Updated baby bump pictures.....35 Weeks!

Left: 31 Weeks.......Right: 35 Weeks

Here are a few other pictures from 35 Weeks:

Football Season

Kaitlynn is officially prepared for football season!! Since our house is "divided," I found her an Alabama outfit and a Clemson outfit for this football year. Check out what we have waiting on her to cheer on the Crimson Tide and the Tigers!!

C-L-E-M-S-O-N........GO TIGERS!!


Roll Tide Roll.....Alabama Crimson Tide

35 Weeks + 1 doctor Appointment

Update on our doctor's appointment...

Everything went great with the check-up! Over the past two weeks I've gained 2 lbs. which is normal; my blood pressure was 112/72 = normal; Kaitlynn's heartbeat was great = 160 BPM; once again the fundal height is small = 33cm. My doctor reassured me that since I've been measuring small the entire pregnancy, but showing growth each visit that everything is fine.

Today we went ahead and did the GBS test (Group B Streptococci test). If everything checks out okay, no news needed. If anything comes up, they'll give me a call next week! Here is a little information on this test from BabyCenter.com:

"GBS is usually harmless in adults, but if you have it and pass it on to your baby during birth, it can cause serious complications, such as pneumonia, meningitis, or a blood infection. Because 10 to 30 percent of pregnant women have the bacteria and don't know it, it's vital to be screened. (The bacteria come and go on their own — that's why you weren't screened earlier in pregnancy.) If you're a GBS carrier, you'll get IV antibiotics during labor, which will greatly reduce your baby's risk of infection."

Additional news......
Today I had to talk to my doctor about the cramping I have felt more consistantly over this past week, as well as pressure "between my legs" - AKA: in my pelvic area. I explained the pressure to feel like a watermelon between my legs - I know, sounds fun - right? I also have felt intense, short pains as well in that area whether sitting or walking. My doctor checked my cervix and it's still thick and closed, however she told me that over this past week Kaitlynn has dropped into my pelvic area and her head was "right there." I don't think I could explain it any better way than what she told me. I am glad to know that my cervix is still closed since we are going out of town tomorrow :) However, it is our last traveling trip before Kaitlynn's arrival. I did ask her if it was normal for Kaitlynn to have already moved into the pelvic area - she told me "yes." She said usually it's anywhere around 36 weeks - I just happen to be on the "early end" of this experience. My doctor will check me each week to see if my cervix has thinned & also for dilation. As my husband has said for the past week and is now insisting - "it's time to pack those hospital bags!" :)

I still have the "okay" to continue working out as long as I feel okay! Our next appointment is this Wednesday, August 5th at 10:15am.

35 Weeks..... 35 days to go!

We're 35 weeks today!

We spent last night touring Northside Hospital to better familiarize ourselves with where we'll be very soon and to have some important questions answered. The tour was excellent and all of our questions were answered before asking! We spent time walking through the Labor & Delivery ward, saw one of the 45 delivery rooms and learned a lot about the delivery process. Once baby Kaitlynn arrives, we are only in the delivery room about an hour before they move us to our regular room for the remainder of our visit. After we stopped by the labor & delivery ward we went by and saw an example of one of the rooms we'd be moved to afterward - there are a ton of them since they deliver so many babies every day! We also walked by one of the 6 nursery units they have - they have 6 different units of rooms and each unit has it's own nursery. We made it in time to see a newborn being checked - precious!! I do believe all the expecting mothers, including myself, started tearing up a bit when we were at the nursery. We're just all so excited with lots of emotions to share! :) We also stopped by and saw where the Lactation Center was located - they offer immediate help with breastfeeding while you're staying at Northside - they will give you as much help as you want in learning and teaching your baby to breastfeed. Also, after leaving the hospital, I am able to bring Kaitlynn with me if I am having problems with the initial process or anytime during the process of teaching her to breastfeed - they will work with me in the Lactation Center one-on-one until things get settled!! Kelly and I were both very excited about that since we're both very determined that Kaitlynn will breastfeed! This was the end of our tour of Northside Hospital. We both left feeling a great sense of relief and enjoyed understanding the process of everything to come! It's nice to have that under us and not worry about where we go for this, and what we do for that, etc. Having toured the hospital will definitely help in the chaos of labor in the next month!


A few things coming up..........

