Finding Out

Yesterday was the big day! As anxious as I was to know if we were having a boy or girl, I was more anxious to see our baby again and know that everything is good! And most importantly, everything is perfect! :) Much to our surprise, we found out we are having a baby BOY! Here is a picture of our little Cade Alan Reyes:

We couldn't get a great picture because this little stinker would not get his hands out of his face.

He is definitely shy! He did everything to hide from covering his face with his hands to sticking his legs over his head and kept both arms in front of his face the majority of the time. We were getting nervous that he might not cooperate enough to let us see the gender, but we were wrong. That was one department he was not shy in at all. He had both legs straight up in the air in a V for us to see all we needed to see. He's all boy! 

Brian and I were both extremely shocked when she said "It's a boy!" But before we checked for gender (when she was checking organs) she went from saying ITS a lot to HIS so we got a little suspicious before she told us.

To say we are excited would be an extreme understatement. We are ecstatic! It is crazy to me just how knowing that it is a HE and he has a name changes everything so much. It makes it all seem so real, and we can really start planning. I have probably watched the DVD we got of the ultrasound no less than 20 times by now. And as we sat on the deck last night with our dogs, we talked about having a little boy running around in the yard soon. It is crazy how now that I know I can just picture everything so clearly! Except I got a little ahead of myself because I told Brian "Next summer we will have a little boy running around the yard." Haha, he was quick to remind me that NEXT summer Cade will be 5-8 months old. I guess I just got a little too excited. Still, he will be out there with us next summer, even if he isn't quite running yet! :)

So this may turn really long, but onto telling everyone! We started at my parents house. We took them the cake balls I made and both of them and Ian and Anson all bit into theirs at the same time! It was so fun to see their reactions! They were all so excited. By the time we got there, my mom had decided she thought it was a boy too and Dad and the boys already did so there wasn't a lot of surprise there, but they were so happy to know! Then we all watched the video! And they had us a gift! My favorite book when I was little was "Are You My Mother?" I had it memorized and if anyone ever tried to skip a page or word on me, I knew! They got the baby a copy of the book and I thought that was so sweet! I MAY have made Brian read it to me last night when we got home! :)

Then we went to my grandparents' house while we waited on Brian's mom to get off work. This one was a bit more of a surprise. Kathy and Vicki came over to find out as well. And everyone there was convinced the baby was a girl. Ma Rube was even more convinced when we walked in because "she could tell by my face." Haha, she knew I wanted a girl and I couldn't stop smiling so she assumed she was right. They were all shocked when they saw BLUE!  We watched the ultrasound video there again to show off our boy. 

From there, we headed to Brian's mom's where we waited a few minutes on her to get home. She had guessed that I was having a GIRL and hasn't guessed a baby in their family wrong in 28 years so this was an interesting one! She was definitely surprised to see BLUE! Then the 3 of us, plus Skylar and Joey, watched the video again. She also had us something which I thought was really neat because she said that in March she was at Wal-Mart and had a weird feeling that there was going to be a baby soon so she bought one pink baby blanket and one blue! I thought that was crazy since we found out in April. So she gave us the blue blanket!

After leaving there, we could finally tell the world! It was so exciting to be able to share the news! Waiting around from 10 am until almost 4 before we told anyone almost killed me, but I am glad we did it that way! I feel like it was much more exciting to be able to see reactions of those closest to us rather than tell them over the phone! Now I am just ready for our baby boy to be here! 143 days and counting! :)

Preparing for REVEAL

We found out what the baby is today!! :)
 And it is totally killing me, but we are keeping it a secret for a few more hours. We wanted to tell our families in person so we are headed straight to Booneville as soon as Brian gets off work to do a small reveal with each of our families. We did not want to make a big deal out of it or obligate people to come to a party, but wanted to see our parents' and my grandparents' reactions so we will just be going to each of their houses with...Cake balls! 

I had to make them ahead of time so I could dip them and they would be ready to go today so I made both pink and blue! 

Here they are all rolled up before I dipped them in chocolate. I cannot wait to take them in tonight and let everyone see what we are having! It is killing me not to tell yet. We also have a DVD of the ultrasound to show them and a name to tell! Although most of our family already knows the name, I think some don't yet. 

And just for fun, here are the guesses that were made prior to us finding out!

Boy: Poppy, Ian, Anson, Amanda, Baby's Aunt Vicki, Britney, Kassie, Josh

Girl:  Me, Brian, Ma Beck, MeMaw, Ma Rube, Mac, Kathy, My Aunt Vicki, Misty, Laken, Peighton, Catherine, Joey (and pretty much everyone I work with)

And I am so glad to finally be able to say HE or SHE! I can't wait to tell everyone in 2 HOURS!

18 Weeks and The Big Day

I made my 18 week post, tried to post it...3 times, and my phone was acting up, then it erased so I just said forget it. Not much has changed.

 I look the same as I did at 17 weeks.

I weigh the same.

And everything else is the same.

