25 Weeks

What's Happening with Joycelen?

• Head to heels, she now measures about 13 1/2 inches long.
• She's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn.
• She's also growing more hair.

What's Happening with Mama?

• Total weight gain/loss: 20 pounds
• Maternity clothes? All the time - except for one or two pairs of jeans that still fit since they go under Mama's belly.
• Best moment this week: Joycelen kicking for Lacey and London -- they were so amazed.
• Food cravings: Blueberry muffins
• Belly button in or out? In.
• Stretch Marks? Still none
• What I miss: My balance..... the further along my pregnancy goes, the worse my balance becomes.
• What I am looking forward to: Going to Aunt Gail's for Thanksgiving

What's Happening with Daddy?

• Daddy is 80% finished with the bookcases that will go in Joycelen's nursery.
• On Friday he is going to hang Christmas lights.

Tribute to Bailey

Last night was a rough evening. M and I had plans to put up our Christmas decorations, work out and generally lounge around the house. However, when M arrived home for work - he had sad news to tell me. Sometime yesterday morning, Bailey - our 1.5 year old pup - dug out from the backyard and had gotten run over. My sister-in-law Lane discovered him when she came home from lunch. Her pup, Boss, was standing guard over Bailey's body.

After having a very lenghty cry, M and I set out to bury our beloved boy. We chose a spot in the woods next to our house where Bailey would often chase rabbits, squirrels, and the occasional stray cat. We made sure to bury him with his favorite toys - a tennis ball, a vinyl chew bone, his blue rubber squeaky ball, and his tug ring. We stood over his grave.....cried a little more....and then said our final good bye.

M and I rescued Bailey from an animal shelter on the Friday before Mother's Day in 2008. My friends often joked that Bailey was my "redneck engagement ring" as M bought him for me after just two months of dating. From the moment we brought him home, Bailey was full of life and energy. He loved to run and play - fetching tennis balls with M, or running in our yard with our myriad of nieces of nephews. Not only was he vibrant, he was loving. He would patiently let our nieces/nephews pull his tail, his ears, poke and prod him, and cover him in sloppy baby kisses. And if M or I ever felt under the weather, Bailey would take up his spot on our couch to watch over us.

He was a wonderful dog.....our first child.....and he will be missed.

24 Weeks

What's Happening with Joycelen?

• She's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That
• She's almost a foot long
• Her brain is also growing quickly now, and her taste buds are continuing to develop.
• Her lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help her air sacs inflate once she hits the outside world.
• Her skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

What's Happening with Mama?

• Total weight gain/loss: 15 pounds
• Maternity clothes? All the time - except for one or two pairs of jeans that still fit since they go under Mama's belly.
• Best moment this week: Joycelen kicking Mama so hard during the board meeting at work, that Mama's shirt moved.
• Food cravings: Scrambled egg sandwiches
• Belly button in or out? In.
• Stretch Marks? None so far
• What I miss: Being able to get up from the floor easily. With the belly it is becoming increasingly difficutlt to sit on the floor (to play with my nieces/nephews) and then get up again.
• What I am looking forward to: Starting to put up the Christmas decorations on Saturday. (We are putting them up early since we are going to be out of town from the Wednesday before thru the Sunday after Thanksgiving).

What's Happening with Daddy?

• Daddy has become an exercise machine. He is working out 3-4 times per week....often with Mama.
• He is also planning the final details of Joycelen's nursery design (flooring, and an installation timeline).

Putting My Feet Up

y feet. Since I spend 8-10 hours a day sitting at a desk, my doctor has recommended that I prop up my feet. Rather than spend money to purchase a footstool, I created this:

It is my office trash can, topped with a flat designed for holding coca-cola bottles, and then covered with a blanket. I think it works quite well.

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23 Weeks

What's Happening with Joycelen?

• She is more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango).


• Her kicks and punches are becoming more pronounced and I can definitely feel her movements.


• I may be able to see her squirm underneath my clothes.


• Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that her increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as Baily/Boss barking or the roar of the crowd at football games— probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb.

What's Happening with Mama?

• Total weight gain/loss: 15 pounds


• Maternity clothes? Yes and yes.


• Best moment this week: Daddy "hearing" Joycelen's kick. I've been trying for days to get Joycelen to kick so that M could feel it, but the movements are not pronounced enough. So he put his ear to my tummy, and then she kicked twice in rapid succession and he "heard" them.


• Food cravings: Oatmeal with peanut butter, Granny Smith Apples


• Belly button in or out? In.


• Stretch Marks? Nope


• What I miss: Riding comfortable in a car for longer car trips. The trip to Atlanta this past weekend was taxing. I hurt in my hips for several hours afterwards.


• What I am looking forward to: Another ultrasound of Joycelen.

What's Happening with Daddy?

• Daddy is still busy with work - but thankfully it is only 1 project instead of 2.
• He has always been trying to get back into a work out routine.
• He is planning on installing bookcases in Joycelen's nursery in the coming weeks.

22 Weeks

My niece London (2.5) decided that she wanted to in the picture with "Joycelen".

What's Happening with Joycelen?

• Joycelen is 11 inches and almost 1 pound, and starting to look like a miniature newborn.
• Her eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and she's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums.
• Her eyes have formed, but the irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment.

What's Happening with Mama?

• Total weight gain/loss: 15 pounds
• Maternity clothes? Almost exclusively.
  Best moment this week: Hearing Joycelen's heartbeat at the doctor's office and being able to record it for Daddy to listen to.
• Food cravings: Oatmeal with peanut butter, Granny Smith Apples
• Belly button in or out? In.
• Stretch Marks? Nope
• What I miss: Being able to wear my high heeled boots. I wore a pair on Friday night and my feet were swollen for hours afterwards. Looks like I'll be sticking to low heels and flats from now on.
• What I am looking forward to: Trip to Atlanta this weekend and then to Lowe's to pick out paint colors for the nursery.

What's Happening with Daddy?

• Daddy has had to close at his office this week, which means he has been working later than usual. However, he still makes time to cuddle with Mama and talk to Joycelen.

Pictures from Halloween

Goblin Cheesballs....

My niece Kaitlynn's First Halloween. She almost fit into my candy basket.

Mikey and I in our costume. I'm a "bun in the oven" and he is the baker.