24 weeks...almost 6 months!

Everyone is telling me I'm finally looking pregnant, although everyone is surprised that I'm as far as I am and how little I'm showing. When I see pictures I realize what people mean, but I feel much bigger than I look. :) So here's a couple pics.

I think different pictures make me look more or less pregnant, and i think i look exhausted (as i was) in this first one, so here's a couple where i was feeling at least a little better. :)
I finally went to Babies R Us for the first time when mom and dad were here, and of course it was completely overwhelming. The good thing is that it helped my mind adjust a bit to the process of registering and figuring out all the new things that we'll need. It's definitely a whole new world! Last night I went with a friend who is a mom to the store and she gave her thoughts about what is important to get and what isn't really crucial. The more I get into the world of babies, research products and talk to friends, the more I'm looking forward to registering instead of dreading it! Just few more things to research and read reviews on and I think we'll be ready!

Thanks for joining in on my journey into baby-land! Crazy and fun times...and quite life changing! More later...

Mom & Dad Came to Visit!

It is such a blessing to have parents who use their weekends and vacation time to come visit us! Even though it was short, it was especially fun for me to finally get to have my parents with me for some of my "pregnant days," even though it meant that some of the visit I didn't feel too well.

We enjoyed just spending time talking at home, but also got to look around Sacramento a bit. This is in the park near the capital building.
And our second annual dominoes Chicken Foot family game! Good times just being together.
The hard part of living far away from family is missing getting to share the life changes and important moments, but we're truly thankful for the times we DO get to spend together!
Thanks for coming mom and dad! We love you...and can't wait for the next visit when Caleb shows his face!

his name!!!

We've had a name picked out for quite some time now for our little guy (even before we knew he was a he) and we finally just "officialized" it this last week! Are you ready???!!!...

Caleb Oldham!!!!

(still deciding on middle name)

Our prayer for "our" Caleb is that God will build into him the same faith and confidence in God as Caleb from years ago, who looked to God and His promises and presence in his life over and above human logic and perspectives. Even though circumstances seemed impossible and almost everyone around him said he was crazy, he chose to trust and fear God instead of fearing man and only believing things that seemed humanly possible.

Here he is with us for his first trip to the beach (i'm standing on the porch watching the sun set)! 22 weeks. :) Next time i think he'll enjoy it more since he'll actually get to SEE it. :)

Baby Pictures!

I've been waiting to figure out how to scan these in a way that they won't be too large to post (like last time i tried with our first ultrasound), and just realized that I might as well just take a picture of the pictures and be done with it! Otherwise it will never happen! So here you go! Little baby boy Oldham!

I asked if the gal taking the pictures could get one of more of the body, including legs and arms, but it wasn't happening! Oh well, at least it's something. My favorite part of watching the ultrasound was seeing him move around so much!
These are the bottom of his feet. She said it's rare to get a picture of both of them together. A bit blurry but still fun to see!

It's a BOY!!!

Friday morning, April 22nd, we had our ultrasound and found out the news....no more calling our baby"it" but now we can say "HE!" Of course we wanted to buy him his FIRST outfit, so we headed to the store after work and enjoyed our first experience together looking through baby stuff! Still pretty surreal but lots of fun! Having baby clothes laying around the house makes it all the more real that our little guy is on his way!!!

The other fun "first" for me was during worship on easter morning!!! I finally knew without a doubt that I was feeling our little guy move! Ever since, it's been clear when it's him and when it's just digestion! :) WOW, super fine times of being pregnant! I like this a lot more than nausea and back pain! And to think there's so much more to come!! Today I'm almost 21 weeks, so half way there! Thanks for enjoying the journey with me!

(Rachel and Brenda-this is a bonus picture for you. Tell me what you think....i'm curious at what point you'll decide i actually look pregnant...this picture shows it more than others for some reason.)

....next week we get to go on our 3 year anniversary(May 31)/birthday/baby-moon trip!!! SOoo looking forward to time away to rest and enjoy each other at the beach. If you think of it, please be praying for us, and especially Matt's family...some very difficult situations lately. Let me know if you'd like to hear more. Thank you! MUCH LOVE!

18 weeks

Here we are...steadily growing. :) I think I finally actually feel like I look a bit pregnant instead of like I've just been eating a bit extra. People who don't see me often tend to tell me that I'm still not showing much, but everyone who sees me regularly have been starting to comment about how they can finally tell that there's a baby in there! It's fun to see others get excited with me!

The "What to Expect When Expecting" weekly update was RIGHT ON this week in my case. This week it talked about how back pain often starts around this time, not only from the natural shift in posture because of the growing baby but also from the hormone Relaxin. Sure enough, about a week ago it showed up! It's not too bad and usually easily relieved by sitting down for a while, but it surprised me that it's come already.

The books have said that being pregnant often brings lots of exhaustion, which is something I haven't experienced as much as many people say....until this week. Wow, something about week 18 for me! Maybe allergies had a part in how I felt physically this week too. We'll see!

So there you have it...a little update for those who care to know. If you knew about Matt's seizure and us waiting for the ok for him to drive again, he finally got it!!! SO HAPPY...no more getting up at 4a.m. to drive him to work. LOTS more going on in our lives, but for now, I'll stop there. :)

growing...baby and flowers

Last night we went on a much needed date! SO FUN!!! We parked in old town Folsom, went on a nice walk after an 80something degree day, talked about life, and enjoyed some dessert on the deck of a nice restaurant along the river. Simple but just right!

On the walk back to the car, Matt took a picture on the bridge...can you tell that I'm growing??? I know it's dark and not totally clear, but LOOK, my stomach is sticking out! It just changed this last week and it's still crazy to me! I can't suck it in! If I lay on my back and my stomach sinks in, the bump stays!!! I know this is NORMAL when pregnant, but for the first time it's just pretty crazy!!!! :) fun too! :) but crazy!

And here are some flowers that have made me happy lately! I think it was fall when I had an empty pot, so decided to try planting some seeds. I totally forgot about them and didn't even water them. Thanks to a day of rain at one point, they started to grow...and grow. They were just leaves for a long time, and after researching a bit more about them, I cut back the crazy leaves...and within a few weeks of warmer weather the flowers started to come!!!

I just love them!!! SO beautiful and so little work to keep them looking good!
Perhaps I should try more flowers from seed. We'll see!