We have our check-up tomorrow morning. Normally I go on Thursdays to see Dr. Walters, but this week she is on vacation so they were trying to spread their appointments out a bit more with the lack of one doctor. We go in the morning at 9:00am. I'll post updates after the appointment!!

This weekend is our family reunion in Hayesville, NC with the Penland family! This is always such a fun weekend and will be my 3rd year! It's hard to believe that the first reunion I went to in 2007 was the first time I met anyone in Kelly's family - so, I met EVERYONE at the same time! Last year we made it in time for the reunion lunch on Sunday afternoon - we had just gotten back from our honeymoon late Saturday night. This year I am 35 weeks pregnant!! Maybe next year will just be a normal year for Kelly and I at the family reunion :) We also have our last baby shower this weekend. The guys always play golf from about 1pm - 6pm, so the girls are giving me one last baby shower!! After this weekend we'll know what we lack for Kaitlynn and can finish up our shopping!

I just received an email from my wonderful photographer - our maternity pictures are finished! Brittany did my Bridal portrait, and our Wedding pictures. We fell in love with both sets and asked her to do our maternity pictures the same weekend as Kristin & Shea's wedding. 3 weeks later = completion!! I'll post some pictures next week once I get our CD this weekend!


Things to look forward to.......

Friday, August 7th:
Dustin - good friend of Kelly's - is coming to stay and visit for the weekend

Saturday, August 8th:
While the boys play some golf, I am heading to Northside Hospital from 9:00am-11:00am for an Infant CPR class, then from 1:00-3:00pm I am heading to Babies-R-Us for a FREE Breastfeeding 101 Course

***Northside requires you to have an Infant CPR class if your baby ends up in NICU before you can take your him or her home with you. They recommend taking it before delivery for those reasons, plus it's great information to have "IF" something were to happen after leaving the hospital.***

Sunday, August 9th:
3:00-6:00pm Membership Class at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church

Tuesday, August 11th - Thursday, August 13th:
My mom comes to town!!

**Check back for updates from our doctor's appointment tomorrow morning at 9:00am**

Our baby girl.....hurt for the 1st time!

This past weekend, Kelly and I noticed that Willa wasn't her normal, playful self as usual. As of Saturday afternoon she was hobbling while walking, having a difficult time jumping on the couch and bed, and just not her typical self. We had just gotten inside from letting her roll around in the grass, tear apart some pine cones, and play outside when we noticed the big differences. At first we thought she might have been bitten by a bug or stung by a bee while outside rolling around in the grass. We started giving her 25mg of Benedryl twice a day at that point just in case. We've had to do that before so we already new what to do.... a little bit at least. Sunday rolled around - not much better......Monday came - still no progress. Also, by Monday her joint in her back left leg also started to show some swelling and slight color disfiguration. I made the ultimate decision to go ahead and take Willa in to the vet yesterday afternoon instead of waiting for Tuesday evening to come around.

Before the Vet pictures:






When we got to the vet, I explained to the technician everything that had been going on and all the things I have noticed with Willa that are not normal. They took her temperature - just like last Thursday, she wasn't a fan of that procedure :) They asked some questions and then had me wait for the doctor to come in. Once she did, Willa was a lot more calm than I thought she'd be - the doctor checked her over and said that she might have to have surgery if the bones in her leg we broken or the tendons were not connected anymore. She said she could feel that things were not aligning right in her back, left leg as they were in her right. This meant they needed to do some X-rays. Usually with X-rays they have to sedate dogs so they can get the proper shots of the bones, but I asked them to try getting the X-rays with Willa without the sedation. We would have had to come back this morning and leave her at the vet if they had to sedate her :( Nonetheless, they took Willa to the X-ray room without me and tried to get the correct shots - I sat in the waiting room and just prayed, hoping the shots would turn out and hoping nothing serious was wrong with my baby girl. The doctor finally came back out so I could look over the X-rays with her to understand what was going on with Willa's leg. Praise the Lord she had no broken bones, just a hairline fracture that can correct itself with lots of rest. She also showed inflammation in her joints in her lower leg and up into her thigh. No additional X-rays....no sedation.....no surgery! Praise the Lord!

Willa is currently on 2 weeks of bed-rest with no running, exercise, climbing up and down our stairs, and limited amount of walking during the day. She is taking Rimadyl which is a pain medicine & anti-inflammatory twice a day after both meals. Thankfully I am at home during the day and can take care of her. I do get her up occasionally and put her down off the bed or couch to get her to move around and use her legs some, but it's definitely limited. At least she seems to be more comfortable and relaxed than she did before we took her to the vet to get checked out. She takes her medicine until next Monday - so one week, but has to continue her bed-rest until the following Monday, August 10th.

