16 Weeks Down, 24 To Go!

Yesterday (Saturday), I hit the 17-week mark in my pregnancy. Week 16 was fairly memorable for a couple of different reasons. First, I felt the baby kick for the first time! That's right, on Wednesday morning (August 4th), I felt a tiny kick in my lower abdomen. It was different than the other feelings I've had, so I put my hand over the area where I felt it...hoping that I would feel it again. Sure enough, I felt that sweet little tiny kick again. It was amazing.

The other memorable part of this week was our doctor's appointment on Friday. Matt and I got to hear our baby's heartbeat again! At my last appointment, the nurse told me that we'd be listening to the heartbeat at every appointment until my delivery. So, Matt came prepared to this one by bringing the recording device that he uses for work interviews. The doctor quickly found the heartbeat and said that it sounded great. I have to admit, it did sound GREAT. I'd even go so far to say incredible. Thanks to the recording device, we can listen to that precious sound whenever we want. : )

So, now we've begun Week 17 and have around 24 more to go (including this one). Here are some highlights of what's going on with the baby this week:

• The skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone.
• He or she weighs around 5 ounces and is around 5 inches long from the head to the bottom. That's about the size of a large onion.

Although I've been able to tell for weeks that my belly has grown, people continue to tell me that I'm not showing that much. This week, however, I do feel that my belly has popped out and become more visible. I'll be posting photos soon so that you can judge for yourselves.

Our Exciting News

As most of you have now heard, Matt and I are expecting our first child in January 2011. We waited to share our news until I was safely out of the 1st trimester. I'm now in the midst of the 2nd trimester, so we're thankful for that.

I know that many of you have had questions for us. To take care of the most common initial questions at once, here goes:

Due Date: January 15, 2011
Gender: Unknown (and will remain unknown until the big day!)
Names: Undecided
Preference for Boy or Girl: No preference. Although it's thought of as cliche, Matt and I truly just want a happy, health baby.

How have you felt? I've felt lucky so far, as I've avoided full throttle morning sickness. I have, however, dealt with nausea and nasty food aversions. I've also experienced fatigue, a heightened sensitivity to smell, and some other strange symptoms.
What food aversions have you had? You name it, I've had it. During the first trimester, a particular food sounded fine one day, and I couldn't stand the thought or sight of it the next. In fact, because of my food inconsistencies, Matt and I changed restaurant plans at the last minute on several occasions and even switched plates once our food came a few times. Although I'd rather have food aversions than full-on morning sickness, they were more difficult to deal with than I thought. I normally love eating, but I didn't enjoy eating or meals for the first 14 to 15 weeks of my pregnancy.
Have you had any cravings? Yes. My main cravings have been pickles, beef, and fresh fruit (although not together or at the same time). I've gone through quite a few pickles thus far, and as someone who hasn't traditionally eaten much beef, I can't believe I've had things such as a mushroom swiss burger, carne asada tacos, and a French Dip sandwich.

Because this experience will be such a unique one for us, we'll start blogging on a more regular basis now. So, be on the lookout for new posts!

Where have we been?

As those visiting this page may have noticed, it's been a long time since we've provided an update. That's pretty much my fault.

Matt asked me to take the reins on our blog posts a couple of months ago, and I clearly haven't done a good job since that time.

I could point the finger at everything from my work schedule to traveling to changing the bookmarks on my internet home page, but nothing really explains why I've been away this long.

So, I'm just going to chalk up the past couple of months to forgetfulness and press ahead. To hit the highlights of what we've been doing the past couple of months, I'm going to do a series of "Spring in Review" posts during the next couple of weeks. I hope to start them by early next week.

So, stay tuned...and thanks for your patience!

March Sadness, Part II

Right about the time that Erica's wounds from Vanderbilt's last-second loss in the NCAA tournament were starting to heal, or at least scab over, Michigan State inflicted a fresh wound on one of my favorite teams, the Maryland Terrapins. And in equally excruciating fashion at that.

Maryland had just mounted an unbelievable-had-I-not-seen-it-with-my-own-eyes comeback with a 10-0 run in less than a minute's time. The incomparable Greivis Vasquez scored on a runner to put the Terps ahead by one with six seconds left, and there was much joy in my brother's home as I jumped around and clapped feverishly to my three nieces' amusement/befuddlement.

