May 26-June 1 & June 2-June 8, 2008:
So at the end of week eight and beginning of week nine, I got a fantastic surprise. Saturday morning, Jon had gone to Best Buy for something, and the doorbell rang. When I opened it, my dear friend Kate was standing there! Apparently, Best Buy is code for "airport." I just started bawling and hugged the heck out of her.
Kate and I became best friends in middle school when I lived in Eugene, Oregon, and have remained close despite the distance and rare but precious communications over the years. We'd recently gotten in touch again, but I hadn't seen Kate since my wedding (a few days shy of four years prior), and I had recently been telling Jon how much I missed her. So, Jon flew her out here to surprise me. He also planned for the three of us a trip to Austin, including a meal at our favorite local restaurant there (Trudy's), a lovely hotel stay (at the Omni), a concert including my favorite originally out-of-Austin musician (Bob Schneider playing acoustically) and a fun night on the town (we got to hang out at a great little smoke-free dueling-piano bar). It was one of the most thoughtful things anyone's ever done for me (thanks forever, Baby!). I also got to tell Kate in person about the pregnancy, and she was so super excited, she was practically in tears. I really look forward to her meeting the baby; she'll be a great honorary aunt!
Then, May 29, Jon and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary, made sweeter by our love's manifestation in the form of the pregnancy. It's weird knowing it would be our last anniversary with just the two of us in existence. As excited as we are for the baby, we realize we'd better savor this dynamic while it lasts!
Week 10 rang in my last week of school as a teacher. It was bittersweet as I knew I'd really miss my coworkers and the daily interactions and fun aspects of the job. However, I knew retiring would be in my best interest physically and mentally since I'd need to take especially good care of my body and keep down my stress levels. It felt pretty real when the kids asked about coming back to visit the following year, and I knew I wouldn't be there, and then I had to clean out my room. Sigh. All the same, a big part of me did welcome retirement! In the end, I don't regret the decision. I suppose I sacrificed getting that coveted five-year pin, which I would have received the next year, but I'm going to be strong about that. We can't have it all, right?
On an interesting note, I discovered this week it was more comfortable to unbutton my jeans while sitting for long periods in the car. Very classy strategy, I know. I prayed regularly that I would never get pulled over when practicing this. My panicking to refasten my pants would be awkward with an officer walking up to the car.
Still can't find the belly pics, but I'll keep looking, and there are plenty in weeks to come! Hold tight!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Weeks 7 & 8: It's a ... heartbeat!
May 12-May 18 & May 19-May 25, 2008:
I started feeling a little more pregnant during this time such as some mild localized soreness (you know what I'm sayin', ladies), stuffy nose, super senses (mostly smell; I had to throw out most of my soaps and lotions because I couldn't handle scents very well), etc. Fortunately, I never had morning sickness, but I did get what I call the "evening quease." This consisted of a general unpleasant feeling in my gut from late afternoon through bedtime. My food choices, therefore, largely incorporated carbs like bread and cereal and other such bland delights. Anything greasy or fried was a no-no item. Farewell for now, fast food.
Oh, and we did tell our parents around this time, too. We decided, especially in light of the previous loss, that we would not tell siblings or others until safely (if there is such a thing) into the second trimester. All baby's grandparents were very excited for us; this will be number 10 for Jon's parents and number one on my side. Of course, it makes it that much harder to be away from family, but that's what blogs are for, right?
Perhaps one of the most special moments was during week eight, when we had the first prenatal appointment. Jon came with me to this one, and it's great he did, because we got to experience the first ultrasound. I was so very nervous that the ultrasound would reveal something tragic; it's really hard to believe one is pregnant sometimes before you can actually feel the baby, and this can cause a lot of doubt. My OB warned us that at this stage, it's still possible to not see a heartbeat but still have a viable pregnancy. However, if the heartbeat can be detected, it lowers the chance of miscarriage significantly. Thankfully, when she showed us the screen, Jon pointed out the heartbeat right away. He made comments about how tiny and fast it was. I felt like Rachel on "Friends," when she can't decipher her baby on the ultrasound and worries that it's a reflection on herself as a mother. It took a lot of pointing and squinting, but I finally saw that precious little flutter. I think.
