Love Coupons

Over the past few months I've been buying various baby shower gifts for people and somehow got placed on Babies R Us' mailing list. I've been receiving 15% coupons here and there, which are nice-but I was waiting for a whale of a coupon to be mailed. Well, mine never came in- but my mother in law received a 20% coupon from Toys R Us. So this evening, Chris took me to Babies R Us and we bought our travel system. The lady at the register used BOTH coupons and we saved over $100. Woohoo. I know this is something you usually put on your registry but the travel system that we liked was ONLY at Babies R Us and we didn't plan on registering there. So, we just went on ahead and bought it.

Today was a semi rainy day and I spent it with my friend Brittani and her little man Pierce. She's on maternity leave and gets up and around about as much as I do, so we hung out in PJ's. Company certainly helps the time go by.

All in all, it's been a good day. Tomorrow we leave for Branson. I hope the condo has a comfy couch since I'll be there most of the time. I will take a time-out from the couch to go to the outlet mall and visit the Carters store. I need to look online to see what other stores I want to hit. I'll probably have to rest quite a bit in between stores, so I only plan on going to 2 or 3 while we are there.

25 weeks

So I guess I reached 25 weeks, I've been having a hard time remembering how far along I am. Only 3 more weeks of bedrest left! It's nice to not be on such strict bedrest now. The days go by more quickly now. Getting out for an errand every now and then really makes a difference. Tonight Chris and I are going to Babies 'R Us to *hopefully* get our travel system. I have a 20% coupon to Toys 'R Us and I'm hoping they accept it at Babies.

I didn't have a doctor's appointment this week, just went in for my progesterone shot. Emmy's still very active and I suspect it's only a matter of weeks until I start getting kicks in the ribs. My next appointment is next Thursday. After that, only 2 more weeks until I reach 28 weeks! Woohoo. I have a feeling the last two weeks of bedrest will be very similar to what used to be a normal day for me. A coworker goes to the same dr and her last 1-2 weeks of bedrest was told to go about her day like it would be a normal workday. I like the way our dr transitions us back into the real world. I can't believe how out of shape I am. Even if I had big plans to go on 3 errands back to back, there's no way my body could do it right now. I definitely know when I can go, and when I need to rest.

This weekend I'm going to Branson with the Sanders fam, and yes- with dr's approval. I plan on hanging out in the condo most of the time and maybe hitting a few outlet stores- especially the Carter's outlet. Any other stores worth visiting?

If you pray, I could use your help

This prayer is not for the Sanders fam but for one of Chris' mentors- his advising professor from the U of A.

Here's the story: Micah (professor) had been having headaches and dizziness for a few weeks. The Dr ordered him to get a CT scan. They found a mass on his brainstem. The doctor believes the mass is non-cancerous but it will take a few days to hear back from the pathologist. Micah had surgery yesterday and is now in the ICU recovering. Please pray for Micah and his recovery and also for his wife. They have a baby and toddler at home and I'm sure this puts quite a bit of stress on "E", his wife.

Micah and his family are wonderful Christians who have helped, prayed and encouraged so many others. Let's return the favor.

Baby Pics

I was browsing through pictures and thought I'd post some baby pics of my handsome hubby and myself. The first one is me, it was a picture taken in Korea and sent to my parents (I think I was somewhere between 4-6 weeks old here?) Next one is Chris, not sure how old he is in this one. Last two are Emmy, take a look at the face-to-face pic, can you see her chubby cheeks?

Foto Fun

I've been playing around with photo editing and just thought I'd post a few.
I still haven't decided how much professional photography we'll do with Emmy. I LOVE LOVE LOVE snapping photos of babies and kids (and my puppies) and combining that with new photo editing skills- I think I can produce some good pics. We will probably have some family photos taken, but I'm not sure if we'll get a newborn-year old package.

