Baseball Games and Baby Showers

What a crazy week it has been. Our church, First Baptist of Ft. Lauderdale, had organized it's Vacation Bible School for this week, and I was thrilled to be asked to sing on the praise team. We spent about a month rehearsing and it really paid off. We sang about 6-8 upbeat songs every morning, and when I say upbeat....I mean we were rocking the house (of the Lord). We did have dancers on stage, and because of the energy the singers got just as vested in the movement. It was my workout every morning. I'd come home completely exhausted, but there is no time for rest in my life, and I certainly had a full week of evenings planned as well.

One fun evening activity we enjoyed this week thanks to the Rainer's was going to a Marlin's Baseball game with Jenn and Joel Collins. We had terrific seats right in front of the bull pen and that's what kept my attention most of the evening. It was fun getting to watch each pitcher warm up before they were called out. At one point before the game started the catcher threw a ball right to us and Tim caught it. Yay, we have another thing for little Connor's Red Sox themed nursery. Yes ladies and gentlemen, we are about to go all out Red Sox for our sweet little boy. After taking him to his first baseball game in utero I can say his daddy is already planning subsequent trips to different ball parks in the near future once he gets here. I hear the Red Sox are coming down for Spring Training in February...

Another fun activity that we had this week was a beautiful baby shower for my dear friend Sarah Rainer. She is expecting a bouncing baby boy, Nathaniel, in August. It has been really amazing to be pregnant at the same time as some of my friends, some near some far. To be able to reach out to these girls and compare notes and feelings and experiences had been invaluable. As I sat there and watched Sarah open up all of her great presents I could feel the anxious bubbles building up inside of me, and no it wasn't Connor doing back flips. First, I need to get serious about what I need for baby Connor (ie a registry). Second, I need to get started on his nursery. Third, I have to put together some great lesson plans for when I'm on maternity leave. I know it will all work itself out, but up until now I haven't really had the time to think about any of it. I certainly have the urge to nest and it's starting to give me anxiety because I can't start just yet, not until Tim can help out, and he's alllllmmmmoooossstttt done with his MBA. When his classes start to ease off, he's all mine. While Sarah was opening all of her gifts, she did such a great job describing every item, and expressing what each is used for at what time in development. Haha, I need to do my homework.

One of my favorite things that happened this week was in the form of a sweet surprise from my incredible husband. I had mentioned to him only once about these very cool speakers that you attach to your belly to pump in music to the baby. I just thought they were the neatest thing. Well, he surprised me with a pair and little Connor and I have been enjoying this new form of stimulation. This little guy certainly jumps around to certain songs, and I love having another way to connect with him. Here is what Tim got us http://www.bellybuds.com/

Disney the Preggo Way

Well, I did it. I spent a week at Disney in the middle of June with a Heat Wave and survived. The few times we did venture out during the day it felt like you were standing next to a car muffler. I won't lie, it was hot, brutally hot. Thankfully my very loving and understanding family made the deal of only going to the parks during the extra magic hours, which translates to late at night. For example we did 10pm until 2am at the Magic Kingdom and it was pleasant enough not to want to streak. During the day we went to the pools, watched reruns of Friends, or spent time shopping at the outlets, and I even got to go Wedding Dress Shopping with Heather. We certainly found ways to stay inside the AC. We stayed in a cabin at Disney's Fort Wilderness, and I kept it right around 68 degrees....don't worry, I don't think it ever once hit that number, the AC had a little trouble keeping up. Should I even mention we lost power 3 times? Cooking dinner, AC blasting, people taking showers, and one blow drying her hair does not bode well for a circuit breaker. It also doesn't bode well for a preggo when the cabin is heating up and the power is out for an hour. At that point we scarfed down dinner and headed to Animal Kingdom. Side Note: Animal Kingdom happens to be the hottest park to go to because of all of the foliage and lack of room for air to blow around. In other words, Animal Kingdom is perfect in February. Another Side Note is that most of Animal Kingdom is closed during the extra magic hours and only people who don't have babies in their bellies can go on anything that happens to be open. My fun ride for the evening was in the wheel chair they rented for me. That wheel chair came in handy when we went to see Festival of the Lion King...talk about great seats and no waiting in line. Tim even got picked to lead our elephant group, and he did a fantastic job. We only rented a wheel chair 2 of the nights we were in the parks. The second place was Epcot, and that was purely because of the size of the park. Everyone was really able to enjoy every park we went into, and got to do all of the rides they wanted. I enjoyed the more relaxed Soarin', Pirate's, the Great Movie Ride, and lucked out with the new Toy Story Ride. Everyone else scored with multiple rides on the Tower of Terror, Test Track, Everest, and Space Mountain. Listen, I was fine with it because I sat in nice air conditioned shops while they waited in line. Don't worry, I've spent my fair share on all of those rides with my numerous visits to WDW in the past. The most important part was how much fun we all had together, even when our Mickey Bars melted before we could even eat them.

