Baby Piper's Shower

My friend from high school is having her first, a little girl named Piper. She is due in October. A few of us got together and had a little shower for her. It was good catching up.... congrats Brittany!

Michelle made a diaper cake, and she put little shoes for the centerpiece that she got in China for baby Piper.

Cute cupcakes from Gigi's

Brittany and Michelle

St. Benedict girls

Friends at the shower

We decorated onesies

Britt opening gifts

Brittany picked the name Piper because she is a pilot, and piper is the name of a company that manufactures airplanes. Pretty cool! Can't wait to meet baby Piper!

17 Weeks

This week has been interesting. I am noticeably pregnant! Actually asked by several people. Another milestone I reached was getting my first insulting pregnancy remark. While over at the new hospital getting ready for a big event for work we had last night, one of the sound guys asked me when I was due. I said "Feb 4." After looking at my belly, he then asked "Are you having twins?" I couldn't even respond. I know there will be many more comments to follow!

The baby is the size of an onion!

This week, the baby's skeleton is changing from cartilage to bone. He/She can move all joints, and sweat glands are developing. I have been feeling the baby move and it is so cool! We were sitting in church and the baby kicked so hard I jumped! From the ultrasounds and what I am feeling, we have one seriously active baby. Little scary. Here's what the baby looks like:

Here's what I look like:

17 down, 23 to go!

16 Weeks

The baby is the size of an avocado!

Baby Fields is doing great. This week, little bones inside the ears are forming so he/she can now hear our voices! Eyelashes, eyebrows, and hair are starting to fill in, and tastebuds are forming. Here's what the baby looks like...

Here's what I look like... getting rounder!

16 down, 24 to go!

Boy or Girl?

Brian has participated in every single old wives tale there is about guessing the gender of the baby. Apparently, things like this exist to find out the baby's gender before you can at the doctor! Does it work? Who knows, but I don't want to waste $35 to find out. I'll just wait for the ultrasound tech to tell me for sure.

Some other tall tales in determining gender......

The Chinese Gender Chart

Probably my fav of the gender tests. This one says Baby Fields will be a boy.

Carrying High, Carrying Low

The consensus is that if you carry high, you've got a girl; If you carry low, a boy. According to this, Baby Fields will be a boy.

Heartbeats

They say that faster heartrates (140+) mean girl and slower heart rates (140-) mean boy. In this case, Baby Fields will be a girl. In the last three appointments, the baby's heartrate was 143, 160, and 150.

Cravings

If you have intense cravings for chocolate and sweets, it's a girl. If you have intense cravings for sour or salty things, it's a boy. Those who know me well know that I have only had two serious pregnancy cravings - Sour Patch Kids and Extreme Sour Warheads. I also like salty pretzels. Can't get enough of that stuff. So.... if we go by this test, Baby Fields will be a boy.

The Drano Urine Test

Mix your urine with a little bit of Drano and see what color it turns. If it turns brown, it's a boy. If there is no color change, it's a girl. Baby Fields won't be participating in this one. Little crazy. Apparently, it can cause explosions too. No thanks.

Pencil Test

I participated in this one a year ago and it told me I would have two boys and one girl. You can do this one not pregnant. It's actually been right for a few of my friends, so you never know. You need a regular #2 pencil, a sewing needle and some thread. Stick the needle in the center/top of the pencil eraser. Then thread the needle. Lay your hand down on hard surface with your palm facing up. Have someone hold the pencil above your wrist and be very still. Watch the motion of the pencil. If it moves up and down the length of your arm, it's boy. If it moves side to side across your wrist, it's a girl. To find out how many you are having, keep playing the test until the pencil comes to a complete stop.

Husband's Weight Gain

If your husband gains weight during your pregnancy, it's a girl. If his weight stays the same, it's a boy. Not sure what Brian's weight is, but I don't think he has gained any.

Mother's Intuition

In one study, what they mother thinks they are having is right 71% of the time. In my case, I seriously have no clue what I am having so this test does nothing for me.

Brian has a strong feeling it's a girl. I don't know what to think.

What do you think we're having? Boy or girl?

"Cha-Ching!"

Babies are expensive!

Last night, Brian and I spent some quality time with our financial planners. We try to recommend them to all our engaged friends in Memphis. They are a great third party in our marriage :) When we got married, they helped us combine all our finances, save for our retirement, save for kids, and get our wills set up and notarized. In our opinion, every couple should have someone like this. We recommend our folks, and if you are interested, you can contact them here.

