Baby Shower

Last weekend I went to Emory for my first baby shower. We had it early because Leah will be graduating, having a wedding shower, and then having a wedding so I worked out better to do my shower now.

The shower was at my parent's church and it was great!! Noah got lots of great things including plenty of monogramed clothes, burp clothes, and assessories. My aunt Joyce and friend Kristen are great at making things personalized. Noah got his bouncy chair and musical play mat, so hopefully he will be entertained. The big gift I got was the travel system (car seat/ stroller combo). It was from my Hooten aunt, uncle, and cousins. Thanks guys!!

It was also fun to hang out with my parents, sister Sara, and her kiddos Chase and Ava.

The things people say...

While at a restaurant today I had a conversation with the lady behind the counter that went something like this:

Her: When do you go to the hospital?
Me: Huh?
Her: You know, when are you due?
Me: Oh, not until August.
Her: WOW, you are HUGE!
Me: (awkwardly) Yeah, I am growing straight out.
Her: You are so big already!

Hmmm...

Baby Bedding

This is bedding little Noah will have sweet dreams on. I got it from Target. The darker color is Navy, not black. My plan is do to lots of patterns instead of an actual theme. A college girl from my church will be painting a Noah's Ark scene (of course we have to have at least one Ark element) to hang on the wall. Right now I am in the process of cleaning out the babies room and figuring out where to put all pete's military gear!

Growing belly

Everything is still going well. My belly is growing, Noah keeps kicking, and I feel great. I went to the doctor today and got a good report. Here is a belly pic for those interested. People have started asking me when I am due, how far along I am, etc. It is official...I look pregnant, not just overweight. I LOVE people asking me and I don't mind at all when people want to touch my belly.

I had to post this picture for my Alaska family and friends. I fried up some halibut Alaska style...and it was good! You guys would have been proud.

He has a name...

And the name is:

NOAH

We put a lot of thought and prayer into his name. We like how obedient Noah was in the Bible and how he chose to follow God even when it was hard. I mean, he built a massive boat in the middle of land at a time when it had never even rained before! We pray that we can raise a son to be obedient and faithful like his name sake. He doesn't have a middle name yet, but we are working on it.

And, I have failed to mention an important detail. For the past 2-3 weeks I have been feeling him move around a lot. He likes to kick me in the evening when I am reading. It is so amazing to actually feel him.

It's a boy!

IT'S A BOY!!

The handsome baby boy Hughes!

I love this picture of his leg. Pete thinks he will be a power forward or tight end. I will make a great cheerleader at his games.

It was so fun having the sonogram performed. He was moving all over the place and kept 'waving' at us. It was very clear that he is a boy, but for the sake of modesty I decided not to post those pictures. After taking several pictures of him they reported that everything looks good and is developing as it should be. We don't have a name picked out yet, but are thinking on it. God is so good!

March Doctor's Appt

First of all, today is our actual anniversary. Pete had to get up early this morning, but I woke up to discover he had gotten up especially early to make me breakfast. He made the best omelet I had ever had and some yummy pancakes. He is such a good husband for a million reasons! I am so thankful that God hand-picked us to be husband and wife to each other.

Secondly, we went to the doctor yesterday! Everything is looking great. The baby's heart beat was 147 and it was so special to share the experience with Pete for the first time. We scheduled our next sonogram for next Thursday (the 19th) where we will hopefully be able to find out if it is a boy or girl!!! And my mom will be in town for her spring break so she will get to come with us. So fun!

And finally, I have officially quit my job....well, put in notice anyways. My last day will be June 19th. Why June 19th? Well, my sister is getting married the 27th so I am going to go early and stay late to help with all the festivities. Who wouldn't want a large, pregnant, hormonal woman helping ease the wedding related stress? They are so lucky to have me. :) Then i will have about a month to relax and prepare for Baby Hughes. However, I did offer to stay at my job 2 days a week if they needed me. And I am exploring the possibility of doing private practice so I could make my own schedule. We'll see what happens...

Anniversary and random

Pete and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary this past weekend. We went to Fredericksburg, Tx and stayed at a bed-n-breakfast. It was called the Chuck Wagon Inn and was ran by a rowdy old cowboy and his wife. Pete loved the southwest breakfast they cooked up, but it didn't seem to sit so well with the baby. We spent the day shopping the the touristy down town area. It is a well-kept town with lots of German influence and is surrounded by vineyards. We had a great time! Pete bought me a beautiful hand-crafted bracelet while there. In the first photo I think my eyes are kind of shut, but I wanted to include my baby bump.

About a week ago Pete and I went to a thing called Dittos for Kiddos. It is a massive resale for babies and kids. We didnt see much that we couldn't live without, but we did pick up the baby bath I already knew i wanted and we got some books and educational DVD's. It was so crowded and we had to wait in line forever to check out. Pete managed to hang in there. We are also buying some diapers randomly to help absorb some of the cost of buying lots of them later.

How life is different already:

1. I can't sleep on my stomach anymore

2. I have a battle with my closet everyday trying to find clothes that fit

3. I can't run very far

4. Getting up and down from the floor is more challenging

5. I either feel full or hungry

6. Pete seems more protective of me

7. I look forward to going to the doctor

8. Buying diapers is a thrill (for now anyways)

9. I love looking at my stomach and love that it is getting bigger

10. I stutter more often and forget common things throughout the day

Exciting News!!

Pete completed his last flight today and is now officially an Instructor Pilot!! I am so proud of him. He gets to come home to me and baby tomorrow. God was really taking care of him through all of this.

baby bump

As you can see I have a bit of a baby bump these days. I went to the doctor on the 9th and had a good check up. Listening to the baby's heart beat again was amazing...but they couldn't get an accurate heart rate because baby hughes was movin' and groovin' in my belly.

I have gotten some sweet baby gifts from both grandparents. And we picked up the Florida T-shirt the day we found out we were pregnant.

Pete is still in Little Rock, but will hopefull be wrapping it up in the next few days. He is really excited about getting to be present at our next doctor's appoinment. I can't wait to see his reaction when he hears the baby's heart.
Over the weekend I went to Dallas and got to do some maternity shopping. I can't button most of my work pants so I decided it was time to pick up some materntity pants. I knew I had arrived at the right store when there was a woman puking in the flower bed outside the door. Poor thing.

Pictures

Here are some more pics

We're having a baby

We're having a baby so that means it is time to start a blog. Everyone else is doing it.

November 28 Pete and I discovered we would be welcoming a baby into this world. We were on our last day of a cruise we were on with Pete's family when we saw two pink lines on the test. It was fun to get to tell our Alaskan family face to face (we then waited until Christmas to tell my family so we could tell them in person as well....torture!). Since then we have been getting used to the idea that we will be parents. It has been such a blessed pregnancy so far with no sickness and little queasiness and fatigue. I have been to the doctor twice and had a sonogram and everything looks great!

Pete has been gone since mid-December, so me and the baby are anxious for him to get back. I can't wait for him to get to hear the tiny heartbeat. Pete is in Little Rock at instructor pilot school and will hopefully be back at the end of February.