Our Little Butterball For Thanksgiving!

Today we went for our 30-week check-up and ultrasound. Morgan has fattened up quite a bit in the last 10 weeks! She's now at about 17 inches from head to toe and about 3 lbs. 5 ounces. Finally, her little cheeks are getting poochy and she's starting to look more like a chubby baby! In these pictures, she has her hand flipped around in front of her mouth, like she's kissing the back of her hand. We tried to get her to move it, but she just DID NOT want to cooperate! Stubborn, just like her daddy!

She got another great report from the doctor and is still right on schedule with her development. Her heartbeat is still going strong at 137 bpm and her eyes are now open (although they're closed in these pictures). She's able to hear now, too, so Mommy and Daddy have to be careful with the screaming on game days now! That's going to be really tough with the Iron Bowl coming up...

We're slowly getting everything together for her big arrival. We had two beautiful showers thrown for us last weekend and our wonderful friends and family gave us lots of adorable clothes, blankets, toys, and other necesseties. We are truly blessed to have such amazing people in our lives! I'll be posting pictures from the showers very soon, so check back in for those. In the meantime, please remember to keep our little butterball in your prayers. Thank you all so much and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Check Out My Crib!

Fall has finally arrived and so has the Baby Countdown! We've started on the nursery and our wonderful friends have the planning for our baby showers well underway!

We decided to decorate the nursery in a soft, light pink with soft, white baseboards and doors and espresso-colored furniture. Brad and I managed to get the nursery painted in about 2 days total and it looks great! Here I am doing the trim work. Brad was in charge of using the paint roller on the large parts of the walls. Of course, Bob had to supervise the progress...
The funniest part of the whole process was that Bob kept using the open window to come in and out of the house as he pleased. He found this to be quite convenient and fun! Well, later that night, after we had finished painting, we were cleaning up and all of a sudden, we heard a loud "thud!" Turns out, Bob had tried to jump back through the window from outside and we had closed it! He went face-first right into the window! Poor Bob!

We've also started getting the baby furniture! My grandparents on my mom's side bought us the beautiful crib and we absolutely love it! After some logistical problems, I managed to get it home. I had gone to pick it up in my jeep thinking that it would fit in the back with no problem! So, there I waited out in front of the store in my jeep, waiting for them to bring it out to me and load it up. Then, there it was... a HUGE, 125 lb. box that easily rivaled the size of my entire jeep! There was no way it was fitting in there! So... In distress, I called my father-in-law. Randy to the rescue! With no complaints at all, he came right away to the store with his truck in his pajamas to help me get the crib home! How sweet is that?!

Brad and I managed to assemble it tonight with only a few snags and it looks great against the paint color and the white baseboards. I can't wait to get all the other furniture and decorations in the room and see the finished product! Bob had to supervise on this project, too. Here he is giving his final inspection and approval. Apparently, he wants to make sure the crib is extra safe for his soon-to-be little sister.

Next up will be the changing table/dresser and hutch, which matches the crib. Hopefully, that'll pass Bob's inspections, too!

As for everything else, we're all doing well! I went for a check-up last week and met one of the other doctors in the practice. The group likes for their patients to rotate around to all the other doctors to get to know them in case one of the other doctors is on call when I go into labor. This rotation, I met with Dr. Sparks, the head of the group. He said everything was progressing right on schedule and her heartbeat is still strong and healthy! This week, I'm at 25 weeks and am finally starting to put on some weight. Morgan stays quite active, especially at mealtime! She wiggles and kicks like crazy anytime I'm eating. Seems like our little girl is happy and healthy and that's all we can ask for! God is so great to have blessed us with such wonderful friends and family and our sweet, little girl! We appreciate your continued thoughts and prayers for her health and well-being! Thanks and we'll keep you all updated!

Introducing Morgan Elizabeth Latta!

