SIX MONTHS!

Today we had our 24 week appointment.  All looks great.  Baby is growing perfectly and I'm measuring right at 24 weeks, so we are right on target.  Her heart rate increased which the doctor said is great at this stage of the pregnancy.  Her little heart was beating at 174 bpm! We had another ultrasound today and she had FINALLY rolled over on her back so we got some great pictures of her.  During the ultrasound she was kicking up a storm.  Dustin said it looked like she was riding a bike.  I had a really good feeling she had finally untucked herself because for the last week or so she has been a very active baby.  Her kicks are super strong and very aggressive on my bladder.  At this point I will need diapers by the eight and ninth month.  I don't know how I can possibly hold it by that point! Right now Emma is around a foot long and over a pound now.  She has her taste buds so sometimes she can taste what I'm eating! Her skin is still very thin but will she will start to plump up in the upcoming weeks.  Everything so far is going great.  No complaints.  I do however need to watch my weight from here on out.  I only have about five to ten pounds before I reach my weight gain goal.  I did really well up until this point but as the baby is growing the more I seem to eat, go figure.  I think as long as I cut down on my carbs (goodbye cereal, bread and potatoes) I should be ok.  My goal for the next four weeks is to get control of my food intake and with this beautiful weather we are having walking everyday.  I also had my Glucose test today.  I really wasn't looking forward to drinking that orange drink but I must admit, it was GOOD! Maybe I was just thirsty and hungry from having to fast but I actually liked it.  I will get my test results back shortly.  Crossing my fingers no Gestational Diabetes for me! So far all is swell in babyland!

For the venting portion of this post I start out by saying scheduling these early doctor's appointments has to stop.  In the beginning it wasn't bad but now that I'm up every two hours at night to potty I need my sleep in the morning.  It was not easy getting up this morning, plus having to fast (telling a pregnant girl she CAN'T eat, NOT cool).  We ended up arriving around ten minutes late because somebody (I won't mention any names...) couldn't get it in gear this morning and drove like grandpa.  It set us both into bad moods.  Neither of us had any caffeine in our systems and we were half asleep anyway.  We absolutely love the doctor we go to but the lab we have to go to every appointment for blood work and urine samples is the most unorganized and busy place I've ever been.  It doubled our bad moods but fortunately after seeing our sweet Emma's face we felt much better about our day.  After seeing the doctor I got sent to the shot room for my Pertussis Vaccine, the same arm that I got blood drawn from.  Now my arm is extremely sore and I realized on the way home that it's the side I sleep on....should be a fun night!

Sheesh! I really needed to get all that out.  I feel much better.  The day has definitely improved.  My mom made me breakfast, we did a little shopping and now get to put Emma's dresser together.  I might even squeeze in a nap :)

24 Week Profile



Her feet are precious.  She was kicking me like crazy in the ultrasound.  Guess that's why we got this picture:

Nursery (In progress)

We are slowly piecing together Emma's room.  We still have the dresser and the rocking chair to get but it's starting to come together.  At least it looks like a nursery.  I can actually picture her in there now.  I'm slowly getting pictures on the walls and still have to find letters to spell her name on the wall behind her crib.  I have been to Hobby Lobby, Wal-Mart, Target and Kmart and every store stays out of stock on their E's and A's.  I can't just spell her name M M.  Someone might think she's a piece of candy or something :)

Nursery in the works:



I put that changing table together all by myself! I was so proud.  Isn't it coming together! Now we just need to finish it and January to arrive.



I found this rug at Target.  It matches all the colors perfectly!



Wall decor!



Not sure why the wall color is a yellowish color in these pictures.  It's actually a pale version of lime green.

Items still left to purchase:

• Mattress


• Dresser


• Rocking Chair


• Name letters


• Lamp


• And clothes, clothes and more clothes (she already has some super cute clothes! I'm surprised I'm not in trouble yet!)

January hurry, hurry, hurry :)

Flu shots aren't so bad afterall!

