Great Friends

Cat & Tyler at a Predators game...I didn't think there were enough fights at the game - that's my favorite part!!

Me & Cat at the Preds game

Yay for wonderful high school friends - Ginny, Carter, Kara, and me!

First Baby Shower: Phoenix

Last weekend I went out to Phoenix to visit and have a little shower. It was such a nice, relaxing trip - made it really hard to come back and go to work! While I was out there, we painted pottery, saw "Bride Wars" and "Bedtime Stories", did some shopping, did some crafts, and had a get together to celebrate our new addition! It was great to get to see everyone! Here are a few pictures from the shower....

The table setting

The food area - we made those letters while I was out there!

Me showing off one of my gifts

Me & Sarah after the shower

I just have to add that my Dad always talks about how I need to do something with my hair other than just have it straight and down all the time. Growing up, he used to curl my hair for church and other events, so he asked if I wanted him to curl it again. He curled my hair before the shower, so that is why it actually looks "fixed". It was funny because the rollers were extremely hot and Dad cursed when it burned his fingers...he commented that the only difference is now he is allowed to curse if need be :)

24 Weeks - Ear of Corn

Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

Pretty crazy to think about having something the size of an ear of corn in my belly!! I have several other posts to do, but they may have to wait until sometime over the next few days. I am just exhausted this week! I had my glucose tolerance test on Monday at my monthly doctor's appointment. It was also wonderful to hear the baby's heartbeat again - that sound never gets old!

Brad and I joined the local Recreation Center tonight and worked out. Yay us! I am looking forward to going and walking on the treadmill and participating in their prenatal water fitness and yoga classes. Gotta stay in as good of shape as possible so that the birth goes smoothly (and the weight doesn't pile on)! Look for more updates over the next couple of days!!

Belly Update: 23 weeks

I would say that the belly has grown in the past couple of weeks! I can tell it is getting more and more difficult to get out of bed - it takes me like 5 minutes to get re-situated after my middle of the night bathroom break!! The baby girl has been super squirmy the past few days - it is so amazing to think there is a little baby moving around in my belly! Next on the agenda is leaving tomorrow to go to Phoenix to see family and have my first baby shower! And then another doctor's appointment on Monday. I have to be good about sweets between now and then because I am having my glucose tolerance test then. Anyway, here is the belly shot at 23 weeks - enjoy!!

Marking Another Item Off the List

I love lists. I live by to-do lists. It makes me happy to be able to mark things off my to-do lists. This weekend, we were able to mark yet another item off the Baby Katie To-Do List - registering. Yesterday we went to Target and successfully registered. This afternoon, after taking down all the Christmas decorations (hm...I guess I can mark that off the to-do list also), we went to Babies R Us and registered. It makes me so excited to think about all of those baby things finding a place in our home and being used so often. I think at Target I got a little carried away with the binkies/passies (I had no idea there were so many different kinds!) and at Babies R Us, I got carried away with playyard sheets and crib sheets. I guess with those different items, it is a good idea to be well-stocked. We registered for all kinds of items and I hope we scanned everything that we will need come May. If you want to see all the items we registered for (and feel free to make suggestions as to if I missed anything!), click here for Target or here for Babies R Us.

Now, time to prepare to go back to work tomorrow. I guess I am easing back into it because this week, I only work 2.5 days before I head to Phoenix for a long weekend!! :)

It Once Was Lost, But Now Is Found

WOOHOOOO!!!!! Thank goodness I left my information with the girl at O'Charley's last night - I just got a call...and they have my camera!! I was so mad at myself for losing it. I guess it fell out of my purse when we ate there last Saturday. I was gearing up to buy a new one, so that'll save me about $250 - hooray! Just wanted to comment on how excited I am! I think we are going to head out here shortly to go get my camera and begin registering. Today we will begin registering at Target, and then maybe tomorrow at Babies R Us! Yay! Happy Saturday!

