It's A Girl!!!!!!

We had our sonogram today and found out we are having a BABY GIRL! (Just like so many people predicted!) We couldn't be more excited about having a little girl! Hearing her heartbeat for the first time and seeing her as a little speck at 6 weeks was so special but today definitely takes the cake! Our hearts were filled with such joy seeing how much our baby had grown and then finding out it was a girl! It was a day I will never ever forget.

Before the sonogram I drank some juice, by recommendation from Cassie, so that the baby would be awake and cooperate. Boy did she cooperate! She was wiggling so much. Her arms and legs were all over the place and she was arching her back almost like she was throwing a little temper tantrum. Oh no! At one point she put her fingers in her mouth and it looked like she was sucking on her fingers. I couldn't believe that she was moving that much inside me and I could not feel a thing! The doctor and sonogram technician checked each of her body parts and organs and said that everything looked perfect. We even could see the 4 chambers of her heart and her thin little spine. I was in awe! She currently weighs 9 0z. We got a DVD of the sonogram so hopefully we will be able to post it soon!

Mikey is going to have a house full of girls, including Macy of course, but I know he can handle it and is going to be the best dad. I can't wait to see him with his little girl. There is something so special about the bond between a father and daughter.

By the way, I think Macy is already starting to pout and get a little jealous. When I was on the phone sharing the news with some friends she went in our dark room and layed down all by herself. She NEVER does that. It was so strange. She is going to have to get used to the fact that it isn't always going to be about her anymore! Poor girl.

Fun Weekend With Friends

This weekend we had the pleasure of spending time with a lot of our friends here in Dallas and even some special visitors from Austin! Friday night was our "supper club" night with Ben, Tana, Ryan and Vaune, and their baby Luke. We each take turns hosting dinner at one of our houses and it was the Hailes turn to host. The food was delicious! On Saturday morning we went over to Rocky and Amy's house to watch the Texas/OU game. Jenny and Zack were there, our special visitors from Austin, along with Tom, Rebekah, baby Henry, Megan, Jonathan , and baby Luke. I don't think I watched but maybe 10 minutes of the game but I had a blast just chatting away with the girls and playing with Henry. Saturday evening we went to a restuarant nearby with the Burkhats, the Hailes, Alli , and her boyfriend Greg . Afterwards we came to our house to play Trivial Pursuit and of course I fell asleep mid way through. Thankfully our friends are sweet and know this is common practice for me so they didn't give me a hard time. haha! Since Jenny and Zack are now living in Austin they wanted to make sure to go to Irving Bible Church, our church home as well, so we went Sunday morning and met Ben and Tana there. Having Jenny and Zack here with us this weekend reminded me of all the fun times we had with them while they lived in Dallas. Even though they have left we still feel so blessed to have such a strong friend base here. The friends that we have met and our wonderful church have helped make Dallas home to us. Now if we can only get the rest of our family and friends to move up this way....:)

Me, Vaune, and Luke at Supper Club

Amy, Rebekah, Henry, Me, and Jenny "watching" the TX/OU game

Amy singing to Henry

So cute!!!!

Dinner on Saturday night- Jenny, Zack, Ben, Tana, Me, Mikey, Alli, Greg

16 week update

I am 16 weeks and 3 days along today! I went in this afternoon for my monthly appointment and heard the baby's heartbeat again! I love these appointments. Not only are they quick but I get to hear that precious sound of life again! My doctor said the baby and I are doing good. I told her about my headaches that I seem to get almost daily and she said those are normal during pregnancy. I also mentioned my fainting spell from last weekend and she said that it was more than likely due to my blood sugar dropping too low on top of not getting enough water. She said to not be surprised if it happens again but in order to avoid it to always have snacks in my purse. Good thing there is plenty of room in there!

We get weekly emails from BabyCenter.com about the growth and development of the baby so I wanted to share an excerpt from the most recent email.

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

Stay tuned next Monday! We have our next sonogram appointment where we find out if our little darling is a boy or girl!!! Any guesses??

Austin City Limits

This past weekend we went to Austin to visit with our friends and go to Austin City Limits. On Friday night we met Jenny and Zack at Cassie and Travis' house for dinner and we had so much fun! Jenny is also pregnant, just three weeks behind me, and Cassie has a 4 month old so there was lots of baby talk! The boys hung out and watched the presidential debate while we were gabbing away! It was the perfect start to our fun weekend. I sure do miss the Isaacsons and the Burkharts!

We stayed at Jenny and Zack's apartment for the weekend and as always they were very hospitable. Saturday afternoon the four of us headed out to Austin City Limits. Jenny and I really were not familiar with the bands playing, other than Beck and Eryka Badu, but the boys being the music lovers they are had a few bands that they were hoping to see. All in all, we had a pretty good time. There were TONS of people and it was very hot! There was no shade to be found other than one stage that was under a tent. We saw two bands perform there when we first arrived. It continued to get hotter as the day wore on and I clearly had not been drinking enough water while we were there. Hot weather + little water+ being pregnant= I was VERY dehydrated and therefore... FAINTED!! Yes, it is true! Jenny and I were having a good conversation during one of the concerts when all of sudden I felt really light headed and dizzy. It wasn't 10 seconds later that I fainted right there in the crowd! Luckily I didn't hurt myself, Mikey broke my fall, and I woke up right when my hand touched the ground. It was a little scary at first but I felt in good hands with Dr. Zack, Jenny, and Mikey. They gave me plenty of water and all three were fanning me to cool me down. I heard someone behind us say "someone had a rough day", implying I had been just like everyone else there drinking myself sick! Haha, little did they know! I am sure fainting or passing out at a place like this is not uncommon so I didn't at all feel embarrassed, just a little worried. After drinking water and resting I started to feel good again but we decided I had had enough for one day . I guess I had to learn the hard way about drinking plenty of water while you are pregnant! Take note friends!