In my attempts to get ready for Baby Fields, I have been thinking about short term costs. Maternity clothes, daycare, diapers, crib, car seat, stroller, food, etc. All of the little things that add up to big bucks. Brian has been thinking private school tuition, college, monthly household expenses, rising insurance costs, etc. - long term costs. I guess that is why we balance each other out. According to our financial planners, we are both big-time savers. When/If Brian gets a bonus at work, we do not think "Great! What can we buy?" We think "Great! Let's throw it in our Roth IRAs!" So this whole baby thing has been interesting. We have been saving, saving, saving, and the moment has come to spend.

So what do a couple of conservative twenty-somethings do?

Freak out. Well, at first. Then comes the planning (our other favorite thing to do besides save money). We did as much advanced planning and saving as we could... now comes real life. But we feel blessed and ready, and know it's just a part of the journey.

We do know one thing for sure - we will love this little money-eater more than words can say.

Grunke Wedding

We just got back from Knoxville where we celebrated Meg and Aaron's wedding! It was so much FUN, like a big college reunion. Meg is from Knoxville, so we got to know her family and high school friends well while we were in college. This made her wedding that much more special.

We got into Knoxville Friday night and went straight to Downtown Grill & Brewery, our fav hangout in college. I just want to brag on myself a little bit, because this pregnant girl stayed out until 2:30 a.m.!!!!! Did I mention I love the second trimester? My friends and husband also loved this because they have a constant designated driver. Just a fun conversation from the back of the car after a couple people had one too many:

Ryan: I love having a pregnant friend to drive me home after a night of drinking.

Brian (aka my husband): Me too!

Laughter from the 6 people in my car

Ryan: Cami's not your friend

Brian: I know, she is my best friend

Ryan: Can we stop and get donuts?

Saturday we got up and went to lunch at the greatest place ever, Tomatohead. We also walked around Market Square, got back to Bev and Christian's where we were staying, and got ready for the wedding. The wedding was held at Second Pres Church and the reception was at the Knoxville Museum of Art. After that, we went back to DG&B and AGAIN I stayed out until 2 a.m. and drove everyone home. Quite entertaining. Lots of funny stories, great memories, and an awesome reunion with some of my most favorite people. Enjoy a few pics taken with my camera!

Megan Hurt's favorite table at the reception :)

My most favorite family (not counting my own) - the Hurt's!

Very cute koozies for my bottles of water

The bride and groom dancing the night away

Leslie and Adrianne!

The two of us!

Congrats Meg and Aaron! Have fun in Mexico!

15 Weeks and Doc Appointment

The baby is the size of a large naval orange!

For some reason, time seems to be going quicker these days. I have my energy back, I can eat anything, and I am finally starting to feel like the old Cami again :) So far, I am really liking the second trimester. I seriously feel like a new person after all that first trimester nonsense. I am also sporting a noticeable little baby bump! So fun! This week the baby's eyelids are still fused shut, but it can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at my belly, the baby will move away from the light. It's arms and legs are busy growing, and it's moving like crazy!

I went to the doctor on Thursday. Everything is going great! I've copied and pasted an email my husband wrote to his mom after the doc appt. So sweet, but also sooo Brian!

Mom,

Just a quick note… I tried to call your cell and thought this would be easier than leaving a long voice message…...

We went to the OBGYN this morning for our monthly appt. Everything went fine. I was glad to get to meet the Dr. She is really friendly and seems very knowledgeable. The baby's heart rate was 150 beats per minute (normal - about twice as fast as mom's 77 bpm). For this reason, she could not do an ultrasound because it wasn't warranted (despite Cami's attempts to beg her). We will have to wait until next month (20 wks) to find out gender with that ultrasound. Our next appt. is 9/16. We are going to another Dr. on 9/20 for a fetal echo to check out the heart and other vital organs more in depth.

I'll provide more info on the fetal echo later.... although, nothing to be alarmed about. Not included in the email was the fact that the baby is LOW. The doctor had to move around the doppler a lot until she finally found our little one pretty far below my belly button. I'm hoping he/she moves up so I can have a cute baby bump and not a freakish one :)

In the meantime, here I am!

15 down, 25 to go!

Lemme Lemme Upgrade Ya

We have gone through a serious technology upgrade at the Fields house. Thank goodness! In preparation for Baby Fields, we have decided only the best when it comes to documenting our little one's new life.

