Like giddy school-children...

It's been a couple weeks since I last updated, and wow, things have changed!
You saw that we picked out paint for the nursery, right? Well, Brent has out-done himself and painted, found nursery furniture, and organized/set-up the room! It's so fun, and we love to peek in there on occasion.
The furniture is from an ad on Craigslist. It is absolutely beautiful, minimally used, and perfect for our picky taste!
We have our stroller travel system picked out (again, Brent is my super-hero and researched tons of them), and a few knick-knacks to place in the baby room. When we finish it, I will be SURE to post pictures.

My body is continuing to change, and I still feel like I've gained 10-20 lbs. But at our last appointment with the doctor, I was only up 3! YES!!! I have the slightest baby bump, and even though it looks like I ate a big dinner still, I know what it really is- a baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I bought this prenatal exercise DVD from Amazon and fell in love with it. It has 3 parts, 1 full-workout for each trimester. It uses a resistance band, which I've never worked with before. First time I did the whole 1-hour, I was SO sore. Yikes! I am slowly building my motivation and energy back up, so perhaps I can do this workout more than once a week...

You may be interested in seeing some pictures, yes? Here you go! This is a picture of me taken in the nursery (sneak-peek). See the baby? We are at 19 weeks today.

I've kept the best for last.
Many of you know already, but let me tell the story in a more detailed version.
We had our gender ultrasound this morning! We were very excited (I was nervous as well...for some reason). The moment we saw our tiny babe on the screen, it was love all over again! It grew so much since the last time we saw it- 8 weeks ago! The baby was sitting pretty, with the legs drawn up to the belly (truly, the poor thing looked quite cramped). And the movement!!!! WOW! Active, this one is. VERY. It was such a sweet thing to watch the legs and hands moving/waving. Baby didn't like getting poked and prodded by the ultrasound wand!
Since this was the anatomy scan, they measured everything (heart, brain, kidneys, legs, etc). Everything checked out wonderfully.

We had brought a little card and envelope with us so they could write the gender inside of it, without telling us. We would look at the card later where we could celebrate over coffee :)

The appointment ended, and we left with a well-sealed envelope which contained a juicy secret, and a few pictures of baby T.

We made our way to Barnes and Noble and sat with our Starbucks in the Children's center. The moment of truth had arrived! I was so nervous and super excited! I had a 98% certainty that it was a boy. Since we found out I was pregnant I had that feeling...

This is the results (again taken in our nursery when we got home).

IT'S A GIRL!!! 

SHOCK! SURPRISE! AWE! GIDDINESS! LOVE!

We love our little daughter. So very much. 

However, with the news of having a girl, trepidation set in. Girls are so vulnerable, emotional, and must be handled like precious jewels (with a side of "we must be firm"). How scary. 

On the opposite note, it will be pure joy to welcome into our home everything that comes with little females...like:

-dancing

-music

-flowers

-glitter

-crafts

-and oh-so-fun wardrobe choices!!!

Good thing I've kept this in our "for baby" box in her room:

How adorable is this sleeper? I saw it at Babies-R-Us and couldn't resist. It is so much cuter in person. 

Update on my pregnancy:

Best thing about being pregnant? Being able to see growth (of the baby, that is). Also...dun dun DUN...I feel her moving! She likes to occasionally do a few "tap taps", but there isn't consistent movements at this point. 

Worst thing? Being unable to fit well and comfortably in my cute clothes. I'm a horrible shopper when it comes to clothes for myself. I'm picky and despise ringing up a hefty bill. I love shopping though, don't get me wrong. I need to just pick day and just DO IT!!! Comfy and not-constricting clothes would be so nice...

Cravings? Still love fruit. Adore it. Also, pad Thai. Not kidding about that, I've been wanting it for so long that I caved and made it for dinner tonight. A weird desire I've had is peanut butter and noodles. Together. WHAT??? Don't worry, I've abstained since pasta is not something I want on one of my main food groups, haha! Wait...excuse me. I had peanut butter in my pad Thai. Woops. This was a craving day I guess. :)

Baby Bump? A little one!

Movements? Yes! Just started in the last two weeks. Bumps and tap-taps on occasion. It will be so weird when it is more defined and consistent (it's strange enough already). 

Boy or Girl? Girl!

What do you miss? Cocktails or blue moon. Sigh. I also still miss the motivation and results I had from working out before pregnancy. It will be SO GOOD to get back in the groove after little girlie is born!

Well. That's it for now from the Texas Turpin house-hold!

16/17 weeks

I'm in-between weeks, so here's an in-between post!

It is 10:00pm at night. Brent and I are wide awake and are going grocery shopping as soon at the Arkansas Razorbacks baseball game is finished (he is a MOST dedicated fan). We are such night owls! The other day he told me we should make a pact to never work night-shift again whenever we move somewhere else. I wholeheartedly agree, as this sleep-all-day-after-work then be up-all-night cycle is for the birds.
A big piece of news...is...we....
...
......
.....
Well, it's in two parts.
.......
1) We sold the bed my sister and brother-in-law gave us when they moved! It had been occupying our guest bedroom (soon to be nursery) and we had no other choice but to sell it. Now that it is gone, nursery creation may commence!
.......
2) We bought our first piece of nursery furniture! A glider! It was sold online at many different stores, but the cheapest we found it was at Walmart. Normally, I like to stay away from Walmart as I tend to think their stuff is not the best quality...but we could not pass up this deal, and it had great reviews!

