Awake and blogging ...

It's 1:11 a.m. here and I've just put Cooper down, finally, to sleep. I'm downstairs and he's in his bouncy chair. Scary thing is, I can't sleep. So, I blog. I've just read through a ton of old ACUer blogs and it made me happy. It's so great to be able to keep up with the lives of so many old friends in such an interesting way. I miss being involved in everyone's life on a daily basis at ACU - blogging helps us all stay connected!

I'm looking at my week-and-a-half old boy right now, and I'm amazed. Never did I think that something so perfect would come out of two SUPER imperfect people. I guess that's where God comes in. Even as I'm exhausted and healing right now, I really don't care about me. It's unbelievable how instantly you love someone that you don't know. I'm already worried about him as a teenager (with our bad metabolisms, braces and my eyesight, he doesn't have a prayer, at least in junior high), or in elementary school playing the make-people-pass-out game like boys did at my school, or needing me when I'm not there, questions, this crazy world and the stats we hear every day ... everything. I'm already a worrier, so this is going to be hard to let go and let God take care of him. He is so precious to us.

Anyway, I love and miss everyone I don't see everyday, and I hope somehow that all of our kids can hang out (at least at ACU) and know each other in the future. This talk could be all of the hormones I have running through my body, so take it all with that in mind!

Moms - any advice when I'm feeling overwhelmed? I'm already worried (shocker) about going back to work in the new year. I get to bring him with me, so I don't know why. I just want to be able to devote my attention in the right spots.

Love to all!

Go Wildcats!

Look how cute the future Wildcat is! Looks a little scared of the camera, but knows where he's headed!

The doc appt. went well yesterday. He's gained four ounces in four days, so that's good. Back to 7 lbs. 2 oz. Still pretty little! He has conjunctivitis in his left eye from the birth canal, so it's all pussed and gross looking. We got some meds, and it's already better today. Whew! I mean, this is a common thing, and Luke and I freaked out. I'm glad this is the only problem we've had, because I don't think Luke could take much worse! He's such a good pappa!

Gotta go do laundry!

Back in full effect.

It's so hard for me to keep posting pictures, but he already looks older and cuter! I'll try and keep up tonight or tomorrow.

More on me: On Friday, Luke, Mom, the Coop, and I went back up to St. David's because of my spinal headache. Lemme tell ya - this thing was unbearable. Like a dork, I thought I could wait it out until it went away on its own, but no chance. We went up in the afternoon. It took about three hours. They gave me what's called a blood patch in my spine. They took 20 CCs of blood out of my arm and put it in my epidural space. So weird. I almost passed out, they had to stop and start over. I think it was just because the doctor was describing everything he was doing to me. Ugh! As soon as he stopped that, I was okay. After it was all over, I had to lie flat for 30 minutes completely still, and then slowly sit up every 20. Then, pressure in the back all day. But, no headache! Thank you God. I feel so much better.

We go back to the pediatrician tomorrow morning to weigh him, etc. I think all will be well! He's so awesome!

Sorry

About the scary leg picture. I took it off. See the less ghetto picture below. I'm really tired and just posting pictures that I see. Blurred vision because of this headache. Apologizing again ... Here's a hook 'em horns for ya! (Thanks Claire!)

COOPER IS HERE!

Dang. I'm so sorry it's been such a long time since I've posted, but I've been birthin' and feedin' babies for about five days so far. Now, the birth story for those who have been waiting:

Saturday, Oct. 15, UT game: Luke and I went with Ty and Charis to the UT football game on Saturday afternoon. Ty got tickets from his work, so me and my 38 week pregnant self went to eat and went to the game. It was SO hot! Without even realizing it, I did all of the things you're supposed to do to put yourself into labor - walking up a lot of stairs, walking that morning with Luke, eating Mexican food at Hula Hut after the game, etc. Needless to say, I was exhausted after that day out.

When we got home that night, I felt SUPER uncomfortable. I took a bath and sat on the couch and felt a little better, and then went to bed. Same old night ...

Sunday, Oct. 16, 3:30 a.m.: I woke up for normal pregnant reasons and was just listening to the house noises, when I felt a pop sound, followed by another louder popping sound. I was all, no way. I walked to the bathroom, and low and behold, my water had broken. This of course scared the heck out of me, so I woke up Luke, and off we went. It was pretty frantic. By the time we got into the car and had everything we needed and were on the way, my contractions had started full force. And man, contractions are not cool. New found respect for natural birth people. I sure couldn't do it!

We got to the hospital, I changed, and started the contraction process. Ouch is an understatement. At about 6:30 I asked for the epidural. The anesthesiologist (is that right?) was going to be 30 minutes late because of a twin c-section, so that was fun. His replacement got there pretty quick and went for the epidural. But, instead of an epidural, she gave me a spinal block, accidentally. This happens to one out of every 100 epidural tries, so I was "lucky!" I was totally and completely numb from the chest down. I'm serious when I say that someone could have cut my legs off and I wouldn't have known. Oops. They stopped the medicine and said that I had to wait for it to wear off for about two hours before I could feel anything. I was dilated from a 4 to a 10 in one hour, but had to wait to push. Woo-hoo! After I started to feel my toes and legs (which is so weird, by the way), I started to push. I pushed about two and a half hours, and out he came! It was absolutely the most amazing thing I've ever done. It was so great. Luke cried like a baby. He's perfect.

The worst thing so far is the spinal headache I have, and have had since Monday morning. It comes at about 1:00 p.m. and doesn't go away until about 7:30 p.m. If I wasn't confined to lying down completely flat when the headache hits (only thing that works) things would be awesome. He's eating pretty good, but got pretty skinny Tuesday and Wednesday, so that scared us. We went to the pediatrician this morning and he said that everything was totally fine. Same weight as he was when he left the hospital, but we've had to supplement with formula a couple of times. He's doing great today. He's seriously the most awesome thing Luke and I have ever done and will ever do together. I really don't think it's hit me yet that he's our forever!

I'll try and keep more pictures posted!

Quit scaring me Dr. Scary McScaryson!

Another interesting doctor's appointment - I just can't get enough craziness at her office lately! We go in at 4:15, do the usual weigh, blood pressure, etc. I gained SIX pounds in a week apparently, and that's good. Back up to 20 total. Working from home and trying to chill out has helped. Then, the doc comes in to measure and examine me, again, as usual, and as she's feeling around on my tummy she says to the nurse, "Go get the ultrasound." I was all, "Holy goodness. What's the deal?" She then replied to us, "I think this baby's breech." Great. I didn't feel he was breech because I think I might have noticed him flip over, but she wanted to look on the ultrasound and make sure.

She turned on machine and looked around, and behold, he was head down. Whew! His head was so far down already that she couldn't feel it. She just wanted to be sure. Man! Why the heck did she have to scare me? She just kept saying that it was not good for him to be breech this far along, and we'd discuss our options after she looked at the ultrasound. I'm glad all is well!

I'm three centimeters dilated, so one more than last week. Things are moving right along. Doc predicts next week, so we'll see I guess. It could be anytime. It's really starting to freak me out after this appointment. This child is going to come out, one way or another, in a VERY short time. Our entire lives are going to change. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I have to keep focusing on the good! We get to meet Cooper soon!

Off to the UT game tomorrow. I bought a large orange t-shirt to wear. And I will look like just that - a large orange!

On my way ...

... to the doctor's appointment! Scared some of you guys. Ha!

Wish me luck. We'll see if I've progressed any this week and gained some weight back. An update will come soon after.

Also, I wish I was at ACU Homecoming this weekend! It sounds like it's going to be such a fun event. We'll be at the UT game on Saturday afternoon instead (too bad we're missing that ACU football game), Lord willin'. Maybe those loud canons and screaming fans will send me into labor.

37 weeks - let's think 19 days left, shall we?

Large and in charge, and eating my weight in Taco Cabana and other fatty food.



Gotta gain weight, for the first time in my life. This will probably be the last time I will have an excuse to do this, so I'm taking advantage!

