A Gift from My Husband!

Yep! Even Noah got in on the gift giving fun this week! :)
He got me a digital camera! We've been talking about it for months and figured we'd get around to it sometime before the little punk is born so we would have nice pictures to share, but I kept putting it off. Noah wouldn't let me anymore, and came home today with a new Canon Powershot, which also takes video clips! All of the pictures from the previous blog (and every blog from here on) on were (are going to be) taken with my new camera!

P.S. Hey, Mommy, it takes AA batteries!!!!!!!

Here's a silly video clip I took when I was playing with my new toy! (If you can't view it here, just click on the place where it should be and you'll be redirected to photobucket viewer)

More Gifts!

The shower continues....
Here are some pictures of Noah opening gifts from The Brummer Family. The football, which Frank wants REALLY bad, and the bathtime froggy toys. Thank you, Ella, you did so good! (Give her a hug for me, Megs!)

Aunt Connie and Uncle Mike sent Scrapbooking supplies and a scrapbook, too! I think I have enough to get the whole first year done! And I've started the pages with his ultrasound pictures already! Thank you sooooooo much!!!!

The sleepers that Frank is posing with are from The Esh Family of the Eastern Shore! Thank you so so so much! (We needed those bigger sizes!)

We also recieved cards and monetary gifts from Grammie Esh, Uncle Tom and Aunt Peg (yes, you're gonna be GREAT Aunt and Uncle), and Uncle Dick and Aunt B! Thank you so VERY much!

You are all so thoughtful! Thank you for EVERYTHING! This has turned out to be a WONDERFUL WEEK!

...And I still love technology....

I've added links to the left that will take you right to our gift registries! Just click on the one you want to see and you will be directed to it! Cool huh?! I'm geting the hang of this! ;)

I don't have any new pictures today, but I wanted to remind everyone to click on the expectnet banner at the top of this page and take a guess! There will be prizes for the closest answers to Alistair's birthdate, height and weight!

Baby Shower!

We passed the 33 week mark yesterday and the shower has begun! Thank you so so so so so much to Aunt Connie for putting the whole AWESOME idea together for us! Most of you know how hard it is for Noah to get time off work and We REALLY appreciate your participation in the very NEW concept! Weren't the invitations BEAUTIFUL?! How many of you had a confetti mess on your floor when you opened it?! HEHEHEHEHE!! It was just like a "real" party!

And it is a REAL party in our house these days! Jennifer has become our "resident photographer." Thank Jennifer for all the new pics you're getting of us! ;) Shower gifts have started to arrive and we have been having SO MUCH FUN!!! We just can't wait until we have a human baby to use the things, not just fur-babies! ;)

Thank you's to the WONDERFUL and BEAUTIFUL Mildrew family for the ever-indispensible high chair! I love you and I've missed you!

Thanks, Mom, for, well, EVERYTHING, including the playpen/bassinet that Alistair will pretty much live in for the first few months!

And even more thanks to Aunt Connie and Uncle Mike for purchasing the Baby Bjorn Carrier! (Noah is esspecially psyched about this one!)

I forgot to take pictures, but Matt Vincent and Brittani Martindale (Who will be MR. & MRS. Vincent Aug. 4!) bought us 2 packs of boy onesies! Thank you for getting different sizes and I'm sorry about the problems at Wal-Mart.

Stay tuned, there will be MUCH more blogging as more stuff arrives and we visit the midwife on Tuesday!

A Child's Angel

Once upon a time there was a child ready to be born. One day the little
child asked God:
"They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow but how am I going to
live there being so small and helpless?"
God answered him "Among the many angels, I chose one for you. She will be
waiting for you and will take care of you."
"But tell me," asked the child, "here in Heaven, I don't do anything else
but sing and smile, that's enough for me to be happy."
"Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you every day. And
you will feel your angel's love and be happy." God reassured him.
"And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me, if I
don't know the language that men talk?"
"Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will
ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how
to speak."
"And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you, Lord?"
"Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray."
"I've heard that on earth there are bad men. Who will protect me?"
"Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life."
"But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore."
"Your angel will always talk to you about me and will teach you the way
for you to come back to me, even though I will always be next to you."
At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from earth
could already be heard, and the child in a hurry asked softly
"Oh God, if I am about to leave now, please tell me my angel's name."
"You will call your angel, Mother"
~Author Unknown

BEACHIN' BELLY!

