A Very Merry Christmas

Well, hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. So hard to believe the time has come and gone and it's fixin' to be 2007! Today marks 30 weeks for me, so only 10 more weeks to go (at the most, I hope!). I've attached some of my favorite Christmas pics to share with you guys. None of me, so y'all lucked out! Enjoy~

Here is Lucy by our Christmas tree on Christmas Eve - she's still our little baby for one more Christmas! She even got to spend most of Christmas w/ the family. We took her to the Zabodyn's on Christmas morning to open gifts from Santa, then she got to go to my mom and dad's for lunch.

Here is little Anna. This was after church on Christmas Eve when they were opening gifts. They were all so cute this year, ripping into anything that had gift wrap on it!

Brock got this cool tractor for Christmas from my parents. All of the kids enjoyed riding it and pushing each other on it. He doesn't really have the steering down, just full speed ahead - look out!

Bryn was such the big girl this Christmas. She enjoyed opening all of her gifts and thanking everyone for them. Here she is showing Anna how to use this toy. Y'all should see how grown up she is - her hair is getting so long. She loves talking to Baby Dayton. I know she'll be such a great big cousin to him!

Here are the "big kids" on Christmas day. Jake and Brandon got a kick out of this little fishing game that the kids have. To see two grown men sitting Indian-style in the middle of the living room floor playing "Go Fish" was a pretty funny site. Brock is looking on trying to pick up some good strategies!

*Tomorrow I have another sonogram and doctor's appointment, so I'll try to get some pics up as soon as I can. I'm taking MeMe (my mom) and Nana (Brandon's mom), so it should be exciting. We'll see how big this boy is getting. I feel like his legs are very long. Have a good one! JZ

Quick Post

Hey Everyone,
Just wanted to take the time to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas weekend/day! May the magic and miracles of Christmas bless you all! I can't believe the time is here - my how this month has flown!

The Rockettes were absolutely fabulous! It was a wonderful day spent w/ my mom. One of the best Christmas gifts I could've given myself and her. We had a blast.

Last night's Christmas parties were okay. Hopefully next year, I won't have to be that fat pregnant woman.

Today Brandon has the day off so we're headed to Sugar Land to get us some new hair cuts and styles. We'll see how it goes.

One thing I really wanted to share: Dayton had his first case of the hiccups last night while we were at the Jenkin's party. It was hilarious. My stomach was bobbing up and down pretty rhythmically. What an experience. I kinda just whispered it to Brandon, I didn't want to look like a freak - "Hey everyone check this out!" Anyways, another miracle of pregnancy - amazing!

Again, Merry Christmas to all and be safe! Lots of love and holiday wishes - JZ

Monday Morning...

Well, another weekend has come and gone and busy it was (as usual). Saturday my mom and I braved one more trip to Sugar Land to fight the crowd. Our first stop was Spec's Liquor so mom could pick up some gifts for the guys. You should've seen pregnant ole' me pushing a shopping cart full of Crown and whiskey - pretty funny! Then we made a quick stop at Carter's. They were having 50% off the entire store, so I couldn't resist buying Dayton a few little outfits for the spring. We stopped at Swoozie's and looked around, but didn't buy anything. Then, we went on to the mall which was craziness! I've been a little more hormonal than usual lately and going to the mall did not help my mood. I was a little grinch-like. It's hard enough for me to get around as it is, but imagine trying to walk between tables at places like Bath and Body Works and Victoria's Secret when the lines are out to the door and there are people everywhere. My poor stomach sticks out way too far to get around places like that. I was not much fun at the mall. We got what we needed and got out of there. We ate at Pei Wei (of course), then stopped at Target for a while. We were pretty exhausted when we got home.

Yesterday, we ate lunch at my parents then Amy and I sat down and wrapped gifts for my mom for a couple of hours. Then, I came home and turned into Betty Crocker. The bank is putting on a Cookie Exchange and they were nice enough to ask me to participate, so I baked over 5 dozen of my mom's famous sugar cookies. My poor feet were exhausted, but it helped me get back into the Christmas spirit after my mishaps w/ shopping on Saturday. Last night we ate at the Zabodyn's, and I helped wrap gifts over there, too. I'm just becoming a professional wrapper!

Mr. Dayton seems to be doing well. He's hanging in there through all of Mommy's holiday business. I had a gingerbread latte at around 9:00 last night - bad idea. He refused to go to sleep until around 11:30. He's wide awake right now, too. I have the laptop partially resting on my tummy and everytime he kicks, it kind jumps around too! This kid must have some legs/feet on him. I don't know if I've mentioned my new obsession w/ milk lately, but it is the weirdest thing. I am not a very big milk person, infact, before lately you couldn't even find any in our refrigerator, and if you did, it was bound to be spoiled. Now, I'm buying at least a gallon a week and loving every sip of it. I am obsessed with cow juice! It's so crazy. I can't get enough of it, and Dayton seems to like it, too. Everytime I drink it, after about 15 minutes, he is kicking around like crazy. Atleast I'm not craving something else, it could be worse. I'll stick w/ milk!

Have a great week everyone - I'm sure it's gonna be a busy one. As for me, I have the cookie exchange today, then dancing Christmas parties today and tomorrow. Wednesday Mom and I are going to see the Holiday Spectacular (Rockettes) in Houston. I am soooooo excited. We have two Christmas parties on Thursday night. So, we'll see how the week goes. Take care and Happy Holidays!

Today's Doctor's Appointment

Today I had my first appointment with Dr. Sangalli and everything went great. He seems to be a great guy/doctor. I was worried he would be one of those real "professional" serious doctors, but he was very nice and personal. He was cracking jokes and talking like I'd been seeing him forever. He made me feel very comfortable. He had reviewed my records and knew my history before he got in the room. Blood pressure, urine and weight all looked good for me, so I was grateful for that. He measured my uterus, which was a new thing for me. Dr. Ogdee never did that, but Sangalli said he was old-fashioned and he kept up with measurements, so that is fine. Dayton's little heartbeat was as strong as ever and he seems to be doing well. I did a little shopping in Wharton, what little there is to do, and then Amy and I had lunch at Pat-a-Cake - yummy! I had me some fruit and broccoli and cheese soup - delicious! I'll keep it short today, I've been running pretty long lately...

Update

This morning I got my weekly update and had to share. The email said the baby is the size of a blow dryer - random, huh? I thought that was pretty funny! He is between 10 and 16 inches long - head to feet and weighs between 2 1/2 to 3 lbs. He is just growing by the week. Just think, he only has a couple of more inches to grow before he is born. It's just so unbelievable. I say it all the time, but the most amazing feeling in the whole world is feeling a life inside of you kicking and moving about. It is so awesome - I don't think it'll ever get old. Even as he grows stronger and stronger, it just becomes more and more wonderful. Dayton likes to play tricks on Daddy, so everytime he starts kicking around at night, I tell Brandon and as soon as he puts his head/hand on my belly, Dayton gets real still like "Ha, ha - got you Dad!" It's pretty cute.

Tomorrow is my first doctor's appointment with my new doctor, Dr. Sangalli, so I'll let you all know how that goes. Starting tomorrow, I'll be going to the doctor every two weeks - yikes! At the end of this month, I'll have my last sonogram before he gets here - it'll be at 30 weeks. I'm 28 weeks tomorrow, so I'm in my last trimester now - only 12 more weeks to go.

This morning, my dad kept Bryn and Brock, so I went over there and we went to Prasek's and had breakfast. They love going there with Grandpa and so does Anna. It is so cute. Then, we all went to the museum here in town. We had a good time. Bryn was a pro, she had just been on a field trip there so she was our tour guide. Brock was just starring at the big animals in awe. Grandpa brought his camera so he could get some good pics of them. He still uses a regular camera, not a digital one, so it was so funny everytime he took a picture, Brock would say "I want to see". I told Dad, kids these days won't even know what film is because they are so used to digital cameras and seeing the pics right then and there - pretty funny! We went back to Grandpa's house and played in the back yard. Now I'm home, fixing to get lunch ready for Brandon (left over pizza and Spaghetti-o's) and then I've got to finish making my ornaments I'm giving to my girls for Dance Pizzazz. Hard to believe, but I start Christmas parties on Thursday already. Christmas will be here before we know it!

