I love Broccoli!

Broccoli has become my staple food. I get the big bag of cut broccoli from Costco and eat from it the whole week!

Two nights ago, baked potatoes, broccoli, cheese.
Last night, steamed broccoli with lotsa butter. Well, not like my mom would put on, but it was pretty darn good.
Lunch today, Panda Express Beef and Broccoli.
For dinner, I want steamed broccoli again.

Which leads me to... Is this a craving? Or do I just want something that tastes heavenly??

Movement

A few weeks ago, I moved my pant waist from where it was to under my belly. It felt more comfortable that way, but then, for a few minutes I felt little flutter like things going up and down my belly. I thought it might be the baby moving, but because it was so early in my pregnancy, I didn't want to get over anxious and claim it was and then have it be gas.

Shortly thereafter, I had another little incident where I thought I felt him moving.

Thanksgiving Day, we woke up at Jason's dad's house in New Harmony. It's a little south of Cedar. Tammy has a tradition of waking up and eating Turkey. However, this year, since everyone was supposed to be going to Wes and Donna's, we had cereal for breakfast. I had a bowl and considered another, but then decided not to. I also thought of having a glass of juice, but then again, decided not to.

In between Mesquite and Moapa I had Jason searching the car for food cause the kid was hungry! The only time I feel queasy is when the kid is trying to let me know he's hungry. So, I remembered there was a fortune cookie in the car. I had Jason searching for it and that barely tied us over til Moapa. We then got some sustenance for the little bugger.

When we got home, there was still much to do. Make funeral potatoes, mashed potatoes, deep fry the turkey, clean/straighten up the house, etc. I kept telling everyone I needed to eat something, but I never stopped to eat. As I was standing in front of the dining table, organizing it, I felt a big ol' kick or jab in my belly. I knew then I had to eat something cause he was getting pissed. LOL

Now, as I sit here, catching up on past blogs, I can feel that little boy swimming laps inside. Maybe he felt a little left out from the tickle war that happened a few moments ago, but I know we will be tickling this little guy as much as possible, til he trains himself not to be ticklish (like his daddy did).

Boy oh, boy oh, boy

Jason and I had a girl name picked out. We have joked about and played with different boy names, but just couldn't find one that we agreed on. Some that I really like is Henry, Johan, Cameron and Ammon. Jason was stuck on Jaeger (I think, I hope, he was just messin with me though).

On the drive back from Jason's dad's on Thursday we had threw around a few more boy names. Jason came up with Ezra. I like it, but I don't like it. It's been tough trying to find a middle name for Ezra ____ Graf. I was trying to come up with other names and thought of Ethan.

Jason has also been stuck on Allen as a middle name and I like Bradley as a middle name.

This morning Jason called me and asked how I like Samuel Ezra Graf. I told him again, I don't love it, but I don't hate it. A little later in the day I called him and asked how he liked Ethan Allen Graf. But then... Ya, Ethan Allen was already taken by the great furniture maker himself. HA HA HA Jason had a really good laugh about that one.

I think we may go into the hospital with about 5 names. Once we see the little guy, we may be able to fit one to him that we may not have loved before, but after seeing him may fit him perfectly.

If you feel inspired, please leave a name suggestion.

Turkey Surprise

Most of the family was planning on coming to dinner at our house. None of them knew what was in store, except Carla - Jason told her that she wouldn't want to miss dinner, cause there would be a surprise like none else. She and Russ weren't able to make it though.

Bobby and Brittany arrived, followed shortly later by Jenny, Alonzo, Mike and Katie. (Mom had been there since 8ish getting the baked turkey ready.) We hung out and chatted for a while, then we were finally able to eat! As soon as we were done eating, I wanted to break into dessert. That's how I roll. LOL

However, right before dessert, Jason brought out the prize envelope. Everyone had to pick a piece of spaghetti, and whose ever straw was the longest, got to open the envelope and share the news. Bobby was the winner. He stared at the picture for quite a few seconds, then told us, It's a BOY!

Everyone seemed pretty excited that they got to find out with us. And, I think they were all pretty happy about the results. Jason and I took a few minutes to call/text family that wasn't present to share the news. This is probably one of the best Thanksgiving's I've had in years.

to fill you in...

When we decided to have Thanksgiving at our house, I told Jason we should find out then what the baby is, instead of having 2 holiday, possibly 3, at our house over the next month. Jason told me no, we should still do as we planned.

Plan: Go to Dr appt on Dec 6th, have Dr write down gender and place in envelope, have a holiday party that weekend or next, open envelope with all our friends and family around.

Saturday, Jason called me and told me I was right and that we should do it on Thanksgiving. He wanted me to see when the earliest was that we could get an ultrasound to determine the sex, and where we could go. I checked online and within a few moments I was talking with Brynn at Miracle in Progress. She told me that around 11am she would know if there was a 3pm available that day. Otherwise, we could schedule it for Monday. Monday wouldn't have been a problem, but Jason had to work and with his crazy schedule, it wouldn't have been guaranteed that he'd be off in time.

