entry from Leland re: Dexter and the paint comedy

Last night I repainted the guest bathroom, it’s like a sky blue. I had been doing a good job making sure Dexter didn’t get into the paint tray, but while I was up in one of the corners I wasn’t watching and he had his first experience with the paint! I looked down, and his paw was solid blue and he was walking across my dropcloth leaving little blue pawprints! He tried to eat some of it, too.. so he had blue paint all over his chin and in his mouth. We took him to the sink and rinsed him off. Too bad we didn’t think to get any pictures!!!

Winding up the first trimester

Went to the doctor yesterday - baby is good. Heart Rate is 168. For those of you who don't know, I had a scary car accident on Sunday but all is well. So very thankful!

I am winding up the first trimester. Things I have been experiencing. Well, not really too much. Grayzor is definitely growing and my tummy muscles are stretching. Baby bump pretty apparent...will take pics this evening.

Other than that - NuSkin business is about to take off. Have a new business partner opening up MD. Looking forward to the amazing results and residual income from that. Have to stay busy and on top of this so I can reap the rewards when Grayor is due.

Will know in a few weeks, the sex. Should we know or not know?? what is your opinion?

What's going on with the baby this week....

Baby's face is looking more human as his eyes have moved to the front of his head and his ears are in place. Hooray! Other amazing fetal highlights this week:
Your baby is able to swallow this week and practices on the amniotic fluid he or she floats in. (And you thought baby food was kind of nasty!) And in case you're wondering how your kid can breathe in all that fluid, here's your answer: Fetuses get oxygen from the blood pumped into their bodies by the placenta and don't breathe with their lungs. Mystery solved!
This is kind of gross, albeit fascinating, so feel free to skip ahead: Your baby's intestines are well under way, but they aren't all where you'd expect them to be. Instead of all being locked away in the body cavity, some are dangling on the outside, in the umbilical cord. Ewwww.
Don't forget to put a baby nail file on your registry—your little nugget's finger- and toenails are forming this week. The chin and nose are also becoming more defined.
Junior has doubled in size over the past two weeks and now weighs almost 1/2 ounce. He's also now around 2 1/2 inches long, about the length of your pinky finger or a Vienna sausage, which, in a few months, will be indistinguishable from one another.

On tap for the second trimester - doing whatever I can since it will probably be the easiest time of the pregnancy. Although I have to say I have been blessed so far with how I feel. Its been amazing! Leland is so supportive and we are both so excited everyday - about the little nuances of this adventure.

Leave a comment... miss and love you all!

pumpkin head

Week 11

All of your baby's vital organs are now formed and functioning, so the risk of defects decreases this week as your baby becomes less susceptible to outside influences. Phew! Other exciting developments include:
Baby's ears are assuming their proper place this week and the fingernail and toenail beds are beginning to form. Your little "pumpkin head" really lives up to his nickname as his head is nearly as big as the rest of his body.
While testes or ovaries are completely formed now, don't start decorating the nursery. You won't be able to see your baby's gender for a few more weeks yet.
Your baby is really on the move now. In an ultrasound you might be able to see your little acrobat flailing his or her arms and legs and doing somersaults worthy of Cirque du Soleil. You still won't be able to feel any movement, so if you feel something "kick" in there, it's probably gas.
In the next nine weeks, your baby will increase 30 times in weight and almost triple in length. You might feel like you're increasing 30 times in weight at this point, too, but we can assure you're not—because, honey, you ain't seen nothin' yet!
Your baby now weighs a third of an ounce, about the same as two small, Starbucks-sized packets of sugar, is about 2 inches long, the length of one of those sugar packets. Isn't that sweet?

week 11

No picture this time, but will have some status information either tomorrow or Friday about the growth of Baby Gray. But just some insight as to what is going on with me... as I enter my 11 week.

