37 weeks, 5 days...

I feel like we are at a stand still. I went to the doctor yesterday for my weekly check up and it was pretty uneventful. I had gained 2 pounds, ugh, but my urine and blood pressure were both good. Upon examination, Dr. Crum informed me that my cervix had thinned some but that I had not starting dilating. I am incredibly torn because I would love for baby Zoey to come on and make her appearance, but at the same time, I want to be moved before she comes. I am hoping that we will be moving by next week if we can get a closing date. I am very ready to move and so is Nathan. I think even Toby is getting excited...well as excited as a dog can get, but we keep telling him that he is going to have a yard at his new house and his tail wags, haha.

I decided a few days ago that I have reached the "miserable" stage of pregnancy that all women warn you about. I am so tired that I can't even remember how I slept last night. It varies from night to night as to whether I get up 8 times to pee or 2 times. Then I have a problem with falling back to sleep once I pee and make it back to bed. Then I have the problem of the old noodle wanting to run constantly. I am not one to over think things, but pregnancy changes a person I suppose. That's all I do is think about things, worry myself to death. I'm hoping that this is another one of those crazy hormonal things that will go away once Zoey arrives along with the incredible urge to cry if anyone even looks like they might be mad at me. I cry over everything. I am seriously a basket case right now. I do now see the light at the end of the tunnel since I am only a little over 2 weeks from my due date which is super exciting, I am ready to meet my baby girl! Nathan and I went to the hospital Monday to check out the labor and delivery rooms. My aunt is a nurse and still has friends there so we got a nice tour and had everything explained to us, which was really nice. We got to see a room that I will be laboring, the area where cesarean sections are performed, the nursery (with no babies at all in it), and the post-partum rooms where you stay after you have your little one. I also had a lot of questions answered about topics from breast feeding (which I plan on doing) and Nathan's number one question, "where do I need to bring her when she tells me it's time" haha, he's so cute.

Hopefully everyone had a happy hump day! Mine was loud and tiring...we are undergoing construction at my office and it was VERY loud today! Other than that, my day was pretty good. I am beginning to feel old though because it is now 7:35 p.m. and I am debating on taking a shower and going to bed. What's sad is that my parents are currently at the expo center watching Journey (in for a late night I'm sure) and I am at home debating on bed. Ohh well, I have Nathan and Toby here with me along with the random movements of Zoey to keep me company when I hit the hay in a few. I hope everyone has a great Thursday tomorrow!

Packing up all our worldly belongings....

Today has been dedicated to sleeping and packing. I slept until about 1 after getting up at least half a dozen or more times last night to relieve my bladder. After waking I decided that things needed to get packed. Mom and I have been working on it along with Nathan and the living room, Zoey's room and most of our room is pretty well packed up. Hopefully we can get a closing date a this coming week and be able to move ASAP because I am not liking living in a war zone...see below.

Yeah, this is what our apartment is looking like right now. As much as I really want to meet baby Zoey...I really hope she holds off until we can get moved in to the new house. I did get a bag packed for her in the process although I still haven't packed mine and Nathan's bag. Maybe tomorrow that will be accomplished. We are definitely at the end of the pregnancy and I mentioned to Nathan that this would be one of our last weekends alone before Zoey arrives. One of the last times that we would have to sleep in for a LONG time. Sounds ominous, but very exciting to me : )

A Day to Remember

I wanted to write a post dedicated to those who have and are serving our country. 8 years ago today our country was scared and confused about what the future held. Many things, good and bad have taken place since that time which have taken over the true meaning of what today should mean to people. We should use this day to remember those who have lived and died for this great country we live in and not dwell on past mistakes. I would love to think that my little girl will be growing up in a country where hate is not more prevalent than love, but as of right now this is not a reality. Whether you are democrat or republican, you should support your country and your president. Stand behind your president and even if you don't agree with everything he is doing. I won't go on any more about this, but I just wanted to say, thank a soldier or a veteran for your life, they are currently fighting or have fought to protect it.

37 weeks and a neglectful blogger.

Wow, I have not written an entry in entirely too long and I am hoping that now that the time is drawing nearer for little Zoey's arrival, I will do better with keeping up. I am now 37 weeks and ready to meet her! There are a lot of things going on in our life right now and we are very excited about all of them. Baby Zoey could come any day, we are in the process of buying a new home (hopefully closing next week) and Nathan started a new job a few weeks ago which places him closer to home which is going fairly well. All exciting things, but it seems like things are all happening at once! Hopefully we can get fairly settled in our new home before Zoey arrives that way we can enjoy time with her and not worry about the house.