Say a prayer for a good appointment tomorrow and I'll let you all know how it goes. Keep your fingers crossed that I didn't gain too much weight, but I have a bad feeling that I did, I'm just starting to "swell" up everywhere, not a pretty site!

Oh, and FYI - looks like my big baby shower is going to be on January 27th, 2007 in the morning, just in case anyone wants to mark your calendars if you can make it.

FSB Christmas Party

Here are some pics from the First State Bank Christmas party on Friday night. These were taken at my parents before the party. You guys should see my parent's Christmas tree - it's beautiful! Too bad the big pregnant woman is blocking the view. My, my how large I am getting, but knew you guys would like for me to share! The party was a lot of fun. I even lasted til midnight. I thought that was pretty good for an ole' sober, pregnant woman!

On Saturday, Brandon and I decided to go shopping in Sugar Land and fight the hustle and bustle of holiday shoppers. We had a wonderful time. We finished all of our Christmas shopping and even did some for ourselves. We just took our time and browsed the mall. Half way through the afternoon we went and sat at the new Barnes and Noble and had some Starbucks and read some magazines - Brandon read a car magazine and I read a pregnancy magazine of course. Mrs. Zabodyn was doing some shopping at the mall also, so we met up w/ her and shopped some more. After we'd worked up a pretty good appetite from shopping for about 6 hours straight, we went and ate at Benihanna's - it was yum-o! On the way home, we stopped in Pecan Grove and drove around and looked at Christmas lights. They were beautiful. We had a full day, but it was good to spend some time with my husband. We had a lot fun!

Sunday, we spent the day resting up - just hung out, addressed Christmas cards, and watched a lot of football!

Dog Owners Beware~

Hey Guys, okay, so Cassie's poor little Lex had problems earlier in the week, and now Lucy has caused some problems of her own! The rest of you dog owners better watch out for the rest of the week!

Let me tell you what are precious little Lucy did last night. Brandon and I were supposed to meet at the Zabodyn's at 7:00 for dinner. I was coming straight from dancing and Brandon was coming from home w/ Lucy. When I got there at 7:00, I noticed Brandon wasn't there so I called him and he said I'd better get home fast. So here's the story: Our garage door has been broke for a couple of days, so Brandon had backed his car out the garage, then got out w/ the car running and went to close the garage. When he went back to the car to open the door, little Lucy had stepped on the lock button to the car (it's on the center console by the stick shift in Brandon's car, random, I know). Anyways, she had managed to lock herself in Brandon's running car. The car which we only have one set of keys to. By the time I got home, she'd already been in there for about 10 minutes and Brandon, his mom, and his dad were trying to get her to walk back across the console to step on the button again. They were all knocking on the window, showing her treats, looked pretty funny to anyone who did not know what was going on. Brandon had tried to call the police to come break into his car, but they said that animals were not considered an "emergency", they'd only come if it was a child - whatever! So, we called a locksmith. When he showed up, he said he didn't know if he'd be able to get into the car due to the make and model. He recommended towing the car to the nearest BMW dealership (Houston) w/ it running and Lucy in it (oh yeah, with the heater blarring in her face - she was really panting in there, and Brandon's radio was blarring w/ his screaming hardcore music, so she couldn't even hear us talking to her). Anyways, Brandon said we wouldn't do that to her, we'd just break a window if we had to. When the locksmith started to try to put his little devices down the door, Lucy finally walked over the center console and hit the hazard button and the lock button and Mr. Zabodyn hurried up and opened the door and she was free!!!! She was locked in there for about 45 minutes - it was crazy! Darn animals!

Today I went shopping w/ Mom and Diane, and we had a really good time. I got to eat my Pei Wei so I was very happy. We got into town around 4:45 and I was at dancing by 5:15 and then got home after 8:00 - busy day but lots of fun!

Won't keep you any longer, just had to let everyone know about our doggie excitement for the week!!!!

Enjoying the Weather!

Isn't this weather just wonderful? I must say I'm enjoying the winter chill. Now all we need is some snow - so much for wishful thinking! I'd be willing to wait one more year, so Dayton could enjoy snow on his first Christmas - Wouldn't that just be so special??!!!??

We had a pretty good/busy weekend. Brock's party was really fun. The kids were so cute. I was bad and didn't get any pictures, so I apologize. I was too busy crawling around on the floor putting toys together and playing - what a sight! Saturday we went to Aaron's wedding in Sealy. It was really nice. We were home early evening, so we went and visited w/ the Zabodyns for a while. Lucy needed to play with Bandit since she'd been home by herself all day. Sunday we woke up early, went to church, went to breakfast w/ my parents, then got home and started putting up Christmas lights. I had my Dance Pizzazz girls dance at the Christmas Mall, so that was fun, then we stayed and shopped around. When I got home, we finished up on the Christmas lights. They turned out beautiful if I do say so myself! Brandon is so proud of himself. He wants to enter the light decorating contest. I don't think we have much of a chance, but it is just so cute how excited he is. He came home from work yesterday, and put even more lights out. After nine years, my Christmas spirit is finally starting to wear off on him, he's really in the spirit of the season this year - it's been so much fun and December has just begun!

Yesterday and today at dancing are Parent Watch Days so they really wear me out! All those parents, cameras, siblings - ahhhhhhh! We survived yesterday, so only one more day to go. Not too bad. I'm about to go through some more costume magazines here in a few minutes. I want to have all of my costumes ordered by the end of this month. Costume time is so stressful for me - pick out the perfect costume, choose the right size, in the right price range, age appropriate, etc. Decisions, decisions!!!!

Tomorrow, my mom and I are headed to Houston for a shopping trip. I think Diane might come along so that should be fun. I'm going to force them to eat some Pei Wei - it's been a few weeks and I am craving!!!! I have dancing tomorrow night, so we'll have to be home around 4:00 or so. The Christmas Parade is on Thursday night, so I've moved those classes to tomorrow. The parade should be fun - we are going to set up camp at the studio and make some chilli and fixins. - yummy! Nothing like a good ole' Christmas parade, some cold weather, and some chilli! I'll let you know how it goes.

Yesterday was my first dose of my iron supplement and so far, so good. I don't seem to have any side effects so maybe this won't be so bad after all. And, I thought they'd look like some big ole' horse pills, but they're nothing more than a gelcap, so not too bad!

Friday is First State Bank's Christmas party at Greeks. I think it'll be fun. Only one problem - you guessed it - my wardrobe. This is our third one w/ the bank, and this year they've decided to have a "themed" party - just my luck. We're supposed to dress up like the 50's - poodle skirts and all. Well, so much for getting me in a poodle skirt, and I'm not thrilled at the thought of wearing rolled up maternity blue jeans w/ one of Brandon's white dress shirts (frumpy!), so we may skip out on dressing up. But, I still have the problem of what to wear - so hard! Hopefully, I'll find something tomorrow on our shopping trip!

Well, I'll keep you guys posted as the week goes on. Have a great one!

Friday, already!!!

Well, it's Friday already and another week has flown by. My how time flies when you're having fun!!!????!!!! Not much to report today. We had a garage sale yesterday at the Zabodyn's and considering the weather, we had a pretty good turn out. I had to get rid of a lot of clothes that, let's face it, I'll never squeeze into again, and if I do I deserve a new wardrobe anyways! After cleaning out the nursery, I had a lot of things to sell. Brandon and me managed to make almost $300 so I was pretty happy. Brandon says we're going to spend the money on Dayton, since it was him who gave me the incentive to clean. I won't argue with that.

Well, I spoke too soon when I bragged about my good test results from the doctor the other day. I got a letter in the mail yesterday saying that my glucose level was normal, but I am border-line anemic, so look out iron supplements, here I come! Yuck! I'm hoping they don't make me feel too bad. I tried to go get the prescription filled this morning at Wal-Mart and they won't have it in till Monday - oh darn, I get to go a couple more days without getting on that nasty stuff ;) I saw it coming, I knew it was too good to be true. I'll keep you updated on how they affect me.

