23 Weeks

At 23 weeks Baby Reese is the size of a large mango weighing just over 1 pound and is 11 inches long






How Far Along: 23 weeks
Weight Gain: This week I am ashamed to admit how much weight I have gained! I bought bathroom scales not long after I found out I was pregnant (which my BFF Stephanie told me I would regret and today I do). I try not to get on them but once a week...and only for documentation for this blog do I get on them at all. I feel the need to say that I do not go around eating whatever I want just because I am pregnant...wait...that was a lie... I have always eaten whatever I wanted and then gone to the gym to confess my sins to the treadmill. Really-since I found out I was pregnant I have only had one milkshake and it was forced on me last Friday night...Baby Daddy insisted that I get a strawberry milkshake from Chick-Fil-A while he slurped down a chocolate shake. So when I realized I had gained a scary amount of weight this week I called Adam to tell him and he assured me that it is water retention. First of all, I love that man for saying that, and second where did he get that idea? Well on Wednesday night (the night before I weigh in for the week) I ate an entire watermelon by myself. Not one of those really big ones. It was a smaller seedless one...it looked like a personal size to me...you know like a personal size pizza...Lord only knows how much I would have gained if I had eaten one of those! Anyway, according to the bathroom scales, which I am starting to beleive are 5 pounds off, I have gained roughly 4 pounds in one week! I am making a shocked face as I type that number. 4 pounds! I don't think it is healthy to gain that much weight in one week...but I guess it changes things if it is just water retention...right??
Maternity Clothes: Yes
Stretch Marks: No. Still lathering in coco butter daily...at this rate of weight gain I am sure they are to come.
Sleep: Boppy, the maternity pillow, and I are sleeping well.
Baby Movement: Yes, and by the way, I hope she has grown a record amount this week along with her mother...that would help me justify my weight gain.
Food Cravings: Well, I love watermelon but I am going to take a break from it...maybe.
What I Miss: Next weekend we are going to the beach with some of our favorite peeps and I am sure I will miss the 2 piece swimsuit days!
Looking Forward To: Getting started on the nursery. And seeing her sweet little face.
Milestones: This is the statement I loved for 23 weeks...At this point fat production is in overdrive for the baby!! (Obviously her mother too...not wait... that's water retention!) See some of those 4 pounds are going to her...probably not as much as I would like...but some of it. Baby Reese will double in weight over the next 4 weeks. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing now to prepare for breathing and she is becoming familiar with noises she hears often.

True Friends Lie!

On Saturday I got together with these lovely girls who I have basically known since birth! Since we were wee little tots we all “camped” out for Krystal’s (far left with blue dress) birthday the week of Thanksgiving. When we were younger these “camp outs” would take place in her back yard and mostly ended with us inside asleep because we had all gotten scared (just like a bunch of girls). Our senior year of high school we made a pack (by spitting in the camp fire) that college and life would not stop us from continuing this tradition! And we have kept that promise (and by the way it has been 7 years which is very hard to believe…but considering all the physical changes we discussed on Saturday you would think we had been out of high school for 20 years!). Our Thanksgiving week get together turned into a Christmas get together and then last year we all decided that once a year was not enough so we now rotate houses and get together every 3 months. Which turned out perfect for me because I got the pleasure of announcing our baby news at our get together at the first of the year….more on that later…

Well true friends really do lie to you, but only for your own good. On Saturday they showered me with comments like, “you really do look good” and “you have not gained that much weight”…you know…all the comments a pregnant woman needs to hear when she is expanding by the second! And that is how I know they really are my true friends!

I have to mention that this picture is not complete! Allison was not able to come on Saturday because she had been diagnosed with Fifths Disease (she is a fellow educator and caught this from her students) which I am not exactly sure what that is, but she informed us that it is harmful to pregnant women so she stayed home. Which can I please say what a selfless act that is! Allison, Baby Reese thanks you for taking one for the team and not jeopardizing her health! I promise no big announcements were made during your absence!

