Introducing our sweet baby!

Before the ultrasound... I was really excited. I also realize my thumb might be double-jointed. Haha.

Inside the our ultrasound room. It was really nice there. Here is the big screen that we got to see our baby boy on. He is definitely cute enough to be on TV!

Here is the sweetest picture ever! Look at that sweet button nose and precious lips. He is gonna be too cute!

Here is one of the pictures taken while he was flipped upside down. He was moving all over the place during the ultrasound. They had trouble getting some of the measurements they needed because he was so active. On the right is a picture of his face close up. It's kinda hard to tell what is going on in the picture, but the mouth is open and the nose is slightly up to the right. His eye socket is the darker spot to the right, and his forehead is in the shadow so you can't see it.

Another difficult picture... this one is looking at his face straight on. It's in the top middle of the picture & pretty much looks like a skeleton because of how the bones show up. The cute part is how he has his left arm coming up, and he was actually sucking his thumb. His hands were up by his face almost the whole time.

On the left is picture of the umbilical cord. Good news... it has 3 blood vessels just like it's supposed to! Just thought it was cool to see. On the right is a picture of his arm and hand. He had it in a fist here. I think he was telling us to leave him alone. All guys get tired of the camera after a while!

Here is a cute shot of his little bottom. You can also see one whole leg with the other heel sticking up behind it. Most of the time he actually had his ankles crossed over each other. Just relaxin'!

Here is the gender-defining shot! No mistaking he is a little boy with this picture. We may have to work on the modesty because Murray and I saw his private parts multiple times- even when the ultrasound tech wasn't looking specifically for them! On the right is a sweet picture of his 5 little toes. Murray was glad to see them! =)

Here I am afterwards back at home. We had to make a pitstop at the Disney store we passed walking back to the parking garage. Haha. Every little boy needs something with Mickey Mouse! This can also count as my 19 week belly picture. Just 3 days late.

And last but not least... the VERY proud Daddy! This is his "YES!" face. =)

It's a...

BOY!!!

We couldn't be more excited! We had a great doctor's appointment and got to watch the ultrasound for an hour! Our little man was squirming all over the place. He will definitely have to get more used to having his picture taken because there will be tons of that in the future!

We got to watch him roll over, kick his feet, put his hands over his face, open his mouth, and even suck his thumb! Even better, we got to see his heart pumping away just like it is supposed to. His brain, kidneys, and all other body parts were "perfect" too!

Even before we were told it was a boy, it was quite obvious! Murray is pretty proud of that fact if I do say so myself. You should see him... on cloud nine! He is going to be such a great daddy! And I have already bought 2 little outfits from the Disney store today. I just couldn't resist!

We wanted a fun way to tell everyone even though we aren't there to do it in person. So... we sent these flowers to my mom and Murray's mom that said "I'm a BOY! Love- Your New Grandson." They both sounded super excited when they called!

We have tons of pictures so I will be posting those in a little while. Thanks so much for all the prayers that our little one would be growing and developing just like he was supposed to. God is good, and Murray & I couldn't be more blessed.

Non-Gender Baby Update =)

Since we are all waiting on pins and needles to find out whether this baby is a boy or girl on Friday, I thought I would give everyone a little something to take up some of the time between now and then. I haven't really posted about what all is happening inside my growing belly for the last few weeks, and baby has really been changing!

16 wks- 3 oz. & 4-5 in. Heart is already pumping 25 quarts of blood a day, & the eyes are in their permanent position.

17 wks- 5 oz. & 5 in. Practicing sucking & swallowing for after birth, & fingernails & toenails are starting to grow this week!

18 wks- 5-7 oz. & 5 1/2 in. Our baby can hear us now because the ears are fully developed! Still working on sense of smell, taste, sight. The nervous system is also becoming more developed.

19 wks- 8.5 oz. (half a pound!) & 6 in. Adding on that important layer of brown fat to keep warm after delivery. Kidneys are fully functioning & producing urine!

20 wks (not quite yet, but still)- 10.5 oz. & 6.5 in. Baby is going to start focusing on gaining weight so belly pictures over the next few weeks should start getting really interesting! Sleep patterns are pretty much developed at this point. Let's hope the baby doesn't take to my "staying up all night" work schedule!

Stay tuned for the next post. Hopefully it will be exciting & full of good news!

Valentine's Day

Fair warning... this is a post intended only to brag about what a sweet husband I have. I worked the night before Valentine's Day, and he had to be in early that morning so we totally missed each other coming and going. We did get to spend some time together Sat. night once he got home from being on call at the hospital, but he didn't want me to come home to nothing so...

here's what he left on the kitchen table for me!!!


Isn't he so sweet!

Murray's Birthday Celebration!