Brandon finished his last paper for the year for his grad. school class. We won't have to worry about SWGSB anymore until he leaves at the end of May, sniffle, sniffle. I'm already dreading it - sad, I know.

Tonight we're celebrating Brock's birthday, so that should be fun. He is so cute! I'll try to take some pics and send 'em out! Tomorrow we're going to Aaron Cox's wedding in Sealy - again, my biggest crisis will be what to wear - no winter maternity dresses in my closet, so I guess it'll be slacks and a sweater - how exciting... Sunday, I've got my little dancers dancing at the Christmas mall at the civic center, so we'll see how that goes. Hope everyone has a wonderful first weekend of December - the best time of the year!!!! Stay warm!

A Busy Week.

Okay, so I haven't had much time to post over the last week - you know how hectic this time of year can be (and it's only just begun!). I will try to catch you up!

Monday, November 20th: Brandon and I headed to Houston to take care of some baby stuff. We had an appointment at Doodles in the morning to pick out our bedding for Dayton. That went very well. We got everything covered. It's hard to describe, so I won't even try. I'll try to get some pics up when it comes in (2 - 8 weeks). We stopped by Pottery Barn Kids and picked up a cute little airplane lamp shade we were wanting. We ate at Pappasito's - delicious! We went to Babies R Us and got registered. That was exciting. I think we covered everything, but it really is overwhelming when you start looking down all of the aisles trying to decide what you need/don't need. It was fun and it feels good to have it done. Now we don't have to worry about it. Made it home in time to go to dancing, so I was pretty pooped that night.

Tuesday, November 21st: I had a doctor's appointment in the morning where I got to do the dreaded "glucose" test. I had to drink a pretty large cup of this orange syrup-y stuff. It kinda tasted like really strong Kool-Aid but thicker. The first half wasn't hard to get down, but the second half was way yucky! I had to give blood an hour later to make sure I don't have diabetes or anemia. Both tests came back okay so no special diet or iron pills for me - yippee! It was also my last check up w/ Dr. Ogdee. I was very sad. When he was wrapping things up I just busted into tears, it was so sad. I really hate to have him leave, but I will be okay. Blood pressure, sugar level and weight all looked good (although I did gain 5 lbs and I was only supposed to gain 4 - whoops, again...) I have to go back to the doctor on December 13th - that will be 28 weeks, and then it'll be every two weeks until the very end - yikes, this baby is coming fast! I get to go back at the end of December for my last sonogram, so that will be exciting.

Wednesday, November 22nd: I did some baking/cooking for Thanksgiving day. Brandon and I went to the grocery store in the morning and kinda took it easy all day long. It was very restful. Brandon was off all last week and today for vacation, so it's been wonderful having him at home! Wednesday night, we went out to eat w/ my parents because Thanksgiving was also my Dad's birthday. We had some yummy Greek Bros. - it was a lot of fun!

Thursday, November 23rd: We had a very full Thanksgiving day. I woke up and finished all my food preparations for the day, then it was off to my parents for lunch. We had a wonderful lunch with so much food. It was really pleasant. Then, we went to Brandon's grandparents in Danevang for the afternoon. We played bingo and cards and feasted on more desserts. We spent the evening at Brandon's other grandparents in El Campo and ate some more turkey and sides. I was stuffed and exhausted by the end of the day, but it was a wonderful holiday.

Friday, November 24th: We woke up super early and headed to Austin for the big game. We won't go there, let's just pick up around 3:00 in the afternoon, when the damage was done. We checked into the Embassy Suites and rested and calmed down for a while. We were now celebrating our anniversary - not worrying about the Horns. The game was super hot so it was nice to get inside and shower and clean up and rest. We were hungry for some good ole' Rockfish so we went there for dinner where we proceeded to have an appetizer, meal, and dessert. It was all very good. We were going to go to a movie but we couldn't agree on any, so we drove to north Austin and car shopped. Brandon is thinking of trading in his car again, so we were looking at some options and colors. We then decided we needed some Starbucks, so we drove to the one off Guadalupe and I got me a gingerbread latte - my favorite and they only have them at Christmas time. This was the first cup of Starbucks I've had since I've been pregnant. It was heavenly! We drove around Austin for a while, checked out what was going on on 6th street and made a stop at the book store on Lamar and looked at some magazines. We just relaxed. It was nice.

Saturday, November 25th: One month til Christmas, so we knocked out some Christmas shopping. We went to Barton Creek in the morning and San Marcos outlet mall in the afternoon. We got a lot of gifts taken care of so it was a successful day. We came home early evening and headed to my parents. We had to pick up Ms. Lucy and Amy and I decided to decorate my mom's Christmas tree. It turned out very beautiful.

Sunday, November 26th: Woke up early and went to church. When we got home from breakfast, Brandon pulled out our Christmas tree and all of our Christmas decor for inside. I spent the day getting all of the house decorated. It feels good to have that done. We also took Bryn, Brock and Anna out to the country club for a while to try to get a good Christmas picture for my mom. She wants to send them out w/ her Christmas cards. That was quite a task - trying to get three little ones to smile, look at the camera, keep their hands down, stay still - wow! I think we got about three good possibilities out of the 4o something pictures we took. Next year, Dayton will get to partake in the chaos!

That leads us to today. Brandon is enjoying his last day of vacation and we're just being pretty lazy. I have dancing this afternoon, so I'll have to put it in gear eventually. Hope everyone had a wonderful Turkey Day and safe weekend!

The Joys of Maternity Clothes

This is definently a topic worth discussing. Let me tell you how hard it is to find some decent clothing. I have always tried to dress somewhat "stylish" and keeping in fashion, but my how hard that can be when you are pregnant! The first problem is when you live in El Campo, Texas, your choices are limited to the local Wal-Mart - fun times :) If you choose to go to Sugar Land, you have three more choices - JC Penney, Motherhood Maternity, and Target - wow, it just gets better and better, huh? No cute Express or Ann Taylor or Gap maternity clothes - just those three choices. Next best place is the Galleria where you can choose from Mimi maternity and Pea in a Pod maternity - very nice clothes, but they cost you a pretty penny. And trust me, when you grow in and out of clothes in a matter of weeks, you can't afford to keep up. I bring all of this up because I ran into Sugar Land this morning to find a few options for upcoming parties and holidays and boy was that tough! About two hundred dollars later, I came home with some pretty 'normal' clothes - nothing to write home about, trust me. It's so depressing! The internet is full of adorable maternity clothing, but it's so hard to buy stuff without trying it on. I have to try on everything I buy because everything fits so differently. [On a side note, I have to point out one very wonderful thing about maternity clothes - elastic waistbands. Oh my gosh - they are heavenly. I swore I'd never wear them, that I'd only buy the stylish maternity "below the belly" pants w/o elastic, but those only give you a saggy hiney and you find yourself pulling them up all day. Elastic waistbands are awesome, you can always eat as much as you want and they just grow with you. And, no zippers or buttons. You just pull the suckers up and you're dressed. I always find myself having to check my zippers and buttons when I wear pants w/o elastic, because I'm so used to not worrying about the problem anymore. Anyways, thought I'd share that interesting tidbit.]