Baby Brain

It is real...and it has been happening more and more often these days. And not only is it real, but it is so annoying and frustrating. A couple weeks ago at work, I got mad at myself for leaving my lunch at home on the kitchen counter. On my way home from work that day, it hit me that I had brought my lunch and put it in the freezer at work - how in the world do you forget stuff like that?!

Most recently, I lost my digital camera. If you know me well, you know that I really enjoy pictures and typically have my camera in my purse. When packing for our Greensboro trip, I could not find my camera anywhere. When we got home tonight, we looked everywhere in the house and in our cars and it is nowhere to be found. I also called Kohls, O'Charleys, La Hacienda, and the movie theater - all places we went this past weekend. ANNOYING!!! I guess these things do happen to a lot of people, but not usually this often...to me. For the most part, I consider myself to be a person that has there stuff under control - it seems as if my body is putting all energy into this growing baby instead of memory and typical events in my daily life.

The worst part is....I have been told it does not get better once you have the child...if anything, it gets worse! Should be interesting to see how this goes!!

Happy 2009!!

Wow...I can hardly believe that it is January 1, 2009. It just seems like we celebrated the entrance of 2008! I am so excited about what this new year has in store for us. While I am excited about the future, I also look back at 2008 with great memories. One of the biggest memories was mine and Brad's trip to Europe. What an amazing opportunity - two and a half weeks traveling around Switzerland, Italy, and France. This past year also included many exciting moments for our friends - between engagements and weddings and additions to families, as well as expecting new additions to their families, it has been quite exciting. My mom faced a few extra challenges this past year, but I am happy to say that she is doing really well. In fact, I told her I think she has recovered back to her "normal state" (whatever that maybe...hehe). I am very thankful that she recovered somewhat speedily. The doctors told her that it often can take up to two years to recover from a brain injury, and though it is frustrating, here we are 9 months after the fact and she seems to only be having her typical, age-related "brain farts". Hooray! We can definitely handle those :) This past year was also very challenging for many people across the world. We are so lucky to have good jobs, a roof over our head, food on the table, and great family & friends surrounding us.

Finding out that Brad and I would be welcoming a bundle of joy into this world was probably the most surreal experience of 2008. I think we appreciate it that much more because it took a little extra work - and we really cannot wait to meet her! Only 4 months to go, which sounds like a lot, but considering we have known the good news since the end of August, that is no biggy at all!

We look forward to what this year holds for us, and we know that as long as we continue in our faith and walk alongside eachother, we can face any challenge or triumph. Thanks so each and every one of you that has played an important role in our life. vvAs we toasted to the new year last night at midnight, we dedicated the toast to Baby Coulter - what a wonderful and special toast to share with some of our best friends. We wish you all a healthy, happy, and fruitful 2009!

Here She Is!!

Well, here is one of the copies of a picture from the big ultrasound! We had several of them, but this is the only cropped one (the rest have my social security number on it - probably not the best to post online)!! I think it is so cute...it looks like she is waving at us! I still sit and watch the DVD of the ultrasound that they gave us. It is so neat to see all of the details of our baby - from the heartbeat to the brain and the spine and the rest of the bones...truly amazing!! What an exciting year 2008 has been, and we are very much looking forward to 2009! We hope everyone has a fantastic New Years celebration and will post again in the new year!!

Christmas Memories

This picture was taken at the Christmas celebration with my dad's side of the family. We finally were able to celebrate with only minor bump in the road - someone else's place 2 floors up caught on fire and we had to wait in the lobby for almost 45 minutes!!

Clearly this is me and Brad on Christmas Eve when we celebrated Christmas with his mom, grandmother, aunt, and uncle. It was so great to relax and be able to visit with everyone! Sadie really enjoyed having everyone at our house so that she got some extra love!

This was Christmas morning before we headed to Meme's house for round two. Props to excellent photography by Brad - great picture of me and mom!


Here is a picture of me, Brad, and Will on Christmas morning at my mom's house. Will almost had his eyes open...I guess this will have to do!

