What a year!

Happy New Year's Eve everyone! I can't believe that 2011 is already coming to an end and we are about to start a new year. I remember when Madison was born, my mom calculated the year she would graduate high school (2013) and back then that seemed like an entire lifetime away. Now I can't believe it's next year! Mike and I always joke that New Year's is the most overrated holiday. It seems like there is all hype about what to do, where to go and what to wear and for some reason it always seems like it's a bust. We are probably the most low key New Year's Eve people ever. We are totally cool with lounging in our pajamas with a couple of friends. Mike really likes playing board games, so that is always on his list of things to do. Some of our favorites are Things, Balderdash, and Mike's favorite, Monopoly. If you have never played Things, do yourself a favor and GO GET IT! We love that game! This year we are going to be celebrating the holiday at Ryan and Erin's house...a very low key night! In fact, most all of the couples that are going to be there are either pregnant or have  infants. If that does not scream low key, I don't know what does. In fact, the invitation said come comfy...in your pj's if you desire. That's my kinda New Years!

As I reflect on 2011 I feel extremely blessed at all of the things that I have experienced...

1. Started my Master's Degree...
2. Finished 9/10 classes for my degree (WOOOHOOO!!!) The last class starts on the 9th :)
3. Made new friends
4. Reconnected with old ones
5. Traveled to Denver for the first time
6. Watch two of my best friends welcome babies into their family
7. Found out my best friend was expecting
8. Spent a fun weekend at the lake with  my family
9. Found a new church home
10. celebrated our second wedding anniversary
11. had a wreck infront of St. Matthew's mall (NOT MY FAULT)
12. Found out I am going to be an aunt
13. FOUND OUT I'M GOING TO BE A MOMMY!!!

My question is...what in the world does 2012 have in store for me?! As I read through this list, I am reminded of this bible verse..."To those whom much is given, much is expected." -Luke 12:48. To say I am blessed beyond belief is an understatement. I am so thankful for this life that God has given Mike and I, and I pray that we can honor him in all we do!

I will leave you with some pictures of the hubby and I on our first New Year's together at a couple. This seems like forever ago!

One dream I hope NEVER comes true!

Since I have been pregnant I have had the CRAZIEST dreams! I had one the other night that I hope NEVER happens in real life. I had a dream that I was out running errands with the baby for the first time and whenever I got out of the car to run into a store, I forgot to bring the baby with me. I would go into each store and someone I knew would be there and ask to see the baby (which was a girl!). I would start looking around everywhere and then realize that the baby was still in the car. I would run like a crazy woman back to where I had parked the car to get my poor little child. Every time I went back to get her, someone had wrapped her in lots of blankets and she was really hot. I would frantically unwrap her from the blankets and try to cool her down. One time when I went back to the car, I realized I had totally forgotten I had a baby and had piled my shopping bags on her car seat. I specifically remember there being a lap top laying on top of her.

The next thing I remember about the dream was the babysitter that we had hired was sick on a day that both Mike and I had to work. I had decided to take the baby with me to school on a field trip day. On the bus the driver told me that I had to do the best I could because he didn't want me to use his seat belts. So I was trying to calm 25 third grade students and keep my baby safe. Every time the driver would accelerate or turn a corner, the car seat would go sliding across the bus and all of my kids were trying to play soccer with the sliding car seat. What a nightmare!

Poor little child! I imagine the baby's face looked a little like this one..." uh, this lady is MY mother?! Oh great!"

Let's hope I'm a better mother than I was in my dream!

10 week update

I'm a little behind on my week by week update. I am actually about 10 1/2 weeks today, I guess not that far behind. The baby is now the size of a prune (although not a shriveled I hope!) He or she is a little over one and a half inches in length and has completed the most critical part of his or her development. Although I can't feel it, the baby is now kicking up a storm. This is the part of my pregnancy that I am looking most forward to. I can't wait to feel those little kicks in there! The baby also has tiny fingernails and toenails that have started to grow ( note to self: get baby nail clippers!) and is starting to get peach fuzz hair on his/her head. The baby can also bend  his/her arms and they might be long enough to touch together in front of the body.

Update on me

How far along: 10 weeks

Maternity clothes: Not yet. I am going to try and steer clear of those bad boys and wear dresses when it gets warmer. I will probably have to buy some jeans or something, but my plan is flowy shirts. 

Gender: Mike and I think boy, but Mike's aunt did a little test and thinks it's a girl. I would be over the moon with either!

Movement: the baby is very active, but I won't be able to feel it for another 7-8 weeks. 

Sleep: LOVIN' IT!