So, moral of the story, whenever and where ever you guys see me and I'm dressed very "motherly" looking, please have pity on me - I'm doing the best I can. As I hung my head and walked through the mall starring at all the adorable maniquins and outfits in the windows today, I tried to look forward to the time when I can go from being the unfashionable, comfortable looking pregnant woman to the cute and stylish mom! That day may never come, but I can dream! Good night! :)

Nursery Theme

Well, after much debate and loss of sleep, we've finally decided on a nursery theme for Mr. Dayton. We're going to go w/ airplanes. We have big plans for the room, so we'll see how it turns out. We're picking out bedding next week. We probably won't go with airplane bedding, just something that will match what we're looking for. We'd like to use navy, white and a deep red as the main colors. While at the Nutcracker Market over the weekend, I found a little personalized sign in those colors w/ an airplane on it. It will kinda be the inspiration for the room. I don't want to give away the rest of our ideas - I want them to be a surprise, but hopefully it'll turn out pretty cute! I am home again this week. I spent the whole day yesterday until it was time to go to dancing, cleaning our kitchen. I went through drawers, cleaned cabinets, etc. It was very time consuming and tiring. Today we are having the carpets cleaned, so I'm hanging out waiting for those guys to arrive. Starting this weekend, I think we are booked up through Christmas so I know time will fly by! Brandon has off next week so we're gonna be busy with a gazillion things - picking out bedding, I've got an appointment on Tuesday, Thanksgiving, my dad's birthday, Friday is the ATM game and after that we're spending the night in Austin for our anniversary and going shopping on Saturday for Christmas - whew! Crazy times. Dayton's most active time of the day is around right now (10:00 a.m.). I think it's because my breakfast has had time to get to him and he's just wide awake bouncing around. You guys should see him move. Sunday morning Brandon and I were laying in bed after church and he was just jumping around - Brandon couldn't believe it. So cute! When Brandon came home for lunch yesterday we had a small little arguement and when Brandon raised his voice, Dayton started going crazy again. I told him look what he was doing to his little boy. Dayton was not happy with his daddy's yelling - it was so funny! The arguement ended that fast. Anyways, nothing else too exciting to share today. I need to get some more work done around here. Have a good one! JZ

Relaxing Week...

Well, it's been a pretty relaxing week around here. I haven't been working at Scott's office this week b/c I finished the project I was working on, so I just wait around til they have another. No big deal - I have plenty to keep me busy around here. I have been working extremely hard on getting all of my music together for dancing and I've even begun picking out costumes. I feel like I'm accomplishing a lot for the studio which was the goal of all of this. The days really do seem to fly by. Yesterday I road with Brandon to do an inspection on one of his customer's houses in Houston. It was a really old house that they gutted and are remodeling to sale. It was so beautiful. I enjoyed going along for the ride. We ate at Pei Wei on the way home so me and Dayton were very satisfied. Sounds corny, but Brandon and I have had so much time to "bond" lately always being on the road. That's been the one nice thing about Longhorn football games on Saturdays. We're in the car for 4 hours so we have a lot of time to talk. We talk about everything - we have such big plans for our little family. We are so excited to welcome this little guy into the world. We also talk about the "fears" of parenting. It can be a scary thought when you get so wrapped up in the joys of being pregnant, you sometimes forget the ending result - a brand new baby! It's coming so quick. I know that with holidays coming, it will be hear before we know it. May God help us!!!! Last night we had Brandon's mom and dad and my mom and dad over for stew - my favorite thing to make! I feel like they always feed us and do so much for us, I like to return the favor sometimes when I'm feeling good. Amy came by with the kids so they got to play at the house for a while too. After I ate, Dayton was going crazy again so Bryn got to feel him kick really good for the first time. Now, I've been able to share it with Brandon, Mom, Mrs. Zabodyn, Amy and Bryn. Pretty amazing. If you ask Bryn what his name is, she says "Dayton Wayne - You know, Wayne like in Wayne-O." (That's what she calls Brandon's Dad - pretty funny!) Anyways, I will wrap it up for today. No big plans, just dancing and Grey's Anatomy tonight. Saturday I'm going with Mom, Diane, and Samantha to the Nutcracker Market in Houston - I can't wait. It will be a lot of fun. I'm gonna have to rest up really well because I know it'll be a lot of walking, but Christmas is my very most favorite time of the year and this year we have so much to celebrate! Take care, JZ...

Warning - Nursery Under Construction!!!!

Okay, below are a few pictures of the "Nursery in Construction" process. Scott and Brandon delivered all of the furniture into our living room on Friday, so we spent all Friday evening trying to get everything in order so that we could actually walk through the living room again.


Here is Brandon carrying one of the drawers:

Here are a few of the drawers while they were still scattered around the living room:

Doesn't the crib look lovely in the middle of the living room? I can't think of a better place to have it:

Here is Brandon again putting together the changing table:

Here is a little of what was left of the mess half way through the project. We still haven't gotten everything out of there:

Here is what it looks like today. We were gonna keep the couch in there, but it's a little cramped, so we'll be getting rid of it and moving the glider over in front of the window. Everything looks so bare!!!! :

Here is Dayton's future closet. It's a little scarce right now, but I know it'll be full before we know it. He does have a few outfits hanging up already - aren't they just so sweet?:

Another view from the opposite corner of the room. Can't wait to slap some paint on the walls and get some shelves/colors/decorations in the place:

Hope you guys enjoy the pics, they're not much, but atleast you can keep up with the process. We feel such a sense of accomplishment having moved everything around. The office is now a "guest room" since that's where the extra bed is now. It's a little cozy, but that's okay. It will have to work!

Belly Bumps

Well, I've experienced something new and exciting yet again. Dayton must really like Grey's Anatomy like his mommy because he was moving around so much last night while it was on. Brandon got another chance to feel him moving around for quite sometime. Then, I was off to take a relaxing bath. I laid back in the tub to rest for a few minutes and before I knew it, he was bouncing around again. For the first time, I could see his little movements through my belly. It would just go up on one side then the other depending on where he was. It was the cutest little thing. I sat there forever just watching. Brandon hollered at me from the bedroom, "Are you asleep in there?" I told him no and explained what was going on. I hope he gets to watch that soon. So cool!!!! Not much to report today. I am loving this cooler weather - I hope it stays this way. Brandon is supposed to be taking off this afternoon to help clean the extra room and office. We're getting the crib and changing table either today or tomorrow - how exciting! Everything is starting to become real. I'll try to be good and take some pics while we work this afternoon, but you know how that can be. You guys take care - have a safe weekend!

Happy Halloween to Everyone!!!

Okay - so I meant to post yesterday, but ran out of time, so I've got a few topics to discuss today, so here you have it:

The weekend: I had a fun-filled weekend full of my favorite past time - SHOPPING!!! Brandon decided last minute to go to Coushatta w/ his dad and grandpa, so I made the most of it and decided to go spend some money. On Saturday, me, my mom, Amy and Bryn went shopping. First stop was Doodles (where I'm getting Dayton's bedding). We just went and browsed around. I got the cutest little onesie that is black and says "Texas Hold Me!!!" and has little card suits on it. I figured his daddy would love a poker outfit for his little gambler! Then we went to Pottery Barn Kids. Amy got Brock some big-boy bedding for his new bed, since Dayton will be using his old one. We stopped by Carter's and Mom picked up a few little things for Dayton - all of them having to do with sports. I got him matching bibs to go w/ all the outfits we picked up. It wasn't until I got home that I realized every single one of them has to do with "Daddy" - Daddy's All-Star, I Love my Daddy, Daddy's Little Sport. We need some I love Mommy garb!!!! We went to the mall and shopped around there for a while. I had grown out of all of my nice pants, so I need something besides blue jeans to wear. I picked up a few cute little outfits at Motherhood - if any of my NewFirst friends are reading this - thanks for the Visa Cheque - you bought this momma some much needed clothing!!!! Last stop was Target where I found a cute little sweater set and went ahead and picked up Brock's birthday gift. Brandon and I had seen this Elmo tool bench on t.v. and Brandon was very persistent on wanting to get that for Brock for his birthday. He advised me to buy it if I saw it because he thought w/ Christmas around the corner it might sell out, so now we've got a cute little tool bench, drill, and workbelt to store in the office until the end of November, but that's okay - it's just so adorable, I know our little Brocker will love it!!!! When we got home, I spent the night w/ my parents since Brandon was gone. Me and Dad watched the UT game together - I think my blood pressure was through the roof that night. Two Rods watchin UT sports is not a good combination - my mom was a nervous wreck. Thank goodness they pulled that one out. That was almost enough to send me into premature labor - I swear, those Longhorns better straighten up for the sake of me and little Dayton...