Pray for our baby girl to heal and feel better soon!! It makes me sad knowing she's hurt and doesn't feel well. I guess this is good preparation for Kaitlynn and the many things she may go through as well!!

Our 1-Year Anniversary

This weekend, Kelly and I celebrated our 1-year Anniversary together on Sunday. If you remember from a recent post, exactly a month ago we headed to Gatlinburg for a weekend getaway to celebrate. We were not sure at that point when our niece would show her beautiful face in this world. Mark & Bridgette were actually due today on our anniversary, but Elizabeth was born on July 17th. I can't believe she's already 9 days old! So because of that, we headed to the mountains a month early for several days to spend time together for our anniversary. It ended up being a wonderful trip, especially with Kaitlynn making her debut in the next 6 weeks or so!!

Kelly has always known and made a big effort to spend time with me everyday, and especially on special occasions. Time together is my top love language. Time is what means everything to me. If he is going to be late from work; he calls. If he's staying late to work out; he calls. If he goes with some co-workers for an early dinner; he calls. He always tells me if he's going to be late, but that's maybe one day here, one day there. Kelly always comes home after work so we can spend time together in the evenings. That is my most valued gift and the best gift he can give me on a daily basis.

Because of that, we decided to relax all weekend and make no plans!! We wanted to do things as the days progressed - if that meant nothing or if that meant going to a park, the movies, the mall, or out to dinner!

FRIDAY:
The weekend started with Kelly calling about staying & working out. After he left the gym, he called and headed to the grocery store to pick up a few things for me so I didn't have to change out of my P.J.'s :) For anyone pregnant - early, mid, or late pregnancy - this is a wonderful gift that's free and means a gracious amount to us women. When Kelly got home, I heard the door open so I went to meet him, and in his hands were a bouquet of summer flowers!! The arrangements was lime green and bright orange - beautiful and very different! He simply smiled and said that he wanted to start our anniversary weekend off with a simple arrangement of flowers. Kelly also knows how much I LOVE getting flowers!! Plus I really enjoy getting them when they are least expected. I would have guessed he would have gotten some on Sunday, but it made me smile so big when he walked in the door Friday evening with them to start our weekend of celebration! We cooked dinner together - shrimp pasta & a side dish of unbelievable strawberries and spent some time catching up on our day. After dinner, I decided to give Kelly a small gift I put together for both of us. Our trip to Gatlinburg was our gift to each other, so I didn't do too much. I took one of the double 8X10 frames we received this past Christmas and put one of our favorite wedding pictures on the left, and typed up our vows we wrote to each other and placed it on the right. Kelly loved it! We spent time reading over the vows we wrote to one another last year - it was such a special time! We decided we would hang it in our bedroom the next day! We also decided to rent 'Knowing.' There are definitely some "scary" parts in the movie, but overall I ended up liking the film. After the movie, with my lack of sleep these days because of my constant bathroom visits - we headed to bed around 10:30pm.
Oh how crazy we are!! :)

Flowers from Kelly:


Anniversary frame I put together from our Wedding:


SATURDAY:
We didn't have to make breakfast this morning because I had made sausage balls earlier this week, so we had those!! We both really like them so it worked out well. We spent some relaxing, then got ready to grill out some hamburgers with french fries of course!! We invited dad over for lunch - unfortunately Zully works every Saturday so we didn't get to see her. After lunch, we went ran some errands which included going to Wal-Mart, then Best Buy looking at Video Cameras. We picked one out after doing some research between two different kinds - Sony & Cannon. We ended up going with the Canon & getting a 16GB for it as well - holds up to 6 hrs of film:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9239549&type=product&id=1218065984971
After making the purchase, we grabbed an ice cream cone from Brusters and came home. I wasn't feeling my best so we ended up taking a nap the rest of the afternoon. Once we got up, Kelly told me he would hang some pictures in our house. We were debating whether to hang anything or not because we didn't want to put screws into the fresh paint. Thanks to dad, he gave us a tip on what to buy to use in the den that would only make small nail holes in our wall and new paint.

