HALF WAY THERE!!!

It is hard to imagine, but today marks my halfway point. I am 20wks pregnant and wow, did that fly by! I can remember around 6wks reading my "What to expect when you're expecting" book and thinking how far away 20 weeks seemed. That would be the time when we could find out what we would be having, the time that I could start noticing the baby moving, and most importantly, the unbelievable sickness that I was experiencing should be gone by that point. Can I getta AMEN?! Well, that time has come at lightening speed. We are thrilled about having a little girl, I have officially now started feeling little Bexleigh a little bit each day, and YES, the awful morning/noon/night sickness has gone to pester some other preggo. Now, if I could just get this mucus factory & sinus garbage under wraps I'd be in tip top shape. Fat chance, preggo!

What's up next: The Nursery. I spent this week looking at a million websites trying to find the most perfect room ideas for Lil B. There were so many really cool Black, Pink & White themed rooms that I really loved because they were so chic. I thought I had it all figured out until it got shot down by Daddy. His input is important to me, so I went back to the drawing board. I've decided that I'm going to find bedding that we both agree on first, and then let the rest fall into place. At this point, I am pretty sure we found the nursery furniture that we both like. Sheesh, I thought this was going to be a piece of cake! ;)

I must admit, although I have been REALLY good about shopping, I did indulge a little yesterday. I mean, come on people...I got a 30% -er on my Kohl's magazine, which is pretty much amazing so I couldn't resist. Lil B should arrive in the Fall-almost-Winter time, so of course the stores don't really have that stuff out yet. Here's a lil sneak peek of what I've bought so far...

And this is what her Great Grandma Sandi bought her....

SOOOO fun! I can't wait to get more!!!

I feel like the bump is starting to be a little more pronounced this weekend. Bexleigh is about the size of a Banana and should be hanging out somewhere right behind my belly button. She's right around 10 1/2 ounces and measures at about 10 inches from head to heal. I am at a total weight gain of 13 lbs, and still have no signs of any swelling, stretch marks (Can I getta nutha AMEN!) or those spider veins thus far. Let's hope that continues! I've been using my Burt's Bees Belly Butter by the gallon. Feel free to send me some in the mail-love you lots if you do. That stuff is like gold to me! My appetite is still going strong and I don't think I have any new cravings. Although, I did see a commercial for doughnuts this week and HAD to have a cream stick immediately. Love you Mom! Other than that, it's still pretty much the same as last week; egg salad sandwiches from Dagwood's, corn on the cob, & popcorn. Oh, and my new favorite tasty treat: Kit Kat's. MMMMMM.

Well, it's time for this girl to head to bed so that I can get up 342 times to pee through the night. No, really, it's fun. You should try it sometime. I love going to church with HUGE bags under my eyes. Sweet dreams and here's a 20wk picture of my Lovely Lady Lump. Night!

Baby Bexleigh's Gender Announcement Party!!

What an exciting day we had this past Saturday. We had our "Baby Gender Announcement Party." The day started with getting the food prepared(Thanks Nat!) and putting the finishing touches on the backyard (Thanks so much Mom & Bobby!) We were preparing to have mini hamburgers and mini "babies in a blanket" along with potato salad, the famous Bobby's baked beans, and chips & dip. Oh, and let's not forget about my latest obsession...popcorn.

All the guests started arriving around noon and right from the start people were trying to get Brian and I to slip up with the baby's sex. It was already hard enough that we had to hold it in for a day! After we made sure everyone had arrived, we dove right into the food. You don't have to tell a pregnant woman twice to start eating! Everything tasted sooooo good and was just the way I had hoped it would turn out.

After everyone finished up their plates and conversations, we decided it was time to play "the game." Brian and I had put together a list of questions about our childhood and our family had to try to get them correct. Each family member that answered correctly got to pick a combination code from a cup & try to see if it would unlock the box that was holding our "it's a girl" ultrasound picture inside. Our cousin Kelly got the first correct answer and after trying her code...no luck. My Mom and Dad both had the next answer correct, so we decided to give them both a shot at the box. The question was What was my first pet's name? Mom: Boots! (Boots was my family's dog they had before I was born.) Me: Yes, Mom, but what was MY first pet's name? Dad: Beatlebomb! You had 3 rabbits all named Beatlebomb! My Dad went first since he "technically" got the answer correct :) It was a trick question. My Dad tried his code, and also had no luck. Now it was Mom's turn. She tried her code and voila! It opened! She pulled the picture out and....."IT'S A GIRL!!!!!" Everyone was excited and it was fun to see who guessed right. Now that the news was out, I went in and grabbed dessert... Hot pink sprinkled cupcakes..mmmmm.

