Thank God for a great evening!!!!

First off, today was a pretty stressful day for both mommy and daddy. Nothing seemed to go right for either of us! We were both so ready to just be home and enjoy our evening together. Well, little did we know that tonight was going to be absolutely WONDERFUL!!! Daddy and the FedEx guy pulled up at the same time! Your bedding finally came in!! We opened it and LOVED it and are so glad we went with that choice!! It's a "barn dance" theme and so cute. The colors are great and match all the things we have previously bought! Yay! So that was a great turn on our not-so-great day! Then we were relaxing on the couch after dinner and you started kicking mommy!!! I told Daddy that you were moving and he started feeling on my stomach. You kicked his hand several times. I was amazed when Daddy said he could feel you. We swapped out his hand with my hand and I felt you too!!! You kicked us several times...in the lower left region of Mommy's stomach! It was truly amazing!!! You just made our evening!!! Thanks baby boy! And we get to see you bright and early tomorrow!!! YAY!!!

Pictures of your new bedding
"Barn Dance"

For now the quilt is just layed over the crib, we are contemplating hanging it on the wall behind the crib. Not sure yet! Decisions decisions!!



Up close picture of the pattern:




Inside of crib:




Mommy @ 22w4d




Again:




Mommy - getting big!!!



Again:




Daddy - 22w4d ;)




Again:




And again ;)




These were the first pair of boots and Nikes your mommy and daddy gave cousin Tanner. He has given them back to you so that you can wear/enjoy them!







And then Mommy and Daddy got you your first pair of flip flops!!! They are so tiny and cute.




In comparison to Daddy's hands:



Your new outfits!!










This one says "Tought like Daddy"




Uncle Bud made this boot bank for your Daddy in 1982 and he's passing it on to you!









Daddy's Mommy made/painted him this music box when he was a baby, it has also found it's new home in your room!!










Whew! Long post! That's it for now.

xoxoxoxoxo

18w5d

Okay, I am a little behind posting these. These are from our sonogram with the doctor.

18w5d
















22 Weeks

How far along: 22 Weeks


Maternity Clothes? Yes please!! Just bought new maternity clothes this weekend. So comfy, and not all that bad looking. :)
Sleep: I still am very sleepy at night. I am ready for bed around 7:30 every night. My poor husband!

Movement: Still just the flutters. Can't wait to feel kicks!

Food Cravings: Mexican food!

Food Aversion: Just depends. I know what I "don't" want more than I "want" these days.

Symptoms: Heartburn/indigestion. Thank God for Tums!! Even though they only give a few minutes of relief.

Belly button in or out? In - but getting really really close to being out!

What am I looking forward to: Our sonogram this Wednesday!!! Can't wait to see our sweet baby boy again! Also looking forward to Mason's bedding coming in the mail this week sometime!!!

Weekly Joy: All the flutters, family time and everytime my hubby holds, rubs, touches my belly!!! Cuddling has gotten so much sweeter :)

Weeks 21-24 (Month 5): Papaya


Watch what you say -- baby is now able to hear outside noise from down in the womb. Studies show that baby finds gentle music and your own voice most soothing. Nipples are starting to sprout, and that little face is fully formed. And, baby's starting to settle into sleep cycles, snoozing about 12 to 14 hours a day. It shouldn't be hard to figure out when -- just pay attention to those kicks as they start and stop.

Weekend Wrap-up

What a great weekend!! Friday we did a little birthday shopping...which was a little different than all the years before! I shopped for maternity clothes and new shoes. I'd have to say that was the first time I wasn't sad/upset about buying "bigger" clothes!! At least this time I have a reason for that. :) Oh and I found Mason some little bitty flip flops. I will take and post a picture tonight. They are adorable. That night we had dinner with Jess and Logan. Saturday we celebrated with all of the family - lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings, bowling and then hanging out at my parents house. It was nice to see everyone. Sunday didn't do much, I lounged/rested with my Diesel boy all day. He has a little cold and hasn't been feeling that well. The vet suggested giving him children's benadryl and that made him very sleepy. It does seem to help though. He was so sweet and attached at my hip! So I tried not to get up or move around as much as possible so that he could get rest and feel better. His sad puppy dog eyes just melt my heart. And he was loving on me, like I was the sick one. He's just so sweet and the best puppy ever. I love him so much!! Today he is home with daddy! He got today off for Martin Luther Kind Day....well I like to say he got off for my birthday. LUCKY! :) I wish I was home with them.

Well today is my birthday and Mason is giving me the greatest gift EVER!! He's been moving a lot today. It makes me so happy to feel him. I am not feeling the kicks just yet, still the flutters!! I'll take all I can get!! Can't wait for him!! (in due time of course). It's a special birthday because I am carrying this little miracle growing inside of me. And then next year he will be here!!!!!

