Baby GIRL Fortuna

That's right, Brad and I are having a GIRL! We are so so excited! We found out on April 1st...it was a little difficult convincing people that this is the real deal and not an April Fool's joke. We are so grateful that we get to be the parents to a precious little girl. It will be so fun because my sister in law just had a baby girl in March and my other sister in law is due with a baby girl in May, so she will have cousins her age to play with which will be so fun! Brad and I were both so sure that we would have a boy first, but as soon as we found out it was a girl it just seemed so perfect. The ultrasound said she was measuring 2 days ahead, but she was so wiggly that it's hard to tell for sure. Seriously, she was moving all around and every time we'd try to get a look at her heart or her face she would move away really quick. She must be like her mom and not like to be disturbed while sleeping ;) It was so cool to see her wiggle and squirm all over the place! They want to do another ultrasound to get a better look at her heart and brain just because she was such a wiggle worm. That is scheduled on April 29th. We are participating in a study that gets us 3 extra ultrasounds, so we actually have another one on April 11th. It is so amazing to get this many photos and chances to look at our beautiful daughter!

I have been so excited to make stuff now that we know the gender. I had 4 days off in a row right after we found out what we were having so I got started right away.

These are pacifier clips. I think they turned out so cute! And they are so easy to make.

Wooden flowers that I painted. She will have 2 purple and 1 pink that we'll hang up on her wall.

A burp cloth. This is not my best work, but I still think it turned out cute and she's just going to puke on it anyway :)

This is my favorite thing I have made for her so far! It is one of those swaddle blankets made out of that really thin gauze material. I just picked a stamp I like and some fabric ink and started stampin' away. I chose pink and grey elephants and I think it is the most adorable thing!

 

Today we bought the carseat!! It is still so crazy to me that we are having a baby and that we need a carseat of our very own!

We have the crib picked out

We have part of her room painted

We have her dresser and rocker - we just need to refinish them

 

Even with all this stuff done we still have so much to do! Working in the NICU really makes you want to get prepared fast...

 

 

 

 

Thanks Bradley

Today I am working and it has been a long day (every day is long when you work 12 hour shifts). I am just ready to get home and hang out with Brad and get conference weekend started. Friday is date night and I'm picking dinner up on my way home. I asked Brad what sounded good for dinner and he said, "just chillin with you, that's all I want." He sure knows how to make my day :) I have really been wanting a sandwich from the Dodo -have you been there? It's delicious! He told me that sounded great...I have no idea if it really sounds good to him or not, but I know even if it didn't he would tell me it sounds good because he knows I want to eat there. That's just the kind of guy he is - a total sweetheart. So thanks Brad, for making your pregnant wife's day! :)

Home Improvement!

Brad and I (mostly Brad) have been working on our house and doing some minor repairs and giving it a little bit of a face lift. Here are some of the projects we've been working on...

This is our "master" bathroom. It had a hideous cabinet above the toilet that they super glued instead of screwed into the wall - Brad really enjoyed pulling that SOB off the wall :) They also decided it would be easier to cover an entryway with shelves rather than putting drywall over it and starting fresh. So Brad ripped shelves out and covered the door. It looks brand new, you would never guess there used to be a door there!

The bathroom is almost complete, we just need to add some cute storage and put up the shower curtain and we're done. Pics on the finished project coming soon!

 

We decided we didn't like feeling blocked off from the neighborhood with that fence, not to mention it was a pretty poorly put together fence. Brad and I spent about an hour one afternoon and took it down. We love the way it makes our house feel, so much more open and inviting!

We decided to put in a basement apartment! That is our biggest project lately. We are going to add a full kitchen and carpet the basement and make it look beautiful! We had one room down there that was pretty small so Brad knocked down the wall and we'll extend the room out and then start working on the kitchen. It's a lot of work but we think it will be worth it when it's all finished!

 

The (very small) baby bump!

 

There it is...my little baby bump. It's kind of cute, right?? It's much cuter in certain clothes, other times that little bump just makes me look like I ate a lot of ice cream. Either way I love it! I am 17 weeks (well, on the 23rd) I have been so lucky and I haven't been sick at all this entire time! I would get a little nauseated if I didn't eat like every 2 hours, but that is nothing compared to what some women go through! I have still been able to exercise, although I sweat a ton more and I get tired quicker, but other than that its fine. I haven't really had any cravings- there was a time when I ate a ton of pickles and drank a lot of chocolate milk, and now neither of those sound good. But I liked those both before so I don't consider them cravings. My upper ribs on my right side hurt at the end of the day and everyone failed to mention how emotional you get-seriously I cry over everything! Brad wrote me a note and stuck it in my lunch and when I opened it at work I cried. He asked me what sounded good for dinner and I told him mashed potatoes and 7 layer dip and he had that ready and waiting for me when I got home. We watched grumpier old men (a very funny movie) but when the little grandpa dies I cried. It's crazy and mostly I just feel bad for Brad. :) He is a sweetheart for sure. Other than those minor things pregnancy has been great! I keep having dreams that it's a girl so it's probably going to be a boy ha. Neither one of us care what we have, we are just grateful to be having a baby. Only 1 more week until we find out for real what baby Fortuna will be! :)

