Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Third time's a charm

Or at least we hope so! We just listed the house with our third realtor and are about to approach the third year mark since first listing it before we got married. We met with four different realtors back in the fall and feel good about the one we chose. All four of them gave us some good ideas of things we should do to spice things up and help our chances of it selling. A few months and a couple thousand dollars later, we are ready to give it another shot.

It would be great if the house sold and we were settled somewhere before the baby comes. That would all have to happen pretty quick though. If it doesn't, we'll be turning our tiny office into a nursery and we'll just keep on keepin' on until God says it's time. At least with a few home improvements, we will enjoy the house even more while we wait. Honestly, I have always liked the house a lot, it's just a weird feeling to know it's not permanent and because of that, it's never felt very homy to me. Not to mention that half of our stuff is stashed at my mom's and we seem to never know what's where. Having a house on the market is exhausting, both physically and emotionally. We spend every evening and morning making sure it's spotless, just on the chance that we might get a showing that day. And most of the time, in the past anyway, the buyer never even bothered to show up or provide feedback if they did. And then of course there was that one time that we finally got an offer, went under contract after the biggest drama and run-arounds ever, and were ready to move out and the buyer backed out at the last minute. That was lovely. Needless to say, we have fleshly reason to be apprehensive. But, we're trying to be content and trust in God's perfect will and timing.

Prayers are welcomed!

Monday, January 16, 2012

Week 18...and it's a BOY!!

Another week down, another week closer to meeting our sweet baby. We had our second ultrasound (first ultrasound was at 7 weeks) appointment this morning. We had been anticipating this day for many weeks, but the time spent in front of that machine was a million times sweeter than we even imagined it would be. All of baby's body parts and systems were accounted for and healthy, which was far better and more important news than waiting to find out what "it" was. She took all of the measurements and checked for everything before finding out what the sex was. As she was moving the wand around taking measurements, I heard her say "I know what it is", and as soon as she said that I knew it was a boy. A few seconds later she pointed out the evidence of him being a boy and there was certainly no doubt! We couldn't be more thrilled about our sweet little prince!

Our ultrasound tech was super nice and gave us 11 pictures of our sweet little man. He was facing down almost the whole time but he was moving his little arms and legs quite a bit. She was so patient and tried for a long time to get him to turn around so she could get a profile picture. He finally did at the end. The little booger is stubborn already. I won't mention which parent he gets that from. Mom and Gram, you can keep it to yourselves too ;) I am pretty certain I felt him one time when she was pushing hard on my stomach trying to get him to move. As I saw his leg kick on the screen, I also felt something inside of me that seemed like it had to be him. It was so quick though, and I didn't feel him again, or at least that I know of. In the next week or two, I should be able to start feeling his movements quite often. I can't even tell you how much I look forward to that!

Based on his measurements, our perfect little boy is about 7 ounces and 5 1/2 inches from head to rump, which is exactly what our baby sources say he should be at this week.

Here are a few pics from today...


Practicing his soccer moves and building up those calf muscles. Daddy is already so proud :)


The feet and hand pics are my favorite!



No question he is a boy!



After leaving the doctor and calling our family, we couldn't wait to go and buy something for Baby Boy. We only bought from the clearance sections but got several sweet little things. Between hand-me-downs, grandparents and great grandparents, I don't think we'll ever NEED to buy anything, but it was fun being able to pick out some things for him ourselves. Now that my mom knows that he is a he, a lot of his wardrobe will be sweet, hand knitted clothes.


With my heart so near and dear to Africa, there will be a lot of elephants and giraffes in sweet boy's nursery and clothing. I could not resist this hat...OH. MY. GOODNESS!!




Baby boy already has a sweater for his first winter. Gap clearance, 6 bucks!


We are pretty close to deciding between our two boy names but won't announce it until it's 100%. There's no going back once it's out there. Even being able to say "he" has been so much fun today. Paul and I feel so much more attached to him already after seeing him today. I could have looked at that screen ALL day!

I go back to the doctor for my monthly check-up on the 30th. Just two more weeks and we get to hear that sweet heartbeat again! God is so incredibly good!

Monday, January 9, 2012

Week 17

This week baby is about 5 inches long and weighs about 5 ounces. His/her skeleton is changing from cartilage to bone. Sweet pea is already starting to form body fat and sweat glands.

All of my baby reading sources tell me I am entering a growth spurt. Wait, I think they meant Baby...but that means I am too, right?! My bump seems to be growing daily and I continue to love it. I'm finding myself touching and rubbing it more and more. I still haven't felt any movement and may not for another week or two. I feel extremely blessed to feel as good as I do. I've been having a little shortness of breath here and there and can feel things stretching inside of me, which is often uncomfortable. I haven't slept through the night since I was about 7 weeks pregnant. Between 2-4 trips to the potty and trying my best to sleep on my side, sleeping is just more difficult these days. But if that's all I have to complain about, I'd say this pregnancy is going great!

