32 weeks.

Wow. I can hardly believe that I am nearing the end. I can definitely feel that I have hit the third trimester! I have had a major loss of appetite b/c of the misery that comes with a halfway full belly. If we eat out for dinner, I have to lean my seat back in the car just to feel comfortable. Ha! Breathing has been a little bit more difficult and I have also been extremely tired. Lincoln has been very active and its fun to sit and feel him move. The other night I was paying bill and decided to lay my clutch up on my stomach to see what he would do. It wobbled back and forth and eventually he gave it one last kick and kicked it right of my stomach. Cracked me up.

I had my 32 week appointment this week and all went well. My blood pressure is looking good and I haven't had any concerns thus far. I did ask my doctor if I was "measuring" on track. I explained to her that I have about 3-5 people I day who comment on how there is no way I am having a baby in 8 weeks! I was starting to get paranoid that I wasn't as big as everyone thought I should be. Dr. P said I was measuring right on track and to take it as a compliment! So I guess I will! I have gained weight -- believe me, I have, more than I care to admit -- its just that it has decided to evenly disperse all over my body to my hips, arms, legs, etc. Looks can be deceiving. When I wake up in the morning, I peep at my stomach with one eye open just knowing today is going to be THE day where I wake up HUGE! And I know as soon as I write this IT will happen. Ha!

We did get our crib in a couple of weeks ago and Cory worked hard to put it all together. Here are some shots from putting it together and the finished product. We have the bedding in there but not sheets yet so there is still some work to be done for sure!

We have a lot more work left to do on the room then I had planned at this point, but I have faith it will get done. It may just be a little closer to completion by February 14th then originally thought. We will post more as it comes together in the next couple of weeks.

I'll leave you with the latest belly picture! This was actually taken at 31 weeks so instead of going to the trouble for a 32 week picture I just decided to post this one.

CEC.

Maternity Pics!

Head on over to Lindsey's blog to see the maternity/Christmas card pics she took of us! They turned out great as we knew they would!

Thanks Lindsey!!

Thanksgiving Recap

This year we opted for a different plan at Thanksgiving. It was our year to spend Thanksgiving with my side of the family. My brother and SIL live several hours away and have three little ones so they were not able to join us for such a short holiday. So, that left me, Cory, mom and dad. Therefore, we opted to spend our Thanksgiving in Branson. Its a closer drive for us and I have been a terrible car traveler as a pregnant lady so I was grateful for the short drive.

On Wednesday, when we got there we went to lunch to celebrate mom's birthday! We surprised her with a cake and a few presents.

Wednesday evening we went to the show SIX in Branson. Now, I have been to Branson more than 20-30 times and lived there for two summers when I woked at Kanakuk and lets just say this show was definitely one of the best in Branson. Its a show of 6 brothers who sing and create their own musical instruments with the sound of their voices. They sang songs from U2 to The Temptations to the Beach Boys and even sang some Christmas songs! All without any musical instruments only their voices. It was very impressive. I highly recommend it.

Thursday we hung our our condo and mom made roast, carrots, potatoes, 7 layer salad, rolls and more goodness. It was a very nice, low-key, but delicious meal. In the afternoon we went outlet shopping at one of the outlets.

Friday morning -- black friday -- is an event that my family definitely enjoys. I love to get up early and just enjoy the madness! However, this year sleep is way to precious and my body said "no way" on doing that this year. But, that didn't stop Cory! He had eyed an item in the Best Buy ad that was a must have for him! My dad volunteered to get up at 4:30 and go with him. My dad loves the experience as well -- I think that is where I get it from! They found the item they went after along with a few other things they could not pass up and they were both back to the condo and in bed by 6:00. Later that day we also went shopping and enjoyed a delicious meal at Lamberts! It was Cory's first time to go. Delicious.

Saturday we got up and finished up some more shopping before heading home! The best deal of the weekend for me was at Carter's. They had their whole store 50% off plus we had additional 20% off coupon. So, we stocked up on some pj's and outfits for Lincoln. Its very surreal buying clothes to fit a person you have never met but feel that you know so well. All in all, we had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving. We did miss the rest of our families and stated several times that we wish they could all be there. Maybe next year :) Thanks mom and dad for a great trip. We love you guys!!