 

 

16 weeks

How far along? 16 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Gained about 7 pounds...I am right on schedule :)
Maternity clothes? None yet
Stretch marks? Nope :)
Sleep: Good, I wake up a lot to pee
Best moment this week: Watching Brad cuddle our friends new baby! So cute!
Have you told family and friends: Yes!
Miss Anything? Not really
Movement: None yet
Food cravings: Not really, I just eat all the time :)
Anything making you queasy or sick: No, I have been so lucky and haven't been sick at all!
Have you started to show yet: Barely...its kind of cute :)
Gender prediction: Brad thinks boy, I think girl
Labor Signs: No, thank goodness!
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy :) :)
Looking forward to: Finding out the gender in 14 days!

Baby this week is about the size of an avocado; 4 1/2 inches long and 3 1/2 ounces. Baby has started growing little nails and his/her heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day! :)

Dear Baby

Dear Baby Fortuna:

We love you so much already! We have only known you were in my tummy for 2 months, but we have been waiting for you our whole lives! We are so excited for you to come and be a part of our family. We know you will bring so much joy and happiness into our lives. We found out about you on December 21st 2012, and we have loved every minute with you since then. On February 6th 2013 we got to hear your precious heartbeat for the first time. That was the most beautiful sound I have ever heard!  On February 28th we got to see your first pictures. You are absolutely perfect! I stare at those photos of you all day and I really cannot believe that in just 6 short months you will be here with us! On March 4th we got to hear your little heartbeat again and dad recorded it on his ipad so we can listen to it whenever we want.  Daddy is so excited to meet you! He has already started looking at little tiny rock climbing gear for you. We have so many big dreams and hopes for you, but right now all we hope is that you grow big and strong and healthy so you can come home from the hospital with us after you are born. We hope that we can be the best parents to you and give you everything you need. We love you little baby!

xoxoxoxo
Love, mom and dad

We're having a BABY!!

Yes, its true; Brad and I are going to have a baby!! We are so so excited and we feel so fortunate that we get to be parents. This is something we have both wanted for a long time  and we are so excited that it's finally happening! :) We found out I was pregnant on December 21st 2012. I probably peed on like 6 pregnancy tests...I was so excited and anxious that I took one almost every day haha. I had taken one on December 20th and I was waiting the 3 (very very long) minutes it tells you to wait and about halfway through I thought to myself; this is stupid, I'm not pregnant, I don't need to wait for this. So I threw the test away. Later that night I had this feeling that I just needed to check the test, so I pulled it out of the trash and looked and my heart skipped a beat. Two Lines. I didn't know what to do. I had been looking forward to this moment for so long, and I had it all planned out in my head how I would surprise Brad - all of that went right out the window. I ran out of the bathroom like a crazy person waving this stick around in the air, jumping on him and shoving it in his face. He had no idea what it even was. I explained that it was the stick I peed on earlier and that it was positive! He just looked at me like I was mental and said, "no, there is no way you are pregnant, that test has been sitting in the trash all day, you can't believe those results." Definitely not the reaction I was hoping for. I was so sad but I realized he was probably right, so I sadly threw the test away...again, and began telling myself I wasn't pregnant. The next day Brad asked me if I had taken another pregnancy test. I was so confused that he thought I needed to do that because he seemed so sure that I wasn't. I bought another test and I waited the whole day and finally decided I would face reality and take it. I was beyond excited when I saw two lines again and I asked Brad to come look because I "wasn't sure if I could understand the results" He came walking in so confident it was negative and he looked at the test and then said "OH SH**" :) and that's how it all began! It goes without saying that Brad was slightly shocked, he didn't think it would happen so quickly, but a few days later he couldn't contain his excitement! He is so cute and loves to tell people we are expecting. I know he is going to be the best dad ever...he already is! That baby isn't even halfway here and he/she is already so spoiled. It has already changed us for the better and brought us closer than we could have ever imagined. We love this little baby so much and we can't wait for September 1st to get here so we can meet our precious angel!