about it from me (now that I've rambled on and on)! I'll try to remember to post a picture Wednesday!

A Prune?!

Yes, our sweet precious little one is as big as a prune this week! Surely they could have come up with something better than a prune?! I told Clayton that our baby was a gross wrinkly prune and he quickly corrected me and told me it didn't LOOK like a prune, it was simply the size of one. But I can't help picturing a shriveled gross prune! Terrible, I know.

Nothing new here to report! Our baby may be a prune, but my stomach feels like a dang cantaloupe! I am very happy to report though, even with my growing belly, I have not gained a pound since the initial first 5 I gained that made me wonder "hmmm...could I possibly be pregnant?!" (:

I have recently decided that I would LOVE to have a gender reveal party. For those of you that have never heard of this (which I hadn't), here is a little explanation. When we go for our anatomy scan in July, we would have the doctor put the gender of the baby in an envelope without telling us. We would then take the envelope to a bakery and have them make a cake or cupcakes with either pink or blue filling (so that you can't see it from the outside). Then we have a big party and everyone eats their dessert at the same time and we all find out together the gender of the baby! I think this would be SO much fun! I'm not sure Clayton is totally sold on the idea, but I've got a month and a half to work on him. I'm also not totally certain that I would be able to wait to find out after the ultrasound. I guess we will decide as it gets closer! I can't believe that in a month and a half we will know what this little bean is! I can't wait!

We've decided (pretty much) on a name for a boy, but we are having a really hard time with girl names. I like unusual names, and while Clayton has really grown fond of my choice for a boy name, he's not terribly crazy about any of the ones I choose for a girl! I want to have names picked out for either gender when we find out what the baby is so that it can finally have an identity!

Life is good here and now that I'm finally starting to get my energy back we have a semi-clean house and I am actually getting some work (which has been totally neglected the past 6 weeks) done! I guess that's about it! Here is my 10 week 3 day cantaloupe picture!

The Latest.

Everything around here is great! I am STARTING to feel better, which is nice...and I'm hoping that the next 2-3 weeks will be the end of the feeling bad all together and I will get my energy back!

We went to Fort Worth to see Britton last weekend and to see his fab new house. I also got to go to my dearest friend Macy's senior exit show (which was amazing...she is so super talented!). We got to see some friends and their precious twin boys. It was great to catch up with them. Clayton and Britton worked most of the weekend getting the rest of Britton's things moved from his other house...and I mostly laid on the couch and did nothing. Bum. (:

Yesterday was my monthly doctors appointment. It wasn't anything too terribly exciting. She DID do another ultrasound though, so that was fun! She said it was because she wanted to see the heart beat (even though we saw it at the hospital last week). When I got into the room, I realized that her new fancy ultrasound machine had arrived...so I'm pretty sure she actually just wanted to play with that. But that was A-okay by me because I got to see our sweet little olive (that's how big it is this week) again! Baby P still had a strong heartbeat and was actually moving around a little bit this time!

Last but not least, here is this weeks picture of my not-so-pregnant looking belly! 9 weeks, 3 days. Enjoy!

Rocking the Beer Gut.

So, I decided that when I found out how far along I was, I was going to to start taking weekly pictures. I want to be able to look back and see how I grew week by week! I figure I'll post them on here. So here is picture #1. 8 weeks 3 days and looking like I have a fabulous beer gut! Enjoy. (:

It's Official!

We had our ultrasound this morning! I hardly slept at all last night because I was so nervous/excited. Turns out, everything is just perfect! We have a precious 8 week 2 day little bean with a heart rate of 170! I am so relieved to have actually seen something, and I know it made Clayton feel so much better to finally get to see something. I think it made it a lot more real for him. I am so completely in love already, and don't know how I'm going to make it through the next 7 months until I can meet this sweet precious baby!

My due date is now set at December 18th. I had made a stab in the dark at how far along I was, and I was completely correct down to the day!

This week, the baby is the size of a raspberry. If you look closely, you can see tiny little arms starting to form! And I'm pretty sure if you look really closely, you can see the beginnings of the nose...but that could just be my imagination since I know that is what is supposed to be happening this week! I usually think it's weird that people share their ultrasound pictures, but since this is private, I guess I'll go ahead and share! So here you go!

Gross.

Okay, so I vowed to keep this updated, and even though I really have nothing of importance to say, I thought I'd post anyway! So here's what's been going on in our world lately...

