a relaxing day at sea

Eating and relaxing is how we spent most of our day!!

We woke up to a beautiful view of the ocean out our balcony.

It was much prettier than our view we had in Galveston!!

After my family's first cruise we learned that it was always best to eat in the dining room.  The buffet on the lido deck is never quite as good as what they serve in the dining room.  Thankfully Matt agrees with me and loves to take the time to stop and eat in the dining room for every meal rather than eating quick at the Windjammer.

We ate a delicious breakfast in the dining room, explored the ship a little, then went to the gym for a little workout.  After our workout, we laid out and read by the pool.  It very windy, which made it a little chilly, so it wasn't very enjoyable.  After an hour of being almost blown away, we went back down to the dining room for lunch, then tried our luck out in the sun again.  

We scored some comfy lounge chairs in the adult only lounge and laid out for quite a while because the wind was not blowing on us anymore!!

Not that I knew anybody on the ship, or cared what they thought about me,  but I always made sure I was reading something that made it obvious that I am pregnant and not just fat!!  

Before we went inside for the afternoon, we stopped by the pool to watch a chef build an ice sculpture.  

He was amazing.  He chiseled this swan in about 10 minutes.  

Since our dinner seating wasn't until 8pm, we ordered some spinach artichoke dip and fruit from room service for a little late afternoon snack!!

Tonight was formal night.   

I loved getting all dressed up, but Matt wasn't too excited about it because he dresses up for work everyday.

But doesn't he look so handsome!!

Our towel animal for the night was a swan!!

A full day of eating and relaxing wore us out, so we hit the sack early!

20 weeks

how far along?  20 weeks

how are you measuring?  right on track 20 weeks!!

size of baby? about an 6 1/2 inches from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel, the length of a banana and 10 1/2  ounces

heartbeat? 140's bpm (at our 19 1/2 week appointment)
total weight gain/loss? I've really been stressing out about my weight gain these past few weeks.  My doctor assured me this week that I am doing just fine.  I didn't gain any weight in the 1st trimester, so it's all just coming at once.  I don't plan on watching my weight one bit this week while I'm on my cruise, but when we return I'll be doing my best to only eat the 150 extra calories I'm supposed to have in the 2nd trimester. 
maternity clothes? I busted out some "hand me down" maternity pants this week.  I wore maternity pants for the first time on Thursday. I thought it would be easier to wear maternity pants for my sono last week.  I may never wear regular pants this pregnancy.  Maternity pants are so comfortable.  It's nice to have nothing squeezing my belly.
stretch marks? No
sleep? I'm down to waking up one time during the night.  I get up almost every night at 1:30 on the dot.  It's kind of crazy how it's the same time every night.
best moment this week? "Seeing" our sweet babe and finding out that he is a healthy baby boy!!

movement? I am DEFINITELY feeling movement now.  He moves a lot in the late afternoon.  The movement is still very light.  I can feel it, but Matt can't yet. 

food cravings? Okay, I'll admit it........I had a craving this week.  I don't normally like chocolate. I'll eat a little bit, but I definitely don't crave it like a chocolate lover does.  For some reason this week the little Valentine heart Little Debbie brownies looked so good to me at the grocery store.  I bought a box, and oh my word.  They tasted so good to me!!

gender predictions? It's a BOY!!!  Name to be determined soon!! And we won't be keeping it a secret, so I'll be sure to share when we know!!

what i miss:  Nothing really this week.
what i'm looking forward to: I'm looking forward to spending the week in Caribbean with my hubby.  I'm looking forward to lots of eating, relaxing, reading sleeping and warm sunny weather!!
how are you feeling? I'm feeling pregnant this week!! I know that sounds silly, but I really felt pregnant after our sonogram last week.  I know that there is a little boy moving around in my belly that is beginning to pop out.  It is all becoming so real!!  We're having a baby!!!

surprise upgrade

If you remember, our last cruise we went on we kind of got off to a bad start. Our room smelled like smoke and we spent the whole first afternoon of our cruise getting our room changed. We ended up getting a room with a window, so it all worked out!!

When we got on this ship, we walked to our room and tried to unlock our door and neither one of our keys worked. We were so frustrated that we were starting our cruise off just like the last one. We did not want to spend the afternoon with Guest Services.

