A new project....

It is really difficult to know that an ultrasound can tell me if there is a boy or a girl in there...and I cant have it NOW! I just need to know already :) I'm ready to hit the order now button the bedding. I think I have finally decided on the two that were on my previous post the dots for a girl and the stripes for a boy. We have also ordered our furniture!! WooHoo! We found a great free shipping deal at JCPenny.com that ended today so we decided to go ahead and order! I can't believe James agreed to it....He doesn't like to spend large amounts of money! haha I guess he is just as excited as I am to see the nursery get under way! Below I posted a picture of the crib and the dresser/changing table. We love that it's a touch modern but not too funky!



As soon as we ordered the furniture last night I was already on a new project...Some kind of chair for the nursery. I don't really like the gliders that are out now. They are a little too old fashioned looking for me, plus, that motion of gliding forwards and backwards makes me feel a little sick! So, I'm opting for a wooden rocking chair that I can paint and make my own! I decided this afternoon to begin my search! I looked at several online but I felt that a thrift store or consignment store might have exactly what I was looking for! I headed out...in the snow to our Goodwill to see if I could find anything. Usually thrift store shopping takes several trips but today was my lucky day!! I found the PERFECT rocking chair! It's not the color I wanted but the wood is in nearly perfect shape so it will be easy to sand and re-paint. It has a cushioned seat which I'm sure will come in handy on those long, sleepless nights! The cushion will be super easy to recover in a fabric that matches our bedding. I AM SO EXCITED!! Here is the chair before my little art project:

Once my masterpiece is complete I will be sure to post a new picture!

Predictions Please.......

I was asking my kiddos at school today if they think my baby will be a boy or a girl and it seems that the girls said "girl" and the boys said "boy". Go figure.... haha We have more boys in our class so I guess our class prediction will be a boy! What do you guys think? Boy? or Girl?

There is offically a bump...

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas... I know we did!!
Santa was very good to all THREE of us :) Before we left to head home for the holidays my bump was just barely noticeable, and I swear in like 3 days it was all of a sudden a definite "bump". James keeps telling me that I'm "rocking the beer gut"!!! I am also feeling very fat in the last week or so... I guess I might as well get used to it! haha Although....We did eat like we were starving for a week! We are glad to be home so we can get back into our normal eating routine :) We had a nice relaxing Christmas vacation in Kentucky, guess it will be our last! It's really hard to imagine that next Christmas we will have a 7 month old!!!

In case any of you have forgotten we get to go back to the doctor Monday (the 4th) to find out if this kiddo is going to be a boy or a girl! I am SOOOOOO excited I can't hardly stand it. I'm starting to really feel like it's going to be a girl... We'll see soon enough!! I have spent hours on the computer looking at cribs, dressers/changing tables, bedding, etc. I think I have checked out every website possible! No joke! I'll post a few pictures of some things I've been looking at! I still haven't really found any boy bedding that I am wild about... I don't really want the room to have a "theme" per say and I want lots of different colors so I'm having a hard time.

On the left is the crib I like best so far and the dot bedding is the bedding I like for a girl :) The stripped bedding is my boy bedding for now...??

Jeans and Genes

I wonder if Baby Harper knows just how excited we are for the upcoming few weeks? It seems like James and I are always talking about "the baby" and how things are going to be when he/she finally arrives. We've talked about if we think its going to be a boy/girl... I am thinking its going to be a girl, and I cant get a guess out of James! haha In the last few weeks we have really been discussing what we think our little one will be like. It's funny because as James and I step back and take a look at our "good genes" that we would like to pass on to our child we realize that all his genes we would like the baby to have, I don't have, and vice versa. For example... I hope that our little guy/girl gets my thick hair (They will hate it for a LONG time but then they'll realize that it's really for the best!) James....poor guy doesn't have a whole lot left so he is really hoping he doesn't pass that on. haha I am really hoping that James passes on his brains, I'm not saying that I am dumb or anything...because of course I'm not. haha But James is really smart! I have more of a creative mind which comes in handy of course... and I definitely hope our little one is creative. They have to be right? I feel like that's a HUGE part of who I am. There is so much that I enjoy doing that takes a creative mind! James hasn't said it but I am sure he is hoping that I don't pass on my hard-headedness!! Little does he know that everyone that has Fiorella blood is bound and determined to be hard-headed. Gotta love it... It just makes us right most of the time... everyone likes to be right don't they?
I'm sure that no matter which genes the baby gets we'll love them just the same even if they have thin hair, get straight C's in school, and don't have a creative bone in their body! haha