Our birthing class this weekend was really great. I enjoyed it, but I think Luke got a lot more out of it than I did. Luke still felt like he didn't know much of the details behind the whole process. Well, if we didn't know something before, we sure do now! Lots of really cool videos will hopefully help take the edge off of the real thing. :)

I'm working from home starting tomorrow, and I have to take it easy per the doc. It'll be nice. I still have a lot to do with the nursery and around the house, and I'll get to rest a little. Next appointment: Friday afternoon. Could be any day!

Weird update from doctor

We had an interesting doctor's appointment this afternoon. I'm a little more dilated than before - a tad more than two centimeters and progressing fine. It was kinda nice today because the doc's normal heart rate monitor was broken, so we got to have another sonogram instead to check everything out. It was cool to see him again on-screen. Everything looks fine - heartbeat, organs, movement, amniotic fluid, etc. My doctor couldn't tell if he was still a boy because of how crammed he is in my giant tummy, but she's confident in her first assessment of the whole boy thing. Right now, Coop's about 6 lbs. 9 oz. and growing at full speed, still on schedule for Oct. 30. All is well!

Except for one thing: I lost five pounds in a week. Really weird. This concerned the nurse and the doctor big time, since I shouldn't be losing weight at all right now. This brings me back down to 14 pounds total gain. I mean, I hadn't eaten anything in a while before my appoiment, and it was like 4:30, so that could have been part of it. But, my appointments are always at 4:00, so go figure. She asked all of the questions: Are you eating the same? Yes, a ton. I had hamburger pizza last night and McDonald's today. Any weird activity? I worked out yesterday, but I do so often during the week.

The doctor then said that since he's growing fine and everything's normal then the weight loss was probably okay, to which Luke chimed in (and thankfully so) that work has been extremely stressful for me in the past week and a half, which it has. That struck a small chord with the doc. Stress can make you lose or gain weight, and I think it's the only explanation for my weight loss. From of all of this, the doctor wrote me a note and advised me to work from home and take it super easy from now until the baby comes. Whew! I think it will help a lot. I'm going in on Monday to switch everything over, give a run-down to all and grab some stuff, and then it's home until labor day per doctor's orders. Not sure how everyone at work will react to that, but I really can't help it. I hope this helps me maintain my weight. It really scared me when the doctor was so concerned because I'm seriously not trying to lose weight. I eat all of the time it feels like. We'll see what relaxing from here on out does to my weight. I'm just glad everything's cool with Coop.

We went to the mall right after the appointment because driving north on I-35 from the Central Texas area on Texas/OU weekend at rush hour is just ridiculous. Luke got some clothes, and I got nothing except baby clothes and nursing stuff. It was a little sad for me. I miss my normal clothes! It's colder here now, and I have like two shirts I can wear at this point. Come out baby!

We then went to Chuy's with my friend Claire and then back home. It's been a nuts week, but I'm glad for the weekend. We're going to birthing class Sat. and Sun. to see what this will all be like. God bless us all!

26 days and counting ...

THIRTY-SIX WEEKS!



Wow. I'm HUGE! He's dropped a little bit since last week I believe, so the heartburn has been basically gone, and I feel much better breathing and eating. Pretty nice of Cooper I think. At the end of this week, he will be a full-term baby, so labor could happen at any time. I don't think it's hit me or Luke yet really. Not sure if it will until we're in the delivery room and I'm having him.

We spend this past weekend getting everything we still didn't have for the nursery and other essential items. Babies 'R' Us is a madhouse on Saturday afternoon, so word to the wise - don't do it if you have many large items in your shopping cart and you are trying to walk through the aisles! It was still pretty fun shopping around. But, by about 6:30 (and we'd been to Sears Grand and BRU) we're still at Target buying groceries and baby stuff, we were spent. We got a mattress, Diaper Champ, a going home outfit (super cute) some burp rags and bottles, and other fun stuff. I think we still need a mobile, but that's about it. He has more clothes than a boy should ever have, but they're all so cute! I'm only praying to God at this point that he's a boy. Otherwise, we'll have much more to do/buy. On Sunday, Luke went to the lake with his brother Jeffrey and I went to the gym and swam. It was pretty cold, but kinda nice to be weightless and not feel so huge for just a few minutes. As of last Thursday, I've gained a total of 19 pounds. Man, I feel it! Then, we went to care group and had some great Chinese food. I'm pretty sure I overdid it at that restaurant. Mmmmm ...

My bag is basically packed for the hospital and we have everything we need and more for the baby. I just can't wait to see how big he is and hold him and see what he looks like. I'm so excited, yet nervous, about the whole ordeal. Not much time left!

Doctor's appointment

Another update: Already, we have progress! I am 1-2 centimeters dilated and 50 percent effaced, So, the labor process has already started. Man! I didn't think there would be progress like that this time, so we'd better get our tails in gear this weekend a buy a mattress, put the car seat in, etc. I know this probably means nothing, but the doc predicts I'll have Cooper in 2-3 weeks, or at least before my due date. Unreal! I had a pretty stressful day at work, so I haven't really had a chance to soak this in. I think I'm in a little state of shock.

She also mentioned that this makes for a much shorter labor process - about 6-10 hours total. That's great news if it rings true! I'm trying not to get my hopes up for anything so I won't be disappointed when it's 24 hours long!

Woo-hoo! Cooper here we come!

Weather

Even with all of my angst for the weather lately, this morning is AWESOME outside. The high today in Austin is 82, and I've never been so excited about a cold front. Ever. The hotness was really starting to get to me. This morning, walking the dog, I was so happy-go-lucky just because of the 72 degrees. Is it weird that I'm ready for Christmas?

Shower time!

What a crazy weekend! Since the shower was moved around because of the hurricane, and the word didn't really get out as planned, I had TWO showers. Yes, two. One on Saturday and one on Sunday, the real one. Saturday, I went to the place where it was going to be and waited to see if anyone came, and one person did. It was still nice, because all of us chilled and ate and looked at the new, beautiful house. Today was also great! We got lots of great gifts from our family and Westover friends. It was SO much fun. Here are all of the hostesses and moms, total. All there at one point or another!



Here I am at a whopping 35 weeks. Only a few more weeks to go! He's still moving like crazy. I'm ready to meet him and see what he looks like, hold him, all of that fun stuff. We just lack a few more things until the nursery is completely organized. Yay!

Is it ever going to be not hot outside? It was seriously 109 at one point on my mom's car thermometer. Ridiculous! Pregnant and hot weather do NOT mix well.

Doctor's appointment

We went to the doc today. All is well. I've gained another three pounds, so that puts me at 16 pounds total. I'm feelin' that! His head is still down, and I'm measuring normally. My blood pressure was high the first time she took it, but it went down as I sat there. A little swelling everywhere, but nothing out of the ordinary. Cooper's heart rate was at 166 - that seemed high to me. But, no one said anything, and he was moving around the whole time. Really strong heartbeat!

I start going in every week beginning next week to check dialation, progress, etc. I can't believe he'll be here so soon.

Stupid hurricane

My shower has been rescheduled for Sunday now, instead of this Saturday. It's from 2-4:00. Hurricane's rule. I hope everyone who can come will still come. It's all good, since my life is WAY BETTER than the people on the coast, fleeing for their lives. I'm just happy people care enough about me to think of throwing me a shower. And I wish my sister could come. Who's going to write down my presents?

GO AWAY HURRICANE!

34th week, already better than 33rd week

Here's me:



A little face swelling, and that was early in the morning, so I have morning eyes.

This past week for us was a crazy one. Wrecked car, rent car fiasco (Driving a neon, by the way. Very comprable to a Yukon ... It's my punishment.), doctor visits to check out Cooper, and Luke's marathon sickness this weekend. This week has already been better for everyone.

So Luke. Friday night we went to dinner with our longtime friends, Matt and Candi, at Red Lobster. It was great, but Luke was feeling a little funny the whole time we were eating. Just thought it was his usual car sickness, which in itself is pretty bad. We went to our house and watched a movie, and then went up to bed at about midnight, before which, Luke threw up. At around 1:15 a.m., he threw up again. Let me just say that neither of us slept the entire night, and Luke threw up about 20 times, and that's not exaggerating. I felt so bad for him. It was major.