While we were in Orlando Grandma and Grandpa Hebebrand, and even Dale, came down to visit. We spent all of Saturday with them and it was so fun being together and having them witness my baby bump. To see the joy on their faces about this upcoming great grandchild really warms my heart. Grandpa was telling everybody about this little boy. Strangers in the lobby heard, our waitress at dinner, anyone he could find who would listen got the news. It's precious. Grandma of course brought her bags of things, and she had scored some very cute little outfits I can't wait to try on little Connor. I really enjoyed this trip with my family. Of course it's fun to go to Disney, and very interesting when rides are limited, but I enjoy the intricate way our personalities fit together like a puzzle. Kaitlyn of course had fun pin trading with every worker she could find, mom loved having us together in one place, Casey enjoyed all of the art we stopped to look at, and Tim loved feeling Connor kick everywhere we went. That little boy will be ready for Disney once he gets here that's for sure. We already have our first trip planned. Roxy even got to go, and she stayed at the Kennel that is right on Fort Wilderness property. We tried to take about an hour everyday to go over and visit her. She loved being out in the open, next to the horse stables, chasing after birds and retreiving sticks we threw. She's a spoiled-by-love pup.

Tim and I were lucky to stay longer in Orlando even after my family left. We got to spend quality time with the Allen's and nothing could be better than face time with Heather. While we were there with them we took time to go to De Leon Springs and swim in the frigid pool and eat in their cute little restaurant where you make pancakes right at your table. What a fabulous vacation. We will have one more get away in July up to North Carolina, and I'm looking forward to the temperature up there. Heaven is in those Smokey Mountains.

Here is Tuesday night, almost 22 weeks at Epcot. The bump is here.

Heat!

It's getting hot in here!!!

It is amazing how even though it's summer....somehow it seems even hotter! I realize that the mid to high 90s is pretty hot for the typical person, and for some crazy reason I think it feels even more hot to me. I practically want to strip the moment I walk outside. Let's be honest, even when I'm not outside I feel like my skin is too much clothing! I really think I'm a walking sauna. I think I'm a glutton for punishment because we're heading to SUNNY Orlando for a week of Disney Madness. Don't get me wrong, I am thoroughly looking forward to a week of fun with my whole family, but I don't think I'm going to leave our room if the sun is out. I'm going to become a pregnant vampire. I won't live on blood but I'll survive on A/C preferably set at "arctic blast". I have heard mention of pool hopping during the day, and I'm hoping they put ice cubes in the pool. I'm envisioning floating on a cold lazy river sipping some sort of virgin pina colada. That will be Disney Magic.

Speaking of magic, I'm done with school!!!!! Praise the Lord the year is over. I couldn't be any more thrilled. It has been a very interesting year filled with many new learning experiences. January brought two very tiresome things in and of themselves, the pregnancy and the play. Doing both might not have been the best idea, but I feel very accomplished by it all. It is very uncommon for middle schoolers to even give end of the year gifts, but I did get a few very sweet things, all relating to little Connor. I got a sweet little outfit, a photo album, and even a little teething toy. The most surprising gift was from a sweet group of girls in the form of a gift card. Thanks to their thoughtfulness I will be purchasing the stroller I have picked out. What an amazing end to the year. Mom pointed out that last year I got Home Depot gift cards and this year it was Babies R Us! Life is moving fast and I'm jumping right on board!