A few pictures that Kelly put up:


The Battery, Charleston, SC - decided to put something smaller over our fireplace


My Bridal portrait


Kelly surprised me and hung the frame I put together in our
bedroom while I was resting on the couch after our nap :)


Mirror & Key holder - haven't seen this since
we opened our wedding gifts last year!!

We also spent some time working in Kaitlynn's room as well. We hung a few things today as well as a few days ago. Here are a couple updates on her room:


Guest Bed - pictures about bed are what Kelly hung Saturday night


Frame #1 - pictures of us from Kristin & Shea's Wedding


Frame #2 - top picture: Smokey Mountains (taken by Kelly)
bottom picture: Butterfly Garden at Callaway Gardens (taken by Kristen)

Shelves I painted for Kaitlynn's room..........Kaitlynn's 1st Alabama outfit

SUNDAY:
The day started quite early seeing as though Willa hurt her leg sometime over the past day or so, and me not exactly sleeping these days. We were both up around 6:30am this morning!! Willa either was bit by something outside or sprained her left leg. Thankfully she can walk on it while occasionally picking it up, but she's having a hard time jumping up on the couch and beds. It definitely hurts my heart to see her hobbling - this is her first "injury." Outside of our interesting non-existent night of sleep, our morning started by us wishing each other a happy anniversary, having breakfast, and getting ready for church! As I was finishing up getting ready - my favorite part of the entire day happened - Kelly brought me my engagement ring and wedding band into our bathroom, got down on one knee, and asked me to marry him again! It was absolutely precious and definitely one of the sweetest moments from today. He put my rings on my left hand, gave me a kiss and told me how much the past year meant to him and how much he was looking forward to this next year of marriage. After we spent our morning at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church (we have been visiting Johnson Ferry for a year now! We're taking the Membership Class in a few weeks and then hopefully joining the church soon after. We are both very excited about our decision for a church home and family.), we spent some time relaxing around the house together which included lunch, a much needed nap, the World Championship Swimming in Italy on DVR, and getting ready for our date. We made reservations for dinner at Brookwood Grill in Roswell, GA. It was wonderful! After dinner, we headed back home to cut into the top layer of our Wedding cake from last year & have a toast to the next chapter in our lives together - starting our 2nd year of marriage and becoming parents! Here are a few pictures from our evening:


Heading out for dinner

Our toasting glasses from our Wedding Day last year!!

Getting ready to cut into our cake & toast to our
next year of marriage - year-long frozen cakes aren't the best!!
Thank goodness we had an anniversary cake in Gatlinburg :)

Our unity sand and toasting glasses

Willa Grace not feeling her best :(

I feel quite lucky being able to celebrate our wedding weekend twice!! I enjoyed spending this entire weekend with Kelly - mostly relaxing - but definitely enjoying time with just each other! Even though we've celebrated our wedding weekend twice, we have celebrated our marriage and our unity together as husband & wife underneath Christ's blessing and leadership and the blessing of our families everyday! I am so thankful and honored to have a strong, godly leader as my husband and future father to our children. Words cannot describe Kelly in the perfect way, but all I know is that I love him more each day! He is my best friend and has always taken care of me and will always take care of our family! I cannot wait to see him interact with our daughter because it's definitely going to be one amazing adventure. He has always had such a kind and gentle spirit towards me - he's definitely going to be such a loving father to Kaitlynn. He's very ready to be a dad and I'm so thankful I'm the one that's a part of that dream coming true!

Happy 1-year Anniversary, baby! I love you unconditionally!

Pediatrician? CHECK!

Kelly and I had an interview today with Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine Group. We picked Dr. Stephanie Hassel to interview with and absolutely loved her!! We will be using her as Kaitlynn's pediatrician, but feel confident using any of the doctor's in the practice. They actually have four locations which makes getting an appointment extremely easy. I think I was most impressed when I found out that several doctors & nurse practioniers in the practice specialize in Breastfeeding - I am able to make an appointment at their office with Kaitlynn for any help after we come home from the hospital. AMAZING! I was sold at that point!

Week 34

We cannot believe that we're getting so close!! We have 42 days left until we finally meet Kaitlynn. It really hit both of us this past weekend when we met our niece, Elizabeth for the first time. Mark & Bridgette were just 5.5 weeks ahead of us during our pregnancies. We both absolutely adore her and cannot wait to meet our own daughter very soon!

