Counting Down the Days...

Well I am almost down to the last three weeks...and I am so ready to get this baby out! I don't want to use the  word miserable because I know it could always be worse..but I am not comfortable at all!!! I can definitely tell she has moved down a lot because I can breath  a lot better and my belly looks lower to me. I feel very blessed because I have had a really easy pregnancy for the most part...but I am at the point now where I am just over it. It's no longer cute :)  I wake up about every hour at night to either re-position or go to the bathroom. Clothes are uncomfortable, especially to sleep in... so I pretty much just wear a t-shirt at night. The last couple of days I have started to have some dull lower back pain. It isn't sharp pain ...it's bearable just annoying. Anyway....WAH WAH WAH!  :)   Most of all I am ready to see her face and hold her for the first time! That thought makes all this worth it!!!
Tomorrow I go back to the doctor and I will find out if I have made any progress at all. I am really hoping all the signs mean that she will be here before the 23rd....I know that's wishful thinking, but I am ready and I have always had a feeling she might come a little early. (Again...wishful thinking) I will update tomorrow about what the doctor says.
Update on Grandfather: My Papaw, got a hopeful report at his doctors appointment on Wednesday. According to the exams they did the Doctor at Vanderbilt thinks the cancer is only in his skin and not his lymph nodes. His biopsy tested positive for anal plastic basal cell lymphoma which I believe is a form of non hodgkins lymphoma. His lymph nodes looked normal though so the doctor thinks it has not spread anywhere so it should be easily treated. They sent off more lab work and he will get the results back in two weeks. So as of right now things are looking up. We are all hoping and praying it stays that way.
Well thats all for now...hope everyone is having a good Monday so far!

 Thanks to Mandi, Kelly, April, Jennifer and Emily for our car seat and stroller!

Kris got the pack-n-play put together...

Now all we need is a baby :)

Happy Fathers Day

Happy Fathers Day to all you Dads out there! Today was a good day. This morning we went to church, lunch, and then Kris, Kamden and I went to see Toy Story 3. It was very good! Things have been quite busy around here lately...as usual...so I am going to try and re-cap the last couple of weeks.
A couple weeks ago Kris and I finally went and took a tour of Labor and Delivery at Baylor Dallas. It was actually very informative and gave us a good idea of what to expect when the big day comes. Also we were not sure were to go as far as parking and what not so now we will not be lost in the event I go into to labor unexpectedly. Baylor Dallas was named the best hospital in DFW to have a baby and we were pretty impressed with the tour. It didn't start off so well because our tour guide got her wires crossed and forgot about us so we had to wait for about an hour before she could take us around...luckily it all worked out and the tour was great! It is a very nice hospital and their labor and delivery wing is brand new so everything is top of the line. It amazes me how things have changed so much in just the last five years even. If everything goes as planned with the birth and Scout is a healthy baby girl, she never has to leave my side from the time she is born until we leave the hospital. They call it "kangaroo care" or something like that.  She will be examined in front of me, her first visit from the pediatrician will happen in our room, and Kris will give her her first bath in our room also. If you want to send the baby to the nursery you can, but if I want her to be with me the whole time that is what they encourage. Also after she is born Kris and I get to spend the first hour of her life with just us three. This is when I will try to feed her for the first time and we will get to sit and look at her until they send us up to our actual room where we will stay. You can have other people in the delivery room if you want, but we decided that we just wanted it to be us because it is such a special moment they we can share together.  I am thankful that they give us some alone time right after she is born because everything gets pretty chaotic after that. There will be so much going on that the few minutes we will get with her right after she is born will be minutes we will cherish forever. I think it will be precious and it gives me chills just thinking about it right  now :) Mainly because the reality is starting to sink in that in a few weeks will will be welcoming a baby into the world! Crazy!   Anyway, after we are sent up to our room we will then have visitors. Both of our families are really excited so I am sure they will be waiting with open arms (literally) to see her.  Several hours after she is born Kris will get to give her first bath. That is their "special" time and I only get to watch. I think it is really neat that he gets to do that. As of my last Dr.appointment I am doing really good. My weight has sort of plateaued... for now at least. Either that or I am loosing so much water weight from the constant Texas heat!  My parents are going to come for the birth and are planning on staying for several days. I am looking forward to them being here. I wish my whole family could be here and it makes me sad that they won't be. That will be really hard for me. Luckily the plan is to take her to Tennessee a few weeks after she is born so everyone can see her. I have not been home in a while and the home sickness has really started to sink in. I miss my family and friends a lot! I got pretty choked up in church this morning because I started imagining them having Sunday lunch together for Fathers Day. If only Texas were in Tennessee :)
  Last Sunday I had a wonderful baby shower hosted by Mandi, Kelly, Emily, April, and Jennifer. Jennifer could not be there because she is busy being a new mommy to sweet little Vince! I have been very blessed to be surrounded by amazing people since I moved to Texas. Kris's family and friends have welcomed me here with open arms and I can not say thanks enough for how good they have been to me. It definitely has made the transition easier!  Mandi has made Scout the most precious first year scrap book ever! She is so creative and I can't wait to put pictures in it! Everyone has been so good to me and I truely am blessed!
  The nursery is pretty much complete other than I need a few things to put on the walls. Uncle Lewis took some precious maternity pictures of us last weekend! I will get some of them printed off to put in the nursery. Other than that we  just need a baby now :) Everyday I get more anxious for her arrival. I have been feeling pretty good all things considered. Bending over is a challenge so that makes work more difficult. I get tired more often. Typically on days that I work I come home and immediately have to lay down for at least an hour. Between the heat, the drive, and working for several  hours I am pretty much beat when I get home. This past Saturday  I managed to wash both cars and clean the house while Kris slaved outside in the sun planting flowers and doing yard work...we both payed for it this morning. I am sore and so is he! :) Oh well...we got a lot done at least. April and Ryan came over last night and we grilled out and played fast UNO ....I killed everyone! I never get that lucky..sorry guys! It was fun though!
Well...that is the update for now. I will post some new pictures below. Please keep my Grandfather and Aunt in your prayers. My Aunt Sherry just recently had back surgery and is still in a lot of discomfort so please pray she recovers soon and feels better. Also, my Grandfather will find out more about his cancer on Wednesday. He is pretty nervous so just pray it all goes well and that he gets as good of a report as possible. He seems to be feeling good so that's a positive sign at least. He is a very special man so keep him in your thoughts and prayers please.
I am off to bed now....goodnight all!

