Little Underwood, Big Harte

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year We hope everyone has a holiday full of peace, love and laughter. May you all feel Christ in this Christmas season and know his blessings despite the sorrow we have to see in this world at times. Just a quick update on our latest appointment - all is pretty good. We are 31 weeks now and when we get back at 33 weeks we'll begin weekly appointments plus have another growth ultrasound. Measurements without the ultrasound are on track and baby's heart rate is still strong and solid. Momma's heart rate isn't stable just yet (well, blood pressure that is!). We're working to get that to my baseline so we can monitor it through the end of the pregnancy when it becomes an important symptom to help diagnose pre-eclampsia. At least my weight was still on track, which I was worried about after all those holiday parties last weekend :) The doctor was able to feel the baby from the outside and we got to see how he/she was posi...

We spent the whole weekend celebrating the holiday spirit with our FL friends! Friday night was a festive yoga class followed by a potluck at the studio. We packed our little studio (21 was our previous max, but we got 30 students in there. For those of you who have seen it, you know that is a packed house!). A team of five took turns teaching the class to holiday tunes. What a great way to give thanks to our wonderful little community! The best part was we raised about $500 for two local families for the holidays. It was a great way for our yoga family to bless someone else's family this season! Natalie and I (30 weeks) at the holiday yoga class.  Saturday we built our rocking chair and ran some errands before heading out for Stefan's work holiday party. We just need a book case then all the furniture is set and the organizing can begin in the new year. Stefan's work party was an evening of Cactus Flower (yummy local Mexican joint), catching up with Stefan's co...

I have to say I feel very grateful and blessed to have some great friends in FL. It makes it a bit easier being away from family knowing we have loving friends here who are genuinely excited about Baby Underwood's arrival and spending time with him/her. Three special girls, Calli, Libby and Natalie, planned an Aussie-themed shower to go with the nursery theme. It was adorable and all so appreciated. Thanks to them and all the ladies who were able to make it out for a Sunday afternoon dedicated to celebrating the pending arrival of Baby U. Much love! Hand-knit koala hat! Brooke - you are so good! Lots of our FL family. Aussie-themed cupcakes, and they tasted great, too! To see the full album check it out here . Our last appointment went well! I passed my gestational diabetes test, uterus measured well, heart beat of the baby was strong, my weight was still right on and blood pressure was ... well, it is okay compared to where it has been. One more appointment...

Stefan and I are back from our grand adventures visiting family. Stefan's parents joined him in spending a week in Eastern Canada. They were thrilled to celebrate his great aunt's 95th birthday with her and their relatives. What a blessing that she is doing great! I don't have any pictures of this trip yet from Stefan, but hope to get some! I was able to go to MI to have Thanksgiving with my family and be spoiled by a shower with my Dad's family and some long-time friends. Here are a few pictures as a teaser, but to see all of them check out the album here ! THANKS to Mom and Caitlin for hosting such a great afternoon and many thanks to those who were able to make it there. These gatherings mean so much to me, especially when I live so far away!  Adorable cake - and oh so good! Andrew painted this decoration that can now be used in the nursery. Look familiar? He used pics from the nursery to paint these little guys to match - love it! Shower hosts...

Our latest pic of Baby U! Week 26 We had our follow up visit at the high-risk doctor on Wednesday afternoon. We got the full anatomy scan again and everything looks good! Growth was right on track and the slightly enlarged kidney stayed pretty much the same. They want us back one more time in January, so we'll check with our regular doc to see if we need to go back to them or if she can do that last growth check. Now we are both of for some holiday family time! Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!

Here we go, the finished paintings for the nursery! As a reminder here is the  post  about the nursery theme. Without further ado, the main nursery artwork ... As a reminder, here is the crib bedding. Inspiration #1 Inspiration #2 Inspiration #3 Step #1 Drawings Step #2 "washed" background and painted critters. Step #3 completed paintings (and yep a crib - we are getting there)!

We had a regularly scheduled appointment with our doctor this morning - and to answer many of my friends, no we didn't cave and find out the gender! But, we did get the word all is still going great. Weight is right on track (whew), blood pressure still staying steady, belly measuring perfectly for 25 weeks, and the baby's heart rate was 145. We reviewed our plan for the rest of the pregnancy as we approach the third trimester. We'll be having lots of appointments and will be starting the bi-weekly ones slightly earlier than most. Next week we head to back to the high-risk doc for another full anatomy scan to make sure everything is still on track and the blood clotting disorder hasn't come into play. Everything points to it going well, so we are looking forward to confirming that (and seeing our squirming little one again - there has been lots more movement lately!). I'll do the lab work for the gestational diabetes screening next week as well before I get to...