We have started researching Pediatricians that are part of our new insurance plan. We have one interview set up tomorrow at 12:15pm with Dr. Hassel. She has had amazing reviews from her current patients. We're going to see how the interview goes and then make our decision whether to continue meeting other Pediatricians or stick with her :) I'm kind of bias and like that Dr. Hassel is a female, but I am the one that will take Kaitlynn to the doctor so I guess I can have that preference if I want as long as she checks out!! I do have to say...she is the #1 pediatrician in her practice which makes me feel pretty confident about our interview this Friday!! We'll let you know how it goes.

As for getting things marked off the list....we are going Wednesday night to tour Northside Hospital! Northside is ranked as the #1 hospital in the nation for deliveries!! I am so excited about being there when Kaitlynn is born. They are amazing with how well they take care of everything for you! Chris & Angi had an amazing experience with the birth of Jackson back in February. One of the best parts - they are pretty strict on visiting hours to make sure the new parents & baby get plenty of rest. Visiting hours are 11:00am - 8:30pm = FABULOUS! I know a lot of hospitals will allow people to come and go as they please, but we're pretty excited about having visiting hours :)

Speaking of the hospital....Kelly told me that I needed to start getting everything purchased that we need for our stay & things we haven't gotten yet for Kaitlynn over the next couple weeks while I am still receiving a pay check. Thankfully we have one more baby shower NEXT weekend in Hayesville. After that shower, we'll start making a list of all the things we still need for Kaitlynn. However, I made a trip to Target on Monday and I'm pretty sure I got everything Kelly & I will need for our hospital stay that's coming up quite quickly!!

On a different note....sort of....this has been a good week except for my right foot/leg swelling up to look like Shrek, minus the green coloring. I have no idea why only my right leg & foot did that, but I've tried to take it easy this week. Of course I am still working out :) I don't think a swollen foot is going to stop that, but anytime I am sitting I am trying to keep it elevated.

Things have been pretty low key around our household this week which has been nice! We are actually in town this coming weekend so we will have had a total of 13 days straight in our home by the next time we go out of town!! We are on the go all the time these days and we're definitely looking forward to August 2nd when we begin our long period of time without traveling. At that point, we will be about 4 weeks out to Kaitlynn's arrival so we have made the decision that August 1-2 (Penland Reunion) is the last weekend we're traveling until sometime in October.

This weekend is our official 1-year Anniversary!! I am so excited about spending the weekend solely with my husband! We have no plans other than to relax and enjoy being at home together. We may get spontaneous and go out to dinner Sunday evening - there is a place in Roswell, GA we'd both like to go!

No updates on miss Kaitlynn this week other than she's moving around a lot, waking me up at 3:00am, and making it hard to breathe on occasions :) But other than those few things, everything is great!! We have no appointment this week but we have one next Friday morning, July 31st.

Elizabeth Brooke Watson

*Elizabeth Brooke Watson*

Kelly & I headed out of town when we got the phone call that Mark & Bridgette were heading to the hospital Friday morning to be induced!! Labor and delivery was only a total of 7 hours for Bridgette before she finally met her baby girl.

We are very happy to say that Mommy, Daddy, & Elizabeth are all very healthy and happy!! Elizabeth is a pure doll baby - extremely precious. Kelly & I spent some time at the hospital Friday evening after she was born, and then again Saturday afternoon before heading back home to Atlanta.

Elizabeth was born Friday, July 17, 2009 at 5:25pm. She weighed in at 6lbs. 2oz. and was 19 inches long. Both of our families are very excited about this adorable new addition! Mark and Bridgette headed home Sunday afternoon around 1:00pm to begin their life as parents.


Here are several pictures of Elizabeth Brooke:

Daddy & Daughter


Mommy & Daughter


Proud Grandmother - Nana


Aunt Kristen


Uncle Kelly

Window to the Womb

Kaitlynn Leane Crawford
*33 weeks 1 day*

Kelly and I had our 3D/4D ultra sound this week and it went extremely well. We had to have it done before 34 weeks, but didn't want it much earlier than 32 weeks - so we had it done right in the middle :) How convenient!

We went to a place up in Cumming, GA - about 45 minutes from our house. It was called "Window to the Womb," which I thought was perfect! The lady who owns it has worked with ultra sounds for 18 years and has had lots of practice, plus let's be honest - she was extremely nice!! When we first got into our room, she entered in all of our information, then started doing some measurements of Kaitlynn. She said all ultra sounds are a little bit off from each other with the expected due date - give or take one or two weeks. We were showing 2 days ahead on her machine which is definitely A-Okay with me!! That would put us at September 1, 2009. At least we know for sure that she should arrive in the next 7 weeks or so unless she decides to come early.

