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!