17 Weeks

I am now 17 weeks and my stomach is really starting to pop out! I was amazed when I read a website yesterday that said the baby is about the size of an open hand! The baby is starting to develop his/her own fingerprints that make him/her different from everyone else in the world! Isn't it amazing that God has made us all unique and perfect according to his will?

We don't really have anything else to share. I start school on Friday, so my summer is coming to an end. :(

Here is my latest belly pic. I think from here on out I'm going to do covered belly pictures. :)

We're in Love with a Heart Beat

We went back to the doctor today and all is well! The heart beat sounded great, and we even got to hear the sound of the baby kicking and moving around. I could just sit and listen to that sound all day! I haven't felt the baby move yet, but I hopefully will be able to feel it within the next couple of weeks. There was one night that I might have felt it, but it hasn't happened consistently enough for me to know.

Our next appt. is on September 4th and that's when they will do the sonogram to check everything and find out the sex of the baby! Now is the time for everyone to start guessing! We have had mixed opinions. Blake thinks it's a boy, and I really am not sure what I think. There is a woman in Nazareth that is known for being to able to guess the sex of the baby by looking at the pregnant woman. We saw her this weekend and her guess was a boy. However, many members of my family think that it's a girl, including my uncle who dreamt that!

We just got back from a very fun weekend in Canyon/Nazareth. It was the big Hoelting reunion. I always thought my family reunions were wild, but this is something that you can't even describe. A couple named Henry and Elizabeth Hoelting settled in Nazareth in 1908 and had 9 children. From those 9, really 8 because one is a nun, the family is now up to 870 people! That is not a typo people....870! It was a lot of fun, and we were glad to see a lot of the family.

I also want to ask for prayer. A guy I went to high school with, and who also happens to be the son of my mother-in-laws best friend, passed away from a brain aneurysm. He was my age and a wonderful guy that I remember fondly. I remember as a little girl he was always really quiet but all of the girls wanted to dance with him at our little driveway/barn dances because he was one of the few that knew how. Plus, he was really cute! His name was Garret Campsey. Please be praying for his family and fiance. They were going to get married next month.

Apples and Oranges

I am now 15 weeks and blazing through the second trimester! They say this is the "honeymoon trimester" because it is when you feel the best, and it's true. I am feeling so much better! I sometimes forget I am pregnant, but I am quickly reminded when I get tired more easily. According to a couple of websites, the baby is the size of an apple or orange! (All the pregnancy websites compare babies to the sizes of vegetables and fruits!) I am definitely growing! People that know me can easily tell, but I'm not near big enough for a stranger on the street to notice.

Here is my 15 week belly pic. See if you can tell a difference from the previous one.


I came across this comic the other day and thought it was funny. This is how I feel.

The big Hoelting reunion is this weekend, so we will be heading to Nazareth for that. It happens every 4 years and is a lot of fun. Imagine the town of Nazareth doubling in size from just one family! I'm sure we'll have some good pictures to post on here when we get back!

Almost 1/3 of the way there!

I am closing in on the last couple of days of my first trimester! That is a huge milestone, and we are so excited! I will be 14 weeks on Wednesday. They say that the second trimester is the best one because all of the symptoms lighten up a bit. I can already tell that everything is getting better. My nausea has gotten better, but it is not totally gone, and I have a lot more energy. (Darn! No more excuses to take a nap everyday!) I still have my days where I feel great or terrible, but more great than terrible. I have recently discovered some weird symptoms that are typical of most pregnancies: 1) Not being able to breathe through your nose. 2) Shortness of breath. It sounds like allergies, but it's not! They say it has to do with the increased blood supply circulating in your body. Weird. I also recently think I experienced what is called round ligament pain. It's just a shooting pain in your lower abdomen due to the stretching of ligaments to accomodate the growing baby! :) Speaking of growing baby, I will try to post a new belly pic soon. I'm still not very big, so there really isn't much to see. Blake touched my belly the other day and called it "fluffy!" I had to laugh because he is absolutely right. My midsection is just a pooch of "fluffy." I am not sure if that is due to pregnancy or my cravings for foods such as Taco Bell, McDonald's Mcskillet breakfast burrito, or cheese. Those of you that know my eating habits, it is RARE for me to ever eat any of that! Don't worry though...I am still eating very healthy! I still love my veggies!

Summer is still treating us well. It's hotter than ever! It's supposed to be 103 today, so I will be staying indoors! My mom and dad came into town last week, and we had a lot of fun. Mom and I did some damage shopping and had fun looking at baby things. She got me some back-to-school maternity tops that will come in handy when I start back to work in less than a month! Eeeek!

Blake and I went to a wedding in Austin this weekend and had a blast. It was nice to get away just the two of us for a weekend. Plus we got to eat at our FAVORITE restaurant...Chuy's! We got to spend time with some very special friends too! What did we do with Chelsy, you ask? She got to stay at a luxury suite called the Bark-N-Lounge for two nights! This is where she goes to day care. They spoil the dogs and Chelsy really likes the women that work there, so it makes for a few less tears when I drop her off. She had never stayed two nights there before, so I was relieved to hear that she did great...minus chewing on her pillow. She was exhausted when she got home from playing all weekend, so she crashed immediately and is still sleeping as I type this! You can go view the Bark-N-Lounge at their website. http://www.barknlounge.com/

If you click on photo gallery, you should be able to find some pictures of Chelsy! Well, I'm hungry, so I'm off to go eat leftover pizza and salad. :)

Good Strong Heartbeat!