Very excited about what is happening! So blessed that one more week will be the end of my first trimester.. At week 12 - the pregnancy is considered viable. Given the bit of turbulence the first few weeks gave us, this is very very good news. I will say that I was reminded to have "unwavering" faith. This is a child of God and is perfect. This miracle was a gift and he is in control and our baby is in his hands. I am just the lucky carrier of this beautiful miracle.

Over the weekend we got most of the office cleaned out - soon to be the nursery. That felt good. We moved the computer into our room and Jan and Rick took the roll top desk (which by the way, I am very glad that it has a home within our family). There is still a bit left to do to clean it out all the way, but the nesting process has begun. We will rip carpet out and paint. We haven't decided if we want to know the sex... we are very up in the air about it. It would be an amazing day to deliver and be surprised...but it goes against my character to not be prepared. LOL

I have a bit of a little pouch. So I am beginning to FEEL pregnant. Will do another belly pic next week. Leland rarely falls asleep without his hand on my belly. Precious.

Update on Dexter: He is now tall enough to get into the litter box. Joy. One more thing to make sure he stays out of. We are mastering potty time. And, our new "trick" is when we eat, we tell him to get in his bed. I don't want the "begging" habit to start. So, we may have to tell him 10 times, but we are persistent and he obeys. He may not stay each time...but he gives up after a while and just sits. But the funny part is he tries to be slick. Like we say "get in your bed" and he will scoot back and put his butt on it. Like "I am in my bed, see?" We try not to laugh and be stern...but its comical. He is smarter then he leads on.

That's all for now. Update on baby Gray in the next few days.

Leland's belated birthday party/mom in town

This past weekend, Mom was in town. It was a very active weekend. We listened to live  music in the park... went crib browsing.... a birthday bunco party for Leland and then relaxed.  It was a lot of fun... If you don't know what Bunco is, its a dice game where you rotate tables. It was great fun. See pictures below.

Hi from baby Gray

Here is an update on the baby's status...and see beautiful picture below. 

By the end of Week 10, your baby graduates from embryo to fetus, which literally means "little one." It also translates to "I'm just going to keep getting bigger and bigger and so are you!" Other highlights this week:

• Your baby has finally morphed from a little tadpole into, well, a baby. Not only is the face more human-like, but that unflattering "tail" (really just the developing spinal cord) has disappeared, fusing into the spinal column.

• Your baby now has discernible fingers and toes, which will explain the steady stream of kicks and punches you'll feel down the line.

• Junior's skeleton is starting to grow and harden. The ears are beginning to take shape and the eyelids are no longer transparent. Tooth buds are forming, although your baby won't get any teeth until six or seven (or eight or nine or 10) months after birth.

• Baby's brain will make an incredible 25,000 new neurons every minute this week. While you may feel like you're losing as many as he's gaining, we can assure you it's not permanent. "Pregnancy brain," like nausea and bloating, is a temporary symptom that soon shall pass. (And then you'll get "Mommy brain," but we won't go there now.)

• If you're baby is a boy, he's started producing that macho hormone testosterone. And whether your baby is a boy or a girl, the kidneys are creating copious amounts of urine. Lucky for you, you won't have to change a diaper for another 30 weeks.

• Baby weighs only 4 grams and measures 1 1/2 inches, about the size of a mondo Brazil nut.

This weekend, Leland and I will tackle the office and finish getting it cleaned out to start preparing it for the nursery.  We are going to move the computer to our room.  And we have a lot of throwing away to do...and organizing!  So, that's the plan. 

darndest predicaments

Leland is rebuilding the front part of our fence and Dexter was helping.  He heard him whining but couldn't find him until he saw his little nose clearing the top of this hole....  

gets into everything. Guess we are going to have to get used to it. :)

9 weeks, about five weeks from the last picture. Not much physically has changed. I am definitely thickening...  

Went to have an ultrasound last night...they are checking me every week until 12 weeks.  It appears there is little to no hemmorage left... which is good.  The baby looked more like a baby with a head and arm and leg buds.  Also the doctor said "look at he/she wiggling"  oh boy, we have a dancer!  I have been doing pretty good.  Feeling pretty queasy most of the day and extremely tired.  Eating often.  Other than that, just blessed by every step. 

