December "Happy"nings!

We are so very excited that we got the house we wanted. Now, the waiting time to move in is killing both Todd and I. If it was financially possible to move in yesterday, we would have! The end of January seems so far away! Our anxiousness to settle into our "family home" is taking over, as we look at the pictures we have of the house at least twice, if not five times a day. We sit there and plan out where furniture will go, what we need to buy to go in what room, what rooms will be empty for the time being until we can collect enough furniture, and most of all, what we will do in which rooms with Rhodes! Its funny how we already are planning out things like while I'm cooking dinner, Todd can take Rhodes outside with him to grill and sit at the patio table to have their "boy time". Its like we can foreshadow our lives in a few months with images of our baby boy that flash through our heads. I'm curious to see if everything we are dreaming up are actually going to go that exact way. Regardless, its going to be awesome!

At the time being,  I keep finding myself extremely tempted to buy anything and everything I see that says "Baby's 1st Christmas". I stop myself, because I know that next year will be the correct time to buy those items. Although, my inner fight is that technically this is his 1st Christmas since he is a breathing, moving, thinking human being.. It just doesn't seem fair that Rhodes' 1st Christmas can't be this year! Ha! I know I will feel 100% different next year though! At least Rhodes has his first ornament on our 1st family tree already, thanks to Mamy (grandma Amy, and I hope I spelt that correctly)!

We have no new baby updates, except that everything is going perfectly. Rhodes is doing so well, that we never get to have appointments, and we never get to see him because it is just not necessary. Its exciting to know that he already have such a perfectly healthy baby. I pray that his health continues to stay so strong throughout these next two (or less) months. Apparently his heart beat is as strong as a full term baby. We learned this from a nurse who was so excited about his healthy heart that she felt the need to show his charts to other nurses! :) Yes, we were/are extremely proud parents already!

*(picture: going on 32 weeks)


We also purchased our first vehicle together. A new, fully loaded GMC Acadia. My favorite part are the dual DVD players and TV screens in the back. Family vacations will now consist of Todd driving, me in the back watching one movie, while Rhodes watches another! Sorry Todd! We will be taking our first road trip in it in 2 days when we head to Kentucky for Christmas to see the family! Nonnie, my fathers mom, will be our first back seat passenger as we will pick her up on our way, in Tennesse. I told her to bring a movie, although I doubt she will ;)

Christmas is just a few days away! Everyone travel safe, enjoy their family time, gifts, and food. But most of all, remember the #1 reason we celebrate Christmas- the birth of our King, Jesus Christ! Happy Birthday Jesus!!

Update 1 on Baby Rhodes

We had our last appointment on Friday, December 2nd, and I had to do the GD test. The test is to determine if the mother has Gestational Diabetes. Anyone can have GD, and its something that only happens and lasts during pregnancy. To test for this, the doctor gave me an "orange drink" that was pure sugar. I had to wait an hour after drinking the drink and the nurse took 3 vials of blood. For anyone who knows me, they know that I don't eat sweets or anything sugary, so this "pure sugar" drink made me sick as a dog, to say the least. My body obviously doesn't like sugar.

Also at this appointment, I received my Rhogam shot, which was the shot I described in my last baby blog entitled "Bradley Rhodes Richardson".  For a quick reminder, I have a rare, negative blood type, and I must be given this shot so my blood doesn't take over Rhodes' little system. I don't like shots, I never have, and probably never will. They don't hurt me, but I just am terrified of them. Well, this shot gave me every reason I will ever need to not like them. Like I said, shots don't hurt me. Well, holy cow, this one HURT. Thank goodness it is over, and hopefully this round will work, so I don't have to have another one at Rhodes' birth. I will have to have them with each pregnancy, but as long as they work the first time, I will only have to have one per pregnancy. Repeat, this BETTER work!

They also measured Rhodes' growth and heartbeat, which were perfect! Thank goodness I have nothing more to add to this paragraph!

This morning, the nurse called with the GD results, and I passed with a 73. Failing the test would have resulted in a 130 or above, so I passed with flying colors as the nurse said. I also asked her about when the next ultrasound would be. Todd and I haven't seen Rhodes since week 20 and we are dying to see our little bundle of joy again. Sadly, she told me that since our pregnancy is going so well and we have no complications, that we wouldn't be recieving anymore ultrasounds. The thought of not being able to see Rhodes until he is born saddens me, although, I cant complain that he is brewing so well! She did tell me that we can have a 4D ultrasound for $150, but that would just be for fun. No more ultrasounds are medically necessary, therefore, they wouldn't be covered my insurance. Can I wait another 11 weeks to see him without going crazy? I guess we will find out!