This morning was our second doctor's appointment, and it went really well! All the doctor did was use a doppler thingee to find the heartbeat. He told me, "Now you are just 12 weeks, so it may take me a little while to find the heartbeat. So don't worry." He put the doppler on my tummy and there it was!!! It took no time at all. Blake and I immediately sighed with relief and then just looked at each other and smiled. It is miraculous to think that there is a little person with a beating heart growing inside of me. We went ahead and scheduled our next two appointments. We have one on August 7th and then another on September 4th. The appointment in September is the one where we do the sonogram and will be able to see if it is a boy or a girl! I do not have any feelings yet of what I think it is. Blake said he is pretty sure that he could see boy parts in the first sonogram! Ha! Ha! We really don't care what it is, just as long as it is healthy. The heartbeat today was 160. According to the old wives tale, a heartbeat over 140 is usually a girl, and below 140 is a boy. For those mommies out there, what were your babies' heartbeats and did this prove to be true? I am interested to know. I read other fun ways to guess if it a boy or girl on this website. According to this website and my symptoms, it could be either, so who knows!

http://parenting.ivillage.com/pregnancy/pbabyprep/0,,j012,00.html

We decided to go ahead and start the belly pictures. It's a fun thing to do because you can go back and see how much the baby is growing. Here is my belly at 12 weeks.



Now the baby is only 3 inches right now, so this little bulge is mainly just bloat! I've always had a rather flat stomach, so this bulge is something for me!

Everything else is going great! I am still enjoying my summer, although I am having to work on some TAKS curriculum stuff. Blake's job is really busy, but he loves it. Chelsy is still as spoiled as ever! We have some friends coming into town tonight to stay the weekend, and we are really looking forward to that! Hope all is well with everyone! Thanks for all of the support and prayers and keep it up!

Happy Birthday America & Chelsy!

Today is a special day. Not only is it Independence Day, but it is also Chelsy's adoption birthday! One year ago today she arrived to our home a frightened dog. Those of you that know Chelsy realize how far she has truly come! She has truly been a blessing to us, and she was definitely worth the wait. (I begged Blake for 2 years for a pet before he finally caved!)

For our birthdays celebration, we went to the Roanoke fireworks display on the 3rd. For some reason, every town around here had their fireworks on the 3rd. I'm still trying to figure that one out! Anyways, we took Chelsy! Yes, Chelsy has come a long ways, but she still has a ways to go. We were pleasantly surprised at how she did. She initially was really excited and then when we settled down on our blanket surrounded by people, she got really nervous. After about 10 minutes she finally settled down and was great...until the fireworks started! She wanted to run and hide but quickly realized she had nowhere to go. Plus she was on a leash. She crawled behind Blake and just laid there and shook. Poor baby! She did finally calm down but stayed nestled behind Blake. We finally got back to the car, and she couldn't have gotten in there fast enough. She was happy once we got her home.

The actual 3rd of July celebration in Roanoke was great! They had tons of activities for kids and families, and they served brisket sandwiches, chips, and a drink for just $2! The fireworks were the best we both had ever seen. Roanoke also has that small town feel to it, so we felt like we were back in Naz or Canyon. It was a lot of fun, and even though she may not admit it, Chelsy had fun too! :)

Summer Projects

Blake and Chelsy spent several days last week putting in a flower bed in our backyard. We have had this one spot where the grass doesn't grow well and where Chelsy has dug to lay in the cool dirt, so we decided to make that spot pretty! It's a perfect spot because it is right outside our big kitchen window.

Our trip to The Plant Shed was kind of funny because we had no clue what to get or not to get. We had decided to do mostly perennials so that we don't have to redo the flower bed every year. However, I do not have as green of a thumb as my mother and Grandma, so we may have to redo it every year anyway.

We planted hardy hibiscus, asparagus fern, lantanna, flame acanthus, some small plant that I can't remember the name of, and a couple of hanging pots. We also bought a trellis, but have not planted anything for that yet. If you have any good suggestions of what to put there, let us know! The spot gets morning sun and is in the shade the rest of the day. We also would like to put in a little fountain there too.

Here are some pictures.

Just just getting started!

She is such a good little helper!


The finished product!

You can view more pictures of the flower bed, our beach trip, and latest Canyon trip on our picture website.

http://picasaweb.google.com/blakebirkenfeld

Everything is going great in the Birkenfeld household. Blake and Chelsy are getting very spoiled having me home everyday. Blake gets fed breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and Chelsy gets to play all day and help me out around the house. I have more summer projects to come, so be looking for more posts on that!

My pregnancy is still going well. Symptoms are still in full swing. I am now 11 weeks! We go to the doctor next Thursday on the 10th. By that time, I will be over 12 weeks. I can't wait for that appointment to hear that everything is still okay. Keep up the prayers!