I've been reading on thebump.com about what's going on with baby this week and it looks like Baby Harper is still smaller than my hand...so crazy! This week he/she is about the size of an avocado...growing bigger everyday! Tiny bones are starting to form in the baby's ears so they are beginning to be able to hear what we say, now isn't that weird to think about!!!! Eyebrows, lashes, and hair are starting to form also (keep your fingers crossed it's thick)! I can really tell that our little man/woman is getting bigger because my jeans are all getting tight. I hate that...Makes me wonder if my eating is making me fat, or if the baby is just making me bigger? I'm sure every pregnant woman asks that same question right? Is this "the bump" that everyone talks about or am I just getting fat?

I'm trying to get James into the whole "design of the baby room" thing but he just isn't into that yet... Me on the other hand has been thinking about it since we started TRYING to get pregnant (Sept 08') I'm pitiful I know. James is the type that doesn't have an opinion about something until it becomes time to do it. For example, I've been talking about bedding, and colors and he's all like "I don't care, you can decide." and then the day I make the decision and go out to buy the paint he'll come along and say something like, "Are you sure you like that color...I'm not sure if that would look good." So I am sure that once it gets a little closer, and once we find out the sex he'll really start to have an opinion. Gotta love him :)

We are counting down the days until we get to go home to see our family!! We leave Friday afternoon for the Harper's house and we'll get to spend a few days there, go to a WKU game in between, and then spend a few days with the Fiorellas!! We are soooooo excited to see everyone, and get out of this cold weather for a while. For those of you that are jealous of our snow....Are you jealous of -3 degrees this morning with -10 to -20 wind chills? Yeah, didn't think so. Enjoy your 60 degree weather Kentucky! haha

Pressure... Pushing down on me.

For the last two days I have had lots of pressure in my lower stomach... I guess that is Baby Harper trying to make room for him/herself! haha It feels uncomfortable... like something in there is streching and pulling in all kinds of crazy ways! I'm guessing this is the begining signs of being an uncomfortable pregnant woman... My jeans were really tight yesterday so I went out and bought the Bella Band at Target.... wore it today... best thing ever invented. If you are pregnant, and you dont have one... go buy one today. Enough said.



I also wanted to post some pictures on here today... As most of you know we got a killer snow storm the other day and I wanted to share some of the craziness with you guys! Be glad you don't live up north!


















We decided this year to not send out Christmas cards to just save a little $$... So instead of sending Christmas cards we'll be sending baby announcements before you know it! WooHoo! Here is my makeshift Christmas card along with a couple others to get you in the Christmas spirit!! Merry Christmas everyone :)

Baby Harper's first good report card!

Today James and I went back to the doctor for our 15 week check-up. At the appointment Baby Harper got his/her first good report card! The doctor said that the heart rate sounded perfect, it was around 150 bpm. She said that between now, and our 20 week appointment the baby will start to get an normal baseline heart rate.... So, we can't start making the "high heart rate = girl" assumptions. An interesting piece of information for all of you...who believe in all of the wives tales. The doctor told us that once the baby is delivered the girls usually have a higher heart rate than the boys. But, she said that while the baby is still inside there is no proof that the heart rate predicts the sex. Like the other article said... the whole thing has a 50/50 chance of being right, you just hear the 50% you want to hear. We officially have a date and time that we'll be able to know if Baby Harper is going to be a little ME or a little JAMES. Our appointment is on Monday, January 4th at 3:45!! WooHoo :) We kind of have our names picked out but of course they can always change! We are pretty sure our boy name is set, we haven't really thought of anything we like better than Brady James Harper. And if Baby Harper is a girl we are stuck between three names, Callie Ann Harper, Jane Marie Harper, or Macy Jane Harper. I just can't decide... I like them all.... James isn't sold on Macy so that will probably be the first one to go.

I also have a few myths to clear up that I learned at the doctor today... For all of those pregnant people out there who have/had these questions this is what my doctor had to say:

I asked about travel and flying...Can you fly? How late in the pregnancy? Well, seems like you always hear that after 6 months or something you aren't supposed to fly. She said that you can fly up to one month before your delivery date, and you can always drive but you have an increased risk of blood clots. As long as you get out of the car/plane and walk around every hour or so you're safe.

