Bella the Boxer... and Christmas too :)

So big news to those of you who don't already know! We got a puppy. We thought we'd try out our parenting/child rearing or "puppy rearing" skills in preparation for little baby fogde to come. Not exactly...

We have wanted a dog for a long time but had decided we would wait. We started talking more seriously this fall about getting a dog, but again decided we would wait. Then the week before Thanksgiving, Nathan decided that he really really wanted a dog... so the search began. Our initial intent was to get a puppy from up by where my parents live, but after a little more searching we found a much better option. I think the Lord knew that having a brand new puppy plus a baby in 2 months would be a little (understatement of the century) too much. What we did find was a 5 1/2 month old puppy who is still a puppy but she is already partly trained and has such a natural good nature in her! We have added Bella the Boxer to our family. She is so very cute, and she has been great so far! We have had to work on a few things, but she is catching on quickly. We haven't had an accident in the house in several days now, and she will go by the back door and give a little whine when she needs to go outside... YAY!! She also only seems to enjoy chewing on things that are fuzzy... so shoes are not her first choice (unless they are my slippers) :). But we don't have many fuzzy things in our house (yet at least) so chewing hasn't been a problem... YAY!! She enjoys jumping up, but she is learning that she cannot jump on people and she is definitely learning she cannot jump up at the kitchen counter to check out the goods. She has learned that one the hard way. She loves to play and be roudy, but she settles down so fast and is very calm. We just love her! We're so excited that our little girl will be able to grow up with Bella... we think it will be fun for them to grow together :)

Now, Christmas is just right around the corner, or so it seems as everything with church musicals etc. is kicking into high gear! We did a little decorating of our own at our house this year which we very much enjoyed. We even indulged ourselves and bought a Christmas Tree. Our very first one (how cute :)). Bella was a good sport, and she even let us decorate her and she wishes everyone a Very Merry Christmas.

This is Bella :)

This is Bella's version of Rudolph.

She's such a good sport!

Beginning the Decorating

We have a real mantle!!

Nathan working hard on the tree. I have to admit that he did most of the work because by the time we got to this point, I had been on my feet for quite a while and I just needed to take a break. He did a great job though!

Finished product and proud of it!

Showing off my excuse for supervising:)

Testing out the new timing on the new camera

Feeling Good

Well, it has been a while since i've updated (as usual) but here we go. I had my next doctor appointment today and can I just say no matter how hard I tried, I was so anxious about it. I had my glucose tolerance test last week... the results of which I was to find out today. I also "gained too much weight" last time, so I was very anxious about my weigh-in (I felt like I was on biggest loser or something). But, after much un-needed worrying, I found out that all my glucose screening came back fine, and I gained no weight from my last appointment. WOHOO!!! Now... the next thing to look forward to was where the baby was measuring. At my 25 week appointment, she was measuring around 27 weeks. This week marked my 29th week, and she is measuring in at a whopping 32 weeks instead. So... a february due date is looking less and less likely. I'm thinking we'll be adding another January baby to the family. We shall see...

It's crazy to think that I'm only 11 weeks away now (or maybe less). At my next doctor appointment, they should decide wither or not they are going to do an ultrasound to gain some more accurate measurements and see if she really is measuring big. I can definitely tell she has grown... I feel her move all the time. And I mean all the time... morning, afternoon, and night. Sometimes in the morning, Nathan will have his hand on my stomach, and he just lays in bed and laughs. It's been so fun... although as she starts to pack more of a punch/kick, i'm sure it wont be as fun when those punches and kicks are directed toward my ribs.

I have been so blessed to have such an "easy" pregnancy. I've been able to stay very mobile (even though the mobility is starting to become more uncomfortable), and I've managed to avoid most sickness all together. I did come down with a cold a few weeks ago, and when I was feeling so miserable, I realized how much I had taken for granted the ease of this pregnancy so far. I am so thankful to have continued to work (as its been available) and teach piano lessons. The Lord has definitely gone far beyond blessing me during this time. I'd even say its been fun. SHHHHH Don't tell anyone that :)

More updates to come as we get closer. And as I close, I will just say that since I gained no weight at this appointment... bring on Thanksgiving.

Update on Baby Fogde

Well, I had my Dr. appointment today and it was definitely the fastest I've gotten in and out of the office. I think I was there for 30 minutes... record time! Hoorah for the first appointment of the morning :) Things are looking good. My uterus is actually measuring 27cm which would put me about 2 weeks ahead of schedule (I am scheduled to start my 25th week tomorrow) and since my uterus is measuring at 27, I could be slightly ahead of where they originally had me pegged. We shall see... so maybe January it will be. The Dr. also said I'm too fat... Ok she didn't really say it like that, but she said I gained too much weight this time. I wont go into anymore detail about that though. :)

We/I am continuing the process of the nursery. Got the bedding in the mail and it is SO SO SO ADORABLE! I love it :) Now I'm looking for material to recover our rocking chair as well as make some window seat cushions. I have a whole smattering of baby girl clothes all over the floor in the room because we received all of the clothes from our niece who was also born in early Feb. We will be getting our crib on Friday. We received that from Nathan's mom and step dad via their in-laws. They bought it practically brand new at a yard sale, so we just need to make sure we have all the parts to put it together (there are no directions) :) But things are coming along and I'm getting more and more excited as they do.