We have our next appointment in four weeks, on Wednesday, January 4th. Nothing exciting will be taking place on this appointment. We go in, they measure my belly, listen to Rhodes' heartbeat, and then out the door we go. Again, I don't like this, but I cant complain because the easier and shorter the appointment, than the better our little baby is doing. After January 4th, we will begin our bi-weekly appointments, which can only mean that he will be coming into the world soon! I thought that after this past appointment would begin the bi-weekly, but apparently I was wrong.

Continue praying that he keeps growing so well and that the pregnancy keeps chugging along without any complications. Countdown= 11 weeks!

On a side note, last night Rhodes had the hiccups! It was the strangest feeling I have ever experienced, but I loved it! I could feel, what I guess, was his head bouncing off the inside of my belly. This occurred every 3 seconds on the dot for about 30 minutes! I was a little scared at first because I wasn't sure what it was, but after asking the nurse today, she confirmed my thought! How funny!

On The Hunt

Eleven weeks and counting until Due Day!  Eight weeks and counting until we are homeless! Well, hopefully not! Hopefully those three weeks in between two major dates are going to be consisting of moving and getting nestled into our new home before the addition of Rhodes!

For the past month or so, Todd and I had our hearts set on a house in Crestline. It was so cute! Updated, hardwood floors, fireplace, neighbors we were already friends with, and to top it off, a finished basement to be used as a guest suite, playroom, or Todd's "man cave". We thought that it would work out great, but we found out last week that it wasn't going to work. We were sad, but had to move on and figured that there was a reason why this house didn't work out, and that reason would soon be shown to us! We have a fantastic realtor that we have faith in to bring us our first home!

We met with the realtor on Saturday, December 3. There was a "blue house" as we called it, that we both really liked by looking online! That is one of those houses that you cant judge from pretty online pictures! The house itself was beautiful, old craftsman style with huge windows and big moldings everywhere! If only the house was in a different location! There was a railroad track basically going through the front yard, and the neighbors had an old bathtub and wood scraps (trash) laying in the backyard. Eye sore! So, we asked her about another house and if we could go see it. Off we went. The 2nd house was TINY. Todd liked it, and I don't know why. Yes, the neighborhood was nice, but the house had 3 bedrooms, each that were the size of a closet. Nothing more than a bed would fit into them, and a small bed at that! It had zero closet space, no backyard, and an old outdated kitchen. I nixed that immediately. I was not going to move out of a loft that we have outgrown and into a house that was even smaller.

We were about to give up for the day when Todd asked Karen, the realtor, about another house she had sent a picture to him in email. Karen's response was that she refused to show us the house unless we were absolutely willing to pay that price. Why? She knew we would fall in love with it. Well, stubborn as we are, we wanted to "at least drive by". Driving onto the street, it began to feel "homey". It was located on the back side of a circle and to say a quite street seems to be an understatement. We couldn't get into the house because Karen didn't have a key, but we walked around looking into every window. Todd and I sat in the front yard, full of leaves, and talked about how nice it was to be sitting there on this warm day. Never once did a car drive by, there was no railroad tracks, and no noise from any nearby traffic. Neighbors were out bagging leaves, and sitting on their front porches. An old man, with his cane, was out for his leisurely stroll. I began to picture little Rhodes toddling through the leaves in the front yard, or learning to ride his bike on this empty street. All of these great feelings, and we hadn't even been inside the house yet. Karen told us she would go back to the office and get a key, and call us to come back and meet her later that afternoon.

About an hour or two later, we pulled into the driveway of the house to meet Karen inside. Walking through the front door, there was hardwood floors, a sunken formal living and dining room, a hallway leading to the bedrooms, and doorways into the kitchen, eating, and den. The kitchen had more cabinets than I would ever know what to do with, it was completely updated, and was open to an eating area and a den. The eating area was as large as the formal dining and had a wall of french doors and windows that opened onto the outdoor patio and backyard. The den, also lined with french doors and windows, held a fireplace, tons of closet spaces, and a laundry room! The other end of the house had 2 bedrooms, a bath, and a Master Suite, complete with an "Oprah closet" as Karen called it.

Todd and I were sold. Karen was right, we would fall in love with this house immediately. We talked about how we felt at home from the moment we pulled in the driveway. We both could see Rhodes crawling around with this little trucks and toys in the den. I could picture myself standing in the kitchen, cooking dinner, watching Rhodes play in the den with Todd, as he would be watching football on the TV above the fireplace. Only problem, the price is at the tip tip top of our budget!

We have discussed money and can do it with lots of budgeting, and so we put in our application for the house on Sunday night. For anyone reading this, as you can tell, we love this house. We already feel it is our home, and we ask for prayers that this house can truly be our family's first home. I hope that this house is the reason for the first house not working out, and I really hope that Todd and I don't have to lose another house that we have our hearts set on!