                            

Summer is here...

and it is HOT!!!   The last couple weeks have been fun and uncomfortable. We had a great Memorial Day weekend last week. We have also been spending a lot of time at the pool. Since I get so out of breath now swimming is about my only means of exercise these days. (that and cleaning the house). I hate sitting still for too long but having to catch my breath all the time makes things a little more difficult. The pool has been wonderful! Sometimes I swim laps at the pool in our subdivision and sometimes we go to the pool at Lifetime Fitness. I have definitely enjoyed being outside especially since I spend the majority of my week in windowless operating rooms. 

   I went to the doctor last Tuesday and everything is going well. I haven't had too much swelling yet which is good, but she is definitely growing and seems to enjoy curling up under my ribs at night. We are getting really anxious for her to get here. I am almost down to the last 6 weeks and I hope it goes by fast. I just can't wait to see her face and her active little body. On June 3rd Jen and Keith welcomed their little miracle into the world. Vincent James Duncan arrived Thursday night. He is so precious! We just got home from visiting them in the hospital. He has dark hair and round little checks. Holding him makes me even more anxious! 

   Other than spending time at the pool and welcoming new babies into the world things have been fairly quiet. Kris has been traveling some and I have just been working and waiting. :) We did get a new vehicle last week that we are loving so far. We got a 2010 Chevy Traverse and the extra room has been nice! Also it was made in Tennessee which makes it even better ;).We still have our car but with two kids and a dog, it was time for an SUV.  I do miss my family a lot! I miss my little nephews...they are growing so fast and I feel like I miss everything. I will be happy to get to Tennessee again...only next time I will be bringing a baby with me :) I can't wait! :)  
My Grandfather Barber (Mom's Dad) was diagnosed with a rare type of Lymphoma this past week. Analplastic Large Cell Lymphoma is the exact type. Their are sending him to a Specialist at Vanderbilt in the next couple weeks and he will undergo test to figure out where the cancer is in his body. Hopefully it has not spread to any major organs. He has a good attitude about everything and is still managing to play 18 holes of golf every other day so he is doing pretty good so far. He will definitely have to have 6 weeks of chemo, and he is pretty nervous about that. I think he will be fine...he is a very strong man and the best Grandfather anyone could ask for! I would like to ask for everyones prayers through this though. There will likely be some rough days in there and I just pray he hangs in there. My family is all pretty shaken up about it, but I have faith he will beat this! It will be a process though so please keep him and my family in your prayers!
  Kris and I are going to tour the Labor and Delivery floor at Baylor Dallas on Thursday so I will post about that then. I hope everyone is having a wonderful Summer so far and staying cool!!!! 