Why is the picture fuzzy? Hm. 

The chair will come next week. I can't wait to sit in it, but we will probably keep it in the box until we are ready to set it up. 

Brent cleared out the room of old boxes and random storage stuff, so we took a trip to Lowes and picked out paint swatches for one of the walls! In order to fit with the theme of the nursery, we were looking for a turquoise type blue, and these were the two we came up with  (the middle colors of each swatch). 

This picture makes the colors seem a bit darker than they really are. The one we most liked is "Exotic Sea", which is the top middle one. But no, our theme is not aquatic ;) 

Today we checked our mailbox at the end of the street and came back with a fun little box from baby Turpin's Aunt Carolanne (my sister-in-law)!!! Brent was thrilled with the Razorback baby gear- isn't that onesie super cute? The books are absolutely beautiful, she said they were her favorite as a kid- and I can understand why! They will be a treasured part of the library! Thank you, Carolanne!

I think that I am most excited about beginning Baby T's wardrobe. Seriously, in two weeks I will have the freedom to choose gender-specific clothing, and I AM SO EXCITED!!!! It's like dress-up, but for real. We already have a few neutral clothing items, like booties and a few 6-month onesies...but I did manage to pick up a freakin-adorable footie play/sleeper that is awfully girly. They only had it preemie size at Babies-R-Us, so I picked it up online. If we don't have a girl, then I will have to give it away! 

Well, that is all so far. We have a Doctors appointment this Thursday, so I plan on doing the 17-week update then! However, we will also be celebrating Brent's birthday (one day early), so we shall see if I can get around to it. 

Until then, adios!

Muse

Well, we have almost hit the 16 week mark- hallelujah! Time is a-flyin (how many times will I say that between now and birth). Nothing baby-related has really occurred, other than the baby is finally moving out of my pelvis! Showing your tiny self, aye babe?
Well, not really showing as my "bump" is still non-existent, but should be any week now! I know I sound excited, but in reality I really am not (except for the fact that I will get to shop for maternity-yay, new clothes!). The biggest challenge for me is recognizing the fact that my body is changing, and in my mind, not for the better! Talk about feeling like a fatty mcfatterson. T-shirt and shorts/yoga pants are my frequent wardrobe choice, and I am sooo thankful for the fact that I can wear scrubs at work. Dressing up is becoming a challenge because I don't feel good in my pretty clothes anymore :( Yuck.

I am not even close to being this big...can't wait. haha. ha. 

However, nothing brightens a moody mood than a trip to the mall with Brent! He picked out a sweet dress from Express for me (pic next week), and on an earlier shopping trip I bought the cutest Maxi dress at Target, which will be just daaaaaarling with a baby bump. I can't wait to wear it "officially". I wore it around the house the first day I bought it just because I loved the way it felt.
Also, for those who are wondering what to buy women who just announced they are Pregnant...Victoria's Secret gift card. No joke. There is nothing worse than digging in the back of your "drawer" past all the pretty things and pulling out the "wait I still HAVE this???" items. Yikes. It was the semi-annual sale this week by the way...anyone hit it up? I didn't sadly, in fact I got my shopping in a week early. Crap.

Alright, let me talk about my rising uterus. It happens to show itself most frequently when I wake up from a good sleep and have a full bladder. I can feel the top portion (ahem..fundus) of it, and reminds me of a semi-squishy baseball. Brent has felt it too which is super fun! It sits on the left side of my tummy at this point and I truly hope the little guy starts evening himself out as he grows- I'd rather not have a lop-sided belly as that could be awkward and disturbing.
No movement yet! I am not really planning on feeling anything until about week 20 or so, perhaps later.
I've been obsessed with pregnancy/baby/mommy blogs. Here are two of my ultimate favorites! I started at the very beginning of each one and read until the currents posts. I have been an avid reader.

PROJECT: Babies. This one reminds me of my sister, Amanda. This mid-20's woman is a beautiful, ultra-fashionable, and adventurous new mom to an equally as fashionable and beautiful little girl. This girl (Kristin) is a product junkie and reviews so many neat baby and mother products- which I love! Amanda, you will be JUST like her, I know it.
http://www.projectbabyblog.com/

Little Baby Garvin. This one is just cute. A young girl like me (you will notice I stole many of her ideas on her  blogs...no shame), with a new daughter. Again, a fashionista!
http://littlebabygarvin.blogspot.com

I have enjoyed reading birth stories as well, but often when they are emotionally gripping I will be bawling my little eyes out. I must admit, I love a good tear-jerker (only the happy ones).

I can't WAIT to show you all what I have bought so far for the little babe! Also...Fathers Day is around the corner- woohoo (bummer we both have to work...sigh)!