I hope you all have a great week and are getting your Christmas shopping done! We still have more to conquer in that department. In recent baby news, our crib and chair are still NOT in. I haven't lost hope but I am getting more anxious for all of it to arrive. Our friend Lindsey, at Lindsey Faith Photography came up this weekend to visit and take pictures for our Christmas card/Maternity pictures! She is so talented and a very dear friend. We had a great time. She took tons of pictures, created the Christmas card and even ordered them all why she was here. So, I should have those this week to send out! They turned out soo cute. I can't wait to share. She will also post some of the pics on her blog in the next week or so!

Thanks Linz for such a fun weekend!!!

Hope you have a wonderful week.

Me again, 28 weeks!

Well, I am completely embarrassed that I have gone almost 5 weeks between blogging! I am sure that all three of you who read this have given up on me! Ha! We have been busy cleaning out closets, re-organizing and re-purposing areas of our home, painting a nursery and painting a dresser. And amidst all of that our friend Tiffany came to visit us and Cory's mom and step-dad came up for weekend!!

We had a GREAT weekend with good ole Spiffy Tiffy remembering our old college days and laughing till most of us were crying! (Thanks for coming to visit Tiff. We had an awesome time!) Terrible quality picture -- sorry!

On to the nursery -- the color of the nursery is hard to convey through a picture but for the most part it is blue. It is actually the lightest shade on a green family paint chip and called Scotland Road; however, it is a very soothing blue. We love it. Cory worked hard to get it painted!

A couple of weeks ago Cory's mom and step-dad were in town visiting and we went on a hunt to find a dresser/changing table for the nursery! The room we are using is not super big so I thought the best way to be efficient with our space is to find a dresser where we can use the top for a changing table! We were passing a furniture store in town when Cory's mom suggested we stop in there and look. I'll be honest -- if Cory and I were out alone we would not have stopped due to the appearance from the outside. However, true to the ole saying "never judge a book by its cover!" -- we hit the jackpot in this store. They were selling furniture that was slightly damaged at a discounted rate. We found a dresser that I thought would work perfectly. The only problem is that it was painted blue and had several spots that needed to be sanded and fixed. However, when the guy told us the price (about 80% off of the original price if it were sold new in a store in mint condition) we were able to easily overlook the damaged areas! Here is a picture of it after we had sanded and puttied most of the spots.

We picked a dark brown called Dark Granite to paint it. Once again, Cory has been a trooper spending several hours in the garage painting it. Here are two pictures of the finished product. If I used the flash it washed it out but without the flash it looks darker than it really is. So, use your imagination to picture a shade in between the two pictures.

As for the rest of the nursery, the bedding is in but we are waiting on the crib and chair to get in before we can do much more work. We have been told that the crib and chair will be in this coming week! We hope so because our friend Lindsey is coming to take maternity/Christmas card pictures and having a more complete nursery would make for a great back drop for pictures!! We will see.

Well, I turned 28 weeks earlier this week. Here is the newest picture! Everyone always looks better in black and white right?? I'll take what I can get! Ha!

When I hit the 27 week mark or so I definitely felt a decline in my energy and stamina. I am definitely tired again, more like the first trimester. My "morning sickness" which really means nauseous in the mornings and throughout the day has returned. Its not quite like it was in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, but nonetheless it is back! I have been having major hot flashes so I am thankful for the cooler whether! However, on a happier note -- Lincoln is doing well. I feel him moving A LOT more! He is the most active from about 4:00 p.m. till about 4:00 a.m. Yes, a.m. Its like he knows that I am getting in bed and decides that is the perfect time for him to get in his exercises in for the day! It cracks me up. I have woken up several times to the activity of him in my stomach. We had an appointment on Wednesday and his heartbeat was 150 again. His heartbeat has been 150 every single time -- from 6 weeks till 28 weeks! Crazy. I go back again in four weeks (actually three b/c my doctor is out of town in 4 weeks) and then after that I start going every 2 weeks!! That is when it definitely feels like it is getting closer.\

That about catches you up on life with us! Work has been crazy and stressful but this too shall pass and its not worth blogging about :) I promise to be better about blogging again. I will write soon about our Thanksgiving! I am still a very faithful blog reader so keep it up out there! I love to read about others.

CEC.

24 weeks!

