Summer Fun

So the last couple of weeks have been very eventful! To start, Paul celebrated his first Father's Day. It was very special. I can't wait to see him in action with our little guy soon.

Paul's Father's Day breakfast. I had to do something to compete with his breakfast in bead :) I plan to make a centerpiece out of Paul and Isaiah's favorite play things every year. Good tradition?

The next week my dear friend Hayley came for a visit! I'm so blessed to have such an awesome friend! We had a great time showing her around the city. We also got to paint Isaiah's room! It's super cute! Without her being here to help, I don't know that we would have actually taken it on. We would have just thought about all summer....lol! Thanks Hayley!!! Can't wait to get he rest of the room finished!

The beginning of Isaiah's room!

Me and Hayley....awww..

29 weeks preggo!!

This weekend was our 5 year wedding anniversary! I cannot believe we've been married for 5 years already! It has been amazing so far, I can't wait to see what God's got is store for our little family :) We were able to take a few days to go to the beach and just relax. It was just what we needed. Hang out by the water during the day and catch up on movies during the evening(we love our movies.) We stayed in a tiny cabin in Navarre Beach Florida. The oil spill had not yet affected this little area. So we got to enjoy the ocean AND the pool. We were kinda weird about getting in the ocean water though, so we just sun bathed at the beach then went back to the campground to enjoy the water there. Lots of fun was had and some sunburn was involved of course. Overall, great trip!

Out to dinner to celebrate five great years!

Chillin by the sound. Our favorite part of the trip!

30 weeks!!! Seriously?!

Tonight we had our first childbirth class. It was very interesting and the lady who leads it had a super cheery, almost minnie mouse kind of voice who can make even the least pleasant information sound not so bad. lol. Imagine Minnie Mouse saying "you will have a long time of painful labor." lol, in a seriousness, I learned a lot and I'm pretty sure Paul did too. I look forward to the next few weeks of classes.

I have to say that though I love the life that Paul and I have here and I'm excited about what is to come, I struggle with being homesick. I wish that our friends and family were here to share in this time of preparation and in the time of Isaiah's arrival. I miss the closeness. Please pray that God will give us strength and joy in this time leading up to and after Isaiah's birth. We are truley blessed and can't wait to share in the joy of our first son being born with those who can make it down here. It is going to be a beautiful time in our lives and we are thankful.

week 28?!

  So I would have to say that over the last few weeks, I've started to show alot more! It seems like it happened over night. One day all on my shorts and jeans fit, then the next day almost none of them will zip! I still have a couple of pairs that are working for me, but for the most part its maternity! Its weird to see my body change so much, but I really love it. The fact that my body is growing to accomodate my growing little Isaiah is amazing to me and I feel blessed. Of course I had apprehension the first time I put on my bathing suit, but that didn't last long. I love being pregnant, big belly and all!

  We went home this weekend to visit the fam. My sis and some other friends and fam were awesome enough to throw me a baby shower! Fun stuff and again, we are blessed. We're so grateful to those who came and shared in the celebration and who are helping us prepare for Isaiah's arrival! We got lots of things that we needed and some other fun stuff too :)

My sister Cassie is the best!

 

My family! Most of the girls at least!

They thought the phrase would be especially fitting :)

  On Sunday I got to see my friend Allison who is also preggo! She's 20 weeks along and finding out boy or girl tomorrow! I'm so happy we got to see each other and take belly shots together. That was the first and last time we'll see each other during our pregnancies, since we live 900 miles apart. I can't wait to keep up with her little one through skype though!

  Little Isaiah is a very active boy. He kicks me all day long, even when I am busy walking around and doing stuff at work, he likes to let me know he's whenever he's awake. I love the feeling.

  There is so much preparation to do before our little guy arrives, I'm nervous that we won't get it done. More importantly, in the midst of all this physical preparation I'm afraid that Paul and I are not preparing ourselves for the new task that lies only a few months ahead of us, being godly parents. Please pray that we will focus on what is most important over this summer and that we will allow God to shine through our marriage and through our son. God has given us an enormous task in raising Isaiah in the way he should go. Please pray that we honor Him in this.

Much love,

Joy

6 Months Prego!!

   I wrote this blog a few weeks ago, but never posted it:
Holy cow, this pregnancy has gone by so fast so far! I mean 6 months already? Geez! I have to say that I throughly enjoy having this little guy growing inside of me. I love to watch/feel him kick, it is so fun! The ultra sounds have both been an awesome experience for both myself and Paul. We're grateful to have gotten to see him twice and can't wait to meet him in person, though we're not quite ready for his arrival yet. We have a ton to do to have his room ready! I'm excited to get started and can't wait for my friend Hayley to come at the end of June to help get everything together! YAY!
   I have also enjoyed stepping up to the challenge of eating lots of healthy stuff! I think I do pretty well on that page, though i do eat a small share of junk as well. I usually end up drinking at least 1/2 gallon of water a day, but I've discovered that I don't really like to drink skim milk by itself. I've been buying 1% and soy instead. Skim is ok with strawberry or chocolate syrup, but that sorta defeats the purpose of having fat free milk. I really haven't had any cravings except for the grapfruit early on...maybe that is still to come. Who knows!
   I think we're going to start childbirth classes in July which will be interesting. I look forward to it as time for us to grow closer to each other as we prepare for the arrival of our son. Please pray for us as Paul and I prepare emotionally, physically and spiritually for new things to come.