One of the most common questions I get besides "Are you sure there aren't TWO in there?!", is people wanting to know what I am craving. Honestly I haven't had any real cravings but I do find myself wanting things I know I can't have, like a Beach Club from Jimmy John's (deli meat and sprouts) and I think it's definitely safe to say I am going through sushi withdraw. I am already dreaming about what my first post pregnancy meal will be. Other than that, I find myself being more picky than ever if anything. Things like chili, salmon and chicken that I used to love just don't seem too appealing to me at all. I can't eat nearly as much at a time either. It's like I can literally feel my skin stretching after just a few bites and it HURTS! But then about 2-3 hours later I am starving and feel like I haven't eaten all day. We've had a lot more leftovers around here, which is probably a good thing.

Here is what I'm looking like at 17 weeks.


Needless to say, I don't think anyone is questioning whether or not I ate too much over the holidays...it's quite obvious that there's a baby in there :)

One week from today we will know if we have a sweet little boy or a sweet little girl. I've had about half and half as far as guesses go. Some people think that because I am "all belly", that means it must be a boy. Other people are certain it's a girl. We have two boy names and one girl name picked out. If it's a boy, I think we'll decide between the two pretty quickly because I just can't wait to call that sweet little booger by name. We still have no idea what it is and are just excited to know either way. We already love him/her so much. This is simply the most amazing experience I've ever been through, and it's not even to the best part yet!

Monday, January 2, 2012

16 weeks

I am exactly 16 weeks today. Four months down, five to go! I can't believe how fast it's going already. I'm sure towards the end when I am waddling around and can't put my own shoes on, that it will be going by much slower. I have felt great for about six weeks now and am absolutely loving being pregnant! I am sure that will also change in another three or four months, but for now I am focusing on the positives. We went back to the doctor last week and everything is looking good. We got to hear sweet Baby's heartbeat again and seriously, I don't know of many better things in life right now. I was very pleasantly surprised to find out that I have only gained 5 pounds so far. I haven't been eating like crazy or craving anything yet, but I was certain that this growing bump was at least 10-15 pounds already.



As of now, baby Hicks has accomplished all of the following (just to name a few of course):

*though they are still growing and changing, Baby Hicks has developed his/her brain and all body parts

*hands and feet are no longer webbed and sweet Baby already has reflexes and is moving those arms and legs all around, although I won't be able to feel him/her for another 2-3 weeks

*his/her heart has already divided into four chambers and as of this week he/she is pumping 25 quarts of blood every day

*tiny teeth have begun to form, along with sweet little finger and toe nails

*Baby is already making and floating around in his/her own pee pee

*he/she is able to make facial expressions and suck his/her thumb

*he/she can now sense light and as of this week may be able to hear Mommy and Daddy's voices

(I hate all of the "his/her" but I just can't stand calling our baby 'it")

*Baby has grown from the size of a poppy seed to a 4 and a half inch avocado

Reading and learning each week what our baby is doing inside of my womb is one of the most fascinating things to me. I have become even more in awe of our Creator...what an amazing God we serve!

We find out in just two weeks from today what we are having. I sure hope Baby cooperates and isn't hiding his/her little parts. I still don't have any kind of feeling as to what it will be and I honestly still do not have a preference. Mommy and Daddy will just be thrilled to call this baby by name and start planning things in more detail.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Christmas Card 2011

We were excited to get Baby Hicks on our Christmas card this year. Thanks to one of my bestest friends, Lindsey, for being our family photographer already.




A number of people have asked me whose belly I used for the picture with the bow. Umm, that would be MINE! It's hilarious the comments I have already gotten from people. I too was a little surprised at how soon my bump popped out but honestly, I love it!!! I have always said I couldn't wait to have a pregnant belly and I think God just blessed me with it a little early ;)

This Christmas we feel even more blessed than ever with our sweet miracle growing inside of me. But even still, we are most thankful for Jesus' birth, the real meaning of the season. Merry Christmas from the Hicks!

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Going public!

Paul and I have some exciting news to share, although most of you reading this already know. We are going to have a little Hickster! I am 13 and a half weeks and our little one is due June 18th! We could not feel any more humbled, blessed and excited!