For the most part I have felt great (all things considered)! I have been completely and totally exhausted and pretty queasy, but I know it could certainly be so much worse! The queasiness has gotten a little worse the past week and all I really want are popsicles. I'm trying to stick with the sugar free fruit bars for now! We will see how long that lasts. (: So all in all, things are good! All that leads me to the "gross" part...

This morning I headed over to the lab bright and early for my "OB Panel" which translates into 8 tubes of blood being sucked from my arm. I am completely terrified of needles. Thankfully, I have good veins, so it didn't take long. Well, I also had to have a glucose tolerance test because I am predisposed to gestational diabetes because my mom had it. Lovely. Sooo, I got to sit in the waiting room and drink the nasty sugar filled orange drink. Most people don't have this test until 26ish weeks. I think I could have handled it then. But in my (totally expert) opinion, it is completely cruel to give a queasy pregnant woman, who wants nothing to do with sugar (with the exception of the popsicles!) for the most part, a bottle full of orange sugary nastiness. I thought I was going to be sick after I finished drinking it (in the 5 minutes I was allotted). As I was walking back out to wait the hour until my blood could be drawn, the nurse tells me to let them know if I got sick because we would have to start all over. So of course I was bound and determined to keep it down for the hour. I managed...but barely! It was a miserable experience (or maybe I'm just being dramatic?) to say the least! I hope I passed this one and don't have to go back for the 3 hour test....and hopefully when I get to do this all over again at 26 weeks it won't be nearly as bad! Okay...enough ranting.

Clayton has been a complete and total saint to put up with me. I tell him every day (in tears) that I'm so sorry I'm being a terrible wife. I realize this is just the hormones talking, but I get so upset thinking about all the things that I should be doing to help him and take care of him...but I'm just too exhausted! I am so blessed to have such a fantastic husband who does his best not to get irritated with me and just lets me have my moody moments...and then acts like it never happened! I'm ready for the second trimester when I will supposedly get all of my energy back!

I bought a really neat table last week for the baby's room! I'm sure Clayton thinks I'm crazy, but I can't help it! My mom also reminded me that I can't be painting and re-finishing furniture myself. Major letdown! But I guess that just means I get to supervise while Clayton does it for me! I think that's how that works? (: I can't wait to find out what the baby is so that I can start on the nursery!

The next 8 days can't go by quickly enough! I'm so excited/anxious for my ultrasound on the 10th! I'm so hoping we will get to see/hear the heartbeat and we will finally have a better estimate of when this sweet baby will be here! I suppose my next post will be after the ultrasound! I can't wait to share it with everyone!

PS-I think I use parentheses too much.

We Are...

HAVING A BABY!! (:

Dearest Friends and Family,

We are so thrilled to share this exciting news with you! Sometime in December, there will be a new little baby Pavlic arriving! And to answer EVERYONE'S question, NO we were not trying. (: We'll just go ahead and put there out there. But apparently God thought we needed a baby, and we couldn't be more excited...especially now that the shock and surprise have worn off a little bit!

It is still super early, and I know most people wait a few more weeks to share the news, but I am absolutely bursting at the seams and can't keep my mouth shut any longer! We went to the doctor last Tuesday (2/19) for our very first appointment. To be totally honest, we are not completely sure how far along I am, so she went ahead and did an ultrasound. We saw a whole lot of nothing! It was a little disappointing, but pretty much what I expected. She sent me to have bloodwork done to ensure that my levels were all increasing as they should be, and everything is just dandy! We go May 10th for another ultrasound at the hospital (where they have better equipment than my doctor's 30 year old ultrasound machine) and hopefully we will be able to see the baby and see/hear the heartbeat! My next appointment isn't until May 17th, and I'm not sure I will be able to stand the wait!

It all still seems so surreal, but I can not even begin to explain my excitement! I have always known that I wanted to be a mom, and to be totally honest, I've been bugging Clayton about kids since we got married! We had planned on starting to try sometime in the fall, so we will just be getting this precious baby a little sooner, which is a-okay with us!

I will try to keep this updated as I go through this pregnancy. I would really like to have this to look back on. That being said, I am absolutely terrible at keeping up with things like this...so we shall see! I've made this private (because I don't need the whole town of Lufkin reading my personal business) and I know there are people I missed. It is most likely because I don't have their email address. Soooo if you know someone I missed, please send me their email! Also, if you could keep things off facebook, that would be excellent!

To end this post...I will share a picture to make you laugh. I just had to be 100% sure (the digital ones that now say nothing said "pregnant" and one point in time.).....