Except for one new unwelcome thing: I have started getting sick again! I don't know what that is all about, but I am not enjoying it. It is just like the 1st trimester in that it always hits in the afternoons, can last anywhere from 5 minutes to 2 hours, and I have still yet to throw up. It does always feel like THIS IS THE TIME it is going to happen though. But it is not quiet as bad as the 1st trimester sickness although it is accompanied with really bad headaches. 

And also, I do have one new craving: Green Olives!

So that's that for my 18 week post, pictureless and all. 

In other news, 2 DAYS until we find out what the baby is! The excitement is killing me. I still deep down think girl but also sometimes think boy. I will be more surprised if it is a boy but also kinda surprised if it is a girl. Kinda weird that I will be surprised either way since it can only go 1 of 2 ways, but I will. 

I have been hard at work today on some gender reveal stuff for our families and gathering final predictions from all family members. So far, we have 16 guesses in: 10 for girl, 6 for boy. Which is actually closer than I expected since all we have heard for 4 months is GIRL GIRL GIRL.

Those are all from my family so far, Brian's family has been more convinced it is a boy, and I am getting all of their final predictions tomorrow at Finley's birthday party so it may end up being a very close race. At some point, I will type up all the guesses just for fun to remember, but for now they are in my BUMP BOOK Vicki got me, which I am loving by the way!

I will do a post after we know on the big reveal and preparing for it. And of course introducing our sweet baby's most recent picture. And it will no longer be just a baby it will be he or she, with a name and all! :) HURRY UP MONDAY!!

Summer Obsessions

I love Summer for so many reasons! But maybe one of my favorite has begun! BIG BROTHER!! I am seriously obsessed. Every week I try not to watch After Dark or read Twitter about it to avoid spoilers and this has been the first week I have succeeded. So for once I have no idea what will happen tonight. But I have to say, I am hopeful Aaryn goes home. She has probably been the most hated houseguest of all time. While I hope she goes, part of me enjoys watching the train wreck that she is. I am anxious for her to get out into the real world, realize she is so disliked, and find out she lost her job. Mean? Yes, but she was capable of avoiding all of that so I don't feel too bad for feeling the way I do. 

In other news, the Royal Baby was finally revealed yesterday. I am not obsessed with the Royal family nor have I been obsessed with the birth of the baby, but for some reason as soon as I heard I found myself glued to the TV staring at these hospital doors for over 30 minutes just waiting.

My mom called somewhere during that time so we watched together, and got way too excited when the door opened twice but neither time it was them. Then finally, they came out!

I thought Kate looked AMAZING!! I cannot imagine walking out into that crowd for thousands of pictures and being all over everyone's TVs then the internet forever 27 short hours after giving birth. Crazy! Then today I heard media talking about how she still had a bump! Really?? What do people expect the day after having a baby? They obviously think that thing magically disappears. I was not impressed with people really having things to say about that. Look how amazing she looks and they still found something negative to say. I am just SO relieved that I will not have to be seen or photographed 27 hours after I give birth. I mean I am dreading going to Christmas just with our families 3 days after because I am well aware that I will still be looking like a train wreck. But this reminds me, it could always be worse! I will not be photographed and on every search engine known to man or plastered all over TV. And luckily family has to love you no matter what you look like. :) And I am absolutely positive that they will be much more concerned with getting their hands on the baby than what I look like. 

He or She?? What Will This Baby Be?

So I have been driving myself crazy trying to figure out what we are having! I know all of the Old Wives' Tales are silly and not accurate, but it is still fun to look at them. I've taken quizzes online where you answer questions about the old wives' tales and it tells you what you are having. Brian and I took the exact same one (answering about me), but did not look at each other's answers and mine said 58% chance girl, his said 58% chance boy. Ha! This is how everything has been-completely SPLIT! And the funniest thing to me as I read these old wives' tales is that half of them say THIS means boy and the other half will say the exact same thing means girl. So I am completely aware that they are not accurate, and even if they were mine do not point clearly one way or the other. BUT we find out exactly a week from TODAY what we are having, and I cannot wait! So I only have one more week of guessing, predicting, reading, searching the internet for any clues, etc. So here is a list of what I have come up with so far for fun!

How I'm Carrying: Low - Boy

Heart Rate: Above 150 - Girl

Nausea: Didn't have much - Boy

Cravings: Sweets - Girl

Ring Test: Back and Forth - Boy

Chinese Gender Chart: Girl

So the verdict is: There is a 50% chance I'm having a Boy and a 50% chance I'm having a Girl! SHOCKER! 

And in other news, Princess Kate is in labor right now, and I'm just relieved that no one will be standing outside the hospital updating the world on my cervix in 5 months. How awkward is that? And since I am talking gender, and we do not know what she is having, I am going to guess GIRL. I always think everyone is having a girl though. And I'm right...50% of the time. :) 

17 Weeks

How Far Along: 17 Weeks

Size of Baby: Onion

Weight Gain: +5

Maternity Clothes: Some, but just for fun.

Gender: The countdown is on! 12 days until we know! I still think GIRL, and Brian now agrees! Although I occasionally convince myself that it's a BOY. We will be happy either way! I have a feeling my bank account would be happier with a boy :)
I've read all the myths that are supposed to mean boy or girl, and seriously they are literally split like 50/50. In fact, I think I will do a post on all of those before we find out.