And my Christmas Day belly shot...I am 21 weeks 3 days here.

Merry Christmas

I just wanted to write really fast and say how lucky we are. We have the best family and most wonderful friends ever. We both have jobs. We have food on the table and a roof over our heads. We have a sweet baby girl on the way (who, by the way, really enjoyed Christmas - she was quite active!). We are just so fortunate and I am reminded time and time again, but especially on Christmas. I always enjoy seeing everyone and catching up while enjoying some delicious food. This year was no different. We were able to enjoy each celebration and not rush from place to place. I know we are so thankful for every blessing and celebrate each day.

I hope each and every one of you was able to enjoy Christmas with friends and/or family and remember the reason we celebrate is not all the wrapping paper and presents and sales....it is Baby Jesus' birthday!! :)

First Annual GNO Ornament Exchange

A group of us girls got together for dinner at Red Pony last night and we started a new tradition - an ornament exchange. It was a great time to get together and catch up over some delicious food and not have to stress about any number of things holiday-related. It was very low-key, and all we had to bring was a cute ornament! We drew names and whichever name you drew, you got the ornament that person brought to the dinner. I got the ornament that Cat contributed (see picture below - it's already on the tree!) even though she was not able to be there - we missed you!! I can hardly wait to get together next Christmas and add another memorable night to the books and another pretty ornament to the Christmas tree!!

Sadie & Callie = BFF

It's A Nursery!

Well, we definitely had our work cut out for us when it came to cleaning out the office/catch-all room. As I mentioned in a previous post, we stayed up super late the other night clearing everything non-baby out of that room. What a great feeling - it actually echoes in that room if you go and talk in there! Here are a couple of pictures of what emptiness looks like....now let the painting begin!!!

Picture: 21 weeks

Here is the latest...I think my belly looks kind of awkward, but I guess that pretty much summarizes how pregnancy can make a woman feel....awkward. It is absolutely amazing to feel Baby Katie kicking and squirming around in there - pretty neat that there is a living, growing baby in my belly!!!

Old Friends

Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold....

On Saturday night, we went to celebrate my friend Jill's graduation from Lipscomb University. Jill and I have known eachother since kingergarten. She is an amazing woman who has been through a lot, but she has kept at it, and it definitely payed off! We all had a great time - it was nice to see her family and catch up, as well as seeing old friends from when we were growing up.

CONGRATS, JILL!!!!!

Work Christmas Party

Third Time's A Charm

Well, I am officially a Baptist!! In order to become part of Brentwood Baptist Church, they really like all of their members to have had a uniform experience of baptism. I was raised Methodist and had been baptized twice growing up - once as a baby and once as a young girl - though both of those experiences were just "sprinking".

The service was really nice - it was a special baptism service where a total of 28 people were immersed. It had a really nice, personal touch yet did not last all afternoon. Here are some pictures from the day - the first is me getting ready to be dunked, and the second is after the service with Mike Glenn, Senior Pastor at Brentwood Baptist.

Celebration of Pink

To celebrate the exciting news, my dad and Robbin sent us flowers!! How exciting...Brad had never gotten flowers (even though this arrangement was to both me and Brad), so that was pretty exciting. Here are some pictures of the beautiful arrangement!

Thanks, Dad & Robbin, for such a beautiful arrangement - what a fun surprise!!