A Strong and Loving God

This is what girlfriends are for:

One thing God has spoken,Two things I have heard:That you, O God, are STRONGAnd that you, O Lord are LOVING.Psalm 62:11

Let me tell you a little story. Our news this past Thursday wasn't completely and only good news. While they were doing the sonogram to find out the gender they found a cyst that had formed in Connor's brain. I can say we felt a rollercoaster of emotions that day filled with highs and lows. The midwife we saw said it could be absolutely nothing, or it could indicate something wrong with Connor's development. They of course referred me to have a Level II Ultrasound of which I had yesterday. I had done a really good job staying off of the internet and looking up all of the syndromes that were associated with a choroid plexus cyst, but I had a moment of weakness the day before my appointment and did some digging. BAD IDEA. Let me suggest you never do that, it's not worth the hours of worry and sinking feeling that it brings with it. When you see Down's Syndrome, Edward's Syndrome, and Spina Bifida roll across your screen, your heart breaks for the little baby growing inside of you. I let some people in on our hours of crisis and I can honestly say that this episode was well prayed over. Going into my appointment yesterday I felt such a peace at what the Lord had in store. The doctor's office was very nice (praise the Lord) and we had a very indepth appointment. The skilled technician took many incredible pictures, of which Connor wanted to cover his face and hide, and the Doctor went over each picture slide by slide. I must say they did very thorough measurements of EVERYTHING and they completely ruled out Down's (by measuring his brain), Edward's (by his incredible growth, he was at 20wks 5days yesterday), and Spina Bifida (with a beautiful picture of his perfect spine). We could even see his little lips and they ruled out cleft pallet. The doctor said he looks like a perfectly formed little boy, and as a bonus we have beautiful sonogram pictures to prove it. We even looked at all 4 chambers of the heart and his little stomach, and the way his blood flows in and out of his umbilical chord. The doctor says that sometimes babies have cysts, just little pockets of fluid that get trapped, and eventually they will dissolve and go away. I can remember looking over at Tim and my mom sitting in the room with me and I started to tear up. My little baby boy is ok. Oh Lord thank you for listening to our prayers, thank you for hearing the cry of my heart. So I must say thank you one more time to my prayer warriors, I am ever so grateful for you.

Now onto some pictures.....here is 20 weeks!! I officially have a bump!! Little Connor is 13 ounces already!

Here you can see him covering his face with his hand....poor thing didn't want to be bothered!

His cute little profile! His chin is hiding!

It's his wittle foot!

To leave you with a cute little story I have to mention that Tim likes to play Major League Baseball 2005 on his PS2. He doesn't play very often, but he usually does if I'm out of the house for whatever reason. Months ago, when he found out I was pregnant he decided to create another character to play for his Red Sox team, and named him Connor Petersen....I think he was already hoping then. I don't know why, but I think it's so endearing! Connor's already playing for the Red Sox. Oh Boy!

Bouncing Baby Boy

Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. ~ Psalm 127:3 from NIV

We had our "Big Appointment" this past Thursday. I couldn't sit still in my classes knowing what the afternoon was going to have in store. I was so antsy. I left school as quickly as possible and I was able to make it home and even change clothes before my 3:45pm appointment. Mom picked me up and everyone met at the doctor's office. To say that feet were tapping and fingers were twiddling while we waited is a gross understatement. I can't even tell you what we talked about. I was finally called in by the sonogram technician and she very quickly told me "Husband only." I remember looking back at the rest of my family sitting in the waiting room thinking I wanted everyone there for the unveiling. When I got into the sonogram room I explained that to the woman, and she said she would do some measurements first and then we could call in the rest of them. According to the measurements the baby was measuring 3 days bigger than what it was scheduled, which I find pretty interesting. Then she told Tim to go and get everyone else. When everyone was situated inside the room she brought up a very clear picture on the screen and announced that I was carrying a little boy. Mom wanted to know how accurate that was, and the technician told us she had never seen a little girl with what was on the screen. To say the least it was a very very very clear picture, of which I won't share on here. Tim was immediately thrilled and announced how excited he was to coach little league. I was a little more quiet trying to wrap my head around what to do with a little boy. I think I'm a little nervous about it. Boys are still a mystery to me. I hear they are easier, but I don't see how that's possible. I know girls, and bows, and clothes, and pink. I understand make-up, and hair, and mood swings. I'm going to have a lot to learn. At least I like sports! It's a little intimidating to say the least but I'm up for the task. I'm more than happy to help raise a young man in the ways of the Lord who is a true gentleman. He can be a man's man and still treat a woman like gold. We need more men like that. My prayer is that we raise him to honor God, to trust Him no matter what and to treat others with gentility, grace, and respect. I can't believe I'm having a boy! Let me introduce you to him.....

This is Connor Jacob Petersen:

Everyone sitting in the waiting room ready to be called:

After getting the big news:

Clearly everyone is thrilled!

With the soon to be grandma!:

First "boy" purchase sent by my amazing Aunt Carol. I am truly blessed, this couldn't be any more perfect or special.