   Update from last appointment: 05/20, the baby weighed about 1 lb 3 oz. according to the ultrasound measurements. From what they can see he's healthy and there is nothing to be concerned about. Praise the Lord!

this is me at 19 weeks

this is 23 weeks

And this is our car seat!!!! Yay!!! There is a stroller to match too, but its still in the box:)

whew!

   So I have to say that I cannot wait until Thursday is over with!!! Paul and I will both take our last finals on Thursday!!! YAY!!! Guess what that means!! We can actually start some real planning for the arrival of our sweet little boy. There will be a lot to do this summer to get ready for him, but I can't wait to get started!
Saturday will be our first time getting to actually hang out together in months!!! Can't wait can't wait!
   Our baby guy is doing great. I went to the doctor this week. Heart beat was strong and my belly measured perfectly for the development he should be at right now. I've gained about 10 pounds so far which is right on track with what is normal weight gain. I'm trying to eat very healthy and exercise as much as possible so I can give this little guy a great start! Confession: I had coffee today for only the 2nd time since I found out I'm preggo. It was so very good. They had coffee punch at the baby shower I went to this morning. I felt justified in drinking it b/c there were at least 2 other preggos drinking it and I was a a BABY SHOWER! IT WAS SO GOOD!!! It will have to hold me over for a while though :) water water water, milk, milk, milk, juice, juice, juice.....That's what is on the drink menu for me!! woohoo!!! The caffeine thing has not been a struggle for me...then again, i might not be so far behind in my reading if I had been able to depend on caffeine, but no matter, I'll stick with the water for now.
   So, I'm about to head back to the books, but I just thought I'd give a quick update! There will be many more fun posts to come, I know its been a while. I've been focusing most of my awake/not at work moments on school work. Please pray that I get the best grade possible on these classes, so that I can get more money back from tuition reimbursement from my job. The better the grade, the more they pay you back. As you can imagine, we can use that money for several expenses that will be coming up as we put a nursery together. Tuition is not cheap, so the fact that my employer provides this is a huge blessing. I'm just hoping I don't bomb the 2 final this week and that I suddenly turn into a speed reader :)
  

This is me @ 21 weeks. I'll do a new one tomorrow, you should see the difference!!

Some goodies from my sweet cuz in Illinois! She is too kind.

Its so fun to start picking up stuff here and there :) Excitement!

Ok, I'm done really now, this was meant to be very very short and has turned into the longest post yet I think :)

IT'S A BOY!!!!

So, yesterday we had our first ultrasounds @ 19 weeks. It was such a beautiful thing. It took us a minute to figure out what we were looking at, but finally got the hang of it. We both just loved getting see our little guy wiggle around. :) Speaking of, now we know!!! Its a boy! Most importantly, he seemed to be perfectly healthy.  His heart, brain, and kindeys all looked the way they are supposed to and he has all of his fingers and toes! No suspicion that his little body is anything but perfect. Praise the Lord! He was in a funny position though, so we are scheduled to go back to get a few more shots that they couldn't get today. This was exciting news for us, b/c our insurance only pays for 1 ultrasound unless the doc asks for another one. We were happy that we get to see him again before he gets here.
So, needless to say, we couldn't be happier! Can't wait till summer hits and we have more time to start getting his room ready and the rest of our home in order for baby time :)
I did buy a few things last night for him. I just couldn't resist.

Meet our little guy :)

And this is his first outfit :)

What's kickin?

So over the past few weeks, I've felt things in my tummy that I've thought could be the baby moving. I've never been sure though, because it was so faint. Not so anymore. Soon after we went to bed tonight, this little munchkin started letting me know he/she was not in the mood to sleep. :) I wish that Paul had not already fallen asleep because I think he may have been able to feel a couple of those little kicks. I have to say, it makes my heart smile. I love this kid immeasurably and we haven't even met yet. I'm a mom and Paul's a dad. While that completely freaks me out, I cannot wait to meet our little girl or guy.
So anyway, I don't know if it was the babe, Paul's snoring :), or my 1 1/2 hour nap earlier that was keeping we awake, but I thought I'd get up and share.

taken at 18 weeks plus a couple of days.

ps. Thursday is the big day! boy or girl?

17 Weeks...enjoying every minute!

So the last few weeks have been more than hectic. We moved and then we've been so bogged down with school/work/travel, that I can count on one hand the number of boxes that we've unpacked since that weekend(2 1/2 weeks ago!) We like our new apartment and are looking forward to getting settled in and starting on the baby's room as soon as summer hits!
So, as far as baby Hanson is concerned, everything is going great :) We got to go home to see family and a few friends over Easter weekend. I think some were dissapointed that I'm not showing a whole lot yet, but what can I say...I have no control over that part. :)
I had a doctor's apointment yesterday. Everything looks good, the baby's heartbeat was strong! Looking forward to the ultrasound in 2 weeks!
I took a picture at 16 weeks, but never had time to post it:

As you can see, things are coming along just fine :)