Here's Morgan's first official picture! This was done at our ultrasound with Dr. Gregory yesterday. The tech switched a few times to the 4D view during the ultrasound. This is one of those 4D shots when she was sucking her thumb. Right after this, she stretched and yawned-- it was so adorable! As you can clearly see, she has 5 little fingers on each hand. We were also able to see her profile picture on 4D and I'm pretty sure she has Brad's nose, which is fine because I think he has a nice nose! From the front, she's got that cute, little button baby nose. =) I can't wait til she arrives and I can kiss those little fingers and that button nose! We did get a video of the whole ultrasound, 4D shots included, and heartbeat recording. We're in the process of trying to figure out a way to upload it to the computer, so that we can either post it to the blog or send it out in email form. Just bare with us! If we can't figure out a way to do it, then I'll burn some copies to mail out for parents and grandparents.

The doctor said she's still doing great and is right on schedule in her development. She was so pleased with her progress and with my health that she's not having me come back for another 4 weeks. When I return, I'll start rotating through the other doctors in the group, so I can meet each one in case they're on call when I go into labor. I'll still be alternating those visits with visits to see her, so that she stays on top of my progress. We should start going every 2 weeks or so when we start going back next month, then we'll go every week as the due date approaches, so we should have a lot of reports to post then!

The nursery plans are moving right along. I think we've finally settled on a paint color and I'm getting together tomorrow with my friend, Denise, to finalize the bedding and curtain details, so she can get started on making everything. What a great friend she is! Hopefully, I'll be able to post a few pictures soon of the progress.

Baby shower plans are also underway. My 2 great friends, Lindsey and Lani, are planning the "friends and family" shower probably November 14th, so ladies, if you fall into this category, be watching for your invitation coming sometime next month! We'll also be having a "church and choir people" shower and a "law school buddies" shower, so that should cover everyone's categories. If you just have no clue which category you fall under, just shoot me an email or leave a comment and I'll be happy to let you know!

God has truly blessed us with this beautiful little life developing and we thank Him everyday! We are also extremely blessed to have such wonderful friends and family in our lives. You are all such an important part in our lives and we appreciate your involvement, your kind words, and your prayers for our little one on the way! God bless you all and we'll keep you updated on Morgan's development!

The Half-way Point!

Well, we finally made it to the half-way mark! This week marks our 20th week! We realize we've been slackers about keeping the blog updated, but not much as been going on for the time being, besides my ever-enlarging belly. I'm at that point now where I have to suck in and look down over my stomach to see my waist, which to someone like me who has always tried to eat healthy and keep trim, is a little disconcerting to my brain. My brain is thinking oh no! We've got to seriously lose some weight! So, I'm constantly having to remind myself that I am, indeed, pregnant and this is completely normal. Hopefully, the light bulb will come on soon and I'll move past the gotta-stay-in-shape phase. On the bright side, I am finally okay with wearing normal shirts that show the fullness of my tummy, so we're making progress!

As for Babyland, we did go back to Virginia College a couple of weeks ago to get a confirmation on the baby's gender. We actually got the teacher to check for us this time and sure enough, she said she felt it was definitely a girl (although they can't say for sure the baby's gender due to legal reasons). I would have updated pictures to post on here, but the baby refused to cooperate this go around! She did enjoy a nice workout of let's-play-punching-bag-with-mommy's-bladder though while we were there. It was quite funny! You could actually see her throwing little jabs with her fists and little kicks at the area where the teacher said my bladder is. She's just in training for beating up on Daddy when she arrives! =)

We've also started on the nursery this week. We picked out a pretty light peachy-pink color for the walls and will go ahead and get the room painted over the next few weeks. As for the bedding, one of our good friends from church has offered to make all of our bedding and accessories (curtains, pillows, etc.) for free for us! We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends in our lives! We have 2 of the fabric prints picked out so far; a pretty light peachy-pink solid color that matches the paint we'll be using and a striped pattern that has that same peachy-pink color, white, and a darker salmon color in it. I'm wanting to add in a 3rd pattern with a white background (to tone down some of the pink in the room) with small peachy-pink flowers or flower buds on it to complete the ensemble. Whenever I find the last fabric, I'll post some pictures on here, so you all can get the general idea of what the nursery will look like.

We have our next appointment with Dr. Gregory on the 15th. We'll also be getting another ultrasound then AND a take-home DVD video of the baby that we can share with you! Then you all can see our little gymnast in action! Stay tuned...