Wow. I can't believe it has been 24 weeks. I have definitely started to "feel" pregnant (meaning that I am growing all over!) I told Cory that I might want to stop taking monthly pics after this one. You'll just have to take my word from it here on out that I am growing! :)


I feel the kicking and movement the most when I sit still at my desk to type, in the evenings when I sit down on the couch and at night when I return to bed after my many bathroom trips. I go back to the doctor this week for my glucose test. I have been advised by many to drink the fruit punch flavor!

As for the nursery, it is coming along. We still have several things in there to clean out but we hope to finish that up this week and paint this weekend. One of my very good friends and former college teammate (Spiffy Tiffy) is coming to visit this weekend and she may just get put to work! Or, Cory has volunteered to paint while Tiff and I hang out! I am starting to get a big itch to get things marked off our list. I think November will be a big month of accomplishments for the room! If you know me well then you know I will need to have the nursery done two months before Lincoln gets here.

Well, there is just not too much to update other than baby stuff! It seems to occupy the majority of our time. I hope to write more after Tiff visits this weekend.

Hope you all are having a GREAT week!!

What's in a name?

I was never one who had names for all my children picked out prior to being married or having kids. I would like names every now and then but figured that by the time I had kids I would find something new or exciting to name my child. So, after we found out that we were pregnant the name search began. I have signed up, like many others, on BabyCenter.com to receive emails once a week that tells you how many weeks pregnant you are, how the baby will develop that week and tips on how to handle that phase of pregnancy. I do love these emails and have enjoyed this website. Like most web sources, you have to take the info and screen it for accuracy but for the most part I have really liked it. One feature that they have is a "name list" that saves names for you. Every once in a while over the past several months I would get on there find some I liked and save them to my list. By the time we found out it was a boy, we had about 8 girl names picked out and about 8 boy names picked out. Some of them I loved and some of them were Cory's picks.

However, after hearing the news that it was a boy we were able to narrow our search and think further about a boy name. I think that naming a child is one of the hardest jobs that one could have. You think of a name and then try to think of every nick name or potential playground humor joke that could come from it because you want to protect your child. You definitely do not want to set them up for failure or embarrassment. However, I do have to remember that boys will be boys and I'm sure no matter what that still may occur one day. We have also researched meanings both literal and biblical to assure our son that our decision came with much thought.

After much deliberation and searching, we have decided on a name. I think that Cory originally suggested the name. You try to imagine the type of child God has for your family and think of a good fit for that type of person you imagine in your head. Therefore, we have decided that his name will be:

Lincoln Miles

Meaning:

Lincoln literally means "From the Lake Settlement" It also means "Lithe" which an adjective that means flexible, mild. The Biblical meaning is "Leader in Victory" "He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions... and that shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; he shall dwell on high." Isaiah 33:14-16

Miles literally means "Soldier." The Biblical meaning is "Merciful: Heart of Compassion" "And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things."

Mark 6:34

Here is how we came up with the names --

1. Although quiet comical, the first place that I remembering hearing the name Lincoln was a character on Prison Break. A month prior to the miscarriage and the months following the miscarriage, Cory and I watched the whole show series on DVD. It became a nice TV show getaway from the real-life situation that we had found ourselves in -- grieving the loss of a child that we would never know. The name stuck out to me throughout the hours of watching that show. They would sometimes call him "Linc" and I thought that was a fun nickname. Another random fact is that my mom picked my name because she heard in on the soap opera Days of Our Lives -- "Carrie Reed" I thought I would follow the family tradition by finding a TV show character to name my child after. (My mom will die that I wrote this on my blog :) Love ya mom!)

2. About 2 months ago, Cory's dad, who did not know we were considering the name Lincoln sent me an article that outlines the history and reasons why John C. Calhoun (previous Vice President of the United States and an ancestor of Cory's family) is believed to be the true father of Abraham Lincoln. The article is here if you are interested -- www.greenvillesouth.com/abe.html Another fun fact is that our son Lincoln will be due around Abraham Lincoln's birthday (February 12th).

3. The name Lincoln surfaced again while we were on our "babymoon" to Chicago. We were talking about the name pretty intensely as we left the Hershey's store and headed across the street to Borders so I could go to the bathroom. Cory kept talking about the name and I was having a harder time deciding what I thought. {Honestly, this pregnant women had to go to the bathroom pretty bad so I wasn't 100% invested in the conversation!} I hurried into the bathroom and as I was about to wash my hands there was a mom and her son standing there washing their hands. A cute curly-headed boy. She looked at him in haste and said "Hurry up Lincoln we need to go!" [[I about feel over!!]] The odds of that occurring in the middle of Chicago in a Borders bathroom two seconds after we had just had a long discussion about the name - priceless. Needless to say I ran out of the bathroom found Cory and made him go with me while we chased this lady and her son through the store. I wanted Cory to see this child so he would believe me! As we neared them I pointed at the child out of disbelief and said "that boy's name is Lincoln!" and explained what had happened. We just stood there in Borders laughing!!