My next question was about paint....All over thebump.com you'll read that you shouldn't paint if you are pregnant. Myth. My doctor said you can paint but of course you should have good ventilation- just like any other time you paint. She also said that generally as you get bigger your balance is off so you should stay off of ladders because you have an increased risk of falling off. Yikes. She didn't say I needed to wear a mask, or anything crazy like that. So...James is glad...I've officially been put on nursery painting duty, when the time comes of course. haha

On a side note: Today has been an exciting day in Minnesota... the first BIG snow storm! As of tonight at about 7:00pm we've got roughly 5 inches. We are expected to get 6-12in. today/tonight, and then 40-50 mph winds tomorrow with another 1-2 inches. Lovely. Old man winter has arrived. Snow boots are out...Cant wait to get to KY!

Boy or Girl?

Apparently there are like a million ways to figure out if you are having a boy or a girl... I'm not really sure I'm sold of any of these tricks and here's why:


1. I did the Drano test today and it was yellow, which I read means it's a girl... although, I also read that if it bubbles alot (which mine did) it's a boy. So that test did me no good....
2. Another trick is in the baby's hand position. If on an ultra sound the baby's hands are raised it's a girl. If you remember from our 10 week ultrasound there was a picture where it looked like the baby was waving... Girl?
3. There is also the heartbeat theory... faster than 130bpm it's a girl, slower than 130bpm its a boy. We go back to the doctor on Tuesday this week so we'll see where the heart rate is.... i'll get back to you on this one.
4. The heartburn/indigestion issue... This theory says that if you experience bad heartburn or indigestion you are carrying a boy. I've had terrible indigestion...Boy?
5. Nosebleeds... I am not one to usually get nosebleeds but I did have one at school last week. My nose was stuffy so I went to blow it and when I did a full blown nosebleed broke out. Rumor has it that if the mom-to-be has nosebleeds it's a girl.
6. The ever so popular Chinese Lunar calendar. Apparently the sex of your baby is determined by the mother's "lunar age" at conception and month of conception. According to the calendar we're having a boy.
7. Pillows....This is a new one for me....Supposedly if your pillow faces north (whatever that means) you're carrying a boy. We think ours faces east...Girl? If that's the case James might be upstairs rearranging our bedroom! haha
8. Headaches...The article I am reading at the moment says that if you are having headaches it's a boy. I've definitely had increased headaches in the last week or so.... Boy?
9. Morning sickness... According to an article on the IVilliage website if you have morning sickness early in your pregnancy it's a girl. All of my sickness mess didn't really start until about 6 weeks... I don't really consider that early considering for the first 5 weeks or so I thought I was the lucky one who was going to feel great the whole time. Does that mean it's a boy?
10. This one is the funniest... Bread... Well, if you "refuse to eat the heel of the bread" it's a girl. I don't eat the heel of the bread just because I don't want to... not because I'm prego...Girl?

So...needless to say I am convinced that there is NO WAY to predict the sex of your baby until the doctor does an ultrasound and actually has a picture to prove it! I read this in an article and I think it's totally true: "Sometimes our love affair with everyday magic blinds us from the obvious, as in the case of the "predict the baby's sex" lore. Since there are only two possible outcomes, any sign or test result will be bang on the money half of the time. Moreover, because we tend to mentally catalogue astonishing results and toss out mundane ones, we'll remember the three of our friends for whom the test "worked" and forget about the three gals it let down."

We'll just have to wait until the second week of January to figure out our fate :) We're sooooo excited!

The beginning signs of my bump!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! We had a blast with the Harper's! We did plenty of shopping, eating, relaxing, an of course we drug them all around town to see the city :) There is just sooooo much to do and see here it's hard to fit it all into one trip! We were really glad we got to take them to a Vikings game though... so fun!!

So... I think I can officially say that I have the beginning signs of a bump! I really just feel kind of fat, and I really look that way too! haha I guess in a week or so I'll actually start to look pregnant! I am excited that it looks like my "bump" will be in full swing by Christmas... We really can't wait to see everyone!

It's still really hard to believe that the little guy/girl is only the size of a lemon... seems soo small to have things like a liver, spleen, and little hairs to stay warm! Baby Harper is now doing some thumb sucking and toe wiggling... I CAN NOT WAIT to feel all of these movements for myself :) I know James is excited too... he's already starting to rub and touch my belly a lot... which is so fun because I know he's just as excited as I am to see the little one starting to get bigger!!! I will be sure to post a picture in a week or so when you can really tell there is a bump, and not just a fat stomach :) haha