Murray and I have had a lot going on the last few days! His birthday was yesterday, but with our work schedules we didn't really have the chance to go home to celebrate with family. Luckily, his sweet parents made the trip up here this past weekend to make his birthday extra special! We had the best time hanging out with them- although I'm pretty sure Murray & Mr. Walter saw enough of the mall for the next couple months! Haha. We really did spend a lot of time shopping- for maternity clothes and to get ideas for baby clothes. I know at least Mrs. Jennifer & I had a great time! We also were treated to some really nice meals which was great! Definitely didn't help the pregnancy weight gain, but that's what birthdays are for- right? We couldn't have asked for a nicer visit or thank the Butlers enough! You guys are the best! Here are a couple pictures from this weekend.

Yesterday, Murray & I did some celebrating on our own for his birthday. First, the weather here was AWESOME! Sunny & 60 degrees- in February! God gave him a much better birthday present than I did! My sweet husband couldn't think of anything he wanted for his birthday so he ended up with a really exciting present from me... a new travel coffee mug and a fogless mirror (with a clock) to shave in the shower (our old one fell off the wall and broke). Honestly though, he was really pumped about the present. Haha. To redeem myself for lack of a better present, we did spend the evening doing stuff centered around him. Luckily he got off of work a little early (guess they knew it was his birthday) so we went to the gym to workout. He really did want to do this- I promise. After coming home and getting ready, we went to eat at Merle's BBQ- one of his favorite restaurants in town that I'm rarely (pretty much never) in the mood for- and then went to see the movie of his choice- Taken. It was a really good, intense action movie. After the movie was over, we headed to Chili's for his birthday cake!

Here are a couple more pictures from his birthday night...

I think that Duke was a little worried about his parents in the picture to the right. Doesn't he participate in family pictures well though? =)

I am so thankful for the wonderful man I was blessed to marry. He makes everyday things so fun and always takes such good care of our family. He couldn't be a better husband, friend, Christian leader, or soon to be daddy! This new year of his life is going to be full of exciting changes, and I am so glad to get to experience them all by his side. Happy Birthday Murray! I love you!

Old Wives' Tale

Murray and I are getting really excited about our ultrasound date on Feb. 20th, but it is still so hard to wait! We want to know right now whether it is a boy or girl. I posted a while back that we were both feeling like it will be a boy, and I don't guess that feeling has really changed too much. However... Fox news had an article on pregnancy myths- one of which could predict your baby's gender- so of course I made Murray try it with me.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,338029,00.html
2. Pendant Test- Hold a necklace with a heavy charm over a pregnant belly — legend says if the pendant moves in a circular direction, it's a girl. If it swings back and forth, it's a boy! (Did it swing circular AND back and forth? Be careful — it may just be twins!)

Now remember, Murray is supposed to have the really steady hands of a surgeon so there shouldn't have been any extraneous variables there, and I didn't tell him whether the circle or line meant boy or girl so he couldn't make a biased movement. The result... a definite circle! So we may feel like it is a boy, but, if these old wives are correct, we just may be getting a girl. Guess we will still have to wait and see what the ultrasound shows, but it was fun to try!

Gatlinburg Vacation

Murray and I had a great week in Gatlinburg. We had some beautiful weather where we got to hike and enjoy the mountains, and we had some rainy weather where we were forced to relax, watch movies in our cute cabin, and be lazy. Pretty much perfect! We took tons of pictures so hopefully you feel like looking!

When we first got there, we headed for the park and went on a 2 1/2 mile hike. We saw pretty streams and stuff along the way and ended up by some awesome waterfalls. Murray ventured off the trail a little bit and climbed out on the waterfall. Baby and I played it a little safer and just took his picture.

The next day was kinda overcast so we decided to spend most of the day at the aquarium. It is said to be the best aquarium in the nation. We don't know if it is the best, but it is definitely cool. Our favorite part was the underwater tunnel that you can go through to see sharks, stingrays, fish, and a giant sea turtle, but we definitely had fun in the rest of the aquarium too! Who says aquariums are just for kids? Haha.

Murray said I looked like this seahorse now. So supportive of my weight gain! Actually he is just really excited because it does seem more like I am pregnant now. No denying it! I thought this was the coolest/freakiest picture of the octopus. I couldn't believe how well it turned out. Murray caught the jellyfish at just the perfect time too! We almost missed this turtle. We finally saw him just as we were getting ready to leave.

The next day was our taking it easy during the rainstorm day. Thursday we had clear skies again so we decided to ride the skylift up the mountain to get a pretty view of the city and the surrounding mountains. After that we headed pack to the national park to visit a section called Cade's Cove. It takes about 40-45 minutes to drive there, but, if you are going to Gatlinburg, we would HIGHLY recommend it! We saw so many deer and apparently when they aren't hibernating, you can see a lot of black bear also! Also there are a bunch of old cabins and churches built in the 1800s that you can tour. It is really crazy to see how people lived back then!

We saw so many deer! I think I may have seen like one buck in my lifetime (other than the ones hanging in Murray's room) so I was really excited to get so close to some. Also Murray and I snuck up to the group of doe in this picture. I couldn't believe how close we got. They never did run away! The center picture above is the old mill that they used to cut lumber and make flour and cornmill. This whole community was so neat! The cabin to the left was one of the earliest houses built in this area. It's amazing what they could do back then and what they lived without!