4. The name Miles has its roots in a family name from my side of the family. My paternal grandfather's middle name was Milton and I thought of Miles as a take on that name. My paternal grandparents and my maternal grandparents all had a huge influence in the person I am today. All four of them now reside in heaven but I was fortunate to know them well and see them often throughout my life. The reason I chose my paternal grandfather is because him and my grandmother had a huge impact on my spiritual life. We lived with my grandparents for a short time period on two occasions when I was growing up because we were building a house each time and needed a place to live temporarily. While living with them, each night before bedtime they would invite me and my brother to share in a devotional with them. I remember the tattered pages of their Bibles and the love they had for the word of God. During our second time to live with them, I was saved. I accepted Jesus as my Savior in the bedroom at their house with my parents along side me. I firmly believe that God used them to impress upon my heart that I needed a Savior. When I think about the day I was saved and where my spiritual life began, I think of them and their house. I want my son to be reminded of his heritage and to be able to share with him the roots of his name and tell him the story of my salvation.

I was looking back through my journal and found what I wrote about 30 minutes after I took the pregnancy test on May 30th and got the positive result. This is an excerpt from the prayer that I wrote that morning -- "I pray this child is a leader that others desire to follow because they are a person of God." When I read that Lincoln means "Leader in Victory" my heart rejoiced. I also desire that my son be compassionate and show mercy on those in need. Especially those in need of a Savior. It all seems to be a perfect fit. We can hardly wait to meet our little guy. We pray daily that God prepares us for the adventure ahead.

Pregnancy Faves

So, I have encountered some new items and old ones that are pregnancy "must-haves" for me! Here they are:

Baby Bargains book. A co-worker told me about this fantastic book and I have used it soo much! Its a handbook that outlines cribs, high chairs, maternity clothes, diapers, etc. and gives you safety ratings on each and tells you the best bargain for your buck. It also lists out what is a waste of money and what things you really need. I have just loved having this book. Another reason I have loved it is because my husband is a thinker and a researcher before making ANY purchase! I do love this about him, however, I get burnt out on that process and just buy so we can mark it off our list. This book does all the homework for you and at the end of the chapter sums up the best brains for the best price. I love this book.

Pregnancy Pillow. One inexperienced like me thought, "Why do you need a special pillow when you are pregnant?" A friend of mine gave me hers or otherwise, I would have never bought one to find out the goodness this pillow holds. O my -- it is good! The first reason is because you spend the majority of your pregnancy sleeping so it will definitely get some use. The second reason is because if you are normally a stomach sleeper like me then it is hard to teach yourself how to sleep on your side. But this little invention just wraps you up and keeps you on your side. I love it.

I wonder why they title this pillow a "pregnancy pillow" b/c I am pretty sure it will be living with me for years to come. Good thing we have a king size bed. :) Before getting this pillow from my friend I was sleeping with about 3-4 pillows a night and I'm pretty sure Cory was starting to feel like was going to be pushed out of the bed. So, now all I need is this one (and maybe I sneak in one other) but he hasn't noticed yet. This one is neat too b/c it has a piece of fabric that you can take out to sleep with it as a pregnancy pillow and then the piece of fabric that you can add and zip up to close in the middle so you can use it to set your baby in.

Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate. I heart hot chocolate. I hate coffee but will go out of my way for good hot chocolate. Last fall when Starbucks introduced their Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate Cory decided to try it out. I took a sip and hated it. However, this fall when it started to get cold I started to crave this drink. And now, I'm addicted. I try to limit myself to one a week but man -- they are delicious.