Unfortunately, I didn't think to get pictures, so we don't have the photos from this ultrasound. Also, strangely, I can't find my belly pics from this and the next few weeks. I'm working on the latter, and if I find them, I'll post them. However, to console you viewers, here are some photos of Jon from this time period. Shockingly, they are bass-fishing pics. You can see part of our boat, too, which has provided us with many enjoyable recreational hours. Now that I'm prego, though, we're having to be more careful when riding across those waves!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Weeks 5 & 6: Houston, we have a positive!
April 28-May 4 & May5-May 11, 2008:
First things first ... after his last blog viewing, Jon pointed out I missed a few key fishing pics from week four, because they were in a different folder. Okay, so here they are.
Jon with a strong small-mouth bass:
Dad and Mom with an impressive pair-o-crappie:
Even I made a decent showing with my own crappie:
Good then. Now for week 5. So, the first day of this week (Monday, April 28), I took my first pregnancy test in the morning before work. I took it about four days before I expected my period as the test's literature said was possible (thought the detection percentage would be lower at this stage). I put the test on the floor and took a quick look around the room before glancing back at the test, which already read "pregnant." I'm pretty sure I let out a little squeal of joy and flapped my hands around a bit like an excited adolescent girl. I said a prayer of thanks to God and then went to work. Since I'd waited until after Jon left for work to test (didn't want to disappoint him if negative and wanted to tell him in a more interesting way if positive), I had to hold in this wonderful secret all day. Time to plot a way to inform Jon of his impending daddyhood. Hmmm ...
I knew Jon wouldn't be interested in an elaborate announcement. So, I decided to do something simple and intimate. That evening in bed, I started to pointing to spots I wanted Jon to kiss ... forehead, cheek, shoulder, etc., and then I got to my tummy. After he planted one there, I told him to say "hello." Initially, he seemed confused as to why I wanted him to talk to my anatomy, but I could tell the wheels started to turn shortly thereafter. When he looked to me for reassurance of what I assume he suspected, I told him his baby was in there and deserved a greeting. Jon smiled, gave a "yay" and offered props in the way of a mini fist pound.
Initially after Nestle got the news, he seemed to favor feigning ignorance and/or pouting. Since he's about 14 years old and has been the primary object of my maternal attentions for his life's entirity, it will be interesting to see how he responds when that focus shifts. Oh, and though I didn't take pics of them, for the record, the snakes don't seem to care. They're probably protesting silently.
First things first ... after his last blog viewing, Jon pointed out I missed a few key fishing pics from week four, because they were in a different folder. Okay, so here they are.
Jon with a strong small-mouth bass:
Dad and Mom with an impressive pair-o-crappie:
Even I made a decent showing with my own crappie:
Good then. Now for week 5. So, the first day of this week (Monday, April 28), I took my first pregnancy test in the morning before work. I took it about four days before I expected my period as the test's literature said was possible (thought the detection percentage would be lower at this stage). I put the test on the floor and took a quick look around the room before glancing back at the test, which already read "pregnant." I'm pretty sure I let out a little squeal of joy and flapped my hands around a bit like an excited adolescent girl. I said a prayer of thanks to God and then went to work. Since I'd waited until after Jon left for work to test (didn't want to disappoint him if negative and wanted to tell him in a more interesting way if positive), I had to hold in this wonderful secret all day. Time to plot a way to inform Jon of his impending daddyhood. Hmmm ...
I knew Jon wouldn't be interested in an elaborate announcement. So, I decided to do something simple and intimate. That evening in bed, I started to pointing to spots I wanted Jon to kiss ... forehead, cheek, shoulder, etc., and then I got to my tummy. After he planted one there, I told him to say "hello." Initially, he seemed confused as to why I wanted him to talk to my anatomy, but I could tell the wheels started to turn shortly thereafter. When he looked to me for reassurance of what I assume he suspected, I told him his baby was in there and deserved a greeting. Jon smiled, gave a "yay" and offered props in the way of a mini fist pound.