So now with the worry of dehydration, we decided at 6:30 to call an urgent care place to see where we could get in first thing. There's only one big one in the area apparently, that's open early on Saturdays. I made an 8:00 appointment at 7:00 Saturday morning when their call center opened, and off we went. A line of sick people had already formed at 7:55, but we managed to get into the doctor at 8:15. That's the fastest anything like that has ever happened for us. Anyway, the doctor said it was a stomach virus, not food poisoning, because he did not have a fever. Now, off we go to CVS to get Gatorade, crackers and a prescription for anti-nausea stuff. You don't wanna know.

All was better yesterday. We went to church as always, care group, etc. Today, he's feeling bad again. So, we'll see what happens. If it gets worse tomorrow, it's back to the doctor. Poor Lukie. It's really miserable. I'm completely staying away from him because I don't know what I'd do if I contracted this virus. It would be off to the emergency room for me.

Whew. Anyway, less than six weeks to go with this pregnancy thing. I'm really starting to feel it. You just can't ignore the pregnancy anymore like before. It's in the way in everything you do, but I'm starting to get used to it. He still moves a lot, and it's still amazing that he's forming inside of me and getting bigger and bigger. But, I'm starting to get really ready for him to come out, and really nervous about this birthing thing. It's going to happen, one way or another, so I just need to suck it up and get pumped! My shower is this weekend and my mom and sister are coming down to hang out, so I'm excited about that. I'm glad the shower is coming up so I can take an inventory of what I have and finally get completely organized before Cooper comes. This nesting instinct thing is for real. I was SO restless at home just being there and not really needing or having the ability to do anything except wait.

All is well.

Here's the pole I killed.



So today started off hectic, and still hasn't ended. I'm having to catch up on work that I missed from being tested and prodded all day. I called my doctor this morning and told the nurse everything that happened with the wreck. She said that I should go into the doctor on call just to make sure everything's good. So, while Luke was taking care of my retarded car mishap, I dropped work and went to the doctor's office. She said all was well from her end, but it's nearly their policy to send anyone who's had a wreck or something weird happen over to labor and delivery to get a stress test on the monitor for about 30 minutes. I had to chill downtown for a while, since they were backed up, so I went and ate lunch and sat there. I got up to labor and delivery, and got kinda weirded out. I kept thinking This is where I'm going to have my baby, and it's for real. But, the room they put me in was just like what I will have when I do deliver, and it was really stinkin' nice. Wood floors, tile, really big. That made me feel good.

They got me all hooked up to this big monitor for what seemed like forever, and asked me a million questions. I have to tell you, the best question was "Are you afraid of your husband?" just out of the blue. It almost made me laugh. I said "No, thankfully." Then I thought about how sad that would be. Still random.

Anyway, all is well. Cooper's fine, and I'm going to watch where I'm going carefully from now on. What a day!

I'm an idiot.

I had a wreck in the HEB parking lot tonight. Ran into a short, but fairly sturdy pole. My car is jacked. Radiator, bumper, lights, you name it. I uprooted the pole. Thank goodness for big cars. But, if I had a small car, I would have seen the pole. Now, one more thing to do and more money to spend, because I'm retarded.

I'm okay, and Cooper's okay, but I'm calling the Dr. in the morning to see what I need to do, just in case. He's moving around, and the airbag didn't go off, so we're good. It was just really scary, to think about how fast that happened, and how I didn't think of anything but the baby. It could have been so much worse, but it wasn't. Just thought I'd let everyone know. Cooper's a sturdy little fella thus far.

33 WEEKS

Here's large and in charge Sara with Coop.



This is such a pregnancy shirt, but not all of my stuff fits over my tummy anymore, and that can look just gross at times. My tummy feels like it will pop any moment, and I hear it only gets bigger! I really can't imagine that right now.

Our weekend was pretty relaxing and somewhat uneventful, which was nice. We're trying to soak in as many of these kinds of weekends as possible until Cooper comes. Friday night we went to eat Mexican food and rented a movie, which was great. But, that night, at around 2 a.m., I woke up with the worst case of heartburn I've ever had in my life. It was unreal and pretty painful. I sat up with a pillow in bed for about two hours until it died down, even after nearly a whole little thing of Tums. Man, no more Mexican food for dinner. We can't handle it.

Then, we slept in a little on Saturday, went on a walk through the neighborhood, ate lunch, etc. Luke and I did some yard work, but it was mostly Luke. I started cutting back roses and things, but I seriously can't bend over anymore. So, I watched him in the yard with the dog and helped a little. I think we were in the yard for like four hours. It looks SO much better though! We were beginning to grow a jungle out there. I cooked dinner for a family with a new baby (and some for us of course) and we took it by, ate ours at home, and watched another movie. Man, we're crazy.

Yesterday was a major blow off day. Church was great, not a blow off time of course, but after that we did nothing. I took a nap, and then we watched TV and Ocean's Eleven. Then to bed. It was great.

Only sevenish more weeks to go!

Doctor update

All is well in the Cooper department! His head is still down and his back is to the left side of my body, so he's kicking and moving a lot on the right side of my tummy. Boy, is that comfortable. No weight gain at this appointment, so I'm still at 13 pounds total, which I still don't believe is accurate. Whatever. I'm eating chips and french onion dip right now, because I can. One more appointment in two weeks, and then it goes to every week. Not much time now!

Congrats to Luke's brother Jeffrey and his wife April (and little Mason too) that they're having another boy! These Hejl boys are taking over the world. I can't wait for Cooper to have a cousin his age to play with!

I've been tagged ...

Here's me at 32 weeks - I feel like a bullet aiming towards something. Ha! Only eight weeks or less to go - woo hoo!

I've been tagged by Leslie to answer these questions. Let's see ...

Seven things to do before I die:
Take a culinary tour of Italy
See my son turn into a husband as wonderful as his daddy
Sing something cool in front of thousands of people, again
Get back to my high school weight
Run a marathon
See my parents go somewhere really, really cool on vacation
Live on the lake

Seven things I can do:
Teach advertising
Cook pretty well
Still run at eight months pregnant (not for long)
Say the books of the Bible in less than 20 seconds
Eat way too much Mexican food
Work from home better than I work at work
Love my family

Seven things I can't do:
Fix my hair straight (ha Leslie)
Household projects with my husband
Keep the house dusted
Resist pizza, of any kind
Watch an entire movie at home past 10:30
Part with my iPod
Eat tomatoes or cucumbers

Seven (okay eight) things that attract me to Luke:
His smile
How dedicated and in shape he is
His love for God, and family, and all of his friends
That he misses me really badly when I'm gone, and get's bored
His love for cars and the yard
That I'm his favorite person to talk to
How excited he gets about everything
His responsibility and drive to get things done and get them done right

Seven things I say most often:
"I'm so sure."
"Fascinating."
"This is Sara."
"October 30th. Yes, I feel good. Cooper Martin Hejl."
"Put it on my calendar."
"I love you."
"I'm hungry."

Seven celebrity crushes:
George Clooney
Brad Pitt
I really can't think of anyone else

Next month!

Cooper is officially due NEXT MONTH! Unreal how the time has flown. It's all starting to hit us. Things are coming together, but I'm having this nesting issue. I actually cleaned out our tupperware drawer the other day. Whoa. You never realize how little tupperware you have when it's all organized. It looks like a lot when it's in a pile!

Another note: I'm really worried about gas prices. It was WAY too much to fill up the Yukon yesterday. WAY, WAY too much. I hope things don't get much worse in New Orleans and the surrounding areas. I feel blessed to live here in Texas at this moment in time!

Officially

I am officially uncomfortable and tired, a lot. The stage has hit. Working out helps, but it just never feels like I've gotten enough sleep. Preparing me for the future I suppose. I think I've grown two fold since last week. Weird. Just FYI to all.