Pink and Flowers It Is... Or Is It???

Brad and I went back to Virginia College today for our 16 week ultrasound and got a nice surprise! We thought that it might still be a little too early to tell the baby's gender, but the tech claimed she saw the magic "3 lines" and therefore was pretty sure it was a girl, although she couldn't say 100% because #1) she's just a student and #2) who can really be 100% with an ultrasound anyway? I mean, it's an image pieced together using soundwaves, people! So, for the time being, we're going with the girl prediction and embracing it as much as we logically can unless someone tells us otherwise!

On my way home, I just couldn't help myself. I made a stop off at Babies R Us and, feeling as though I'm far enough along at this point, took my rightful place at the racks of baby clothes to peruse. We had made a trip in there about a month ago, but I felt a little silly at that point, being that I wasn't really showing then and I had no clue what to even look for, much less buy! The whole baby store experience reminds me of those exotic birds on the Discovery Channel. Although nobody will admit it, all of the mothers-to-be in there are secretly comparing their "baby bumps" to the other mothers-to-be, and like the exotic birds, the mother-to-be with the biggest bump (or brightest feathers in the birds' cases) is automatically the queen of the store. And it isn't even something that has to be announced! The other moms just know. (I know I'm going to get some smart aleck comment from my husband on this). By the way, this competition also took place at VC while everyone was waiting for their respective ultrasounds. I caught a couple of the women in the waiting area glancing around and comparing. Back to my story...so, feeling that I fit somewhere in the middle layer of moms-to-be, I picked out a couple of adorable little girl outfits and a little stuffed sheep with a pink bow on her ear and made my way to the check-out. "Are you buying off of a registry today, ma'am?" "No, I sure as heck am not! My registry gift days are over! ... for the time being." Ok, I didn't say all that, but I sure was feeling it. I know there are other moms out there that have been through this same stuff... am I right?

Back to the big announcement though. As Brad and I were walking to our cars after the ultrasound, I said, "You know she's going to have you wrapped around her little finger, right?" To which he simply grinned and nodded, which I thought was so sweet and endearing! =) A few minutes later, as I headed back home and Brad headed back to his office, I got a text from my mother-in-law, Lisa, saying that Brad had already posted the update on Facebook, which also melted my heart! For those of you that don't know about Facebook, ask around to a few people. You're bound to run into somebody that knows about it and can explain it to you... kinda like that 6 degree thing with Kevin Bacon.

Now, with all that being said, the big question on mine and Brad's minds is this: just how reliable are those 3 little lines??? I've read several articles online tonight about women going for their ultrasounds around 16-18 weeks and being told they were having a girl from those 3 little lines, and then a few weeks later, it turned out to be a boy! So, I'm going to post our "proof" here and get your feedback on it. What you're looking at here is the little bottom on the left side (as if the baby's sitting on the "camera") and the 2 little thighs sprouting out toward the right side on each side of the little bottom. The evidence in question is obviously between those 2 thighs. I know the picture is a little grainy, but if you look closely, you can supposedly see 3 small horizontal white lines.

Now, on to exhibit B, or picture #2. In this next picture, which is a little closer up, you can still see the bottom on the left side, then you see the baby's left thigh sprouting out at the bottom of the picture and the right thigh, towards the top, is barely visible. In this picture, the 3 lines are larger and more visible, but the middle line seems longer than the other 2, in my opinion, which I read can be the little penis. I'm also wondering if the little girl parts would be that far away from the apex of the thighs, but I'll let y'all be the judge and tell me what you think. (I also realize I'm going to catch it from Brad on this, too, as he's getting a little annoyed with me obsessing over what the baby actually is).

Please keep in mind that we are extremely excited no matter what the baby is, boy or girl. I'm just so ready to start buying stuff and getting the nursery ready, but we don't want to do anything until we're absolutely sure (or as sure as we can get) that we know what we're having. We're going back to VC in 2 weeks for an 18 week ultrasound, so maybe things will be more pronounced then. If not, then we have our "official" 20 week ultrasound with Dr. Gregory, my Ob-Gyn, 2 weeks after that, but I'd be interested in hearing your inputs as to what you think!