A Wonderful Supportive and Involved Husband/Dad. Cory has been such a trooper. He is loving this whole process and has been very involved. Last weekend we picked out a crib and a chair for our nursery and he was with me every step of the way. He even wheeled and dealed the place and got us a super deal! I have been looking up baby bedding and thinking up nursery ideas for our little guy and Cory is researching ideas on the Internet and giving his input. We found a bedding that we like and we ordered samples of the fabric before making the big plunge to make sure we liked it in person. Once we got the samples in, he went with me to Home Depot yesterday and stood in the paint aisle with me for an hour or longer scanning in the fabric into the machine and helping me decide on paint color options. We ended up with two options and got a sample can of each. He came home and painted a square on the wall of each and has been in there 100 times since then looking at them in all different times of the day.

And last but not least, he has taken GREAT care of me. This past week I got a sinus infection and just began feeling terrible while he was at his softball games on Thursday night. When he got in about 11:00 I was in bed but not feeling well and I really wanted some orange juice. He didn't even skip a beat and went to Walmart and got me several goods! I just had to take a minute to brag on him b/c he has been so wonderful. I am lucky to be his wife and our little guy is going to be lucky to have him as his daddy!

CEC.

I'm gonna be an AUNT again and again!

Well....the news is out! I am going to be an aunt next May when these sweet faces add a fourth child to their crew!

My brother and sister-in-law's kids.

And then an aunt AGAIN in June/July when this little one adds a little brother or sister!

Cory's brother and sister-in-law's daughter.

Looks like lots of babies coming between our two families in 2010. Exciting diaper-changing bottle-feeding days ahead! I love being an aunt and can harldy wait to experience life as a mom!

It's a .....

Well, if you know anything about us then you know that we like to make everything in life a little more exciting than the norm. And it was no different for us when we made plans to find out if baby Calhoun was a boy or girl. Cory and I went to the doctor on Wednesday afternoon to have the 20 week ultra sound. As I was laying down on the table getting ready for the ultra sound, the technician asked "Do you want to find out the sex of the baby?" I just looked at Cory (b/c I am the one known to cave and not follow-through with the plan out of excitement). Cory explains that we do want to find out but not while we are there. She then asks if we would like for her to put the results in an envelope for us to take with us. We agreed that would perfect!

So, she started the ultrasound and up on the big flat screen television was our baby!!! It just blows you away!! The last time we saw the baby it was a spec on the screen. Not this time. The lady proceeded with ultra sound taking a closer look at the organs and brain while clicking all these buttons on her machine. It was so fun to see the profile, legs and feet. I commented on two occassion that the baby looked like it had long legs and big feet. The ultrasound technician followed up with "Yes, they do look big!" It was funny. It came to the end of the ultra sound and she told us to cover our eyes so she could look for the gender. Well, the baby was not cooperating at first. Although, I had just drank a Code Red Mt. Dew prior to the appointment to MAKE SURE the baby would open its legs. She had to poke around on my stomach and push quite hard for the baby to cooperate. I just laid there praying, "Please, Lord I don't want to have to come back. Please make this baby open its legs!!" It took what seemed like forever but probably about five minutes but finally the baby opened up. She captured the image and printed it to put in our envelope. The ultra sound was complete and then we had to wait to visit with the doctor.

Dr. P, my main doctor, was really backed up so she asked me if it would be ok if I met with her husband , Dr. H, who is also an OB/GYN. We were grateful to get out of there and find out the results -- so we agreed! Dr. H was fantastic. I have heard great things about him and they were all true. Energetic and very approachable. He said the ultra sound looked great and no concerns were noted. He said the baby measured about 14 ounces with 10-13 being average. (Looks like I was right about those legs and feet looking big!). So with the baby being that size, I measured about 6 days ahead! My due date doesn't change but just some info to keep in mind as I near the end.

So after knowing that the baby looks healthly off we left, to continue with our plans to find out if it was a boy or girl. (For the sake of competition, b/c I LOVE competion, we decided that Cory was thinking it was a girl and I was feeling strongly it was a boy!) We next went to Dillards and picked out a boy outfit and a girl outfit. We took the two outfits along with the envelope which contained the results to a clerk in Dillards. We explained to her that we only wanted to buy one outfit depending on the results in the envelope. This meant that Sherri, the clerk at Dillards that we had never met, would open the envelope and know the sex of our baby before we would! She aggreed to particpate. We left her with a 20 dollar bill and walked away while she opened the envelope and bought the correct outfit to wrap up. We came back in 5 minutes and she had put the outfit in a shirt box and then the receipt, our change and the result envelope in a bag. We took the box upstairs and had them wrap it. All along, we didn't know what was in the box!! So fun.