DC trip, and 31 weeks

For those of you who don't know, I went to Washington, DC this past weekend to visit my friend Elizabeth. We met up with other high school friends, Kasey from Texas and Juli in Virginia, and got to see all of the sites with Elizabeth as our own personal tour guide. And what a great guide she was! I seriously would have been lost without someone to tell me where to go every second. It was lots of fun, and lots of walking. I definitely felt the 31 weeks pregnant thing goin' on. This was the last weekend I could travel more than an hour away, so I made the most of it.

I had never been to DC before, so it was really great to see all of these things you see on TV up close and personal. The museums were unreal, and the night monument tour was beautiful. Lots of great food too - you know I love the food above all! A great girls weekend had by all. I didn't want to come back to the real world, but I was glad to get back home and see my hubby, who was so bored without me, he cleaned the whole house, top to bottom. What a man! Couldn't do without him.

So, 31 weeks and counting. Cooper's moving around like crazy as I type, and it's starting to be a little uncomfortable. He's getting big! About three pounds now and 16 inches long. Less than nine weeks to go! The nursery is starting to come together really nicely - just a few more odds and ends to go.

Congrats to Andy and Mandy on the news that they're having a baby girl. Cooper gets dibs ... don't be all claimin' her, Chase! We're going to the lake with some friends this weekend. I'm so excited to see everyone that's coming.

I'm sure so much more has happened in the last week, but I just can't remember right now. Pretty tired. Gotta get my sleep while I can!

Doctor update

I had a doctor's appointment today and all is well. I've gained another pound in the past two weeks, which puts me at 13 pounds total. Seems like a lot to me, but the doc told me I needed to gain some more weight before next time. I mean, seriously. I'm a big girl and probably had a lot to start out with. I'm sure more will naturally come. I eat all of the time, for real.

Cooper's head is down and I'm measuring perfectly for 30 weeks. Things couldn't be better. I'll write more soon!

30 WEEKS

Holy cow!



I'm in the 30s already, and I can't believe it. Only around 10 more weeks until Cooper comes, and we can hardly stand the wait! I'm feeling, of course, MUCH heavier than even a couple of weeks ago, and sleeping is not as easy either. Heartburn has reared its ugly head, to the point I don't want to eat anything that even touches a tomato or weird spice. It's a little sad. He's still moving around a lot.

My home church in Cleburne threw me a baby shower today. It was such an unexpected overflow of gifts and love - an awesome shower. You never realize how many people think and care about you until something major happens in your life. We are so thankful to everyone who showed their excitement about Cooper through their smiles, hugs and way too many gifts. Blankets and sleepers/onesies are what we needed most, and that's what we got! Everything is SO cute.

Yes, the crib has been put together. It wasn't as hard as we thought it would be, and it looks great! We painted some shelves too, but the whole room still needs a little more organizing. I figure that in these couple of months that we can't really leave on the weekends, we'll finish up the organizing. It's turning out really, really cute. We also bought the video camera this weekend. Luke's had a good time playing with it, doing cool things like super close up of his eye and saying, "I don't think I've ever seem my eye this up-close," for like two minutes. Pretty weird, but really kinda funny.

Some of my immediate and extended family think I reveal too much about myself and others on this blog. So, I'm going to a really fun place this weekend, and I can't wait to go to that place for that amount of time. It will be awesome to see my two friends, well, you know who you are. I'll post pictures from that place with those people during that time when I get back from that place on a day coming up soon ...

Okay, I'm a slacker

Week 29 is going to be virtually undocumented. I'm going to try and get a picture up tonight, but I'll look pretty much the same as I will in week 30, so a pic may have to wait.

We're going to a baby care class tonight. Mainly for Luke, since like other men, he has never changed a diaper and is a little scared of breaking small babies. He'll do fine.

I'm good

So, this just in. No gestational diabetes here! I'm all clear. More to come later on what's new. Had a very productive weekend.

Shortest doctor's appointment ever

I'm the big 26 today. Woo-hoo. I've had a great day with many great presents and great food, but birthdays now are just not the same. Turning 13, cool. Turning 16, even cooler. Then, there's 21. Twenty-six just isn't jump-up-and-down exciting. I am, however, just happy today that I was born. I have a great life, great family and friends, and soon, a great son. Who could ask for more?

Quick update: We went to the doctor today and I got to take the really fun glucose test. The worst part of it all wasn't the blood being drawn, but the drinking of the orange Crush-like beverage in less than 10 minutes. It's harder than it sounds. I wanted to hurl. We'll see what those results are. Aside from that, I got into the doctor's office at about 3:55 and was done being measured, heartbeat-tested and blood pressured by 4:05. All is well I'm guessing. I gained four pounds, so that makes a total of 12 pounds thus far. I hear from a reliable source that most of the weight gain happens in the last month. I don't doubt it, and certainly can't wait. Soon, Dr. says, Cooper will be in the head down position and will have a lot less room to kick the heck out of me, and will have slower, more elaborate movements. He hasn't moved anywhere near my ribs yet, so maybe this long torso thing will be helpful for once in my life. He moves all of the time!

I start going to the doc every two weeks from now until the last month, when I go every week. It's getting closer and closer. We're so excited!

This weekend we're painting the shelves for the nursery, the filing cabinets for the office, and yes, putting the crib together. We can't wait to get our house back in order, at least for a little while.

Growing and growing - 28 weeks

Here I stand at 28 weeks. Much more of me than last week it seems. I think that my Dr.'s appointment on Thursday (my 26th birthday) will show the scale has tipped significantly. Only like two months and 24 days until my due date. The time is coming!



Nothing new to report in the baby realm. I'm experiencing some weird cramping and have been since yesterday and today, but it's going away. The doctor said not to worry unless it lasts longer than a couple of days. We're good. Cooper's been moving and kicking around all of the time still, and a lot at night - it's nearing uncomfortable because he's getting stronger and stronger. Pretty cool to look at though. Luke and I signed up for birth class on Oct. 8-9, and I'm going to a breast feeding class next week (yay). Next week is also a baby care class for the both of us. Lots of learnin' to do!

We had a fabulous weekend in OKC hanging out with Preston and Sara (and Chase) and my sister Rachel and bro-in-law George. We played Mexican Train with dominos, ate at Ted's grilled out, swam, trading iPod songs, and just hung out. We really miss everyone up there, so it was great to see people other than in pictures. The Wattersons are handling parenting beautifully. Luke and I will be super duper lucky if Cooper is as good as Chase. Signs point to no, if you know us!

This weekend is crib weekend, along with cleaning, painting shelves and office furniture, getting a free elipsis machine and figuring out where to put it, organizing files, etc. We'll see what we actually gets done.

Peter Jennings died today. Is it weird that I'm really sad about it, and nostalgic? He's been on the air about as long as we are old, and was my favorite person to watch. Only 67 - so, don't smoke people.

Cooper's gnarly room, etc.

For those who don't know, we had Cooper's room painted this weekend, and it looks AWESOME. We love the way it turned out. Bonnie Gammell, Luke's friend-of-a-friend, painted the room for us. She did an amazing job. The colors are perfect, and it incorporates a place that Luke and I (and hopefully Cooper) love - HAWAII!

While the room was being painted, Luke (and some me) put together the dresser/changing table. Honestly, it was not that hard to do. Coming from the Luke and Sara Hejl family (not the overall Hejl family) that says a LOT, if you know us. It looks so great. Look at our cute doggie Joey catchin' some shade under the tree. The crib will come in a couple of weekends when we're feeling really nice to each other and are prepared, in the correct mindset to gracefully help each other assemble what could be the most difficult assembly project of our marriage. You laugh, but I'm serious.

I feel like I've grown considerably larger in just the past couple of weeks. It's nearly impossible for me to bend straight over and pick something up off of the floor. It makes for a pretty funny sight. Still jogging though. I'm sure that is also a funny sight. Bending from the waist at all is hard. I'm also starting to be one of those pregnant women who have to have help getting up from places - the couch, the car, etc. Rolling out of bed is frequent, as opposed to sitting up and climbing out. Heartburn is probably the worst part of all. I thought I'd avoid it and be lucky - no such luck. Small meals are key and tomatoes are out of the question.

