OH-IO

Week 19 started off with a fun new activity for the baby. On Thursday (September 3rd) we put headphones on my belly, and Colt controlled a mini-concert on his IPOD. Colt played some Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, and James Brown, and he was moving around a little bit, but no karate kicks. Then Colt put on some Elvis...he went CRAZY! He was kicking so hard, first low on my right side, then really close to my belly button on my left side! We've determined that his favorite song is, "Return to Sender" by Elvis Presley. Not my personal favorite, but to each his own. He also really likes Johnny Cash, (his namesake), and of course, his dear ol' dad, Colt Clark.

We also continued the registration process in week 19. This became way more fun after the "research" was done. I think I've gone with Graco for every "big" purchase. We registered for a Graco pack-n-play, travel system, changing table, and convertible car seat. They seem to have consistently good ratings online, as well as good reviews through word of mouth. Sweet Colt has gone with me for every registering trip! The last time we were at Target, I was looking at pacifiers, and he tapped me on the shoulder and handed me a plastic duck head wearing a fireman's outfit. It fits over the bathtub faucet so that the baby won't hit his head on the metal when taking a bath. Colt loved it, and it was the only thing HE wanted to register for, which of course, I thought was the sweetest thing ever. So rest assured, our baby's head will be well protected during bath time! Another exciting piece of registration news this week was a surprise delivery to our front door. I was reviewing my registry online last week, at which point I had only registered for the travel system, and discovered to my amazement that it had already been purchased. This was shocking because the shower invitations haven't even been sent out yet! I started secretly investigating all of my grandmothers because it was a pretty expensive gift. At about noon our doorbell rang, and there was a large Graco box sitting on my doorstep. IT WAS THE TRAVEL SYSTEM! The return address...my cousin Jason! We were floored! First of all, it was a very expensive gift, especially for a guy that wouldn't have been invited to the "all female invitee" baby shower to buy! Not to mention the fact that he had been gone for several days on his way to Iraq again. When I got ahold of him, he was in Kuwait, waiting to go to Iraq. It was so sweet of him to buy that gift for us. I will always think of him as I stroll around town with the baby. :) Of course, I wanted to open the box and assemble my new gift (or the baby's new gift...whatever) immediately. Colt wanted me to wait until his band practice was over. As he was leaving to go swim laps at his parents' house, I asked him if I could open the box. I don't think he had very much faith in me to be able to assemble it all by myself, but sure enough, it was assembled by the time he got home. He was pleasantly surprised. A few days later, my Aunt Penny was in town, and wanted to buy us our second registry gift, so she didn't have to ship it down for the shower. THE PACK-N-PLAY! Its the same collection as the travel system, Graco's "Hamilton". Once again, I assembled that when Colt was working out. Both Colt and I agreed, its so surreal seeing these things in his room, knowing that, Lord willing, he'll be physically laying in them one day. Anyway, at this point, we have all of the "big" things registered for, mostly at Babies-R-Us (some stuff at Target), and will continue to add a few more things to the lists.