We have been so blessed by family and friends to get all the things that we need for Zoey at two wonderful showers. I was also very excited because my cousin Courtney flew in from Michigan to attend the Carter family shower, which was a great time, I just don't feel like we got to visit very much. Hopefully she can come back after Zoey comes so we can spend more time together. Here is a pic of the 3 oldest Carter great grandchildren. We are all stair steps, Courtney is 25, I'm 24 and Whitney is 23. Yes, I know our names are Courtney, Whitney and Brittany...the scary thing is that the rest of the girls in the family are Annie and Bethany, all rhyming names. Alana is the youngest and she broke free from a name ending in eeeee : )

Here is a pic of all the girl Carter cousins

I hope that Zoey understands once she is born how much she is already loved without anyone even knowing her. Another thing that our family is famous for is wonderful food. I had to share a picture of the adorable cupcakes that my Aunt Saundra brought from Richmond for the Carter shower. I was going to post a pic of the beautiful cake from my friend shower, but I can't find it in the mass of pictures I have accumulated.Like I said, hopefully I will do better about doing posts. I am going to really try now that there is lots to talk about! This is a wonderful time in our life and I want to share with everyone the journey we are going through : )

28 1/2 weeks, vacation and anniversary...

i have been terrible about posting, but i thought i would do an update since things haven't been terribly boring. nathan and i left for vacation on saturday to go to hilton head. we spent 4 nights there and we are currently in beautiful savannah, georgia. we had a wonderful time in hilton head visiting with family friends along with going to the beach, visting harbor town, south beach marina and of course lots of shopping at the outlets. like i said right now nathan and i are in savannah and loving it! beautiful city with a great history. we are staying right on the savannah river at the hyatt which is very nice, pictures to follow in another post : ) so far in the trip i have done really well other than having to sit and take breaks more often. pregnancy hasn't prevented us from having a wonderful vacation and we still have a few days left. we are getting ready to go have dinner at a restaurant called garibaldis. everyone that has eaten there has said it was amazing, so we are excited, plus it's italian which is my favorite with lots of fresh seafood which is nathan's favorite. tomorrow we are leaving savannah for tennessee where we are meeting nathan's parents for a few days before heading back to kentucky. oh back to pregnancy, i went for my second rhogam shot on friday and everything is going well with the pregnancy. i am now at the point where i have to start going to the doctor every 2 weeks! we're getting closer! my next appointment is next week at 30 weeks, we are very excited because they will be scheduling our 4D ultrasound so we can see more pictures of our little one! i will try and remember to post photos from our vacation when we get home since i forgot my adaptor. i hope everyone is having a great week!

25 weeks...going by fairly quickly now...

I hope everyone has had a good week so far, and tomorrow is hump day so that is ALWAYS a plus. It has been a busy few weeks for us. June 6th, my cousin Olivia got married and we attended all those festivities. It was a nice wedding and the weather was perfect. Love and marriage must be in the air because one of my best friends, Brittany Hamilton is getting married in August and her shower was this Saturday. The shower was very nice with LOTS of great food and it was good to catch up with friends. I am really looking forward to Brittany's wedding, she was sweet enough to have me in her wedding and it is going to be beautiful I'm sure, I just hope I don't look like too much of a cow since I will be VERY pregnant!



Nathan and I had a good day on Sunday as well. Nathan's birthday was on Sunday and it was also Father's Day! My Gran and I made Nathan a homeade coconut cake, his fave. We also went to Nathan's mom and dad's house at Kimper. We had a really great time eating hot dogs and hanging out. We also drove to an area in Pike County known as River Hurricane. Nathan's dad grew up there and it was really neat for him to tell us about when he was a little boy growing up there. He showed us where the house that he grew up in used to be and showed us where the school was. Nathan got a new video camera for his birthday, some HD DVD mumbo jumbo thing that he really wanted. He LOVES it and of course he has video taped everything coming and going since he got the camera (I made sure to point out that the delivery of little Zoey will NOT under any circumstances be video taped). Nathan seemed to have a great birthday and his dad enjoyed spending time with him. Earlier in the day on Saturday, we went to my mom and dads and went swimming and after returning from Kimper, we went back to mom and dads because Gran made chicken and dumplins, YUM! It was a very nice weekend.



I am very thankful that my Gran is home. I don't get to see her often since she spends most of her time in Florida. She has been so wonderful to me and has had to fill the role of 2 grandmothers since my other grandmother was terminally ill from the time I was born and died when I was 6. I am very grateful to her and love her very much. I am so excited because she is going to be here for Zoey's birth. This is her first great-grandchild and Zoey is due the day after her 75th birthday!



I promise to try and be a better blogger. The weeks ahead should hold some more fun things to talk about. Next Wednesday I am having my gestational diabetes test which I am NOT looking forward to. Then the next week I have to have my 2nd Rhogam shot. These aren't terrible but I am not a big fan of needles. On a happier note, we are closer to having our 4D ultrasound! Nathan and I are both very excieted about getting to see Zoey again and everyone says the detail is unbelievable!

8 Simple Things

I haven't posted in forever but there isn't much excitement right now in the pregnancy. I am now 24 weeks, 16 to go! She is moving around a lot these days which is fun, but she isn't cooperating with daddy very well, she hasn't let him feel her move yet. I told him there will be plenty of times to feel her move later!

