16 week visit and New Floors!

We went to the doctor again this morning and got to hear our baby's sweet heartbeat :) The doctor said that it was very strong and 154 beats per minute. The first recorded heartbeat was 169 bpm and then the next was 160 bpm. It's slowing down, but that's normal and perfectly ok! I'm still not really showing, but my pants are getting tighter! Dr. Smith says that my weight gain is right on and to ignore what pregnancy books say about only gaining 3lbs in the first trimester. She expects me to gain about 4lbs per month. This made me feel much better. Weight this morning was 131lbs (I was 122 when I went to the doc at the beginning of April).

We are getting new floors in our living room and our master bedroom! We're putting down 12mm laminate flooring. This is much better quality that what most laminate flooring is. It's significantly thicker and has its own pad attached. We decided that we wanted to go ahead and do the flooring because with our baby on the way, I was worried about what kinds of dirt and organisms can live in carpet (even when you vacuum regularly). We're going to save a little more money and do the downstairs rooms as soon as we can. We got a great deal at lumber liquidators. We were able to qualify for 12 month same-as-cash program (which we'll pay off in a few months) and we're paying the installation with money that we've saved. Floors go in on July 16. YEA! This is what our floors should look like once they're down! This is not a picture of our house, but one that I found on the internet. I'm so excited!

Mark's First Father's Day

Left to Right: Mark's brother, Adam; Mark's maternal Grandpa, Ray; Mark's dad, Lacy; Mark
They are posing in front of the fish cutting board that Adam made for Lacy for father's day

Mark's first father's day cake, from Rick's bakery.

We had Mark's parents, maternal grandparents, and brother over this afternoon for a fish-fry father's day lunch. I made potato salad for the first time alone and it was, if I do say so myself, quite good.

I also got Mark a father's day cake from Rick's bakery. It was so GOOD. Can't beat Rick's!

Blood of my blood

I was adopted at birth. One very cool part about the fact that we're expecting a baby is that this will be the first human with whom I've had contact that is a blood relative of my own. I've never met any person in my birth family. I can't make those neat comparisons between my nose and my mom's or my hair and my grandmother's. I've not felt left out or slighted in any way by my adoptive family, but this will be a very different experience for me. When I gaze down at my child for the first time and know that my DNA is apart of this tiny human being, I'm sure that the moment will be incredible.

No Air Conditioner!

We found out today that we are going to have to get a new car, eventually. The air conditioner hasn't been working. Today, we were told that it would cost $900 (just for a new compressor) to fix our air conditioner in the Jeep. This doesn't include labor or taxes. So, that would drive it up to about $1200. In it's current condition, with 140,000 miles on it, it's only worth about $4000. Why would we put that much money into such an old car?
So, for the meantime, we've decided to sweat it out and wait to get a new car until Mark gets his bonus in the Spring. The compressor won't impact the car's ability to heat, so there won't be problems when the baby comes.
I really want a new Jeep. This is the first major problem that I've had with this Jeep, which was purchased (by my mom) in 2001. For 8 years and 140k miles, there have been no issues (aside from replaced tires and a replaced battery). It's been a great car and I've really enjoyed it.
We will definitely get a 4wd since we live on a very steep hill. If we don't get a 4wd, we won't be able to get the car up the road if it ices.

First Entry

Top pic: Baby Randall at 8 weeks. We thought we were at 11 weeks, but found out that we were only at 8. This pic is my belly at 12 weeks. This pic is my belly at 14 weeks. I've gained about 8 or 9 lbs from April 4 to June 17. I'm ok with that though.

Mark and I have been together for 6 years (as of March) and married for 3 years (as of June 9).

We bought our first house last summer and are now expecting our first child. We are due at the beginning of December 2009. Current due date is December 15, but hopefully I can make it to December 18 so that I can make it through finals without needing a sub in December! I will be out of the classroom all of January and all of February and will go back to work at the beginning of March.