On Sunday, I was ready for round two of the shopping extravaganza. Mrs. Zabodyn and I decided to go in for a trip since the boys were gone. We went to Babies-R-Us first. We love browsing the aisles there. The more I go, the more I get used to the place - it can be sooo overwhelming!!! I found another stroller that I liked there, so now I'm undecided on that issue, but I think I'll let Brandon decide. Mrs. Zabodyn picked up a few outfits for the new grandson and she even found herself a precious little bouncy seat. It has a rainforest theme and it is just the most precious little thing - can't wait to see the little guy in it! I found some baby books that I liked, but I'm gonna wait for Brandon to go back with me before I buy anything. I want him to have a say on all this fun stuff!!! Then, we went to Swoozie's - I love that store!!! I got myself a very large insulted Longhorn cup to put my water in everyday. Yesterday I drank four glasses of it - so it was worth the 18 bucks I spent on the darn thing. I also got the cutest little light blue fabric frame that says "Bundle of Joy" and has a little satin blue ribbon on it. I put Dayton's newest sonogram picture in it. After Swoozies', we too hit Carter's. We didn't really find much, just a long-sleeved button up dress shirt - it's the most tiny little thing! If it fits him at the time, he's already got his outfit for Aunt Jennifer's big day!!! He will be so handsome at his first wedding! After Carter's we went to Target and browsed around there - didn't buy anything besides some peanut M & M's - I know, shame on me. Remember when I said I wasn't craving anything sweet - well, that is starting to come. I've been all about chocolate lately - not good! Oh, and we also managed to eat at Pei Wei somewhere in there - my new biggest craving that is the hardest for me to get. I'm in love w/ the Honey-seared chicken and lettuce wraps - yummy!!!!!

Baby Update: According to my weekly emails, the baby is around the size of a slice of pizza - strange comparison, huh? The little guy still moves and kicks constantly. Supposedly my major weight gain is starting to begin. Well, that last Dr.'s appt for me hit hard w/ the whole 7 lbs weight gain - this could get scary!

Halloween: Speaking of scary - Happy Halloween to all of you. Hope your day is going well. I'm finishing up at the office right now, then I'm off for the day. My mom and I made over 70 candy apples last night, so that was quite the chore. Brandon and I will be going to my mom and dad's for the early evening to see the kids in their costumes, then we're going to the Zabodyn's for the rest of the night. Brandon wants to dress up and scare kids so we'll see how that goes. I told him, I could just flash my belly when the kids come up to the door and that would be sure to scare them all away, but he didn't like that idea - might scar the kids for life!!!

Dizziness: One side note, today I am extremely dizzy. It was like all those mornings I woke up w/ morning sickness and felt hung over w/o the alcohol. It's like I'm high w/o the drugs now, kinda like when you take Benadryl. Anyways, I'll survive. Thank goodness I don't have heels on today - that could be dangerous. Sorry for the long post - so much to share today.

You guys take care! JZ

Another Friday!

Hey Guys - well it's Friday again - yippee! Haven't had anything exciting to say since my last post on our big news. As you all know, yesterday was my birthday and everything went well. We actually celebrated on Wednesday night - had our families over - because last night I had dancing till 8:00. The weather was nasty here. All and all it was a good birthday. I even got some new cute little outfits for Mr. Dayton. My mom had went and bought a few little newborn boy outfits. They are so precious - all of them having to deal with football. One even says "Daddy's Team". They are so cute. Can't wait to go do a little shopping myself. Although, I must say it's a little overwhelming now - I don't even know where to start. Of course, there is so much I want to buy, I have to pick and choose wisely - Daddy might not like Mommy hitting the credit card that hard!!!

Today I did some work from home for BR Grace and then I had some Dance Pizzazz paperwork to take care of, and of course, there are always bills to pay! I've been home all day, but with my eye balls glued to the computer in the office. Atleast I'm in comfortable clothes!!!

We did have an exciting event happen at lunch today. Brandon came home to eat with me and after we had finished, Dayton was just moving around like a little monkey in my stomach. Brandon has been trying to feel him kick for quite some time now and so far hadn't had much luck. But, today Brandon felt his little boy kick for the first, second, and third time - three good little punches. He was so excited. It was a very special moment. Brandon is a very proud Daddy already and I can't wait to see what a wonderful father he'll be.

You guys have an awesome weekend - stay warm! JZ

IT'S A BOY!!!

Well, it's official. We're having ourselves a precious baby boy. Glad to be able to show off some new pics of Dayton, better than the ones of Mommy popping up when you open the page. Hope you guys enjoy these. Mothers - hide your daughters, he's quite the looker ;)

Here is the little guy's spine and back of his little head. Pretty cool lil' pic!

This one is from the side, you can't see his little profile very well at all, but check out that leg and large foot - I think he'll be a little kicker - UT could use a new one right about now!!!

Now, here is my handsome little son - check out his precious little profile. Let's hope he doesn't have Mommy and Daddy's big nose. I just love this pic - it's one of my favorites. He looks like a little baby!!!! The dark spot in his chest is his cute little heart.

Okay, here he is showing off his goods. Notice the nice arrow the technician printed on the pic for us so we could be certain it was a boy. Kinda hard to tell what's going on, but he's got his little leg hiked up, and well, we can all see what's going on down there - just use your imagination!!!

Hope you all enjoy these. Again, they are much better than Mommy's pics. Now that I'm getting to be a pro at this scanning/picture taking business, I will be sure to keep you posted. Oh, and you'll all love to know that I gained 7 lbs. since my last appointment - nice, huh? I was mortified, but he assured me that I was behind on weight gain and now I had caught up. I've gained 10 lbs. in 21 weeks. He said I need to gain 1 lb. a week for the rest of the pregnancy - yikes - that's 19 more lbs. Fun times, you guys!!! And, Dayton's little measurements were perfect, he's right on schedule, all of his extremeties look good. He weighs a whopping 15 ounces (1 ounce over weight) - uh oh, gonna turn out like his Mommy, and he's between 6 and 7 inches long. You guys take care - thanks for all the support!

Preggie Pics...

Okay - Here they are. Don't laugh too hard. Please know that I am being very brave in doing this. I may soon regret it, but here I am as of today - officially 20 weeks pregnant, half way there. My how time flies and tummy grows!!!! ENJOY!

Back to Work

Well, well, well...
A week off of work was a week very well spent. I didn't get everything done that I needed to, but I did manage to make some lead-way and leave myself w/ a sense of accomplishment. I started working w/ BR Grace Co. on Monday, so it's back to work. I'm working up at the office this week, trying to get used to everything and learning a lot of new and challenging reporting. Everything is going well. I work as much as needed and the pressure is less.

I know I mention it a lot these days, but it is totally amazing how active this little one is! I always thought that when people talked about feeling the baby "kick" it would just be a slight flutter at night before I go to bed or just a couple times a day; however, this baby kicks at all times of the day. As I'm sitting here writing this, I can feel him/her moving around. Anytime that I'm sitting or standing remotely still, I am very aware of this baby. I read that they are awake and asleep about the same amount of time everyday - could you imagine just laying around in some amniotic fluid being awake for 12 hours a day - weird isn't it? It's like he/she is saying, "Hey Mom, it's me. I'm here!!!" What a wonderful feeling! Still not hard enough for Brandon to feel, but soon I'm sure. It's getting to be stronger and stronger.

I'm starting to get to the uncomfortable stage of this pregnancy where my belly is beginning to get in the way of things. Even changing positions on the couch or in bed can be very trying for me at times! I'm gonna brave it up and get some pics of me posted on here, I just haven't had a chance. I think my belly button will "pop" in the next couple of weeks - that's when it turns from an innie to an outtie - that'll be pretty funny. Entertaining, isn't it?

No other real news to report. Sorry I hadn't written in a few days, things have been crazy!

Life Away from Work

Well, Day 2 of my new life, and things are going good. I'm starting to learn how to slow down around the house, too. Yesterday and today I've gotten up around 8:00, got dressed, put make-up on (I know it's pointless, but it makes a pregnant, hormonal momma feel better!) and I'm working hard by 8:30. I don't even turn the t.v. on. I've cleaned out a couple of closets and made some minor progress around the house. I'm just wearing myself out in the mornings and then in the afternoons I don't feel like doing much. This morning I went to HEB and it was wonderful!!! I got to go at a time that it wasn't busy and I actually had time to shop. I'm enjoying having the opportunity to have lunch ready for Brandon every day. It makes me feel like such a better wife. For someone like me who's used to 30 minute lunches and working past 7:00 at night, it is such a great feeling to take on the role of an actual wife. I told him not to get used to it, but the last two days, I've had his lunch along w/ a fresh glass of tea waiting on the coffee table for him when he walks in. We are so happy - even Lucy is enjoying having Mommy at home. She just follows me around all day, and when I run errands, I take her along. Bandit even came over for a playdate yesterday afternoon. Hope all is well w/ everyone. I'm sure ready for this cooler weather that is supposed to be coming - take care! JZ

Shopping for the Perfect Nursery...