Back in January I had known for a week that I was preggo, but I wasn’t ready to tell everyone until I had gotten used to the idea and the chance of having a miscarriage went down. So for the longest week of my life Adam and I kept the biggest news of our life a secret…and it just about killed me! Seriously, I almost went crazy. I decided that I couldn’t keep it a secret any longer and we told our parents one week after we found out. Conveniently, I was going to see these girls the same weekend. So I asked our parents not to tell until I could make the announcement to these ladies I had known since birth (After my mother made 3 or 4 phone calls to spread the word she said “Ok, I want tell anyone else!). We had all been at Allison’s house for a couple of hours when I decided it was the right moment. I tapped my fork on a plate and announced, “I hate to be the me monster, but we’re having a baby” and the noise that came next probably scared little Reese into a frozen stupor! For those of you who might not love Rick and Bubba like I do…a “me monster” is the term for someone who has to talk about their self all the time….and who wants to be that person?? As you can see in the picture LaRae (sitting on the floor with green striped shirt) already has Anna Kate and now Baby Reese can be her playmate!

From left to right: Krystal, me, Kelli, Ollie holding Anna Kate, Brandi, and LaRae in the floor.

From looking at the pictures Ollie wouldn't allow anyone else hold Anna Kate!

Bless her little heart she wanted to take a nap so bad, but you can image that is hard to do when six girls are all talking at one time.

Here is a previous picture with Allison (far left). I hope the Fifths Disease has subsided by July when we gather again!

By July I am going to really need to hear those lies!

22 Weeks & Pomp & Circumstance

Baby Robertson is the size of a spaghetti squash weighing about 1 pound!!

How Far Along: 22 weeks
Weight Gain: 12 lbs
Maternity Clothes: Yes
Stretch Marks: No. Still lathering in Coco Butter daily.
Sleep: Maternity pillows are the greatest invention in the pregnancy world since epidurals (I haven’t experienced an epidural yet, but I’m sure I will think it is fantastic…especially considering my low pain tolerance!).
Baby Movement: Yes. If I sit still you can actually see my stomach move when she moves…and this has given me much entertainment!
Food Cravings: Big Momma loves food!
What I Miss: Nothing really…well…since summer vacation is right around the corner I am probably going to miss my swimsuits.
Looking Forward To: The furniture coming in! And I get more anxious everyday to see her sweet little face.
Milestones: At 22 weeks she weighs about one pound! Wait…I have gained 12 pounds and she only weighs 1!!!! Her skin is very wrinkled, but will start to smooth out as fat is developed. Her eyes still lack pigment and will remain closed for the next month.

P.S. Did I mention that summer vacation is right around the corner?

My sweet little niece Jolie graduated from kindergarten last night. I might not have mentioned this before, but there was a mix up at the factory and she really should have been my kid!!

When Adam and I first started dating Jolie was terrified of him! She was even scared of his truck! This was mostly because he really wanted her to like him and he picked on her all the time. But after 5 years she has finally accepted that he is here to stay, and she even let him pick her up last night for a picture. I guess being a kindergarten graduate will make a girl fearless:)

P.S. Did I mention that summer vacation is right around the corner?

Voted #1 Dog??

Did you know that the American Kennel Club voted Labrador Retrievers as the #1 dog breed in 1999, 2004, 2008, and 2009? Did you also know that Adam and I are the proud parents of one of these “voted #1 dog breed” dogs and her named is Dixie (picture below)?

