Catching Up (AGAIN)!

I read a lot of blogs, some people I know and others I don't. I realized the other day that I haven't updated my blog in almost 9 wks! Since my last up date I've had 3 baby showers and a whole lot of doctor appointments!

My first baby shower was on Aug 14 and it was my family shower. I have a very large family and my Mom and Aunt thought it would make sense to do a family shower separate from a friend shower because of the size of our family alone!

Me with my ADORABLE cake that my friend Tara Silver made! If you want info about her cakes, leave a comment and I'll pass it along. It not only looks great, but tastes amazing also!!

The cute jungle theme! We didn't want to overwhelm everyone with blue so we chose a fun, colorful theme!

 

The closet after we organized all of the gifts! There's even more now, it's kind of crazy how much stuff he has!!

 

 

My next baby shower was on Aug 28 and was thrown by my friends Molly and Melissa. This was my friend shower and they did an amazing job with an Owl theme (the same theme as Cooper's bedroom)!

Owl decorations on the food table!

More cute owl decor on the dessert table!

The AWESOME hostesses (Melissa (L) and Molly (R)

 

Even the little girls wore owl shirts to match the theme! Lola (L) is Molly's oldest daughter and Hannah (R) is Melissa's daughter. Annabelle had an owl shirt on too, but she was napping.

My last and final shower was thrown by Connie, whom I work with. We had a small gathering at her house on September 4th. I love the girls I work with, they're all so much fun! I don't have a ton of pictures from that shower, but I do have a fun one of myself with the other 2 pregnant girls in my department!

Myself (35 wks), Shannon (30 wks) and Alex (17 wks)

 

 

I am now 38 wks and so ready to meet this little boy! I have 13 days until due date, but he could come any time between now and Oct 25th. I don't mind if I go over my due date, but I really don't want to be induced and they won't let you go more than 2 wks overdue. I'm hoping he comes by his due date, if not sooner! Everyone said these last 4 wks would go slow and they really are! Here are a few pictures of Cooper's decorations in his room!

Before we got the bedding

We've since gotten the bedding, and shockingly, I haven't taken any pictures of it! We are all set and ready for little man to get here. We've got our hospital bags packed and the car seat is in the car...we're just waiting on Cooper Lee to pick his birthday! Wish us luck!!

Quick Updates

I am 30 wks pregnant this week, that means only 10 wks to go!! It seems so close and so far at the same time. I had a doctor appointment today and found out that my glucose test came back normal (whew!) so no diabetes for me! My belly is also measuring 28 in which is right on track. They're keeping my due date at 10/11/11 (my father-in-law is hoping I have him on 10/19/11 b/c that's his 50th birthday). I have to take an iron pill now. The doctor says if your iron is below 10 they like you to supplement. Mine was 9.8 (of course). The reason for the supplement is b/c they expect a certain amount of blood loss with delivery and the higher your iron, the less likely you are to need a transfusion. I'll gladly take that pill over a transfusion any day! I'm also taking a vitamin D supplement and now we've added heartburn meds to the mix. This little boy is causing his Momma some serious heartburn/acid relfux!

I just got back from El Paso and telling my hubby "see you later" for his deployment to Iraq. I'm really glad that I got to fly down there to see him off and help tie up the lose ends w/ the apartment/bills. It was a draining trip (emotionally/physically/mentally). They flew from El Paso to Maine to Germany to their temporary destination before they go on to Iraq. That's really all I'm allowed to say right now b/c of OPSEC (the military's rules on security). I can tell you that they made it to their temporary destination OK and are getting acclimated to the weather. Justin told me it's 142 degrees and you don't really sweat b/c as soon as you do it evaporates off your body. Another girl's hubby said it's like holding a blow dryer in front of your face non-stop. I will no longer complain about the heat in Indiana! Especially b/c the guys are in ACU's along w/ full battle gear (boots, vest, helmet, backpacks, etc...about 75+ extra lbs). I am very proud of my husband and all of his battle buddies for the jobs they are doing! I know he will be gone 12 mos and as of right now he won't be back for the birth, but I'm hoping he'll get to come home after December.

Please keep my husband and all of the soldiers in your prayers for their safe return to the US and the ability to carry out the mission and help the Iraqi people!

Oh my!

I am beyond behind on my blogging! My last one was in May...I'm such a slacker! In my defense I've been working quite a bit and whenever I have a day off I very rarely have nothing to do. I am now 28 wks preggo (which is the first week of my 7th month AND the first week of my 3rd trimester), I have 12 wks to go!! We know that we're having a little boy and we are beyond thrilled because that's what we wanted (although, I would be just as happy with a girl as long as the babe is healthy)! We are naming him Cooper Lee Hise...of course my husband already calls him "Cooper the Pooper, Coop de doop, Coopster, etc). I need to add some pics, but a lot of them are taken with my phone so I'll have to do that later when I have extra time and am not so tired.