Before going for our ultra sound, Kelly & I made some bets on how much Kaitlynn would weight at this point. A lot of the websites we get on a weekly basis said that at this stage your average baby weighs about 4lbs 8oz. I guessed 3lbs 10oz, and Kelly guessed 3lb. 8oz. We were definitely thinking she would be smaller than "average" because she just now hit a growth spurt. We'll, we should have gone the other direction with our thinking because that growth spurt was definitely one!!

Kaitlynn weighed in at ....... 4lbs. 12oz. today! She is expected to be around 7lbs - 7lbs. 8 oz. when she makes her arrival. I am just beside myself with happiness - she is almost at the 5lb. mark which means whenever she arrives she can still go home with us after 48 hours unless there are complications. We also found out today that she is head down and should not turn since there isn't much room for turning. Whenever Kelly and I see her pushing on me, that's her back :) Kind of neat to know where she's positioned so we know what she's doing in certain locations!!

Here are a few pictures that I know everyone has been waiting to see!!


The heartbeat - 180 bpm - I had a cup of coffee this morning,
so she was definitely all over the place :)


Kaitlynn's legs


Sleepy! Waiting on her to wake up - coffee & cold water did the trick.


Grinning for the camera


Puckering up - Kelly's going to have to really keep an eye on this little one!!
As he always said - no dating until she's 30 :)


Smiling for the camera


Sticking our her tongue - she did this a lot during the ultra sound!


*Precious*


The next pictures we'll see will be of our baby girl in our arms!! We cannot wait for her to be here and to share with you the joy she's going to bring to both of us and our families.

33 Weeks....Indigestion Anyone?

Another week has flown by! Kelly and I are 33 weeks pregnant and have only 49 days to go! We are under the 50 day mark now - very exciting!!

This past weekend was exhausting!! Kelly & I went to Hayesville for Kristin & Shea's wedding weekend. We drove in Thursday around 2:00pm to help get things set up & finished. Kelly & his dad worked on the tent and white Christmas lights for two straight days, but were finally able to figure out how to keep them on without burning out any fuses. I spent my time inside helping Kristin & Donna finish up final touches for the wedding. The weekend was very successful, a lot of fun, and exhausting - but everyone enjoyed themselves and had a wonderful time! Here are some pictures from the wedding weekend:

Kelly & I at the Rehearsal


My two precious nieces - Madison & Morgan


Kelly with his nieces - Madison & Morgan

The beautiful bride-to-be, Kristin Crawford (Taylor-to-be)

My beautiful sister-in-law.....she's going to be an awesome aunt!!


Kristin with her proud parents, Donna & Keith


The Newlyweds - Shea & Kristin Taylor


This week I have been really battling indigestion/heartburn & the fun symptom of diarrhea. The indigestion has been the worst part of it all. I have had four sleepless nights in-a-row because of my indigestion. I called my doctor first thing Monday morning and unfortunately they wouldn't give me a prescription for Prevacid. They told me since Maalox wasn't working well to try Gaviscon. I went that afternoon to Walgreen's and got some of that along with Imodium for my other issues. The Gaviscon is working wonders on me, but it tastes absolutely horrible. It only comes in chewable tablets - tastes very chalky & foams in your mouth. Not the best experience while taking medicine, but I was ready to do anything after night #4 of no sleep. Thankfully Monday night rolled around - I took another dose of my chalky, foamy Gaviscon and headed to bed. I was able to finally sleep through the night except for my occasional bathroom visits. Thank goodness!

Kelly wanted me to rest this week, but that doesn't really work with me. I spent Tuesday cleaning the house, however I did take some breaks in between dusting & vacuuming to just sit and rest. That counts, right?? Wednesday I rearranged some things in our home so we could move our elliptical from the porch inside. It's just so hot on the porch after 9:00am that I don't enjoy using it, so I asked Kelly to move it inside. Don't worry - I was very careful with the things I moved and rearranged. I only moved things that Kelly wouldn't mind me moving since he's the one I have to answer to at night. :)

This morning, Kelly & I had our 33-week check-up with Dr. Walters. Our baby girl finally decided to grow a little bit = we don't have to go for a bone growth check.

