My tiny Bump

13 1/2 weeks and I am just now seeing a small "bump." So if I was a celebrity would there be rumors about me being pregnant yet? Not sure. I still look and feel just slightly heavy. Though it is very fun to think I have a pregnant belly. In certain lights and certain angles you can see a distinct roundness of my belly. Not all the time.

Cravings

These cravings are so difficult to get adjusted to. As soon as I have a craving, it is gone. One day I made beef stew cause I thought it sounded SOOO good. Just after we ate dinner, I couldn't even put away the leftovers. The smell was so vile. At least to me. At that time. How can one want so fervently then shun just as fervently. I guess that is what it is to be pregnant.

My mainstay has been pizza. I could eat pizza for dinner most everyday and be perfectly fine. It really doesn't matter what kind, or where it comes from. Its all good. Ritz crackers have been a good stand by for my nausea. Too bad Krispy Kreme in Albuquerque have closed down, cause donuts have sounded good. Dunkin Donuts is down the street and mmmm.... good sprinkles!! Jordan went to Smith's (aka Kroger) at about 9:00pm one night to get me a sprinkled donut. And yes he came home with a few. Oooohhh it was sooo yummy.

Sometimes I can't even think of what I want, but I do know what I don't want. I was at a function last week and they brought in wings. Not spicy wings, but they still smelled so terrible to me. So food aversions, coffee, chicken, wings, and blue cheese dressing. At least thats all I can think of right now. I am sure there are more things, I have just not been around it yet! Sometimes its so funny, I will want some lemonade, but after drinking some, it just doesn't settle with me. That only really happens with drinks. I will think ooohh that sounds good to drink then taste it or drink it then just regret that decision. But ya know all I do is drink a glass of water and I am all better.

So a summary of my cravings so far, I want, I despise. I want, I don't want. And it just continues. Such is life. I am so blessed to have Jordan here that is gracious enough to get me things I crave, no matter what the hour. And I am blessed to even have nausea or cravings.

February's Ultrasound

Here are the promised ultrasound pictures. These were taken back on February 15th, when the baby was about 8 weeks along. In the bottom photo, you can see the baby measured about 2 cm in length, and the top photo shows the baby's heartbeat at 173 beats per minute. Both values are nominal for 8 weeks. We'll be heading in for another ultrasound around week 16-17, where we *might* learn the sex of the baby. I think we've decided that if the doctors know what the baby is, we'd like to know; but if not, we'll be happy to be surprised. We know that we want to have more than one child anyway, so it's not like I'll be painting the nursery blue or pink based on that ultrasound.

Tiffany is entering into week 11 now, so the 1st Trimester is almost complete. I know it will be a relief to both of us for her to start feeling better, have more energy, and finally get some physical evidence (the "baby bump") that the baby is on the way.

Kitchen gets an update

So technically this isn't about our baby, but being a future Dad this will be important for our baby, so I'm putting it here. (Besides, I'm not starting on the nursery until this is done, so this should hold me accountable to finish the kitchen in a timely fashion.)

We started our kitchen remodel back in September of last year by upgrading all our appliances to things that actually work and look nice to boot. The updating was a necessity because until you've had to wash your dishes three times (once before going in the dishwasher, once in the dishwasher, and once again after to get what's left off) you won't appreciate a dishwasher that does its job without extra effort on your part.

Once our kitchen was functional, we got in a bit of a lull and put off remodeling for a few months, but once the new year rolled around, we picked back up full steam. Our most recent addition has been replacing our laminate countertops with stone (Quartz) and upgrading our basic tile backsplash to a seashell/fossil inlaid limestone tile. We also took the opportunity to upgrade the sink and faucet to a more modern look. The results are pretty nice, as you can see from the above picture. If you never saw our kitchen before, take a moment to thank yourself and trust what I'm showing you is a major improvement. When the whole project is done, I'll show the before/after pics, so be patient.

This weeks task is to hang the over-the-range microwave. Now that the backsplash is up, the microhood can go up and I can start burning food on the stove again without the fire alarm going off.

After that, what's left if to replace the window treatments (read: burn those vertical blinds), update the lighting and add some hardware to the cabinets. Tiffany is in charge of the windows and I'm taking the lead on the lighting. We are considering some under the cabinet stuff, but the main replacement will be overhead. I looked into some very nice and stylish fluorescents, but they won't work because of our heating vents, so we may we stuck with track lighting.

Any suggestions you all might have, let us know.