The day was really fun with our family members. We had several unable to attend and we wished they could have joined in the fun. We get to go back July 6th for our next appointment and another ultrasound. Very much looking forward to seeing Bexleigh again!!

I'm currently 19wks 4days and still feeling good. I'm feeling little Bexleigh every once in a while, especially after I drink orange juice or eat apples. She is not a big fan of Doritos (dangit!) or The Yard (double dangit! ) I'm still waiting to feel her more regularly. Monday I was sneezing my head off and cursing my allergies. I woke up yesterday morning with a very sore throat. Today, full blown swollen glands and throat-on-fire! I broke down and called the Doc this morning and patiently waiting the plan to put out this fire. I'm not feeling too miserable other than the sore throat and swollen glands. There is no need for me to be dramatic about this one, which is why I'm nipping it in the butt before it takes off into a sinus infection gone bad. First up after baby comes... TONSILS OUT IMMEDIATELY IF NOT SOONER! On to Brian...he is being so great as a Dad-to-be. He loves rubbing my Buddha belly and he kisses her goodnight and good morning every day. We've been looking at different nursery theme ideas and are hoping to get started on her room in next month or so. Very fun stuff ahead!

I'm getting excited for a trip coming up. My Mom and I are heading to California at the end of this month to attend my best friend Holly's bridal shower and to help her and her Mom plan for her big day! It will be a nice girly getaway with fabulous people that I miss so much! Can't wait!!!

Well that's about all for today. The Doc just called me in some amoxicilin again, so I'm off to get that in my system. Happy Wednesday people.

Jenn :)

It's A......... GIRL

What an amazing day yesterday was for us. I started my day teaching Zumba, hoping to shake PSK up real good so she would cooperate for the ultrasound lady. It seemed to work! After getting ready, Brian and I headed up to Canton to do breakfast and drink 16oz of water and hold it for an hour and a half....that didn't go over so well. I used to have a bladder of steel, but not so much anymore. I tried my hardest to just suck it up and hold it in until my appointment, but when we arrived to the place, I couldn't not even stand up straight and we were 20 minutes early. Great. As I checked myself in, the receptionist noticed my discomfort and said I could "let out" a little bit, as I was obviously too full. Now, I kinda laughed when she said only let out a little bit. I'm thinking how is that possible when you have just filled yourself with loads of water, giving baby less room to move, causing her to do the 1, 2 shuffle on your bladder. Plus, we've all had to "go" really really bad before and the thought of stopping mid stream is just plain cruel. Well, anyways, I did it and the ultrasound lady came to my rescue as soon as I sat back down in the lobby. To the big room we went! I walked in, the lights were dim, I was waiting for the nice calming massage music to start playing. I hopped up on the table and Squirplshhh... warm ultrasound gooey was all over my tummy. She got started immediately. And there IT was...our baby acrobat...upside down on her head. It was the cutest sight I had ever seen. We saw the spine, heart beating, stomach, kidneys, feet, hands, and umbilical cord right away. I was getting nervous because the lady said baby was being stubborn, which instantly made me think she couldn't "tell" what the baby was. Great, now this Announcement party I had planned was going to get postponed. Baby and I even had a talk to beg her to cooperate. After more trying to get baby to get off her head, she asked me to go drain my bladder to see if that would help give baby more room to quit doing headstands. I couldn't have been more excited to pee in my life. When I came back in the room and hopped back up on the table, I was questioning her ability to see anything. She assured me that seeing the sex was not the problem, she knew exactly what we were having. I freaked out :) TELL US ALREADY THEN?!? She put the tool back on the tummy, squished around a bit, and zeroed in right on the "parts" section. She noted two little white sections between the legs, and I was certain she was going to announce " these are the testes." Nope! She said...it's a GIRL! Those are her "girl parts!" I cried of course, and looked at Brian and he was smiling ear to ear. It was the most wonderful thing I have ever heard. I would have been ecstatic either way, but I had a gut feeling it was a girl, so to find out I was right was awesome. Now, when she said baby was being stubborn, she was referring to not being able to get a few of the measurements she needed, so oh darn, we have to go back for another look at baby girl next month :) Everything that she was able to get looks right on target and healthy. We are still 19wks along according to ultrasound and baby looks great. She waved to us and gave us a good yawn. It was so cute. The lady said she has long legs (from daddy) and she has the cutest little button nose. We can't wait to go back and see her again when she's a little bit bigger and hopefully less stubborn!

