Swollen...

Enough said....

Baby Shower #1

Well, we made it through our first baby shower! I was a little nervous about going through the whole baby shower thing; with everyone watching you, hoping you remember who everyone is as you open the gifts, looking good for pictures, etc. I have to give a shout out to my Aunts, though, because they can throw a great party! They did such a wonderful job in organizing the whole thing, and we feel so blessed to have such wonderful family members who care about us so much.
When it comes to baby items, the shower has helped out SO much. We are both teachers and on a limited budget, so we are trying very hard to budget the expenses but still have everything that we need before Evan arrives. The shower has helped immensely in our preparation! We can't tell everyone how much we appreciate their willingness to give and be a part of this experience with us. Thank you to everyone who participated and made this day special for us! We hope that we can be just as much of a blessing in your lives.

PS~You never know how humongous you are when pregnant until you see yourself in pictures! You think, surely that is not really how big I am?! Haha, that is, until you make the statement to your husband, "Wow! I'm gigantic!" And he simply replies, "Yup!" That is a humbling experience!

PSS~To see more pictures, simply visit our Web Albums Link.

Pregnancy Update

I don't want anyone to worry, but I started having small Braxton Hicks contractions this morning (5 weeks to go 'till showtime!). They actually started yesterday morning, but I didn't know that's what they were until it happened again this morning on the way to school, and then again an hour 1/2 later...and then every hour after that.

I talked to my nurse Denise, and she reassured me that this was normal for this time in the pregnancy, and gave me the signs to watch out for in case of a real contraction. I love my nurse and doctor! They always make us feel at ease since this whole thing is new to Chris and I.

I will keep everyone posted on how everything is going, and for now, please don't worry.

I'm off to watch Chris' band perform at his Pre-UIL contest at Westfield HS, and then home again to welcome my sister in from Lubbock. She came in this weekend for a family baby shower that is going on tomorrow, but won't get in until 10-11 tonight. Please pray for a safe trip for my sister, and also that these contractions are everything that they seem-fake and nothing to worry about! We love you all.

Pregnancy Pictures

If you'd like to view our pregnancy pictures taken at Target, please click this link. You can even order pictures from this website! Enjoy!

PS~If it doesn't take you straight to the pictures, the access code is LTT98101002014TAR, and the guest name is Kim Gonzales.

Dog Disaster

This past Tuesday was a complete nightmare! You know how you plan things out for the week? Each day has something planned that you either need or want to do. Well, Tuesday afternoon, Chris and I were working out in the yard (well, Chris was working and I was "supervising!"). We were planting some huge azalea bushes that Rebecca gave us (thanks Rebecca and Keith!), when our 3 year old mini dachshund starting chasing the pit bull next door up and down the fence. I bet you can guess what is coming...

Miles, our dog, started yelping uncontrollably. We think that the other dog's claw got snagged on Miles' lip, and it split wide open. Needless to say we had to figure out a way to stop the bleeding and get him to the animal hospital. Of course, it was 7:15 at night and we had to take him to the emergency clinic, which costs an arm and a leg just to walk into! But you take care of the ones you love, even if they are just a dog.

I ended up staying with Miles at the emergency animal clinic until 11:30 that night, and not getting home until midnight (this all being pregnant and getting up to go to work the next day!). We thought it would need stitches, but the vet glued it with some kind of skin adhesive and gave him some antibiotics. All in all, I think we were pretty lucky that it wasn't worse.

I hope that this doesn't happen again for a while, though. I could barely take sitting in the waiting room with others whose pets were in critical condition. It still makes me cry to think of an adorable white Labrador puppy that most likely had Parvo and who I don't think made it...

Hopefully our son will be "accident proof" and will be a perfect angel and not have to go to the emergency room! We've already had a talk and I think he agrees!

Painting the Belly!

What do you think of our "Little Punkin?" It is both mine and Chris' Spring Break, and we decided to go visit my Mom for a few days. While there, we decided to paint my tummy and have some fun! My Mom is always calling me and my siblings "Punkin," so we painted a pumpkin and will put it in a nice frame to give to her as a gift.

Chris painted both a pumpkin, and an Easter egg for the holiday coming up this weekend. Didn't he do an AWESOME job?! Neither one of us knew he was such a good artist, but he did a fantastic job!

Painting the Nusery....Finally!

Yes, we know....from all of the family and friends who were wondering when or if it would ever happen...we started (and finished!) painting the nursery this weekend! Actually, I should say that Chris started and finished painting this weekend. He is such an amazing husband, and he will be an amazing father by the way he shows his love everyday. I am the luckiest girl in the world to have a husband who would take his first "free" weekend in a long time, and spend it painting a room for our baby. He worked so hard, and I just hope that I can be as good a parent and work as hard as he has shown himself to work.

Here are some pictures of the room! And speaking of this, if anyone sees our camera, please let us know! We (I) seem to have lost it....!! I know if I just sit down and use my brain that I could think of where I put it..but I don't seem to have that much energy! So, these pictures are just from Chris' phone, but you get the idea of what the nursery will look like. The theme will be airplanes.

Before...


The first brush strokes!


The master painter!

Finishing touches...

And...voila! Hey, at least the paint is on the wall! What did you expect..a finished room?!! Hold your horses!

Busy, Busy, Busy

In an effort to blog about everything going on in our lives and not just the baby, I'm sitting down to write about the past week and the week to come.

Last week Chris and I were really busy (as if that isn't what we always are!). I am still teaching clarinet private lessons (which I will stop at the end of March-which can't come fast enough), and Chris had several band things going on this week. Mondays are busy with church orchestra practice, and Chris and I can't wait to live closer to the church so that we can feel more connected with the church and spend more time there. I teach on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and then Chris had band functions on both Thursday and Friday night until late.

Next week, we have another late night at church orchestra practice while getting ready for three banquets that we will be playing at next weekend, we have another doctor's appointment (exciting, yeah!), and I have a 2nd grade school program to put on Thursday night. This program is a point of contention with me, because my team at school is now pushing me to put on another program in 4 weeks, which just happens to be 3 1/2 weeks before I'm due to deliver baby Evan. Without saying too much, I wish they would look at the circumstances and try to help out where they can instead of being lazy! Ok Kim...enough on that topic.

I wish I could say that our lives are slowing down while getting ready for baby Evan, but it seems to be speeding up instead! If it's not the end of the year craziness at school for both of us, it's all of the baby showers that are coming up! 3 showers in 3 weekends, plus one at school for both of us! But, we absolutely love that we have been blessed with family and friends in our lives who want to take part in getting ready for this new phase in our lives. We couldn't even think of doing this without all of your support!

Ok, we love you all and will keep you posted!
=)