Initially after Nestle got the news, he seemed to favor feigning ignorance and/or pouting. Since he's about 14 years old and has been the primary object of my maternal attentions for his life's entirity, it will be interesting to see how he responds when that focus shifts. Oh, and though I didn't take pics of them, for the record, the snakes don't seem to care. They're probably protesting silently.
I found out about this pregnancy the day before I had to inform the school whether I'd be renewing my contract for the next year, so this was very convenient timing. Jon and I decided a while back that in the case of a pregnancy, it would be best for me to stay home so we could manage my health condition with the least amount of stress and complication, and that way the school wouldn't have to worry about switching teachers mid year, which is a burden on the department, administration and the kids, not to mention the teacher moving out. Looks like I'm retiring to become a full-time trophy wife!
Here I am waving goodbye to my waistline in my week-five belly pic (first officially prego pic):
However, I knew I was a long way from feeling secure in the pregnancy. I needed to have another positive test in one week before the LIFE study considered the pregnancy a done deal.
Fortunately, week six yielded another positive test, and unlike my first pregnancy, that week I had no problems or discomforts. Aside from being a little fatigue and bloating (nothing I wouldn't experience anyway after something like, say, a big meal), I felt great!
Belly pics for week six:
However, I knew I was a long way from feeling secure in the pregnancy. I needed to have another positive test in one week before the LIFE study considered the pregnancy a done deal.
Fortunately, week six yielded another positive test, and unlike my first pregnancy, that week I had no problems or discomforts. Aside from being a little fatigue and bloating (nothing I wouldn't experience anyway after something like, say, a big meal), I felt great!
Belly pics for week six:
Friday, November 14, 2008
Weeks 3 & 4: conception and Kansas
April 14-April 20 & April 21-April 27, 2008:
So, thanks to techology, we can be fairly certain this is the week we landed our little blessing. At the end of week three, Jon had a trip back to Manhattan, where K-State is, for Open House to represent ExxonMobil. Fortunately, I got to go along, as I do every now and again when it works. It's a good thing, too, because otherwise, the timing would not have allowed for this baby to come about. So, we have a Kansas baby, in a manner of speaking. There's no place like home!
Ok, so next are some photos from the Engineering Open House.
Here are she and Bill ... or are these a couple of students? Crazy kids.
Jon and I ... if you can see, this Pizza Hut claims to be "the oldest." I'm not sure about the bragging points on this. Mmmmmm.
On our way out of town, Jon and I stopped at a scenic outlook in flint-hills/konza prairie territory. Ok, so we actually stopped because I forgot to get something out of mom's car, and we had to find a place to wait to meet up with her and Bill. Ahem.
Ok, sorry, Jon. Now we can get back on the road.
Next we met Jon's parents out at Melvern Lake where they were camping. Jon's brothers brought their families out to visit for an afternoon since we don't get to see them often. It's weird to think I'm actually in the very first stages of pregnancy during this time ... fortunately, I skipped the margaritas (generally always a treat to myself at Jon's family's get togethers) and behaved in a baby-conscious way, just in case. You're welcome, future baby!
Our niece Josie is a precious little droolpot.
She also likes to eat paper plates. Yummy.
Our niece Hailey is quite a joy, too. So happy! She looks a lot like her dad (Jason) as a baby.
Our nephew Trenton is a great big brother.
So, I think I was insisting on a photo, and mom is forcing this smile juuuuust a bit. Cute, though! What a good sport. Next to her is our dear family friend Paul. He's a mule-riding riot! He brings a little extra personality to any situation.
Jon is showing off his mad karate-kid skills against a sunset backdrop.
Our niece Emilia is growing so quickly!
