39 weeks and counting...

39 oh my! I am pregnant still! Really pregnant still! :) I am not going to stay that I feel great, but I don't feel horrible. I mean most of my day I feel good! I can't believe the ticker on my page says 4 days....I mean I remember when it said over 100 days!!! The site where I have gotten all the fruit stops at a watermelon...ha ha....I guess that is the biggest fruit there is! :)

I went to the doctor Thursday of this week (July 23). Dr. Jackson said I was dilated to 4 cm now and that Zoe's head was even further down. She said she couldn't believe I hadn't had this baby all ready! :) Ha! We did an ultrasound to make sure everything was still okay. I have pictures, but I haven't scanned them in yet. I will post them as soon as I do. The heart looked really good, and her head measured 39 weeks. :) She didn't say how much she weighed or even give an estimate. I know it is hard for them to get an accurate weight, so I guess she doesn't even give a guess. I told her about Kelly's big baby boy though just so she would know (since I don't have a planned c-section)! I haven't gained any weight in 3 weeks, so I guess that is a good sign!

The last thing (minus the baby) for the nursery came in this week. Geoff and I went to go and get the glider chair last night! :) It is so comfy and soft! It is small and just the right size for me! I am ready for Geoff to take the final pictures of everything together now! :) I can't believe I can say that is actually finished! Zoe that is your cue!

I am really feeling Zoe. She is definitely out of room! Her super active time is from 9:30 to 11:00 or so. I think she is working on some routine or aerobics or something of that nature. She kicks, punches, and squirms all around! I can't say that it feels good...but something I will remember! She doesn't get still until I go get in bed! I am interested to see if what she does at that time of the night when she is out! :)

I honestly never thought there would be a 39 week blog after being dilated this long! :) I have tried to enjoy the last couple of weeks, but I am ready to be a mommy now! My doctor appointment is Thursday of this week. I will be one day overdue for that appointment, and she said that she will discuss induction with me at that point. I hope it doesn't come to that because I really wanted her to come when her time was right! :) I know she is ready to come, but I just hope it happens naturally! I have had many suggestions on how to speed it along, but most don't sound like anything I am interested in doing right now!

I leave you with a new picture of my nephew! He is an angel! :) I praise God for such a wonderful family and friends over these 39 weeks! I praise God for a healthy baby and nephew!

It makes me curious to think if I will blog at 40 weeks! Maybe sweet Zoe is waiting for her due date....July 29! I think that is my new prediction!

38 weeks again...pictures of Grayson and Zoe! :)

What a great weekend! I had my birthday yesterday and my nephew Grayson William Slack was born today!!! :) He was 9 lbs 11 oz and 21.75 inches long! Mom and baby are doing well! My sister called me at 1:30am to tell me her water broke and Grayson made his entrance at 4:50am by c-section. Needless to say, I had to take LONG nap today! :) I couldn't sleep knowing my sister was having her baby and my mom and dad were on the road (with no sleep). Everyone is doing well, and we are very blessed! I am especially thankful that I spent the evening with just my mom and dad for my birthday. I was so thankful we gave big hugs and kisses before we left! We sure did not think it was goodbye to Florida!

I am including a picture of Zoe and Grayson in this blog! :) One is in still....and one has escaped as Geoff described it! Hopefully Zoe will follow in her cousins footsteps soon...although she was supposed to come first! Grayson beat her to it! Zoe must just be enjoying the spa like environment! Happy Birthday to Grayson! :)

38 weeks and counting....Happy Birthday to Me! :)

Well, I am 38 weeks and 30 years old as I write this today! :) I guess Zoe decided she wanted to come in my thirties instead of my twenties. :) Fine with me! She will come when she is good and ready! I do think it might be fun to have her today on my birthday...what a neat gift!

I went to the doctor again this week (Wednesday, July 15th) . I am progressing so that is good news. I am still at 3 cm dilated, but she did say that the baby had descended quite a bit in a week! I knew this all ready because my hips don't lie! I am currently 60% effaced. She said it could be any day or could be all the way to my due date on July 29th. I am hoping she decides to come before the 27th since that is the date my parents leave to be with Kelly Ann. I know they would like to be there for both babies to enter this world!

