21 Weeks

How far along?  21 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 10 lbs

Maternity clothes? I'm going to have to go shopping and get some... None of my clothes fit lol

Stretch marks? a few

Best moment this week: Feeling baby Ater getting stronger and stronger every day!

Miss Anything? QUESO... Being basically an honorary Senorita, I'm dying without my gooey, tangy, mexican white cheese. 

Movement: All of the time! 

Food cravings: Food...period. I'm always hungry. lol

Anything making you queasy or sick: Still just orange juice

Have you started to show yet: Yup!

Gender: BOY

Labor Signs: Nope

Belly Button in or out? It's struggling to stay in, but it's still in! lol

Happy or Moody most of the time: Ecstatic!

Looking forward to: Putting the baby's room together!

I seriously feel like someone is blowing my belly up with an air hose! I swear it gets noticeably bigger EVERY DAY! And my little man is kicking me to death! lol He is crazy strong and it freaks me out sometimes, especially when I'm sitting at work and concentrating on putting in orders and all of the sudden it feels like my whole belly moves! He even kicked Josh in the lip the other day when he was laying on my stomach...which he likes to use as a pillow because it's so big. lol

We move into our apartment next month and I cannot wait to get started on his baby room! If anyone knows Joshua and I very well at all, this will make perfect sense, but we have chosen to do the baby's room in a rustic, forest animal theme! I am very outdoorsy and I love earth and nature. Josh is an avid hunter and is also very outdoorsy so we thought this would be just perfect for our little man.  Here are some ideas I pulled off Pinterest for what we're going to do with the room:

20 Weeks

Happy Valentine's Day!

How far along?  20 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 8 lbs

Maternity clothes? Just the belly band with my jeans for now...and I only have to wear that with certain jeans.

Stretch marks? a few

Best moment this week: Finding out the sex!

Miss Anything? Sushi and queso

Movement: Yup! He's a little wiggle worm!

Food cravings: I love salty and sour stuff right now!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Orange juice

Have you started to show yet: Yup!

Gender: BOY!!!!

Labor Signs: Nope

Belly Button in or out? In

Happy or Moody most of the time: Ecstatic!

Looking forward to: Putting the baby's room together!

Monday we got the greatest news...baby Ater is going to be a bouncing baby boy!! We are both so, incredibly excited! Anyone who knows Joshua knows that he is an avid hunter and loves the woods and outdoors. Having a boy is a wonderful blessing because he will get to share those precious moments in his life with his son. Granted, even if it was a girl, she would be his hunting buddy, but there is nothing like the bond between a father and son.

To be completely honest, I think I was more nervous about it being a girl than Josh was. I can do boys...I'm good with boys...but girls? I would be completely clueless! I have two brothers and almost all of my cousins are boys. Through high school my best friends were mainly all boys and it wasn't until I started college that I really developed a deep bond with the girls in my life. I am a country girl and I love the outdoors. Having a boy just makes sense... God definitely knows what he is doing. I definitely want to have a girl someday, but, for now, I am very relieved to know that I will have a tiny Mr. Ater on my hands first! 

Another awesome thing about this week was that the baby is now kicking hard enough for Joshua to feel it too! It is so crazy! I am so glad he has gotten to experience how magical it is to feel our unborn son moving around and to know, without a shadow of a doubt, he is there (as if my growing belly wasn't enough confirmation!). 

Now, onto how we found out about baby Ater's gender:

We decided not to let them tell us at our ultrasound, but to have them write it down so that we could find out with our family later. The ultrasound tech put it in a sealed envelope and handed it to us before we left. Josh and I had to fight back the urge to take a peek, but we successfully made it! She handed us that envelope at 10am Monday morning and we didn't find out until 9pm that night... The suspense was absolutely killer! 


My mom, both my grandmothers, my aunt Rhonda, my youngest brother, and my cousin, Erington, all came up to Louisville just to share in this wonderful event with us. Josh's grandparents, Mom, aunt Jill, Dad, and brother were all there as well. We ate and laughed at baby pictures of Joshua and I until finally it was time for us all to find out what  baby Ater was. We handed the envelope to Timmy, Josh's brother, and he went upstairs to the loft area while Josh and I stood down below. I had prepared two bags of both pink and blue confetti and Timmy was to open the envelope and throw down the appropriate color. I was so nervous my legs were shaking! Josh put his arm around me as our family counted down "5...4...3...2...1!" Blue confetti came falling from the sky and after our brains adjusted to what that meant, Josh wrapped me up in a big hug and hoisted me into the air! We were both ecstatic! My friend Janna was watching on facetime and I picked up some of the blue confetti scattered on the floor to show her and said, "It's a boy!" It was so wonderful getting to find out with some of our closest family. I wouldn't have it any other way...even if I was chomping at the bit to find out beforehand. ;-) 

19 Weeks

How far along?  19 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: I have no idea. I need to get on a scale. Still just 6lbs as far as a I know, but I'm willing to bet it's more by now.