We found out on Tuesday, October 11th and kept it a secret until Thanksgiving. It was the hardest secret I've ever kept. We wanted to be able to tell my family and Paul's family at the same time. Mom and Dad Hicks always come stay with us the night before Thanksgiving when we head to Boone. So we all ate at my Gram's that night. Paul and I planned the dinner about 5 weeks before Thanksgiving, praying every day that nothing would fall through. Paul had some video of him hunting and we told everybody before dinner he really wanted them to see where he's been hunting and what they've done to the land. A few minutes into the video, my sister-in-law started getting bored and walked into the other room. Paul redirected her back into the living room where we were watching the video. Right after that, Gram got up to go in the kitchen and check on dinner. I was sweatin up a storm. Thank God Paul somehow got Gram to stick around long enough for the "deer video" to turn into my first ultrasound and sweet baby's heart just a flutterin on the screen. I didn't know what to do so I just kept staring at the tv like I didn't know what was going on. My mom was the first person I looked at and her mouth was wide open and she had the biggest tears in her eyes. Needless to say, within seconds everybody knew what was going on. They were all so excited, but seemed really shocked. I think everybody knew it was coming sometime soon, but definitely didn't think that's why we were all having dinner together that night. It was so much fun. The rest of the evening was spent talking about baby and how in the world we'd been able to keep it from everybody for so long.

We couldn't wait to spill the beans to more people. It already felt so different now that our family knew. Paul said the blessing at our Thanksgiving meal in Boone the next day and at the end of the prayer, he thanked God for the miracle growing in my tummy. His family went nuts! With 11 grandchildren under the age of 5 I really didn't know how excited they'd be since babies are such a frequent part of their lives, but they couldn't have been more happy and excited.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving our friends Stephie and Jevon were in town so we went to hang out with them and some other friends. We hadn't seen them since their Chicago wedding back in May and knew we wouldn't see them again for a while so we decided to go ahead and spill the beans to them too. We always play catch phrase with this group of friends so I had the idea of telling them that way. For those of you that know me well, this was the most fitting way for me to break the news. We'd been hanging out for over an hour and I was getting quite antsy. As much as I love catch phrase, I didn't want to blow the surprise by being too anxious to play. Finally it was game time. The second time the game got to me, I said "this is what is in my tummy right now". Leave it to my friends to guess "turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce"! Finally Stephie's husband, who wasn't even supposed to be guessing since we were playing wives against husbands, shouts out "BABY", in which I responded "YES!" and threw the game down. That game will definitely go down as the best catch phrase game ever!!

I have to say I was super blessed by my lack of first trimester sickness. From about week 6 to week 10, I had some really rough mornings and nights. Well all day really. Although I wanted to sometimes, I never threw up or had to miss any work. Smells got to me really bad and there were very few things I felt like I wanted to eat. But compared to what some of my friends have gone through, I considered my symptoms to be pretty mild. Thanksgiving was really the first time I felt like I wanted a big meal. Now y'all know how much food I can throw down but for some reason, I seem to fit less in my stomach than before, which is weird since my stomach seems to be expanding by the day. And that is going to make the belly pic debut even harder to believe. I was quite surprised at how quick my bump popped out. I have always loved pregnant bellies and always said I'd wear one proud when it was my turn. I haven't changed my mind, but it has been a little embarrassing to show people my belly and see their reaction when I tell them I'm not at least 20 weeks. And I love how all of my pregnancy books told me at 13 weeks that "I might be starting to show if this is MY SECOND pregnancy." Ok, now there are at least two things you need to know before I reveal the picture. One, some of this bump existed pre-baby. Two, Thanksgiving has a lot to do with it too. I am not going to act like all of this is coming from our lime-size baby. It just happens to be in the right shape already.
And here it is...


No there are not two in there. And no, I am not further along than they think. Other than the two reasons listed above, I am going to blame it on me being short. Because that sounds good, right?! All joking aside, I am quite fond of my bump and plan on rocking it loud and proud. Not that I have a choice, but still.

We go back to the doctor on the 30th and after that we only have to wait 3 more weeks to find out what we're having. I can't believe it! Several people have asked me if I have a preference. I truly do not. I always thought before I got pregnant that I would. But I honestly feel so blessed to just be pregnant, that I can't imagine preferring one sex over the other. I have no feelings about it whatsoever so unless that changes over the next 5 weeks, I will be surprised when we find out either way.

Ok, I am sure this was more than enough of a blog post for one day. At least I have something blog worthy now though!

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Our weekend

It was a busy one, but a good one! Friday Paul and I had a date night. Saturday we met my college BFFs and their families for lunch. I haven't seen Amy in a year and haven't seen Erika since my birthday in June.

Erika and her beautiful daughter, Savannah


Amy and her two precious little ones.


Noah. He also belongs to Erika and John


Their two sweet girls lovin on each other. How do you stay humble when your kids are this good looking?


Us minus Paul who was taking the picture and minus Amy's hub, Nick, who works for NASCAR and was in Vegas for a racing banquet.


After lunch we went to my grandparents for an overdue visit with them and my aunt. We took my Granddaddy to Cracker Barrel for a belated birthday dinner. He is just the cutest and sweetest!


Sunday after church my sweet husband helped me grade papers for a couple of hours. Then we slid into church that evening the minute the Christmas program started.

Our laundry basket was still full on Sunday night. But so was my heart. I love friends and family kind of weekends!

Less than 2 weeks til Christmas break!!!