Last night Zoe was a movin' and a groovin,' and I had some crazy feelings going on. I ended up laying down and everything went away. We thought it might be something...but it was a false alarm. :) I had predicted that she was going to come yesterday to Geoff, but I guess I was wrong! I will just have to make a new prediction now!

I have been feeling okay for the most part this week. I am moving a little slower and wanting to sleep a little longer lately. I still went to the gym most days, but my time on the machines is getting a bit shorter. I know I won't be allowed to go to the gym for a while once Zoe is here, so I am trying to stay active until then. I do feel so much better when I go there! :) I attribute part of my easy pregnancy to my continuation of exercise. :)

Today is my birthday, and I am celebrating 30 wonderful years of life. I feel ready to take that next step in life with our new little girl. I am incredibility blessed to have such a wonderful life filled with such great friends and family. I am very happy and have an awesome husband to keep me laughing and on my toes! :) I know our daughter is just going to add to that fun! Praise be to God for all things!

I sit here and wonder if I will be blogging again next week.....we will see! :)

37 weeks and counting...

It is July....and you know what that means...watermelon! :) According to the site that I had been using to compare Zoe to the fruit and veggies, she is the size of a watermelon! How appropriate! Some days it honestly feels like that is what I am carrying around with me. It is amazing how much she has grown in 9 months!

This past week (Tuesday July 7) we went to the doctor and to my surprise she informed me that I was 3 cm dilated all ready! I laughed out loud and then proceeded to ask her if she was kidding. If you know my doctor, that is a crazy thing to ask! :) (she is very serious...good doctor...but wouldn't joke... :)) I was amazed! I kept repeating to Geoff the rest of the day that I was 3 cm. She even told me to pack my bag! (interesting fact....I packed on Saturday afternoon!) I have been expecting something to happen since that day, but here I am almost a week since then and still the same. I am anxiously awaiting my appointment Wednesday to find out how I have progressed in a weeks time. I know she will come when she is ready. I don't want to rush anything, but I think about it all the time now since I know I am 3 cm.

We are finished with the nursery except for hanging one piece of art and waiting for my glider to come in. I have packed my bag and made the lists of people to text or call. So now we wait for our little girl to make her arrival! :) I am feeling really good still and have made it a couple of times to the gym still. It is a lot harder for me to do normal activities these past few weeks, and I definitely get tired more quickly. My main complaint is still my hands and sleeping, but I feel pretty blessed with how easy my pregnancy has been! My feelings about the end are mixed of happiness and sadness. I know it sounds weird, but I will miss being pregnant. I know that will be overshadowed completely though with the love and happiness of having her in my arms instead! :) People ask me a lot if I am scared about having her and the pain of labor. It is so weird, but I have no anxiety about this at all. I have a peace about it. I feel like I know it going to happen....I want it to happen...and I am ready. I believe that the Lord is in control and his will be done. I am thankful for all the prayers from others for this pregnancy for our Zoe.

Well...posting again soon unless I go into labor before then...

29...30...31...32...33...34...35...36 weeks and counting! OH MY!

Oh baby! :) Has it really been 8 weeks since I last blogged! I hope this isn't a sign of what is to come with my blogging. It is awesome to see the counter on the page say 25 days until Zoe's arrival! I am so excited to meet our precious little girl in person! I can't begin to go through everything that has happened in those 8 weeks, but I have to say it has been wonderful and we are all doing great!

We had our last doctor's appointment on June 22. We were able to have a ultrasound again to see our Zoe again. She is looking good, and the doctor said she looked like she was right on track. From the measurements she took, she was weighing 4.5 lbs at the time which is normal for the number of weeks I was. We go the doctor again this Tuesday, July 7th to see what the progress has been. I think after this appointment we will start going every week to check everything out! I am hoping to carry her a little longer just to make sure those lungs get fully developed!

