Welcome Third Trimester (and Spring)!

It's been about a month since my last post...and there hasn't been too much excitement in the Townsend household. In fact, there has been a lot of long hours at work for Jacob and trips back and forth to the doctor for me. The appointments were mainly to get my sinuses under control. When all of these beautiful trees, grasses, and flowers bloom my sinuses go crazy! I have been fighting sinus infections on and off for the last month and and half. This is usually one of the worst times of the year for me, so it's not surpirsing that I am having all of these issues. I did have to vist my OB for some blood work last week. I was exposed to Fifths Disease at school and it can be dangerous if you get it during pregnancy. They drew some blood on Monday and when I went in on Thursday for my monthly check up, they had the results for me. I'm immune (thankfully)! Obiviously I have been exposed to it in the past or I have actually had it... either way there is nothing to worry about for me or Chrisily during this pregnancy or any future pregnancies. My 30 week appointment went very well and now I get to go every two weeks (this milestone seemed like it was so far away at the beginning of this pregnancy journey... I can't believe we only have two months before we get to meet our sweet Chrisily)!

(27 weeks)

I have officially entered my third and final trimester. It's still hard to believe that time is passing so quickly. I still feel pretty good overall. Chrisily's kicks have gotten harder and more frequent... I just love laying there feeling her move around. Jacob has also been able to feel more movement. It makes my heart smile. I have been a bit more tired these last two weeks but I think that is to be expected... I've been sick, I haven't had a break from work since January, and well I'm 30 weeks pregnant! Luckily it is my spring break and I will have plenty of time to get caught up on my rest.

Speaking of work... Jacob and I have decided that it would be best for me to take next year off to be home with Chrisily. I am sure there will be some adjustments that will need to be made but I know that this is the best decision for our family. I must say that I am really excited about it.. I mean look at this sweet little darling and tell me you wouldn't want to spend every second of every day with her?? (Also notice that she is making the 'I Love You' sign in sign language.)

 Last week I met up with one of my good friends, Melissa Hunt. She started a photography business a year or so ago and I asked her to take some maternity pictures for me. We met up for a mini-session last week and we are meeting up tomorrow at the park to take some pictures with me and Jacob since he was busy with tax season before. Below are a couple of sneak peaks from our session last week, I was 29 weeks.

 As I mentioned before, I am off on spring break this week. I look forward to spending some time with Jacob and his family, resting, and having my first baby shower next weekend! I couldn't ask for things to be going much better. God is good. Thank you for your continued support, love, and prayers!

A Sneak Peak

Today was an exciting day. We had our 4D ultrasound appointment this afternoon. Our doctor only does two ultrasounds (one around 10 weeks and one around 18 weeks), so we opted to do the 4D ultrasound to see Chrisily one more time before June (plus it's really cool). We were able to get a couple of shots of her profile and little face but for the most part she was not cooperating. At the beginning she had her foot (and at one time, both feet) up by her face and then once she moved her feet she put her hand up there. Here is a sneak peak of our precious little girl at 26 weeks.

This was at the beginning.. she was smiling for us.

We were finally able to get her to stop moving long enough to get a picture of her foot.

This was towards the middle to end... the ultrasound lady was pushing on my belly trying to get Chrisily to move her foot... which she didn't do but made a pouty/frowny face at us.

We really enjoyed getting to see her... even if she tried to cover her face the whole time. I have been feeling really good lately. I am trying to enjoy these last couple of weeks of the 2nd trimester because I know the exhaustion is coming... among other things. :-) Jacob has been crazy busy with tax season and it has made him pretty tired. We managed to sneak out the last couple of weekends for a date night and we hung curtains in Chrisily's room.

24 1/2 weeks... and feelin' fabulous!

Date Night!

Chrisily finally has some curtains!



Until next time...

A Work in Progress

Last weekend Jacob and I spent most of the day on Sunday working in Chrisily's nursery. Her furniture was delivered the weekend before and we had a guy come and paint that Monday. I could barely wait for the paint to dry on the walls before putting furniture in place and assembling the crib. My brother, Jared, was nice enough to come over and help us move the pieces into place and help us assemble the crib. I am very pleased with the furniture and I love the color on the walls (it is hard to tell but it's a sage green). This will not be the final placement of the furniture because we are still waiting on our glider and ottoman to come in at the end of the month and we will have to play around with everything. We still have a lot to do, but here is a sneak peak of our progress.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



Lovin' Life

It has been a while since a I wrote last. I am now 23 weeks pregnant and it is March... Yes, March! I can't believe how quickly time is passing. I must say that I am feeling great (pregnancy symptom-wise) and have more energy than ever (I can stay up past 7pm!!). I have been dealing with allergies (I mean, what's new?!) but that comes with the time of year. Everything has been going really well. At my last doctor's appointment everything measured well and I loved hearing the sweet thud of Chrisily's heart beat. I made appointments to go back at 26 weeks for a 4D ultrasound, my next check up, and the one-hour glucose test. I am beyond excited about the 4D ultrasound but can't say I feel the same way about the glucose test. My baby belly has made more of an appearance in the past few weeks (it seemed like at week 21 it just showed up)!