I checked on Mason's bedding today! It shipped from California the 14th! So hopefully it will arrive in a few days. I am mega excited about that.

xoxoxo

Nothing better than a great report from your doctor!!!

I had a 21.5 week check-up this morning and it went just fabulous!! Dr Greve said that I am doing perfectly and that he's pleased with my pregnancy thus far. He said that I am right on schedule with measurements, weight gain, etc. That totally made my day!!! Below are the details from today:

Blood Pressure - she didn't tell me the numbers, but said it was perfect!

Masons heartrate - 145bpm

Belly Measurements - 22cm

Weight gain in 5weeks - 2lbs

Weight gain in 21.5 weeks - 12lbs

I go back Wednesday, February 10th for my Glucose screening! Not looking forward to that one.

Wednesday the 20th we get to see our sweet sweet baby boy again!

Oh and they gave me a "Pre-Registration" for the hospital packet. Put things into perspective much!?!??!

xoxo
Crystal

One HOT mama...

And by that, I mean that I woke up at 2am with my esophagus on FIRE!!! I have never ever in my life had heartburn before, until last night. I mean, so far I have had a "By the book pregnancy" meaning, if it's in the book as a possibility, then you can bet your sweet cheeks I have had it. I was really hoping this was one pregnancy symptom that my body would pass. That it would feel bad for me for all the others and just skip right over that part. Ha! I've heard from other friends how miserable and painful it was....and was hoping it wouldn't happen to me. BUT I couldn't be so lucky!!! At 2am I woke up with severe pain and burning from my throat down my to stomach. It took me a minute to wake up and realize what it was. It scared me at first because I've never had it. I laid there hoping it would go away...but it only got worse. I finally woke Nate up (I am sure before that with all my tossing and turning) and asked him if I could take rolaids. I was at the point of pure misery and couldn't take it any longer. I couldn't breathe and all of my insides were on FIRE! Nate jumped out of bed and ran to my rescue with the rolaids. Only, they didn't work quite as well as I had hoped. It was 6 rolaids and 2 hours and 45 minutes later before the pain eased one bit. And then it was time to get ready for work. I was sooo nauseous and still hurting. I've had the heartburn all day, just not as severe as last night. I am praying that I will be able to sleep tonight. Not only for myself, but for my sweet sweet husband and my Diesel boy! They were right up beside me all night. I feel horrible for keeping them up.

I know this will all be worth it when I hold my sweet baby boy...but for right now I can pray for it to go away, right?!?

I think tonight will be a sandwich, relax and sleep kind of evening. Yep, sounds better and better every time I think about it.

xoxo
Crystal

New Hat...

Mason, here is a picture of a crocheted hat a very good friend made for you! :) Krista Brower (your future mother-in-law) made this and it's adorable!!!



Also, here is a picture of your future wife!!!! :)




xoxoxo,
Mommy

Head over Heels in Love....

With a blog called Notebook Doodles! You can find it on my list that I follow. Some of my favorite word art/pictures:











Christmas Pictures 2009


Pictures of Mommy and Daddy Christmas of 2009.

We were 18w1d pregnant with you!









Uncle John, Aunt Nicole, Daddy, Mommy, Uncle Scooter,
Aunt Leslie, and cousins Jaxon and Tanner.



Misletoe!!!!



xoxoxoxo

Lotsa Pics - Part 3

Sweet Baby Mason's Nursery!!!!

Mason's crib with some of his new outfits. The first outfit Nate and I
bought at Babies R Us. It's so sweet. Hopefully it will be his going home
outfit if it's not too big. The Camo overalls we bought in Canton. The 5
John Deere outfits are from his cousin Jessica. And the overalls we ordered
from Children's Place. Too fun!!!



Right hand side of Mason's room.



New dresser from Mason's Papa Stowell!! He got it at our
favorite anitque store in Hachie. LOVE it! Dad is going to
stain it a little darker to match the "Expresso" color of our crib.
He's in the process of moving right now, so it will be after the move.
I couldn't wait and already stored stuff in it. :) Aww, nesting!



Top of Mason's dresser...for now. I am going to paint the
Train letters to match his bedding. The boot bank and musical box
on the right hand side were Nate's when he was a baby! I am so happy
to get to display them in Mason's room!



Mason's "Big Brother" Diesel hanging out in his room!



Mason's rocking chair we found at Canton!!! It was perfect and we
couldn't pass it up. Nate and I bought the monkey on the right
hand side and Papa Jacky bought him the sock monkey!



Mason's new diaper bag from Canton!



Mason's TV from Papa John, and rockin' bull from Papa Jacky!



Bucket of toys and boys!