We are basically done with the nursery. I love it and it is definitely a collaborative effort from Geoff and I. He definitely put in the time to make it a special place for his little girl! :) I really don't have much left but to begin washing everything! :) Everything is put away, but I need to take it all back out and wash it before she comes. This task is a bit daunting considering all that I put away! Ha! :) I am still waiting on a chair that I ordered and to hang a couple of pictures, but if she came today we would be fine! Except her mommy has not packed her bag yet either! :)

We have gone to a couple of classes to help prepare ourselves for Zoe. I am so thankful for Conway Regional Women's Center and the awesome staff and facility they have there. I went to an awesome breastfeeding class while Geoff was away, and together we went to an all day childbirth class last Saturday. I know that I am more prepared because of those good instructors. Tuesday night we will go to our final class we have registered for which is a Baby Basics class which will definitely be helpful as well. I know nothing will really prepare us, but we are doing our best to try to be as educated as possible.

Currently, I am still feeling really great for 36 week pregnant person. I am still able to go the gym and do some light lifting. I am able to do pretty much what I want everyday. Praise be to God! I have had some pain in my hands due to swelling, but better my hands than my feet! My feet are swollen, but it is nothing compared to my hands. I have claws in the morning instead of fingers!!! :) Ha! My only complaint is laying down and rolling over. These tasks are difficult and a bit painful at times. I prefer being up and running around still. The more I move the better I feel. Zoe moves a lot during the day and makes her presence known. I will miss these feelings the good and not so pleasant ones. I am blessed beyond measure right now, and I feel like everything is as it should be. Our family is growing by 1, but joy it is growing exponentially! :)

28 weeks and counting...

3rd Trimester...baby! Oh yeah!!! :) I am so proud to reach this milestone for some reason. I feel some since of accomplishment or something! It is sort of strange. We are definitely getting excited for Zoe to be here! Although, we still have a lot of work to do! :)

This has been a full week, and I know that they will all be pretty full for the rest of time for a while. I love to be busy, so I am happy! :) We finally went to register at Babies R Us this week, so I think we are registered for everything we need! (Ha!) We are really guessing when we are at those stores, so we will see! :) It is fun to use that scanner thing again!

This week I also did the invitations for my sister's baby shower and went to the Kris Allen American Idol concert in Conway. The concert was for the final three contestants, and so Kris came home to Conway to a big crowd! Zoe enjoyed her first concert! Her mommy was tired after standing for three hours in the heat and humidity! :) My body was a bit swollen before the night was over. I had a great time, and it was definitely worth it! :) I am happy that I have been able to do so much while I have been pregnant. I know some pregnancies are not nearly as easy as mine has been so far!

I went to the doctor this week! Zoe is doing great! Her heartbeat sounded really good. My glucola test also came back with good results. That is the test where they are checking for gestational diabetes. They have you drink this really sugary drink (like a Sunkist pop with heaps of sugar added....not that yummy believe it or not) and then wait an hour to draw blood. They test to see how your body processed the sugar. I was relieved to hear the results from that test. Our next appointment is on June 1 which is right before Geoff leaves for Montreat! :)

The nursery is still coming along. It is a work in progress. We have received a bunch of stuff we ordered, but we are still working on finishing the paint! :) I know it can come together quickly once we really take the time to focus on it! I am excited to see the final product! It won't be long!

Happy Mother's Day weekend to all the mommies out there! It is a amazing that I am a mommie to be myself. :) I know my life is going to change forever, and it is a wonderful thing! I so happy right now, and I can't imagine the joy that Zoe is going to our hearts! :)

Registries

Hey everyone! It's Geoff this time.

We have a few baby showers coming up. We're so grateful for everyone and shocked that people want to buy Zoe and us stuff. Here are links to the three places we've registered. Many of the same items are registered at all three places, so you may want to shop around and find the best deal. Just click on the store name to view the registry.

Amazon.com | Babies "R" Us | Target

Again, thanks so much for all that you are doing for us. We are in awe that people want to help us get what we need to welcome Zoe! We're on our way in Week 29, and I'm sure Krista will post more soon.

24...25...26...27 weeks and counting...

27 weeks!!! I cannot believe the counter on this page says 88 days to go!!!! :) I love being pregnant! I guess I haven't blogged in a while! I didn't think it had been this long! It has been a busy month I guess. I haven't blogged since April 7th and today is May 1st (Toad Suck Daze weekend)! :)

Okay, well let's see if I can recap this month of my pregnancy before I slip into the 3rd trimester next week!!! I cannot even believe it!