Luckily, the 3pm cancelled and we were fit in! Jason was running a little behind and he had to meet me there. Unluckily, the baby was not cooperative. Poking, prodding, caffeine, sugar, giggling... nothing would get this baby to uncross it's legs - which leads me to think he'll be the best at "crack-the-egg". After about 10 minutes we conceded that the baby was just not gonna budge. A rescan was scheduled for Monday.

Monday, I asked Heavenly Father to talk with our baby and make them be cooperative at our appt. When we got to Miracle in Progress, they took us back and we got started. The baby was not awake, nor was BG in a position to tell is it was a He or She. Finally, after some prodding and cool water, the baby woke up and started being cooperative. She found the result fairly quickly and Jason and I sat there staring at each other, not the screen. We took our results home and Jason hid them cause he knew I would be too tempted to peak.

We had our results, and now we just had to wait for Thanksgiving to open them!

I'm not saying... I'm just saying...

I've neglected you for a good reason. Before I get too in depth, I will fill you in more after Thanksgiving.

In a spur of the moment convo the other day, I have decided to have Thanksgiving at our house. I've been super busy and super tired. I love you all and hope you have a great Happy Thanksgiving!

Relax... it's Martinelli's Sparkling Cider

I had put some Sparkling Cider in the fridge the other day. Though it would be nice to have a little bubbly.

After a long Saturday at work, and Jason finally getting home, I busted it open, went at it, then took a nap.

So, S. O. G double O D Good.

(Also, you can almost tell that my body is changing from the cute little blob I was before, and has started to redistribute the weight from some parts of my body to my cute belly. Still a nice layer of chub, but in a few more weeks, it will be more round.)

Pain in the Back

My back is killing me! I don't know if it was from standing all day or what. By the time I got to my friend Jenn's, my lower back was killing me. I kept trying to sit up straight or stand up straight, but it just wasn't helping.

Does anyone know about pregnancy and scoliosis? At the next appt I'm going to ask the Dr about it, but that's still a couple weeks away.

What's new in the 2?

The second trimester has started and I feel more pregnant now than I did the whole first trimester!

If I slow down for just a moment, I fall asleep.

Every 2 hours this kid is screaming for food.

The slightest pressure on my belly makes me nauseous.

Even sometimes driving, the motion makes me queasy.

As Jason pointed out, at least I am not being jipped from "pregnancy".

Due Date

I was talking with my dad after the appointment on Monday and we got to talking about days in May. His wife's mother's birthday is May 13th. My great grandma whom I love and adore was born on the 14th. Jenny was born on the 20th. Mike on the 28th. Great Grandma TJ was born the 1st. Tyler, Jason's brother, the 2nd. Not to mention quite a few friends who were born in May.

I'm kind of nervous about May 13th because it falls on a Friday. *sigh* I don't hate Friday the 13th, but it's not my favorite. Dad calls me his flower child cause I love rainbows, flowers, butterflies and everything happy. He told me that weird holidays/dates could be my family theme. lol

He said, "Your kids are gonna say, my parents were married on Leap Day and I was born on Friday the 13th."

Then I started thinking of other fun things, like their cousin and grandma were born on April Fool's. Uncle Bobby was almost born on New Year's. Uncle Mikey was almost born on Memorial Day. Grandpa Bob was almost born on Thanksgiving.

We could try to make a tradition out of unusual dates and holidays.

2nd Trimester has started...

And there is so much to tell!!!

First of all, yesterday and last night. We had stake conference this past weekend. I was fighting with Jason about going to the Saturday adult session. I wanted to be supportive of him singing, but I didn't want to sit in the chapel for so long. I figured I knew what all the talks were going to be about and I told him, and I quote, "Jason, by the time my kid is old enough to worry about porn, I will have attended many more meetings with talks about porn."

He then leaned down and told BG, "Please kick mom and tell her it's important for her to go." I was also pretty bummed about the whole not "feeling" pregnant and wanted to really focus on maybe feeling flutters.

Later last night, Jason was on one couch, I was on the other doing homework, and my belly just wasn't feeling good. I moved the waistline of my pants to below my belly instead of on top. As soon as I started to focus on homework again, I felt a little flutter in my intestine/uterine area. For a few moments, I just sat on the couch concentrating on the feeling. Was it gas? Was it bowels moving? Was it indeed flutters? It didn't move from side to side like most gas bubbles. And, usually when my bowels move it's more of a cramping. So, I think I felt some flutters for the first time!!!

This morning I was feeling pretty good. I was thinking that maybe it was flutters, and I have been trying to focus on feeling them again. I went to work and then picked up Jason so we could go to our 2nd appointment. The front desk clerk was able to bill my insurance for the full term of the pregnancy and the only thing I owe is $370. I was stoked that it was so low, but I definitely wasn't prepared for another bill of $92 a month for the next 4 months. I asked if we could try my HSA card and see if it will approve the trans. After 5 seconds, I was jumping up and down cause it took it! So, bill paid. Of course we'll still have all the hospital fees and whatnot, but wherever I can save money in our pockets, I'm gonna.

Dr Swainston has an ultrasound machine in the exam room. And, we got to see BG again. <3>

Also at my appointment, I went over questions I've accrued this month.