First and foremost - HOOKEM HORNS!!! How about those Longhorns, that was a pretty awesome game, but I have to say I was glad to not be there in the heat. Instead I was in the comfort of my own home w/ a fine friend ;)

Today Brandon and I went to Houston to check out some nursery options. First stop was Baby's 1st Furniture. I had been here a couple of times w/o Brandon so this was his first trip. We walked around and viewed everything they had in stock. Then we took the time to sit and look through some books they had in the back to see if we could find anything that caught our eyes. Turns out Brandon is about as picky as I am, so we didn't have much luck. We came across a few brands that we liked so it was a good start.

Next stop was a cute little baby boutique called Doodles. We finally hit the jackpot! We found many options that are definite possiblities - boys and girls. Coolest thing about the place is that they make custom bedding. We can pick whichever colors/fabrics that we like and they will put the bedding together for us. We're not sure exactly what we'll get, but now we're pretty sure it will come from there. It was a huge success! We were both very excited, and now I can't wait to go back. I think we'll be ordering bedding sometime in November. They say it can take up to 10 weeks to come in. We'll start on the nursery sometime in January if everything goes as planned.

So today started my life away from the bank and so far so good. Since Brandon had off, it just felt like a normal weekend, but tomorrow will be different. I'm going to begin cleaning the house. I'll keep you guys posted...

Today's Dr. Appointment

Today I had another doctor's appointment. Everything went really well. I gained another pound and a half and he said that was healthy. My blood pressure was good and my urine test was "perfect". So, everything seems to be going great! I took my mom w/ me today so I could prove to her once and for all that I was not carrying twins. When he did the doppler, Dr. Ogdee assured her there was only one baby in there. The baby was kicking like crazy again today. I've got an active one in there let me tell you. I made him tell me what his hunch was based on how I was carrying and the speed of the heart beat and he is guessing BOY - so we shall see. We discussed my doctor options for when he leaves and it looks like I'll be seeing him through the end of November, and then I'll probably be switching over to Sangalli, so I can live with that. Three weeks from today we'll (hopefully) know for sure what I'm carrying - a little Dayton Wayne or a little Elise Marie! 3 more days of work - so hard to believe. I better get back at it. I'll write again soon. Take care!!!

Nursery Ideas

Okay, so I'm not sure what direction I want to go w/ the nursery yet. I went and did some serious shopping last weekend and I was just expecting something to jump out at me, but no luck. I think I'm a little too picky. When I know the sex, it'll become easier for me, I think. I've attached a few of my faves as of right now. I'd like to know what you guys think!!!!

Girl:

"Tiny Dancer"

Embroidered on the bumper set it says "Tiny Dancer" in various places. I like it because it's real suttle, not a bunch of ballerinas everywhere.


Boy:

"Vintage Cars"

Okay, I'm out of time for today, but I promise to keep posting pics now that I figured out how this thing works - Enjoy!!!!

By the way - I LOVE this little boy bedding. I think the cars are too cute! I want to get one of those antique little cars for babies to put in the room as decoration and put some stuffed animals or something in it.

Boy or Girl?????????

Okay, so I haven't had much time to write lately, I've just been a busy little bee! I got my weekly email update again today and seems that the baby is around 5 inches long. That is so hard to believe - it's hard to believe that can fit inside of me, and I can't even fathom how it will still be inside of me when it's 4X that long! Amazing! My mom's been a little convinced lately that I'm carrying twins. She says I'm growing really fast. I'm starting to have these "nightmares" that I go in for my next sonogram to find out what I'm having and they're like "Wow, there are two babies in there!" I know the chances are slim to none, but that would be a lot to handle!

Okay, so I'm showing enough now where random people are beginning to touch my belly - that's pretty interesting. Some of the older women at work made me pull my shirt up the other day and were like poking and prodding at it. They came to the conclusion it was a boy - that was the first time I had heard anyone tell me it was a boy. Then, I had about three other people tell me it's a boy since then. Today, two people told me it was a girl, so I'm completely up in the air over this. Maybe I do have twins - one boy and one girl!!! I'm tempted to try some of those crazy wives tales where you pee on Drain-o and if it turns one color it's a boy, another color it's a girl. Or the one where you hang a pin from a string in front of your belly and depending on which way it swings means it's a boy or girl. Let me know if y'all have any suggestions I can try to determine the sex of this baby; otherwise, it's 29 more days till I find out. (Oh, and have I mentioned yet - 7 more days of work!!!!!)

What do you guys think - boy or girl? Gut instinct since you have no idea what I look like and I'm kinda shying away from the idea of posting pics of myself on here - those would be really good black male pics later in life. Just curious what vibe y'all are feeling, not that you care. But, I'm just curious. I'll stop rambling....

Rubber Ducky

Hello All! Glad to report I'm still filling peachy this week! The size of the baby this week is a rubber ducky - isn't that just too cute - I couldn't resist sharing that with you guys. I think my stomach is continuing to grow by the day. Brandon looks at it every night and he agrees. It's so amazing - wow, the ups and downs of pregnancy. What a miracle!!! I'm starting to feel flutters which I believe is the baby moving, but it's still too early to say. Regardless if it's gas or movement, I want to tear up sometimes when I feel it. It's so cute - Brandon's mad because it's not quite a kick yet, so he isn't able to feel it through my stomach, but in a couple of weeks, he'll be able to experience it with me. Anyways, I'll keep it short today - Take Care - The count down continues - 12 more days~~~

Stylish Baby Gear

Well, hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. We didn't do much so it was nice to catch up on some much needed rest. On Saturday I made a short trip w/ Amy and the kids to Target. I wanted to check out their baby selections and see if they had any maternity clothes I couldn't live w/o. I was really hoping they'd have a stroller/car seat that I liked b/c I have yet to find one that I'm completely in love with at Babies-r-us. I guess I'm expecting a little too much out of these baby gear designers because I still didn't fall in love with anything there. I came home w/ a pair of jeans - that was enough to get me excited. It's amazing how happy the little things in life make me these days. Oh, and I got Lucy a cute little hooded black shirt w/ a ghost and "boo" on it to wear for Halloween. Still have to take care of my little baby for a couple more months. I don't know how she'll do w/ our new addition to the family.

So I made it my personal mission this weekend to find a stroller/car seat that I would not be embarrassed to cart around. I found one on the Graco website that I really like. I attached the link so you guys could check it out : baby stroller. Only problem is that I'm not sure if I can order it through Babies-r-us or what, so I'm not sure how I would register for it. Anyways, if anyone finds any good looking strollers, car seats, play centers, swings, etc. please send them my way - I need all the help I can get!

Have a great week of work - 14 more days after today - yippee!!!!

Just My Luck!

Well, Brandon and I are starting to feel well again. It's been a LONG week and I couldn't be any happier that it's finally Friday - yippee! We have no plans for the weekend, just lay around and be lazy. I can't wait. This week has just been one bad thing after another.

Yesterday, I found out that my favorite OB/GYN in the whole world is moving to Abiline in December. How depressing is that? Two months before I pop this kid out, my doctor is leaving. Is that just my luck or what? I cried a lot yesterday, it's very upsetting. I swore I'd never go to another doctor besides him, now he leaves me no choice. I'm very sad to have him leave. Just like you imagine what your "dream" wedding will be like, you start to imagine what your "dream" delivery will be like and I never would've thought it wouldn't include him. Guess I'm going to have to go to some old fuddy-duddy now. I talked to Alexandria (his daughter) at dancing last night and I told her to inform her daddy that he'd be making a trip back here late February/early March to deliver this little child!

