Painting - oh what fun!

BEFORE

AFTER BEFORE

AFTER (not completely done)
Mom and I had a really successful day painting Rylan's room. You may not be able to tell exactly what color the room was before - it was a beige color. And after it was a tan color that matches the bedding. (Thanks to Molly for helping me pick it out!!) Mom actually painted most of it because everyone had her worried about me being around the paint fumes a whole lot. But I did do my share of painting too!! I'm so excited about getting the room done...we are one step closer than we were before! I will update as we get more done. =)

Week 25

Look who's looking. Our baby's eyes — which have been closed for the past few months (so that the retina, the part of the eye that allows images to come into focus, could develop) — are now beginning to open. What this means is that Rylan is able to see what's going on now (unfortunately the view in the uterus isn't all that exciting).
The iris, the colored part of the eye, still doesn't have much pigmentation (that'll fill in over the next month or two), so it's too early to start guessing his eye color. Even the color he will be born with might not be the permanent shade; so we may be kept guessing until he is close to six months old.
Look what else is going on this week: Rylan's brain-wave activity is kicking in, which means our little one can not only hear noises but can now also respond to them. Not in so many words, of course, but with an increase in pulse rate or activity.
And talking about activity, at his current height and weight (about fourteen inches tall and two pounds), and at the rate he is growing, he will soon be feeling a little cramped in the uterus. Not to worry, there's still plenty of room for him to grow. It just means our gymnast will have less room for those somersaults, cartwheels, and other Olympic feats.

The Nursery Theme - Cowboy Up!

This is the nursery bedding that we bought for Rylan's room. It's a Wild West theme of course! Out here in the country, the baby blues and cutesie bedding just doesn't fit. I'm so excited about getting the nursery done, I can barely hold it in!! Mom and I are going to be painting his room on Monday and the furniture will be coming on Monday or Tuesday. So once we can get the crib & dresser together, I will post pictures of our progress. I've got a ton of clothes that I've been washing, folding, and organizing, thanks to Aunt Molly and Kaden! So we are getting there, slowly but surely. I was feeling that Rylan's room was never going to be ready, but hopefully within the next couple of weeks we will make tons of progress!! Let me know what you think about the bedding!

24 Weeks, 2 days

My hair is not done up real nice or nothing, but hey, I wasn't going no where special! These days, it's easier just to do what's EASY! It doesn't mean it's beautiful...haha.

24 weeks

This is another big week for our growing baby! Just take a look at the checklist for this week: 1) ears: done; 2) fingernails: done; 3)testicles: taking their 3-4 day trip from the abdominal wall to the scrotum; and 4) lungs walls: secreting “surfactant”. What’s that? Well, surfactant is sort of what it sounds like: a surface-activated fat whose main purpose is to assist Rylan's little lungs during inflation (as in, filling with air, not getting more expensive). Just in case you’re curious, Rylan is still breathing in amniotic fluid, preparing and rehearsing the lungs an oxygen-filled life outside the womb. By the end of this week, he will be weighing around 2 lbs and 14 inches long. Our cutie-patootie may even be a little more plump, but isn't anywhere near his full baby-fatted cute-self. Most of the “filling out” is coming up in that long awaited (and slightly dreaded?) third trimester. Woo-hoo! I'm ready!!

Week 23

Rylan weighs more than a pound and a half right now and sports a length of about a foot and an inch. If we had a baby cam, we'd almost be able to tell by now, who Rylan looks like. That beautiful face (though still tiny) is almost fully formed. What's still missing from the picture is the fat that will be piled on under the baby's skin. Until those fat deposits are made, that very tender skin is still very transparent, which means a close look would let us see clear through to all the organs, bones, and blood vessels. Fortunately, that see-through look won't last much longer. Babies at this point are gaining about six ounces each week — with much of that gain coming from fat, in addition to growing organs, bones, and muscle.
What's been playing on our little rocker's stereo system these days? All kinds of sounds: from air exhaling from my lungs (deep breath now), those gastric gurgles produced by my stomach and intestines, my voice and Butch's (which Rylan will be able to recognize at birth), and even very loud sounds such as honking horns, barking dogs, or a wailing fire truck.

