Wednesday, April 29, 2009

He's a MOVER!!

Wow! Our little guy is quite the mover. I have enjoyed feeling him move and over the last week the moves have become stronger making it possible for others to feel him. Mom got to feel him a few times this past weekend while we were together in Virginia for Jeff's graduation. Often when I feel him move I will grab the hand of whoever is sitting close for them to feel, but most of the time he becomes shy and stops moving at that time. Kevin has felt him a few times now and last night was asking him to "move for daddy!!" :) It still catches me off guard in the middle of the day when I'm working on papers or doing work at my practicum and I feel that quick movement in my belly. It's so amazing!! He seems to really enjoy moving around at night (I hope this doesn't mean he enjoys being up at night rather than during the day!!) and tonight he has been bouncing all over the place!! I have enjoyed feeling him moving around on the inside but also being able to feel that pulse on the outside. A true blessing and miracle.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

What do we need?!?!

Ok, we could use some help! On Sunday Kevin and I went to Babies R Us and began our registry (we also plan on registering at Target). It was fun and also quite overwhelming. I had no idea that they could fill an entire wall with bottles!! We got a good start but I know there is more to be done so I want to throw out a few questions to all you parents out there....What are your top (lets say 10-15) must have items, especially for first time parents? And, what are the items that you would NOT recommend (are there things you registered for or bought that you didn't use or turned out to not be as great as you thought they might be)?

This is your chance to provide some helpful information and advice! :)

Oh, and for the ladies....where did you buy your maternity clothes? My friend Laura suggested Motherhood, where I have been several times and really like. Are there other suggestions...cheap suggestions? I feel like every time I turn around I'm getting bigger (which is exciting and overwhelming since I really don't want to spend lots of money on clothes).

Thanks for all the suggestions!!!

Monday, April 20, 2009

So Much Has Happened!

Wow! It has been quite a while since my last post, but so much has happened. We have been extremely busy over the last several weeks. Since my last post we have closed on our house, moved into our house (many things still in boxes), done some painting, bought a refrigerator, we began our baby registry, I am closing in on the end of grad school (two weeks till the last class and three weeks till graduation), the baby kicked hard enough for Kevin to feel him, and I got a job!

It would take a long time for me to talk about all of the above happenings so I will highlight a few. First our house. We closed on our house on April 8th. I made Kevin camp out there with me that night because I had to sleep in our first house together the first night it was officially ours. We bought an air mattress (which is now available for guest use), brought over a few things from the apartment that we needed for the night and spent our first night in our house! I absolutely love it!!! It is so great to have our own space where we can do whatever we want. Then last weekend I went up to Goshen to spend Easter weekend with the family and Kevin's dad came down to spend the weekend watching the Masters (golf I guess) with Kevin. Well that's what I thought was taking place. When I got back on Sunday afternoon (after a wonderful weekend with mom, jules, and jeff) I came to the house to discover that Kevin along with the help of many friends and his family (including his mom and sister Libby who came down for the day on Saturday) had moved us....and had begun the painting of our master bedroom. How AWESOME!! Thank you once again to all of you who helped. We have now finished the painting in our master bedroom and Kevin has started painting in the kitchen. We still have many things in boxes but it feels great being in our home!



Second highlight...I HAVE A JOB!!! I had begun to worry that I wasn't going to be able to find a social work job before the baby came. I had been finding out that many of the hospital jobs and specifically hospice jobs require a LSW. I will be eligible to take the LSW test after graduation, however finding a job before then had become quite frustrating. Then one day at my practicum I was approach by the Primary Care Center Director who told me about a grant position that she wanted me to interview for. We had several conversations and an informal interview and I was then offered the job. The position is a one year grant position as the Program Director for the Fresh Steps to Life program. It is a prenatal and follow-up program that concentrates on providing education and other services to women and their families during and following pregnancy. The program is going into its second year, however they decided after the first year that they needed a program director to help coordinate services provided by the program. I will be responsible for the budget, coordinating the classes, providing additional one on one education to women, collaborating with other programs, doing home visits, and other jobs yet to be discovered. I am extremely excited about this opportunity. I feel relieved that I have found a job that I feel excited about, where I can use the skills I have as well as develop new skills, and where I am already familiar with the setting and culture of the agency.



Lastly, the baby!!! I continue to grow and am wondering how big I will get over the next 4 months. People say that I look small for 5 months, however I feel HUGE!! haha I am enjoying pregnancy and am continuously amazed at the fact that i have life that Kevin and I created growing inside me. Kevin felt him move for the first time last night and he has been quite active today. So far I continue to enjoy feeling him move especially since it's not keeping me up at night or causing me discomfort. My next doctor's visit is a week from tomorrow. This continues to be an amazing experience!



As I said at the beginning I could write for quite some time but I think I will close this post. Here is the latest picture of me at 20 weeks. Kevin took this picture last Friday in our backyard.