(21 weeks)

I know our sweet little girl is growing because her kicks grow stronger everyday. Last night I was laying on the couch resting and she was moving a lot. I noticed that I could see my belly moving sometimes when she kicked so I called Jacob over to check it out. You hear stories of dads trying to feel the baby and whenever he puts his hand on mom's belly the baby stops kicking... well, not Chrisily. She must be a daddy's girl already because she continued to kick right where his hand was..at first he wasn't sure if it was me moving or her but she gave one big kick (actually it was like a double kick) and his eyes lit up and a huge grin spread across his face. I got a little teary and it warmed my heart to know that was the first time he felt his baby girl. It made us both so happy.

(23 weeks)

This past week has been a big one for us. Chrisily's furniture came in early and they delivered it on Saturday. It is beautiful! We picked out paint on Sunday and had a guy come and paint for us on Monday. We thought about attempting it ourselves but we decided against it since Jacob is so busy with tax season, and well, I shouldn't be doing it. Jacob is doing a few touch ups tonight and I hope to arrange her furniture on Saturday. We also bought a new washer and dryer last weekend. We bought a used set when me moved into this house and knew we would need to replace it before starting a family. Who knew I would be so excited about a washer/dryer?! I can't wait for it to get here on Saturday so I can start doing laundry (by the way- I never thought those words would come out of my mouth...).
It seems as if everything is falling into place for our little family. I am thrilled beyond words for all of the blessings God has given us.
Until next time...

Journey through pregnancy..

I am currently 17 weeks and 5 days pregnant. Everything has been going very well for us. Since the 2nd trimester began, I haven't been as sick (although I still have to take my meds in the morning) and I have noticably more energy. There are some days that I don't even feel pregnant. I am just now getting out of that in-between stage where I didn't look pregnant, I just looked fat. I am enjoying the baby belly.

Today was a big day for Jacob and I... It was our 2nd trimester ultrasound. This is the big one, the one where we find out whether it's a boy or a girl. People ask you all the time if you want a boy or a girl, my honest answer was that I didn't care, I wanted a healthy baby. I had a feeling that we were having a girl... what kind of feeling you ask? I can't explain it. I was just certain it was a girl. Either way, I was just ready to know. I had shown great restraint over the last four months. The only purchases I had made was the baby blanket (3 days after we found out we were pregnant) and then I bought a onesie and a toy last week. If you know anything about me, you know I LOVE babies. I also happen to love baby stuff. I couldn't wait to go shopping for our son or daughter and begin decorating. Jacob and I had planned a shopping trip for after our appointment today.

I took the day off of work and Jacob took 1/2 a day off. Our appointment was at 3pm (what was I thinking?!?). Jacob and I were both very excited. I was also nervous.. I tend to be a worry wart. The drive to the doctor's office was very quiet. We got there early and had to wait. and wait. and wait. (Another thing you should know about me is that I despise waiting!) Finally it was time to go back. Thankfully the ultrasound was scheduled first so our wait was over. As I lay on the table and the image came up on the screen my entire body relaxed. There was our child. Last time we saw it, it was tiny, only a head, a bottom and some small arms (9 weeks old). This looked like a baby. I immediately began searching for the heart and there it was... beating away. The ultrasound tech began pointing out stuff to us. At first baby was very still..  I had drank a coke on the way over and didn't think that would last long. She was still long enough for us to get some measurements and to see that it was a girl (Chrisily Rose Townsend). Then she began moving around. At one point during the ultrasound she was sucking her thumb. You could see her jaw moving up and down.. it was so sweet. At another time, she had both legs crossed and one hand on her knee while she was sucking her thumb.. all reclined and just hanging out... giving her mommy and daddy a show.