So since there isn't a lot going on I thought I would post a survey that Sarah White Gardella did on her blog that seemed fun.

8 Things I'm looking forward to:

1. the day zoey arrives
2. 4th of july
3. hilton head in a few weeks
4. my baby shower
5. my great friend brittany hamilton's wedding
6. nathan's birthday
7. father's day (same day as nathan's birthday this year : )
8. did i mention the day zoey is born?

8 Things I did yesterday:

1. gave toby a bath
2. played farm town haha
3. watched tv with nathan
4. looked at some houses
5. ate....a lot
6. took a shower
7. made the bed
8. felt zoey kick : )

8 Things I wish I could do:

1. speed up time and meet zoey
2. lose a lot of weight after this pregnancy
3. be wealthy and not have to work
4. i would love to have a glass of wine!
5. spend more time with nathan and toby
6. not be so scared about certain things
7. think sometimes before i speak
8. be a stay at home mom

8 Shows I watch:

1. Desperate Housewives
2. Brothers and Sisters
3. House
4. Nip/Tick
5. Rescue Me
6. Grey's Anatomy
7. Jon and Kate Plus 8
8. Private Practice

8 Places that I would like to travel to that I have never been:

1. hawaii
2. the keys
3. the bahamas
4. fiji
5. jamaica
6. los angeles
7. new york city
8. london

8 Places I've lived

1. poplar street in pikeville, ky
2. wolford street in pikeville, ky
3. wilana court in pikeville, ky
4. frankfort, ky
5. hilton head island, sc
6. main street in morehead, ky
7. morehead state university dorms in morehead, ky
8. sunshine lane in morehead, ky

22 down, 18 to go.

Well, as of tomorrow, I have made it to 22 weeks, yay! Some days I feel like things are progressing quickly and others seem to drag on. One new fun development is that I am starting the feel her move around more and more. I feel her now several times a day. Daddy Nathan hasn't got to feel her yet, but I feel like as much as she is moving around, it won't be too long now. Speaking of Daddy Nathan, he has been very busy as of late. Over memorial day weekend, my wonderful husband not only put together our baby girls crib (which is beautiful!) but he also finished staining her chest of drawers which belonged to Nathan's grandmother. Both items turned out great and I can't wait to start accessorizing! I will definitely add pics next post, but my computer hates me and won't read my memory card, so I will have to let Nathan try to figure it out. Well, I am fairly boring to tonight and that's all I have to report, I just wanted to let everyone know that all is well in babyland. We are all healthy and doing well. The next check up with be one day shy of 23 weeks, a week from today. I'm not sure what they will do this time, but hopefully we aren't there as long as we were last time. Oh and update since I haven't done this in a while, this week she is finally 1 pound and is about 8 inches in length! She is getting big and hopefully she'll get a lot bigger before we meet her!

Blog Slacker - 20 weeks and halfway there...

Well, I must admit that my blogs have been lacking as of late. I try to remember...but remembering things isn't exactly my forte these days. We had a wonderful week last week and a great weekend. Nathan has taken on a special project for baby Zoey. This weekend he finished stripping a chest for her. The dresser was his grandmothers and he has worked on it dilligently for about a week and all that is left to do is stain it. Her crib should be here one day this week and hopefully we can match the crib with the chest. It is already adorable. I have to pick up some knobs for it, but that is a tough decision. Who knew that having a baby included making SO many decisions!

I have also picked out some things for her nursery. Below is a picture of her crib.

Here is the bedding that I have picked out.

She is also beginning to have a nice little wardrobe. I washed all of the dresses that my mom saved of mine for her to wear. There were even some of my mom's dresses! Almost 50 years of clothing! Anywho, I will update once Nathan is putting the crib together...I'm sure it will be interesting....lol

19 week appointment!

Well, after the ultrasound on Friday, IT'S A GIRL!!!!! We are so excited. We would have been excited about a girl or boy, but there seems to be something special about a baby girl! Here is her latest photo...

The good photo of her didn't want to upload, but this is a picture of her head (on the left) and her body lying down.

We are very excited and have decided to name her Zoey Katherine! She weighed approximately 11 ounces at the ultrasound, which is crazy! She was moving around a lot during the ultrasound but it is still strange becuase I couldn't feel her. They say in the next few weeks, I will feel her more and more. In one sense I am excited about and in another, they say you lose a lot of sleep once you start feeling her. Nathan is so excited, he is already talking about all the things that he wants to do with her! He is going to be a wonderful daddy! We made a venture to Babies R Us yesterday, and it was a little overwhelming! We did buy necesseties....diapers, bottles and of course a few new outfits! We did get some bigger sizes as I have been told they do not stay in newborn/0-3 month clothes very long! Today Nathan ordered her a pink piggy bank with her name on it, like I said, we are super excited!

Anway, just wanted to update everyone on what was going on! I hope everyone has a good Monday tomorrow!

18 weeks and excitement about the upcoming week!