Ideas for the  nursery are in full swing, but have yet to come to fruition. Not until after July 9th! We must know what we are having first! That time will be here before we know it...and I'm trying to come up with a creative way to announce it to you all :)
This is a special time for us, and want to share the special wealth in fun ways to our dear family and friends who are not near to us!
Thank you especially to my family and Parent-in-laws with their sweet words of encouragement, excitement, and curiosity into how I'm feeling, that makes so much of a difference to my mood every day- truly!
Stay-tuned for after the weekend updates! I have so much to show you!!!!!!

-14 weeks and counting!!-

It's hard to believe we are already in to the 2nd trimester! YES!!!! I feel immensely blessed, having skipped the traditional morning sickness and simply had to fight off being tired constantly. If time keeps going as fast as it has been, we will have a baby here quick as a wink!

Summer is well underway here in Texas and has been blistering hot (98 degrees yesterday!), but thankfully the humidity is pretty much non-existent. I do not miss Missouri. Except for the bodies of water. And the pool at our old apartment. Oh, the pool....

Anywho- on to bigger and better things (it is Texas, afterall). Speaking of better things and on more of a "baby-note", we had our monthly check-up with the doc last week and it went great! Truly, for not being high-risk I don't really get the point of them...It was the quickest appointment ever! Checked my fundus (right on track!) and heard the sweet sound of baby Turpin's little heart beating away fast and strong. That was a highlight :)

I have already bought a few clothes and the shoes you saw in our announcement picture...I am in love with baby stuff. Planning the nursery will be so much fun, and I will have the help of my good friend, Linzi, so double the bonus! :)

What is the best thing about being pregnant? Still, the anticipation :)

The worst thing? Sleepiness!!! Also, the stage of feeling your body change but no baby-bump. Come on, already!

Cravings? Fruit. We have watermelon, pineapple, apples, blueberries, strawberries, grapefruit, and juice! Yogurt is quickly becoming a favorite too. 

Is there a baby bump? Still, no.

Boy or Girl? Find out in a month..

What do you miss? Hard-core workouts, and the occasional glass of wine. 

..::11 Weeks::..

I'm rewinding just a bit and going back a few weeks:

We had our first ultrasound at 11 weeks...that experience is something I will never forget! Up until then, we felt as if we were "playing pretend"- especially since I was having no symptoms (besides being sleepy 24/7). There was the normal trepidation going in to the appointment from both of us, but the moment we saw our little babe pop up on the screen it became real. Surreal, rather. Such a little one! It was "jumping" up and down on occasion and moving it's tiny little hands. The ultrasound pictures do not do it close justice- the detail was better on the live screen :)
We cannot WAIT until our next appointment in July...when we see our babe for the 2nd time AND find out whether we are continuing the Turpin tradition of having boys or exploring a new world of tutu's, music, and flowers with a girl!

Here are 2 of our pictures of baby Turpin:

The ultrasound tech said our baby was measuring almost a whole week ahead!!!! We are still keeping December 3rd as our due date...but if the babe comes early, that would be juuuuust fine ;)

Our little turtle:

A "Positive" Beginning

On March 30th, I came home from work with a strange feeling. Something was "up" but I couldn't quite place my finger on what it was, though I had a guess.
 I went straight to the bathroom with a nervous knot in my stomach, pee'd on a stick and the rest was history!
We were shocked, scared, and excited for a new experience. It was a whole tornado of emotions!

But now, time has quickly advanced and- can you believe it- we are 13 weeks pregnant! We've had a few appointments with the doc and one ultrasound.

Oh, happy day. The Lord is blessing our little family more than we ever needed or hoped for. I hope you can join us in this new journey as the ups and downs of pregnancy display themselves, and we begin preparing to be PARENTS!!!! Advice and encouragement highly accepted, we are so new to this and perhaps a bit unprepared :)

First things first, one of my favorite things I hope to continue until the babe is born: Pregnancy week questions!
p.s. I will post pictures as soon as I can :)

What is the best thing about being pregnant? Oooooh, I don't know...perhaps that we have something so great to look forward too! The anticipation!

The worst thing? Being tired aallll-the-tiiiiime. I could honestly nap all day. I'm such a slacker right now.

Cravings? I wouldn't say they are cravings, and they change a lot...but I adore fruit right now, goldfish crackers, and snow-cones...yummy. A couple weeks ago I was dying for some chicken nuggets...so I went to the golden arches and satiated my hunger along with reminding myself of WHY I don't like fast-food...Gross! Happy to say I haven't wanted them since.

Is there a baby bump? Eh, no not really. The baby is so low right now it will probably we a while until I get a true "bump" that doesn't look like I ate too many goldfish crackers.

Boy or Girl? We both were thinking it's a boy (I was 100% sure for a while), but now...I'm in limbo. We find out July 9th!

What do you miss? My energy and motivation to work out. Seriously, the moment I found out I was pregnant I have ZERO interest in going to the gym- and before that I was doing sooo good and was loving it! What the heck?


Stay tuned for pictures and more updates each week!