Cravings: oranges, Olive Garden soup and salad and Cracker Barrel

Symptoms: nausea (although I don't vomit, sometimes I pray that I would because I think it would make me feel better) slight roundness in my stomach (although some would say I just look fat! :)

I just need to lie down for, like, five minutes...okay, maybe three months

This is the title to one of the chapters in Jenny McCarthy's book Belly Laughs. It's SO true! I have read and read and read that it is totally normal to be tired during the first trimester because your body is so busy growing a little one (and the baby grows quickly!) I was just thinking how at 6 weeks the baby was the size of an orange seed and then four weeks later the baby is the the size of a prune. That's quite a growth spurt. Here is how Jenny describes being tired in the first trimester:

Imagine staying up all night, then running a marathon, then doing three hundred loads of laundry and raking leaves off a football field all in one day. How tired would  you be? That is how tired I felt EVERY DAY in my first trimester. It's like someone snuck in and stole all the juice out of my body.


Couldn't have said it better, Jenny! In fact, on Monday night I fought and fought going to sleep. Finally I couldn't take it anymore. I told Mike I was going to bed and asked him if he was coming to bed, too. He looked at me and said, "Uh, Meg, it's only 9:00." To me it felt like 4 in the morning! So I went off to bed and slept until 9 am yesterday. This was followed by two naps during the day. I swear I can be sitting on the couch just fine and then BAM! I'm out!

One of my colleagues asked me what the first signs were that I was pregnant. At first I told her because my boobs were different (sorry if that's TMI) but then I got to thinking about it. A couple of weeks before Thanksgiving break I would come home and CRASH! I mean lay on the couch for three hours in a coma. I was thinking it was because work was draining me of energy and I was stressed out because of my classes, but now thinking back, that was my first sign that I had a little one on board!

So needless to say, I am enjoying my Christmas break because I can take a nap whenever I feel like it and sleep until my little heart is content!

Merry Christmas from the Fogle family!

We have had a great Christmas so far. We celebrated with Mike's family at his mom and dad's house on the 23rd and then on Christmas Eve we went to Mike's grandma's house and to Christmas at my mom and dad's house. I am stealing pictures from everyone elses camera because I forgot mine at home, so right now I only have pictures from Christmas at my family's house. There will be more to come once I get the pictures from everyone else.

My sister's and I with our dad. Same picture below with my mama.

Brit and I making candy at mom and dad's before Christmas.

Me with the hubby.

Little bitty Pumpkin with Anelle. Pumpkin is just plain rotten!

Madi and Billy.

Mike, my dad and my papaw eating dinner together.

Most of my mom's side of the family. We are missing my other cousin,Erin, who was lucky and spent Christmas in Florida with her in-laws.

This picture makes me laugh. Pumpkin and I cuddling on the couch and Mike mean muggin' my mom.

This gift is from my mom and dad to baby Fogle. It's precious! The little bear is holding the book "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and when you press his hand he reads you the story. This one is especially cute thought because he doesn't just move his mouth up and down. He twists his head from side to side while he is talking and he makes it so life-like. Mike and I enjoyed this little guy!

Opening Gifts

We didn't forget about little Sadie Bug or Pumpkin Pie either. Santa comes to good little pups, too! They were so excited!

Me and baby Fogle at 10 weeks on Christmas.

We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! We are so thankful for the birth of our Savior which gives us a very good reason to celebrate this season!

What I am lovin'...

Last night I was leaving the gym headed back to Mike's mom and dad's house and I just felt so thankful and happy for lots of things going on in life. They say it's the little things in life, and last night I was definitely feeling the love! Here are some of the things I am lovin' right now:

1. The fact that my hubby asked me out on a date. I know this seems like something little, but when he actually says, "Do you want to go on a date tomorrow?" you still feel like you're being courted. So tonight we are going to Stoney River steakhouse (one of our favorites) and to see the new movie Sherlock Holmes.

2. I actually feel rested. Since I am finished up my master's degree as well as working full time, I go NONSTOP! I come home almost everyday and take a nap, but right now I have actually had energy!

3. While I am on the topic of energy, I also have a lot of motivation to go to the gym because I am not exhausted. WOO HOO! I hope I can keep it up once I start back to work and go back to school. Luckily, I only have ONE MORE CLASS TO GO and then I am finished with my master's.

4. My mom has a stocking/ gift bag for our baby. :)

5. Mike's mom is so considerate. She told me last night that she bought Sprite and Gingerale for Rachel and me.

6. This little girl:

Ladies and gentlemen, meet my niece, Olivia. Isn't she beautiful?! My sister-in-law is due at the end of February and I get excited just thinking about it. Doesn't she have the prettiest little mouth? Oh I can't wait to hold her, love on her, and spoil her to death!

7. I have time to read books other than ones that I am forced to read right now! Usually I am reading books for my classes or for thinking strategies, which doesn't leave a lot of extra time to read books that I have had on my list. Yesterday I went to Target with my mom and picked up a copy of Heaven is for Real. This is one that I have wanted to read for a long time, but haven't had the chance. I started it last night at about 7 and finished it at about midnight. It's amazing. If you haven't read it, GO GET IT!