Hey guys!

I hope everyone had a great week and weekend. My week went well and the weekend was good too. Yesterday Nathan and I went to Lexington to run some errands. I had to get fitted for a bridesmaid dress for a wedding I am in in August. One of my closest friends, Brittany Hamilton is getting married on August the 8th and I am in the wedding. I have to admit that I was not looking forward to it because I didn't even want to think about what size I was in. The good news is the dress I tried on was the same size as the one I had tried on before I got pregnant, which was nice. But I did go ahead and order 2 sizes up to make sure that the dress fit for the wedding. I figured, it's always better to have it too big than too small. I was also super excited because I got to meet my new cousin Harper Gray! She is gorgeous and her mama looks great too! It was so nice to get to visit with Katie, John and little Harper. Her room was adorable and she was so great. She let Nathan and I both hold her for a while and didn't cry, which I always love. It's so awesome seeing Nathan with babies and children, he is so great with them! He is going to be a wonderful daddy : )

So I decided that it was time to take a belly picture where I looked half way decent, so that I could share with others, lol. See below.

We will be finding out on Friday the sex of the baby and I am SOO excited, I know Nathan is too. We really want to prepare for our new little one, and it will be much easier knowing whether to buy blue or pink : ) I will definitely keep you all updated on what happens on Friday and how everything goes the rest of the week. I hope everyone has a great week!

17 weeks & a baby shower

Hello family & friends!

I hope everyone has had a good weekend so far. It was been absolutely beautiful in Pikeville. This week hasn't been incredibly pleasant as I have been sick and have now passed the nasty cold on to Nathan. I'm not sure what it is, but we have been miserable in bed together this evening : ) On a lighter note, a childhood friend of mine, Miranda Coleman-Layne is having a baby and I went to her baby shower today. Miranda and her husband Shane are having a little girl and she got some ADORABLE stuff today! She has picked some cute names out for the little one. She said that they were either going to name her Shelby Peyton or Sidney Peyton. The shower was fun and the food was wonderful, I ate my weight in broccoli casserole! But anywho, Miranda is due May 17 and she looks great. I look like I am further along than she is haha! I'm fairly sure that before too long, Nathan is going to have to roll me out to the car to go to work in the morning like the little blueberry girl from Willie Wonka and the chocolate factory! But I am so excited for Miranda, she is going to be an awesome mom and I am glad that someone else I know will have a baby for our little one to play with.

Well, I have to say that all the adorable things at the baby shower REALLY made me want to start buying stuff. I have bought a few small things, some plain gowns and Nathan bought a teddy bear, but I didn't want to make any large purchases until we found out the sex, which is coming up soon. We will find out the sex in 12 days and I am ridiculously excited. The first thing I am going to do is go by something pink or blue immediately following my ultrasound. This ultrasound is really meant to check on the babies organs and make sure that everything is developing correctly which is very important. I am also really excited about this ultrasound because this will be the first time that my mom will go for an ultrasound. They only allow 2 people in the room when the ultrasound is performed so we will have to take turns with my mom and Nathan's mom to get to go, haha. I have decided through this entire process that I want my mom a lot more now than I have in a long time. I just need to be around her...weird I know lol. But seriously, it's nice to be so close to our families, because the support is awesome.

Oh, just to let all of you know, the little one is now the size of the palm of your hand and weighs about 5 ounces this week. I also think that I have felt the baby move some this week. It is very difficult to tell this early if it is actually the baby moving or if it's gas pains. Weird how the two can be confused haha. Well, I hope everyone has a great rest of the weekend and a good upcoming workweek. I will be counting down the days until the BIG ultrasound!

Hillbilly Days and week 16!

What a wonderful weekend! First of all, I just wanted to say that I am completely blessed and am so glad that I got to see so many friends and family that I don't get to see often. First off, it was Hillbilly Days which is always a fun event. Although I wasn't able to have a glass of wine and a cigarette for the yearly festival, it was so nice to be around loved ones and think about next year when we will be able to take the new little one to listen to the bluegrass music and begin know the ceremonial "smell" of Hillbilly Days!

Not only was this weekend Hillbilly Days, but we also had a surprise 50th birthday party for my dad and it went great! He claimed that he had no idea that anything was going on and that he was completely surprised and excited about the big bash! It was great because so many out of towners were here. Family friends from Hilton Head, Lisa Black and Amy Black Cross were as were Denny and Nikki Bailey of Shelbyville. Also, friends and former neighbors Jeff & Myra Miller came on Saturday which was great since I hadn't seen them in about 10 years. Myra was the one that I went to when I didn't want to talk to mom or dad or anyone else about anything. She was never judgemental and always talked to me like I wasn't 8 like everyone else. She also made these awesome french fries in the oven and Tyler and I loved!

Weekends like these make me so excited about the baby. I want our baby to get to know and love all the people that we loved during our childhoods. I know there are a lot of people out there that helped mold me into the person that I am today including my parents. I can't wait to see who those influences are for our children. Well, I guess it's time to get dinner ready and get ready for another work week, hopefully all of you had a great weekend and an awesome Hillbilly Days!