Baby or not, we really were in the market for these items. My Dell laptop that I used all through college and grad school has just about hit the bucket. With tax-free weekend in Tennessee, we

saw this as the perfect time to upgrade to a Mac. Also, my little digital camera, while great and only a year old, just did not live up to my future obsession of taking pictures of our first born.

So check out the before and after photos...

BEFORE

Dell Inspiron circa 2003

AFTER

Macbook with all the bells and whistles

Another incentive this past weekend was the fact that we could get a free iPod Touch with our new computer. Why, thanks!

BEFORE

iPod nano

AFTER

iPod Touch

Now for the camera. I can't thank Leslie enough for helping us on this one and selling us her "old" camera! There are many pluses to having friends who are professional photographers. :)

BEFORE

Panasonic digital camera... we'll still use this occasionally because it has video too

AFTER

Canon 40d... there are no words for how great this camera is

50 mm fixed lens... gets great shots!

I want to get an additional lens for the camera, but good things come to those who wait. I shopped around like crazy for all of the items you see above (well, except the free iPod). In fact, we went last winter and picked out the Mac we wanted, but knew it would be smarter to wait. Because we waited, we got it tax-free, with a student discount (technically I'm a student for a few more days), and a free iPod to go along with it.

Can I also just say that Mac has the best customer service ever? First of all, the guy at the store in the winter told me to wait because better deals would come around. He also told me I didn't need the Macbook Pro unless I wanted several specific programs that take up a lot of space (none of which I wanted). When we went this past weekend, a girl helped us. She said the same thing, and also encouraged us to just get the basics... we can always upgrade later. I really appreciated this sales approach, considering we were prepared for them to try to sell us the store. It was really great, and made me like Apple even more.

We're enjoying our new toys, and can't wait to take more pictures and play with them in iPhoto. We are officially geeks over our new technology!

14 Weeks

The baby is the size of a lemon!

This week, the baby is busy sucking its thumb, wiggling its toes, and growing lanugo (thin hair all over its body) to stay warm. The liver, kidneys, and spleen continue to develop. I am almost positive I felt the baby move the other day. Babycenter says I won't feel it until 16 weeks, but if you are thin, you can feel it sooner. I swear I felt three little kicks!

And here I am!

Heat Wave

109 degrees in my car! Seriously? That is too hot. Glad I am due in the dead of winter!

Moving On

I love the house we live in. Brian bought it 4 and a half years ago. It is on a quiet little street with nice neighbors. I moved in a little over 2 years ago when we got back from our honeymoon. Brian and I are very old fashioned. I had a dream in my head of not living together until we were husband and wife. Thankfully, my parents let me live with them until that day came.

On August 3, 2007 (3 years ago today!) Brian proposed to me in our house. We celebrated our first Christmas there and have so many special memories in our house. After many backyard parties, holidays, lazy Saturdays, and overnight guests, we have officially put our house on the market.

If you know of anyone looking for a house in our area, please send it on! Here's all the info and pictures... Shiny and clean and ready for potential new owners.

Listing Price: $138,000

• Great East Memphis location in Colonial Acres - convenient to everything!
• 3 bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms, Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen
• Corner Lot (.27 acre)
• Central Heat/Air Conditioning with Built In Humidifier
• 30 year Algae Resistant Roof
• Heated/Air Conditioned 2-car Garage
• Insulated Garage Doors
• Updated Circuit Panel
• New Hot Water Heater and Gutters
• Alarm System
• Security Doors
• Updated Interior, Neutral Paint
• Newly Refinished Hardwood Floors
• French Doors in Kitchen
• New Kitchen Appliances (Purchased in 2009)
• Separate Laundry Area
• Spacious Attic
• 6 Person Hot Tub
• 6 Foot Privacy Fence
• Large Backyard with 2 Patios, Nice Landscaping
• Large Storage Shed with Electricity
  

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

13 Weeks

Woohoo!!! Time to celebrate because the first trimester is over! I hear that the first is the worst by far, and the second is the best, so I am looking forward to hopefully getting a little more energy and being able to go back to eating normally.

So, the baby is the size of a peach!

The baby now has its own unique fingerprints (how cool!), if we did an ultrasound we could see the gender because it is now clearly visible, and the baby can suck its thumb. I am already amazed by this kid.

And here I am!

13 down, 27 to go!