Next, we headed to dinner where we ordered cheese dip and opened the box. I opened it first and peaked inside to see if it was the boy outfit or the girl outfit while Cory captured the moment on camera. Then, I passed the box over to Cory for him to look while I took his picture!

Here is what was in the box:




Yes, its a BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I truly felt in my heart it was a boy so I wasn't AS surprised. However, Cory was speechless for about 5 minutes. He was convinced it was a girl. We, of course, went looking for the results envelope. I scanned in all the pictures of our little guy with a little description below each on.


Then, we emailed the picture below to our families and called them to hear their reaction as they opened the email. This was plan B in how to tell them. Plan A was to call in an order of cupcakes in blue or pink for them to pick up and find out that way. However, bakeris were difficult so we opted for this way! Its the side profile of the baby with a jersey on!


I know this was a long post so thanks for hanging around to read it all! Cory and I feel so overwhelmed and excited about actually KNOWING the gender! That definitely puts you in "go" mode for name selection, nursery ideas, etc. We have not decided on any of those things but we have been working on it every day since last Wednesday. I can't believe we will have our little guy with us in about five months. We are so honored to have this opportunity. Its very overwhelming but very exciting. I can hardly wait to meet him.

CEC.

DCM Reunion 2009

Our crew got together two weekends ago for a reunion. We are trying to be diligent to see each other often and hang out when we can. We all live hours apart so it takes lots of planning to get us all together. But well worth it because we had the BEST time!

We met up in Conway Friday night and had dinner at Market Place. I never laugh as hard as I do when I am with this crew! Serious belly laughs!! They are all just so fun.

Then, all of us (except Clif and Kristi who had to head home to take care of their son and twins) headed out to the Hospitality cabin at Soaring Wings Ranch. It is such a nice cabin. We stayed up till 2:00 a.m. talking and having a good time! The next morning about 9:00 a.m. I woke up hungry!! I went to looking around the cabin and EVERYONE was still asleep. I took a shower, checked my email, did some reading and by 10:20 I had grown inpatient! I decided to relive some old memories and go stand over Lindsey's bed eating Ghardetto's to wake her up! And it worked -- everyone got up and we had breakfast at about 11:00 a.m. We hung out the rest of the afternoon watching the Razorbacks (lose!).

A very fun memory that I will forever have from this weekend is that the baby gained the nickname of "Baby Kankles!" In one of the conversations on Friday evening the word "cankles" came up. I just thought it was the funniest word and somehow it became the baby's nickname. The next morning, as I was waiting for everyone to get up, I just laid there laughing about that word. I went to put it as my status on facebok and spelled it with a "K." Cory said "its cankles with a C." I, in all seriousness, looked at him and said "How do you know that?" He said b/c the work is calf and ankles rolled into one. I started laughing so hard I was crying. I had no clue what the word meant! I thought it was just a word someone made up in conversation and all night I had laughed about calling our baby that and I didn't even know the meaning!! That made for good times once everyone woke up and I had to tell them that I didn't know what "cankles" was.

We had such a fun time and love getting together with everyone!! Us girls love to have fun chats about our memories of Jill. We all still miss her so much it hurts but it is nice to have the support network there to talk with each other!!

I love this group and hope to have many, many, many more fun memories together!

Going bananas at 20 weeks!!

Well, the halfway mark has arrived! I am officially 20 weeks pregnant and I can't believe it. The baby is estimated to be as long as a banana which seems appropriate because I feel bananas waiting to find out if its a boy or girl! The last two weeks I feel that I have hit a growth spurt which has left me a little more tired and starting to feel a little "thicker" through the mid-section. It is the most noticeable when I go from sitting to standing. It seems to take a little more effort than I am use to! I have continued to feel the baby move a littel bit each day. The baby seems to be the most active after anything with sugar or when in church. I think they are having a little dance session in there while the worship is going on. So funny! I told Cory last week in church that I thought the baby was playing their own session of Rock Band in there!

The two most frequently asked questions are: Do you have an idea if its a boy or girl? and Do you have names picked out? The answers to those two questions are both up for debate! When we had our first ultra sound around 6.5 weeks I said out loud "That is a boy!" I said it before I even realized I was saying it. And the first time I heard the heartbeat around 11 weeks, I initiallly heard it and thought again "that is a boy. However, ever since then I have crossed back over to thinking that it is a girl. Cory started out saying a girl and the closer it gets he is on the fence. So, we shall see! As for names, we have talked about 10 girl names and about 10 boy names. The list has definitely evolved over time. We have some good ones to pick from and have just decided to hold off until we find out the gender and then think some more on it. I am ready for this baby to have a name so I think once we know the gender that process will more more quickly.