Hailey's mom Michelle is thrilled to have a little girl ... between the two of them, she and Jason already had two boys!
Here's dad doing a little photography of his own.
Jon's bro Jared and Jared's wife Dori always have a smile for the camera!
Jon's bro Jason and fiancee Michelle make an adorable family with the addition of their little Hailey.
Jon and Emi are partners in crime.
Hailey and I enjoy the finer things in life, like short walks at sunset and long naps.
Ashton, Michelle's little bundle of energy, is lots of fun. We both like to ham it up!
Sooooo pretty. We don't have this kind of view from our place in Houston.
Jon's posing by the rental car: a super-hot Corolla (makes us feel at home, as we are die-hard Corolla owners ourselves).
Jon gets flirtatious with mom's pony, Dakota. Look out, Jon, she's a maneater. Look at those eyes, for Pete's sake!
Mom's horse Sun-D is a bit of an old guy, but he's still a distinguished gentleman.
Here Jon has Dakota set up for a cart. Nice. I don't really know what you'd put in a cart for her to pull. Surely we could find something interesting for her to do.
After some trouble catching many fish at Melvern, the four of us took a day trip over to Coffey County to try our luck at the lake there. Jackpot! Here's a pic of one of Jon's many crappie. Who doesn't love a satisfying day of generous crappie fishing?
Go, mom! You can catch a fine crappie, too.
So, here's the nuclear power plant at the lake. Looking back, I wonder if it was the most prudent thing to be in the most fragile part of pregnancy and so close to this ... oh well. Maybe our baby will be like one of the X-Men. If so, I hope he/she gets a really cool superpower.
So, during the first part of week four, Jon and I (and teeny-tiny Baby Biggerstaff) went back to Houston. As far as the rest of the week, my brother, Zach, had his 25th birthday. Wow! Also, we continued the waiting process to find out whether our family would be growing. Either way, we sure did have a great time ... and we made some very fantastic memories!
Ok, so again, for those of you interested in belly progress ... by the way, this was taken in Houston before going to Kansas, so it's my last not-technically-pregnant-yet pic:
So, thanks to techology, we can be fairly certain this is the week we landed our little blessing. At the end of week three, Jon had a trip back to Manhattan, where K-State is, for Open House to represent ExxonMobil. Fortunately, I got to go along, as I do every now and again when it works. It's a good thing, too, because otherwise, the timing would not have allowed for this baby to come about. So, we have a Kansas baby, in a manner of speaking. There's no place like home!
Ok, so next are some photos from the Engineering Open House.
This lovely lady is some kind of agricultural-engineering experiment. That gas-cap-looking device in her side is actually an opening through which students can check her digestive situation, stomach contents, etc. If Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer had taunting trouble, I can only imagine what this cow must endure.
Here's the solar car ... well, I think it's actually the "lid" to the solar car. This is a complicated technology, folks.
Here's Jon setting up the ExxonMobil booth. He's cute. I'd leave him my resume.
Mom's hubby Bill graduated from K-State, and his son Mike attends the university, so Bill and mom make trips up to Manhattan occasionally. They visited us while there. Here are my mom and I in Aggieville:
Here are she and Bill ... or are these a couple of students? Crazy kids.
Jon and I ... if you can see, this Pizza Hut claims to be "the oldest." I'm not sure about the bragging points on this. Mmmmmm.
On our way out of town, Jon and I stopped at a scenic outlook in flint-hills/konza prairie territory. Ok, so we actually stopped because I forgot to get something out of mom's car, and we had to find a place to wait to meet up with her and Bill. Ahem.
Ok, sorry, Jon. Now we can get back on the road.
Next we met Jon's parents out at Melvern Lake where they were camping. Jon's brothers brought their families out to visit for an afternoon since we don't get to see them often. It's weird to think I'm actually in the very first stages of pregnancy during this time ... fortunately, I skipped the margaritas (generally always a treat to myself at Jon's family's get togethers) and behaved in a baby-conscious way, just in case. You're welcome, future baby!