Now, the non-complaining stuff: At 27 weeks, I'm beginning my third trimester. My due date is less than three months away. Home stretch! It's so exciting to think about the future with Cooper. Luke and I like to dream about him and who he'll become. He moves almost constantly in my tummy, but now the moving and kicking is much more obvious and a lot harder. Like, I can tell the difference between his arms and his legs. Pretty cool.

Weekend plans: going to O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A to see Sara, P and Chase, and my sis Rach and bro-in-law George. Also, Luke's grandparents. Lots of buds in that crazy state. MOVE TO TEXAS ALREADY!

Big yellow banana

I'm wearing a very nice, summery yellow dress today, and I can't help but feel like a giant banana. Giant being the operative word. We ate pizza for lunch to say farewell to one of our interns at work, so I'm feeling a bit bigger today. Who knows what the weight gain will be at the next Dr.'s appt. I'm going to the gym after work today. That'll make me feel better.

So many boxes are in our dining room that it looks like we're moving out. We've received everything we've ordered for the baby in the past three days. We can't put anything up in the nursery because Bonnie (the painter) is painting the nursery this weekend, all weekend. No point in putting stuff together, and then having to move it. Mainly the crib. Anyway, Bonnie is painting the walls, and a Hawaiian/surfy/aquatic theme on the walls of Cooper's room. It will even say "Aloha Cooper" on one wall. I can't wait to see how it turns out! Helps to know artsy people in Austin I suppose. We're getting a great deal. Hope she's around when we want to paint the second child's room. Don't want he/she to get the shaft on that. "You love Cooper more than me!" in the future is not something I wanna hear while looking at old pictures of the nursery. I'll post pictures when she's done.

I've just noticed that this is just about Cooper. Luke and I went to ZTejas last night - best restaurant ever. It was so good. Last night, it rained in Pflugerville. It was nice to have some quiet time, when the satellite went out. Ha.

About to go to meeting in Austin.

26 Weeks

Howdy all! I'm in my 26th week and feeling really great. I've been having some back problems still, but it's starting to go away. Yesterday, I experienced some MAJOR heartburn on the way home from Possum Kingdom and Derek's wedding. Whew. I hope this doesn't become a normal occurrence for me. Cooper is growing like crazy! He kicks all of the time, except for when I'm working out and eating. Pretty random.

Rare picture here of my actual tummy. And, normal me. Large and in charge! Only 14 or 15 weeks to go. Haha.

We had a fun weekend with family. Derek (my cousin, Randal's brother) and Jayce's wedding was on Saturday afternoon, outside. A little warmish, but it all went well. Randal and I sang a song, and we ate some really good cake. It was a sweet ceremony. They wrote their own vows - Derek's were really sweet. He's such a writer! I'll get a copy of them and post them sometime soon. Then, we went to the RV and the lake with my parents and George and Rachel just to chill. It was super relaxing.

Not tons new here! Just scootin' along. It's late - I'll post more if I think of anything new this week.

Happy Anniversary to ME!

We had such a fun anniversary night tonight! I got in the car this morning and in the back were a dozen roses, and in my seat was a card. What a thoughtful guy! Then, Luke got a brownie fudge sundae delivered from Tiffany's Treats downtown (so good) and a diet coke, from me. Diet Coke evens it all out, right? Then, I got home shortly before Luke, and he had a new wallet waiting for him. He loves it! Now, here's the kicker. I GOT AN iPOD MINI! I'm SO excited. Nicest anniversary present I've even gotten. I've wanted one for a while - it's well worth the wait. I've already started downloading songs, so it won't be long before it's almost full. I don't really see how that could ever happen, but I'll try for it.

Then, we went to a nice cajun restaurant called Gumbo's in Round Rock, and then to TCBY for ice cream. What a night! We also got the carrier and extra base of our travel system today, so that's been fun. Too much in one night!

Now, we have to pack for my cousin Derek's wedding this weekend. All this gift giving and eating has made us tired. Oh yeah, and we worked all day. I'll be back after the weekend.

Week 25

I'm officially over six months pregnant this week, and feelin' it! The main gripe I have for now is the back pain on the right side of my body when I stand still for too long. I'm cool when sitting, walking, etc. but standing still does me in. Weird. Guess I gotta keep moving. Here I am, a not-so-great pic at 25 weeks. I like this shirt because it's stretchy and hides things well. Hope it stretches a lot in the coming months!

We're now feeling the fact that Cooper will be here before we know it. Lately, we've been trying to start accumulating the big stuff, like crib, dresser, strollers, etc. We just ordered the crib and dresser from mom and dad (thanks guys!) and we LOVE it. We've picked a seriously awesome jogging stroller as well, and I wanna wait and post it when we get it. It's so cool (another mom and pop buy - thanks guys!) I promise, we'd be so far gone on stuff for this child if it wasn't for family. There's plenty of stuff we have to purchase as well, like the video camera and rocking chair, etc. You'd be shocked at how hard it is to find a wooden rocking chair ANYWHERE in Austin. We want to actually sit in them and test 'em out, but can't figure out where they all are. We'll keep looking!

Anything else new? Hmmm ... We had a great weekend of movie watching, (War of the Worlds, Million Dollar Baby) eating at Chili's and Delaware Subs after church, and cleaning. We're enjoying all of the time we have to spend together, and especially enjoying just jumping in the car whenever we feel like it to go somewhere. Anywhere.

Our nephew Mason's 2nd birthday party was Saturday. We just can't believe it's been two years already. Speaking of time flying - mine and Luke's FOUR YEAR wedding anniversary is on Thursday. Time has flown. We're so old!

Glamour or Parenting

The moment of truth came yesterday before I got a pedicure with work ladies (yes, it was very nice). I was given the choice of two magazines - Glamour or Parenting. I chose Parenting, and it set in. I'm a whole different target market now. I think differently, act differently, all because of this person in me that I don't even know yet, and weighs about a pound. Crazy.

Anywho, all is well. The doctor says everything's fine. Cooper's moving like crazy, which is good, but we can't even get him still enough to get a heart beat in less than two minutes. What does this tell us about the future? Wiggly kid! I've gained a total of eight pounds, and SEVEN in the last month. I mean, it feels like it. I feel a lot more weight on my legs when I workout. I have a tiny bit of swelling on my legs as well, so I need to stop my eating-to-gain-weight bit and stop too much high impact exercise. But, I credit some of those pounds to the burrito bowl from Chipotle (yes, I've lost the aversion to black beans) I ate a couple of hours before the weigh-in. Ha. Guess I needed to gain some, so it's okay. Right on track.

We picked a really cool travel system today. Memaw and Pepaw are getting it for us for a gift, and we're so excited! It's pretty fly for a travel system. :)

Luke is making me watch another made-for-TV movie called Angus, about a fat, nerdy football player in high school. Nothing on TV in the summer!

Baby Chase is here in full effect!

Congrats to Sara and Preston Watterson on new baby Chase Michael, born today at 11:30ish a.m., 8 lbs., 14 oz., 20 in. long. Big boy! We're waiting for pictures, so can't wait to see Cooper's new best friend!

Beach baby!

Luke and I just got home from Port Aransas with the Hejl family for the weekend. It was lots of fun! We ate a lot (of course) and hung out at the beach, ate out some, Luke and I ran on the beach, and just relaxed. Here's the house we stayed in (really nice) and my beach towel with a hole in the sand so I could lie down on my tummy (thanks Kel). It was heaven! You don't realize how much you miss lying on your stomach until you have a taste of it after a while.



Here's me at week 24 on the beach, and one with my skinny husband (jerk - jk).




Yeah, it's nice being in a swimsuit when you don't really have to suck in. I think I'll miss it after this pregnancy is over. I'm pretty tired though after the weekend. Lots of driving and walking around. Being nearly six months pregnant is starting to really take affect. You think you're invincible for the first few months, but then comes the weight. It's getting increasingly harder to jog because of the extra weight on my legs. I used to love exercising to the point of exhaustion to feel good, but now I've had to modify. It's cool - we'll just get back on track after October.

We're getting pedicures as an "emergency staff meeting" at work (just the girls) on Wednesday, so I'm really looking forward to that. My next doctor's appointment is Thursday - just more weight gain to report probably, and hopefully nothing crazy.