Proud Mamma

Brad took a picture of me with a picture from the ultrasound - notice how happy I am that we have found out we are having a BABY GIRL!! In this picture, I am 19 weeks 4 days. All I have right now is the DVD of the ultrasound and some pictures of our sweet baby. I am going to try to do screenshots from the DVD as well as scan the pictures so I can put all the ultrasound photos on here. Maybe that will occur sometime while I am off of work for the holidays...we shall see :)

21 weeks

I love the emails I get that let me know what is brewing in my belly. What I do know is that she has been quite the active little lady for the past day or so. Another weird pregnancy-related thing is that I have been SO thirsty...and water with lots of lemons is the only thing that really tastes good! One of the things on this message that is different here is that she weighed 11 ounces at my big ultrasound, so she definitely weighs more than just 10.5 ounces at this point! And I believe when it comes to weight gain, I am on the lower end of average (THANK GOODNESS) at about 10 pounds!! Anyways, here is what my email said this morning:

Congratulations, Ashley! You're 21 Weeks Pregnant. Your baby measures about 7.2 inches from crown to rump and weighs about 10.5 ounces. He is steadily gaining fat to keep warm. Growth rate is slowing down but organ systems, like digestion, are continuing to mature. A waxy film, called the vernix caseosa, is being produced by your baby's oil glands and covers the skin to keep it supple in the amniotic fluid. Buds for permanent teeth are beginning to form. Friends, relatives, and even strangers can probably tell you're pregnant by now. Your uterus is starting to extend above your navel. You've likely gained between 10 and 14 pounds.

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice...

I just wanted to comment that GOOD GRIEF all of the sweets this time of year are killing me!!! I do not have enough self-control to "only eat one". We went to a graduation celebration for one of my best friends from growing up (pics to come later), and of course they had some deeeee-licious desserts. I told Brad on the way home that I had a headache from all the sugar and really needed about a gallon of water to drink.

Sweets are definitely my weakness - they always have been. I am starting to get a little nervous about the 1-hour glucose tolerance test at my next doctor's appointment. I have to drink some kinda stuff and then get blood drawn to see if my body is still processing it properly. If it does not, this equals gestational diabetes (not good).

So my point is...thank goodness the temptations of the holidays are thankfully coming to a close within the next few days. This will make me practice self-control (hopefully).

On a different note, I went today and had a 1-hour prenatal massage and a facial...how wonderful!! I wondered how they do do the part of the massage where you lay on your stomach...at this spa, they actually had a cushion with a hole in it for the belly! I kind of giggled when I was getting situated because it is rather strange to lay down and put your belly in a hole! It ended up being very comfortable, though. I think Baby Katie was glad that I was taking care of myself some today...she did some serious kicking and squirming in there!!

I will do some more posts maybe tomorrow, but for now, I am gonna hit the hay. I was up til 2:00am last night because Brad and I cleaned everything out of the office/catch-all room/nursery - it is amazing to think that that is going to be our sweet baby's room! Next on the baby preparation agenda....painting!! The bedding came one day this past week, so we can take that and match the paint color to one of the colors in the bedding. Then we will get the carpets cleaned, and then finally we will get the furniture and Brad can assemble it. I think we put our own personal deadline of finishing the nursery at Valentine's Day...I guess we shall see if we accomplish that daunting task!!

Already On A Schedule

It is so strange...I was sitting at my desk this morning thinking of all the times I feel sweet baby kicks. It seems as if Baby Katie is already creating her own schedule. I feel her moving around when I drive to work, around the time I eat lunch, around the time I eat dinner, and then when I go to sleep at night. This could also be that she is awakened by my eating, but I still find it interesting. I think she likes chocolate as much as I do - she definitely gets to movin' in there whenever I eat a couple pieces of candy!!

Halfway There

Twenty weeks....I can hardly believe I am at the halfway point already! What an amazing experience it has been so far, and I can hardly wait for the rest of it!! We are thrilled beyond belief that we have a healthy baby girl growing in there and cannot wait to meet her. There are a lot of things on the To-Do List that we need to take care of, but I am trying to remind myself to slow down and relax when I can because in May, that will be a lot more difficult! We can't wait to meet you, Baby Katie!

Already A Daddy's Girl

We got home from a Christmas production at Brad's mom's church and were sitting on the couch relaxing. Katie (still trying that one out - would name her Katherine Elizabeth and call her Katie) started moving around a lot and Brad put his hand on my tummy and felt her moving!! How exciting :)