Blogging?? Do I really do that? Not really. I am not as consistent as I would like to be but I am trying!!! I think about stopping to write all the time but this time it has been hard to take the time because I knew it was going to be a long one, if I actually sat down to write. I can’t believe it has been six weeks since I have blogged and six more weeks I have been growing this precious baby inside of me. Can I say she’s precious?? I haven’t even written about the gender nonsense that most of you probably already know about by now, but I have to document it. A lot has happened in the last six weeks…some sad things, some firsts, and lots of living! I think I will get the sad out of the way. Man, I have to start breaking up these blogs!!!!

         Growing up in a divorced family, one of the blessings was that I got to spend a lot of time with both my grandmothers and they were able to be amazing influences in my life. One of my grandmothers was 86 and had been in and out of the hospital for the past year or so. She had seemed to be doing sooo much better the day I went to tell her I was pregnant. She had some energy back and she was so excited to hear my news. I left that day thinking about sharing this special time with her and how much we both would enjoy it. That was the last news I was able to share with her. She passed peacefully on October 1, 2010. I was very very sad that my baby would never meet one of the most amazing women I have ever known…and I know a lot of them! I tried to push that thought to the back of my head. Then I realized that these thoughts were selfish. It was grandma’s time to go, she was in a better place…watching all of THIS take place. At the last minute, I wrote something for my cousin to read at the funeral, I am going to attach it. 

       Since the baby and I aren’t the only ones in The Barnes Bunch, I have to keep you updated with what is going on with the coolest seven-year-old around this town, Cade! Cade had a big first in the last few weeks - he went hunting with his dad. We went and practiced shooting the rifle and went over gun safety. Cade did so well, even on his first shot.

On their first trip, I woke up with them early that morning (that won’t happen again) to document the big event. I don’t know who was more excited, Dad or Cade!! They saw a doe and a buck but didn't get it sighted in. There's always next time!

Then there was Halloween. Cade was Chewbacca and a good one I might add. The day before Halloween Cade entered a costume contest.

A little history: Cade went two years ago to my parents’ neighborhood Halloween carnival as Batman. He was five…a shy five. He saw that there was a costume contest and he asked if he could be in it. Kent and I were both shocked as this was totally opposite of something he would normally want to do. He entered it and didn’t win but has constantly talked about it since. We weren’t able to go last year but were able to go this year. He was so excited. We get there and he enters the contest as number 2 in his age group. There was some good competition but we were keeping our fingers crossed. Before it was time for his age group to go up, Darth Vader came up and had a conversation with Chewy. We couldn’t hear the conversation but when Cade came over to us we asked what he said. Chewy said Darth had asked how old he was, and I asked Chewy if he knew why Darth was asking that, he said no. I said because HE IS SCARED YOU ARE GOING TO WIN!!! Darth was in Chewy’s age group, but as the story goes, good prevailed over evil and over 11 other costumes, and Chewy, A.K.A. Cade, won First Place! If the guy hadn’t confused us by announcing Cade’s name as Chade we would have embarrassed Cade with our screams of excitement!

Pumpkin Carving and Ranger Watching with Nana

Pregnancy Stuff

        I am now 19 weeks!!! Almost half way there, I never thought I would be a “this is going so fast” kinda girl, even though I know how time tends to get away from you, but it really has. As everyone says, my sickness passed once I hit the second trimester. During my first trimester, I always said, “Once I felt better I was going to run a marathon”. This was by far a stretch and I have not even ran around the block, but I am very happy to not feel so worthless and be able to do some things. Looking back on the last six weeks, I have very little complaints. I haven’t had heartburn or indigestion, my bowels are still moving along (I have heard this is a major problem), and my cravings have settled. I have random headaches that lurk all day but if that is my only complaint now, I have no complaints! I still have my emotional (very emotional) moments that Kent has learned to laugh at, just as I do.

       Oh, and I am going to the “Big D” and I don’t mean Dallas or Divorce. The biggest change, I would say, even beyond my baby bump, is my normally small lady lumps. I have a love/hate relationship with these things. Of course, I can’t lie. As a member of what my girlfriends and I call The Itty Bitty Titty Committee, it is nice to have a little something there, but it’s a lot to try to learn to deal with and they are pretty darn painful. I have been squeezing these poor babies in my normal bra for a while now and finally had to get a new bra this week. I knew this would happen but wasn’t really expecting it to happen so quickly and so drastically.

       For the fun stuff. At 13 weeks we went for the NT scan. The sonogram brought me to tears again. It is the neatest thing ever. Kent and I sat and watched him do all the measurements and he finally asked the million dollar question, “Do you guys want to know what you’re having?” YES!!! Yes, we do. “Well it’s still early, but it looks like your having yourself a boy”. For Faith: Time stops, I was so sure it was a girl. Not that I wanted a girl over a boy, but I “knew” it was girl. In shock for sure, lost in my own thoughts, I look over at Kent and he is soooo excited. He can’t stop smiling and I can’t stop being confused. I completely got lost in Kent’s moment. I was so happy that he was so happy. It was really awesome to watch. I then asked percentage wise how sure the doctor was, and he said 90 percent. Kent was SOLD!!! I, too, quickly became sold after thinking about having to deal with a little girl’s hair like my own, her attitude, the extra hit girls clothes would take on our budget, and all the boy things I would much rather do over girl things.

Our Baby Girl

       So our friend told us we could come in and she would check at 15 weeks, get a better look and more development. We were able to have Cade at the sonogram with us so that was yet again a really exciting moment. He asked Fara, “Are those her guts??” Fara said, “No but those are,” and quickly moved her magic wand over so Cade could see “my guts.” Fara then asked, “The other doctor said boy right?” Yes, he said boy. She told us she wasn’t going to say until she got the perfect shot and knew. At this point, even after thinking it was a girl so strongly, I had no doubts that it was a boy now. “Guys, I really hate to do this to you but…I SEE ALL GIRL.” For Faith: I really didn’t believe it at all! I had convinced myself over the last two weeks that it was a boy and that a boy is what was perfect for our family. All I could do was laugh. I didn’t know what to think or feel. It would get quiet and I would just keep on laughing in disbelief. Watching Kent wasn’t as fun this time as it was the last time, it made me really sad. He was so confused, and like I was when they told us it was a boy, in complete shock. We both left not really knowing what to think. This was going to take a long while to sink in. 

       Now we have had an 18 week sonogram confirming that it is indeed a girl, and we are BOTH so excited. Fara even printed out one more picture of the evidence for Kent just in case he was still having issues accepting the fact. At the last doctor appointment Baby and Momma are doing well and healthy. She is now seven ounces in weight and around eight inches long. OHHHH…I almost forgot the best part. I have been feeling her move. I have been waiting for this for a long while and can’t wait for more consistent movement. I felt a few flutters around 16 weeks but this week, I have felt movement from the outside of my belly and Kent got to feel her too!! I could lay waiting for one quick jab for hours. Here is a belly pic at 16 weeks, (2 weeks ago) one of the many times I was going to sit down and blog.

I will add a current one really soon!!