Memorial Day 2010

Baby Amelia - Stuart and Melissa's baby girl

Belly Pic in the nursery

Jen and Vince

Quick Update and Pictures

Well work was really busy last week do I didn't get a chance to update. Kris and I went to the Doctor last Tuesday and got to see the baby on the ultra sound. So cool! She  moves around a lot! Right now she weighs about 3 pounds 14 ounces. Also it looks as though I will get to go into to labor naturally as of now. Everything else looked good...she is growing and moving a lot. She really moves a lot at night! Actually...I am sitting on the couch right now with the computer leaned up against my belly and she keeps kicking it and the computer jumps! :) Sometimes I can see her move...it's freaky but really cool too! 
Congrats to my cousins Andrew and Eric on graduation! Eric was Salutatorian of his Senior class and is going to Freed Hardman University ( I think). Andrew is going to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Also congrats to Mary Grace and Tim on getting married! I wish I could have been there for the big day!   Anyway...I will update more later. Good Night All! :)

Profile

Foot

The baby swing we just got.

Finally the Sun is out!!!

Hello everyone! I meant to blog last week, but due to a busy work schedule along with little sleep...I never got around to it. Anyway, things are going well here...Kris and I worked on the nursery a lot on Saturday (pictures below). I am still waiting on the dresser/changing table to come in but we did get the painting up and the crib put together. It looks precious! The crib and the painting were a gift from my family and I love them both!!!  Last weekend my mother-in-laws threw me and Jennifer a baby shower and we each got lots of great things! Scout got some really cute clothes, a bassinet that I had registered for, a bouncer chair, a little rocking chair, some blankets, a bouncer swing that hangs from the door, some gift cards, and her very first Baby Bible! Also, Kris's grandmother is making her a quilt that I know will be gorgeous when it is done. Aunt Mandi has started her first scrapbook, which I got to peek at on Saturday...soooo cute! I can't wait to get pictures in it!She has pages dedicated to Me and Scout, Kris and Scout, Knox, Kamden, and Scout! It is going to be so fun to fill it up with pictures and messages! That is something I will cherish forever! Thanks to everyone for everything!!!!  We still have to pick out a car seat and stroller, and a few more odds and ends things...but we are getting there!
   Other than working on the nursery and cleaning the house, this past weekend was pretty laid back which was really nice for a change. Yesterday I had a work meeting in Plano so Kris and Kamden got to go to the pool at Lifetime...but today I fully plan on taking advantage of the warm sun that I have longed for and go lay by the pool for a couple hours! I am treating myself today...(assuming I don't get a call to cover a last minute add on or something...crossing my fingers...) :) Tomorrow we go back to the doctor and do another sonogram. I am so excited about that and I will post pictures tomorrow. We will hopefully find out if I will need to have a C-section or not.  I just can't wait to see her little face again! She moves a lot these days. Her favorite time to "exercise" is typically when I finally get comfortable in bed at night and ready to go to sleep. That is usually when she has herself a little dance party! I hope that is not an indication that she will be a night owl! :) My sisters both got really lucky with their boys. Cameron and Aden were both sleeping through the night by the time they were 4 weeks old. I will probably have the baby that likes to stay up and play at night....oh well!! I can't wait either way!  I hope everyone is doing well and I will update again tomorrow! Enjoy the sunshine...I know I will!
                                    Jill

The glider was from Mike and Jan and the Bassinet was from Jerilyn, Ashley, Avery, Laci, Lessly, Levi and Audrey. The quilt laying over the glider is from this sweet nurse, Faith, that works at one of the surgery centers I work at a lot. She surprised me with this a couple weeks ago. It's gorgeous! Thanks Faith!

I love the painting!

Opening Presents

Quick update...and shout out to TENNESSEE! :)

Hello everyone! I went back to the Doctor on Wednesday. Everything looks great! Her heartbeat is great and my Doctor thinks she is head down right now. We will do another ultra sound in two weeks because the last one indicated that my placenta was too low. Typically when this happens, it will move up as the baby grows and there is no problem. If it has not moved, however, I will have to have a C-section most likely. Also, my last blood work indicated I am anemic so I have been taking iron supplements for that. Otherwise everything is going good! I have gained 22 pounds so far...which is pretty average I guess. I still feel huge though! :) This weekend I will have my first baby shower and I will post pictures of that next week! It is a double shower for me and Jen...a girl/boy shower for Vince and Scout ...so that should be fun! Looking forward to it!

I also just wanted to take a second to tell everyone how proud I am of Tennessee. I have probably driven my husband and people here in Texas crazy with the constant email updates and pictures of the flood damage but I don't care. Tennessee will always be my home and right now there is a lot of devastation there so I am getting the word out since the media seems to be more worried about the bomb that "almost" went off in New York.  Things are a mess there right now..billions of dollars worth of damage...people lost everything...more deaths being reported as water goes down...and people still trying to contact family members from out of state. It is really sad. I feel very helpless here and my heart goes out to all my family and friends and those people who have been directly affected by this. People have really come together to help each other and that makes me proud. I hear different stories everyday from family and friends about different rescues, or how someone donated this or that to someone, people who didn't loose their homes giving up work vacation days to help out a neighbor, people lending their bathrooms and showers to those who still don't have electricity or water. It says a lot for a state that can pull together in a time of need like that. That is what should happen. I am posting a part of an article about Nashville that came out a couple days ago at the end of this blog. Please continue to pray for the victims there. If you wish to make any donations (clothes, money, ect.) let me know. Thanks!

