So it was my senior year of college and I had just gotten out of class on the U of A campus.  While walking back from class I stopped at a place on campus for some lunch.  After finishing my lunch I began my journey back to my dorm.  It was pretty warm outside because it was August so I was perspiring a little bit on my face.  I was pondering about how this was my last year at the U of A and life would be a lot different after this year.  Then all of a sudden, someone was shaking me.  I stirred from my sleep to have a surreal realization that I was at a completely different chapter in my life.  As my mind focused, I realized that I was actually married, pregnant, and being woken by my husband.  This was Monday morning.  As much as I loved my college years, I found myself overcome with a feeling of relief.  I like where we are in life right now.  I wouldn't choose to go back to college if I could.  I like doing daily life with my husband.  I like the excitement of expecting our first baby.  I like the idea of staying in Fayetteville for awhile.  And I am currently excited about moving into our new duplex next month.  I like waking up and enjoying where I am in life, rather than dreading the day ahead.  I know all days won't be perfect, especially with a new born as a sleep deprived mom.  But I still think we are very blessed. 

This past weekend I was showered twice (in a baby shower kind of way).  The first was with my youth girls from Lowell.  It was so wonderful to spend some time with them, since I don't get to see them that often these days.  And my mom and sister had the cutest decorations, a monkey theme since we are using monkeys in Emerson's room. 

 Diaper cake:

Yummy food:

The girls:

The second shower was with my high school friends back in Joplin.  Every time I hang out with them I have such a good time.  I'm always reminded of how I had such fun friends :)  It was great catching up and spending a little time together, something we should make happen more in the future. 

The bassinet from my mom which she slept in as a baby, we slept in as baby girls, and now Emerson will sleep in:

So, we officially signed a lease for our new duplex!  We will move in on February 18th.  That will leave us a month to get settled before Emerson comes.  I took some pics that I can share with you below so you can get the basic idea of what it looks like.  We are very excited about having a guest bedroom now.  So all you far away friends can come visit us and have a place to rest your head :)

kitchen, with a refrigerator coming soon:

living room:

I am 32 weeks pregnant tomorrow.  Emerson is about 4 pounds now and about 17 inches long.  When he woke me up yesterday morning at 4:45am, I got to feel him have the hiccups for the first time!  It was so cute.  When I lie awake I think about all the middle-of-the-night feedings that are soon to come.  I kid you not that he is the most active around 5am.  He moves randomly throughout the day, but he is the most constantly active at 5am (I'm talking moving for a solid hour).

Now I have a negative update for you.  Today I was babysitting my nephew, Caeden, and I brought Brody with me because I wasn't sure how long I would be gone.  Plus I thought it would be good for him to be around me as I give babies attention.  Well, I have been warned that dogs can get jealous when you bring a baby home, because they are used to getting all the attention.  But I never thought Brody would be that way because he is a pretty independent dog and didn't seem too emotionally involved ;)  Anyway, when I was playing with Caeden and Ella (a little girl Ashley babysits), Brody was being especially clingy.  So I made sure to give him lots of love and attention.  He is not normally a clingy or touchy dog, so I liked getting to love on him a little bit.  But to my surprise when Ashley got home, I discovered that Brody had chewed up one of Caeden's toys!  For some dogs this is no big deal.  But Brody has not once chewed up anything at our house in the past year that we have had him.  I believe that this rebellious act was spurred on by Brody's jealousy of the babies.  Now I must worry about how he will handle Emerson joining our family.  I hope he takes it well, because I want Brody to continue as part of our family for years to come.  Well, sorry to end on a bad note, but I must go eat some lunch now.  A little bragging for you: last night I made homemade lasagna with homemade pasta!  It was fun to make.  Last time I made homemade lasagna (a 9x13 pan), it was gone in 3 days because my husband loves it so much.  We might beat the record this time :)  We'll see.

Mah belly mug shots:

Oh the Possibilities!!

Salutations, dear friends!  Do you feel like everytime I post it is a bazillion words long?  So do I!  Blame it on grad school and all those 15 page papers.  Speaking of which, I will be receiving my diploma in the mail any day now :)  So, I must update you on our trip to Eureka Springs, our first childbirth class, and the possibility of us having found a new home!

