4D Video

Halloween and 3/4D Ultrasound!

We had my Mom's Birthday/Halloween party this past weekend! I went as a Bump Sign! Justin was a blonde cowboy! Pretty funny!

We had our 3/4D Ultrasound yesterday! We were so excited to see our baby boy again, since we had not seen him in almost 11 weeks! We knew we would not be able to get perfect pictures, since it is very hard to get good pictures in the short 20 minute visit, but the visit far exceeded our expectations! Now, when we think about our baby boy we can actually visualize his precious face! I do not think it has left my mind for more than 5 seconds since the appointment!

Not only did we get to see some of his sweet little features, but best of all we got to watch him move and play the whole time! It is incredible how Ethan is already acting like a baby! We got to see him play with his feet in his hands, rub his eyes, yawn, suck his thumb and best of all smile over and over again! Even our ultrasound tech could not believe how much he was smiling! He must be one happy baby! Maybe he felt his Mommy smiling at him. :) He even has lots of hair on his head!

He weighed 2 pounds and 12 oz.! Most babies at his gestational age are only a little over 2 lb. so we could be in for a big boy! Even though my belly is not real big, we had a feeling he would be on the bigger side. He kept placing his arm over his face so we could not get a perfect shot of him. The tech kept shaking him and I even tried laying on my side and it didn't help. It actually made him move closer to me which is why on some of he pictures there is a lot of fuzziness. We could however see his nose and his lips pretty well and they look just like Justin! Even his facial expressions were just like his Daddy's! I saw a short glimpse of his chin and I think it looked a little more like mine, but it was only for a second. We saw his precious little ear! We also saw his boy parts, so no surprises there!

Here are some pictures. The video is even more amazing which Justin will be uploading sometime tonight! Enjoy! :)

Sweet little face:

This is a total Justin expression:

Chubby little fingers:

Precious little footprint:

Sucking his thumb:

Smiling:

Smiling again:

Hands:

Feet again:

7 Months!!!

We are 28 weeks today and officially in our third and final trimester! Baby is over 2 lbs. and is 14.8 inches long! In 12 short weeks we will be holding our precious little Ethan in our arms!

We had a doctor's appointment a couple of days ago and I had my glucose screening test. I was a little nervous for this test because of my extreme sugar addiction. So weeks leading up to the test I tried really hard to not over indulge in sweets. The test is designed to detect gestational diabetes which is becoming more widespread and a serious complication in pregnancies. My doctor told me she would call me if I failed it, however I have not heard anything yet so I am hoping no news is good news!

We heard little Ethan's racing sugar-high heart beat (I had to drink a sugary drink before the test) and Dr. Grounds said he sounds great! I have gained 16 pounds so far and Dr. Grounds said that I am right on track! Since I am so long I still do not have a real distinct bump and I am not sure if strangers can even tell I am pregnant yet. We are going to Chicago next weekend and we asked Dr. Grounds for a doctors note stating that I am healthy to fly in case the airline asks for it at check-in since I am in the third trimester. Dr. Grounds basically laughed at us and said I really only look 4 months pregnant and no one should say anything. So we'll see! Hopefully we will not have any problems! Even though my bump is not real big, my waist has grown from 26 inches to 34 inches so something must be growing in there! I am looking forward to my bump getting rounder in the next few weeks!

We have our 3/4D Ultrasound on Monday! We are so excited for this because Ethan has now developed all of his features! I wonder who he looks like?! I am really anxious to get another picture of his feet because in our first ultrasound his feet looked enormous! With the intensity of his kicks, I know those things have to be HUGE!

I promised myself I would not tell anyone this story because it will only embarrass myself, but what the heck! This is a baby blog to document all the funny things that happen during pregnancy, right?!

So with the Hogs actually being ranked this year we have seen more Razorback football games in the last couple months than we have seen in the 2 1/2 years since we have lived in Kansas. This has gotten us back into the football spirit and we have had so much fun on Saturday's sitting on the couch and watching the games! This also sparked memories of Justin's old High School football days when he played for the Greenland Pirates! :) Justin and I had just started dating during the very end of his football season our senior year of High School. I never got to watch him play, but I remembered how much he loved the sport. Justin played Tight End and was the Kicker. So one Saturday after watching the Hogs play he whipped out his old football highlights video (yes, VHS- have not seen one of those in years!). As we were watching the highlights of Justin catching passes, scoring touchdowns, kicking 43 yard field goals and sacking Shiloh Quarterbacks (can't remember, was there a rivalry there?!) with a big smile on his face, I decided since we were having a boy I wanted to make something special for Justin and Ethan.