Our niece Josie is a precious little droolpot.
She also likes to eat paper plates. Yummy.
Our niece Hailey is quite a joy, too. So happy! She looks a lot like her dad (Jason) as a baby.
Our nephew Trenton is a great big brother.
So, I think I was insisting on a photo, and mom is forcing this smile juuuuust a bit. Cute, though! What a good sport. Next to her is our dear family friend Paul. He's a mule-riding riot! He brings a little extra personality to any situation.
Jon is showing off his mad karate-kid skills against a sunset backdrop.
Our niece Emilia is growing so quickly!
Hailey's mom Michelle is thrilled to have a little girl ... between the two of them, she and Jason already had two boys!
Here's dad doing a little photography of his own.
Jon's bro Jared and Jared's wife Dori always have a smile for the camera!
Jon's bro Jason and fiancee Michelle make an adorable family with the addition of their little Hailey.
Jon and Emi are partners in crime.
Hailey and I enjoy the finer things in life, like short walks at sunset and long naps.
Ashton, Michelle's little bundle of energy, is lots of fun. We both like to ham it up!
Sooooo pretty. We don't have this kind of view from our place in Houston.
Jon's posing by the rental car: a super-hot Corolla (makes us feel at home, as we are die-hard Corolla owners ourselves).
Jon gets flirtatious with mom's pony, Dakota. Look out, Jon, she's a maneater. Look at those eyes, for Pete's sake!
Mom's horse Sun-D is a bit of an old guy, but he's still a distinguished gentleman.
Here Jon has Dakota set up for a cart. Nice. I don't really know what you'd put in a cart for her to pull. Surely we could find something interesting for her to do.
After some trouble catching many fish at Melvern, the four of us took a day trip over to Coffey County to try our luck at the lake there. Jackpot! Here's a pic of one of Jon's many crappie. Who doesn't love a satisfying day of generous crappie fishing?
Go, mom! You can catch a fine crappie, too.
So, here's the nuclear power plant at the lake. Looking back, I wonder if it was the most prudent thing to be in the most fragile part of pregnancy and so close to this ... oh well. Maybe our baby will be like one of the X-Men. If so, I hope he/she gets a really cool superpower.
So, during the first part of week four, Jon and I (and teeny-tiny Baby Biggerstaff) went back to Houston. As far as the rest of the week, my brother, Zach, had his 25th birthday. Wow! Also, we continued the waiting process to find out whether our family would be growing. Either way, we sure did have a great time ... and we made some very fantastic memories!
Ok, so again, for those of you interested in belly progress ... by the way, this was taken in Houston before going to Kansas, so it's my last not-technically-pregnant-yet pic:
Friday, November 7, 2008
Week 2: the Final Four = the finale of two
April 7-April 13, 2008:
But we made it with time to spare, and he was happy:
My favorite band of the four was UCLA's ... so festive!
Jon liked the UCLA cheerleaders the best of the four (as an original California girl, can I blame him?); they also had the most outfit changes (sorry, I'm only giving one pic), so kudos:
Afterward, we took a walk around town.
The next day was my day, and Jon planned it beautifully. He started me off with my favorite: actual breakfast food!
We wrapped up my day with an evening out ... Rosario's was pretty good, but the service was sssslllllloooooowwwwww. Time to retire; big day tomorrow!
Monday we started with lunch at Chris Madrids. The burgers were giant!
The food was yummy, but I feel huge now!
To cool down, we went to Ben & Jerry's Alamoo and got some ice cream to share. Only Jon didn't want to share ... what? I only wanted a bite ... mmmmmmmm.
Next we got to go see one of my favorite musical artists, Bob Schneider, perform at the Big Dance:
So yes, I'm still not actually pregnant, but it's the last full week before I am. So it's really kind of the final week of just the two of us in one sense. And it's a good thing I'm not quite responsible for another life just yet, because we're having the type of fun that's not recommended for preggers. We're in San Antonio havin' a blast, y'all!