Here are some pictures prior to my dramatic performance!

14 week belly picture

I am already 14 weeks along and still can't believe that a baby is actually growing inside of me! It's crazy! My belly is slowly starting to grow but I think it will be a few more weeks until it actually starts popping out in my clothes. I can still wear all my normal clothes but when the time comes for maternity wear I am all set. My sweet friends Carla and Cassie have hooked me up! I am still feeling fine but I am noticing more heartburn. I have a huge thing of Tums in my purse at all times which also doubles as a calcium supplement since I don't like milk. I do love me some cheese so I might be getting plenty of calcium already. I don't have any real food cravings just yet but I feel like I have to eat something every couple of hours. I have my cabinet at work stocked with goldfish crackers, granola bars, and sour patch kids!
We find out if we are having a boy or girl on Oct. 13th! Can't wait!

The word is finally out!!!

The Seamans' Family is having a baby!!!

I am so happy to finally be able to shout to the world our good news!!! I know most of you that read our blog already have known for awhile, but I now feel comfortable posting about my pregnancy. I am officially 13 weeks as of today. This is a long post because I have so much to catch up on!
I finally told my students on Thursday as well as their parents and the teachers I work with. The secret has been killing me but I wanted to hold out as long as possible. At least till after my first trimester. I gathered all my little first graders around at the end of the day on Thursday and told them that I had been keeping a secret that I was ready to share with them. They all looked at me with big eyes and were asking what is it what is it. I told them that I was going to have a baby and they instantly looked at my stomach and then back at my face and they were all smiling and cheering. It was the cutest response I have gotten so far! They were very confused though because I am still not really showing. I told them the baby was very little, about the size of a lime, but as the baby got bigger that my belly would start getting bigger too and they would be able to notice more. Of course they asked if it was a boy or girl and one of the little girls said if it was a girl that she wanted to keep it! I was very worried that I was going to be asked how the baby got in there but one little boy in my class handled that one for me. He raised his hand and said " I know how your baby got in there". I was thinking here it is but before I could stop him he proceeds to tell me that "a baby starts off as an egg and the doctor cuts open your tummy and puts it in there to grow into a baby. When the baby is ready to come out he cuts you back open and takes the baby out". I knew he asked that question to mom and dad before and that must have been the answer they gave him! Pretty good! I sent their parents a letter sharing my news and informing them of the plans that I have in place for when I leave in March. Hopefully they will be ok with the fact that thier kids will have another teacher for the end of the school year. At our faculty meeting that same day my principal gathered all of us in a circle and very sorority like passed around a stuffed animal while we were all humming rock a bye baby. When it got to the person with the big news, obviously someone who is pregnant, they keep the stuffed animal. When it stopped with me everyone congratulated me and was all smiles. It was a cute way to share my news with all my teacher friends. It's so funny how much everyone starts looking at your stomach when they find out you are pregnant! The people at my school were the last ones for me to tell so I am so happy to not have to keep any more secrets and talk about my pregnancy whenever I want!
My last doctors appointment was this Tuesday. It was short but oh so sweet because I got to hear the baby's heartbeat again! I could listen to that sound forever! What a miracle that is growing inside of me! I had a few questions for the doctor and we talked about my recent visit to the Endocrinologist. For those of you who don't know I recently found out that I have a hypoactive thyroid and am now on medication for it. The doctors say I don't need to worry about it affecting the baby so I am doing my best to not worry about it. Other than being tired I don't have any other symptoms of hypothyroidism and feel great. My next baby appointment is in a month and we get to find out if we are having a boy or a girl! We can't wait!! Everyone has been telling me they think it is going to be a girl so we will see if they are right!
Thank you all who have been praying for us and our baby! Since being pregnant my relationship with my Heavenly Father has become even stronger. I thank Him everyday for this incredible blessing and I know that the health of our baby is completely in His hands. I cannot wait to meet our little bundle of joy face to face and start the adventure of being a mommy!

Paper Doll Project

Today we had family over for the Labor Day holiday and one of the things we did was make paper dolls. The Art teacher at my school gave each teacher an outline of a person and asked us to make it look like ourselves for a bulletin board she is doing. As always I waited till the last minute to do mine, I think she wanted them on Friday, so when the fam was over I thought they could help me out! We always turn whatever we are doing into a fun time and this was no exception! Alli, Konnie, and Kassandra ended up making one for themselves too.

Instead of drawing clothes on the dolls we cut clothes, shoes, even hair out of magazines.

We played around with a few pictures I had and tried out different hair styles! What do ya think?

Who are these people?

This is when we actually started making the paper doll but wanted to try out a few different body parts!

Finished product! This is the before and after shot. Needless to say I didn't use the arms and legs, they looked so manly, but I did glue everything else to the actual body so I did use the original a little. And yes, I put a gold medal on myself! Ha!

I had to make one for Mikey. Aren't they cute?!

Here are all the paper dolls that we made. Konnie and Kassandra made the ones on the end and Alli made the one next to me. We glued her face on underneath the wig. Konnie's looks a little creepy!

This is what Mikey and Hayden did while the girls were busy crafting!

Alli and Deshka, our new roomies!!!