Anyways, that's just been the icing on the top of the cake for me this week. Only 15 more days of work - yeehaw. Things will get better - I'm sure of it! Have a great weekend everyone - be safe! Go Longhorns & Go Ricebirds!!!!

Under the Weather

Okay, so being that yesterday was Brandon's birthday, we were supposed to have a great day, right? Well, that's just not the way things worked out. I began vomitting on Sunday afternoon and it continued all through the night until Monday morning when my vomitting was replace with diarrhea - isn't that lovely? I stayed home from work all yesterday and spent most of the day on the toilet - fun times. Brandon came home at lunch w/ the same thing (must've been a bug), so we each occupied a bathroom for the remainder of the day until I was forced to muster up enough energy to take my yucky self to dancing. I managed to survive my classes and not touch too many of the girls only to come home to a full house for Brandon's birthday party. We had pizza, beer, and cake w/ the families - it was really nice. I was happy for Brandon, but it was nice to get some rest after everyone had gone. I am at work today feeling pretty puny and nasty, but I'll survive. When you combine pregnancy hormones w/ not feeling well it makes for a pretty lousy combination. But, other than all of that and the fact that the Horns lost, I'm doing just peachy - try me again tomorrow, maybe I'll have a better attitude!!!! :)

Bargain Shopper

Just wanted to let you all know of my great bargain I found today. Over the weekend, when we were shopping, I found a pair of pants from Pea in the Pod that were burnt orange cargo capris - perfect for the UT games. They were regular a hundred and something dollars on sale for 19.99. Of course, they didn't have my size. Today, I remembered them and went to the website to have a look, and sure enough, there they were in my size - yeah! I will actually have something semi-cute to wear to the longhorn games - I am so pumped! I also got some khaki shorts over the weekend that were regular 58.00 on sale for 9.99. I am such a good little shopper! Next thing you know, I'll be clipping diaper coupons...

Today's Doctor's Appointment

Today I had my monthly check-up. Everything seems to be going really well. I was very siked that I didn't have to change into a gown, and shouldn't have to again until I'm over 30 weeks - yeehaw! Although it is a little strange to go to the g-doc and not change clothes, just sit and chill. He says I'm drinking great amounts of water, so that is good. I gained 2 1/2 lbs. since my last appointment, which I guess is okay. I got the blood work back from my last appointment and I have no std's in case y'all were curious. He thinks I'm borderline anemic, so he's going to monitor that, I may have to go on an iron pill in the next few months, but that's okay. The coolest thing he did was put the jelly on my stomach and let me hear the baby's heartbeat. It was so cool! He said the baby has a very healthy heartbeat, so I was thrilled. I could hear it really well except I've got an active little one in there. He/she kept kicking and moving around. It sounded like when you thump a microphone everytime it would kick. I have my next appointment on October 3 then I'll get to (hopefully) find out what we've got in there on October 24th - 2 days before my birthday - what a wonderful little birthday gift!!! Just thought I'd give you all the update!

Whatta Weekend!

Well, we had a wonderful weekend. It was so great to get away from everything. Although the game was scorching hot, we managed to have a good time and lasted til halftime. We stopped by the Co-op and managed to do a little baby shopping. We got the baby two cute little longhorn onesies, a chenille longhorn blanket that is just too precious, and a big ole' stuffed Bevo - pretty sweet! I think the little one will love all of his/her longhorn goodies. San Antonio was so much fun, I wish we could've stayed longer. Sea World was really nice, the weather was overcast all day so it made for nice weather for me. We never went to the zoo - we went shopping instead. I went to this place called Destination Maternity which was a Pea in the Pod, Mimi Maternity, and Motherhood all rolled into one place. It was like a pregnant woman's heaven! Brandon sat and watched ESPN in the little "daddy" section while I did some minor shopping. Then we went to La Cantera, which is an outdoor mall similar to the Arboritum, but bigger. It was fun! I'm a little sluggish today, but the weekend was very worth it - we had a blast!!!!!!!

Baby's 1st Taste of Texas Football

It's going to be quite a big weekend for Mommy and Baby. We're leaving early tomorrow morning for A-town to go the UT Game. I want to last until atleast half time. Then, I'd like to go to the Co-op, I have yet to buy this kid anything and of course, the first thing I'd like to purchase is some UT memorabilia. Aunt Cassie got us an adorable Longhorn onesie and bottle, but I'd like to still look around. I'm thinking a little blankie or something. When we leave Austin, we're headed to San Antonio til Monday. We're going to try to do Sea World on Sunday and the zoo on Monday. I am sooooo looking forward to a relaxing weekend. It's been a rough two weeks, so I can't wait.

Hope you guys all have a great weekend - Hook'em Horns & Be Safe! Lots of love - JZ

Nacho Night

Well, I haven't forgotten about my nachos this week. Tonight is Brandon's bowling night, so when I get off of dancing, I'm so there! I hope they have good ones, I've been waiting for this all week.

Last night, Bryn was sitting w/ me watching t.v. and she says, "Aunt Jenna, can you take a bath w/ that baby in your belly?" Wow! What a question. I said, "Yeah, the baby doesn't get wet when I'm in the bathtub, it's safe in my belly." Then she says, "What if you open your mouth and water gets in, does it go down to your tummy to the baby?" Questions are getting tougher and tougher. I didn't know where to go w/ that conversation so I tried to change the subject. The last comment she made about the whole ordeal was, "It's gonna hurt really bad when that baby comes out, isn't it?" "Yes, Bryn, I suppose it will..."

Kids are too funny!!!

Big News!!!

Well, I didn't have time to write yesterday, so I'm sharing my big news today. Yesterday morning at work, I turned in my letter of resignation. I will be with the bank until October 6th, then I'll be a full time dance teacher :) I'm going to be taking on some contract labor outside of the dance studio, but I'm gonna be focusing most of my time on my baby and my studio. I am so excited. I haven't been this happy in a while. The stress of taking on two jobs was wearing down on me and something had to give. Last Wednesday when I stayed home, I came to the hard realization that I was putting myself and my baby at risk. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something were to happen to the innocent little baby because Mommy was being selfish. Some people probably look down on my decision, but in my own opinion, it's the best one I've made in quite sometime. I have a wonderful husband who supports me whole-heartedly, not to mention, an awesome family who couldn't be happier for me making this move, so I guess I really don't care what "some people" think! Anyways, wanted to share the news with you guys first. Take care and remember - Life's too short to be unhappy!!!!

Today's Craving...

Okay, so I seem to write about food a lot lately, but at this stage of this pregnancy, I feel like that is what my life revolves around. Since about 9:30 last night I have been craving nachos - like, baseball game nachos - those big nasty chips w/ lots of cheese sauce and jalapenos - weird isn't it? I'm not even sure where I can eat those kinda nachos around EC... But if I do find them, I have to have some!!! We had a good weekend. I got a lot done at home for DP on Saturday and yesterday we celebrated Samantha's b-day then went to the World Series parade. It was a lot of fun - just a little too hot for Big Mamma JZ - whewww! I guess I better get prepared because we're going to Sea World in San Antonio on Sunday - that should be scorching. Wish me luck!!!!!!!!!! I'll be the pregnant woman wearing shorts and a triangle bikini top - just joking! I got go to lunch, maybe I'll find me some nachos...

Friday Night = Casa Hernandez

Well Guys, it's Friday night so we all know what that means - CASA!!!! Yippee!!! Mexican food, here I come. It's so weird. Before I was pregnant, we ate at Los Cucos almost every Friday night, but since I've been pregnant, Los Cucos does not appeal to me. All I want is Casa when it comes to Mexican food. Tonight I'll be having the Nachos Deluxe - yummy! Or maybe the Meatless Special - also one of my favorites. Decisions, decisions. Who would've known food could make someone so excited???!!!??? No big plans for this weekend, just hang out.

Have to share: Alicia has been emailing me some AWESOME maternity clothes websites and I found a shirt that describes how I feel right now. It says "PREGNANT. (not fat)" Haha! Probably not that funny to you, but to me - hilarious! I am constently wondering if people are like, "Oh my goodness, is she pregnant or fat or both?"