Our Saturday.

So this morning Nathan and I decided to go to Big Lots. We decided to stop by my Mom and Dad's because I knew that my Mom had told me she needed to run some errands today. So while we waited on Mom to get ready, she informed me that she needed to go to K-Mart too. We decided to start to K-Mart and work our way back to town. (On a side note, we had been to Bruce Walters Ford a few times and not really found what we were looking for.) As we pulled into the parking lot at K-Mart, Nathan said, they usually have SUV's at the Walters Mazda-Mitsubishi lot. So of course we drive through the parking lot to the car lot and drive around for a minute looking. We looked over and there was sales guy running after us, we felt bad so we stopped and asked him how much one of the cars was. He told us and then of course we had to go look at other cars. Long story short, we went to K-Mart for garbage bags and I ended up with a new car, haha. We had been looking for something that was of course kid friendly and had plenty of room. As most of you know, I had a Ford Mustang, which I'm not even sure you can put a car seat in? But anyway, we ended up buying a Mitsubishi Endeavor SUV (see below).

I am usually not an impulsive person, but after I saw it and the price, I couldn't not do it. I am really happy with it, and I'm really glad that we needed garbage bags today : ) The baby will also be happy that he/she won't have to be crammed into the backseat of a 2 door Mustang! Although, it was really sad to drive away and leave my little car behind. Ol' Betsy's been with me for 6 years...

15 weeks and a doctor's appointment

Happy Good Friday!

So today is good Friday and I am 15 weeks, a good day overall. Nathan and I went for a check up today at 15 weeks. I somewhat heard the heartbeat with the doppler. Nathan heard it more than I did, but it's hard when you are laying down, they are pressing on your stomach, and your own heart is beating really fast because you're nervous. All was well thank goodness and I left feeling a little more sure about everything since the first trimester is now well behind me. I also left very excited since they scheduled me for my ultrasound at 19 weeks to find out the sex of the baby, yay! On May 8 we will find out (as long as Baby Ratliff is cooperative) whether we are having a boy or girl, so exciting! Ohh and also very interesting...I lost 3 pounds. I told my Gran about it and she said that she lost weight with Dad and Boo Boo. Nathan and I went to Wal-Mart this evening and he bought the baby it's first teddy bear...he has had his eye on it for awhile. Everyone remember to cast their vote as to whether it's a boy or girl on the survey.

Easter is this weekend and after going to the doctor today, it really made me feel blessed to have a healthy pregnancy so far. I also feel blessed to have a wonderful husband who does things he might want to do and a supportive family that puts up with my whining. Also, there will be lots of chicken and Dumplings consumed! In other exciting news, Hillbilly Days is next weekend! Not only that but on the 21st my daddy is going to be 50. Seems weird, I remember his 40th and I have seen pictures of his 30th, I was only 4. Hopefully he has a good day and he likes what we got him : )

Hopefully everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend with their families!

14 weeks, 80 degrees and snow...

We have now entered the 14th week and things seem to be moving right along. I am not as tired as I had been, I could still sleep quite a bit but I'm not exhausted. I go back for my next check up this Friday, April 10th, and I will be exactly 15 weeks. Hopefully pretty soon we will find out the sex so that we can figure out what to do the nursery in and buy some fun stuff!

On to non-pregnancy/baby related items....this weekend has been beautiful and it is so nice to be able to spend time outside. Friday I was a little hormonal so we didn't do much of anything. Yesterday, however, we slept in and then went to Nathan's mom and dad's so that Nathan could help his dad with some of the remodelling that they are currently doing. Their house is looking wonderful. Last year about this time, they redid the kitchen which looks great and now they are redoing the living room, bathroom and hallway. They have completely gutted the bathroom and Nathan had to help with the tub surround. Things are looking great and Nathan's dad is doing very well. He is not taking chemo right now and has been working with some of his buddies on the house, I think it's been good for him. I, of course, sat around and watched : )

Today, we went to my mom and dad's house so that Nathan could help my dad and brother get the pool cover off. It has been such a beautiful day, in the 80's. The boys got the pool cover off and we vacuumed the pool and when we left, poor Tyler was power washing the deck and the patio. After we got home, Nathan and I went fishing and got a nice little farmers tan. Nathan caught one fish and of course I didn't catch anything. Nathan just got back in from taking Toby out in the yard to play. I'm not sure who wore who out. Overall, it's been an eventful weekend. We are getting ready to go back to my mom and dad's for dinner. Oh and speaking of nice weather, we're supposed to get snow for the next 2 days...lovely.

Everyone seems to be getting more excited about the baby since we are moving along. Even after opening the pool today, we were talking about teaching the baby to swim next summer which will be fun. Alright, well hopefully everyone has a good week!

Britney's 100th Post Giveaway!

