It's a....

GIRL!!! 

Getting to see our little girl for the first time was such an amazing experience. Something I will always treasure.

She was quite the active girl throughout the whole ultrasound and moved around a lot for us. Here are just a few pictures of her doing some somersaults as we watched.

Here she is upside down!

Like I said, amazing. I can't believe this little baby is ours.

Pregnant and running

I have wanted to do everything right with this pregnancy... I am tracking my weight gain, watching what I am eating... And I firmly believe that exercise is super important for pregnancy. Not only does it help the woman feel better and have more energy, it helps keep the weight gain under control, helps with labor, and has huge benefits for the baby as well. I did plenty of research and reading up before getting pregnant to make sure that I did what was best for the baby.  I made all sorts of goals for running right up to the end. I wasn't planning on reducing much of what I was doing since from what I had read, I shouldn't have too.

But a lots has still changed.  I am still running. But what has surprised me is how without even trying to, the intensity of my runs has really tapered out.  My 9-minute mile has turned into more like an 11-minute mile. I am also not going as far on my weekend runs.  My 12-13 mile runs have become more like 6-8 miles.  This decision was made early on after realizing that going about 2 hours, burning so many calories and taking just a few in probably isn't the best for the baby.  I also read that the longer you workout, and the harder, the baby's heartbeat and temperature can possibly go too high.  The research I read said that it is usually still safe if the baby's heartbeat is being closely monitored before and after workouts.  Since I don't have any way to measure that, I decided it would be better to just cut back a bit. Another big change is that now I don't just roll out of bed and head out the door.  I have always been a morning run person. I have never eaten anything before running (except for a little bit prior to longer runs), and never had a problem. Now I have to actually eat something small beforehand.

All of these changes have been a little hard to do and adjust to.  When someone passes me up I have to resist the urge to race them... Or to speed up that big hill... But now its not just about me. I have someone else to think about. And these small sacrifices are well worth it.

Baby Bump to week 20

Week 9

This is mostly a before picture, since I'm not really showing at all - though I can see a difference! :)

 Week 11

Week 13

This is right about when the morning sickness suddenly stopped.  One day, I just felt great. What a relief. I know my morning sickness was pretty mild compared to some (never threw up once), but I sure felt miserable!

Week 14

Week 16

 Week 18

 Week 20

Halfway there!! These past few weeks have been so enjoyable, with feeling great and finally starting to get a little bigger. People now are noticing that I am pregnant without me having to say anything. :) A couple days ago I felt the baby move for the first time (Thursday January 18th, so I don't forget), at least what I concluded was the baby moving. Now I have felt it again and again so I am pretty sure its the little guy moving. The baby is actually moving a little right now!

This coming week will also be a big one.  We will finally get our first glimpse of the little one!! Our ultrasound appointment is scheduled for Thursday at the birthing center. We are super excited.  Mostly just because we finally get to see him/her. We have also, after going back and forth about it, decided that we are going to find out the gender. I had been convinced that I wanted the surprise, but we will still have a surprise, just a little earlier. Eric and I have no feeling or guesses either way so we are just so excited to find out which we will be blessed with!

Our holiday in a nutshell

Eric and I spent the holidays with his parents in San Antonio.  It had been much too long since we had visited and Eric and I had a blast. Here is a small snapshot in pictures of our couple weeks there.

Lights on the Riverwalk

Walks and Hikes with the family

The San Antonio Mission Tour

San Antonio has five beautiful Spanish missions which I had never visited. Tons of fun, though next time I think Eric and I should bike the mission tour - there is a bike trail that connects all three. 

Fun times with the family

Random pictures from our trips to Fredericksberg, SAS shoe factory and the Anderson dutch oven cookoff.   Cook-off winner: Eric's dad.  He may or may not have been the only contestant. 

Lyndon B Johnson State Park

This made for a beautiful drive through Texas hill country, and some good picture spots too.

We miss Texas already!  Hopefully it wont be another year and a half before we go back!