I'm hoping to have Brad take our 16-week belly picture tomorrow evening (he fell asleep tonight!), so hopefully, I can get that up on the blog soon. Brad started a new job this week, which he's really liking, so he's still getting used to his new schedule. Praise God for giving him this job and thank you all for your prayers during these tough times for us! It looks like we may have found the other end of the tunnel, finally! Thanks again and I look forward to reading your comments!

No pictures, please!

OK, so I know we haven't updated the blog lately, but that's just because not much has been going on lately. We're in waiting mode right now to find out what the gender is, so baby-life right now is pretty mundane. I'm at about 15 1/2 weeks today and according to our baby books, we have a little orange at this point. The baby is in the process of growing hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes and is starting to be able to recognize light, although his/her eyelids are still sealed closed and will be for awhile. Amazing considering about 3 months ago, we only had a little poppy seed!

We DID discover an interesting tidbit of information from my friend, Lindsey, though. Apparently, Virginia College (a technical school around here for you out-of-state folks) offers free ultrasounds every Thursday, so that their students can get hands-on training. It's completely free and the only thing you pay for is the ultrasound pictures if you want them, which are $10. This just made my day! We had gotten so spoiled in the beginning of the pregnancy because they were doing weekly ultrasounds for us to make sure the baby was doing okay, but now that we're past "the danger zone", my doctor is being a lot more stingy with the ultrasounds, which leads to a nervous Steph. I start not doing so well after about 2 weeks of not seeing our little one and, being that he/she is still too little for me to feel yet, I start worrying. So, the fact that we can go to VC anytime we feel like it is a Godsend!

We took advantage of this new found information last Thursday and headed over to VC for a piece-of-mind ultrasound, as it had been about 3 weeks since we had seen the baby. The tech we had was extremely nice and was willing to find anything we wanted on the screen (i.e., feet, hands, legs, face, etc.). Being that she's a student, she had a list of items to find on the ultrasound and label for her assignment, so we were able to see the baby for a good 20 minutes or so while she did her assignment. During this 20 minutes, our little one decided to give the tech a hard time! She kept trying to get his/her face on the screen and everytime she would just about get it, the baby would flip over with his (again, I'm using "his" for simplicity's sake) back to her! He flat out refused to have his face be seen! It was the funniest thing! He was flipping and doing somersaults... anything to avoid being seen from the front. He even tried to kick the probe away a few times! Finally, towards the end, she got him lying on his back and we were able to see the profile of his face for a few seconds... until he covered his face up with his hands! Haha! We were all laughing hysterically! He already has a little personality and he's (at the time) only the size of a lemon! You will be happy to know though, that we have 5 little fingers on each hand!

One of the senior techs came in toward the end of our ultrasound and was able to show us the legs, leg bones, and skull, all of which are growing just fine. She also said that we might be able to tell the gender in 2-3 weeks, so we made an appointment to come back in 2 weeks, which is Thursday, August 13th. Hopefully, we'll get lucky and will know what we're having, but if not, then we'll just keep going back each week til we find out. We have a follow-up apppointment with my normal ob-gyn on the 19th, but no ultrasound scheduled (as I mentioned, she's being stingy with the ultrasounds). I think she's waiting til I'm at 20 weeks for the next one, just to be sure we can see the gender by then. We've decided that if we get lucky next week and are able to see what it is, then we'll buy those pictures and will post them on the blog for everyone to see. I'm sure you're all starved for updated pictures! In the meantime, just keep those prayers coming!

13 weeks!

Stephanie is at 13 weeks and 2 days today, and things are still going well. We go back to the doctor on Monday, which will be very exciting.
Also, we find out the baby's gender ("sex" sounds weird to me. I know, I'm like a teenager) in about 5-6 weeks, so we have that going on too.

Steph has been feeling better lately since adjusting some of her medications, and I've read that the second trimester is the easiest, so this is good. We're beginning to develop ideas for the nursery, and will start working on it when we find out the "gender".
-Brad