When we got to guest services, the lady said our door wasn't opening because we were going to the wrong room. We were going to the room that we paid for, an inside room with no window. Apparently we got an unknown upgrade, that they forgot to let us know about. Not only did we get upgraded to a room with a window, but we even had a balcony!! My parents, who cruise all the time have never even had a balcony!!

We had a nice flat screen TV that pulled out to face our bed and I had a spacious vanity to get ready at.

Our room was pretty big. We even had a little living area. It was perfect for the times that we got room service!!

Our view wasn't so lovely in Galveston, but it sure was beautiful when we were out at sea and when we pulled in to the ports.

At dinner, we sat with 3 other really nice couples. There were LOTS of old people {i.e baldies, white hair, oxygen tanks, wheel chairs}. I love old people, but I was glad that we were at a table with 3 younger couples. They were all older than us, but they were still young at heart!!

After dinner, I was so excited to see what our towel animal was, but we didn't have one. :)

the object of the game is laughter

Last night we had a date night with three other couples from our ABF.  

We started the evening with a delicious dinner at Chick-fil-A.  

We all wanted to eat cheap, and it didn't take us long to all agree on our favorite fast food restaurant.  

After dinner the Hooper's had us over to play games.

 The Howard's brought the greatest game ever. 

 The game was called THINGS, and the object of the game was laughter.  We definitely laughed alot!!

 The Beazely's brought some delicious cookies called Double Doosies!!  

I love date nights with our friends from our ABF.  I can't wait for our February date night!!

ultra-special

It was an ultra-special moment we got to experience together at our ultrasound!!!

We got to see our baby's sweet little face!!

(up close) 

And we got to see his little "boy parts"!!

 I loved how the sonographer said, "That looks good" after every body part and organ she saw. 

It was such an answer to our prayers to find out everything look perfect with our little baby boy!! 

It's a.....

 After our sonogram, Matt and I went to Babies R Us to stuff the "Boy or Girl" bags I made with BOY stuff to surprise our parents!!  

We met both of our parents at BJ's for dinner to reveal the gender.

{Grammy & Grandaddy}

{Lolly & Pops}

 It was such a fun evening to spend with our parents.  

overflowing with joy.....

......because we are having a.....

We are thrilled to share that we are having a healthy baby boy!!!

 When we got to the doctor's office, we didn't even have to wait.  We walked right in and the sonographer was ready for us!!  I swear she looked at his little body forever before she finally told us he was a boy!! It was so wonderful to hear that everything looked perfect, but I just wanted to know if our little boy looked perfect or our little girl looked perfect!  

As soon as she told us that he was a boy, Matt and I both looked at each other and just said "We knew it!!"  We both couldn't stop smiling after she told us!!

After our sonogram we met with my AWESOME doctor and got to hear his little heartbeat.  His heart was beating in the 140's.  She said everything looked great with me as well and gave me a "Fit to Travel" note to take on our Babymoon Cruise!!

 Look at how happy this Daddy to be is!!

He's going to be such a good Daddy to our son!!

happy birthday Mom!!

 Last night we went to Grimaldi's Pizza to celebrate my Mom's birthday!! 

 We LOVE Grimaldi's.  The greatest thing about Grimaldi's is that if you go to their website, and sign up for their VIP Newsletter, they will e-mail you a coupon for a FREE Large Pizza ($18 value). 

We got a cheese pizza,  pepperoni pizza, and meatball pizza.  They were all SO delicious!!

 Mom & Dad

 Ashley & Ryan

 Drew & Marissa

 Me & Matt

And Carson wouldn't pose for picture because he was too busy playing with his pizza dough!!

Matt and I have been telling my parents about Yogurtville and Yogurtland for a while now.  

We love going, but my parents have never been.  My Mom decided that she wanted to go for her birthday dessert.  I'm so glad we went, because when we got their, they had a sign on their table that said "Free Birthday Yogurt ($5 value)"  All you had to do was show your I.D.  We kind of cheated and Mom filled her bowl up really full and we ended up spliting!!  I know where I'll be going for my birthday dessert this year!!

Happy Birthday Mom!! We love you!!