1. Can I have eggnog? At first, Dr Swainston just laughed at me but, then he realized I was for real. I told him that I got an email with 9 things you shouldn't drink while pregnant and the only one that I was concerned about was the eggnog. After much conversation, he told me that I'm ok to have eggnog as long as it isn't spiked.

2. Up until when can I travel? Short answer, up until about 7 months unless I'm high risk. But as long as I'm taking care of myself and baby, 7 months is probably the limit.

3. When are we able to find out the sex? He said at my next appt, which is December 6 (Chrystal's bday). If we're unable to do it then, we should be able to do it shortly after that at one of my other appts.

4. What's the deal with the weight gain? I don't think I've gained any, but I haven't lost any either. How much am I supposed to gain and when will I start looking pregnant? My chart says I haven't had any weight change. Dr Swainston isn't worried about it though. He said that depending on how I eat, I may come out of this thing ahead. Meaning, as long as I watch what I eat, and eat proportionately, I could lose weight during my pregnancy. (*This also explains my shopping trip later.)

5. My boob has been vibrating off and on all day. Is that normal? Doc said, "write this down, cause she has come up with 2 questions I've never been asked before. 1 was the eggnog, this is number 2." HA HA HA I love making things interesting. However, he agreed with Jason saying that I've got a little muscle twitch or something. Fine. I'm not worried about it. It's more annoying than painful.

My Shopping Trip - I wanted to go to Motherhood Maternity and see what they had maternity clothes wise. I also wanted to get some belly bands. When we got there, they didn't have any XXL clothes. The regular sizes only went to XL. The plus sizes started at 1X. For those of you not really getting it, that's like going from a 16 to a 20. I grabbed a 2X and it was ginormous! I grabbed a 1X and it was still a little big. I then grabbed a cute jean skirt, size XL, and tried it on. It fit perfectly!

I was stoked, yet shocked, at how I haven't gained any weight, but I've gone down a size and a half. I could only think that when you are working out and doing weight training, you lose inches, but not weight. Such is my pregnancy. I have been losing inches in some places, but having it "tone up" somewhere else. A button up shirt I bought a few years ago use to bow on me. I have about 2 inches of space to move around! My pants are getting bigger in the legs, but the waistline is still where it was months ago. Who knew that pregnancy could be a great weight loss program?! LOL

Hair

For years I've heard that when you get pregnant, your hormones will change many things about you physically. One was that I was hoping would change is my hair. I love it's fullness and thickness (most of the time), but I have this annoying thing going on where the top of my head, the hair is straight. The underneath is very curly and tends to turn into ringlets when prompted.

Today while getting ready for church, I noticed that around the temples, my hair was very wavy. =) Ihope that it will spread to the top of my head and I will be a curly headed girl all over instead of only partially.

How come I'm not showing?!

I've been having a rough time today. I still have yet to yacked. I'm thankful to not have to endure that part of pregnancy, but it's one of the main symptoms that I think helps a woman understand that she's pregnant. We had our first appointment and got to hear BG's heartbeat, and we saw BG's little heart beating a million times a minute, but my brain is still telling me it could have been a tape that they played.

I blame most of the doubt on my previous doctors. They have chiselled the thought in my head that "if you don't feel pregnant, you're not". So, aside from being really hungry sometimes and gagging at horrendous smells, which mind you are all things that non pregnant woman do, I don't feel pregnant, so therefore I feel like I'm not.

Jason chatted with BG for about 20 minutes today trying to get them to move. Didn't happen. Furthermore, I see a lot of my friends, and their pics that they post, who are only a few weeks further along than me, and they're all showing! I know I was not a toothpick and so it will probably take longer for me to show, but I haven't gained any weight either.

I know Isound paranoid and am getting high anxiety. (At least I'm having the same emotions my books tell me I should be having at this point.) I just wish that I would start feeling flutters, or showing or anything!

Next appointment is Monday. Hopefully I will gt some answers from the Doc.

Weight Gain

I'm nearly done with my first trimester, and I have not gained any weight. From what I've been reading, that's good!

First Emotional Breakdown

I woke up this morning, quite a few times, trying to get outta bed and finally got out when I needed to. While getting dressed and ready for work, BG made it very clear that she was hungry. I told her we would stop for a bagel at Einstein's on the way to work. So, I had some milk to hold her over.

I got to Einstein's ordered my bagel, grabbed my chocolate milk and went to pay. I opened my purse and there was no wallet. I had left it on the couch at home. S.O.A.B.! I asked the cashier to wait just a second, maybe I had some cash in the car. I went and checked and had only change. I ran back inside and told the cashier I was terribly sorry and that I wasn't going to be able to get it.

As I got back in my car, I broke down crying. I drove across the street to work and after composing myself, I walked in. I made some velveeta shells and cheese that I had there and started crying again cause I felt like I let my kid down. Instead of a Florentine Bagel with chocolate milk, they're getting shells and cheese and water. Not such a healthy breakfast.

I felt so silly for being such a cry baby about such a small situation. BG doesn't know what we have for breakfast. Let alone lunch and dinner. And, this was only one day out of how many?! I doubt she's gonna remember that I jipped her out of a good breakfast.