Movement: Yes, I thought I felt it really early on then decided maybe I was crazy, but I am definitely feeling it now and based on what I now know is BABY, I was correct about feeling it early on. 
The difference is I do not have to lay completely still on my back and poke around on my belly for 15 minutes to feel something now. And I am feeling more POPS (kicks?) now rather than occasional flutters.

Sleep: Still waking up between 3 and 4 a.m. every night. And then I am usually up until 6 or 7 but luckily it is summer so I can sleep in once I finally fall back asleep!

What I miss: Nothing really, maybe sleeping through a whole night? 

Cravings: SKITTLES! Pancakes still, anything sweet.

Best Moment This Week: Feeling stronger movements, and Brian was able to feel 2 kicks this week as well. I feel like that is really early?? Maybe I am further along than we think, or maybe we have an extremely active strong baby in there. Either way, 2 of the nights I was feeling strong "popping" I put his hand right over it and he said he felt it.

Growing and Stress

I've been stressing lately because I felt like my belly popped early then kinda stopped growing. Then, I made this collage of my last 4 weeks and realized I obviously have nothing to worry about.

I am typically a pretty low stress person, but It is crazy the things that pregnancy will make you stress over that you never thought would cause stress before. I guess babies do change everything...even before they get here. Lately, I've been focusing a lot on finding someone to keep the baby once he/she is here. That has caused a lot of stress and sleepless nights. I am a everything will work out kind of person, but knowing I am about to be responsible for a human being's entire life is a tad scary. Hopefully I will chill out eventually...in 18 25 years or so..

16 Weeks

How Far Along: 16 Weeks

Size of Baby: Avocado

Weight Gain: +4

Maternity Clothes: Some, but just for fun.

Gender: ?? We will know in 3 weeks and I can't wait! I still think GIRL and for the 1st time ever last night Brian told me that he thinks it is a girl too.

Movement: Some and I love it!

Sleep: Pretty good lately. I've been exhausted. My back is still bothering me though.

What I miss: Nothing currently.

Cravings: Ice cream, ice cold water, fruit, anything cold

Best Moment This Week: Maternity shopping in Dallas, looking at cribs and other baby stuff, dying to buy so many things but resisting until we know if we are having a boy or girl.

TEXAS

Last week we took a trip to Texas! I don't know what it is, but there is just something I love about Texas! It seems like we take small trips there pretty often. This time, we left on the morning of the 4th and went to a Rangers game that night. I have never been out of town on the 4th of July so this was different for me, but we had so much fun! I love to go to baseball games and this was our 2nd Rangers game to go to. Brian's mom got on the Rangers website and somehow found this picture of us. 

I am still amazed that she was somehow able to find this! This was taken toward the beginning of the game when the Rangers were losing, but luckily they came back and won by 1 run which made for an exciting last few innings! After the game, there was a huge firework show in the stadium and it was really neat to watch. The craziest part to me was that they turned every single light in the stadium out so it was pitch black before it started. I felt little tiny kicks from the baby throughout the show. I don't think (s)he was a fan of all that noise. We may have trouble next 4th. 

On Friday, we spent the entire day shopping, and I bought some new maternity clothes! We took a break between shopping trips to eat some cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory. We considered getting some cheap tickets and going back to the game that night, but decided not to since we were pretty worn out from shopping all day and ready for a good meal. So we ran by another mall that night then went to eat at Pappasitas. 

Saturday morning, we headed home then went straight to my parents' house to get Macy. Judging by how much we missed her, we may never be able to leave our baby overnight. I have always talked a big game about how good it is to leave your baby sometimes and that we will definitely be doing that when we have kids. Now that it is becoming more of a reality, I may be backing down on all that talk a little. :) Hopefully I will come around one day because I really do think it is good for everyone (parents, baby, and even grandparents) to leave the baby over night from time to time. 

15 Weeks

How Far Along: 

15 Weeks

Size of baby: Apple

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +3

Maternity Clothes: Mostly no, I wear maternity occasionally just for fun...and they are more comfy, but my regular clothes still fit.

Gender: ? We scheduled the BIG appointment this week. We will know Monday, July 29!

I still think GIRL, Brian still thinks BOY! We have names picked for both.

Movement: I have started to feel a little. On the way to Texas (at 15 weeks, 6 days) and during the firework show that night, I felt small jabs that Dr. Bell told me were kicks at my last appointment, otherwise I may not have known what it was. 

(The baby was kicking the doppler when we were checking the heart rate at my appointment Monday 7/1)

Sleep: Decent. I feel like I have a pinched nerve or something in my back right now that is making sleep a little more difficult lately. 

What I miss: Maybe one of my favorite summer beverages that I would have loved to have during the Rangers game on the 4th :) But nothing else!

Cravings: Sweets, fruit, and PANCAKES!! I could eat pancakes day and night.

Best Moment This Week: Hearing the heartbeat (158 bpm) again at my last appointment, feeling jabs, trip to Texas with Brian, and realizing on the 4th of July that next 4th of July we will have a 6 1/2 month old baby! That is CRAZY for me to wrap my mind around! :)