After our appointment we went to Chipotle, of course, for some lunch and boy did that get baby girl moving! I should have eaten that BEFORE the appointment. duh We then headed to Baby's R Us for PSK's first outfit. I have been holding out for this moment, because I just didn't want to buy anything neutral. We picked out the cutest little outfit that she can hopefully wear when she makes her debut into the world. Now, let the shopping begin...lookout stores ;)

We are even more excited now that it's more real and we can call our baby by her name. Her name is Bexleigh Anniston Klopfer. She is going to be so spoiled and I can't wait to put pigtails in her hair :)

Here is my 19wk picture with Bexleigh's rump-in-the-ayer picture.

Happy Saturday everyone! I'm off to our Baby Announcement Party!!! After that, I shall post this blog entry :)

Jenn

PINK or BLUE?!?

That is the question of the week! It is almost Friday, the day we get to HOPEFULLY find out what PSK really is. I absolutely cannot wait--this is the most anxious I think I have ever been in my life! I can't believe the time to find out is almost here. Being pregnant makes time absolutely FLY by. If you're not paying attention, you will totally miss it.

What's been going on lately...let's see here. I am now done with this past dance school year. We had our recital on Thursday and Friday and it was a huge success and such a great time. Our performance company did their rendition of "Aladdin" and it is by far my favorite show they have put on thus far. The kids are so talented it was so much fun to watch!

As for in the belly, I finally felt PSK move yesterday while I was getting a much needed massage. It was exactly how the books described it--like little popcorn popping! Such a cool, and strange feeling. I hope it continues to get more clear so I know exactly what's going on in there. I'm still NOT sleeping well at all, which scares me because what does that mean my sleep will be when I'm huge and swollen? Fantastic.

I'm 18wks 3 days and still feeling awesome. I'm teaching Zumba 2 days a week through the summer (hopefully PSK lets me get through the summer!) and working at the office a few days a week. My days off will likely be spent at the pool working on my "Trophy Wife" status. You heard me.

I'm so nervous for this ultrasound because then 'it' will be SO REAL! We have names picked out and will come as soon as we find out the sex. So far, I have had 2 girl dreams and as of last night, 1 boy dream. Hmmm what will it be!?! Is it Friday yet?!?

PSK- in a few days I will be able to start calling you by your name- very exciting! Keep growing in there and we are so excited to see what you look like on the screen this Friday and hopefully get our first of many pictures of you. We love you so much and PLEASE don't be shy for your big debut!!!

Brian & Jenn :)

Recital time

Well Hello!





This post is not really baby related, but I know that I've got some cranky readers who say I'm not blogging fast enough ;) double winks! I am posting this only because I will have no life for the rest of this entire week due to our big, end of the year Recital taking place this Thursday and Friday, day off on Saturday, and then finishing up the year with a Summer Showcase performance of our production of "Aladdin" on Sunday. Wheww! I'm writing this in between mixing music and super gluing props & costumes....that's right... I don't sew anything! Get the picture!? :)


After the show, I will be able to post more regularly. Plus some cool stuff is about to happen inside Casa de womb so stay tuned.





I'm 17wks 4days and still having days where I feel & look 7 months pregnant, and then some days where I have no idea where that baby snuck off too?!? It's so crazy! I'm still getting the "OMG you're 4 months, I can't even tell you're pregnant!" Really? Let me show you my bubble butt and watch me try to fit in my skinny jeans and then tell me you don't think I look pregnant! Oh, and tee shirts that I thought surrrrely should still fit...well they don't.




We only have to wait 8 more days until we can HOPEFULLY find out what PSK is :) I'm sooooo ready for this! Early Tuesday morning, I got back in bed from a potty break and as I laid there, I thought I felt something. I'm not sure if it was the baby or not, but it was like little faint bubbles that lasted only a second. I stayed really still hoping to feel it again, but I didn't. bummer. Hopefully soon PSK will let me know she's really in there :)

Ok off to attack the rest of this craaazy week! Good luck to all my Backstage Studio Kids!!!


Jenn

SPA DAY!!!!

W.O.W. Yesterday was very awesome for a few reasons.

#1- I turned "Sweet" 16wks on May 16th (kind of a coinkeedink) and realized that I've almost been pregnant for 100 days. I am SHOCKED at how fast things are moving right along. We learned that lil Poppy Seed is now the size of an Avocado according to babycenter.com and that lil PSK is growing toenails, sucking her thumb, and growing like a weed! So fun!! I haven't been able to feel any movement yet, but should be able to anytime now. I just hope I know what it is when it happens!! I am at +9lbs and finally over the morning/all day/omg my insides are gonna come out sickness spell and have regained my energy back-whoo hoo!