This week (week 20), marked our first doctor's office ultrasound. My mom has been at all of our ultrasounds because they are done in her office, by her friend Jennifer, so we invited Sharon (Colt's mom) to come to this one, since it was in Tampa, and closer to her area. We were both really happy she could come! The ultrasound tech, Kitty, really took a lot of time with us. She measured all of his parts, and checked all of his organs to make sure everything was working correctly. She sure knew how to make a new mother feel good. She referred to his brain as "perfect", his kidneys were "looking wonderful", and his four-chambered heart was "perfect" as well. :) We told her that we found out at 14 weeks that it was a boy, and it was confirmed at 18 weeks, but we wanted to make sure she concurred. As soon as we got a good shot between his legs, she said, "Oh yes, most definitely (she giggled) . I'm certain that's a little boy." Then she began to measure his legs, arms, head, belly etc. Apparently little man has got a bit of a gut. He was measuring at about 20 weeks, 5 days (I was 20 weeks, 1 day at the time) everywhere, but in the belly he was measuring at 21 weeks, 5 days. I asked her if that meant he was going to be a big baby, as we had heard that before from our regular ultrasound tech. She said usually she doesn't comment on a baby's potential size at 20 weeks, but in this case, "If he is measuring a week and a half ahead of schedule at 20 weeks, he is going to be a pretty big baby most likely." This is good news to me, as I LOVE a chubby baby! Ask me how I feel about this after actually having to "birth" him. We'll see! :) Another interesting note was that he loves to move his fingers and toes around. He seemed to be stretching them, or wiggling them throughout the whole ultrasound. The tech said she normally doesn't get that clear of a picture of fingers and toes because they're so thin and small, but she said she could see his very clearly, and that he was really doing well with moving them around. She said that this is a good sign because its an indication of good fetal tone (still don't really know what that means, but it sounds positive). She asked if we wanted to do a little bit of the 3D ultrasound FOR FREE! I think name dropping that my cousin Lauren was a labor and delivery nurse at UCH (where all of the doctors in my office work) was a good idea! :) We tried to get a good picture of his face, but he insisted on resting his arms on his head, like a celebrity hiding from the paparazzi. We got a few sneak previews of his face, but nothing super clear. Also, the 3D images are time lapsed, so his head looks a little bit distorted. It would be like if someone took a picture of you walking, and the picture took a while to capture, and you continued walking, there would be a streak across the photo from where you had started walking and where you ended up. I hope that makes sense. Anyway, that's why his head seems deformed in some of the pictures, but she assured me that he's "beautiful" (yes, she actually said that...so sweet...I love Kitty!). I also got a flu shot at this doctor's appointment...just in case. So that's the report...I have a healthy, fat little baby growing inside my belly, who is kicking harder and harder each day.

We went to Ohio this weekend for a family reunion of sorts. It was so nice to see the family. We had a great time enjoying fall weather (mid 70s during the day, 50s at night). We got to spend some time at my Uncle Kevin and Aunt Katie's home in Delaware, OH and they have the coolest house. Its a century home, that boasts a garden with raspberries, cherry tomatoes, etc., a fire pit, and a beautiful view of a river. Katie made our dessert that night with the raspberries from her garden. I wish I had the patience for a garden. I wish I knew how to cook cool stuff. Haha! I also got to meet my new cousin Reese, Uncle Todd and Aunt Jillian's new baby. Its funny for me to write Uncle and Aunt before all of their names because I don't call them Uncle or Aunt. This is mainly because Scott & Crystal, my dad's younger brother and his wife are still in their early 3os, Kevin and Katie, my dad's second younger brother is 30ish (Katie is 28 I think), and Todd and Jillian, my dad's youngest brother and his wife, are 27ish (Colt's age). Haha! I always felt like we grew up together, even though they are several years older than I, and they lived in Ohio. Anyway, I was really excited to meet baby Reese. She is only 6 months older than our baby, so it will be fun to watch them together as they get older. My other little cousins, Jackson, "little" Jillian, and Joshie (Scott and Crystal's kids) are always fun to be around too. It was a whirlwind trip, leaving for Ohio on Friday, and coming back Sunday morning, but it was a fun weekend getaway. Coincidentally, one of the OB's in my doctor's office, Dr. Jennifer Sanchez, was sitting right in front of me on the flight on the way back to Tampa from Ohio! Small world.

I better go now, I think this post is insanely long. I am now at 20 weeks, 5 days, so week 21 is creeping up on me. I love how fast time is flying! I have started to get a little bit of a backache this week, and I've been feeling unusually bloated, so its back to the gym I go! I got my first two pairs of maternity jeans at Old Navy about two weeks ago (week 17 or 18), and they are not only stylish, but comfortable, not to mention 50% off for some reason. You can't beat two pairs of maternity jeans for $12.50 each! As I type, the baby is kicking me pretty hard...it must be time for lunch. Thanks for reading!