Well, on the pregnancy front I have been feeling pretty good. I went to the doctor and the heartbeat sounded great, but I am putting on a little too much weight! (LOL!) I go to the doctor on Tuesday of this next week, but I am kind of scared of the same results! I have been having some pain right side high up in my abdomen. My doctor had me go get my gall bladder checked out because they really thought it was a little to high to be Zoe. There is not a woman in my family (both sides) besides my sister that still has a gall bladder in place! However, my ultrasound showed that my gall bladder looked fine! Praise be to God! The nurse said it was something probably being inflamed by Zoe. I guess it is just my Zoe letting me know she is there with me all the time! :) Despite that minor pain in the side, I feel really great most of the time! I have started having some swelling in my feet this week, but nothing to really bother me. I have been really lazy about doing exercise lately though (which is unlike me if you know me very well). The last time I did any exercise was a walk LAST Saturday!!!! I am planning on going to the gym today and getting back on the wagon! It is good for me and Zoe! :)

On the nursery front, I have completely different plans since the last time I posted. The bedding I ordered (which I loved) never came in....we finally called them and it was discontinued! I wonder if they would have ever contacted us with this information! It made me very upset, and more upset because I had start over again and lost that time. The next day I ordered this new bedding set from restoration hardware baby and child. I am completely over the other bedding and fiasco, and I am completely loving the new nursery plan! I think about this nursery constantly. It is almost crazy. I just want to finish it fast for some reason!!! Geoff has been great especially on this front! He is amazingly talented and pretty much can make happen anything I can dream up!!! He is a jack of all trades for sure! :) He has been working on the painting since last Saturday. I have been helping with the designing and taping, but the painting is all Geoff. It looks awesome, and I will post pictures soon! Geoff is also working on some photography for the nursery as well! He built a light box last night and made a little studio in our kitchen to take the pictures. I am posting one of the shots (see above) he took last night! More to follow soon! Praise be to God for an amazing husband and future father! My furniture came in this week, along with my curtains and lamp! The rug is on the way as of this morning! I know it will all come together soon, and it makes me feel much more relaxed! I am throwing a baby shower for my sister on May 30th, so I need to finish so I can spend time making it super special and cute!!!! I have two showers planned for this month (so we have to register today!) and it is really exciting and meaningful to me! It is fun to celebrate Zoe before she is even here! :)

I am so happy right now. I have so much to be thankful for that my heart overflows with joy. I hope my happiness spills over onto others in my life! :)

23 weeks and counting...

Well, I just got back from the OB and I can report that everything is going well with little Zoe! The heartbeat sounded strong, and we are thankful! :)

It is hard to believe that 23 weeks have gone by! It is going so fast! I am trying to enjoy it and take note of all the exciting feelings and things that are going on. Last week I went back to work after spring break and had to do parent teacher conferences. It made for a long week for me and Zoe. We had a nice weekend with the Ryken family and celebrated Easter a week early at our new house. Zoe received a really nice book from her Aunt Jen about Easter signed by the author. I can't wait to see what books she will end up liking the most! :) Right now all the books that I read are about babies! :)

I am still waiting on the bedding to be shipped to our house (it is supposed to be in the orange and pink in the picture to the right) so I can give an update on the nursery. We did get a crib this weekend though from Zoe's other Aunt Renee'! :) Korbi's (and now Zoe's) crib is white and it is going to be perfect in the nursery. It is nice to have family that can help you out and definitely help save some money! Hopefully we will work on the nursery a bit this weekend and maybe even put the crib together! :) The bedding is what I am waiting on to really get going. I need it so I can decide on paint and curtains and all that fun stuff! :) All in good time! I know Zoe will like whatever we put together! :)

I have been feeling really good. I am definitely getting on the larger side and having trouble getting around as quick as I want to. Simple things like rolling over are definitely more challenging than before! :) Geoff and I laugh at me....and it is kind of funny most of the time! :) I definitely love feeling that Zoe is always with me wherever I go. I love the closeness we share. I wish that Geoff could feel some of what I get to experience. Also, so I could laugh at him if he had trouble rolling over! :)

Uh....21 and 22 weeks and counting...

