13 Week Appointment

Today I had my 13 week appointment and the highlight was definitely being able to hear the heartbeat! At my 8 week ultrasound I was able to see the baby and the heartbeat but for some reason we weren't able to hear it so it was a very special experience being able to hear that tiny heartbeat! I had been worried because my pregnancy had just been too easy so far that surely something must be wrong because people just don't go through the first trimester without throwing up once! My sister Michelle even admitted to wondering if something was going wrong because her pregnancies were very tough on her but of course she didn't tell me that till after this appointment when we found out that everything was going fine.

Of course it wasn't all smooth sailing because from 6-8 1/2 weeks I was nautious all day (the term "morning-sickness" is very misleading) and it was very hard to eat food especially because I had some sensitivity to certain smells and meats especially were very hard to force down. All in all though I find myself very blessed because I work 40+ hours a week at a job that I am primarily standing at a computer working with customers and I was dreading the day when I would be working with someone and would have to run to the bathroom to throw up! But I am pretty much over the worst of it and the only times I feel nautious are when I don't eat enough.

Our baby is about 3 inches long and weighs about an ounce. There are fingerprints on the little fingers and he/she has reflexes and is just swimming around right now! The head is about 1/3 of the size of the body which is better than a week or so ago when it was 1/2 the size of the body! The heart was beating at 154 beats per minute which sounded pretty strong to us! I don't think I've started showing yet in fact I actually lost 3 pounds since my last appointment which my sister pointed out that that was even before Thanksgiving! I am so excited to start showing though I already have some maternity clothes that are just sitting in my room but I can't wear them yet! My sister Kim (this is her second pregnancy) is 6 weeks farther along than I am and has the cutest little baby bump on her tummy and I can't wait to catch up to her! My next appointment is in 6 weeks which means I'll be 19 weeks and I'll have the ultrasound that tells us the sex of the baby which we are both dying to find out!

Thanksgiving

I was so lucky to have been able to go back home to California for Thanksgiving this year. Because of my job I wasn't going to be able to take Thanksgiving or Christmas off because they put a hold on any personal or vacation time during the holidays but because of my mom's circumstances I was able to fly home thanks to my amazing in-laws and be with my family for Thanksgiving. (I was also able to get Christmas off but I have to work Christmas Eve, get off early to drive 4 hours to Salt Lake, fly from Salt Lake to San Jose then drive 3 1/2 hours to Atascadero at 10 at night, not that I'm complaining!!) It was so fun to have my entire family home for Thanksgiving because with 6 kids, 3 spouses and 4 grandkids its really hard to get an entire family home for the holidays!

Brian and I were able to help my parents put up some Christmas decorations and decorate the tree!

My mother is so wonderful you would honestly not be able to tell she has been struggling with cancer just by looking at her. She is the most wonderful person I've ever met and I love her so much. She is expecting 3 grandkids in 2010 and I know she doesn't take anything in life for granted.

My dad