IT'S SUMMERTIME!!!!!
Here are some shots at 32 weeks. 8 weeks to go! WOO HOO!

31 WEEKS!

Well, here we are with 9 weeks to go until our little boy is due! WOW! What a crazy 31 weeks it's been! There's just so much going on and I've been feeling so great that sometimes I have to remind myself that I'm pregnant! Well, MOST of the time Alistair reminds me he's there before I even stop to sit down!

I had a visit with the midwife last Monday and everything's still looking good! Everything with me is right on target and incredibly healthy. I had my glucose test (and a few other random blood tests) and EVERYTHING came back normal...THANK GOD! Alistair's heartrate was still right around 150 bpm, but now had a distinctive "THUMP THUMP" to it, not just a "SWISH SWISH!" That was so exciting! He kicked and pushed on the doppler a few times while we were listening! Tha midwife says, "He's VERY strong, and active!" She taught me to count fetal movements. Sit down at the most active part of the day, count 10 movements and record how long it took. RIGHT! In the 5 minutes I was in her office, he moved 20 times! CRAZY KID!

Surprisingly, my back is feeling better than it was a month ago. My only major discomfort is Alistair's tendencies to stretch as long as he possibly can....while I'm sleeping! Grrrrr....BUT, if that's my only complaint, I am one lucky woman! I have gained a healthy amount of weight (and it's all in my belly), I don't have any stretch marks (yet), and my feet are still the same size! He is so good to his mama. His Daddy is good to me too! He has been wonderful! I couldn't have found a better man to spend my life with. Alistair is just part of the excitment (the vital component, but still), I am also looking forward to going on this wonderful adventure called "PARENTHOOD" with such a wonderful, supportive, devoted and loving man by my side. The impending birth of our child had brought our relationship to a whole new level. It's something I never could have imagined. I mean, when I married him I knew I could never love anyone else like I love him, but it's almost 4 years later and I never could have imagined that I would love him THIS MUCH! This little family of ours is all my dreams come true!!!!

We took a much needed night to ourselves Sunday night. We dressed up and went out to a nice dinner at The Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant here in Virginia Beach! It was incredible! We took our time, enjoyed every bite and ate everything! We haven't spoiled ourselves much lately, so it REALLY felt good to just take one evening and do that! Here are silly and nice pictures of us from Sunday:

Behind on my blog

Hey, Everyone! Sorry that I'm so far behind, but A LOT has been happening over the past few weeks. One of those things is that I busted my computer, so I am on Noah's to post this blog, but can only get pictures up once I get mine up and running.

We went to Ohio for (my baby brother) Mark's graduation May 24th. He looked handsome and I am so proud of him. We stayed in town for his party Saturday, which was AWESOME! It was so great to see some people that I haven't seen in ages. Sunday was the Miller family reunion/Grandpap's 80th birthday. "Party" is an understatement! IT WAS SO GREAT! And my family is HUGE! After the reunion, we went to PA and got Jennifer (Noah's sister) and brought her home with us to find a job. She has been here (helping to keep me sane) for 2 weeks.

So, through all of the traveling and stress Alistair and I are doing fine. His movements have been so strong lately that he can wake me up in the middle of the night! He is DEFINATELY growing, the belly is getting BIG! He likes to ocassionally ball up REAL tight on my right side and it makes me uncomfortable! I can feel his fingers (and knees) in my ribs when he turns. Although, I LOVE to feel him move, kneeing me in the ribs is going to get old fast! I am no longer working (that was it's own drama/stress episode), so I have had the past several day to relax and de-stress. Alistair, Ralphy and Frank are all VERY HAPPY that I have slowed down!

We see the midwife next Monday. I will have my glucose test at that appointment and hopefully my computer will be fixed so I can post some better stuff.

Thanks for reading!!!

The only picture on this computer is from the family reunion, which is my Mom's side, by the way.




(Front row L-R: Grandma, Grandpap and Uncle George)
(Back row L-R (from youngest to oldest) Lynda, Cathryn, Dwight, Alice, Dorothy, Nancy (mommy), Connie (godmother), Norman, Pat and Ray)

Graduation!