Oh - congrats to my mom on finishing her masters degree in library science! Once Rachel is done, my whole immediate family will have graduate degrees. Pretty smart huh. Way to go!

Sara - have that baby already!

23.5 weeks

Here's me at 23ish weeks with some new work clothes:



I'm sure I've gained my quota of pounds before my Dr.'s appt. next week. I'm feeling good, and really have no major complaints! Other than the nosebleed below.

We had a great Fourth of July with good food and fun family. Of course, I took pictures of the food.




We ate a lot in Cleburne and hung out at the pool, etc. Then we came back to Austin on Monday and watched the fireworks at Old Settlers' Park in Round Rock. They were so loud - Cooper kicked like crazy! The whole weekend was a blast!

We're going to the beach in Port Aransas with the whole Hejl family on Friday morning through Sunday night. I can't wait to get more sun, and of course, eat more!

Felt pretty cool today ...

... as I was talking to a co-worker and I felt something in my nose. I thought to myself 'I'm about to have a nosebleed.' And I was. I jumped up and went to the bathroom and proceeded to have the longest nosebleed ever at work. I was telling her how to do something with a giant wad of toilet paper on my nose. I hear these come during pregnancy, and this is my third one. Nerdy huh?

We had a fun Fourth of July weekend. I'll post pictures tonight and a 23 week update - just wanted to let everyone know of my wonderful experience.

Friggin' hot.

It was a whoppin' 100 degrees today in Austin. I thought I was going to pass out getting in and out of my car before and after my meetings around town today. I have to go swimming at some point this July 4th weekend or I will have a stroke!

We're watching Hit Me Baby One More Time - the show where washed up singers from years past try to win some competition with each other, trying to figure out who sucks the least. We're pulling for PM Dawn so far, since they're the only ones I've seen in concert, or really, the only ones I remember liking as a child. Juice Newton made an appearance, but her rendition of "Pieces of You" by Ashlee Simpson was sad, sad, sad.

Nothing new here. I don't have to work tomorrow and Monday, so I'm going to plant some flowers tomorrow and clean. We're going to Cleburne this weekend to hang with all of the fam - should be fun!

Here's a picture of downtown Austin from the Congress Avenue bridge. We went to watch the bats fly out from under the bridge a few weeks ago. I love this city!

22 Weeks

Here I am today at 22 weeks:



Crazy huh? I'm weel over halfway there. This weekend I think I had some growing pains in my side from the "stretching" if you will. I'm really feeling "out there" a lot more.

We had a good, relaxing weekend. Friday night we babysat Mason (our nephew) and had a little taste of what a two year old version of Cooper may be like. I hope God blesses me with a lot of energy! It was fun - we went to eat at a good Mexican food place, to the park, ate ice cream, watched Elmo, had a bath and went to bed. Good times! Saturday I tried to get the wallpaper off. This is a before pic from that it will be. Seriously, two corners took me like three hours, and I'm still not done yet:



It'll get there. We've decided on a "surfer dude" and fish room, so we think that would be fun. We're beach types, so I'm sure our son will be a beach type too! Rachel (my sis) painted a really cool name thing for his room:



I LOVE it! And, today we went to church, went to Taco Deli with some friends from church, napped, and went to Westover's version of VBS to help. It has a really cool camp/woodsie/trek theme this year - the kids were having a blast. We're not going to sleep tonight because of our nap, so I figured I'd stay up and write this!

As far as how I'm feeling: pretty good! No real complaints, except that I've been out of energy BIG TIME lately. Hopefully that will pass like it did in the first round of tiredness. I just can't keep doing things like I could before. I really miss the energy, but I'll get it back I'm sure.

Here are some more pics. One at 19 weeks at my Memaw and Pepaw's backyard next to their old tree, and me at 20 weeks right after we found out we were having a boy! My hair is long. Man, I need to get that cut!



Oh yeah - our friends Sara and Preston are going to have baby Chase any day now. How exciting! We can't wait to meet him!

Heartburn

I'm suffering from a severe case of heartburn, and have been since I ate Freebirds for lunch. Had some mild soup for dinner. Still there. Comes with the territory!

I'm nearly 22 weeks, and already wanting my son to come out. Glad I have the time though, because I have to decide on a nursery theme and register, etc. He's kicking constantly now, and Luke can feel him every now and then. Luke has his little "talking to Cooper" moment every night before we go to sleep. It's pretty cute! I know he can hear everything we do, so we're starting to realize that we need to watch what we say and listen to - ha. Also, I'm a little worried that he's going to think his name is Joey or Phoebe because we talk to our pets a lot. Weird.

Tomorrow's Friday - yay! We're keeping our nephew tomorrow night, so it should be fun. So, I think we'll either go see Madagascar or eat out. Hmmm ...

Cooper Martin Hejl

Okay, you can call him "Coop," but there will be no "Cooper the Pooper" past about 4 years old. He will be just that for a while anyway - ha!

We love his name! We decided on it for sure yesterday. Everyone in my family has sorta been calling him that from the beginning since we suggested it, and it grew on us, so we went with it. I think it will be a good one from his kid years on to his adult years. Can't wait to put a face to a name, but we have a ways to go! I'm 21 weeks, so over halfway there. Can't believe how fast it's gone by, and how little time we have left now to prepare for all of this craziness!

Here are the sonogram pics - he was moving around so much during the sonagram that we really couldn't get the best picture. It was so crazy to see him roll completely over at one point in my tummy. We saw his feet and arms and face ... it was so cool! Here's the one that she could tell he was a boy. I'm still having a hard time picturing it (I couldn't really tell at the doctor's office) but pretend he's sitting on a copy machine. Ha. The doctor says she's nearly 100 percent sure on boys, so I'll go with that.



Pertty cool! Here are some more:



Sorry this is long, but we've done a lot since last week and this weekend. It's been a little surreal for me finding out he's a boy because I was totally thinking he was a girl. Guess I was off, but it's totally great. We're super excited and starting to think of cool nursery ideas. We cleaned out the room that will be his room yesterday. Just putting everything in the hallway, cleaning it all out and rearranging it was a major project. We have so much crap. And, we've only lived in this house for two years. I can't imaging two more years! Next weekend we'll take off the two corners of the really cool teddy bear wallpaper that's left and make sure it's ready to paint. We're going to take it slow on the room renovation because home improvement projects are not our favorite things to do. :)

News flash: Luke is reading a book. I bought him an expectant fathers book for Father's Day today, and he likes it. Yay!

We've had a very productive weekend. Friday, we worked late, I worked out, then we went to dinner at Olive Garden with Matt and Candi Tenbush. It was SO good. I love that place. Then, we went and got these really awesome snow cones in downtown Round Rock. Visitors of Austin - we must go to this place. I would say that I'm a snow cone connoisseur because of my two summers making them, and this snow cone was good. Mmm ... I want one now.

Yesterday, we worked in the yard all morning, cleaned around the house, I did tons of laundry, and we cleaned out the nursery. Then, we went and had the best, most expensive dinner we've ever had. Seriously. Well, Luke got a phat gift certificate from his work to Truluck's - an amazing seafood place - so we went and spent it ALL. So bad of us, but so good. Appetizer, soup, salad, entrees (trout and snapper) and dessert. It was a lot, but worth it. Plus, I've only gained ONE POUND for the entire pregnancy. I almost don't believe that nurse. I'm definitely bigger everywhere, so I dunno. He must be eating all of my food or something. I have to gain at least three pounds before next time. Scary - no one's ever told me that before, and I don't really want to. But, it won't be hard!

Today, I cleaned some more, worked out, went to the Hejl's for lunch, and now I'm here, about to go to care group. FULL weekend, but lots of fun. It's been a whirlwind week, but there was one moment that made it all come together for me for some reason. We were sitting on the couch watching a movie last night, dog and cat by us, all together. We were talking about moving to the beach someday, dreaming, etc. and Luke said, "Well, we're pretty self contained here. Whole family, in one big house, nothing to complain about." I looked around and thought, 'Man. That's so true. I should never complain about being tired or busy again. That just means that my life's worth something, and I should be grateful.' There it is - sappy moment of the week!