To give you an overview, Colton, had an emergency surgery when we was three years old and after the surgery he started saying little things about being in heaven, what it looked like, who he saw (his great grandfather he'd never met and a sister that was lost in a miscarriage of which he knew nothing about), seeing Jesus and how big God really is. Every time that he would see a picture of Jesus he would get really upset and say that they had it all wrong. The picture below is the one that stopped him in his tracks and his response was, "That's the right one." Colton kept talking to his parents about how beautiful Jesus' eyes are. It's amazing really...

Next on my list for Christmas break leisurely reading:

I love Emily Griffin. She is the author of the Something Borrowed, Something Blue series. She also has some other great books that aren't part of that series that I have loved reading. I saw this one yesterday when I was at Target. Didn't even know she had a new one out!!

8. I am loving that although it is 60 degrees outside, Christmas is only a couple of days away. Happy Holidays everyone. I hope everyone gets to spend lots of time with their family members creating memories that will last a lifetime! May you remember the true reason that we are celebrating the season. Just think, this time next year we will have a 5 month old baby! (I'm really lovin' that!)

Oh! I almost forgot. Here we are at 9 weeks :)

Update, doctor visit and big news for my best friend

There has been a lot going on the past week. First of all, I am on Christmas Break (can I get an amen!) It could not have come at a better time. When I say I could sleep all day, I mean it! And for the next two weeks my alarm clock will not be going off at 5:30 am, which makes me a very happy girl! Mike can back me up when I say I have been sleeping WAY more than normal. In fact, it kind of reminds me of when I had mono. I guess growing a little one is hard work!

We are 9 weeks into our pregnancy. Our little one is the size of an olive (hold the martini, please!) and growing like a weed, which means that his/her momma is too! Right now I just look and feel fat, but I have a definite baby bump toward the end of the day when I am full. According to my book and apps that I am reading, the baby is one inch long and now has a head that has straightened out. The baby also has ears that are fully developed along with a few more organs (the spleen, liver and gallbladder). Although I can't feel any of it, the baby has started to make little movements where his/her muscles are starting to develop. From what I have been reading, I will be able to feel these movements in about 8 more weeks.

Yesterday we went to our first doctor's appointment. I was totally shocked at how laid back everything was. I was geared up to hear the heartbeat (hopefully, if the baby would have been in a position where it could have been located) and at least be examined to make sure everything was ok. Instead, we were taken into a acutal office where the nurse went over their procedures and answered any questions that I had. Me having pregnancy brain, I had a huge list of questions that I had written out, but of course I forgot it. So on the way to the appointment I tried to rewrite my questions on a scrap piece of paper. The woman was probably thinking, "What in the world is wrong with these two?!" Then they did some blood work to check my levels, but I won't get those results back for the next couple weeks. The nurse said that at our next appointment I will be able to have an ultrasound. I am excited to see this little one. For all I know, there could be two of them in there!

I know I am jumping all over the place, but I wanted to share some other very exciting news. My best friend, Hannah, and her husband, Austin are due 8 weeks before we are. I am so excited that we will be going through this journey as first time mommas together! I just know what our babies will be either best friends or boyfriend/girlfriend. They really don't get a choice!! But, Hannah and Austin found out last Friday if they were going to be welcoming a boy or girl. Actually, Hannah's mom went to the appointment with them and was the only one to see the gender. Then she got together a little party where she revealed the gender to their family and close friends. I was so excited to be a part of the party! Hannah and Austin will be welcoming a little baby girl, McKinley Tate, in May ( I absolutely LOVE the name that they have picked out). I am already so in love with this little girl and can't wait to get my hands on her! Congrats Hannah and Austin!!

Welcome home, Drew!

One of Mike's best friends from high school, Drew, is a fighter pilot for the navy and has been deployed for the past few months. This past weekend was his homecoming and Mike got to spend a couple of fun days with his buddy. They met up in Jacksonville, Florida where Mike and Drew's father-in-law were able to board the ship that Drew has been on. They then rode the ship from Florida to Norfolk, Virginia where Drew was reunited with his wife, Kelli, who is the 7 months pregnant with their first son, Chase. While at sea, they got to tour the ship, watch an air show, and do a lot of really cool things. I am so glad that Mike got to experience this with Drew.  I love the pictures that Mike got of his trip, especially the ones where Kelli finally got to see Drew. They are so sweet! 

 

 Drew and Kelli

 Mike's ride from Florida to Virginia

 one of the submarines that travel with the ship

 Drew and his father-in-law

 Mike and Drew

 Drew

 Mike, Drew and Drew's father-in-law on the day of Drew's homecoming

Aren't the adorable!?