Maternity clothes? Just the belly band with my jeans for now. The shirts I got are still a little big.

Stretch marks? a few

Best moment this week: Seeing baby Ater move!!!

Miss Anything? Sushi, queso, and lunch meat

Movement: Yup! I actually SAW baby Ater kick a few days ago! It was insane!!!! 

Food cravings: Strawberries, salads, and lots of salty-goodness.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Orange juice makes me sick for whatever reason.

Have you started to show yet: Yes! I had a girl from work (who just saw me a week ago) look at me yesterday and she said, "Whoa! That wasn't there the last time I saw you!" lol 

Gender: Monday, Monday, MONDAY!!! We find out in 2 days!!!!

Labor Signs: Nope

Belly Button in or out? In

Happy or Moody most of the time: Ecstatic!

Looking forward to: Monday!

Ok, so many super-awesome-wonderfully-amazing things have happened/are going to happen! Firstly... I SAW THE BABY MOVE!!!! I have never been so humbled by a single experience in all of my life. It is one think to know there is a tiny human inside me and being able to feel it every once in a while, but that's still a "living by faith" kind of experience. But, to actually SEE my baby kick me and watch my belly move... now that was amazing. Josh said I look like a crazy person because every time I feel the baby kicking, I lift up my shirt and just stare at my belly. The little rascal always stops as soon as I do that though, so I've only gotten one glimpse. 

Another super-awesome thing is... JOSH AND I FINALLY FOUND AN APARTMENT!!! It is in a place where Josh has been telling me the entire time that I will love, but I was nervous about the price. Well, one look and I was sold. The apartment is beautiful, the scenery is wonderful, and the set-up is perfect for having a baby. We move in on March 15th and I cannot wait!!! 

18 Weeks

How far along?  18 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 6lbs so far, but I haven't been on a scale since the last Dr's visit

Maternity clothes? Finally, yes. I have realized how wonderful the belly band is and that I don't have to suffer through barely-buttonable pants any longer.

Stretch marks? a few on my breasts

Best moment this week: Looking at ideas for the nursery with Joshua.

Miss Anything? Sushi and queso

Movement: YES!!! I have started feeling it every day now and the kicks get stronger every day too! 

Food cravings: Yogurt, salads, cereal... I think maybe I'm taking a turn for the best. lol (Granted, I did eat an entire, brand new jar of dill pickle slices by myself...in one sitting) :-\

Anything making you queasy or sick: No. I had a migraine which caused me to get really sick, but that was all.

Have you started to show yet: Yup! It's finally to the point that people look at me and are reminded of the fact that I'm pregnant rather than being in shock when I tell them. lol 

Gender: 1 week left of suspense! 

Labor Signs: No

Belly Button in or out? In

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!

Looking forward to: My 20 week ultrasound and finally finding an apartment!

This baby has started moving so much! I had noticed little flutters every once in a while, but I was sitting at a Superbowl party and realized he/she was just kicking away! I think somebody is a football fan (or maybe it was just Beyonce)! Since then, I have felt movement every single day, multiple times a day! It's so magical and every time I notice it I basically stop whatever I'm doing just to take it all in and realize the magnitude of the situation -- There is, literally, a living human inside my body right now. It is really a miracle.

As far as the apartment is concerned, it has been ridiculously hard to find a place. Everywhere we thought might be decent was either terrible, or there was something crucially wrong with the place. We even considered taking Lakota to Josh's mom's and letting her keep him, just because we were having such a difficult time finding a place without a 40lb dog limit, but neither of us want to do that. He is our baby too. We are still looking and I will keep you posted!

It has been snowy up here in L'ville, but we are snuggling up and staying warm. I am looking forward to warmer weather soon, but I know it is going to be both a blessing and a curse being pregnant in the summer. A blessing because, after the baby is born I'll be able to take it for walks with the dogs and that will make it easier to burn off my post-baby belly. A curse because I am going to be huge, and pregnant, and hot before the baby is born. lol I can't wait nonetheless!

17 Weeks

How far along?  17 weeks... I am 5 months pregnant! That is so hard to believe!

Total weight gain/loss: I have gained 6lbs

Maternity clothes? Not yet

Stretch marks? There are some on my boobs :-/

Best moment this week: Trying to find apartments so we can move in and start a nursery!