Well, weeks have come and gone without a post from me! I have been enjoying life and have been on the move (and so has Zoe), so I took a break for a bit! :)

The past couple of weeks have been great! I enjoyed a visit from my close friends Lauren and Cinda and had fun buying lots of clothes for Zoe to grow into in the future from a consignment sale called Rhea Lana. I love a good deal! We had a great time and I enjoyed all the advice and honest commentary about lots of gross and wonderful things that babies bring into your life! I can tell that their friendship and advice are going to be essential in the near future! I am glad I was not first! (poor Cinda!) We had a wonderful time, and I enjoyed spending the first weekend of knowing Zoe was a girl with my close friends! :)

The last day before spring break, my 2nd period class threw a baby shower for me! It was so adorable. I could not believe it! :) They had asked me if they could and I said yes, but the rest was a big surprise! I could not believe how special and how adorable of a shower they had for me. I am not sure I could have pulled that off at 14 or 15 years of age! :) It really made my day and meant a lot! Days like that Friday remind me that teaching is what I am called to do!

This week was spent with my family and sister in Pensacola, Florida where my sister lives. It was a wonderful spring break! Just what I needed! I love the beach and spending time with my family and sister! :) Kelly told us in person that she is having a little boy Grayson William Slack on the Saturday we arrived! I am so excited that Zoe will have a cousin her age to play with and be close to as she grows up! I had so much fun laying in the sun with Kelly, reading baby books out loud with her, comparing notes, and of course shopping (see Zoe's first baby doll (mermaid) I bought while I was there)! New mommies and outlet malls are a scary combination! Trust me that there is not a shortage of cute boy or girl clothes out there (well, maybe after we were finished)!

Kelly and I have compared our bellies....and the result is that they are about the same size! She is definitely carrying differently than I am, but I didn't feel like a whale around her which made me happy! We carried around our big bellies with pride on that beach! :) I really liked bumping bellies, but Kelly just thought I was a weirdo. I got to see her belly jump when Grayson got the hiccups, and she got to feel Zoe move around from the outside for the first time (sorry Geoff!). Kelly and I spent some serious time in the nursery planning zone. The laptop was our friend at night! Mom even took a picture of us there because we spent so much time looking there together. I think it was good we were on the computer because it keep my Dad off of it! :) We helped each other make decisions, and I really don't think I could have done it without her! :) She has an eye for design! :) (I have an eye for money management! Ha!) I really enjoyed the week of relaxation and celebrating my mom's birthday! Zoe and Grayson enjoyed their first visit together with many more hopefully in the future!

We returned home on Friday night, and I was so excited to see Geoff again! I missed him so much! I know Zoe missed her daddy too! She started moving around Saturday morning while we were still in bed and he got to feel her kick for the first time too! She is really growing and moving and I absolutely love it! I feel great and and I love all of the new stuff that is starting to happen. I love being pregnant! I am excited to put together the nursery just for her and to get ready for her arrival (see blogs later for more information on the nursery). I am truly blessed with a great family and friends to share this time with!

Krista at 20 weeks

20 weeks and counting...

Wow! I am half-way there! It has been a wonderful week! This week we went for our ultrasound, and it was an amazing experience. Words cannot express the series of emotions that I went through. I was upset that we had not seen our baby since 8 weeks, but I think that made the experience even more incredible. To go from a little pebble to a baby that looks just perfect was an amazing sight!

We are officially having a little girl! Her name will be Zoe Danielle Ryken (this name is not for sure yet but it is really close). Zoe means Life.....and I love that! I did not know that until recently. We have had this name picked out forever. We never picked out a baby boy name....I guess it wasn't meant to be! :) We both secretly wanted a little girl, so we are so thrilled! I think God knows best in these situations (I mean in all situations)!

I love the pictures of the baby. I stare at them on my computer at work....at the gym on my phone....and at home on the fridge. Hopefully you all have had a chance to look at them on Facebook. I am going to upload some of them here for the world to see! I loved the fact that she was moving all around. She sucked her thumb, rubbed her eyes, gave a us a big yawn, and even put up one of her fingers to tell us she was the one! :) The memory of that experience will not be forgotten by us. It was awesome. We have video for part of it, and we hope to share that as well soon!