So you who know Jon know he is a sports fan. The sport to follow that just might be his ultimate favorite, though, is college basketball. This also happens to be one of the sports even I can get excited about and enjoy. Now, we both went to K-State, but Jon grew up near Lawrence, which is where KU lives. His dad also studied there. These things, combined with the fact KU basketball overall has been better than K-State's program (recent football events will not be discussed, thankyouverymuch), turned him into a KU superfan from a young age when it comes to basketball. Of course, if KU and K-State play, I force him to put aside his traitorous jayhawk love and root for our wildcats. Fortunately (kind of), K-State didn't make it into the Final Four tournament this year, so the rivalry didn't exist, and we didn't have a conflict. I asked Jon if attending a KU final four was in his top 10 things to do in life, and he said it was, so I sucked up my feelings of betrayal and financial prudence (luckily, this is the type of thing for which Jon likes to prepare our pocketbook so we can have impromptu investments), and we got great tickets off the Internet and went out to San Antonio.
On our way there, at first we were lost, and Jon was angry:
On our way there, at first we were lost, and Jon was angry:
But we made it with time to spare, and he was happy:
Saturday, we watched the Memphis-UCLA game (Memphis won) and then the UNC-Kansas game (thankfully, Kansas won ... and well). We had so much fun! Jon was like a little boy at Christmas, and even I dressed the part of a KU fan so Jon knew I was willing to participate fully.
By the way, of the four, the Memphis tiger won my vote for best mascot:
My favorite band of the four was UCLA's ... so festive!
Jon liked the UCLA cheerleaders the best of the four (as an original California girl, can I blame him?); they also had the most outfit changes (sorry, I'm only giving one pic), so kudos:
This is fun stuff!
Afterward, we took a walk around town.The Ripley's Believe It Or Not T-Rex:
The Alamo (small but neat-o):
The next day was my day, and Jon planned it beautifully. He started me off with my favorite: actual breakfast food!
Then we were on our way to Six Flags! I haven't been to a theme park since before we were married. One thing I wanted to do before getting pregnant again was ride roller coasters, which I love, and which one can't do while pregnant. So exciting:
We even fed the coi:
And Jon got feisty with the flamenco-dancing statue:
We were sad we didn't get to ride Goliath, which was still under construction. Oh well. Goodbye, Six Flags, until we meet again!
We wrapped up my day with an evening out ... Rosario's was pretty good, but the service was sssslllllloooooowwwwww. Time to retire; big day tomorrow!
Monday we started with lunch at Chris Madrids. The burgers were giant!
The food was yummy, but I feel huge now!
Then it was off to the Riverwalk. We watched KU's band come down river in a boat playing fight songs, and we got fired up!
To cool down, we went to Ben & Jerry's Alamoo and got some ice cream to share. Only Jon didn't want to share ... what? I only wanted a bite ... mmmmmmmm.
Next we got to go see one of my favorite musical artists, Bob Schneider, perform at the Big Dance:
Oooooo, dreamy! Bob's music is magic. We go to as many of his acoustic shows as we can, so it's perfect he's here to add another cherry on top of this trip! I even made it onto the big screen at the concert, though we didn't get a pic of that, of course.
Our tickets included entrance to Hoop City, which ended up being kind of lame, but we got to watch a bunch of kids (of all ages ... even in their 30s) learn basketball techniques.
On to the championship game! Let it begin!
The game stayed exciting, with several tied scores throughout; a basket in the eleventh hour resulted in a 63-63 tie, allowing for overtime:
Round two, fellas. Let's get it on!
And eventually KU pulled away and won. What a game!
Whew! This really was the best possible outcome: exciting games and the ultimate win. What a fantastic trip! It was totally worth it. After a late-night drive, we made it home to Houston ... and to bed. The rest of this week didn't quite compare, but it was good to rest -- and it was good to go back to being wildcat fans!
Oh, and here's another belly pic for those of you keeping track:
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