And then Korie Lucious brought it all to a thundering end with a three-pointer at the buzzer that eliminated the Terps' Sweet 16 hopes.

Why again do we do this to ourselves?

If there's an upside it's that the presence of my impressionable nieces forced me to abandon my typically immature sports reactions and accept that the game was still thrilling even if the result was personally disappointing.

It was nothing that a little hula hooping in the spring weather couldn't mitigate if not altogether heal.

March Madness and Sadness

As I write this, I'm still adjusting to the fact that Vanderbilt just lost in the NCAA Tournament. For the second time in three years, Vanderbilt (a #4 seed) has been defeated by a #13 seed. Wow.

Although I didn't think Vanderbilt had enough to make it deep into the tournament this year, I definitely expected them to last until the Sweet Sixteen. I guess my expectations were out of line with reality. Although I'm upset that their year is over, the fact that they're only graduating one starter gives me a little hope for the chances of next year's team. Unfortunately, I have to wait several months to see if that hope is realized.

As many of you know, I've been a Commodore fan all of my life. People often call me and a handful of my other relatives the "Black & Gold" sheep of the family. It's been a long road--usually with more downs than ups--but I don't regret it one bit.

Although I can't prove it, I'm confident that Vanderbilt fans have more patience and heart than fans of most other teams. It's almost a necessary ingredient of being a VU fan, especially since their records in major sports have been underwhelming throughout the years. You can't be a bandwagon fan of Vanderbilt (at least, not yet). Those of us who cheer for the 'Dores do it because we love the university.

And I do love the university. I love what it stands for. I love how it recruits true student-athletes...and is still competitive in the SEC. I love how it has fans who exemplify the word "loyal." And, even when its sports teams don't win, I love that I can call it my alma mater.

Now that my 'Dores are out of the NCAA tournament (and my Heels never made it in), I'm sending my love and support to Maryland, the team that Matt grew up rooting for. Go Terps!

Is That The Sun?

This weekend, the sun made a brilliant appearance in the North Carolina sky.

On Saturday and Sunday, our weather warmed up (finally!) and helped us remember what decent temperatures feel like. In fact, I was tempted to wear open-toed shoes to church on Sunday, but decided not to after remembering the unwritten rules of what to wear and not to wear before Easter. Once I got there, however, I realized that most of the other women had thrown caution to the wind and pulled their open-toed shoes out of the closet. Oh well.

Rewinding things a bit, we got our Saturday off to a great start with a nice breakfast at Mad Hatter's, a great Durham cafe we've recently discovered. We left there and headed to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park to take part in the Bulls' Fan Fest, a pre-season event where the community is invited to food and fun. While there, Matt and I walked on the outfield grass and soaked in the sun. Matt even made a couple of "grass angels." His stunt must have caught the eye of the promotions staff, because shortly thereafter, they did an on-camera interview with us and asked us some Bulls-related questions. We've been told to look for ourselves on the Jumbotron this season. I've never been on a Jumbotron, so I'm pretty psyched about it. :)



















After leaving the DBAP, we headed to the YMCA to see the Eagles (Matt's 2nd and 3rd grade basketball team) take on the light blue team (unnamed as far as we know). It was possibly the most exciting non-college basketball game I've ever been to, as there was a near "buzzer beater" (with 7 seconds left) that broke the 28-28 tie. Unfortunately, it broke in a not-so-favorable direction for the Eagles. Even still, I'm so proud of Matt and the job he's done with his team. They are the most teamwork-oriented group in the league, as Matt's emphasis on passing the ball and getting everyone involved has really stuck with them.

This weekend, the Eagles have their last game of the season. Afterward, we'll all go to AMF Bowling Lanes for an end-of-season team party. I'm not sure if we know what we're getting into there (young boys and bowling balls seem like a scary mix), but nevertheless, it should be fun.

Date Night

Erica planned a Date Night for us on Saturday. My only instructions were to be ready by 5:30 and to dress "snappy casual." After a quick Google search, I changed into a nicer pair of blue jeans and prepared for a fun evening.

We had dinner at Four Eleven West in Chapel Hill before heading over to Memorial Hall for an outstanding performance by the UNC Jazz Band with artists in residence Jason Marsalis and Ivan Renta. The show was part of the 33rd annual Carolina Jazz Festival.

The Jazz Band director explained that the current group was his version of last year's senior-laden UNC basketball team. Hopefully that doesn't mean next year's jazz band performance will stink.