Rylan is definitely moving around a lot now. He is constantly moving during the day. Around 3-4 a.m. he usually wakes up and starts moving just in time for his daddy to feel him move before he goes to work. I guess he knows that Butch gets up then and he gets to moving around cause he hears Butch getting ready. I love the feeling of him moving..it's wonderful!

Baby Registry Is FUN!!

As you may or may not know, my cousin, Allison, is expecting a little girl, Olivia Grace, the end of March. I think we're 7 weeks apart. I'm 23 weeks and she is 30 weeks. So we had made plans to register together - and I'm so glad we did! It was a lot of fun and we definitely had a blast. We brought along our mom's - and that was a smart thing on our part! They knew what we needed so it helped us out a lot. Thursday night we went and registered at Target and Friday we registered at Babies R Us. I love that store!!!! I never knew there was so much baby stuff....and we need almost all of it! I had no idea there were so many necessesities when it came to having a child. I knew better than Butch did, bless his heart! He was totally shocked at everything we have to have. It gets overwhelming at times, but we'll make it. We are so anxious for little Rylan to get here.....

Just some things...

The shoes were my favorite. They remind me of my brother wears...so Rylan can dress like uncle Chase now! =)

This was adorable! Rylan can dress like Daddy now.... =)

These are just some outfits that Nonna and Gappy bought for Rylan. I thought they were so adorable! They got them from Old Navy - which has the cutest baby clothes! I told my mom that I wasn't going to by any more clothes and focus on the bigger stuff and she said she was going to do the same! So these will be the last outfits for a little while anyway from Nonna and Gappy! Awww...=( haha.

Week 22

This week Rylan has been very active. He has developed the sense of touch, so he is definitely exploring in utero! In the mornings if I lay on my back and watch my belly, I can see him punching and moving. I love it! He pretty much wakes up when I start moving around and when I get settled down somewhere he starts moving a lot. He does not sleep as much as he used to! I hope this is not a glimpse of what is to come!! I'm hoping that he will sleep good when he gets here! If he doesn't, that's ok. I'm going to love him regardless. We are so desperate to hold him and to see what he looks like, and have him here with us. I know that I'm going to miss him moving and kicking inside me. I can't explain how that feels. It's one of the best feelings in the world. Now I know why some people just keep getting pregnant and having kids!!! =)

We are so excited about what is to come. I know that we won't be the perfect parents, but who is? All I know is that we will love him unconditionally and teach him the awesome Truth that has kept Butch and me thru our journeys in life. Where would I be if not for His grace and mercy? I surely wouldn't have the most wonderful husband and a Miracle child on the way...THANK GOD FOR MERCY & GRACE!!!!

ECSTATIC!!!

Butch and I welcomed the New Year in at my parents house last night and got up this morning, ate breakfast and headed home to spend some quality time together. We walked around outside, fed the horses, talked about all kinds of things, and finally came inside to take a nap! (We love doing that now....cause I can go to sleep ANYTIME/ANYWHERE!) Well instead of taking a nap when we got in...Butch told me he would like to watch the ultrasound video from my last doctor's appointment in December when we found out the baby's gender. I love watching it all the time - so of course I didn't put up a fuss. We were laying there on a pallet in the floor watching Rylan move on the screen and play with hands...oohhh...it just amazes me every time I watch the video! Well Butch decided he was going to lay his head on my belly and talk to Rylan. I thought to myself that I was hoping he would finally get to feel Rylan kick or punch...or something. He has been waiting so patiently to be able to feel the baby move. Well Rylan started kicking and Butch finally felt him move! He was so happy and I was too! I've been feeling very sad at the fact that he has not been able to feel Rylan move, and I do ALL the time! It just wasn't fair!!! So FINALLY - God answered my prayers! Butch was so excited that he felt Rylan moving. So today, the beginning of a new year, and the very first time for Butch to feel our child move....it's awesome!! (Just so you know = after we got over all our excitement we did indeed take a nap!!)