I had planned for weeks to go to hobby Lobby and get an iron on football, letters and numbers to put on a onesie and make a little Terminella 80( Justin's football number) jersey . So I was so excited this week when I strolled down the isle and found everything I needed with the letters and numbers in blue! I immediately came home and started working on my project. I knew Justin would be home very soon so I was in a hurry to get it done as I could not wait any longer to show him the surprise. So there I am, ironing on letters on a little onesie thinking how easy is this?!

Justin comes home and I take him to the nursery and have him sit in the glider with his eyes closed. I start to tell him how I have been waiting weeks to do this and how excited I was to give him a gift for Ethan. I have him open his eyes and of course he has a huge smile on his face saying "awe" like he does, then..... he starts to stare at it a little closer and says, "Well, they spelt the name wrong"(the letters looked monogrammed so he though I took it somewhere to have it done). I looked at him with major concern and said what do you mean??! I then looked at the name on the back and sure enough the name was spelt T-E-R-M-I-E-L-L-A not TERMINELLA!!! "I left out the 'N', how could I do this?," I though to myself with embarrassment! At that point I was not sure if I wanted to blame it "on the monogram people" or tell him the shameful truth! Never being able to lie to Justin, I had to come clean. "I DID IT," I screamed feeling so incompetent! Justin began to laugh so hard he almost had tears in his eyes! I told him, "Well, it is a long last name!" He replied, "yeah, it can be hard to spell for someone who does not have the last name." This is a perfect example of "pregnant brain." Justin said it was my first real big brainless moment since I have been pregnant. I guess almost making it 7 months before my cluelessness started is pretty good. Ever since, he keeps pointing out my lack of brain cell comments I make. He is totally right, I admit it, I am a victim of pregnant brain!!!!

I began to get upset because the letters were already stuck on and I did not want to have to go buy more supplies and re-do it! So Justin, being the most crafty man that I know (he had the best pillow in his 7th grade sewing class after all) decided to take matters into his own hands. We began to re-heat the iron and peel off the letters. We were able to manipulate two letter "I's" and a couple of dashes (this was my idea by the way!) to make two letter L's (which I had ran out of) so we were able to spell the name correctly without having to re-do it with extra letters in the package! I was happy again! I really wanted the moment to be special so I asked Justin to re-enact the whole scenario again and act surprised. There were no mistakes this time!

Here are the pictures we took:

We have not done too much with the nursery lately except our glider arrived! We absolutely love it! It is the most comfortable chair in the world. It rocks, swivels and reclines for all those late night feedings! It fits me perfect, however Justin looks a little silly in it when it is reclined because his shins basically hang off. We now have all our furniture for the nursery and just need to add little things here and there.

99 more days!!!

We are 26 weeks today! 99 more days until our due date!!! The count down is getting more real now! In 3 1/2 months we will be holding our precious baby boy!

Baby is about 14 inches long and weighs 1 and 2/3 pounds! This week his hearing is becoming more distinct and can now hear Justin and I talking about him (24/7)! :)

We have a 3/4D Ultra-sound scheduled October 25th. We are so excited for this as we have not seen our baby in 7 weeks and cannot wait to see how much he has changed since our first ultrasound! It is a little pricey for the ultrasound, but how special will it be to show Ethan what he looked like in the womb when he gets older!

I have decided on my baby bag! Ever since I first saw The Petunia Pickle Bottom 'Sashay' Cotton Organic bag I have loved it! It is a good price and something I don't think I will get tired of! I better like it, because it is going to be my new best friend! It also converts into a backpack which I think will make holding baby and the bag more convenient!

25 weeks!

We are 25 weeks today and counting down the last 2 weeks in the second trimester! I cannot believe we are almost in our third trimester! Baby Ethan is kicking, punching and flipping like crazy! In the beginning I thought he was going to be very mellow like his Dad, but from all the jabs I have been getting lately, he may be a little more like me- crazy! Ha! Although, in my pre-pregnancy life I was very energetic and loved being active, now I am the complete opposite. I am not sure who ever said the second trimester is your chance to regain your energy level, because that is not the case with me! Laying on the couch and going being in bed at 9:00 p.m. sounds like heaven everyday. I get worn out very easily and once I get to that point there is no turning back! I have also been having a lot of heartburn the past few weeks. I never even knew what heartburn was until I got pregnant. That is one side effect that I will be happy to see dissipate after Ethan arrives. Sleeping is now becoming an issue. Of course my numerous bathroom breaks are enough to annoy everyone in the room (including myself), but more than that, it is hard for me to just turn from side to side. It seems to take me 5 minutes to switch sides and get comfortable, because I have no stomach muscles anymore making me feel like a blue whale flopping inch by inch! Other than that I am doing great and loving everyday I have with Ethan in my belly! I want him to grow big and strong in there!