It's a BOY!

We're so excited! Now we get to start registering and fixing up the nursery, etc. Now I wanna know how he's going to look, act, be. Yay!

I'll scan in the pictures from the sonogram tomorrow. We went to dinner for Jackson's birthday with the Hejls and didn't get home until late.

More to come!

AKUS rulz.

I'm tellin' ya - I think I went to one of the best concerts of my life last night. Alison Krauss and Union Station are just the best, most talented group of bluegrass musicians I've ever heard. Maybe the best musicians I've ever heard. Alison's voice is magic. It filled the entire auditorium, so wonderfully, I shed some tears. Ah, to be that good at something. And not just singing - she tore it up on the fiddle. The rest of the band was awesome as well. I can't believe I haven't discovered them until this year really, and I want to buy all of their CDs.

Had to say my piece. It was so fun. Luke really liked it too, so it was that much better. I love it when concerts are really worth the price of the ticket. It was worth more to me though!

Thanks Grams and Big Walt!

Big day Thursday. Will call everyone and post here!

New bedroom furniture - finally!

I LOVE our new furniture. Makes the room look totally different and inviting. Good thing, since I'll be working there a lot. I'll post desk pictures soon. We love it all.



Now, we have no excuse not to start the nursery now that we've moved a new desk and all of our computer stuff into the bedroom. We'll start when we know what the baby is - next WEEK! Yay!

One week until the mystery is over ...

We are so excited about next Thursday, when we find out the sex of the baby! No predictions yet, but I've been feeling girl lately, so we'll see.

Luke and I had a great weekend with Jay and Ally Ocheskey. We went to Lake Austin, Lake Travis, a great concert, and saw some extremely interesting people at each place. Unreal, the things you can see docked at Carlos & Charlie's on a Saturday night. It was a great time to relax. I couldn't do any wakeboarding, but Jay's boat is really, REALLY nice, and a very smooth ride.

I've been feeling a little achy thus far in week 19. I think I've doubled in size since my last doctor's appointment, so I know this one will be a weight gain. See the picture below:



Yeah, large. Ha. Oh well. I've been reading this book called Baby 411 that has taught me a lot of things from labor day to child development. It's really easy to read, for those who are looking for something to clarify what the heck they're supposed to do with a baby. I sure as heck don't know! It's a great reference guide. Between that and family and friends, I think we're good.

I feel like I have to protect my stomach a lot, which I don't really have to worry about that much. I'm still running, but when I ran this morning, it was extra hard. I think it will only get harder to do, but I want to keep at it. Hopefully, after the baby's born, I'll make use of that jogging stroller I want so bad!

This weekend we're going to Cleburne to hang out with fam and go to an Alison Krauss concert. This is the one that was scheduled before and got cancelled and moved to next Monday night. Random, but it'll be a good day off. Rachel will be in town on Monday, so I'm sure shopping will be involved!

We get our furniture for the bedroom and our desk on Wednesday. This means, the cleaning out process has to happen tomorrow, which we're real excited about. Actually, I can't wait for our bedroom to look nice! I'll post pictures when it's up and ready.

18.5 weeks and counting

Sorry I'm behind on this. But, I took an actual holiday from the computer this holiday weekend. It was nice. Luke and I didn't do much at all, besides the giant Hejl family gathering for Kelley's high school graduation. It was good to see everyone. She got a laptop from the fam. It's nice! We chipped in on that and gave her a Brita too - Abilene water. You ACUers know what I mean.

Luke and I like to stay home on the weekends, but there are downsides. The main one being, we tend to spend LOTS of money during those weekends. I guess to pass the time. We bought our long-awaited bedroom suit (Jay and Ally will notice the similarities) including two night stands, two lamps, a tall chest/drawers, dresser and mirror and the big bed. Whew. It's going to look SO much better. Vast improvement from the dresser with the falling off knobs. We also bought a cool desk for the bedroom as well, as I will be working from home some after the little one, and we have to clean out the nursery at some point. Once all of the furniture comes in, we'll have no excuse but to start cleaning! I'll post some pictures when it all comes in.

Also, Luke's brother Jeff and his wife are in Hawaii right now for a week. We are so jealous we can't even handle it.

So, 18 weeks. I'm getting a little bigger every week. Only two more weeks until we know what it is. I'm feeling more girl than boy this week for some reason, but we'll see I guess. I can only do maternity clothes now, minus drawstrings and t-shirts. Again, will post a pic later. I have no symptoms except for tiredness, and I see some little vericose (sp?) veins starting on my legs. Oh boy. But, comes with the territory! The baby is moving a lot, most of the day. It's really cool. May have a little athlete in the future. Or a back up dancer. Whatever he/she wants. :) I feel a little more bonded to it now that it's "real" to me. What's this little one going to grow up and be? Who's it going to look like? Crazy!

We're getting so excited about everything!

17 weeks - it's alive!

Yes, I've decided that it's official. Didn't want to jump the gun until I was sure it wasn't my mind playin' tricks on me, but, THE BABY IS MOVING! It feels so crazy, but so cool at the same time. It's like a little bubble or pop on usually the left side (but all around too) of my abdomen, and usually happens after I've done some stuff and am sitting down after I stop doing whatever I was doing. Then, I feel it. Mostly in the morning around 9:00 and in the early evening around 5:00.

I still can't grasp that someone is living inside of me, and I don't think I will until I have the kid in my arms. We just can't wait to find out what it is!



What's new: We went to a wedding this weekend that is for the history books. I've never seen so many flowers, food, chocolate, and people in one place in my life. The cake alone would buy a nice car. Unreal. I don't have any words for the sensory overload we were in on Saturday night. That bottom picture was just one of the five buffets, and doesn't do it justice. It went on forever.

The rest of the weekend, we cleaned and did yard work. Also, Preston's sister Wendi and her fiance Wade stayed with us on Sunday night so she could interview at an elementary school here in Pflugerville. It was a great time.



This weekend we're going to Luke's sister Kelley's graduation from high school on Friday night - woo-hoo. She's going to ACU. Good girl. Then, to the lake at some point and church.

eBay is the way to go - 16.5 weeks

I say that I love eBay because I bought two pairs of maternity jeans from Gap for 23 dollars total. And they're great. Super comfy and already broken in. I think eBay will be used a lot from now on. Even better, my mom and I hung out in Dallas all last weekend and she hooked me up with Gap and other maternity stuff for a while. I'm good to go. Love moms. Here's a pic of my kitty in the bathtub (ha) and me at 16.5 weeks.





Sorry I'm late on this post, but I wanted to wait until I went to the doctor yesterday to give an update. I gained only two pounds this month, which with my weight loss last month, put me back to where I started. Seriously, I eat all of the time. It's close to disgusting. I know it will catch up with me - I'm just waiting on that. We also heard the heartbeat again this time and it was much stronger than before, since I think baby Hejl's doubled in size. It started off at about 140 bpm, and then it sounded like he/she was running a race - the heart beat went up to about 155. The nurse said that he/she was just moving around and it was all good, normal, healthy, yadda yadda. I have never heard anything like that before. Pretty cool!

Let's see. What else is new? We are SO pumped about finding out the sex of the baby next month. Our appointment for the sonogram is June 16 at 3:45 p.m. and we are dying to start doing stuff. We MUST clean out the office/baby room, buy a desk and bedroom furniture, baby furniture, etc. We're putting it all off until we know what sex baby Hejl is. The waiting game has always been hard for us!

Oh, and congrats on two new babies from two friends last week! Colin and Christine McLean gave birth to Emma Michelle on Saturday, and on the same day, Eric and Tonya Tuggle gave birth to Nadia Claire. Two girls! Haven't seen many of those lately!

Cleburne or bust.

I'm leaving to go to Cleburne from Georgetown this afternoon to hang with the fam. Luke's at the lake with friends, and it's supposed to rain all weekend. Should I feel sorry for them? :)

Also, our friends Sara and Preston are in NYC on vaca as I type. I'm so jealous, because Luke and I want to go back there so badly. Hope they're having a good time on their last fling before the little one!