Our lil Avocado

#2 My mom, when we first found out we were expecting, got us the most marvelous gift....a morning at the spa! Now that I have been feeling great I thought it was definitely time for us to use it! Brian and I started the morning off with breakfast at Panera, and then headed to the spa. We started the morning out with a massage, followed by pedicures, and then manicures. It was absolutely perfect. I didn't know how much I needed to be pampered!!! We're gonna have to keep those massages coming! After our pamper session, we headed to Best Buy and purchased a new video camera so we can start capturing some of the fun stuff we have coming up. It's very slick, tiny, and easy to use. We have a little something special planned for the announcement of the baby's gender, so we will post the video when the time comes! Once we finished up at Best Buy, we headed straight to CHIPOTLE!!!!! Baby looooves Chipotle. It was delish as usual and had accomplished all that we wanted to do that morning and so we headed for home.

#3 My cousin, Nikki, had prom yesterday and every year since she and her sister have been in High School, I've always helped them get ready. It's something I always look forward to--they are both like little sisters to me. She looked absolutely stunning! I only have one more year left to help her and then she'll be off to college, like her big sis, Natalie. That means I'll officially feel OLD as DIRT! :(

There it is...every reason why yesterday was a great day. I'm looking forward to more fun events coming our way!!! Most of all, I'm really looking forward to a nice relaxing summer.

PSK- keep growing in there lil peanut, feel free to let Mommy know you are really in there anytime now. It took me 2 times to figure it out, but I know now that you do not like when I eat at The Yard, so I promise I will stop for the next 5 months. We love you whole bunches and can't wait to find out if you like pink or blue!!!

Happy Sunday fellow readers. Enjoy your week!

Jenn

Happy Mother's Day!

Me and my Beautiful Mother :)

Happy Mother's Day to all the fabulous Moms and Mom's-to-be out there!

Today was really special for many reasons. Of course, I got to spend most of the day with my Mom- who has taught me many things throughout my life, and all that I am and have become, I owe to her. I love you, Mom!

Every year, my cousins and I have a cookout for our Moms & Grandma. Usually we do ALL the cooking, preparing, etc. However, this year was slightly different. When my husband went out to fire up our grill, we noticed that we had some tenants that had just moved in. That's right, a family of mice were now the proud home-owners of a Weber 2 story, all steel house, er..grill. Not only did Mr. & Mrs. Mouse move into our grill...but they TOTALLY SHACKED UP in our grill! I was told that there were 3 brand new, still pink, baby mice that seemed to be just born, right there in the grill. Not my idea of a BBQ, people. Luckily, my mom's boyfriend saved the day. He and my uncle went to his house and cooked our chicken breasts on his mouse-free grill. And Mother's Day cookout was now back on. Phewwww! We had a very nice meal followed by some homemade peanut butter cup cookies and fresh fruit for dessert! Poppy Seed's Uncle Billy stopped by for some cookies and fruit before heading back to Columbus, which was also a nice treat! After dinner, we had an intense game of Catch Phrase that lasted for 3 hours. We don't mess around, people. What a very interesting, and fun day this was. It's so hard to imagine that I will get to celebrate next Mother's Day with our precious little angel....whatever HE or SHE may be! :)

Another reason today was so special, was because Brian and I got to remember his mother, Patty. She was an amazing mother to her boys and she was very, very special to me. I know she is smiling down on us from Heaven and I know she would have been the greatest Mother-in-law I could have ever dreamed of having. I cannot wait to tell our child/children how much of a beautiful person she was and hopefully continue on many of the wonderful Motherly gifts that she was able to share with her boys. We love you and miss you dearly, Patty.

As far as our lil PSK goes, we had a doctors appointment this past Friday and we got to hear the heartbeat again and the nurse said that everything seems to be going well and we got to schedule our NEXT appointment!!! We go in 4 weeks to *hopefully* find out the sex of our precious little baby. I'm going to have a lil talk with PSK to make sure she cooperates since our lovely insurance does not cover any ultrasounds :) It's way worth it though!! Will keep you posted fellow readers. Stay tuned...

This is my final month of teaching dance and our recital is just 3 weeks away! I can't believe how fast this year went! My kids have made me so proud to be their teacher and I'm excited to see them up on the big stage working it out! I may be a little biased, but we have some really talented kids! It's going to be a great show! After recital, I should be able to start updating this blog a bit faster ;)

Well Poppy Seed, as much as I don't want to rush things, I'm very much looking forward to being able to call you by your proper sex, and then soon by your name! Keep baking in there little one...your Daddy and I love you so much already!

Brian and Me

Me, My Mom, Grandma, Cousin, Aunt, Cousin