"If you live outside of Nashville, you may not be aware, but our city was hit by a 500-year flood over the last few days. The national news coverage gave us 15 minutes, but went back to focusing on a failed car bomb and an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. While both are clearly important stories, was that any reason to ignore our story?
The Cumberland River crested at its highest level in over 80 years. Nashville had its highest rainfall totals since records began. People drowned…It is the single largest disaster to hit Middle Tennessee since the Civil War. And yet…no one knows about it.
It seems bizarre that no one seems to be aware that we just experienced what is quite probably the costliest non-hurricane disaster in American history. The funds to rebuild will have to come from somewhere, which is why people need to know. It’s hard to believe that we will receive much relief if there isn’t a perception that we need it.
A large part of the reason that we are being ignored is because of who we are. Think about that for just a second. Did you hear about looting? Did you hear about crime sprees? No…you didn’t. You heard about people pulling their neighbors off of rooftops. You saw a group of people trying to move two horses to higher ground. No…we didn’t loot."

It's official...

I am a horrible blogger! I have not done so well updating the blog lately so lots of updates. April was a really busy month! My parents, Grandparents, and Cousins, Andrew and Eli came for a visit early in April. We had a great time! Went to the 6th Floor museum, the Dallas aquarium, the Horse races, and ate lots of good food! I think they had a really good time and I really enjoyed having them here. We also celebrated a lot of birthdays in April. It was mine, my moms, both of my grandmothers, Kris's Grandfather, and Kris's dad's birthday! Kris's grandfather (POP) turned 80, and my moms, mom turned 70 and my dads Mom turned 80! Last weekend Kris and went to TN to celebrate my moms 50th birthday! We surprised her with a birthday dinner at the Olive Garden and invited family and friends. She was definitely surprised. We had 35 people there and I think that the Olive Garden was definitely ready to see us go by the end of the night too! It was fun though and I am glad I got to be there for my moms 50th birthday celebration. The following day was my birthday...I turned 29 ! My last year to be in my 20's! Wow...end of an era!
 I got to spend some time with my nephews over the weekend and that was precious! I miss them so much! Aden is the happiest little thing...he is always so content! Cameron is getting so tall and it seems like he should still be a baby. He wasn't feeling so great while we were there...but I got to steal a few hugs and kisses from him anyway. He is doing much better now! Molly came to celebrate my birthday at my Sisters house...haven't seen her since September so that was a treat! I miss my friends too!  We also got to go see our friends Heidi and Graig's new baby, Eryn, and spend some time with them for a while. Then Me, Kris, Kevin, Becky, and Brandi wet to eat at Stoney River! If you have never eaten there...I highly recommend it! Great food! Then on our way to the airport on Sunday we got to stop by the Cooks house and visit with them for a while. I starting babysitting for them when Annie, the oldest, was 2. She is now about to turn 11! Rawlie is 8, Wesley is 5, and baby Thomas just turned 1! They are a very special family to me and it was really good to see them! We had a great, but too short, trip to TN! It always goes by way too fast!!!
This past weekend we finally got the nursery painted thanks to Kris and Mandi! It looks great! I ordered her bedding and a painting from Pottery Barn that I have had my eyes on for a while...can't wait to get everything set up in her room. I think it is going to be really cute when it's all done! Then today after church Kris, Kamden, Knox, and I went on a hike at Cedar Hill State park...gorgeous day!  Not so gorgeous in TN right now however. I have not been able to get in touch with my parents all day because of the flood. Parts of Nashville, Franklin, Antioch, and Centereville are completely under water. Two of my good friends lost pretty much everything already. I feel horrible! Please keep all these people in your prayers. My family is all safe as far as I know. They have no electricity or water right now and will likely be stranded in their homes till Wednesday at the earliest. I pray everyone has plenty of food and water and that everyone is safe!
Pregnancy is going good so far. I am getting a really big belly! :) I think it's big anyway. Scout moves constantly! I swear she is doing flips in there! I go back to the Doctor on Tuesday so I will post more after my appointment. Still no first name...but we are working on it! Lots of pictures to sum up the last month.. Night all!

Andrew and Eli in Dallas..

Eli and Kamden 

Pops 80th..

My family...sporting their Texas shirts :)

My Moms surprise 50th birthday party...

Sweet baby Aden..

:) :) :)

On our hike today..