Here are some updates:
Blood Pressure: normal 96/62
Heart rate: 158 - "happy girl"
Fundal Height: 32 cm
Weight Gain: 3lbs = 21 lbs total

***My twin brother & his wife are going in the morning and being induced at 6:00am!! Our precious niece, Elizabeth Brooke Watson will be here sometime tomorrow!!***
Check back for pictures :)

Our next appointment is in 2 weeks on Friday, July 31st at 9:00am. After this appointment, Kelly & I will go once a week until Kaitlynn decides to make her arrival!

32 Weeks.....Moving Right Along

Another week has past and we're moving right along to meeting our baby girl.

This past weekend was fantastic! Kelly & I did absolutely nothing. It has been a while since we've sat back & relaxed at home together with absolutely no plans. We spent a lot of time thinking about our past year of marriage and our recent trip to Gatlinburg - we do have our 1 year Anniversary coming up in 17 days!! I won't go into much detail right now about the past year of our life - I'll save that for a later post this month.

This past weekend was eventful only because I experienced my first false labor contractions on the 4th of July. Kelly had no idea what was going on and I was definitely in pain. My stomach was cramping pretty bad & I was having a lot of lower back pain at the same time. To top it off, I was feeling quite nauseated as well. My doctor said that false labor contractions were very normal during the 3rd trimester - I just needed to monitor them if they occurred too often. Thankfully, I have not experienced them since Saturday. I am hoping that was God's humor and his way of showing me a small insight into what I will experience until the doctors give me that wonderful epidural.

Outside of the false labor contractions, baby Kaitlynn is doing great!! She is treating my stomach these days like it's a punching bag. I assume that's normal, but sometimes it's not much fun! Kelly enjoys watching her go crazy in my stomach and is amazed by the entire process, but sometimes I would like for our baby girl to be calm and just rest :) At least we know she's very active and strong already! Hopefully that means we'll have somewhat of an athlete with our first daughter since Kelly & I both were very involved in sports growing up. Other than her using my stomach as a punching bag, I am feeling her daily hiccups as well. I cannot really pinpoint where the hiccups are but they definitely seem lower than higher, so hopefully that means she's moving in the direction of head down and not breech :) We'll find out for sure next Thursday at our 4D ultra sound. I do not have updated stats this week because we're still going every other week to the doctor. I will have updated stats next Thursday, July 16th. As of 32 weeks, I am still feeling great besides the normal aches & pains that come with each new week of our pregnancy. I am so thankful that I feel good in the mornings and am able to continue walking & using my elliptical. It definitely helps start the day off well and keep my motivation going rather than laying on the couch all day.

I've definitely started taking time out of the day here and there to rest, but I keep myself mostly busy!! I've really enjoyed reading lately - it seems to keep myself engaged yet calm. I just finished reading a book recommended by a good friend, Sally Mertens - "In Praise of Stay-At-Home Mom's" by Dr. Laura. Excellent book and really reassured and confirmed both Kelly & my decision for us to live on one pay check - Kelly's, and for me to stay at home, raise our daughter, and take care of our home/personal needs here. Again, we spent a lot of time before we were pregnant talking about me working verses not working once we had children. Everything we talked about & prayed about pointed to me staying home. It means a lot to both of us that I will be raising our daughter & Kelly can come home after a long day at work to hopefully a peaceful & relaxing home instead of the stresses of still taking care of the home and children after both adults have worked. We're excited about our decision and I can't wait to see how it's going to pan out!! Now that I have finished that book, I have moved on to one by Gene A. Getz - "Measure of a Woman" - discussing with biblical references & stories the true beauty of a woman; spiritually through God, personally, connecting with her spouse, through her children, etc. So far, so good!!

Things are finally coming together with Kelly's new job. Most of you know he's been working from home for the past 3 weeks. They have yet to get a permanent location here in Atlanta, but should be in a temporary location by this coming Monday at the latest. Kelly & four other Center State employees here in Atlanta have been working in Birmingham, Alabama this week. As much as Kelly does not enjoy being on the road, it was definitely good for him & his co-workers to head to Alabama and try to get things up and running. They all have had really long days, 7:00am - 8:00pm each night eating lunch and dinner in at the office. I feel confident that their hard work will pay off and help things begin to settle and start here in Atlanta. It's definitely been a long two months of changes with Kelly's job and we're both ready for everything to settle down for good.