Temporary bedding until our new set comes in the mail. We
bought this set at Canton, but weren't completely happy with it
once we got it home. We ordered a more "babyish" theme from
Babies R Us. It's a "Barn Dance" theme and sooooooo cute! Can't
wait to get it.



Just an extra blanket monogramed!



That's it for now. I am sure it will change again...hey I am pregnant and
reserve that right! Plus, we want it to be absolutely perfect for our baby boy!


Lotsa Pictures - Part 2


19w3days

The angle on this one makes me look HUGE!!



I like this one better!!




And of course...Daddy at 19w3d




Lotsa Pictures - Part One

Here are the pics from our first "gender determination" sonogram - December 19th at Stork Vision. We were so blessed to get to see our little Mason in 3d.

Didn't take her long to find his "boy parts" at all!!



Here Mason is facing the camera! They call this the "Alien" shot. Aww...




Mason is still facing the camera in this one, but here he has
his hands up by his face!



Awesome picture of his spine!



And then the awesome 3d images of our SWEET BABY BOY!!!

Mason Lane Hall






Never Say Never...

Okay - so I remember early in my pregnancy someone was talking about belly buttons being innies or outies. I made the comment "Yeah, I don't think my belly button will ever be an outie because it's so deep in my stomach. It's almost touching my backbone!!". And I totally believed that to be true. But let me tell you, pregnancy is FULL of surprises. You never know what to expect when it comes to a pregnant woman's body!! Soooo...Tuesday I was reclining on the couch watching Deliver Me (of course!) one of my favorite baby shows on DHC...looked down and saw my stomach that seems to be growing by the minute. I lifted my shirt and what did I find?!?!? Low and behold - my belly button is just minutes from being an outie!!!!!!! OMG - well, maybe not quite...but it's definitely almost even with my belly. I freaked out and texted Nate right then. Later did I found out he read it in front of his Mason buddies at the lodge and laughed out loud!!! Anyhow, before I could stick half of my finger in my belly button, but not anymore....just my finger tip! So crazy.

Now I spend so much time laying down and staring at my belly just waiting for Mason to move!!! Can't wait for that.

xoxo
Crystal

It's A.............................

BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are having a SON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay!!!

Wow, so much to catch up on! It's been crazy with the holidays...I don't even know where to begin!

Well, about a month ago we scheduled a sonogram at Stork Vision in Mansfield for December 19th. We wanted to surprise our family with the news of the gender of the baby (hopefully) for Christmas. Also, Stork Vision offers a dvd of your session and my doctor does not. This is a keepsake/memory that we wanted to capture during this special time in our lives. On the way there I was so nervous. I forced down my bottle of orange juice, even though my stomach was in knots. I heard from many people that the orange juice will wake the baby and WOW that worked for us. We got to Stork Vision about 45 minutes early. BIG mistake on our parts! I was dancing around the whole time, trying not to pee on myself. Being pregnant and drinking 1 bottle of water and 1 bottle of orange juice is not an easy thing to do, if you can't go to the restroom. The sonogram technician likes for you to have a full bladder...makes things easier to see. By the time we were called back I was over the nervousness and just READY!!! The room was so nice, warm and cozy. There were couches and a flat screen monitor to view the sono. It only took her about 5 seconds to find the baby's "parts". I saw it really quick and leaned over to her and said, "IT'S A BOY ISN'T IT"??? She said, it sure is a boy...and then she pointed out the parts!! Nate was completely shocked/surprised. He thought for sure Baby H was a girl!! I had a "feeling" from the day I found out that I was pregnant that I was having a baby boy. I never strayed for that and for 18 weeks I told Nate it was a boy! So, it was mostly just a confirmation to me!!! She let me go to the restroom before continuing with the rest of the sono. She knew I had been waiting a while! RELIEF!!!! I came back and we finished the sonogram. Our baby boy was so active and moved so much. It was amazing to see so much movement from our little guy. Words just can't even express. He was moving his arms, his legs, toes and fingers. She counted his toes and fingers for us. That was pretty neat. At one point in the sonogram we were watching the 3d version and he grabbed his foot and just held it. That was our favorite part!! It was just too cute. He flipped, twisted and moved the entire time. So great!!! We just couldn't believe what we were seeing. The sono technician printed 6 pictures for us, gave us a cd of the images and the dvd of the whole session! It was such a great experience. In the beginning I did not care for the 4d sonograms at all...but after the experience we had and how amazing it was to see our SON on the big screen, I think they have a returning client!! I will take any chance I get to see him!!!