So as you can see I've been M.I.A for awhile.  It's mainly due to the fact that I'm lazy.  In the Salyer household we are keeping it pretty calm these days.  Dustin of course is at work most of the time but on his days off we are spending our time preparing for Emma's arrival, housework, date nights, yard work, family time and church.

I got my Flu shot today! I was a nervous wreck.  I have never gotten a Flu shot before and have heard stories where they make you sick and can even bring on Flu symptoms so it took some guts for me to sit down and allow them to stick me with that needle! Thankfully, my sweet husband was the person who gave me the shot.  I was nervous at first but he made me very comfortable and he did an amazing job.  I hardly felt a thing! Good job babe! Besides a somewhat sore arm and a slight headache I'm fine.  So hopefully no Flu for this pregnant girl this winter! To any pregnant ladies out there you should definitely go get your shot.  They say that the number one person that should get vaccinated is pregnant women.  You can see Dustin at Kmart pharmacy for your shot, he did an amazing job and you won't feel a thing!

In other news, we recently joined a Small Group at church.  Since the church we go to is so large it was definitely a must to sign up to meet with a Small Group (which is 4-6 other couples in our age group that meet twice a month for fellowship and a Bible study).  We have been attending Living Hope since February and finally decided it was time to step out of our shells and make it a point to meet others and really get active.  Dustin is also taking initiative in getting active with all the men of the church and certain volunteer tasks that are going on right now.  It's great to see him opening up and stepping out of his comfort zone.  I think we all tend to make excuses for ourselves to avoid stepping out of our comforts zones.  This church has really opened our eyes to the possibilities out there to witness to others and fellowship with other believers.  It's something we have both wanted for so long.  A church we can call home and the opportunity to become the Christians we have been longing to be.  I look forward to what is in store for us at Living Hope.  I'm really looking forward to find where I belong, whether it be working with the young girls, or the nursery or the choir or all of those, who knows! I am so proud of where me and Dustin have come in a year.  Every couple experiences difficult times but we were able to push through them and put in the hard work and it's really paid off.  God has blessed us tremendously and we are forever grateful.  So many people in this world are non believers but I'm here to tell those people you aren't truly living until you live by Grace and the love of God.  Every time I see love in my husbands eyes, the joy of family and friends, the kicks of this precious life growing inside me, the sun shining in the sky, the rain that quenches the thirst of this earth, even the hardships put upon us to bring us closer to him and the feeling inside my soul because HE lives in me, I KNOW there is a God and he will forever be my Lord and Saviour.

I am very blessed and can't even  fully explain the joy I'm experiencing lately.  Last night Dustin finally got to feel Emma kick for the first time.  We layed there for thirty minutes just feeling the kicks get stronger.  How amazing is that? I mean, there is really a BABY in there! We had an ultrasound last Friday and she's as beautiful as ever.  We go back on the 27th for another ultrasound and my Glucose testing.  I get to drink a delicious orange pure sugar drink so they can make sure I don't have Gestational Diabetes.  Crossing my fingers that goes well.  Our ultrasound on Friday still didn't show Emma's entire face so once again we will have another one at our next appointment.  She is really cozy in her spot and hasn't seemed to want to budge.  Although, last night with as strong as her kicking was, I really think she has changed positions.  I'm feeling her almost all the time now and her kicks are very strong so maybe that means we will actually get some good pictures of her next time! We hope so anyway!

Ok, now it's picture time!

23 weeks :)



I think she's gonna be a big baby!





Yay me!

Birthday Weekend, Labor Day and Nursery Time!