I was inspired by fellow Pikevillian, Britney (Tackett) Moughamian to start a blog keeping all of our friends and family updated on our new little one and to also keep everyone in the know about our lives. Britney has just published her 100th post and in honor, she is giving away a beautiful green polka dot picnic basket.

Go check out her blog at: www.daveandbrittplusone.blogspot.com It definitley gives me some ideas of things to come in my pregnancy. Britney is 33 weeks pregnant and is expecting a little girl that she and her husband Dave have decided to name Kennedy Brooke. Everyone also keep Britney in your thoughts and pray that she can carry little Kennedy to term!

Marley & Me : )

Ok, if you have not seen Marley & Me, you have to watch it. Nathan and I watched it a few months ago, and now that it is coming out on DVD, they have been showing commercials for it. One of the best movies I have seen in a while. Note to anyone reading...not a perfect film for pregnant women. I wasn't even pregnant when I watched it and I cried like a 3 year old. As most of you know, Nathan and I have a Marley dog AKA a lab AKA Toby. He is our child and we love on him and spoil him to death! He is the sweetest, and we cannot wait to see him with the baby. We got a lab for several reasons. They are supposed to be incredibly devoted and family dogs, and great with kids. We shall see, but Toby has nosed his way into mine and Nathan's hearts. Back to Marley & Me, I could totally see some of the similarities between labs as puppies like Toby & Marley. I have decided that the baby is going to be a lot more work and I can't put the baby in its crate when it misbehaves, haha. But anyway, had to plug this movie, see it if you haven't, you will become a lab lover like us!!

Are you really in there?

Hey ya'll. So it's Sunday which means tomorrow is another Monday...ugh. But anyway, I have reached week 12 and things are going well. I am feeling pretty good, just wanting to sleep a lot. The baby has grown a lot in the last few weeks and now and the baby is now the size of a large plum.Seems like things are progressing well and I am feeling ok. Nathan and I have differing opinions on what we think the baby is going to be. Like I said before in a previous post, I don't care whether it's a boy or girl, but I think it's a girl and Nathan thinks it's a boy. We'll see who guessed correctly is about 8 weeks!

I have been freaking out a lot lately and Nathan of course attempts to keep me sane. I have found it difficult that I haven't had an ultrasound since about 6 weeks. Sometimes i catch myself talking to my belly asking, "are you really in there?" I feel like I need to see the baby or at least know that everything is ok. The last time that I went to the doctor at 10 weeks all they did was check my urine and take my blood pressure. I would love to hear the heartbeat or something to know that everything is ok. I haven't had any spotting, so there really isn't any reason to freak out, but I think I just need to know that all is well. I think once the baby begins moving around and I can feel it, I will feel a lot better!

Well, that's about it for now, Nathan and I are both doing well with work and everything else and Toby is attempting to keep out of trouble. Hope all is well with all of you : )

baby clothes, maternity clothes and other ramblings...

Well, it's only Tuesday and I am already exhausted! I keep telling myself that the weekend is right around the corner and that tomorrow means the week is half over, but I still would love to lay in bed all day, haha. I will be out of my first trimester in about a week and a half and that is really exciting. I am hoping I will somehow get a little energy.

So I broke down this past weekend and bought a few things for the new little one. I ran across some of the Carter's gowns that I was looking for and decided that since I had been having a hard time finding them I should go ahead and buy some. I bought neutral colors so that they are appropriate for boy or girl. Pretty soon we will be finding out what we are having, which is really exciting, it's like the next step in the pregnancy. Not only did I break down and buy some baby clothes, but I was forced to buy some maternity pants. I have only gained 4 pounds since I found out about the baby, and it's not that I can't wear my clothes, but it's like I can't stand anything that is restrictive.....so here come the stretchy pants! haha. I also ordered some cute dresses that I can wear to work and are pretty casual as well. I am pretty sure that dresses with be my bff this summer : )

Well, that is all for now. Toby is sitting here staring at me wanting some attention and I can't stand that little look on his face...I'm in big trouble when this baby gets here! Nathan said this evening that he wasn't sure who was going to require more attention, the baby or Toby, then a few minutes later we started talking about how they hopefully will keep each other busy. One thing is for sure, we sure have a sweet dog, and I hope the baby loves him as much as we do : )

Forgetful, blonde, pregnant?

My attempt to write in the blog daily has been terrible, but at least I'm writing in it weekly : ) I have been doing a lot of pondering lately. Seems like every time I turn around I am forgetting something. I used to have the BEST memory and could remember stuff that most others wouldn't, but lately, I can't remember anything! About 3 days ago I came to the realization that I began having the memory of an 85 year old woman after I found out that I was pregnant. I don't know if there's a connection or not, but I am hoping that my memory returns once the baby is born. Some days by the time I get home at 5:00 I am wondering, did I brush my teeth this morning, what did I eat for lunch today, did I call that doctor's office back about medical records? I have now figured out that post it's are my new best friend. I write EVERYTHING on my post it's and my computer at work is covered, but at least I am remembering what I did.