Caleb and I decided to have a little getaway before Emerson takes over our lives.  We headed to Eureka Springs for a few days and stayed at a bed and breakfast called Mount Victoria Bed & Breakfast.  It was super cute and we had a nice cozy room.  The breakfast was amazing.  Mostly our trip consisted of eating a ton, relaxing, and other things that you do on a getaway (hint/nudge/wink).  Here are the only two pics we left Eureka Springs with:

Our B&B:

Now don't covet ladies, but here is my hunk taking his annual bubble bath:

Whew, it got a little PG-13 there.  So, we got back yesterday and had our first childbirth class.  We did the usual... watched birthing videos, breathed funny, and comforted one another about the pain that is to come.  That's about that.  I'm not sure whether I left there feeling excited or scared... Hee hee hoo...

Ok, so we have also been on the lookout for a nice place to move into before Emerson comes.  We are open to small rental houses or duplexes.  Well, we discovered a duplex yesterday that is in almost pristine condition.  Two years old.  Three bedrooms.  Two bathrooms.  Nice kitchen, dining, and living room areas.  Appliances included.  Two car garage.  And the rent is comfortably in our price range.  But the thing is, we need to commit if we want it!  I just feel uneasy about making such haste decisions.  But Caleb and I have been browsing rentals for awhile now and we know this is a good deal.  It is in a safe neighborhood and somewhat near the place that Caleb will probably be working at.  So, anyway, we will be deciding by tomorrow if we want to take this.  Another good thing is that they are willing to hold the duplex a month for us, leaving us about one month to get settled before Emerson comes.  It really is a great deal.  Perfect for us.  But you know how it feels to make big decisions.  Kinda scary!  Well, that is about all I have to share with you today. 

I will be 31 weeks pregnant tomorrow.  My belly continues to get rounder and protruding-er.  I am eager to meet our little son.  I can't believe we are only 9 weeks away!  Holy Cow!

Baby Bets

We had a wonderful reunion with our friends Nick and Val Braschler at Village Inn last night.  First I must say that their son, Caleb, is absolutely precious!  And he was so content and sleepy :)  I hope for an easy baby like him!  We loved getting to catch up with them.  Anyway, during the conversation, we began to make bets on when Emerson would be born, how much he would weigh and how long he would be.  Here is some background info for you:

-I was born 2 weeks late weighing 8 lb 4 oz.  I don't know how long I was.
-Caleb was born 2 weeks late weighing 8 lb 3 oz.  He was about 21 in long. 
-Today hospitals induce you if you are one week late. 
-My due date is March 24th.

Our predictions:

Name              Date                      Weight                   Length
1. Nick             April 4th                 8 lb 6 oz                   21 1/4 in
2. Val               March 29th            8 lb 5 oz                   20 in
3. Caleb           March 22nd           8 lb 3 oz                   20 3/4 in
4. Amber        March 27th            7 lb 13 oz                  20 1/2 in
5. Diana*        March 27th            6 lb 11 oz                  19 in
*our Village Inn waitress

Now you, my dear blog reader, can place a bet too.  Just make a comment below and we will see who wins.  We are not betting money.  Basically, if you win, you just get the pride of knowing you won.  The end.

Blessings

Well, where do I begin?  It has been a wonderful past week and I am reminded of how blessed I am to have the friends and family that I have.  First, I got to spend a wonderful weekend with my besties.  We all just hung out and relaxed like we did when we all lived together... Ahh, sweet memories :)

  

Caleb's parents and grandparents also came into town, so we had a nice reunion with them :)  Early Saturday morning we had a 3D ultrasound at What's Kickin' Ultrasound Studio in Bentonville.  So we got to take a peek in on our little Emerson.  I have to be honest, sometimes it seemed like he knew we were looking at him, because he would look directly at us and then turn his back on us like he wanted us to leave him alone!  It made him seem like a shy baby, too, because he almost constantly had his arms/hands up to his face.  It made for some difficult picture taking, but we were able to snag a few cute ones.  I thought it was just precious when he sucked his thumb or pulled on his ear.  On the video you could actually see his jaw moving as he was sucking his thumb.  It's so amazing that he already knows how to do that!  You could also tell when his eyes were open or shut.  Anyway, here are some of the better pics:

This is a sort of profile picture with his shoulder and arm in front.