Today's report: Regular pants and shirt, only problem is I've got my buttons on my pants undone and the zipper half way down too... oops...

IT'S FRIDAY - I SURVIVED THE WEEK!!!! HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND - PARTY HARD FOR ME. BE SAFE

JZ

Not much to say today...

I don't have much to report today. Another full day - work from 7:30 - 5:00, then it's straight to dancing until 8:00. Doesn't that just sound like a lot of fun???

On a non-pregnant note, everyone needs to go to www.snakesonaplane.com and check out the "receive a personalized call from Samual L. Jackson" link. These are hilarioius. Fill out all the questions, then send one to a friend or relative. My brother, Scott, sent me one the other night and we about pee'd our pants laughing. We sent one to Brandon's dad and brother. Try it out - it's fun :)

Sorry, I'm really exciting today. I've had another crappy day. Life is good...

So I had a Bad Day...

Okay, so I thought I was doing so good - so optimistic about me holding down two jobs during this whole pregnancy. Well guys, I lasted a whole 2 days. Today I stayed home, called in sick. Mommy is just too worn out! It's been a rough day. I wanted to prove to everyone that I could be Super Woman, but I'm not even close. My body woke up extremely exhausted this morning and my head was pounding. I actually got dressed, drove to work, got out of the car, but never even made it upstairs. I was crying by the time I got in the building, so Pierrette let me out the front doors and I was back in the car and home by 8:30 - sad, I know. I've spent the whole day sleeping, eating and watching t.v. One thing I am slowly learning is this baby is very stubborn like his/her daddy. When he/she wants something, he/she gets it. This kid did not want to get out of bed this morning so from the moment I did, baby faught to get me back on the couch. It's something that I don't ignore for one heartbeat. You always hear how "Mommy knows best" but at this point in my pregnancy, "Baby knows best."

Today I am officially 12 weeks pregnant, so tomorrow starts my 2nd trimester. With each day, I feel better and better about the strength of this baby. I am so blessed. Kinda gross, but if I feel about 3 inches below my belly button, I can actually feel my uterus beginning to grow up and out - it really is pretty cool. According to my weekly email updates, the baby is the size of a kiwi right now - 2 1/2 inches long and weighs only .5 oz - amazing!!!! Almost the size of my fist.

So, bad day for Mommy, but good day for baby - we got plenty of much needed rest!!! Gotta go for now, Daddy is home from work...

I Will Survive...

Well, I survived my first day of dancing classes - yippee! I had one crier (and she was faking) so I consider that a very successful day. I realized something new last night while I was working, I sweat a lot more now that I'm pregnant. I was sweating like no other - you would not have believed it. At one point, I told one of the groups of girls that 'Ms. Jenna is sooo hot!' and one them yells out, 'Yeah, we see under your arms - they're really wet!!!' Kids are so honest, and yes, they were extremely wet. The biggest sweat stains I'd ever seen, and what was bad is I was wearing black, so it's not like they should've been that obvious. Oh well, today I guess I'll be teaching class half naked...

Brandon's cousin, Nina, found out yesterday that she is having a BOY! Yeah - maybe that means good girl karma for me :) Guess we'll see! She is almost 2 months ahead of me, so I guess I've got another 8 weeks until I can find out. Hopefully it'll go by fast - I wonder how big I'll be by then????!!!!????!!!!

Today's Forecast: I'm about an 8 on my scale (pretty good, just a sore back from dancing) and I've got on some maternity pants and one of my regular shirts that has a few horizontal and diagonal stripes - ouch, bad decision, mommy! Brandon's cousin told me I look like a zebra this morning... Great, I remind him of a big black and white horse, how encouraging....

Keep the comments coming - it helps me realize I'm not boring you guys to death. Always feel free to give me topic ideas, you're going to get tired of hearing me ramble...

The Baby's 1st Shopping Trip

Okay, I took the little one on his/her first shopping trip on Saturday and he/she did very well. What a little trooper - didn't cause mommy to get sick once. So I've come to the conclusion that this baby is just like his/her mommy - loves to shop, hates to go to work!!!

I went on a shopping trip w/ my mom, Brandon's mom and Samantha. We had a great trip. I picked me up some groovy maternity clothes and we just browsed around. We ate at the Cheesecake Factory and it was wonderful!!! I ate a little bit of everyone's food - it was so good to have an appetite for once. We even shared a huge strawberry shortcake w/ ice cream and whipped cream for dessert. I think I could eat one of those everyday for the rest of my pregnancy!!!!

We went and looked at nursery ideas at Baby's 1st Furniture, and I'm still not sure which direction I want to go w/ that. Any suggestions????? It'll be so wonderful to know what I've got camping out inside of me - I'm starting to feel like it's a boy, so we'll see...

We ended up at Babies-R-Us - so overwhelming. We looked at everything from breast pumps to strollers - wow! Brandon can't wait to register for stuff, you all know how decisive he is, we'll probably be the couple that's having knock-down, drag-out fights over which carseat to get or which brand of bottles to use - oh goodness!!! But, he'll have to remember my hormones - I can turn on the tears at any moment. j/j - it'll be fun, I'm glad he's excited about this.

I took my first "tummy" pics on Saturday. It's getting rounder and rounder - Brandon kept telling me "Stop pushing out." I'm like "Brandon, I hate to tell you this, but I'm not pushing out. This is really how big it is!" It's all very amazing to me, it just kinda sticks out there for all the world to see. I'm very self concious of it in a way. I feel like everyone who meets me in the store or hall at work is staring directly at my belly when I talk to them.

Well, I guess this is enough to bore you guys w/ for today. I start dancing tonight, so I will definently let everyone know how that goes tomorrow (if I survive.) Please pray for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hormones...

I know you guys aren't interested in hearing the horror stories of being pregnant, but w/ the miracle of carrying a baby comes some very jacked-up hormones. For example ~ This morning I woke up feeling a little queasy, not too bad though. (For those of you who don't know, I like to rank myself on a scale of 1 to 10 depending on how I'm feeling.) Yesterday I was a 6 1/2, today I'm probably a 7, so like I said, not too bad. I managed to get dressed and get to work by 8:20, quite an accomplishment. Well, I walk in, force myself up the stairs, see my co-workers and bust into tears. Just like that... No real explanation, just lots of tears. Talk about embarrassing. I cried for about an hour and now I'm fine, just really puffy eyes. No good excuse for crying - I just kept saying, "I just wanna feel good. I just wanna feel good." in between sobs and snot. How work appropriate of me. They all sympathized and some even cried with me thinking back to when they were pregnant. I'm an emotional basket case. I think I need to stop writing about this because I feel the tears welling up right now. Poor Brandon, to have to put up with me.

Last night I was full of energy when I got home from work - went to the grocery store, cleaned the house and cooked. That was HUGE for me! Then, I sit down to eat my big plate of yummy spaghetti and I'm crying again. All of a sudden I can't eat, too full, only need a couple of bites, but it's good and I want more but my body won't allow it. This baby needs to learn to love spaghetti - it's mommy's favorite food. What's the problem? Damn carbs just swell up in your stomach... Oh the joys! :)

Mustard, Please...

So I've been contemplating what to write about, and there is really nothing interesting to say at this point. Cravings can sometimes be a pretty interesting topic. At lunch today I had hot dogs at my parents (Yes, Cassie, you're favorite!). If you know me well, you know I'm a mayo girl and I really don't ever see the need for mustard. However, I had this huge craving for some mustard on my hot dog, so I pulled out some French's and squirted it all over my bun. Yummy! I've never had mustard that tasted so good - random, isn't it? Not much else that's new, my waist is still growing - today's status is I'm not wearing maternity clothes, but my pants are unbuttoned and half way unzipped. Doesn't that sound fun??!!!?! Well, I'll continue to update as exciting events like me eating mustard continue to happen! How fun!!!!!!

My First Post on My First Blog

Okay, Okay, So I'm giving in to this whole blog idea. Guess I've crossed over to the dark side. I think the time has come for me to become an "official" blogger. Lots to follow in the days to come, but for now, I'm just trying things out and making sure I'm technically inclined to handle this task.