Enough rambling, on to fun stuff. After Natasha had Maggie and Jesse, she had the greatest little gowns for them to sleep in. I peeked at the tag and they are from Gap. I've been holding out on ordering anything until after my next doctors appointment to order anything because I will be about 16 weeks then and a few weeks into the second trimester. Also, they have the pink ones and the blue ones so I want to see if it's a boy or girl before I go there. I can't seem to find any plain white ones, though. Below is a picture of what I am talking about.

If anyone has any idea where to find some white ones, please let me know. This week I have also come to the realization that there are WAY too many adorable kids clothes out there! At this point I am trying to pick out the necessities. I figure the grandparents and others will find plenty of adorable outfits for the new baby. I did find the cutest pair of infant Nike Shox at Foot Locker tonight in the respective blue and pink, they were adorable. Can't wait to start buying stuff : ) Until next time...

10 weeks down, fishing and Harper

Hello all : )

I realize that I have slacked a bit on the blog lately but unfortunately (or fortunately) the last few weeks have been rather boring. I have now entered the 10th week and it has been rather uneventful thus far. Nathan and I went for a routine check up yesterday, Thursday March 5. Everything went normally and my blood presure and urine was normal. I am feeling much better these days as the nausea has mostly subsided. I have been having some serious hankerings for Diet Cherry Lime Aides from Sonic though.

It has been so pretty the last couple of days so tonight Nathan and I went to Wal-Mart and bought new fishing poles. Apparently in one of our moves since last summer whether it be from Morehead to Granny's or from Granny's to our new apartment in Pikeville we seemed to have misplaced them. I am so excited because I got a pink fishing pole! It is so cute! Nathan wasn't greatly impressed but we got it anyway. I am hoping that the baby will like fishing one day, boy or girl. I have always loved fishing. I can remember when I was about 5 or 6 we used to go stay in Northern Kentucky at someone's house, I don't remember who, and they lived on a lake and we would go fishing and go to King's Island, any 5 year olds best vacation ever.

Like I said, things have been fairly quiet, and hopefully in the next few weeks we will start to see a difference. Today we began taking pictures of the belly. We will take one every Friday from now until the baby comes. I'll have to post those later since I don't know where the adapter is for my memory card : )

Also, awesome news, my cousin, Kaite Baird McGregor had her little girl on March 2, 2009. She and John named their little "princess in training" (note: this is the term I have decided to call all the new little girls in the family since they are learning all from Gran and Aunt Madge. Jess and Natasha's little girl Maggie is a P.I.T. and now Harper is, and if we have a girl, she too shall receive the title.) Harper Gray McGregor. She weighed in at 3 pounds 12 ounces. Momma and baby are doing well, and even though Katie delivered early, they are hopefully going to let Harper go home soon : ) I can't wait to meet her!

Miss Harper McGregor

Well, until next time, and hopefully I won't be such a slacker and will write a little more often. I am hoping that once we find out the sex and begin buying things this will all become a little more real. Right now it's just a funny feeling that makes me nauseated and makes me want certain foods very badly : )

Baby Brittany or Nathan

So today I looked at some baby pictures of Nathan and I and after long deliberation decided that if this baby is half as cute as we were, we're in trouble! This kid will get whatever it wants! I also started thinking about the fact that this is the first grandchild on both sides. Then I realized that we're starting the next generation of Carter's as in decendents of Estill Lee and Pearl Carter. I was in generation 3 and I am starting generation 4. This child is going to be so loved! Nathan and I are both so blessed to have wonderful, large families. I can't speak for Nathan, but I can only hope that our baby has half the fun growing up that I did.

Just so that you all can see what I'm talking about, below are a few pictures of Nathan and I when we were just kiddies and we had no idea the other existed.

Nathan

Brittany

Thought you all might enjoy. Can't wait to find out whether we'll be having a little Nathan or a little Brittany. I know Nathan is hoping for a miniature version of himself. I am still undecided on what I think the baby is...about 11 weeks until we find out. Names still have not been discussed, hopefully we will sit down this weekend and try to think of one of each....try being the key word. FYI the nausea has subsided some, but now I have learned that simply thinking about a certain kind of food makes me nauseated. Who knew.