Here is what happening with Baby Gray this week.

"Big news! You may be able to hear the heartbeat this week with the help of a Doppler, an ultrasound device that captures the chug-a-chug sound of baby's heart. The first time you hear baby's heart, your own heart may skip a beat—it's the first real evidence that there's someone growing inside you! If you can't hear the heartbeat, no worries, your doc will just check again in a few weeks. Other amazing developments this week:

Baby is beginning to move, but you won't be able to feel anything for some time.

Baby is growing nipples and hair follicles (although there's still a chance you'll be giving birth to a baldy!) His pancreas, gallbladder, bile ducts and anus are all in place, ready to poop and pee a dozen times a day when he's born. Your baby's head is half the size of his body and his little chin is tucked into his chest. His tiny tail is beginning to shrink away, giving Junior a more human and less amphibious look.

Until now, all pre-babies look the same "down there." This week, however, your baby will begin to develop either male or female genitalia. In layman terms, your baby is beginning to develop her hoo-ha or his wee-wee. While you won't be able to find out the gender of your baby for several more weeks, the version you'll give birth to is being developed right now. 

At this stage, your developing fetus is 1-inch in length, about the size of a martini olive (you remember martinis, don't you?) and weighs a mere 2 grams—a little less than a penny."

bye bye relatively flat tummy

This was about four weeks ago; I need to take a month 2 one...  This was about one week after we found out.  So, I was about 5 weeks pregnant.  I always said I would keep these pictures posted for friends and family to join in the journey.  Thank you Lord for this beautiful miracle....  

By the way, the way that I told Leland was I wrapped the positive test in a bag and wrote a card from baby Gray saying that he/she would meet him in 9 months. We both cried and are so excited!!  

rain...

Dexter doesn't like it. It took him 20 minutes to do his business this morning.... but I held my own. I didn't let him go inside until he went potty. Success!! :) 6:00 a.m. with umberella in my robe, but success!! :)

hurt little bud

Dexter was playing on the floor last night and must have fallen wrong on his front leg. He yelped for a while and didn't put pressure on it.. He proceeded to put more pressure on it in a bit of time...we called the vet. She said that we could have it X-rayed. But since he appeared to be putting pressure on it, its probably just a sprain. His yelping subsided so we didn't feel like he was in much pain. He proceeded to nap so we left him alone waiting until the morning to see how he felt. We figured, why endure the cost if he is not in pain...even though he wasn't putting full pressure on it. Plus it would have been considered urgent since it was after hours, which would have cost more...so we waited. This morning, he was fine. Shew.

Everyone knows...

This past weekend, we were able to finally tell Leland's parents, in person. It was amazing to see their faces and share the information and hug and cry. Its such an amazing journey and now everyone can share in it. We then called Sandy, Kendall and Grandma O. Everyone is so excited!

The puppy and his cousins, Hallie and Zeb had fun playing this weekend. Dexter is non stop and probably incredibly annoying to the more mature dogs...but Hallie came around and by the time I got home from church yesterday they were all tuckered out. Poor little Dexter moped around the house all afternoon after they left to go back to Texas. So sweet.


I am headed into my 9th week...this is what is going on.

"This week, your little tadpole is starting to look a little bit more human. Other exciting developments include:Your baby's eyelids, ears, upper lip and the tip of his soon-to-be adorable button nose are forming. Junior will also sprout webbed fingers and toes this week—which you'll be well aware of in a few months, as baby starts early gymnastics classes inside you.Baby's tiny heart has separated into four distinct chambers and is really ticking now—at a rate of 150 beats per minute. That's more than twice your resting heart rate (even when Brad Pitt is on the screen). Your baby is now a little more than ½ inch long, about the size of the rock in Eva Longoria's engagement ring, and is about as heavy as the check Tony Parker wrote to pay for it."