Murray getting ready to plow some fields... minus the horses/mules! This church was so pretty up on this hill. We definitely were not ready to head back to Chicago when our time was up, but we couldn't have asked for a better trip!

15 Week OB Visit

Murray and I went to the doctor today for our 15 week checkup. Everything looked great! Dr. Tan said that I had gained a good (appropriate) amount of weight so far- 5 pounds. She also found the heartbeat really quickly again. It was between 145-150 a minute. I go back in a month when we will have our ultrasound to check the baby's development and hopefully see what we are having! Right now, Murray and I both feel like it's a boy, but we will see!

As far as cravings go, I guess you could say I am starting to have some. They aren't the urgent like "Murray, I have to have this now!" kinda cravings, but I definitely have wanted strawberry pancakes from IHOP a lot more than normal and eat peanut butter at least once a day if not more... peanut butter toast, peanut butter and jelly, peanut butter and banana...

I am going to add a few more pictures to our picture wheel up top so be sure to check those out. Murray tried to take a picture of my belly button which we are sad to say is already on its way to popping! The top half sticks out just a little now. Haha. Mom always said I kicked hers out so I guess I will have to tell our first baby the same thing.

We leave next Sunday for a late anniversary trip to Gatlinburg. We are really excited to get away (and out of Antartica!) for a few days. I will definitely enjoy my week off of work, and it will be so nice to hang out with Murray. We are looking forward to walking around, eating good, and maybe doing a little shopping. We are mostly just excited about relaxing in the cute cabin we rented. I will definitely be adding pictures from our trip when we get back. By then I will be almost 17 weeks with only a couple more weeks till our big ultrasound day! So many exciting things happening in the next several weeks/months!

What everyone really wants to know...

So I realize that although we probably have more people reading the blog than ever before, most of you don't really care so much what Murray and I are doing. You would definitely much rather know how/what our baby is doing! Which is totally fine. It is already much more interesting, and it's not even born yet. Thought I would fill you in on the last few weeks...

One of the coolest things yet is that at 13 weeks, it was able to suck its thumb. I would love to see it doing that on the ultrasound. It's vocal cords were also fully developed at 13 weeks too, but it can't make any noise since sound doesn't travel through amniotic fluid.

14 weeks- the baby is working on controlling voluntary movements, but it will still be a few more weeks before I can feel anything probably. That's something I cannot wait for! I really can't wait till it is strong enough for Murray to feel too! Also kinda cool, our baby now has its own unique fingerprints. I'm sure we will see those over windows and walls for years to come!

I will be 15 weeks on Tuesday so I'm gonna cheat and tell you what the baby will be doing this week. For one, it actually has a neck now and looks much more like a baby. It also is practicing sucking and swallowing (amniotic fluid) and can even get the hiccups. As far as size goes, the baby is growing and growing. It is now supposed to be 4 inches long and weigh about 2 ounces. Crazy that all its organs and everything can fit into such a tiny little thing!

This is NOT our baby, but since it will be a while before I can post a new ultrasound of ours, I thought I would show you what our baby should be looking like right now.

We have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday so I will let you know if I learn anything else cool! I will try to put up a new belly picture soon too. I feel like I am really starting to show, but most people still can't tell. Won't be much longer though I'm sure. =)

Snowed In!

Murray and I both had this weekend off, and we are SO glad! We had decided to stay in and be lazy anyway, but the weather has given us no other choice! Over a foot in less than 24 hours! It's nice to be snowed in when there's nothing we have to get out to do! We took some pictures for all our family and friends enjoying nice 50-60 degree weather down south!



Us enjoying what will hopefully be one of our last major snows since we this is our last winter here. Makes it a little more fun when you look at it that way!

You can't keep the windshields cleared off. Murray had to move our cars this morning, and, not even 30 minutes later, the cars were completely covered. Mine is the one that's hard to see across the street. I can't even park in the garage because, my car is so low, I get stuck in the alley!

This is looking down our sidewalk. Thankfully several of our neighbors have snowblowers that have cleared a walkway!

Look how deep it is! We wish Neesha were here to play outside with us in it!

Just had to put a picture of my snow boot on here so you could see how deep the snow really is. In the picture above it, you can just barely see the top of my boots which are about a foot tall! Crazy!



The snow is enough to cover over Duke. He hates going out to use the bathroom!

Go Bulls Go!

For Christmas, I got Murray tickets to see the Chicago Bulls. We had a great time (even though they lost- haha)! Murray was really excited to see the Michael Jordan statue, and the United Center was SO cool! The ga me was really close and a lot of fun to watch. But the best part (to me) may have been the hilarious dancing mascot Bennie the Bull or the (I know it sounds corny...) jump-rope girls group that performed at halftime! They were crazy good!!!! Anyways, it was the perfect night and here are some pics!

Just as a sidenote... this is why the $40 at Petsmart is worth it for a puppy haircut... do not try at home or this will be your result.