"Babies are like spaghetti ..."

Some pics of a onesie we bought on the cruise, my rose bush that's taking over the world, and me looking much thicker and ready for bed. Will be a weight gain instead of a loss this time at the good ol' doctor.





I'm sure you're wondering what my title means. Let's take some time and talk about my husband's profound analogy about finding out the sex of the baby.

"Honey, are you excited about finding out the baby?"
"Yep."
"Seriously, will you be just as excited if it's a girl?"
"Yes honey! I mean, I don't care what sex it is. It's like finding out what's for dinner. If you tell me we're having spaghetti, I have all day to get excited about spaghetti. It's not like you tell me we're having spaghetti and I wonder all day why we're not having pizza. I'm excited no matter what it is. Dinner or baby. Well, more about the baby of course."

If you think about it, that makes a lot of sense - maybe just to Luke and me. Haha. I love him.

I'm at 15 weeks now, and I have a 16-week doctor's appointment next Thursday. Nothing special at that one, but the June one we get to find out the sex! We're pumped. Luke talks about it every day, and it's a month away!

I didn't really do anything super cool this weekend. Cleaned all night Friday (Luke was at a men's retreat for church) and all day Saturday I shopped. Looked at bedroom furniture, baby stuff, Mother's Day gifts, clothes for me - the usual. Then, I got sick again on Sunday and Monday. I've had major sinus and coughing issues for a couple of weeks that is making me miserable. This is supposed to be the time when I have the most energy, but all I want to do is lie on the couch. I've tried to walk every day that I could, but I'm starting to feel like a giant! it's only the beginning of giantness, I know. It's still pretty cool to watch myself grow. There's a real thing in there, and I don't think it will hit me for a while still!

This weekend, Luke's going to a really nice house with his guy friends to play on the lake with boats and jet skis and such. I'm a little jealous. A lot jealous. But, I'm spending the weekend with my parents in Cleburne. Mom and I are going to Dallas on Saturday to stay the night at the Westin in the Galleria to chill, shop and go to the movies. I'm really excited about that! Those Westin beds are supposed to be fabulously soft.

Luke's making me watch Blind Justice. Ha, it's not good. Just watched Scrubs though, and that was super good.

I feel better now!

I'm so glad that my sickness had subsided. On Sunday, I thought I was going to die, but my energy's back now. I'm about to have to go into a meeting at work, but just thought I'd give an update. More pictures will come soon. Everyone needs to see a 15 week picture, so I'll put that up too.

Being sick, well, sucks.

I've been sitting on the couch all day, coughing, snotty, dried-out, and weak. Adding to that, well, I'm pregnant. Two debilitating things at once can make one go crazy. And was such a gorgeous weekend here. Ugh. But, I made myself pull a few weeds in the back yesterday. In the end, however, Luke ended up doing all of the work. What a guy! It looks really great. I'll post a new pic soon.

Anyway, back to me. :) I'm sick and I have to drive to Abilene for class tomorrow night for their final. Sure hope I get better before then. I've taken two doses of Robitussin DM and one Benadryl (all approved pregnancy medicine) but I still feel bad and don't want to drug my baby anymore than I have to. Guess I just need to wait it out. I just get really frustrated when I want to do yardwork, and go workout, and have energy, and I'm stuck on the couch. And, I haven't been to Westover in a while for church and didn't get to go this morning, again. Really wanted to go.

I'm at 14 weeks and feeling a little larger. Nothing new to report on that front, except that I have to buy more clothes. One of my friends, Atosha, brought by a swing for us to have (she has twins, so two of everything). Very nice of her! One less thing for us to purchase!

Back to more TV - Desparate Housewives is calling!

Week 13

I am officially starting my second trimester this week. Can't believe how quickly the time is passing! I'm starting to show a little tiny bit, and mostly just feel like I have no waist. We went to the Gap in Dallas and the outlet malls in Hillsboro on the way home and bought a TON of maternity clothes to prepare me for the near future. They're just so comfortable to wear, although I've only worn one shirt so far. I like the roominess factor. My normal clothes are almost too tight or short. But, I have a few left. Luke's keeping some fat clothes of his for me to wear later, so that's good.

We had such a fun girls' weekend this past weekend. I did not want to come back to the real world. Let's see: James Taylor, Jay and Ally's house, eating, more eating, pedicures, a movie, nice hotel, and of course, EatZi's. Mmmmm ... It was so great to see everyone in the same city. Sad that we have to love all over the place, but it makes for a fun weekend.

We will be working in the yard this weekend, trying to fix the back fence where Joey gets out, and pulling weeds. Front yard looks good, but the backyard is going to fall apart if we don't do something soon.

Back, in not-so-full effect.

Seriously, we were so sad to leave the cruise ship, it was depressing to just look at us. Is it weird that we didn't want to come back to the real world SO BADLY? Our lives are pretty good. It's just that we love the beach. Here's a small taste of pictures, just of me of course, and a nice beach one. Tribute to mopeds as well, just for Sara.



It was such a great trip. We wish all of our friends could have been there, but we managed to meet a great group of people at our dinner table every night. All very interesting. This trip was our last go-'round before the little one comes, and it was fabulous. Even managed to buy a Cozumel onesie for the little tyke.

On to bigger updates: We had a doctor's appointment this morning and heard the heartbeat for the first time. It was so cool! Only one more appointment in May, and then June we can find out if it's a boy or a girl. Man, this time is flyin' away. I actually lost 2.5 pounds at the doctor today, which is freakish since I just had a week of gorging myself. So, Sara, sorry I tell you to gain weight! Evidently, it's hard at first. She said it would catch up to me.

I don't really look any different, although I wore my first maternity tank top to a shower on Sunday and it was SO comfortable. Sucks to try and squeeze into short shirts and jeans, but I'm going to try as long as I can. My normal clothes are all pretty constricting, so I don't think it will be long. It will be 13 weeks on Sunday, so the beginning is almost over. We have so much to do and we haven't even started to think about what's to come. I'm sure it will hit soon!

Cruise or die!

Hey all you readers! Luke and I will be on a cruise from Sunday the 10th to Sunday the 17th, so this thing will not be updated for a while. But, when we get back, we'll put up some pictures so everyone can be jealous. Ha. Just a note - we will be in Key West, but we will not be riding any mopeds ...

April Fool's has never been so foolish

We went to the T3 April Fool's Day party on Friday night. What an experience. The decor was unreal, and the food was great. Not sure if Luke had a good time though.



You can request more funny pictures if you like on a personal basis. Looks like someone needed to let lose and do some funky dancin'.

However late the night was Friday, Luke and I still got up very early and got a lot of stuff done. Laundry, yard work, mulching (Luke did it while I napped) and a lunch with an ACU friend. Productive day. However, Joey got out of the back yard THREE TIMES this week/weekend because of a small hole under the fence in the back. Even when we covered it up with dirt, very tightly, he still dug through last night and got our during care group. He's never dug before, so we really don't know what to do. Guess we'll have to put brick in some places. Bad, bad dog.

Let's see. Any more news about me? I am at 10 weeks, going on 11 this week, and I'm seeing the significant demise of my waistline. Only loose clothes are comfortable to me now, but was that ever untrue? I feel much, much larger when I eat a meal, especially at night. The cravings have gone away a little, but the black bean aversion will not go away. We had to bring them to a care group potluck last night, and I thought I was going to barf in the car the whole time. The potluck was fun though. You can never go wrong with nachos.

One good thing: I've talked to my boss about maternity leave and working, etc. and she's so relaxed about the working stuff. I'll get eight weeks off paid, and I can slowly ease back into work. Also, I can bring the baby to work as well. Should be a really good situation for me. I'm so glad! I was really nervious about it, and still am a little, but it's inevitable and will be just fine. It's all what you make of it, so I've started to think more positively about everything so I can enjoy the pregnancy more without worrying all of the time. I'm a worrier, about everything. It's hard to stop. So at least for the sake of the baby, I've got to calm down!

Next weekend: mulching the back yard. Mom is coming into town this week for a convention and to hang with me. Should be fun!