We have a lot to look forward to during Week 32:
This weekend - Kristin & Shea's wedding & our Maternity Pictures
Next Thursday - 33 week check-up & 4D ultra sound appointment
Next weekend - my mom's birthday

31 Weeks, Anniversary Trip, and Nursery Updates

Kelly and I are 31 weeks today! We have 63 days left (2 months) until we meet our baby girl! We had a check-up this morning with Dr. Walters. Everything went well - Here are some updates stats!!

Blood Pressure - 122/70
Heartbeat - 156 per minute
My total weight gain - 18 lbs
Fundal Height Measurement - 29cm

Kaitlynn is measuring small right now - She has grown one centimeter over the past two weeks; she is either being stubborn and not growing much right now or we will have a "petite" child :) BUT, we do have quite a healthy, happy, little one!! We find out at our next appointment in 2 weeks if we have to go in for an ultra sound to check on bone growth based on her measurements. I have started having a few aches & pains with this pregnancy. Dr. Walters checked today for a bladder infection & the possibility for preterm labor. We should get the results back at the next appointment in two weeks. Thankfully my cervix check was really good - thick & closed, which hopefully means Kaitlynn will arrive on time. However, I got a thumbs-up to continue walking & working out from my doctor today. She said to watch for signs that I may need to slow down, but otherwise to continue working out if I choose to do so. I purchased a support belt to wear - Kaitlynn sits low and I can feel her weight especially when I work out so the belt should help give me extra support. Here are some pictures to update our growth from 27 weeks to 31 weeks:

27 Weeks pregnant ............... 31 Weeks pregnant

Our next appointment is Thursday, July 16th at 9:00am. We also are having a 3D & 4D ultra sound the same day at 3:30pm. Check back for some awesome updated pictures of miss Kaitlynn!!

**ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY GETAWAY**

Kelly & I went on our 1-Year Anniversary Getaway this past weekend. We left Friday around noon after his work meeting and headed for Gatlinburg, TN. We had a great time getting away and spending time with each other! The bed & breakfast that we stayed at was fabulous - absolutely relaxing which was much needed! We spent time in downtown Gatlinburg on Saturday where we shopped & visited Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum. We also went into Pigeon Forge Saturday night for the Dixie Stampede. Sunday we spent the entire day in Pigeon Forge shopping for Kaitlynn at the outlets, visiting the Christmas Village shops, and going to a Magic Show that was completely fascinating!! Sunday night we stayed in downtown Gatlinburg at Days Inn - headed to The Peddler Steakhouse (*amazing*) for dinner, and played miniature golf at the Hillbilly Miniature Golf Course. We had to ride an incline to the top of the mountain to start the course. As you played each hole, you were coming down part of the mountain. Once you were finished, we rode the incline back down. It was definitely different and a lot of fun! The best part of the entire weekend was relaxing at the Bed & Breakfast and enjoying our anniversary treats such as an old fashioned, buttermilk icing cake and our chocolate dipped strawberries!! We will cut into our actual wedding cake on our anniversary in 24 days - Sunday, July 26th. Here are some pictures to enjoy from our trip!!

The Fox Trot Bed & Breakfast........View from our balcony

Downstairs in the common room - so relaxing & looks at all those books!!

Delicious chocolate, covered strawberries......our anniversary cake for the weekend

Exactly 30 days before our 1-year Anniversary!

Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum


Our amazing view from Days Inn on Sunday Evening


Last dinner for the weekend at The Peddler


Our drive home - at the top of the Smoky Mountains


Anniversary roses from my wonderful husband - a surprise after our weekend getaway!!


**NURSERY UPDATES**
Over the past couple months we've had some nursery updates as well - enjoy!!


Bookshelf I painted........Blanket from Melissa & Burp
Cloth made by my aunt, Barbara Watson


Mobile for Crib from "Aunt Mary"...........Floppy the Rabbit -
Kaitlynn's first stuffed animal made by Daddy & Mommy at
Build-A-Bear in Greenville, SC.


Willa Grace LOVES Kaitlynn's bedroom!! ...............The changing table filled with goodies & our rocking chair with an extremely soft blanket


Kaitlynn's closet - clothes stocked from newborn through 12-18 months, plus lots of diapers, wipes, & other goodies!!


Bibs...burp cloths....and socks galore

0-3 month drawer........3-18 month drawer........blankets & hangers