Miss Anything? Queso... I'm a Mexican at heart and I am so missing my unpasteurized Mexican cheese. 

Movement: Little flutters here and there. 

Food cravings: Still salt and fruit. I also crave salads a lot. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not since the "Dexter" episode. lol

Have you started to show yet: Indeed! 

Gender: We find out on February 11th!

Labor Signs: No

Belly Button in or out? In

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!

Looking forward to: My 20 week ultrasound!

Ok so here's the skinny on my crazy business lately. I have two jobs now. One as a Unit Secretary in a hospital here in Louisville, and another babysitting for Josh's cousins. I am working 4-5 days a week, 12 hour shifts when I work at the hospital and 8 hour shifts when I babysit. In the midst of all of this chaos, I am also going to school online so I'm trying to fit study time in with both of my jobs and this whole pregnancy-exhaustion thing is not helping one bit. Luckily, I'm in my second trimester and I have leaps and bounds more energy than I did in my first, but my body is still resisting me through everything I'm trying to do. But, I am putting one foot in front of the other and getting by a day at a time!

Josh and I are going to look at some apartments today. We have had a really difficult time finding a place because very few nice apartment complexes will accept a 50lb husky. Fender isn't a problem because she is so small, but almost no one has a pet policy that allows any dogs over 40lbs. We found one though and hopefully we will love it. It is is the exact area where we wanted to find a place so that is even more exciting! I can't wait to start working on a room for little Ater!

This is the adorable little Husky hat Josh's mom got
for the baby! 

Lakota enjoying the winter snow

16 Weeks

How far along?  16 weeks 

Total weight gain/loss: 6lbs

Maternity clothes? Not yet

Stretch marks? Ugh...I noticed two on my boobs today

Best moment this week: Finding our new doctor!

Miss Anything? Sushi, lunch meat, copious amounts of caffeine

Movement: YES!!! I have starting feeling "flutters" in my stomach. Baby Ater loves to move and groove, so I can't wait until they get strong enough for Joshua to feel!

Food cravings: Salt...oh how I love salt. It's terrible. I'm going to have a ridiculous amount of edema if I don't stop. lol

Anything making you queasy or sick: Well, I've never been one to get grossed out by movies or shows. I can generally scarf down a cheeseburger while watching all of the gross things on "Bones", but I was watching "Dexter" yesterday and eating pasta and when I saw the fake, dismembered body parts on the show, I started gagging. I work in a hospital, so I NEVER get grossed out by stuff...until now. lol

Have you started to show yet: Yup... it's so weird seeing my belly every day. 

Gender: We find out on February 11th!

Labor Signs: No

Belly Button in or out? In

Happy or Moody most of the time: So, SO happy!

Looking forward to: My 20 week ultrasound!

First and foremost, my sincere apologies for the picture and the super late post. I'll post a 17 week picture tomorrow. I have been running around like mad lately and I just haven't had time to breathe. I'll explain all of that in my next post.

So, Joshua has a friend here in Louisville who's wife, Jenna, just had a baby about 6 months ago. She was telling me all about her doctor and how much she loved her and so I decided I had to check it out. I called and made an appointment with Total Woman and we were really impressed when we got there. After meeting Dr. Wilson (whom we adored!) we opened the door to leave and another one of Josh's friend's wives, Chelsea, was in the room directly across the hall! She is due very soon and it was just so random and funny that she and I would just-so-happen to be there on the same day when we didn't even know that's where she was going for her appointments! 

15 Weeks

How far along?  15 weeks 

Total weight gain/loss: I went to the Dr. today and I have gained 3lbs!

Maternity clothes? No

Stretch marks? Nope

Best moment this week: Hearing the baby's heartbeat <3

Miss Anything? Sushi

Movement: Not yet!

Food cravings: Yogurt, fruit, and still salty stuff.

Anything making you queasy or sick: I'll have a bad day here or there, but it is gone for the most part!

Have you started to show yet: I can definitely tell. 

Gender: We should find out soon!

Labor Signs: No

Belly Button in or out? In

Happy or Moody most of the time: Getting happier and more excited every day!

Looking forward to: Finding out the gender!

Joshua and I are currently looking for a doctor in our new town. We visited one today and liked him well enough, but I just don't know that he is who we will be going with. Finding a new doctor is very difficult and it is just adding onto all of the other new and difficult things that have been going on in our lives lately. Classes start back next week and that won't help things. And I will officially be done training and on my own at my new job on Saturday! It's all a little stressful right now, but we're tough kids...we'll make it! lol