June was a busy month! My sister and 3 of my cousins graduated from high school this year so for the month of June we had a party to go to every weekend! Justin also came home for 14 days and we spent that time w/ his mom, dad and my mom. It was busy, but great to see each other after being apart for 2 mos! Justin's mom went absolutely crazy and bought Cooper so many things, like his swing and car seat/stroller. We're very lucky to have her help us with things like that. This is my parents and his mom's first grandchild and his dad's first grandson! Everyone is beyond excited!

I've been experiencing the craziest heartburn/acid reflux, so bad that it will wake me up choking and puking. It's awful! I will lay in bed for 8 or 9 hours and maybe sleep 4. I also started experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions lately....kind of exciting b/c it means my body is getting ready for the BIG day!! I hate to cut the blogging short, but I'm exhausted and ready for bed.

Welcome To Indiana

I know I'm VERY behind on my blogging, but I'm still getting somewhat settled at my Mom's and still waiting for the internet to get hooked up. My Mom doesn't own a computer so we have to go buy a modem and wireless router and then wait for Comcast to come hook us up. They will finally be here to do it on May 31st! I'm looking forward to having the internet for various reasons, but mainly so I can skype with my husband.

I'm back working at Best Buy in Lafayette as a part time customer service associate. I would love to be full time, but I'm waiting for a spot to open up so I can apply for it. Luckily, this store loves me and I'm still getting about 30 hrs/wk as part time...can't beat that! I just wish I could get full time perks as a part time employee, but, it is what it is.

Justin comes home to Indiana in 12 days...OMG I CAN'T WAIT!!! We are going to be quite busy while he's home also. We get to find out the sex of the baby bump on June 9th and then we're going to go ahead and do our registries while he's home so we can pick out baby things together (I'm sure he'll be so thrilled to "shop").  Out of the 14 days he'll be home I only have to work 5 days so we'll get a lot of time together.

Other than working and counting down the days until I see my husband, nothing else too exciting has been going on. Spending time with my close friends and family that I've missed and relaxing. Growing a baby is fun, but tiring!!

Buh-Bye El Paso!

Well, the time has come that I'm leaving El Paso and moving back to Lafayette, IN. My husband will be deploying this summer and we decided it was better for me to head back to IN a little early, get a doctor and get settled. If I wasn't pregnant I would be staying in El Paso until mid-July to see my husband off, but we didn't want to wait too long and risk my getting stuck in El Paso alone. It's just better to be home with family in case (God forbid) something were to happen. Luckily, Justin gets to come to IN for about 3 wks in June for some leave time so we'll get to spend time together before he deploys. And, it just so happens that his leave will fall right around our 20 week appointment so we can find out together what we're having!!
My last day at work was last night and they got me a going away cake that said "Good Luck" on it! I thought that was super nice since my old store didn't do anything like that for me when I left there. I will definitely miss some of the people I worked with, especially the Operations team and the Geek Squad (I work with them more than anyone else). I am excited to head back to my old store in Lafayette though. They just do things differently than the store in El Paso and I like how the old store works better.
There are very few things I'm going to miss about El Paso. I must say, I don't like living here and sadly, I'm pretty sure we'll be coming back here after deployment. I'm going to miss the warm weather. With the exception of this past winter, it rarely gets below 40 degrees in the winter. Umm...besides the weather, I can't say there's much else I'll miss! Haha! I hate the wind and the dust storms that accompany it. I despise the drivers...they are so scary here! I actually found out the other day that El Paso is the #2 rudest city and the #3 smelliest city. I totally believe it! The people are super rude and the customers that come in to Best Buy always smell like onions, peppers or some other smelly food.
I'm looking forward to seeing my friends and family. I know we were just home in December, but it seems like that was a long time ago! I'll be getting back to IN just in time for Easter so I'll get to enjoy some home cooking from my Grandma, an Easter Egg hunt and just hanging out with family. There are so many restaurants I miss too! O'Charley's, Arni's, Moe's, Don Pablo's, Fazoli's, BW3's, Jimmy John's, the list goes on... My Mom flies in to El Paso on Saturday morning and we'll be hitting the road Sunday or Monday. I'm not looking forward to the 24 hour drive, but it will be nice to see Texas in the rear view mirror!

