Pregnant at Campmeeting

Being pregnant at Campmeeting was not as bad as I thought it would be. I wasn't too worried about it being hot, since I am cold-natured and haven't gotten the prego heat flashes yet. But it was unusually cool this year...I was even wishing I had my trusted heater for the bathroom one morning. I would say the worst part was the bed size. Me plus 7 pillows and Josh just dont fit in a bed smaller than a king. I did win the "Happy Camper" award (first person to cry) though! I had voted that Scott would get it but it was me because as Zach said "you with your crazy hormones". Gotta love 'em! Until next year-my 30th campmeeting and Caleb's first!

Just add Ashley

Uncle Z

Grandma with her 8 grandkids, 3 greatgrand kids(Caleb counts!)

Last Campmeeting without having to chase around a baby!

Backporch

3-4 generations(however you want to look at it!)

Shower of Blessings

Susan Newton threw us a great baby shower down in Georgia. Here are a few pics! When I can figure out how to get pictures from shutterfly to my computer, I will post more. Susan took a bunch of cute pics. Thanks to everyone who was there and showered us with love and laughter!

Beautiful setup of the loot and refreshments!

One of the hilarious games we played. A lot harder than it looks, you have to pick out small safety pins from a bowl of rice. It takes lots of concentration and causes a lot of laughs! Go Nana!

God Bless Baby Caleb!

Family at the shower in front of the Caleb decoration.

My best friend, Jenn

Doctor Update

I had a 24 week appointment today. I have had a slow weight gain until now, so I think I was hoping for more of the same. I had only gained 4lbs at the 20 week appointment(the books say to gain 10-14lbs by then), so I was thinking 4 more from the 20-24 weeks. I got on the scale and the nurse quickly moved the bar over to 150...I think NOT. We started laughing...my eyes got really big and I said "a little confident on that weight, huh"(she did move it lower after that!!), she said she wished she had a video camera because of my facial expressions. I am fine on my overall weight gain, because I was so slow at the beginning, but I definitely can't keep up this last months gains. Blood pressure check was great. Then Dr. Richardson listened to Karl's heartrate, perfect, of course! This was the first time that I got to hear his heartbeat increase with movement(that I could feel). That is a great sign of health. She then measured my tummy...ummm...well...about that. He is measuring big now, so they have scheduled a ultrasound (August 3rd) to make sure everything is well with his growth and fluid level. I was having a lot of heart palpitations, around my last visit, so they check my thyroid level. Everything was fine with that too. They had me see a cardiologist just to make sure nothing serious was happening. Things have seemed to slow down in the palpitation area now. Not sure if they are happening less or if I just don't notice them as much. Reguardless, everything is normal.

Please keep us in your prayers:
1. For Karl's size/growth and fluid level would be normal
2. Peace for us about Karl's health and wellbeing

Who is Fred and why are you calling the baby Karl?

When Leigh Anne's mom was pregnant with her, she didn't know if she was a girl or a boy. So for the entire pregnancy they called her Fred. It was never meant to be a real name choice just a funny nickname. Deb even made a journal for Fred. The entries usually started with Dear Fred and ended with love, Mom. I am not even sure if Scott knew about this but when he got to our house, he rubbed my belly and said "Karl....with a K". So there you have it... our own little baby nickname...Karl. So if you see or hear someone refer to our little guy as Karl, please know its not even on the name list of possibilities.

Dear Karl,
I enjoy feeling you move around. Keep it up! But please stop the infamous Lung Crush. It hurts me! Can't wait to see you in the fall! I love you. Congrats on today by the way...we reached the point of VIABILITY! WOOHOO!!!

Love,
Mommy Fred

Little Guy's moves

How many things can a baby possibly do inside there? Here is a list of some of his moves:

1. The Head bang: down low, usually on the right, he wiggles his head around.

2. Knuckles: As seen on our ultrasound, he likes to put his fists up by this head and then punch.

3. The Rumble: Who knows how he does this one, by far the funniest of his moves, my whole belly shakes and you cant tell exactly what is moving.

4. Kicks: Little feet kicking up towards my ribs, this is the only one you can actually feel a body part through my tummy.

5. The Lean: He will lean to my right and just push out with his whole body.

6. The Lung crush: Who knows about this one either, but he does something and it definitely effects my breathing until he settles back down in his usual location. I am not a fan of this one.

The Nursery-Part 2

We ordered our crib and dresser a couple of weeks ago from Babies'R'us. And they finally came in! Since we don't have a truck to get it home in (and are too cheap to pay for delivery), we rented a truck from Home Depot for one hour to get little guy's furniture home. Jason R. met us at our house to help get them unloaded and up in the nursery. The crib had to be assembled so it was in a smaller skinnier box that only weighed about 70lbs. The dresser, however, came pre-assembled and weighed more like 1 million lbs! Yes, Josh and Jason are really strong! Josh did such a great job putting the crib together not one scratch or dent! And he did it with a smile! What a great daddy already! He did say "Little guy, you better be worth it"!

The finished products:

The view from the hallway.
We were walking up the stairs and LA said:
"This is crazy, this really makes it seem real, as if my big gut doesnt!"

23 weeks

"I'm not the one with a kid in my pocket!" -Josh