We have a NAME!!!

That's right our little cup cake's name will be Emrie Kay! Brian and I had narrowed it down to three names so instead of arm wrestling over them we let Aiden pick. Our top three were Olivia, Layla and Emery. Aiden liked Emery the best. We ended up changing the spelling a little to make it more feminine but that's it - Emrie Kay. Kay is my mom's middle name and it sounded so sweet Emrie.

My apologies to Chris Austin who really wanted us to name her Christina Austin. Maybe next time.

The nursery is still a work in progress : )

The best thing about being pregnant...

Well, maybe not the absolute best thing because that would of course be the BABY but the second best thing...PIE!!! That's right, PIE!!! I now have an excuse to eat it anytime I want. It's fabulous!

I had my 34 week check up this week and everything came back right on target. I've gained a total of 26lbs which Dr. Appelton says is just fine. She had a look at my fluffy feet and hands and said that part of the 26 is definitely water weight...probably should have told her about the pie, huh?

Early on in my second trimester all I wanted was a chocolate shake EVERY DAY. Now it's pie. And guess what...Must Be Heaven is just around the corner from the radio station. What can I say? Somethings are just meant to be.

SWIM DAY!!!

Yesterday I woke up feeling kind of yucky. Saturday had been pretty exhausting...my feet were swollen, my tummy ached and I was flat out tired. Brian had to work so it was just me and Aiden for the day. He woke up shortly after I did and in his typical sleepy, morning voice he asked "What are we going to do fun today?" To which I responded with a cranky, "I don't know. I'm not feeling well so it may be just the two of us hanging out at the house." That's when he said "What about church? We have to go to church." God bless this little 8 year old. He was right we did need to go to church...so we did and I'm so glad. The late service was the children's musical which featured several of Aiden's friends. He was so excited to see them singing and dancing - not excited enough to sing and dance with them but excited none the less.

After church I was still tired but feeling much better. We had a quick lunch and then it was back up to church for a Vacation Bible School Meeting and then off to the radio station for a few hours. Aiden went with me everywhere without a single complaint. So, as his reward, we spent a couple of hours at the pool that evening. We played games and splashed around for a while before he decided he wanted to practice floating on his back. So we practiced. He floated and I pushed him around the pool. Next it was my turn!!! Aiden was insistent that I give it a try. FYI - floating on your back without part of you sinking at 7+ months pregnant is not easy but I tried and with some help from Aiden I made it all the way across the pool.

The pool is shallow on both ends and deeper in the middle. In the picture above Aiden could barely touch the bottom but he kept on going. All you can see is my tummy sticking out of the water and his little goggles peaking over the top of it. He just makes me smile!

Big Bad Brenham Baby Shower

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

My wonderful aunts Irene, Latrell and Doris and family friends Karen, Carol and Kerri hosted the sweetest baby shower for me yesterday morning in Brenham. It was great to be home in Brenham and have the time to chat with so many loving people. There were high school friends, friends from KWHI and Blinn College and lots of family! And the generosity was overwhelming.

The most fun part was when everyone introduced themselves and gave their best baby advice OR told their favorite Brandie story (that could be told in front of my mom and mother-in-law). It was priceless! So much great advice and so many funny stories...THANK YOU ALL!!!

Thank you God for surrounding me and my family with such wonderful people.

Hmmm...we may have a problem.

Hmmm...we may have a problem...her name is JUDY!

My mom came over the other night to help me get some stuff put up in the baby's room. I found some really cool hot pink drawer pulls for the turquoise dresser. They really make it look cute! While we were attaching them to the dresser Judy was busy looking in the baby bed. My mom was really concerned and commented that we may have a real problem on our hands. I just waved her off and said "it's not like she can actually get all the way up and in the baby bed." So just then, as if in response to my comment (and to make a liar out of me), Judy bounced right into the baby bed!

Brian's suggestion: chicken wire over the top of the baby bed! What a goof!

Eli Young Band...

One of my all time favorite songs in the whole wide world is "When It Rains" by the Eli Young Band. Odd enough my other favorite song in the whole wide world is "Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves. No I'm not bi-polar!

