Oh Baby...

Baby Riley is growing...fast! Kelly took me to the mall to buy some maternity clothes necessities b/c I was running out of pants to wear....the belly band and the little elastic button extender have become futile attempts at making my pre-pregnancy clothes fit. (sigh). I had an appointment yesterday and all looked well. Riley had a heart rate of 152 beats per minute. They did an ultrasound and confirmed that she was, indeed, still a girl. Good news considering all of the pink in her closet. I've gained about 14 lbs so far, and my blood pressure has remained 112/60. I have the 28 week gestational diabetes test at the next prenatal visit on Oct 26th. I think she is laying on my sciatic nerve as I've been having numbness and the feeling of a "dead leg" on my upper left leg. I mentioned it to my doctor, but she didn't seem to be concerned at all. Other than that, all is well. Here is a picture at 24 weeks.

Kelly and I had a chance to go to the Clemson vs. TCU game with one of our friends, Drew, this past weekend. It was tons of fun, but we did endure a downpour during the second half. There's nothing like trudging back to your car after adding about 10 lbs due to soaking wet clothes :). Drew had never been to Clemson so we took him around and took pictures with Howard's Rock.

Also last week, Kelly and I celebrated Christmas in September. I had been telling him how much I was ready for Christmas lights, music, movies, cider, and s'mores to make a return. I absolutely adore those little traditions....So on our weekly "date night." Kelly prepared just that. First we went out to dinner, then we came back to the house to lay on the couch in our pajamas, watch a movie, all while sipping hot cider and s'mores made over the stove (by the way, i do a much better job of toasting marshmallows over the stove than over an open flame). mmm. Is it Christmas yet?

We make our first travel trip w/ the swim team this season on Friday. We will be heading up to Virginia Military Institute. Thankfully Kelly gets to come along on this trip.

Nothing Much...

Happy Birthday Justin! Today my little brother is 17. I sure wish I could be there to celebrate with him, and cheer him on in the football game he's playing tonight.

Last weekend my mama came up for a visit. We had a very relaxing weekend of shopping, college football, baking, and laying out in the sun. I love every moment I get to spend with her. I wish my dad could've come too!

Also, we made our last car payment, so we are officially debt free (minus the mortgage of course). There's a huge sense of freedom in that.

I guess the only other big thing is that baby Riley is due in less than 4 months. That thought really blows my mind b/c the first 12 weeks went by sooo slow. The last 11 have flown by. Hopefully the next 17 will be just as fast.

Name Game...

I guess the first big news to announce is that our lovely daughter has a name. Kelly and I intended to name our baby girl, and then let it be a surprise for all of our friends and family...but we were really torn between two names so we decided to let the GWU swim team take a vote. The two names being voted on were "Riley" and "Avery". Since all 60 swimmers know our baby girl's name it seems only fair to let everyone in on the fun. In the end, Riley won by 3 votes. We're still trying to pick a middle name, but Riley Elizabeth and Riley Kate seem to be the two names we keep coming back to.

Riley seems to be growing very rapidly. As one of my swimmers announced during

practice on Saturday, "Ashley's belly seems to have doubled in size over night." It might be true. I had my first melt down on Saturday trying to get ready to go to the Clemson game. It was 90 degrees outside and I couldn't find anything to wear. None of my clothes fit me anymore. I have one pair of jeans and one pair of black pants, but nothing in the way of shorts (at least none that can button). After trying on about 8 different things that looked horrible, I just sat down on the bed and cried. After having a moment, and accepting the fact that I didn't have a a cute summer-y outfit wear to the game, I threw on a football jersey and a pair of shorts that wouldn't quite button, and we were off :) By the way, there are very few places that

make me quite as happy as Death Valley on gameday. I truly love Tiger football!

The other exciting news is that my mama is coming up from FL to visit for a long weekend this Friday-Sunday. We're really looking forward to spending some time w/ her.

For those of you that have been asking. Here is a belly shot...22 weeks.

Small Happenings....

-Friday night was classified as "date night" and so Kelly and I got dressed up and went to dinner at Copper River Grill. very yummy. Little brother and daddy also won their first football game of this year's high school season 25-14. I made mom call and give us updates on the game.

-Saturday we had our very first swim team Risk night, and pulled out the good old fashion strategy board game. We ended up w/ about 10 Risk players. It was a great time of food, fun, and friendly competition. Kelly and I played at separate tables, and both won our respective games :)

-Sunday was church, and then a swim team cookout at my boss' house. It was really nice to spend time w/ swimmers outside of the pool.

-This morning (Monday) was our first day of practice (4:30 am wakeup!) and I had another OB visit. Everything seems well. My BP was 100/64, I've gained 7 lbs total, and baby had a heartrate of 152. I've been really tired and my lymph nodes are a bit swollen so they went ahead and tested me for mono...just precautionary...but I really don't think I have severe enough symptoms for it to be anything more than simple fatigue. I also have a few red dots on my hand (they have been there for several months, and i can't feel them at all), but the doctor asked that I go visit a dermatologist just to make sure they're not some kind of allergic rash...so I have that appointment next week.

-Kelly has his first ultimate frisbee game of the semester tonight at 8. Dudes and Dolls (the team Kelly started 7 years ago) is still going strong. He's happy he can still run w/ the "young guys".

Baby Nursery...

I think I had my first pregnancy craving...nothing weird like pickles and peanut butter, but I desperately wanted fondue cheese. We had a fondue night a couple of weeks ago w/ some of our good friends, Chris and Megan, and ever since then I'd been practically dying for more fondue cheese. One problem: not one grocery store in Spartanburg, SC carries it at this time of the year. Trust me, I know. 1.5 hours of searching later...no luck.

So...the good news is that we were making a trip to Atlanta this weekend to pick up some nursery furniture from Kelly's aunt and also to attend a shower for one of our friends. AND Publix in Atlanta carries fondue cheese. problem solved. My entire dinner last night was fresh baked bread and fondue cheese :)

Speaking of nursery furniture I thought I'd post an update of the baby's room. We were blessed to be given so much from Kelly's aunt and uncle at such a great price. All of the furniture and bedding was theirs. They also gave us a jogging stroller. Kelly's parents were absolutely wonderful as well for driving to Atlanta to help us load a truck and then back to SC to help us unload (and by "us" i mean Kelly since I was pretty much useless in helping to move furniture). The room still has a ways to go, but I think it's beginning to look like a nursery.

Latest Ultrasound Pictures

Here are a few pictures from yesterday's appointment...

1. She wouldn't turn to the side so this is a head-on shot of her face and belly

2. I love how she's resting on her little hand

3. Close-up of her foot (yay for 5 toes!)

4. A shot from her bottom upwards. Her knees are bent so that's why her legs look a bit funny. As the nurse stated, "Baby has no boy parts. It's a girl!"

IT'S A....

We are so excited to announce that we are having a baby GIRL!!! We'll post ultrasound pictures as soon as we scan them into the computer :)