Where did November go?

This month is flying by! I can't believe it is almost Thanksgiving. Usually I feel like November goes by slow, but it seriously has felt like I blinked and all of a sudden it is the 19th!

I have been pretty busy with work lately. We have had a lot of professional development this month, I went to a math conference last weekend, and we have parent teacher conferences on Monday and Tuesday. But then, we have the rest of the week off! Yay!! I am so excited for Thanksgiving this year. We really do have a lot to be thankful for. We are going to Indiana for the weekend and Brad's mom and sister are throwing us a baby shower! Yay!! I am so excited, it will be so much fun. It seems crazy that is it already here!

We have our big follow up appointment on Wednesday, so hopefully everything will be fine and the cysts will be gone. Please say prayers for us and the baby that all will be healthy. Also, I don't think I really shared this yet, but Brad and I have officially decided we are naming our son John Bradley Monhaut. :) I love it. John was Brad's Grandpa Monhaut's name, so it is pretty meaningful to us. It's been fun to refer to him by name :)

My mom, sister, and I went to some outlet shops in Birch run last weekend, and found some pretty cute boy clothes. His closet is quickly growing...doesn't help that his mom has a slight shopping obsession...especially when it comes to clothes. Oops. At least he will look cute!

This weekend will be busy getting ready for next week. I have a long list of things to do/appointments on Saturday, and then Sunday we are heading to Allen Park for a baptism celebration. Our friends Stacey and Danny had a little boy in June, and I can not wait to finally meet him! They are getting him baptized so it will be great to see them and their family.

Well, I am off to watch the Project Runway Finale! I'll try to post on Wednesday after our appt and give an update on his cysts. Thanks for praying for us!

22 Weeks!

Here is my expanding belly...notice Allie staring at me, like, "What the heck are you doing?"


Not too much going on this week. Brad has school this weekend, so my mom and I are going to hang out tomorrow while my Dad and Doug work on our bathroom. It is looking good, almost there! I can't wait to post pics of that soon!

Libby celebrated her first Halloween...her shirt says it all...


I ended up ordering a few of the GAP bedding pieces...and I don't like them. So tonight, as I was leaving the gym, I decided to take a left turn instead of a right turn and SOMEHOW ended up at Somerset Mall, in Pottery Barn Kids :) And walked out with some bedding...can you say obsessed? Anyways, I like it as of now, but knowing me, I always change my mind a million times. This is what I ended up getting:


Not all of it, just the bumper, sheet, and bedskirt. It matches the green in the room perfectly!

Well, it is off to bed for me. I am going to take advantage of Brad being gone and catch up on my DVR shows. Hope you all have a great weekend!

On Cloud Nine

This past week has been so much fun after finding out we are going to have a baby BOY!! The ultrasound was really such an emotional and awesome experience. It was so amazing to see our little guy moving around. Our ultrasound technician did all of her measurements first, and Brad and I were trying to tell what was what on the screen. Finally, she was able to zoom in and thankfully our baby was not shy! She pointed to "it" on the screen, and I think we were both in disbelief what it really was. When she said, "looks like a boy," that's when it finally hit us. My mom was able to come too, so she came in the room after we found out and we were able to tell her the big news. She was super excited too :)

I found out I have an anterior placenta, which is why I haven't really been able to feel movement yet. So, another few weeks and I should be able to feel him kicking away! I can't wait for that, everyone says what an incredible feeling that is!

Our u/s tech put the machine on 3D/4D, so we really got to see him moving around. It was way cooler in person, but here are some more shots from the appointment:

This first one is of his knees and his legs crossed at his ankles...I love this one!

Some 3D images...It is crazy you can actually see his face!

This is one of my favorites with his little hand up by his eye...so cute!


We actually have to go back for another ultrasound on Nov 25th. The ultrasound showed two choroid plexus cysts on his brain. Our doctor told us that while this is not necessarily super common, it isn't really uncommon either. They usually go away by the 24th week and as long as there are no other indicators (which there weren't), there is really no need to worry. Well, of course I am worried, but I actually know of a few people personally who have had this same experience and all had healthy babies, so I think that helps me not freak out quite so much. We are just saying a lot of prayers that he is okay and we will follow up next month.

Brad and I went to Babies R Us to register this week and it was so much fun! When we went on Wednesday, we decided we would each buy an outfit, and he seriously had the hardest time narrowing it down...I think he had five in his hand at one time. It was so cute! He is so excited, it is really fun to watch.

My latest obsession is still bedding. I found a NEW set from GAP that I love, but it is pricey. I was so excited to get a 20% off coupon yesterday for online merchandise, but of course found out it doesn't apply to baby bedding...of course. But, I am still determined to find a way. In the meantime, I can dream about it. Here are a few pieces...




I know it sounds so cliche, but we already love our little boy so much! Brad and I both agreed that we all of a sudden feel so much more of a responsibility to our little guy, and so much more connected now that we know we have a BOY and got to actually see him moving around. Please pray for him that his cysts go away. Thanks to everyone for all of the support and well wishes. I will keep you posted... :)

It's a....

BOY!!!

I will write more details later, but we are SO excited and SO happy! We just went out to dinner to celebrate and are heading to Babies 'R' Us...Brad and I are each going to pick out an outfit :) He is sooooo excited, it is awesome!

Thanks for all the well wishes everyone!

Anticipation

My 19 Week Belly Shots



I can't wait until Wednesday!!! We have our big ultrasound scheduled and the anticipation is killing me! It's not just that that is causing me anticipation. It seems like lately, I a constantly find myself up at 3 in the morning thinking. Will it be a boy or a girl? What will the ultrasound pictures look like? What will it be like to REALLY be pregnant? Am I eating too much? Am I not eating enough (HA! Right!)? What will the hospital be like? What should we register for? What is it going to be like with a child in our house? How will the mornings be when I go back to work? Where will we take the baby for day care? What will it feel like to be a parent? How will it be to be working full time with a baby? Who is my substitute going to be? And the list goes on and on.

Brad is getting a little anxious too. He will ask me at the most random times things like, "What happens if you go into labor and I don't get there in time?" "How often does the baby eat? Why so often?" "What is the difference between a pack-n-play and a bassinet?" It's cute :)

So, we are anxiously counting down until Wednesday. I am just as excited to actually see the baby as I am to find out what the gender is. It will all seem so real. Although my expanding stomach over the past few weeks also reassures me its real. I am now wearing maternity pants, I love those things. They are so comfy!

Brad and I are going to a wedding next weekend, so I will get some more "real" pictures of us. I can't believe it's almost November! I went with my sister and Libby last weekend to get her 3 month pictures taken. Here's one I snuck on my phone. The actual ones are so much cuter! She is getting so big, smiles, all the fun stuff! Here are some recent cute ones too...




Well, I will keep you posted on our big ultrasound. We are praying for a healthy and cooperative baby! :)

Only Brad...

So this was our conversation last night while somehow talking about a picture of a really skinny guy:

Me: "I think you look good with some meat on your bones, I don't find real skinny guys attractive."

Brad: "Well, I don't like skinny girls either, obviously."

And he was serious. Oh, Brad, do not say that to your pregnant wife! And of course the "obviously" part was the clencher! HA! Lucky for him I was not very hormonal last night. He knew right away after he said it how it came out. :)

However, he does have a track record with this. Last year my mom, sister, and I went to the Mall of America. While we were shopping, he called and said, "Hey! Where are you guys, Lane Bryant?"

He was so proud of himself for knowing a women's clothing store. Oh, still so much to teach that boy!