Dixie has been with us since February of 2008. She was born in December of 2007….which; by the way, please take note that the year of 2007 Labrador Retrievers were not voted the #1 dog breed in America…and I have very good idea that they were not nominated for that award in 2007 for the sole reason that this beautiful dog was born during that year. She has been the subject of MANY stories in the past 2 years…let me remind you of a few… she chewed apart all the wires in Adam’s grill one night and when I woke up Adam was on the back porch whipping her with a belt (yes, a belt…call PETA if you like…there are a few issues I would like to talk to those crazies about anyway), she was not allowed to come into our front yard when we lived in Lineville because she wouldn’t keep her teeth off of my sidewalk lights (we kept her in the back yard through the use of an electric fence…again call PETA if you feel the need), she has almost destroyed my white rocking chairs that Adam’s parents gave us the first Christmas we were married (again that was done with her teeth), she seemed to have issues with one of the steps at our house in Lineville and chewed the edge of it daily, and she has made lunch out of several pairs of shoes. Well, since moving to our new house last fall we have not had any major issues with Dixie this is partly because we had very little grass, no flowers, and no sidewalk lights….until now. Adam and I have spent several weeks laying sod, planting shrubbery and flowers, and putting up porch railings (there are previous posts on this back yard matter). These are the beautiful Gerber Daisy’s that I planted a few weeks ago and have managed to keep them alive (even after an incident with Dixie throwing them out of their plastic pot and chewing on the pot…they were salvaged)...

Until now….I came home yesterday to this…

And you see we have another little dog, Autie (Rat Terrier-picture below), and no, there is no way she caused this. As you see in the previous picture I had the Gerber Daisy’s planted in a pot and sitting high atop the rails on our back porch to avoid this exact scenario…Dixie, the #1 dog breed, is the only one that could come close to reaching the pot with her little furry paws. We have been policing our newly planted shrubbery for the last several days to be sure they weren’t lying lifeless in the yard.

Why, you ask, did we go and buy her a little sister (aka Autie) when we obviously had one dog we couldn’t handle? Well, Dixie had a friend when we lived in Lineville named Rose Bud (another Rat Terrier)….and they were the very best of friends!!!! Rose Bud would even sleep over with Dixie on occasion. Rose Bud was the friendliest dog you have ever met…she was even locked in our house accidently for a whole day. When Adam got home Rose Bud was sitting on the couch and welcomed him home. Well, it is believed that Rose Bud was taken in a drive by dog-napping when she was helping out with the neighbor’s yard sale one Saturday. This made Dixie very sad…and what kind of parent doesn’t want their kid to have a playmate????? Not us! Plus we thought that as long as she had a friend to talk to it might reduce the amount of chewing her mouth could do! WRONG! We didn’t buy her a friend…we bought her a partner in crime. After the Gerber Daisy episode they killed this sweet bird and drove this little bitty frog insane (yes, I let the dogs kill a bird…I know, you’re dialing PETA as we speak)!

I don’t understand where we went wrong! We give them everything they need in life…a warm place to sleep (under a heat lamp in the winter), food to eat, water to drink, and we even take them swimming at the lake every afternoon!! And this is the thanks we get!

This leads me to wonder…who in their right mind voted this breed of dog #1? Those of you with labs born in 2007 can thank Dixie for not being #1 that year!

I hope we do a better job raising Baby Reese!

Dear First Born

Dear First Born,

I want you to know in advance that we love you more than words could say! You are one lucky little girl...you have a Daddy that is an incredible man...and you have me...I might be a little bit Type A Personality and nutty at times, but I'll do my best to make sure you have everything you need in life (and most things that you want!). Now on to the more important matters. There are a few things you should know...

• I absolutely HATE needles. Hate, do you understand? I have a very short list of things that really get me upset and needles are at the top of that list. I would rather be sick for days and days than to get a shot. I completely lost it when we first went to the doctor to check on you and they tried to take my blood with no advance notice...they tried to take blood, but didn't happen until a few weeks later (I have to have advanced notice for needle situations and on this particular day I did not get advanced notice...in fact your Daddy had promised me they would not try to take blood). Well for you Baby Reese I have had my blood taken and because I have A- blood type I will be getting a shot really soon for that also...not to mention the IV and epidural that I am facing on the day of your birth...and then after you get here there will be round 2 of the shot for my blood type. This fact about my fear of needles says so very much about my love for you! Also, your Daddy will be the one to take you to get all of the shots you require in life...I can't do it.


