Hiking with Mr. and Mrs. Smith

We went hiking with Andrew and Kelly two weekends ago to Tinker Cliffs.  I have a list of hikes in the area that I really want to do.  I finally got to cross off Tinker Cliffs!  It was definitely challenging and uphill most of the way.  The top was beautiful, but the storm was rolling in when we got to the top.  The entire way down the mountain, it was pretty much a torrential downpour.  

They brought their sweet dogs, Gus and Pika ("Pie-ka").  We have a lot of fun with the Smiths.  The more we hang out with them, I believe the sooner we will find ourselves buying a puppy.  I am 100% okay with that.

Storming in Blacksburg...heading for us...

We love hiking...it had been awhile since we got out on the trail.  It was very refreshing, especially with the rain!

Pregnancy Progress: Week 20

Week 20 was a huge week for us!  We had our second ultrasound and found out that IT'S A GIRL!!!  We were pretty shocked.  Through what I had heard and old wives tales I read, AND the Chinese calendar, I came to believe that it was going to be a boy.  I think I also convinced others that it would be a boy.  When we were looking at the ultrasound, we saw her bottom side and legs, and he said, "Yep, nothing there.  It's a girl!"  We both started laughing and said, "are you sure?  Can you check?  Maybe we're missing something?"  His kind response, "I've been doing this for 15 years.  I am pretty positive it's a girl, but technically I can't say I am 100% sure."

Well we didn't see anything there either.

 

Aside from the gender, it was amazing what we got to see.  We saw her bladder, her kidneys, her heart, the 4 chambers of the heart, her brain, her spine, almost every vertebrae in her spine, her face, her hands, her arms, each one of her arm and leg bones.  It was awesome.  It was such a blessing to find out that she is healthy and growing.  She was 12 ounces.  He didn't say how long, but our books are telling us she is around 7 or 8 inches.

I am getting more and more excited about having a sweet little baby girl.  It was funny, as we walked out of the appointment, it was like Bryce was a different man.  It finally hit him that we are HAVING A BABY.  He smiled the entire way home from the Radford hospital and is so excited to take her fishing, hiking, canoeing, camping, and the like.

We also picked out a name: Madison Anne.  (although I haven't decided if it will be Ann or Anne).  We have always loved the name Madison.  It was actually the only name we fully agreed on before we even thought about gender.  Her middle name is actually both of our mothers' middle names.  I also knew that my family is a big nickname family, so we would need to pick a name that has a nickname that we love.  We love Maddie.

Cravings:  Not any particular ones lately.  Mainly just craving more SLEEP.

Aches and Pains: I have some ligament pain in my lower left stomach, which the doctor said was normal.  It's because my belly is stretching and little girl is growing.

Exercise:  Still trying to run about 3 times a week.  I'm only going 3 miles and sometimes I walk half a mile in the middle.  It's getting harder and harder!  I really just want to keep it up.  We'll see how it goes.  If I get to a point where I really can't, I am determined to keep exercising whether it's walking or yoga or whatever.

Belly:  This week was also big for me because I think week 19 and 20 were the first weeks that people started noticing that I am actually pregnant (mainly those who don't know me).  This is a great feeling when I haven't felt pregnant or sick or anything.  It's a sign that I AM ACTUALLY PREGNANT!!

19 weeks:

20 weeks:

Pregnancy Progress: Week 18

Pregnancy has been a blur with school and work this semester. I am still feeling great, no sickness just tired a lot. Now that I am 18 weeks, I cannot stop thinking about April 20th when we are scheduled to find out the gender and get our second ultrasound. I CANNOT WAIT!

I think I felt the baby kick about a week ago, but I am not totally sure, and since I haven't really felt it again, I don't think it was a kick.

Belly: My belly is definitely growing, just at a slow pace. It's so funny that I sometimes wish I was a little bigger so I felt more like I am actually pregnant. Believe it or not, it still doesn't feel real. Maybe it will feel real when I am screaming during labor and the baby pops out. Or the baby flies out, which most of my 4th grade students think will happen. Apparently they heard about babies flying or shooting out with a lot of force. That would be nice and probably less work on my part.

Cravings: Salty! Fries, fast food, plain potato chips (ruffles, not lays). I haven't had any really strong cravings, but in general it's been salty bad-for-you food. The foods I liked before, I really like now. I haven't craved many sweets. I love salad, but it's just not as appetizing anymore (but I still eat it).

Aches and pains: No morning sickness. No back pains (yet). I am still trying to run 3x a week, and about 1 mile in every time I run, my feet get really achy. Not to mention I can barely run 3 miles without taking a walking break. But I'm trying my darndest to keep it up!

Since we are wrapped up in school right now, baby isn't on the front of our minds. We haven't registered. I have very briefly thought about the nursery, but haven't planned anything yet. We haven't really thought a lot about labor let alone labor classes. We have a list of names that we like but we aren't sure about any yet. We don't know if we want an epidural or not (that is a big question-"Are you going to do all natural?"). We just don't know. I am hoping and praying that all of this will be figured out in due time, especially during this summer since I'll have more time to get excited.

I just can't wrap my mind around the fact that in 2 weeks, we will not only find out the gender, but we will be halfway through this whole pregnancy thing!! Now for pictures, since that's what people love most.

The day we found out we were pregnant (we were both deathly sick with stomach viruses right after New Years):

At 13 weeks:

At 14 weeks:

At 17 weeks:

H Reunion 2012

A couple weekends ago, we had another H Reunion. You can read about the history of the H and our last reunion here. I love these girls!


The H took over Blacksburg. At least for a few minutes while it wasn't pouring rain. And then we ran into...none other than the great...Tim Carper!!


It was a little different this year...3 of us are pregnant (yowza!) and we have a new little H member!


Meredith's little Addison got to be part of the reunion. Next year we may have 3 more little Hs!


We all loved a lot on Addie.



And she agreed to help us make homemade pizza.

The weather was pretty miserable, so we spent time talking for hours, of course, laughing, playing games (Dutch blitz!) and watching basketball. We ate breakfast at Gillies and made it over to Mill Mountain for coffee.



Sadly, Kate wasn't able to make it, but Weslie made it, which was fun since we missed her last year! Hopefully next year we are all together. These girls love the Lord and we all love each other dearly. It's like we're sisters. We can go by months without talking and pick up where we left off without any hesitations.

Long live H Reunions!

This year:


Last year:


Junior Year of College:

Javier and Rebekah's Baby Shower

We celebrated Javier and Rebekah's little addition (due on May 2nd) with a baby shower at our church, Grace Covenant Presbyterian.




We are so excited for them! And we are so excited to share in the joys of pregnancy and new babies and parenting with them. We will be just a few months behind them!

They have left the gender a surprise (they are more patient than I am! haha).

Katherine made them a beautiful quilt. They loved it!