Sucking his thumb:

Caleb says Emerson is kissing his bicep here:

His tiny fingers (and he's pulling on his ear):

We loved getting to watch our little boy for a little bit.  He seems so sweet and cuddly.  I can't wait to cuddle him in my own arms!  Then, later on Saturday morning, I had my first baby shower with some Fayetteville friends.  It was a blessing and very exciting to start our collection of things for Emerson.

The girls in our fam:

A cute belly pic:

It was great to have Sarah there, because she and her husband are new photographers, so she was able to document the entire thing!  And to top the perfect weekend off, we got some snow in NWA.  If you know me at all, you know that I LOVE snow!  I get giddy like a small child when it's a snow day.  

I am very blessed by the wonderful people that God has placed in my life.  I am also blessed with my amazing husband Caleb :)  And we are blessed because God chose to give us a baby.  Even though having a baby at this point was not originally in our plans, I wouldn't do it any other way if I could go back.  Now I can't imagine not having Emerson soon.  I cannot wait to meet him.  Our lives will change forever when he is born.  Lord willing Emerson will be with us the rest of our lives!

Home Sweet Home!

We are home after our long Christmas vacation and it feels good.  We spent the second half of our Christmas break with the Gutshall side in Chicago.  It was a good time!  We ate a lot, toured the city, and visited the Shedd Aquarium.  I must say that I was a little disappointed because I was looking forward to the snowy New Years in Chicago.  However, the temps reached 50 darn degrees while we were there!  When we first arrived, there were feet of snow piled on the sides of the streets, making for a very quaint looking city with the Christmas lights and wreaths.  Yet, within our first 24 hours of us being there, the snow disappeared-- disappeared I tell you!  It was kind of nice since you do a bit of walking in the city, not having to cover every square inch of our bodies with warming gear as I was expecting.  And it was a great time with my in-laws and a blessing to be with them to bring in the New Year.

Now, last time I went to the doc I had gained 16 pounds so far, which is about average for this point in the pregnancy.  But that was before Christmas.  So, at my parent’s house I told you about all the sweets within my grasp.  And I have to be honest; I did not really attempt to practice self-restraint.  “It’s for the baby,” I told everyone.  Then we proceeded on to the Gutshall family side.  Normally they are very healthy eaters.  Yet, since we were traveling, we ate out a lot.  Fast food on the drive, Chicago-style pizza, Italian restaurants, and Potbelly’s.  Emerson was eatin’ good.  I didn’t care really though, because when I’m pregnant, I do get hungry faster.  So, when I had a doc appointment the day after we returned, I prepared myself for the worst.  I stepped on the scale and what to my wondering eyes did appear, but only a 3 pound gain!  I was pretty shocked about this.  But I’ll accept it.  So, I have gained 19 pounds so far and the website said 17-24 pounds is normal at this point.  I was pretty pleased with this since my honey gained more than I did.  But don’t tell him that I told.  Emerson’s heart rate was 150 and I measured at 29 cm, and I start the 29^th week tomorrow.  Can you believe I’m in the 3^rd trimester already?!  This pregnancy is going by so fast!  Emerson is almost 17 inches long and weighs 3 pounds.  His kicks have been getting stronger and often startle me.  He is getting more active it seems.

I feel like I have so much to look forward to right now!  This coming Saturday I am getting a 4D ultrasound and hopefully there will be pics to come!  I’m excited to see my little boy, to learn how big he is and to see if he is head down.  Then, also on Saturday, I get my first baby shower!  I will get to see my besties, even Sarah who is coming from way far away.  The next week, Caleb and I are giving ourselves a little get-away!  We are staying in a bed and breakfast (we love those!) in Eureka Springs.  It will be our last little hoorah (bow-chica-wow-wow) before we enter parenthood.  Then we have a couple more showers.  Then we get to start looking for a new home to live in with our little family.  Then we get to move.  Then we get to meet Emerson!!!  Clearly we have a lot coming our way and I am just the type of person that loves having things to look forward to.  When I have nothing to look forward to then life seems a little boring.  So, I will certainly be doing a lot of posting.  Sorry this post is so long, but I had so much to catch you up on!  Check back soon for my revealing of what we did for our families for Christmas!