• I am not a huge fan of pink. I wear pink and I like pink for the most part, but when it comes to my house pink is no where to be found....until now...Just for you Baby Reese I will be putting pink on a wall in my house. Yes, only 1 wall will be painted because I just can't take more than that!


• I really, really, really like for the house to be clean! The quickest way to put me into a bad mood is to come home from work and see that the house is messy. I can't sit down and rest until everything is in its place. This is a curse and a blessing, I guess. But Baby Reese could you please take this into consideration before arriving? Mommy really needs you to be neat and orderly.

• I need my sleep! This has been a well known fact in our family for years now. I must get at least 8 hours of sleep...it ranks right up there with eating and drinking fluids everyday. When I don't get enough sleep there are consequences...and we really don't need that now do we?? Baby Reese I am not a fan of you sleeping in the bed with us (partly because your Mommy slept with MeeMaw and PeePaw until she was....well...the exact age doesn't really matter...and your Daddy slept with D.D. and Big Daddy so don't let him fool you) but if that's the only way you will sleep I am willing to allow it. This is very important. If you are not a good sleeper then you might end up an only child with no one to play with because if it doesn't go well with you then it is highly likely there will be no more.



• Also, I'm not much of a homebody...don't get me wrong, I like a day at home with nothing to do every now and then, but I like to go places...so...could you please come here liking your car seat and stroller?

Even if you come here at the high price of a few needles, making messes, staying up all night, and one pink wall in my house I know you will be worth it all. I completely understand that I will probably not get all of these requests so let's concentrate on sleeping at night and not being too messy. I thought you should know these things in advance. We love you and can't wait to meet you!

21 Weeks

Baby Reese is the length of a carrot and weighed 13 ounces at our appointment on Monday

I found a website that showed the size of the fetus from a man's point of view. From 21-24 weeks Baby Reese is the weight of an over inflated football!

How Far Along: 21 weeks
Weight Gain: 11 lbs
Maternity Clothes: Yes and they are starting to grow on me.
Stretch Marks: No. Still lathering in Coco Butter daily.
Sleep: I got a maternity pillow and it is the best investment ever! See picture below…
Baby Movement: She is very active! I can’t sit still either…so maybe she gets that from me:)
Food Cravings: My sweet mother feed me Olive Garden last night and it was delicious! The only thing she will eat there is lasagna...When she ordered it we were notified that they didn't have any lasagna prepared and it would take an hour! We should have gotten a discount!
What I Miss: Nothing really…I think all this motherhood stuff is starting to grow on me…at 21 weeks I would say it’s about time! Well….I might miss my regular clothes just a little.
Looking Forward To: The furniture coming in! And I get more anxious everyday to see her sweet little face.
Milestones: At 21 weeks Baby Reese’s organs and central nervous system are working on maturing. At this point many babies start to have the hiccups, which as far as I know has not happened yet. At 21 weeks Baby Reese will swallow a bit of amniotic fluid each day, so it is possible that she will like whatever I eat this week! Again, this makes me wonder….who studied this, and how was this conclusion reached?

Happy Birthday to Adam

Happy Birthday to Adam...yesterday! My parents and I gave Adam one of his birthday gifts on Saturday because he had more time on Saturday to play with his new toy...I love this man and this is one reason why. He is so silly! Here he is warming his hands on his new fire pit...

I also gave him some clothes, and socks (which every man wants for his birthday, right?). Baby Reese got him this sweet little outfit for her to wear when she arrives (please excuse my appearance...this is after a long day at C'burg High School followed by a trip to the gym!)

Happy Birthday Adam!