23 weeks one day shy of 24 weeks - 6 months! There was some confusion, yes I did paint this on myself. Was quite comical actually doing it upside down and in the mirror ;)

"Green is the color of ... nature, fertility, life. Grass green is the most restful color. Green symbolizes self-respect and well being.  Green is the color of ... balance. It also means learning, growth and harmony. Green is a safe color, if you don't know what color to use anywhere use green." Green is the color of ... our nursery! We painted it this weekend. Even though we are in a rental, we know we'll be here for at least another year and our landlords were completely fine with us painting. The light green matches the gender neutral Aussie bedding we are using. From white to green! The lighting isn't great so the colors are a bit off but it gives you an idea anyway. The other two walls are the light green as well. As for my artwork update. The critters are painted and now I'm struggling with what to do with the backgrounds (and if you are an painter you know that is somewhat backwards since it is easier to paint the background first but oh well...

Nine hour road trip vs. pregnant lady and the pregnant lady won! We had a great long weekend celebrating our friends' wedding. Despite being anxious about that long of a car ride while pregnant with a blood clotting disorder and the need to use the bathroom more frequently these days (plus the back aches) I was pleasantly surprised how well I did. Thanks to our car mates, Tyler and Sara, for putting up with me, too! Alright see if you can follow this - Greg, the groom, worked with Stefan in Colorado Springs and now lives about 35 minutes from us in Florida! Tyler, who also worked with them in Colorado Springs now works with Greg and lives nearby as well. Stefan and Tyler were honored to be groomsmen for Greg this weekend! Greg and Brooke had a beautiful ceremony in the fall countryside of Asheville, North Carolina. The setting was perfect and the couple stunning! Here's a few pics from the weekend and a few dressed up belly shots. Reception site. The ceremony was down b...

Yep - you guessed it! The nursery is going to have an Australian theme. We found it quite suitable since that was where it all began when we met in Perth, Western Australian in July 2003 (next summer will be 10 years since we met!).  Below is a photo of the bedding set, which we already have from an early shower gift :) Not all of this will be in the nursery - mostly just the things with kangaroos and koalas on it, but we won't be using the artwork in this picture.  I've had the great honor of being able to welcome the little ones of several of our friends and family by painting in their nursery (Rob and Tamara, Dan and Jill, Mary and Andy and Chelsea and Jeff - thanks for letting me be a part of your baby's first room!). Now it's time to do some artwork for our little one! Since we are renting, however, I didn't want to paint something on the walls we couldn't take with us. So, I'm doing three 18 X 24 canvases featuring three of our favorite Auss...

Here is the beginning of my belly book featuring the weekly belly shots from week 11-20. Since most of these were taken Thursday evening I'm either on my way to or from teaching hot yoga, so you get a little yoga gear photo shoot, too! (Just four more classes till I hand the class over). For now, enjoy! (Sorry they are a little small, but you get the idea). I haven't forgot about the nursery theme sneak peak, coming soon!

19 weeks and in the background flowers from Stefan! We are officially halfway there! We had our latest appointment this morning, just shy of 20 weeks. The blood pressure was finally steady, so we just have to see if it can stay that way for the second half. Hopefully it will! The baby's heart rate was strong, so I'm picturing a happy little munchkin in there. I had a prenatal massage yesterday with one of Stefan's massage therapist colleagues. It wasn't a relax/calm down massage but a "sports" massage to work on some of those really tight spots. With a little consistency, I'm hoping this will keep them from flaring up to full blown back spasms. Thanks again, Donna! As you know, we are using this blog as a pregnancy journal, too, so you gets lots of details! Through the new year we will have monthly appointments with our regular doc. That puts our next appointment in early November. Then we'll have our follow up growth ultrasound on Nov. 14 with...

Latest appointment - check Anatomy scan - check Seeing the baby move all around - check 18 weeks We were excited to have our appointment Wednesday afternoon to see the high-risk doctor and get our anatomy scan. They took so many pictures of the baby and did all kinds of measurements. The baby's size is right on target, the heart rate was good to go at 150 and all necessary parts are present and accounted for! We did make it through without finding out the gender- eeks! We have another appointment with them in eight weeks to measure the growth between now and then. They can't see blood clots with the ultrasound, but if the growth doesn't stay on track they can sense a potential problem. Before that, we see our regular doctor in just a few weeks. 18 weeks tiny feet As for Mom, I'm feeling pretty good. The belly is slowing expanding and I'm dealing with some back pain already, but nothing too major at this point. We're excited to keep moving forward...

Here are a few more pictures from Mom and Dad's visit and Andrew's last week in Florida. They visited the Naval Air Station Museum one morning while Stefan and I were at work. Unfortunately it rained that morning so they weren't able to see the planes fly, but they had a good time checking out the museum. Enjoy!  Dad in a Blue Angels plane Dad and Andrew Andrew as a pilot Andrew and Mom flying together. Andrew and Dad take a turn. Mom and Dad at the museum Mom is intrigued! I think Andrew likes being a pilot. The Hartes at the beach in Seaside. Our beach looks better than this at the moment, but it was a nice spot to visit. The town is very quint and cute. Mom and Dad Stefan, Mal and baby bump week 16 1/2 The only pic of all of us during the visit. Seaside Beach.