Thursday I turned 24! I look back and wonder where 16 went.  Time seems to be flying by and I can only imagine how fast it will go when we add kids into the mix.  I had a wonderful birthday.  It was spent playing lots and lots of games and cards, eating a yummy dinner at a hibatchi grill, getting Emma's room ready, spending time with all my family and friends and a home cooked meal and carrot cake from my momma.  Even though being pregnant limits my activities, I had the most amazing birthday/Labor Day weekend ever.  Oh it also doesn't hurt that the Wildcats won their first game against Louisville! :)

As for the nursery...In the beginning of all of this we decided to hold off on decorating the nursery until at least October or later, that is until my husband changed his mind this weekend.  Crazy enough, he was the one who got the idea to move the office furniture into the sun room and start painting.  I was shocked because he was the one telling me that I was going to be chomping to get everything done.  Looks like he was wrong.  It was him instead.  It's so crazy to see how anxious he is to meet this little girl.  Somehow I think he is more excited than me if that is even possible! We spent the weekend cleaning rooms, emptying the nursery closet, moving furniture and painting walls.  I even got crafty and made two decorations for Emma's room (I loooove Hobby Lobby!).  I think it's also another hobby I have found.  Arts and crafts and anything that looks interesting at Hobby Lobby.  It feels great to know that I personally made decorations for her room instead of just purchasing them.  I think it's special.  Thanks to my sister for all her help and the hard work my husband put into the nursery this weekend.  Now, pictures anyone?

This is the new office.  We moved it into our sun room and it turned out great.  Well except for the fact that it isn't heated or cooled.  We will have to get a heater in there so Dustin doesn't freeze his tush off this winter!



The walls were grey before we painted.  So here is a before shot.



A work in progress!



Finished paint job!



Time to stencil the walls.  I was going to do it but it hurt to stretch that much so my sweet husband got pulled into doing it.  He's the best! I sat in the room the whole time he did it and it wasn't easy so props to him.



Ain't it so pretty!?



Decorations for Emma's room!





It is really starting to come together.  I'm so glad we got the hard part of the room out of the way early.  Now we just need to finish getting all the furniture and things on the walls, but there is PLENTY of time for that.  19 weeks to be exact.  It seems like forever until we will be able to meet our baby but she will be here before we know it.  I'm really trying hard not to rush it.  I want to take the time to enjoy this pregnancy and the last little bit of it just being me and Dustin but it's hard because we both want her here so much! Soon enough though.  January isn't all that far away.

It's a Girl!

Our appointment went great.  Baby GIRL is doing wonderful! I can't even explain the feeling of seeing your child MOVING on a screen.  Thanks to some caffeine before my appointment (a little soda never hurt anyone, I wanted to make sure she was awake) she was definitely awake and active but only from her belly down.  She was kicking away and wiggling but would not turn her head.  She was tucked way down in my uterus and we were only able to get a blurry half profile picture.  After a 45 minute ultrasound and some shaking of my belly she decided to stay cozy in her position.  Stubborn already like her daddy :)

Since they weren't able to get a good look at her face or measure her length because of her position, they scheduled me another ultrasound for two weeks! I guess in the end it all worked out good.  We still got to see our little princess growing and in the end get to see her again really soon! Hopefully next time they can get some better pictures and I can post those on here.

Her heartbeat was strong at 159 bpm and the doctor said there is lots of fluid surrounding her which is wonderful to hear.  I must be doing something right because so far so good.  I have to say it is such a nerve-wracking thing to know you are the one making sure this child is growing and safe.  I would do it a million times over for this precious baby though.  We are ecstatic that we get to call her by name now.  We had a boy name and a girl name picked out months ago.  Some of my family members were even calling her by name months ago because they felt so strongly that she was a girl.  Guess they were right!

So here are two photos taken by my camera phone (because somebody forgot to scan them into the computer for me) to introduce our DAUGHTER Emma Marie:

Here is the only clear shot they could get of her profile.  It's small from where I took a picture of a picture but it shows just how cute she's going to be.  Look at that sweet button nose :)



And here is a picture of her all curled up in a cozy little spot not wanting to budge.  You can see her spine, her little legs tucked under and even her EAR(I think that's what it is anyway haha)! :)



I just can't wait to meet her! Is it January yet?