We had a second sonogram on the 23rd with our normal doctor's office. We wanted 2 chances to find out before Christmas. Our 2nd sonogram confirmed that he was "still a BOY". This sonogram was neat, and different though. Since it was with a doctors office they could discuss the medical terminology with us. She measured every little part of his body, pointed out everything to us and confirmed his gender. She said that his kidneys were working, he was swallowing, and that he had 4 chambers to his heart. Yay!! Everything looked great and he was right on schedule with growth. He was 6.5 inches long and weighed 8 ounces. We go back the 20th of January for another sonogram. They want to check the blood vessels around his heart. The doctor said that it's not because he suspects anything is wrong, but it was too early to see details of his heart. We are praying everything is okay with his little heart!!!

Telling the family was great! We had so many plans and great ideas!!! We made our baby boy a jersey/onesie with his name and the number 10 on the back. 10 was his daddy's baseball number for 20+ years and also the year he will be born. It turned out SO cute!!! For Christmas with my family we made a shirt that was baby blue and said, "It's a boy". My mom motioned for me to go put in on once most of the people were in the same place at the same time...and that's hard when you have a family of about 75. My sister did a great job by telling everyone to come in for pictures. Nate and I were SO nervous for some reason. We were shaking and our hearts were beating hard and fast. I am not sure why, hello it's our family. But I guess it was just the thought of having about 75 faces looking at you!! So someone says, who wants to go first and I said, I guess Nate and I will...and then we stepped out with our shirt on!! I am not sure who caught on or read it first...I thought it was Donia and Nate thought it was Tira. =] It was pretty fun!

We are naming him MASON LANE. It wasn't one of our names from the beginning, but Nate mentioned Mason one day and I said, Mason Lane, that's it...that's our name!! We both fell in love with it and love it more and more everytime we say it. It's amazing that our baby boy now has an identity and a name!!! It's no longer "It" or "The baby"...it's "He" and "Mason".

We are so in love with him already and want nothing but the best for him!! It's truly amazing how much you can love someone that you have never met! That's the miracle of God!!!

Mason got so much stuff for Christmas!! It just made Nate and I so happy to open stuff for him! He is our world now and that's all we are focused on! His Papa & Mimi Stowell got him a 32 inch flat screen LCD tv, $100 bucks and a digital picture frame!!! Plus lots of goodies in his stocking that will definitely come handy!! Aunt Leslie, Uncle Scooter and cousin Tanner got him a diaper bag with a teddy bear and blanket, Aunt Leslie made him an awesome blanket and his first scrapbook page!! Uncle John, Aunt Nicole and cousin Jaxon got baby mason 3 outfits from Carters. They are cute. And FINALLY something that says "Mommy" on it! Everything always says Daddy! But that's okay too. I find it adorable. Papa and Granny Hall got Mason his crib and a Sealy Posture-pedic mattress!! They also got him a padded mattress cover and sheets. They too filled his stocking with goodies. Papa Hall got Mason a rockin' Bull. It's like a rockin' horse, but only it's a bull. It's awesome and I can't wait to take pictures of Mason on it. NeNaw also gave Mason $100 bucks. We are going to set him up a savings account very soon! Cousin Jessica bought Mason 5 John Deere outfits and 3 pairs of socks. They are all SO cute!! I can't wait to see Mason in them. THANKS EVERYONE!!! What a wonderful Christmas. Mason is already so blessed and will be welcomed into this world with amazing people!!!

As of today we are 19w3d pregnant. Almost half way there!!! Baby Mason is now the size of

A mango. Mason's legs have now approached their final relative proportions. Mason is packing on the "Brown fat" to keep him warm. Vernix, a milky white coating that protects your Mason's skin, appears all over your his body to keep his skin from getting pickled in the amniotic fluid. Under the vernix, a fuzzy layer of hair called lanugo now covers his body. Mason's sensory development is exploding! His brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that he may be able to hear your voice now.

Stay tuned...many many pictures to post. Just have to gather them off all of our cameras!!!

xoxoxoxoxo,

A very happy mommy and daddy!

December, already?

Sorry that is has been so long since I have updated this blog. It's been a whirlwind lately. Extremely busy and crazy...Thanksgiving...black Friday shopping...etc. Baby H even got to go to his/her very first concert! Saturday we went to the House of Blues to see our cousin Selena Gomez perform. It was really neat!

Anyhow, we are 15w3d now. Baby H is now is the size of:



So far I really love the 2nd trimester. My sickness has gotten so much lighter and I'm not as extremely tired as I used to be. That's a plus. For Nate too, I am sure. I was able to wake up at 4:15am Friday morning to brave the shopping crowd! Continuing the march towards normal proportions, Baby H's legs now outmeasure the arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. Baby H is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though I haven't felt the movements yet. Can't wait for that!!!

We are putting up/decorating our Christmas tree tonight. I am excited to hang our "Peanut" ornament that the Halls got us that represents Baby H. It's so cute. It's a Peanut with a baby face!

And I know, I know, we are slacking on the pictures. We will get some soon, I promise.

xoxoxo