Bigger and bigger and bigger!

Eli Eli and more Eli!

My life definitely is consisting of getting ready for this baby! Between appointments and classes it's all I really think about! I had an appointment yesterday at 28 weeks. Eli's heartbeat was 144 and I measured 27! Praise God! I will have a sonogram at 34 weeks to see how he's doing and how big he is!

We are in an icy storm, but luckily we missed the worst of it! I have been enjoying the holiday season and have loved the Christmas shopping! I'm so excited for Christmas in two weeks!

Getting Closer!

We're baffled how quickly this pregnancy has gone! I had my last 2nd trimester (26 weeks) appointment yesterday; now I start appointments every 2 weeks! Eli is kicking, elbowing, and who knows what else constantly, so if you see me jerk in public that's what's going on...I swear I'm not crazy! I'm thanking God today because my glucose screen for gestational diabetes came back good (97....less than 140 is normal). Eli's heart rate was high because of the sugar packed drink I had just drank 168! Sugar high! I'm measuring 26 which matches how far along I am! More importantly my antibody screen came back negative (i'm A- blood...85-99% of people are positive...Brandon's A+)! Today I'm going to get my first Rhogam shot to prevent my body from producing antibodies in the future. It's amazing to think that before 1968 I wouldn't have been able to have more than one child because my blood would have attacked and most likely killed my baby! I'm forever grateful for the man who invented Rhogam! I'm starting my 27th week...the last of my 2nd trimester, so I'm getting ready to begin the home stretch! Yikes....and...YIPPEEEEEE!

Thanksgiving

We flew home from Houston, had one day to rest, and then flew off to Dallas for Thanksgiving! Let's just say it's been a busy busy month! We had a great time with all the family and enjoyed playing with our nephew Gavin! We were sad that Gran wasn't there, but happy to be bringing another Judson into the world! One amazing thing that I forgot to mention, was when we were in Gran's house Brandon grabbed a bible off the book shelf and out fell a touching card/letter that he had written to Gran years ago when he had moved out to go to Purdue! God works in mysterious ways!

Gran

Sadly, Brandon's grandfather whom he lived with for two years during college passed away suddenly. Gran taught Brandon how to fly gliders and was his inspiration to become a pilot, work in the aircraft industry, and instilled in him a great love for nature and birds. We flew to Houston and drove down to Wharton, TX for the funeral and stayed for 5 days visiting with family and friends. We had a great time being with all the family, and it was fun for me to see where Brandon had lived and gone to college for the first two years. This is an incredible picture of Gran flying his sailplane that we will always treasure!

In-Law weekend!

Brandon's parents, Bob and Donna Judson, came up from Plano, TX to spend the weekend with us and bring up tons of baby clothes and baby gear! I was amazed at all the clothes my sister-in-law Brittnie sent along! My nephew Gavin was the first grandchild on both sides, so needless to say he had a LOT of clothes from birth to 2 years! They also brought up two play mats, a boppy pillow, toys toys and more toys, a crib aquarium, diaper bag, blankets, burp rags, bibs, hats, shoes etc. What a blessing! I've had a fun day sorting through it all and putting it away in all the right spots in the nursery.

Bob and Donna bought us our glider for the nursery, the men worked on house projects, we walked in the gorgeous weather with the beautiful leaves, played games, ate out, and just had a great time over all! We are really looking forward to seeing the rest of the family in Plano for Thanksgiving next week!

Another Appointment!

Today I had another appointment with Dr. Feuille! Everything has just been going so smoothly and I'm so thankful! Eli's heart beat was 148. He's had a big growth spurt during the past 5 weeks. I think I was measuring around 17 my last appointment, and today I was measuring around 23 1/2! I know he's gotten a lot bigger because his kicks are really starting to startle me and keep me up at night! Eli's a really active baby! My getting up in the night is waking Brandon up and there have been several nights where he can't go back to sleep and gets up for several hours! Poor thing! I've just had a hard time getting back to sleep because Eli always starts kicking me like crazy! I secretly enjoy all the kicking....it's a constant reminder that he's healthy! Dr. Feuille recomended a pediatrician who works by St. Francis hospital, which is really close to our house, and would be so convenient! Her name is Dr. Patsy Barker, and I scheduled an appointment to meet with her before the baby is born.

Last night we went to the Car Seat Safety Class at Wesley. I think everyone should be required to take this FREE class! They showed a video of crashes with car seats in bad positions or not tightened enough; it was heartbreaking! Out of like 1700 car seats they checked for people last year, only 72 were installed correctly...so it's a big problem! It confirmed that we definitely want the Graco Snugride carseat...after practicing with all the other ones!

Brandon's parents and brother Lance are coming up from Plano this weekend and bringing a lot of our nephews old clothes etc. We are really looking forward to spending time with them!

Happy Halloween!

My mom decided to dress Eli up as a pumpkin!

Tulsa Trip!

We had a blast last weekend in Tulsa with my entire family visiting my sister! We ate a LOT of good food, watched some movies, played some games, went for walks, etc! It was a great mini vacation for us and it felt great to get away, relax, and have some fun! Eli gave me a couple kicks on my left side that made my stomach pop out!

