A time for the beginning of many FIRSTS

I have been experiencing a lot of firsts lately.
1. Last week my sister Lacey sent me my FIRST baby outfit! It is so adorable! It is a burgundy colored little frilly girls dress. I love it! (However, Josh had to ruin it by suggesting that we have his grandmother sew the VT Virginia Tech logo on it since it was the right color...... side note - I will never be able to escape football or Virginia Tech as long as I live!!!)
2. For the FIRST time someone that I had not told I was pregnant asked me if I was..... I guess that means that I am getting more large and obvious.
3. I feel a lot of baby movement at the end of my workday and between 8-11:00 at night. Well, I had Josh hold his hand on my stomach for awhile and he was finally able to feel the baby for the FIRST time!
4. I am finally flying to Utah for Christmas (a FIRST since our marriage in 2005)!!! Not only is this a FIRST for us for a Christmas in Utah but this is also a FIRST and very important flight. This will be the FIRST time that we will be able to fly out of Bristol (where we live). This is major since all of our other flights have been out of Louisville or Lexington Kentucky about a 4 1/2 hour drive. The Bristol airport is small and usually several hundred dollars more expensive. However, thanks to my step-dad we were able to use a travel coupon and save hundreds.
5. If this baby really is a girl like they think ........ I will have the FIRST girl in my family!!

$1.74, what a bargain

I couldn't help but not publish the price of gasoline! I can afford to drive again! Not that I want to do cross country driving again anytime soon but it is nice just to have that option. I was suprised because my sister who lives in southern Utah is still paying close to $3.00 a gallon. Now that is ridiculous!
However, on the downside of it all, it boils down to our economy being in terrible shape. But on the other side, I am saving a bundle of money! Especially since my husband drives close to 400 miles a week to school and work. The only thing that I don't understand is why we are still paying outrageous costs for food and other items that were jacked up due to the rising cost of fuel. Now that fuel cost is down, I haven't seen too many other products lower their prices......except for maybe SUV's and trucks. One thing that I would love to see come down in price is the cost to ship packages. I think I paid 7-8$ the other day to mail a small package. It doesn't seem like that long ago that UPS had a $2.99 shipping fee for small packages. Those days are long gone.

The results are in!

Josh and I had our ultrasound a few days ago. I wasn't really sure what to expect, except that we were going to possibly find out or "verify" the sex of the baby. Well....I was positive that I was gong to have a boy so I went into the ultrasound waiting for them to tell me it was a boy. However, it didn't happen that way. At first the baby wasn't really cooperating to show us anything. Eventually towards the end the baby decided to move just enough so that we could get a good look. The lady told us that she couldn't be 100% accurate but that there was no evidence of a boy and from what she was seeing she said that it looks like a GIRL. I really didn't say much after that because I think I was in shock. I thought I knew what I was having but apparently I don't really know anything. Either way I am very excited and looking forward to it. When I told my parents they were also very happy! They have both secretly and not so secretly voiced their opinion that I should have their first granddaughter. My dad has already been thinking up girl names (mingled with his name) since I told him I was pregnant. So when I told him it was a girl he just told me that I needed to listen to him a little more often. But on the other hand, in some small way I can't get it out of my head that it might still be a boy. Maybe I just don't want to admit that I don't know anything about what is growing inside of me and that I was wrong. So for now I could just go along with April and state that the tests were "inconclusive", she is sticking to that line because she now owes my dad $10 over a bet about the baby's sex.

$1.97 and keeping tabs

I never thought that gas prices would ever fall below $2.00 in my life time again. At $1.97 and even cheaper in neighboing towns I almost feel like I could own a truck now and afford to drive it. I don't even remember how long ago it was that they were that price. But it sure is a relief from the $3.99 we were paying over the summer. Since gas prices have continued to drop I have been more reluctant to fill my whole tank up since every day they seem to go down even further. On Monday or Tuesday I only put about $5.00 in my tank and it will last me well into next week (I only drive about 7 miles to work each day). Maybe prices will fall even further by then.
On with more exciting news....... I think that I finally felt "movement" with the baby. I have been asked at each OB appointment if I have felt movement and finally I think I have. It is quite a strange feeling. Almost like I swallowed a large goldfish and it is swimming around trying to find a way out. It is like nothing I have ever felt before or imagined like it would feel.
On Tuesday we have our ultrasound. I am getting more and more excited. My stomach is getting larger (not large by Josh's system of measurement - he rubbed my belly today and said that we must be having a little baby) but I think it is growing. My pants are no longer comfortable around my waist and it is getting difficult to dress myself in the morning. However, now that it is winter and I am wearing large sweaters it is easy to cover up and undo a button or two if I have to. However, I still haven't told anyone that I work with. I think that I like being mysterious and keeping a secret that only I know. Or maybe I am just too much of a recluse to want people asking me question all the time. Maybe it is a little bit of both. However, I do think that it will be interesting to see the look on some of their faces when I come back to work after the long Holiday break. By the time Christmas is over I will be 6 months along.

16 weeks.....and a half

As of last Friday I am 16 weeks into my first pregnancy. I am very excited but my emotions are all over the place!
I feel blessed because
-we tried for over two years to get pregnant and the Lord knew the best time for us
-I have a very supportive and loving husband
-I have only thrown up on two different days
-I am able to continue working through the pregnancy thanks to a preisthood blessing

I feel like we are going to have a boy.....however, my parents both want me to have a girl! They don't want to listen to me because they want a grandaughter. But in three short weeks we will have the ultrasound to prove them wrong!! Either way they will be happy but they already have three grandsons and are hoping for a girl.

Going through this first 16 weeks have been a roller coaster. I like to blame it all on my hormones and body changes. I felt sick and nauseous for the majority of the time. However, the last 2 weeks or so have been getting better every day. I have the energy to cook and clean again. I tear up over little things and am grateful that Josh is at work so he doesn't see me. I am starting to show but try to hide it because I haven't told the people I work around yet.....I'm not really sure why I haven't told them either. My pants are getting tighter and at work I just have to undo the top buttons and pull my shirt over top of them so I can breathe. I just have a small bump that I can conceal but last night Josh asked me "when is your belly going to get bigger?" To answer his question..... I don't really know... but I always pictured women as being large in the belly when they get their ultrasounds (at least that is what I have seen on TV and TV is reality, right?). Well my ultrasound is in three weeks so maybe I will have a growth spurt by then. I finally bought my first pair of maternity pants tonight and they are so comfortable. I am able to breathe in them and my stomach doesn't doesn't feel so squished. Plus, I think they are cute!
Oh and I don't have to go through this alone!! My girl that I visit teach is also pregnant and due within two weeks of me. Plus, my sister in law and Josh's aunt are also having babies due about 2 -4 weeks after me. So we have lots to talk about and we all understand what each other is gong through. Not to mention that my other sister in law just had her baby two weeks ago and another sister in law is having a baby is January. So I guess I will be around many mothers that I can talk to!
By the way our due date is April 10th. Just shortly after my 30th birthday. I never imagined I would be this old before having my first child but I guess the Lord has other plans for me.

blogging... a new world

I guess I had better jump on the blogging bandwagon and get this thing started.... I feel like I am from another planet and the last alien to have my own blog. As my sister and friends have informed me.... everyone has one of these and I must post my life to the world! So therefore I guess I will give it a try. However, secretly (for quite some time now) I have enjoyed looking at and reading my friends blogs. I feel somewhat connected to them even though I live thousands of miles away.