They measured everything and looked her over from little head to little toes. Everything seems to be looking great, and we are grateful! Thanks be to God! I hope you will continue to pray as Zoe continues to grow and progress as she should! :) Thanks for all your prayers so far! This experience has strengthened my relationship with God, and has made me feel closer to Him. Zoe is giving me a new Life! :)

19 Weeks, the photo

As promised, here are Krista and baby at 19 weeks.

19 weeks and counting...

Wow! 19 weeks! It was a great week! I love feeling the movement of the baby! I absolutely love being pregnant. God has blessed me with a wonderful pregnancy so far! I feel so lucky! I even love my big belly! :)

This has been a pretty slow week. I really don't mind because I enjoy having time to cook dinner and workout to keep me and the baby healthy. Next week, will be busier but exciting. We find out Tuesday boy or girl and then my friends Cinda and Lauren are coming to town! :) They both have timed it perfectly, so we can go shopping knowing boy or girl! :) Hopefully Mini-Ryken will cooperate with us on Tuesday! I am looking forward to deciding what to do for the nursery and buying a couple of things for baby! :)

It is funny how people are for sure I am having a boy or for sure I am having a girl! I love to play along and then laugh a little. I have had probably exactly the same amount of girl and boy guesses! Ha! Someone asked me this week whether or not I "feel" like it is a boy or girl! I just laughed! I think that is funny! I must not be as in touch with my inner self!

We will for sure reveal boy or girl on Tuesday, but I am not sure about the name. It is taking longer for a decision to be made than I thought! :) So....we might have to wait! We might have to be mini-boy-ryken or mini-girl-ryken for awhile!

Our baby is supposed to be the size of a mango this week....but I don't think that is big enough. I think these must be some big mangoes from the Caribbean or something! :) It is funny though because I had a virgin Mango daiquiri last night at dinner with a friend! :)

Please pray for us this week! I am hoping for a healthy baby report and that everything has developed as it should. They will be looking at all the organs and measuring to make sure we are on track! :) I know that the Lord has blessed us with this baby boy or girl. I feel confident I will have what I am supposed to have. I am trusting in Him to help us through!

Oh by the way....Geoff said we will probably take some pictures this weekend of my belly! :)

Not quite 19 weeks....

We are not quite 19 weeks yet, but it happened today! I called Geoff at lunch today because I felt the baby move for the first time today!!! :) I was teaching my 2nd period, and I felt something strange....but I definitely knew what it was! It happened a couple more times today. I am getting so excited! One week from today we will know boy or girl....we will keep you posted!

18 weeks and counting....

18 weeks! We are almost to the half-way to the point! This week the size is compared to a sweet potato. I don't like sweet potatoes, and the only pictures on google images were ugly. So, I have put a picture of a sweet potato pie instead. :) The only consolation is that it is sweet! :)

This week has been a lot calmer compared to last week. I have been busy with school, but that is about it! I made it to the gym almost everyday this week which makes me very happy. I have noticed that the extra weight makes the cardio work so much harder. I don't know how the people on the biggest loser do it!

10 days until our ultrasound! We are definitely on countdown! I can't wait to find out girl or boy....hopefully he/she will cooperate that morning! We still don't have our names picked out yet, but we will definitely come to a decision this week. I still haven't felt any movement.....well at least I don't think I have. I have felt round ligament pain (or stretching pain as I call it) this week for sure though. I feel the pain one day and then the next day I look a lot bigger. The baby is the size of a 6 inch Subway sandwich this week, so it needed more room!

Well, I hope you will continue to pray for us during this exciting time for our family. We will keep you updated! :)

17 weeks and counting...

Each week that I type in a new number I cannot believe the time has gone by so quickly!

It is actually quite fitting that my baby is the size of an onion this week because of all the tears that have been shed by me. This has been a tough week for me. One of my closest friends (Lana) at school lost her husband, Jon. I love her so much, and I wish I could take her pain away. It makes you put your life in perspective for sure and makes you thankful for each and every day on this earth with your family and friends.