Diane Sawyer and Valentine's Day

I suppose it is inevitable that I would comment about the Diane Sawyer special that was on ABC on Friday night. I am upset about the way that eastern Kentucky was portrayed, but I also felt sorry for the children that are living in poverty. I grew up in an average middle class family and growing up I do recall seeing children that were not as fortunate. There was one girl in my kindergarten class that I always noticed that the moms of the class always paid a lot more attention to her and brought her things. As I got older, I realized that she received these things because her parents couldn't or wouldn't do them for her. I was also able to see less fortunate children because my grandfather was a public figure and I would see all walks of life at rallies and other functions. You could tell that some of the children didn't have what I had. On the same note, this is not something that only takes place in Appalachia. There are children all over the Untied States that do not receive the love and attention that they need and deserve. Drugs in this area are an epidemic. But I hate to be the one to tell Diane that it is not only the poor that are being effected. There are normal and even wealthy that are seeing people in their families that have been sucked into using prescription medications illicitly. I'm fairly certain that every person that I know, knows someone that knows someone that has a drug problem. I try and see how Diane was trying to make the rest of the country understand that there are areas where there is poverty but I am still very angry about their portrayal of the area that I love and have called home my entire life. As a soon to be mom, I hope that our child understands that some people do not have the life that they will have, but that there is poverty all around, and not just in our small part of the world. I also want our child to be proud of where they're from, and know that people are always going to have things to say about our area. I hope that Diane understands that by trying to help the people of Eastern Kentucky, she's only really hurt.

On a lighter note : )....Valentine's Day was wonderful and very low key, just the way I like it! I love going out to dinner for certain occasions, but I feel like Valentine's Day should be spent with just your significant other and not 200 strangers in a restaurant : ). I made cozze bianco (mussells in a white wine sauce) with a french bread to dip in the sauce. It was wonderful, I love it. We got the recipe idea from Carrabba's restaurant. We also had ice cream cake from dairy queen...my favorite! We played with Toby and watched W. (the movie about George W. Bush) I know it's not exactly a romantic movie, but we both liked it. Then we watched Love Actually. GREAT MOVIE! It shows all aspects of love and what can happen when people fall out of love. I definitely recommend it! Nathan and I always say that we aren't going to do much and we always do. I got him a Playstation 3 game he wanted and candy and he got me and Playstation 3 game (one that doesn't involve using a semi-automatic weapon, thank you) and flowers. Overall a great, lazy day. Next year we will have a new addition to our family and it will be SO much more special!

Thank god tomorrow is Friday.

So I keep telling myself that I am not the first girl to work while being pregnant, but I am a whiner as most of you should already know and I love to complain about how tired I am. Today was better than yesterday since there was no nausea. I have now shaped my days into good days (no nausea) and bad days (every smell makes me gag). I made the comment about 7:30 that I was ready for bed and Nathan laughed at me. Then he looked at the less than happy look on my face and quit laughing. So needless to say, I'll be lucky to make it through this blog without falling asleep : )

Nathan and I talked about baby names today for about 30 seconds and got nowhere. Here's how the conversation went:

Brittany: So have you thought of any baby names?

Nathan: No, have you?

Brittany: Not really

and then we finished eating dinner haha. I think the real damper on things right now is the fact that we don't know the sex of the baby yet, maybe then it will be easier....hopefully.

I refuse to buy anything yet since it is so early in the pregnancy, but I had to go to Economy Drug today to pick up my prenatal vitamins and they have some of the cutest stuff in there! Randomly, in a drug store they have cute baby stuff, who knew.

And finally I read in one of my books on pregnancy that I swore I wouldn't read that this week the baby is the size of a blueberry or a grape.

Until next time : )

To all of our family and friends:

Nathan and I (probably myself more than Nathan) have decided to start a blog to monitor our changing life. I found out on January 20, 2009 (the day of President Obama's inauguration that we are going to be first time parents! We are very excited and today we had an internal ultrasound done and we heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time! What an amazing feeling knowing that something so magical is taking place inside your own body! Nathan was of course very excited and kept pointing and saying look I think that's the head, and of course my response was that it pretty much just looks like a blob right now, lol. The heart rate was about 141-143 which I understand from googling the hell out of it that this is good.

I'm still scared considering I am only about 7 weeks along. A lot can go wrong, and it is all very frightening. I joined the What to Expect When You're Expecting website and was really frightened by all the women who have had miscarriages. Keep Nathan and I and the baby in your prayers and hopefully we will have a fairly uneventful and happy pregnancy!

We have been given two due dates, September 26, 2009 and October 3, 2009. Through reading and talking to moms of all ages, I have decided that very rarely does the baby actually arrive on the one date that has been decided.

I am fairly certain that everyone that we have told about the pregnancy has asked if we want a boy or a girl. I DON'T CARE! As long as this baby is healthy, we are good!

I also feel the need to address the constant peeing, nausea, and fatigue. It is worse than I could have ever imagined. I am tired ALL the time and I wake up at a minimum 3 times per night to pee. I tried to keep count the other day at work how many times I had to pee and I lost track after 8. RIDICULOUS! lol The fatigue is pretty crazy too, I have never been an early to bed kind of girl and these days I am lucky to make it past 10:00. I have had to TiVo all my shows that come on at 10. The nausea didn't hit until the beginning of this week. IT has been the least annoying of the pregnancy woes thus far. Only certain things make me nauseous and I haven't had uncontrollable upchucking, which is always nice.

Well, hopefully I haven't scared the bejesus out of everyone! I will try to update every few days to keep everyone up to date!

Ohh yes and below is a picture of the baby Carter-Ratliff!