Here is the baby bump for this month!

So, what do you think the baby is -- a boy or girl?? Please vote on the poll to the right and/or leave a comment with your thoughts! I love to ask people what they think we are having -- its fun to hear other people's thoughts!!

Have a great week!

CEC.

Pray for Austell.

Austell, GA (a suburb of Atlanta) is the town where my brother and his family live and has been hit hard by the flooding. My brother is the pastor of a church there and several members of the community and his church have lost their homes to total flooding. Please keep these people in your prayers as they face the days ahead. If you want to read more, visit my sister-in-law's blog HERE where she explains her perspective and posted pictures of the damage. By God's grace, their home has been kept clear of any major damage but so many have not been so fortunate.

Pray for the sweet people of this area and other areas around who suffered such a great tragedy!

Chi-town Babymooners!

Over Labor Day weekend, Cory and I took a "babymoon" to Chicago! I did not know this was the official name of our trip until I was telling someone at work about out trip and she so cleverly stated, "O, so you are taking a babymoon?" I was definitely caught off guard, never having heard that term, but I kinda liked it and it has stuck. We often joked on our trip that we were the "babymooners!" This trip was definitely more of a last minute decision but we are very blessed to have the opportunity to take such a fun trip together! We had an absolute blast.

Here is a recap of our trip. First of all, we did drive to the good ole' Windy City! It was definitely cheaper than a ticket and made it definitely more like a fun road trip. We broke the trip up on the way up there by stopping to stay over in St. Louis but for the drive back we did it all in one day! Honda LaFonda was good to us!

When we arrived Friday early afternoon, we checked out our surroundings and enjoyed dinner at the Riverwalk on the Chicago River.

Next, we headed to the Friday Red Sox/White Sox game! We (heart) David Ortiz!

The Red Sox lost 12-2, so this is our sad face!


Here is the view from our room on Saturday morning!

Saturday we took a double decker bus tour of the city! This was a little too uncool for my better half but an hour into the trip he agreed that it was a fabulous idea :) We saw tons of fun sites of the city.

Taking our picture into the silver thing (I think there is a more formal name but I didn't catch it) at Millennium Park.

Eating lunch at Geno's East! Yumm-O does not even begin to touch the taste of this pizza!

Look at that cheese!

One of Oprah's many many condos!

Saturday evening we enjoyed an evening watching the Blue Man group. I was most excited about going to watch them but I think Cory enjoyed the show more than I did. It was NOTHING like I expected and there was lots of silly humor. Cory was laughing so loud it was starting to get embarrassing! Ha!


Sunday, we ventured to the top of the Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower). It was a little overrated but glad we went. They have built these glass boxes off the side of the building that you can walk out in and all that is underneath you is plexi-glass. It was scary. I walked out there long enough to get my picture taken and say I did it. Here is random man that was laying down inside of it. Since, neither Cory or I were going to do that we took a picture of this man to better understand how this box worked.

Us in the box -- kinda blurry.


Sunday afternoon we headed out to cheer on the Red Sox again! This time they won 6-1! Go BoSox! Here is a pic of Baby Calhoun on the trip.

By Sunday evening we were BEAT! We decided to take the water taxi over to Navy Pier but it was a let down. It is a very long pier that juts out into Michigan Lake with some rides on it, children's museum, restaurants and dinner cruise boarding stations. I think by this point I was SO worn out that I just could care less. Plus, I think having kids at this place would have been a little more enjoyable.

We drove home Sunday morning! And I had to take a picture of the O'Dell exit, although they need the apostrophe and to capitalize the D.

All in all we had such a GREAT time! We are so fortunate to have this chance to have a get-away before Baby Calhoun graces us with his/her presence! It will forever be a very fun memory for me and Cory.

CEC.

O, and just a side note -- I have started to feel the baby move! It started right after I turned 17 weeks and has increased a lot more after 18 weeks. It happens the most in the mornings after my alarm goes off and after I eat. It feels the most like popcorn popping 2 or 3 times real quickly or a spider walking across the inside of my stomach. We are getting excited about knowing if pink or blue will be in our future!