ABC's of Me

I saw this on a couple of blogs and decided to steal it for myself! Besides, my next Dr appt isn't until next Monday and I don't really have anything else to blog about. :)

A. Age: 29 (getting a little close to that 3-0 number, eek!)

B. Bed size: Queen (but we need a King soooo bad)

C. Chore you dislike: Cleaning bathrooms. YUCK!

D. Dogs: We had the BEST dog ever, but sadly we had to put him to sleep after Christmas. RIP Maximo.

E. Essential start to your day: I USED to drink a coke every morning when I woke up, but I've been caffeine free for about 3 months.

F. Favorite color: Green or Black

G. Gold or silver: Silver

H. Height: 5'3"
I. Instruments you play(ed): I played the trumpet for 2 years in middle school.

J. Job title: Retail

K. Kids: 1 on the way!!

L. Live: Right now, Texas, but moving back to Indiana next weekend.
M. Mom’s name: Kelli, Step-Mom Beth, Mothers-in-Law Jeannetta and Tara

N. Nicknames: Britt, Britty, Britter and the Mr calls me all kinds of things. Sugs, Babe, Love

O. Overnight hospital stays: I've never had an overnight stay as a patient.

P. Pet peeves: I probably have too many to name!

Q. Quote from a movie: I don't have a specific movie quote. I don't usually watch movies over and over again.

R. Righty or lefty: Right

S. Siblings: Sister: Anna Marie Sisters-in-Law: Brooke and Sharon

T. Time you wake up: Depends on what my work schedule is. If I open, 8am, if I close, 10am, if it's my day off, whenever I want!

U. Underwear: Yes, I wear them!

V. Vegetables you don’t like: Mushrooms, beans, radishes

W. What makes you run late: facebook, the snooze button, DVR

X. X-rays you’ve had: teeth, chest, foot, knee
.
Y. Yummy food you make: Chicken with Crap On It, Tater Tot Casserole, Green Bean Casserole

Z. Zoo animal favorites: monkeys, flamingos, polar bears...actually I love all zoo animals!!

Dear Baby H

Today I am 11 wks, 2days pregnant! I'm almost to my 2nd trimester and really looking forward to it! They say in your 2nd trimester a lot of the nausea goes away and you get a burst of energy...bring it on! I had my first Dr appointment on February 16th and I was 5 wks along. The Dr said I was super early, but I did get to see the cardiac flicker on the ultra sound and Dr said everything looked good! Unfortunately, Daddy couldn't come to this appointment because he was in the field training. But I did send him a picture of the ultra sound!

5 wks, about 4 mm long (the size of pencil lead)

I had another appointment the following week on Feb 24, and Daddy was able to come to this appointment. I measured close to 7 wks at this appointment and baby doubled in size! Once again, we could see the cardiac flicker, but you still looked like a bean! I started to get very nauseous around this time and it seemed to hit in the afternoons and evenings. The Dr prescribed some anti-nausea pills for relief, but they didn't really work much. I also started experiencing some issues while brushing my teeth...basically the issue is, whenever I brush my teeth I throw up. This makes for a long cycle of brushing, getting sick, relaxing/calming myself and attempting to brush again. I'll be glad when this stage is over!

6 wks, close to 7 wks

I had about a 3-4 wk break between appointments and got to experience the exhaustion and aches and pains that women experience during their 1st trimester. There's a really awkward phase where nothing sounds good to eat, but you want to eat something. OR, something sounds so good to eat, but once it was time to eat, it made me nauseous. Daddy has never been more frustrated with me! My next appointment was on March 21 and Daddy was able to come to this appointment also! Nothing exciting happened at this appointment, just a fun ultra sound. The Dr tried to hear the heartbeat with the Doppler, but you were not cooperating! When he did the ultrasound we could see your little arms and legs moving like crazy! It was the coolest thing to see!! I think the pregnancy became "real" to Daddy at this point! The Dr said everything looks good and that you are pretty active and he's happy with that. We got 2 different pictures from the ultrasound, 1 is a face picture and 1 is a profile. After showing Daddy your face he thought you looked like an alien and wanted to keep that picture with him to show the guys at work!

11 wks, face picture (kinda looks like an alien head!)

11 wks, profile picture

I go back for my next appointment on April 11, I will be 14 wks along. The Dr said he's going to get all the measurements of your head and (finally) give me a due date! It would be absolutely amazing if we could see if you're a boy or a girl, so please cooperate! My best friend, Molly, said she thought you were a boy from the minute I told her I was pregnant. Aunt Janet and Aunt Brooke both think you're a boy and Grandma T has already started a baby blanket in boy colors! I've been having some feelings leaning towards a boy, but I can't say for sure how strong my feelings are. Daddy definitely wants a boy! If you're a boy, we already have a name picked out, if you're a girl, it's going to be a long debate. We can't decide on ANY girl names! So, I guess I'll be seeing you in 3 wks!!