Speaking of little Ethan, he is measuring around 13 1/2 inches from head to heel! However, I would not be surprised if he is longer considering I am 5'8" and Justin is 6'3". He is also weighing about a pound and 1/2! He is getting to be a big boy! Most importantly this week, he is beginning to develop his baby fat! We love chunky monkeys! His hair is also a distinctive color and texture this week! I was born with very thick dark hair which very quickly became a fine light blond Mohawk (yes, my hair stood straight up, at least it was the 80's and I fit in pretty well)! Justin's hair was also a light brown when he was little so there is a good chance our baby could have lighter hair that eventually turns darker. When Justin pictures a little boy named Ethan, he pictures a blond boy, but I see brown hair. Most of all, I am hoping baby Ethan ends up with Justin's beautiful thick dark hair!

We are getting our new Netflix movie this weekend- Babies! We are super excited for this documentary and just love everything baby right now, so I am sure we will enjoy it!

Justin has nicely placed me on a spending freeze this week! Haha! The way I am surviving this experience is by not looking at anything baby!!! Not going to the baby section at stores or looking Online! If I stay away from these danger zones, then I do not see anything Ethan or I need (or should I say want)?! We'll see how long this lasts.......!

Here are his first pair of shoes:

My Mom got these cute little outfits a few weeks ago:

And his "coming home" outfit, perfect for a cold January day!

These are a few of my purchases! I love the stripes and the Elephant onesie- "E" is for Elephant and Ethan!

Miley does not seem to know what is going on, but we think she is aware things are about to change! His nursery used to be the guest room where she would lay most of the time and now she barely goes in there. We are trying to teach her that it is not her space anymore. Our biggest challenge is teaching her that his toys are not hers! Anyone who knows her, knows she LOVES toys and must have a toy in her mouth when she goes to the bathroom outside or when someone gets home to greet them. So she really doesn't know what to think about the baby's toys. There is a toy dog that we conveniently place on Ethan's bookcase high enough to where she can still reach it and she tries to steal it every day! We have to then tell her it is not her toy. She doesn't seem to be catching on. I guess it is a work in progress!

24 weeks!

I turned 6 months last week and have about 16 more weeks to go! 109 days left, almost in the double digits! Our days are full of happiness and excitement! We are just so thankful for this experience!

Most of you all know Justin very well and as you know he is a very calm and relaxed kind of guy and last week I looked at him and asked him what he was thinking about. He replied, " Just getting anxious" with a huge smile on his face! For Justin to even say he is getting anxious about anything at all is a pretty big deal! We are both so happy to be starting our own little family in a matter of months! I don't think we will ever be able to leave this baby anywhere without us! We are already so attached, and cannot wait to have a little one to take with us everywhere!

We have had some updates on the nursery the past few weeks. After looking Online for a bookcase that was cute and safe for the nursery, we could not seem to find anything we liked less than $400, so Justin and and his Dad decided to build baby boy a bookcase themselves! We picked out a bookcase we loved and wrote down the standard dimensions. Thankfully Justin is a talented engineer and can bascially design anything in my opinion and was able to draw out some plans. He had access to some great tools when we were in Fayetteville a few weekend ago and within an afternoon the bookcase was completed! Here is the bookcase we found online and the one they built.

We got his blue and green Land of Nod rug in that is so thick and comfy for all those late night paces to get baby back to sleep! We also purchased his sweet lamb mobile from PB kids!

It is so precious and plays Mary had a Little Lamb, but we are going to change the song to Ethan had a Little Miley! We decided to hang it from the ceiling instead of buying the arm that attaches to the crib and we love this idea so much better!

We also ordered a few totes from PB Kids as well. We got 2 large floor totes, one that says his name for his laundry basket and another for Toys. Along with a couple of rectangle canvas totes to place on the combo for diapers/lotions.

Birthday Wish!

I am 23 weeks and 3 days pregnant today! I cannot believe in a few days we will be 6 months pregnant already!

My Birthday is in 2 days and although I am not completely thrilled to now be in the "late twenties" category (turning 27) this Birthday is very special to me. Last year at this time we knew we wanted to start a family soon and were totally ready to be parents, but were not yet stable enough in the financial world to do so. I knew the time would be coming when we could start trying, but it seemed so far away. All I wanted was to have a baby. I even had a beautiful picture of a mother and a baby on my bathroom mirror to reassure me it would happen soon. As I was blowing out my Birthday candles last year, I wished that by my next Birthday I would be pregnant. I am truly amazed by how incredibly lucky we have been that my Birthday wish came true!

I had my 23 week appointment this week! The doctor said everything is going great and we both look perfectly healthy. The baby's heartbeat was a steady 143 beats per min! Next appointment we have to do a glucose screening for gestational diabetes. This means I better cut down on my sugar habit for the next few weeks!