Most recent info on Eli

At our sonogram everything looked great! His heartbeat was 138, I'm 20 weeks and 2 days, and he weighs 13 oz. He really looked like he'd grown quite a bit in the last two weeks!

Eli

We had another sonogram yesterday since I was a little early last time. Eli was moving around like crazy and opening his mouth! It was so precious! We are slowly getting the nursery done! It's painted an ash violet color and we have our black crib up! I've been feeling great except for my lower back. It's started bothering me; I have a feeling it's definitely going to be a problem for me in this last half of my pregnancy! Lately I've been having baby dreams a lot and waking up early thinking of all the stuff I need to get before he arrives! It feels like time is flying by!

It's A BOY!

We had our ultrasound yesterday and found out that we're having a BOY! My mom was able to come, and it made it all the more special. I was so relieved to hear and see that he's physically measuring great and that all his organs are functioning properly! He was moving around a bit, but I still can't feel it because the placenta is at the top and is absorbing the kicks! The surprise was that he's measuring two weeks farther along than we originally thought, so I'm on my 20th week; my new due date is March 5, 2008! The funniest part was that she put the wand on my stomach for the first time and there on the screen was a PENIS! There was no missing it! We were laughing so hard....there was no suspense :-) My mom broke out the blue gum cigars and we celebrated by going across the street and seeing Josh and Amy Racchini in the hospital with their new baby Ethan two hours after he was born! What a cutie! Then, on to our favorite restaurant, Panera, for more celebration! Here are some pictures of Elijah James Judson!

Minneapolis!

We had a great weekend in Minneapolis with my family, plus my mom's friends Nancy and Stro. My brother, Will, was up for Homecoming King, so we watched the ceremony and laughed at him when he lost. He said it was the most pointless experience of his life :-) We also celebrated Will's birthday and had a blast driving around in the country Geo Cacheing and going through a corn maze. My sister and her husband were able to come up from Tulsa, and it was great to see them! None of us wanted to leave my mom's great cooking and delicious desserts!

Happy Birthday Brandon!

Brandon turned 31 on Sept. 13! I had fun cooking him lasagna and a fruit cobbler, and we had a great birthday dinner! We've spent this whole week doing house projects to get ready for the baby! I completely cleaned all of my clothes out of the guest bedroom/future nursery and have officially moved in with Brandon in our bedroom ;-) Brandon cleaned the basement, and we are throwing a lot away and giving a lot away to make room for all the future baby gear. It feels good to be able to do something....while we wait not so patiently to find out if this baby is a boy or a girl so we can get started on the nursery etc.

Baby heartbeat!

I'm eating my words because I was sick yesterday and threw up :-) I went to the doctor today and we were able to hear the heartbeat, which was 146! It was fun because our good friends Amy Racchini and Josh were there also, so we went out to lunch afterwards! The doctor confirmed that I have an extremely small pelvis (thanks a lot MOM)! Therefore, I most likely will be having a C-section unless the baby is REALLY tiny, so he will do another sonogram at 8 months to see the size of the baby. It was sort of a relief just to hear those words and be able to research, plan, and prepare now. I am having a sonogram October 4, and we will find out whether we're having a little Ella or Elijah! It's earlier than I originally thought we'd be finding out, so we're really excited !

Finally feeling better!

Around 11 and 12 weeks I really started have evening sickness! During this time I threw up about four times and had bad digestive problems and headaches. Brandon was such a great help and took great care of me! I am finally feeling a lot better and eating really carefully, which has helped! I am excited to be showing and need to get some new clothes!

Photo Shoot

We did a photo shoot for our band, which was a lot of fun! We don't have any of the real photos from the shoot, but I'm sure they are crazy!

BABY BABY!

So today I had my first doctor's appointment! I'm probably 9 weeks along, starting my 10th week today, which puts my due date around March 15 (my family is hoping for St. Patrick's Day, the 17th)! Much to our surprise they did a low grade ultrasound and confirmed it's just 1 baby (thank GOD)! We were able to see the heartbeat, placenta, yoke sack, etc...it was AWESOME! The baby is CRAZY (Brandon said....oh my gosh it's gonna be just like you....I took that as a compliment ha ha)! It was flipping all around and kept waving at us with its' little arms! Even the nurse was surprised at how much it was moving! Here's a picture...the bottom right is its' head and arms and the top is its' leg!

Oshkosh, WI Air Show

Brandon just got home from his trip to Oshkosh, WI with some of his coworkers from Cessna. They camped out the whole time, looked at thousands of airplanes, watched air shows, listened to speakers, and had a blast! I was so glad he got to have a guy's trip (since I had a girl's trip to New York City in May) before the baby comes!

Plano, Texas

We had a blast in Plano, Texas with Brandon's family! Of course they were all excited about the baby and Brandon's sister passed on a bunch of her maternity clothes! We enjoyed spending time with our nephew and watching him play! We sang at one of Brandon's school friend's weddings and had a really nice time catching up with all of his friends and family.

I'm PREGNANT!

We are so excited that we will be having a baby! I had a lot of fun surprising Brandon and my family last Tuesday and look forward to telling Brandon's family next weekend when we are in Plano! My due date is around March 13, 2008. We have been waiting for this for a long time and are so thankful to God for blessing us!