Where am I going with this? Wednesday night Eli Young Band was at Hurricane Harry's. I haven't missed one of their shows in College Station in 4 years until this last concert. My sweet little baby is zapping my energy so there was no way I would have been able to stay up late enough to catch the show not to mention it's probably a little inappropriate for a 7mth pregnant woman to get up on stage to introduce the band : ) Anyhoo, one of my friends went to the show and had the chance to go backstage and meet the band. She told Mike Eli that I was pregnant and had to miss the show. She even showed him a picture of my "mountain of love" she had on her phone. He laughed and said to tell me congratulations...

Well, the next morning he, Mike Eli, texted me himself to say congratulations!!! He said he would have done it the night before but he figured 11pm might be too late. Good call, Mike! And thanks!

Eli Young Band will definitely be my baby's very first concert!

How I Spent Mother's Day Weekend

Starting Wednesday of last week I had been having the worst acid reflux ever. It seemed like no matter what I ate or didn't eat it was always there. By Friday, I was pretty miserable and put in a call to Dr Appelton. Her nurse recommended the standard Tums/Rolaid/Mylanta/Zantac etc. I made my list with the intention of heading to the drug store on my way home BUT that didn't happen. By 5pm I was throwing up and ended up going home a little early. Luckily my wonderful husband made the drug store run for me so I was set or so I thought. Over the course of the rest of the evening and all night I got steadily worse. I was throwing up a lot and having the worst pains in my stomach. It hurt to lay down, sit up or stand up - I just couldn't get comfortable. I thought maybe I was having contractions...never had them before so I had no idea.

I held off til about 10am Saturday morning and then I just couldnt take it anymore. I was sick and honestly kind of scared. Brian had gone to work leaving me and Aiden at home. So, not only did I have to figure out how I was going to get to the doctor I wasnt sure what I was going to do with Aiden. As luck would have it, our great friend Rowdy Cooper was at the radio station and volunteered to keep an eye on Aiden for me while I ran up to the hospital. That's right - hospital. My doctor said I could go to urgent care but she'd prefer I go to Labor and Delivery so they could monitor the baby just in case. So...I did.

After a couple of hours it was determined that I had a nasty virus, low grade fever and was dyhydrated. The great news is that all was well with the baby. I ended up getting an IV and then heading home. When I got home I found Rowdy Cooper sound asleep on the couch and Aiden watching a movie. As it turns out Rowdy had been throwing up too - one of the downfalls of all using the same microphones at the radio station. YUCK!!!

I spent the rest of Saturday and all day Sunday on the couch. I'm feeling much, much better now.

As a side note: I got in trouble with Brian, my mom and my mother-in-law for not telling anybody I was going to the hospital until it was over. Sorry! I promise I'll call them on my way to have her : )

Baby Glamore Shots

Yesterday, I had a 4D ultrasound or as I like to call it my baby glamore shots! The two pictures above are my favorites. The first picture kind of looks like a baby face in the clouds - see it? And then in the second picture she has her hand on her head and her tongue sticking out! I love it! The whole time we were trying to get pictures she kept turning her head. We got a lot of profile pictures because of my weird placenta - it sits right on top of her so she had to turn her head just right so that the tech could get a picture of her whole face.

Think back all you 80's people...I think she kind of looks like the stay puff marshmellow man from Ghostbusters!

I can't wait to finally meet her in person!

Dont get me wrong - I totally feel pregnant but seeing her wiggle around yesterday and stick her tongue out just made her so much more real. Thank you Dr. Allon for making our baby dreams come true.

Almost 30 Week Check Up

Last week I had my (almost) 30 week check up. My appointment was Wednesday and I was officially 30 weeks on Friday. Dr. Appelton said everything looked great. Blood pressure - perfect, baby's heartbeat - perfect, measurements of my tummy - perfect...AND I had only gained 2 pounds since my last visit a month ago! That's the part that really amazes me because I feel really fluffy! I've included a picture as proof of my fluffiness.