24 weeks - 4 more weeks of bedrest

The dr's appointment went well today, we had our final ultrasound (yay that we wont't be at the doctors so much, but I'll miss seeing the little girl). Her heart was beating at 162bpm, it's been pretty high the whole time. Miss Emmy was in quite an interesting position- a full pike. She is head down, and so are her feet! She is really kicking today, I love it. The pictures weren't that great from this week's appointment so I might update with last weeks, but you can see her cheeks. At my dr's office they don't do weight estimates, but it looks like she's at least gaining some fat on her face! She's taking after her mama.

Other than that, I can't believe the AC is on. Seems like we didn't have very many "windows open" days. Seeing that our AC couldn't keep the house below 78 last summer, I've contacted the home warranty people to come look at the unit. This big preggers mama will NOT be able to tolerate temperatures like that this summer! hah

24 weeks

I can't believe how fast time has flown by. 6 weeks of bedrest down and 4 more to go. I have an appointment tomorrow and am excited to see Emmy and hear her heartbeat. I believe she has again switched to being head down, again- my bladder enjoys not being kicked all day!

Chris bought me a chaise lounger the other night, so I've been sunbathing with the dogs in the afternoon. Yesterday Frank laid with me in the chair, but they will probably avoid me today. They dug some more holes in the flower bed and must have been *playing* in my hostas last night. They got hit on the snout a few times with Chris' hat. Sally was just shivering with fear afterwards, I mean really, how bad can it hurt getting hit with a hat? Dang dogs.

That's all the news for now. I need to post pics from last weeks ultrasound, I swear you can see cheeks (face, not rear) on Emmy on the picture.

Sleeping In

I am really going to miss sleeping in. And when I use the phrase "sleep in" I am usually referring to anywhere from 730-800 am. This morning, however, I slept in until 9!!! WOW. It's been quite a while since I've slept in that late. Let me say too that I usually wake up while Chris is getting ready and then I go back to sleep, so if it weren't for that- I would probably wake up a little bit earlier.

So I have a little over 4 weeks of bedrest left, and there are definitely some things I'm going to miss when I go back to work:

• Not waking up to the alarm at 600am
• Eating a bowl of cereal, I usually wait until I get to work and eat oatmeal.
• My recliner
• Going out to pet the pups throughout the day
• Not having to shower everyday, gross, I know.
• Wearing slippers all day and when I go out on rides with Chris. That way I'm not tempted to go into the stores with him.
• Wearing sweats all day, every day.

Those are just a few. See? There are clear advantages to being on bedrest.

How Many Appointments?

Just did some adding up, and as of 4/16/09- I have been to the Dr's office 12 times for this pregnancy and they have all been free appointments! Hah, if only. I think in a normal pregnancy I would have been to the dr's office 4 times by now. Wow. The one thing I DO LOVE is that up until now, they have done an ultrasound at every appointment (well, all but 1 appointment). So I've been able to see my Emmy girl 11 times now, how fun! I will obviously be happy if I don't have these issues with the next pregnancy- but I will miss seeing the little peanut so many times.

Last night Chris and I went to Target for a quick trip. I haven't OFFICIALLY been allowed to make these outings, but needed to pick up a baby shower gift. While we were there Chris found some really cute things for our little girl.

Pictures of the Digging Dogs

Even though Chris and I really frustrated with our digging dogs, I don't want you all to think I don't love them. So here are some pictures I recently took.

Sally. Frank. Expressive Frank and Emotionless Sally. Puppies laying in and killing any hope of landscaping in our back yard.

23 weeks

Yay for 23 weeks, that means I've reached the halfway point with bedrest. I'm hoping the last few weeks of bedrest will allow for a little more activity than the first few weeks. After stepping on the scale this morning, I may or may not include a belly picture today. I had quite a bit to eat for breakfast, so maybe a pound or two came from that.