Friday, May 11th was my college graduation! HURRAY!!! Noah was able to switch shifts with someone and be there, which meant a lot to me. (I cried). I was really happy that I finally acomplished this one thing....I got a little emotional during the ceremony too! The 13th was Mother's Day. Megan got me my very first Mother's Day card and Dad Jim got me the most beautiful necklace. Again, I got emotional.
I had visited the midwife earlier in the week and everything seems to be right on target. Alistair's heartrate was 150 this time, still right where it should be. We're almost to 26 weeks now and it's freakin unbelievable! Sometimes I panic, thinking there isn't enough time left, but that is par for the pregnancy course. Also, Noah and I had a day off together last week and cleaned out our apartment, got a bigger storage unit and made Alistair his own closet. (I was needing a place to stash the small items that were piling up in my dining room.)
There really isn't much going on now. I'm just relaxing, enjoying some time off and getting pretty excited to go to Ohio on Wednesday!!!! WOO HOO!!! Here are pictures from graduation night ("The Belly" at 24 weeks), and Alistair's closet begining to accumulate "stuff!"

Here are some funny words....

...SACROILIITIS, BOPPY, STRATIGRPAHIC CORRELATION, GRADUATION!

SACROILIITIS, It's inflamation in the Sacroiliac joint (where your spine meets your pelvis). I have this. It hurts. I partially dislocated this joint, it won't fix itself, and it's pinching a nerve. Unfortunately, during pregnancy, a woman's body releases a hormone called "relaxin" which relaxes (duh) the ligaments in her body. So, this sacro-whatever is not likely to get any better until after Alistair is born and my ligaments can return to normal. The UPSIDE: I've started getting massages! Not only is it WONDERFUL and relaxes the rest of me, it really helps ease the "pain in my butt."

BOPPY, yes, Boppy. If you haven't heard of it, come back to Earth. (J/K) The above mentioned ailment is compounded by the weight of the baby and the increased curvature of my spine, so I started looking at pregnancy pillows. I was on a mission to find one that wouldn't kick Noah out of the bed. (Believe me, those things are HUGE). When a lightbulb came on in my head: All I need is a boppy! I'll buy one now and use it as back support, then I'll already have it for Alistair when he gets here! DUH, PATRICIA! This thing is great! Let me tell you, I even have to compete for it when I want to use it:



STRATIGRPAHIC CORRELATION, It's geology. I had a HUGE project in Historical Geology this semester where I was given samples of rock formations, had to identify the rock type and the fossils in them, determine how old they are, correlate the three sections to eachother and write a geologic history of that region....based on rocks and fossils. Well, it was A LOT of work. I was so proud of it when it was complete that I took it to Kinko's to get it bound nicely. I got 100% on it! YAY! I've never done a project so big and so involved and am so proud that it turned out so well.

GRADUATION is this Friday! Finally, I have finished something! After all of the roadblocks that were put up for me during my pursuit of this Associate's degree, I couldn't be any happier! What perfect timing, too! Now I have the summer to get our life ready for Alistair!

P.S:
Thank you so much, Mom, for being there when I thought I was fed up with school. For helping me out when tuition was due and for being on the other end of the phone line when I needed to chat. You are always the best!

Thanks, Aunt Connie, for all of your support not just these past few years, but throughout my life! There is something you told me a few years ago, that has given me strength when ever I needed it, "Just keep pluggin away!" And I did!

Thank you, Mom Gail, for being so encouraging! And also, for buying all those books I needed. I love you!

Thanks, Dad Jim, for always having an encouraging word when I felt overwhelmed.

And, finally, the one who is here everyday pulling my head up out of my hands, giving up evenings together for me to work on group projects, driving me to Kinko's at midnight to finish projects, and cooking countless dinners while I did homework. Noah, I know our life it not like we planned it to be 4 years ago, but we have played the hand we were dealt, and played it well. This degree is something I never could have acheived without your constant love and support. I am so happy to be spending my life with you and am looking forward to the rest of my life and whatever may come our way! I love you, for serious!

Play the Baby Game!