Drew, we are so happy that you are back home and safe!

8 week update

I am 8 weeks along and feeling better than last week! The baby has grown from the size of a blueberry to the size of a raspberry and has some major development going on. Little bit is developing eyelids, ears, an upper lip and a soon-to-be little button nose. The websites and books that I have been reading says that the baby's heart rate is about 150 beats per minute (that's fast!) We go to the doctor next Monday, so I will have to look at the heart rate and try the old wife's tale to see if the baby will be a boy or girl. Everyone right now is predicting a boy because I have started to get a little belly so soon. Mom says that when she was pregnant with Madison, Brittany and I that she got wide before she went out and I am going out instead of getting wide. We shall see!

I am seeing a difference in the way that my clothes are fitting. I can also feel a difference when I run my hand across my stomach. A few months ago my stomach was flat when I ran my hand across (well "flat" HA!) but now I feel it is rounding out a little bit. My mom and I went out to dinner the other night and after I ate, I could feel a little hard spot that was right below my belly button. It's crazy really to think about what is going on inside of me right now.

If I forget what I am typing about and go on a totally random tangent, it's because I have MAJOR pregnancy brain! I swear I am usually the most organized person who knows where EVERYTHING is. In fact, on a daily basis I have to tell my husband where he placed his wallet, keys or other crucial item . :) Lately, I can't remember a darn thing. I will put my keys in my purse and two seconds later I will be trying to track them down around the house. I asked Mike the same question 4 times the other night in a 5 minute time span. I have done something like this a few times now and it is annoying and I hear that it only gets worse. By the time this baby gets here I might end up in a different state wondering where I am going!

I will leave you with a picture of me at 8 weeks. I am staying at my mom and dad's this weekend while Mike is out of town, so this picture is infront of their Christmas tree. Madi wanted colored lights this year. :) I can see the roundness in this picture! :)

7 weeks

I am currently 7 weeks pregnant! This week little bit is the size of a blueberry (a major growth spurt since last week when he or she was the size of an orange seed!) Believe it or not, although the baby is SMALL, he or she is 10,000 time bigger than when conceived.(WOW!) There is a lot of growing going on this week, too. During the week the baby's mouth and tongue are forming along with little buds which will eventually become arms and legs. Little bit also has fully functioning kidneys.

I have experienced my first couple of rounds of morning sickness. On Thanksgiving I was pretty sick, but as I told Mike, I am not sure it wasn't from the frozen dinner that I ate the night before. This morning I got up and took a shower, but that was about as far as I made it before the sickness kicked in. I ended up taking the day off from work because I just didn't think I could do it. I laid around most of the day and luckily the nausea subsided. I haven't eaten very much today, but I am hoping that tomorrow will be a new day. I know it's a good sick, but UGH! it makes you feel very green!

Pumpkin spills the beans

This past weekend was Thanksgiving. Mike and I decided we would tell our parents whenever we got together to celebrate. Pumpkin had a large role to play in the big reveal. Everyone knows that she is like our child, so technically, she is going to be a big sister. There was no way that we couldn't involve her in sharing our secret, so I went out last weekend and bought Pumpkin a plain colored t-shirt. On the back I painted I'M GOING TO BE A BIG SISTER for her to wear when she spread the big news. Below is Pumpkin enjoying the Thanksgiving weather in her new t-shirt:

On Thursday we met Mike's mom and dad at their house so that we could carpool to our Thanksgiving Day destinations. We were running a little bit late (kind of on purpose, but kind of because I was sick) so both Louie and Fonda were waiting in the kitchen when we pulled in. Whenever Pumpkin goes to Mike's parents or to my parents, she has to make her rounds and say hello, so what a better way to tell them all than to dress her up and let her go. Below is the video of Pumpkin telling her Nana and Pawpaw the big news (I would say they are excited!)

On Friday we went to have Thanksgiving with my family. Again, Pumpkin wore her special t-shirt to reveal the big news. My mom had kind of suspected that something was going on, so a few days before I told her a little fib to throw her off. The first thing that she said (apart from crying and saying, "You are?! You are?!) is, " YOU LIED TO ME!" HA! It had to be done! My dad is also very excited. He has been saying that he has a new fishing buddy. Here are pictures from my side of the family:

 Watching my family read the shirt

 Mom figuring out that her outfit says something special :)

 Hugs begin

 Brit seeing if she can feel little bit in there

 The proud grandparents to be

 Mike showing dad the video of when his mom found out 

 He's a happy man

 The happy hubby

Mom sharing the big news with her sister, my Aunt Debbie

We are so excited that the news is out with at least our family. Most of them have even chosen the name that they would like to be called. :) To say they are ecstatic would be an understatement. Mike and I had a great weekend and the excitement continues to grow!