I am getting quite anxious for March 10th. I am really wanting to see my baby again and find out boy or girl! Only 16 days away! We still need to work on boy names before that day.... and a middle name for a girl! :) I love keeping the secret, but I can't wait to share the news with everyone! I am also getting excited for feeling our baby move. It is supposed to happen somewhere between 16-20 weeks. I will definitely blog the first day I feel this....it is supposed to feel like butterflies fluttering....not sure what that feels like! :)

Today I am determined to buy some new pants. I can still wear my brown and black work pants, but it is just getting a little scary of how I have to rig them up to wear. I could not find my bella band one day, so I decided to use a safety pin instead. That was a mistake! Ouch! I think it is time! :)

Each day I am pregnant is a blessing. I love the feeling that my baby is always with me. I ask you to continue to please pray for Geoff, myself, and Mini-Ryken (who we will call by name soon enough!).

16 weeks and counting....

So......I am behind on my baby blog! 16 weeks! I can't believe it! I don't know what fruit I am, but this week I have felt like a watermelon so we will go with that fruit! :) I really have felt larger this week, and I even broke out the maternity jeans!

I have a good excuse for not blogging. We have officially moved! :) The last couple weeks have been a fury of packing, painting (not by me), and working. Luckily, we have such wonderful friends and family that have helped us out so much! I can say we have a room for our baby now! It is filled with boxes right now, but it will belong to the baby soon enough. As soon as I can get it cleared out, I will post a picture of the before. I am excited to decorate a nursery and make a special place in our home just for Mini-Ryken.

This week I went to the doctor. I took the whole day off, and I am glad I did. I have been exhausted all week. I guess I am recovering from the week before still. The doctor took blood and listened to the heartbeat again. She said everything is still looking really good. I am very thankful. I am looking forward to our next appointment on March 10th. We will see our baby that day with the 3D ultrasound, and hopefully find out the sex! :) I absolutely cannot wait for this date. We plan on having a name picked out by that date, and announcing it the day we find out! :)

It is an exciting time in the Ryken family. We are so blessed with our new home, and with a healthy baby. I am enjoying being pregnant so much! I am tired.....but I am blessed to be tired. I feel big....but it is a blessing to feel big. Praise God from who all blessings flow! :)

13 weeks and everything is peachy

Well, I am at 13 weeks. I can't believe how fast everything is going! My baby is supposedly the size of a peach now, and I am running out of space in my clothes for bigger fruit! :) I am still wearing my normal pants, but I have started wearing a Bella Band to cover up how tight they are! We definitely need to start picture taking to track the progress!

I told my students this week (actually I told my first two classes and everyone knew after that point.....rumors travel fast)! It was fun, but they are so crazy! They would say things like they all ready knew......or we could tell.....or we knew because you have been so mean.... or I have known for 2 months (yeah right)!!!!! They are going to be funny as this process goes along the way!

We have started the process of packing. We are going slowly.....neither one of us want to do it. We will get after this week and weekend (we have no choice since we are moving the following weekend!). We could possibly have a winter weather day this week. I will spend it packing if we happen to have one! :) We close on both houses the following Wednesday!

I have been feeling really good still. I still really enjoy my gym time, and I am thinking about starting a Mommie to Be water aerobics class at the gym next week. :)

Geoff and I continue to remember how thankful we are to God for this baby. Please continue to pray for Mini-Ryken as we still have a long road ahead! :)

12 weeks and counting!

It does not seem possible to be saying that I am in my second trimester! It is so exciting to have reached that milestone in my pregnancy. :)

We went to the doctor this week and got to listen to the heartbeat! The doctor said it sounded strong which is such a blessing. I know my baby is growing, but since I cannot feel him or her it is nice to hear everything is going okay. I am having requests for belly pictures, so Geoff volunteered his belly. I will be posting pictures soon! :) My clothes are still fitting at this point, but I have started noticing some rounding off of my belly. I am taking good care of my body, and I am trying to go to the gym for a little bit every day! :)

On the house front, we are finished looking! We reached a deal on a house yesterday! It is still in Westin Park but just toward the front of the neighborhood. I am so happy to get to stay out in this neighborhood. It is a great place to live, and I love the neighborhood pool and playground. Mini-Ryken and I will enjoy many wonderful summers taking advantage of them! We feel blessed to have sold and found a house so quickly. The new house is vacant as well, so we will only have to move once! :)

It has been an exciting time in the Ryken home! I love all the changes, and I look forward the changes to come! :) I am trying to take time to enjoy the changes in my body and life!