Lastly, I saw her punch out my stomach this past week. I was laying on the couch and I saw this really quick protrusion and I thought, I'm pretty sure that was a hand or a foot or something. It was because she did it several more times. Not the complete "alien belly" yet, but she is definitely letting us know she is there :) T minus 116 days, but whose counting anway? :)

Ladybugs All Over

Well, I have made a big step in the last week. I have decided on a theme for baby Fogde's room. Ladybugs :) It has been quite a process trying to figure out what to do, what I want, what I like... what I think she will like etc. So... at first we saw this adorable set which included ladybugs at BabyDepot. We had planned on getting that once we found out it was a girl, then I decided the colors were all too muted. It had green and red and pink and white and black... but all very soft versions of those colors. I decided I wanted something with a little more punch. So I went searching google like any normal curious person. I wasn't sold on the whole ladybug theme so I searched for baby bedding according to colors I liked together. The whole idea is that we don't want something overly girly or predominantly pink or anything like that. As I searched for bedding, I came across some very cute sets that were chocolate brown and turquoise (just about my favorite color combination). I had about 97% of my heart set on this until I started another search one day. Randomly, I googled "lady bug baby bedding sets" and as I saw various pictures come up, one caught my eye. I might even say it was love at first sight. It was so precious, and I just invisioned little baby girl loving her bedroom and loving ladybugs. The best is yet to come... It was a set on Ebay that was listed for $49.99 which for any 4 piece bedding set is a great deal! This one, however, was a 9 piece set including some additional accessories besides just the crib bedding. What a steal!!!
Well, for those of you who utilize ebay... there is also a whole bidding process. I actually had to have my parents bid on it for me because I was not going to have access to a computer when the bidding ended, and they were outbid by only 80 cents. Sad times!!! Well, the following day, I went searching for it again just to see if this store had listed another set. Low and behold they had! Still same price and all!!! I was able to win the set for a mere $61.00. I am so excited about the set, and so excited for her room. I had to tell you all of this so that when you see the picture, hopefully you will love it as much as I do :) Here it is!!!

So, what we get in the set is the bumper, the dust ruffle, the blanket, the pillow, the sheet, 2 window valances, the diaper stacker, and the toy stacker (which I will probably use as a hamper). I am hoping to prevail upon my mother to maybe make a cover for the changing pad as well as a large window seat pillow, or a few pillows to put on a cute window seat we have in the baby's room. Probably something either red and polka dotted, or checkered pattern... something of the sort. So... for any of you who read this who are looking into baby bedding (which I don't think any of you who read this are prego, so not that this matters) don't forget about good ol' ebay :)

Daddy's Little Girl

Well, we found out today that we are having a baby girl. She was not shy at all in letting us know just exactly what she was going to be. In fact, she was maybe a little too "open" for my own comfort level. Something I can see we're going to need to work on. Here are a few pics of her from our ultrasound. I'm sure she will be precious. These pics are a little hard to see, but hopefully you'll enjoy them (all 2 of you who look at this blog :))

This is her in all of her glory. Putting it all out there for everyone to see.

Clearly... she is not a boy.

This is the profile they were able to get. I should add that the Dr. said she is stubborn... not sure who she gets that from. If anything, she gets a healthy dose from each of us :)

We are thinking either Leah Grace or Makaela/Makayla Rose. Any input? We are undecided cause we like them both so much.

All the Single Babies

Ok... this video is too funny to not share. I have make sure to say that I would not be encouraging my child to dance to Beyonce... much less be watching her music video while they dance... but this is funny. Enjoy...

Hicksville Rosamond

Today, the most exciting thing happened in Rosamond! There was a brush fire. Nathan and I decided after this incident that Rosamond is the biggest hick town. Yes indeed. We were finishing lunch with our Suppers for Six group when one of the ladies said "Look out the window." So we all did and noticed this black smoke. Naturally, Nathan and I wondered where it was, what it was (fire, business, brush etc.) So we decided to take a little drive to find it. This was not hard as it was just right on the side of the road, and it seemed as though the whole town of Rosamond had decided to do that very same thing! At this very moment, we realized that we had officially inducted ourselves into the very nature of hicksville we were laughing about. oops. It was rather hilarious to be one of the many cars driving to the edge of Rosamond, and then all turning around before entering Edwards Air Force Base territory. All for a brush fire that was probably put out in about 10 minutes. Guess much doesn't happen in Rosamond if thats all it takes to get this whole town out to see something :)