I have been feeling baby move like crazy! He is one active little guy! I love to feel him move, it is the best feeling ever! I pretty much feel him throughout the day now. Justin also can now feel his kicks as well! It is wonderful to share the experience of his kicks together! This week I even noticed him moving the surface of my belly! It is incredible to not only feel, but see his movements!

Lastly, we have big news! We have officially decided on baby Terminella's name! He may now be called Ethan Emanuele Terminella! We are so happy we can finally call him by his sweet name! We cannot wait to meet you baby Ethan! You are the love of our lives!

Week 21 and 22!

Today I am 21 weeks and 4 days pregnant! I will be 5 1/2 months in 3 days! So exciting!

I can now say that I am distinguishing baby's kicks from lets say, "digestion." :)

I have been feeling the baby kick a lot over the past week 1/2. It is the best feeling in the world and I cannot get enough of those little movements! About a week ago I was sleeping and felt him kick off and on between 1:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. I was so excited to feel him kicking so hard that I barely slept at all because I was just awaiting the next kick! Justin cannot yet feel the little guy, but I am sure in a couple of weeks he will!

I have also hit a growth spurt in the past couple of weeks! The belly has really started to look more and more like a bump! I have gained about 11 pounds. The doctor said I should gain around 25-28, but at the rate I have been gaining the past 2 weeks I may exceed that limit! I am feeling pretty good overall. Some days I have a lot of energy and others I extremely tired and all I want to do it lay on the couch. I have been trying to keep up with yoga and pilates a couple of times a week along with some light cardio. Getting some exercise really helps me sleep at night. When I get bigger I plan to swim at the gym, it is highly recommended for pregnant bodies.

This weekend Justin and I had a lot of fun with the baby's room! I cannot believe how much we accomplished! We knew it would be a long weekend and therefore a good one to start working on the room. We painted the entire room a soft blue color that we love! Oddly enough, we received a call that our furniture was ready to be picked up this weekend, so we put the baby's bedroom furniture together! To top it all off, the bedding also came in a few days ago so we were able to put most of the room together! We absolutely LOVE the baby's room and cannot stop peeking in there!

5 months already?!

I am 20 weeks and 3 days pregnant today! I cannot believe we are more than halfway through this pregnancy! Time is really flying now! The baby is already the size of a small cantaloupe and weighs about 10.5 ounces and is around 10 inches long from head to heel!

To celebrate such a milestone in the pregnancy we went to a local park and took some maternity pics!

The Nursery is coming together!

Wow! What an exciting week we have had! We basically spent the whole week narrowing down cribs, bedding and most of all a name for this baby!

Finding a name for baby has been the hardest of all! We have had the name Ethan picked out for boy and Juliana for a girl for years. Since we found out we are having a boy, we decided to look through names only to find out that Ethan has been in the top 10 category for boys names for almost 5 years. I had no idea Ethan was so popular! As you know, Justin and I grew up with very popular names and we always said that if we could avoid naming our children extremely common names, then we would. So we have done some additional searching and we have narrowed it down to a couple, but we are still deciding. No monogramming yet! Darn! :(

We ordered our glider/recliner this week and we cannot wait until it comes in! It is big and comfy in a neutral creamy taupe color that rocks, swivels and reclines (which is a feature we will get a lot of use out of I'm sure at 2 a.m.)! It's very practical and something that was can use with our future babies.

We have looked all over for baby furniture that converts into big kid furniture for months and we found a collection we love! We had picked out a few pieces at USA Baby, but it didn't come with a dresser that we liked and in our budget. So, we started looking harder at BabiesRus and found a very functional set in espresso wood that will take the little guy from babyhood to his teenage years! The crib actually converts into a toddler then a full size bed, and the dresser and combo are both great sizes which will work well as he grows older.

We discovered on Friday night BabiesRus was having one of their Bi-annual Be Safe and Save trade in sale. Basically you can bring in old unsafe baby gear like a car seat or stroller and save 25% on participating individual items! So we went to an old, nasty (and I mean NASTY) thrift store and we purchased 4 items: 2 strollers and 2 high chairs for under $20 and transported them to BabiesRus where we purchased our 3 piece baby furniture along with the crib conversion kit. We were so excited and felt so well, thrifty!

This week we also chose the bedding for baby! We both were not real into a "theme" for the baby's room, but just wanted nice colors and planned to accent the room with boyish elements. I did not know how hard it would be to pick out bedding for a boy! There are about 1/2 the options for boys as there are girls! After searching every possible website for something we liked and in our price range we finally found bedding we love! It is from the Serena and Lily Henry collection, which we purchased on sale! The colors in the picture look yellow and blue, but it is actually green and blue.

Thank you to both our parents for helping us put together this special nursery for our "little guy!" We know he will LOVE it! :)