For those of you that have trouble with these pictures, this is a view from the bottom looking up. Those white areas are her butt bones. :-)

Of course as soon as the ultrasound was over I was ready to begin calling people but we had to wait (some more!). As soon as we got in our car at the doctor's office we began calling family. I sent out a mass e-mail and text message to friends and family and then posted it on facebook. First we went to Babies R Us then we headed over to the mall. After a little while of shopping, I was tired and ready to head home. I couldn't wait to scan in our pictures to share with family and friends. I'm a proud momma already. Jacob and I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful family and friends. Chrisily is already so loved. We ask that you continue to pray for Chrisily and myself as we continue this journey through pregnancy. She is truly a gift from God.



Oh, Come let us Rejoice!

Hello dear friends. It has been a while since my last post... and a lot has happened. Jacob and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We spent the day with family and friends. We looked back and reflected on all of the things we have to be thankful for... and boy was there a lot. One of the things we are most thankful for this year is becoming pregnant. Jacob and I learned on October 19th that we are expecting a baby on June 29th, 2011. We are both very excited about this little miracle. I am currently 13 weeks pregnant. We will find out whether we will be blessed with a boy or a girl on Jan. 24th.
Our December has been filled with the craziness of the holidays. Work has been very busy for both of us and combined with the task of Christmas shopping and all that goes along with the holidays, we haven't had much time for much else (not to mention, I'm EXHAUSTED!).
This month we also lost someone very special to us. My grandpa, William Clarence Barbee, passed away on December 14th. His health had been declining over the past few weeks/months. He fell the weekend before and broke his hip and ended up getting pneumonia. He was 95 years old when he went home to be with the Lord. He packed a lot into those 95 years and I feel so blessed to have had him in my life for the 26 years that I did. He was a wonderful grandpa and will be greatly missed. We did get a chance to tell him that we are expecting, although, I'm not sure if he understood what we were telling him... whether he did at the time or not doesn't matter, I know now that he is watching over me and this baby. Heaven is a brighter place now that they have him as an angel.
Jacob and I are currently in Mississippi visiting his family. We arrived on Wednesday and will be leaving on Sunday morning to return home. We have really enjoyed spending time with his family. We don't get to see them often, so when we do it's a special treat.
I want to wish you and yours a Very Merry Christmas! Remember... Jesus is the reason for the Season.

Fall Fun

Well it's been about a month since my last update.. October was a very busy month for Jacob and I. We celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary on October 7th. Since we took the trip to Savannah the weekend before, we didn't do anything crazy. We did go out to dinner and spend a quiet evening together watching our wedding DVD and remembering that wonderful day.
Fall is my favorite season in NC. The leaves are absolutley gorgeous, the weather is perfect, and it's so nice to be outside enjoying all of God's creations. Jacob's parents came to visit over his birthday weekend. They arrived on his birthday (Thursday, October 21st). We went out to dinner at Firebird's and enjoyed catching up with them since we haven't seen them since May when we went to MS for Luke and Meagan's graduation. The boy's decided that they wanted to make a trip to Gander Mountain (an outdoor store.. similar to Bass Pro).. so we picked up my brother (you CAN'T go to Gander Mountain without him) and headed that way. Kathy and I tried to occupy ourselves while the boys looked at guns, hunting supplies, and gun cabinets/safes. That night we invited my family over and grilled burgers then built a fire in the fire pit to roast some marshmallows and share some laughs. It was very special for us to have both families together (we missed you Luke, Tim, Meagan, and Lindsey!) and to celebrate a special occasion together. On Saturday, we ventured up to West Jefferson, NC to show his parents around where my family spends some of our free time. We browsed the shops in town, checked out Elk Shoals (where we camp), and ate dinner at Shatley Springs before heading home. The trees were the most beautiful shades of red, yellow, and orange.. it was a great day. Sunday we took his parents to the church we have been going to and then got some lunch. The boys wanted to watch some football, so Kathy and I went shopping. After a nice low key evening at home, it was time to prepare for the upcoming work week and their trip home. It was sad to see them go, but we definitely enjoyed their visit.
Jacob and I just couldn't get enough of the mountains and planned to go back the next weekend to camp with my family. My parents went up earlier on Friday and set up camp, Jacob, Jared, and I went up after work. It's was nice to arrive to camp already set up... however, it was COLD. It didn't take me long to crawl in the tent with a space heater and my blankets (and the pups) to warm up (and when I say warm up, I mean from 30 degrees to like 38 degrees). Sleeping on the cold, hard, ground, and trying to share covers with a cover thief and two dogs, is very difficult. Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep between the bitter cold and howling coyotes. It was a unanimous decision to pack up camp, spend the day around town, eat dinner at Shatley Springs, and then head home to sleep in our warm houses, in our comfy beds.
Sadly, I didn't take any pictures during either of these excursions... so you'll just have to believe me when I say that October was a fun filled month.
Until next time...