Here WE Are!!

Here we are at almost 20 weeks (19 weeks, 4 days)!!  The little guy is kicking around like crazy now.  It seems he gets stronger every day.  Our 20 week appointment is on Wednesday and I'm anxious to see what my belly measures in at!  Some things are starting to get a little bit more difficult to do, reaching down for things and sitting comfortably are quickly becoming more of a pain but other than that I feel amazing.  Now, if I could only find some cute maternity clothes!!  

Michael Lincoln at almost 20 weeks!

Whoa, we feel good!!

"I triple-dog dare you..."

I wanted to share this quick link/story with you.  

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,480097,00.html

I'm not sure that anyone else will appreciate this as much as I do. Funny story, when I was about ten my sister, Michelle, triple-dog dared me to do the exact same thing as the young man in the above story, and all because of that damn movie. Needless to say I was so freaked out when my tongue actually stuck to the street sign that I just tore it off. I later found out that a little warm water would have cured by predicament. 'Til this day there is still a piece of my tongue on the street sign that marks my parents corner. Let this be a lesson learned, trip-dog dares are incredibly dangerous!! 

*Crazy little coincidence that the above story hails from Hammond, IN, which just so happens to be where I was born and lived for the first few years of my life.*

The Room is Spinning and Something's a Flutterin'!!

18 weeks is here, and so is our fifth month!  I'm not nearly as big as I expected to be.  I think it's possible that I had built it up in my head that I was going to put on all of this weight, and I'm actually below the curve with weight gain at this point.  I'm really good about eating fresh fruits and veggies.  In fact, I prefer them.  I bought my first "pregnancy food" just two days ago, needed chocolate ice cream in the fridge for some reason.  Had a few spoonfuls and I was finished with it. 

The only side effect of this pregnancy that I just can't get used to is the dizziness.  Any time I go to stand the room starts spinning.  I've had to be very careful to stand and sit-up at the pace of a snail.  I'm also to the point where I absolutely cannot be on my back at all.  Pregnant women aren't supposed to sleep on their backs because the weight of the baby/uterus applies pressure to major arteries that run down your spine and quickly lowers your blood pressure.  My doctor told me a minute or two to stretch (which I love doing) would be just fine.  I just can't do it.  The dizzy spells are quite annoying.  The little aches are a piece of cake compared to my inconsistent equilibrium!  What a pain.  Our next appointment is on the 28th.  We'll see if this little guy and I are going to slip into a growth spurt sometime soon.  

As week 17 arrived I started feeling little flutters in my belly.  I think I mentioned before that our last ultrasound confirmed that what I was feeling was in fact little Michael.  They've become consistently harder in the last week or so and I'm noticing it particularly in one spot (lower right quadrant).  I wouldn't say I'm feeling kicking necessarily, just some movement.  I'm looking forward to that first POW he delivers to me!  Oh, how I can't wait!!  

Belly pics coming soon...

Rockets Take 2nd!!

As I had posted previously, Dennis' club volleyball team participated in a tournament last weekend.  Some last minute details were changed.  We were unable to get into the tournament in Dewitt, so instead traveled to Sterling, IL to partake in a day of volleyball festivities.  We did start our travels on Friday night, and shacked up with Danielle to cut our drive in half for Sunday.  We had a blast with DL.  We had dinner at this pub called Kelley's in Davenport and then headed to the District for Dennis' favorite daiquiri at The Daiquiri Factory!!  It's amazing how much fun they pack into a 16 oz. frothy beverage.  It was a great night of catching up and relaxing with Danielle.  We were up at 5:30 to make our way to Sterling.  Dennis' assistant wasn't able to make it to the tournament, so I offered up my services considering I spent many of my teen days on a volleyball court and traveling from one tournament to another with my two club teams.  The day got off to a rough start considering we were tossed into the tourney literally the day before.  But, the day quickly became hours upon hours of volleyball fun.  Our girls improved game to game and ended up heading to the championship match where they fell to the Bettendorf Black 13 team.  So, in the first tournament of the year we took 2nd and walked out of there with a piece of hardware!!  Many of the parents took pics, I will do my best to get one up on here when I get my hands on one or two.  We have a couple weeks of practice to get ready for our next tournament.  We host the Rocket Blast on the 25th, where teams will travel to Iowa City from all over the midwest to compete.  Should be a good time.  If you wanna see some good volleyball we have plenty of room for visitors!!  Go RoCkEtS!!

Behind the Name...

Why Michael Lincoln you may ask?  Well, let me tell you...

Naming our little boy may have been the easiest task concerning this entire pregnancy!  When Dennis and I began discussing names I simply asked him if he could name his son anything what would it be.  He quickly replied with "Michael".  The wonderful thing about this is that I have always said I will name my first son Michael.  It just so happens that we wanted to name our first born after the men who have influenced our lives the most.  Both Dennis' dad and my brother share the name Michael, and so he was named.  Convenient and smooth!!  Dennis has a wonderful relationship with his dad, one I'm sure he hopes to have with our son.  Not to mention, Mike has been incredibly helpful in guiding Dennis in I in the many details involved with starting a family.  We respect him immensely, and know more than anything that he will be a fantastic grandfather to our son.  

On the other hand, I wanted to name our peanut after my brother for many, many reasons!  Michael (my brother) has always been the man in my life.  There I was the oldest of four girls when he came into the world, and I wanted nothing more than to be a big sister to a little guy.  Michael and I have an incredible relationship, one I couldn't explain to you.  What I can tell you is yes, my brother may only be 14, but he has been my best friend since he was born.  He has taught me patience, understanding, and that perspective is the key to resolving situations.  He is everything I would want in a son, eager and full of life.  But, more importantly he respects women in such a way one cannot teach.  It quickly became a part of who he was growing up in a house full of strong-willed women, and it will make him a better man.  He is looking forward to becoming an uncle and having someone younger than him he can play ball with!!

When it came to giving our Michael a middle name I was quick to offer Lincoln.  Dennis didn't object.  Both Dennis and I are Republicans and proud of it.  I wanted our son to have a strong name.  One he would appreciate when he was old enough to understand why we went down the path we did when naming him.  Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican president of this union, was a man who knocked down barriers and fought against what may have been popular at the time for what was right.  I'm not going to give you a history lesson on Lincoln here, but I will tell you that what this man did for our country has you and I where we are today.  

So, there you have it.  Michael Lincoln.  Not to mention, his initials will be MLB... is it baseball season yet?!