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day was busy, busy! We went with Adam's parents to church... Look at those snazzy tie's they wore to honor their mother:)

During church anytime they would mention being a mother, or "mothers please stand up" etc Adam would hit me in the arm. I can't wait till Father's Day because I am going to do the same thing to him. Since I was the next Mommy-To-Be Baby Reese got this book... Which I was a little embarrassed by when they called me out...Adam loved that part!

Then we went to my parents where I forced my mom to get her picture made in her apron. I told her that was just what I wanted to see her doing on Mother's Day...cooking me something yummy!

And this is what she was in the kitchen cooking...chicken and dressing! Baby Reese really loved it!

In the mean time Adam was getting a little practice with the nieces!

I took my turn getting some practice as well... Andi likes me she just doesn't look like it in the picture...

Little Red was really excited about getting his picture made

No, I'm not hiding a watermelon under my shirt:) It's just a little girl growing in there!

Mason, my little cousin, loves my Mom's dog Chinney. Chinney loved Mason for a while and then he really wanted a nap, but Mason wouldn't hear any of it! If you click on the picture you can see how excited Chinney looks:) Mason was convinced that Chinney could not walk on his own.

Me and my sister with Mom...we even let her take off her apron for this picture.

And her name is...

I have to say that naming our child has been challenging, exciting, and at times frustrating! It is amazing how opinionated everyone becomes when you are naming your kid:) Adam had already declared the boy name, but since it's a girl that wouldn't work. Surprisingly, we have agreed on several girl names. Some of the names Adam liked I was completely against and most of the names I picked (girl and boy) he was completely against. We also had another obstacle...Big Daddy (Adam's Dad) has a really hard time with certain words...and those of you who know him know exactly what I mean...for example he can't say Opelika, penguins, or pilgrims just to name a few. So with every name option we had to get him to say it just to be sure he was capable of pronouncing it. I wanted something unique, but I didn't want to have to explain myself everytime I told people her name. So...

We announced the name to the grandmother's for Mother's Day by giving them this card from Baby Reese

Half Baked!

Baby Robertson weights as much as a cantaloupe and is the length of a banana.

How Far Along: 20 weeks
Weight Gain: 10 lbs
Maternity Clothes: Yes. I can still wear a lot of my shirts, but they aren’t as comfortable as the maternity shirts.
Stretch Marks: No. Still lathering in Coco Butter daily.
Sleep: No so great! I really need my sleep! At 20 weeks the doctor says not to sleep on your back due to a decrease in the blood flow to my heart and the baby. I love to sleep on my back, and this going to be the source of a lot of sleepless nights in the next few months. Sunday night I slept in a chair in the living room which Adam loved because he got the whole bed. All of these pregnancy do’s and don’ts just lead me to wonder how did women have healthy babies for years and years without these regulations?
Baby Movement: Yes. Her Daddy even got to feel her move a couple of times this week!
Food Cravings: I am so thirsty. Even before I knew I was pregnant I was really thirsty, and it has only gotten worse.
What I Miss: Sleeping all night.
Looking Forward To: Mother’s Day…we are giving the grandmother’s a baby name for Mother’s Day! So I’ll post the name on Sunday sometime.
Milestones: At 20 weeks most babies have already established a sleep pattern and already have a favorite sleep position. She doesn’t move around a lot at night so maybe that means we are going to get a good night time sleeper!!! She is now accumulating a sticky substance in her bowls that we will see in her first diapers…actually Adam will see. He has never changed a dirty diaper before and I think there is no better time to start that when she first gets here.

The Nursery Part 1

We have been looking at bedding sets for a couple of weeks now and I haven't found anything that I really loved. I started looking at fabric samples online last week and ordered a few on Thursday. The samples came in on Saturday and I absolutely loved one of them!! MeeMaw and D.D. have agreed that they will make the bedding....awww, how sweet. I'll keep you posted on that progress! We will be going back to the doctor next Monday and when it is confirmed that she is a girl I am going to order the fabric. So here is an idea of what the nursery is going to look like.

Once again, the furniture set...

And the fabric...It is a soft pink with khaki