Chris had to go to Fort Worth this morning for work, and I woke up when he was up. I think he left the house around 530 or so. I was a little tired and tried to go back to sleep, but I was WAY too hungry and couldn't convince myself to sleep. So I got up and had canteloupe, watermelon, a mini bagel and piece of toast with peanut butter. I don't care to know the calorie and fat count of what I had, but you would think with a list that long I shouldn't be hungry for awhile. With all hopes, I won't want to eat again until lunch- but I'm predicting a snack between now and then. Oink Oink.

Digging Dogs

Is it mean to declaw a dog? Because we seriously can't think of any other way to get Frank and Sally to stop digging!!!!!!!

It's Raining Popcorn

The craziest storm just passed through town and it produced some rain/hail. The hail looked like popcorn in the yard, it was crazy. Midway through the storm, the sun came out. I searched for a rain bow but came up empty handed.

I had my dr's appt today and everything looked great. Emmy's heart was racing at 162 bpm, the highest its ever been. She's a busy little girl. She was also head down today, but since the appointment I think she's managed to flip herself ( I only think this b/c my bladder is again taking the abuses of rhythimc kicks). She's kicking so hard now I actually saw my stomach move today, crazy stuff.

Not much else is going on. My mom is on her way down for the weekend and tomorrow I want to make and decorate some sugar cookies. I need to pull out my egg and bunny shaped cookie cutter. I love cookies, the scale however- tells me I don't need any.

22 Weeks

I'm coming to you live from my friend Amy's couch! Woohoo for a different view from a different couch. Amy was sweet enough to come pick me up earlier today to spend some time away from my house. Mel and Ginny came over for lunch, so it was nice to see some people. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing my husband everyday- but it's nice having some girl time too. Today I hit the 22 week mark! Yay, only 6 more weeks of this bedrest "thing". Everyone has asked if I'm just going stir-crazy and the honest answer is NO. I think if I had to be down and out just for myself, than I would be going crazy. But knowing that this is for my little baby girl, it's definitely manageable.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. The prayers are certainly at work.

pictures of the little girl

I had an appointment this morning and everything looks good. I got some great pictures of Emmy. Can't believe the kind of technology that exists in comparison to when we were babies.
This one shows her HR @ 161bpm and her profile. Her little mouth is open. I like to think that she's smiling at us!

Another profile shot- the little white specs by her mouth are fingers. She also had her legs up by her head, but they weren't able to catch it in this shot.

I find this picture a little creepy, but it's a front shot of her face. The two black dots are eyes, and her mouth is a little open. She's breech right now, hopefully she can figure out how to flip in the next 18 -19 weeks. Emmy is kicking up a storm and Chris felt her undeniable kicks last night. I started feeling her around 18 weeks, but she was her most active during the day when he wasn't here!

My sister and her two kiddos are on the way to visit, so that'll be nice to have some company. Also, I was able to go out to lunch today at Kilkenney's with some coworkers. It was GREAT to see some people from work. I miss the people, but not always the work :)

21 weeks- a bomb went off in my stomach

So here are a few pictures of happenings around the Sanders' house.


This is me at 21 weeks, as you can tell- a bomb went off in my lower abdomen and it exploded since the last picture. I don't have one of those cute bellies that JUST expands with baby, mine has expanded into my back, up into my ribs, out my sides, etc.

This is another hat I crocheted, it's a little bit bigger than I wanted but should fit Emmy during the winter. Or if she has my size of head, right away.

This is my niece, Grace, sporting the beanie I made her and attached the purple and coral flower. Luckily, everything she had packed in her suitcase was purple, so the beanie matched EVERYTHING. She loved it and was TOO adorable.

Other than that, no much is going on here. I'm working on a baby blanket for Miss Emmy. It's going slow, I work on it a little each day. I have officially completed 3 weeks of bedrest with 7 more to go! Almost 1/2 way there! I have a dr's appt in the morning at 815. If things look even better than last week, I'm going to ask if I can start increasing my activity level a little bit. Like maybe I could: go on an errand every once in awhile, go on a 10 minute walk, sit up more instead of laying down- etc. Any of the options will do. I'll let you guys know what I find out tomorrow.