Click on the game banner at the top of the page and take a guess on Alistair's birthday, time, height and weight!
The game will be open until the end and noone says you can't guess more than once! ;)
HAVE FUN!

Yes, we're having a boy! His name is Alistair! We had our ultrasound this morning and HE IS BEAUTIFUL! EVERYTHING looks VERY healthy and is going great. The appointment lasted for about 45 minutes and throughout the experience, we got to learn a little about him. He is stubborn and has an attitude, LOONNGGG arms and legs, and HUGE feet! In fact, he measured so big that they moved up our due date from September 8th to August 29!!! No wonder I've been feeling so many hard kicks! He is VERY active, he hardly ever sits still, so I suppose he takes after his daddy! (If only we could fit a bmx bike in there for him)

He weighs 15.5 oz and is 11.5 inches long! His heartrate is 153 bpm!

Here are some picture of the LITTLE DEVIL!!!!





Well, what we thought was a 20 week belly is now officially a 21 week and 4 day belly!

19 weeks and counting and counting and counting...

20 weeks can't come soon enough!!!!!!!!! This Friday (the 20th) is the official 20 week mark....HALF WAY TO BABY! It is also our ultrasound appointment!!! YAY! This is the LLOONNNGGGEEEESSSTTT week yet!

So, I've been meaning to post a sound clip of the heartbeat, but haven't figured out my new technology yet. (The school semester is almost over, then I will have more time to fiddle with it.) Anyway, I wanted to post this story with the heartbeat clip, but I just MUST post it along with my story from today!

So, I took the recording of the heartbeat to work with me the day after I got it. I have always heard people say that it sounds like a washing machine, but this astounded me!
My boss (Elizabeth) said to Annie (The 3 year old), "That's the baby! What do you think?"
To which Annie replied (and read this EXACTLY as I have it typed), "baby ridin horsy in Tricia belly!"
Sure enough, it sounds like a horse gallopping and that's what Annie says!!!

So, for today's story! Annie asks to "hold the baby" and I let her put her hands on my belly and pretend. Well, at chik-fil-a today she came and sat next to me after a fairly long run in the playland and she informed me, "I'm gon hold baby now, k?"
She put her hand on the belly and felt kicks. She asked me what it was and I told her that the baby kicked her hand! So, she pointed to my belly as if to scold it and said, "No, no! We don't kick! Not nice!" She looked up at me because at this point I was laughing at her! She said, "Tricia, baby needs time-out! He forgot his listening hears!" (May I remind you that ANnie thinks it's a baby boy in Tricia belly....we don't officially know yet)

Anyway, I just felt like I HAD to share that! Here's Annie:

HAPPY EASTER!

18 Weeks, Sleep and SNOW!

Yes, today is the 18 weeks mark! YAY! Every new week holds something new for Mommy and Baby. I didn't want to sleep last night because the baby was moving so much and it was so incredible to feel him (or her) (God, I can't wait to find out!) flipping around, kicking and punching. I was so exhausted, though, that I did fall asleep pretty fast. Noah just came off of midnight shifts and he was tired too. He and Frank slept in this morning!


I got off work early today and came home to play with Frank and Ralphy. Well, they were more interested in a stuffed sheep I got at Wendy's yesterday. (yes, I stopped to get fries!) Before I knew it, it had snowed in my living room!!!




CHECK OUT HOW BIG WE'RE GETTING!!!!! (Yep, I'm sporting my Bella Band)

My New Car!!!!

Here's my "Mom Car!" A 2007 Subaru Impreza 2.5i Special Edition Sedan. VERY COOL! This car is perfect! The gas and maintainance will cost FAR less than my truck ever did AND our payments are lower too!!!! HURRAY!!!

It was sad to say good-bye to the "BIG DOG," but this new car is more practical financially AND it's A LOT easier to get the kids (Annie and Kiki) into their carseats with my pregnant belly in the way!

And so begins the "saving for a house" phase of the Brackbill 2007!

Dogs are ALWAYS Babies!

Ralphy was getting very clingy today and wasn't letting me get anything done, so Noah suggested doing what I do with babies, "Strap 'em on!" So I did and we had a blast playing with this Chinese-style "Mei Tai" baby carrier!!!
Check the link the the left for more info on these amazing contraptions!