19 weeks

how far along?  19 weeks

how are you measuring?  19 weeks

size of baby? about an 6 inches, the size of a large tomato and 8 1/2 ounces

heartbeat? 155 bpm (at our 17 week appointment)
total weight gain/loss? Ahhhh I forgot to weigh again.  I'll post tomorrow.
maternity clothes? Still LOVING my Bella band this week.  I also went over to my parents house and found a box of my "fat pants" from college.  I was a few sizes bigger back in college, so I've been wearing some of those pants and comfortably buttoning them and not having to wear a Bella Band.  They are actually a little big, so I might be able to wear these pants for a while before I really start wearing maternity pants. 
stretch marks? No
sleep? Still having to wake up 2-3 times a night to go to the bathroom.  I was going to the bathroom around midnight, 3am and 5am, but now I'm consistently going to the bathroom at 1:30am and when I wake up around 5:30.  
best moment this week? I know this is silly, but I love that my little baby belly popped out.  I know it's not a big bump, but I had quite a few people notice it, and that was fun!!

movement? I'm still thinking I'm feeling movement, but not totally sure.  Just when I feel something that I think might be the baby, it doesn't happen again for a while.  So I'm still not sure if I've really felt the baby move yet.  

food cravings? Anything cold!!

gender predictions? We find out in 3 days!! I can not wait! I'm so excited to finally know!! Matt and I are both going to make our official guess BOY.  As soon as we both said boy, Matt said, "Well we've probably jinxed ourselves.  It's going to be a girl now!" So who knows.......it's either a boy or a girl!! We'll be happy with whatever, we just want a healthy baby!!

what i miss: I miss getting a good hard work-out in.  I've started working out again, but it's just not the same.   
what i'm looking forward to: We've got so much to look forward to this week.  We find out what we are having, we get to tell friends and family the good news, and we leave on our Babymoon Cruise!! Ahhh It's going to be a great week!!
how are you feeling? Thankfully I'm feeling great this week.  Our school has had SO many kids out with the flu and strep throat.  I'm so thankful I haven't caught anything, and I pray I stay well.  We've got a vacation to go on!!!  

meal planning monday

Monday: Mom's Birthday Dinner @ Grimaldi's

Tuesday: Cranberry Chicken, Mashed Potatoes & Broccoli

Wednesday: Spaghetti & Meatballs, Green Beans & Garlic Toast

Thursday: Gender Reveal Dinner w/ Our Parents!!

Friday: Chick-fil-A/NFL Experience Date with The Hoopers, The Howards & The Beazley's

Saturday Breakfast: Pigs in a Blanket

Saturday Lunch: Sandwiches & Chips

Saturday Dinner: Chinese Bag & Egg Rolls

Sunday: KITCHEN CLOSED

we might be having a.....{& a winner}

I tallied up your votes and here's what you thought......

I took my Intelligender Gender Prediction Test 

and we might be having a....

 BOY!!

I can't wait to see if it's correct.  Six more days!!!

The winner for the giveaway is.....

Jodi @ Cruising With the Crawfords

E-mail me at katymlink (at) gmail (dot) com and we'll work out the details to getting this to you!!

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

31 

Timestamp: 2011-01-22 03:19:38 UTC

Thanks to all of you who entered.  I'd loved hearing all your thoughts on what we are having!!

nursery furniture

This past weekend I have a little "freak out" moment.  I woke up Saturday morning and told Matt that we had to buy our furniture TODAY!  I was really worried that we hadn't ordered baby furniture soon enough.  I had heard from friends that it sometimes takes 12 weeks to get here.  Lonestar Baby & Kids was having a sale last weekend where if you bought a crib and a dresser, you got a free conversion kit. (The kit that changes the crib into a full size bed.) You know how I love a good deal!!

So here's the furniture we chose....

We got the short dresser on the left and crib in antique black.

Here is a close up of the crib.

For most cribs you have to purchase the toddler rail, but ours comes with it!!

And here is a close up of the dresser.

Our dresser comes with the galley rail, and we can take it off whenever we are done with diapers!

I LOVE it!! I can't wait to set up our sweet babe's nursery.

The greatest part is that both items are in stock, so we can pick them up whenever we want.  I guess I didn't need to freak out about getting the furniture in time after all!!

I already have boy bedding and girl bedding picked out, so as soon as we find out what Lil' Link is, I am getting started on the nursery.  I'm really hoping to finish the nursery over Spring Break!!