12 weeks

I am now 12 weeks along. I can't believe how fast the time is going. I am feeling hopeful that now I am almost out of the first trimester that I am on the mend from the morning sickness (all day sickness). I have now not thrown up for 4 days in a row.....what a relief and a blessing it has been.

We have our next doctors appointment on February 1st where we will get to hear Baby Elliott's heartbeat. I will be 14 weeks at this appointment. This pregnancy is a wonderful blessing and such a wonderful experience for Jeremy and I. I will post again after our next appointment and fill you in on the details from the appointment.

God bless you all!

3rd Appointment

We had our third doctors appointment on Monday at 3:45. The agenda for this appointment was weight, blood pressure, and listening to the fetal heartbeat. I had lost another 4 lbs from my previous appointment which I already knew because I weigh myself on occasion at home. I have been eating ok but continue to experience morning sickness with vomiting so I am losing weight. It was time for us to hear our baby's heart for the first time. We were both excited and I was a little nervous. My doctor got out the doppler and began moving it along my belly. She had a hard time hearing the baby's heartbeat but could hear mine. She thought there was alot of interference but that is normal at 10-11 weeks to have trouble. She got out the ultrasound machine and there it was beating strong and healthy. We got to see our little plum on the ultrasound for the second time. She said everything looked good and we will have our next appointment in 4 more weeks. This is such a blessing and we are so happy! I will be happy to be done with the first trimester. Praying that my morning sickness ends at the beginning of the next trimester. Just wanted to update you on this beautiful and wonderful journey we are on.

We're Expecting!!

Jeremy and I are going to be parents in July. We have known for 2 months that we are expecting. We feel so blessed that it only took us two months to make this miracle baby. We are so thrilled and happy to start this journey of our lives.

Over Christmas break we told many of our friends, Jeremy's family from Texas, and my family. It was a very exciting time for everyone. Since our families knew we felt we could go ahead and let the rest of the world (the rest of our friends and facebook friends) know our good news.

I am almost 10 weeks along and feeling a little better with each week. I have had nausea and vomitting from about 5 weeks on. I am on medication and a supplement to help me get through these rough times. Although I have not been feeling wonderful, I am so happy to be a mommy and know that I am providing for this precious little baby in my stomach.

Right now we are calling it Baby Elliott but we can't wait to find out what we are having so we can start calling it by name. We will have our next ultrasound around week 19 which is in less than 10 weeks.

Jeremy is going to make a great dad. He is very excited and is already kissing mommy's belly and talking to the baby.

My actual due date is July 30th. We are hoping maybe the baby will come a few days sooner and be on Uncle Penny's birthday. My sister is thrilled to be an aunt. We have already received a few gifts from my parents and my sister for the baby.

It is such an exciting time of our lives and we couldn't be happier. I am hoping to update this blog more often to fill you in on updates on how I am feeling and how big the baby is, pictures of me and the baby items we have received, etc. If you would keep me and Baby Elliott in your prayers I would appreciate it. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and you have a wonderful New Year.

2010 is going to be a great year for our family!!!

Thankful

Thanksgiving is a week from today and I am feeling very thankful right now. I have alot to be thankful for including my husband, family, puppy, friends, job, health, and many more. I am very excited to have a short week at school this coming week. I have two full days with kiddos and then a 1/2 day of professional development at school on Wednesday but no children. Thursday and Friday are mine to enjoy! I love this time of year and love both the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. I feel so blessed to have such a great life. God is good and I am so thankful for all of the blessings in my life. Hope all of my friends and family are doing well.

Sick Sick Sick

I have been working for two months now. Right after school started I got a bad cold that took about three weeks to get over. The first week of October I came down with a stomach virus. Luckily, it was not H1N1 symptoms so I just slept alot and got better on my own.

This past weekend (two weeks after my stomach virus) Jeremy and I went to St Louis for a friend's wedding. On Saturday my throat began to hurt. I woke up Sunday morning to head back home from St Louis and had body aches and a throbbing throat. I went to Urgent Care on Monday morning and was told I had strep throat. I have been out of work for three days now. I am on antibiotics and feeling much better. I will be returning to school tomorrow.

It seems that this first year of working is going to be a rough one. I have been told I will catch everything from the kids my first year of teaching but I didn't think it would really happen. Obviously, my immune system is not built up yet and these kiddos are as sick as ever with colds, strep, flu, and the dreaded H1N1. I am praying that I can get my shot soon and not come down with the nasty flu. I am looking forward to next month and praying that I will be illness-free.

I hope everyone is doing well and not sick like I have been. I am excited to get back to the kids at school.

A few weeks in and a paycheck

Well school has been in session now for a few weeks and I am finally settling into my role as the speech pathologist at Cowden and Holland. It is going alright; however, it is challenging to say the least. I have around 45 kids that I see twice a week at both of my schools. Half of those children either have autism or mental retardation. Paperwork is a whole other story. I haven't had too much of it yet because it is the beginning of the school year but I know it is going to get more overwhelming with time.

Today I got my first paycheck and boy does it feel good. I quit my graduate assistantship position back in October so I got my last check from MSU in November. I then took loans out to get by my last semester of school before I graduated and of course had help from Jeremy. I had two externships that I worked full-time at during my last semester and didn't get paid a penny for either so it has definitely been a while since I have made some money. I was lucky and blessed to not have to work this summer but rather live off my husband's salary. This is my first check as a professional. It sure feels good to be getting paid!!!

I went to my old roommate Katie's wedding this past weekend. It was a beautiful ceremony and reception. The food was awesome and the live band was a blast! My good friend Lyndsay who I also went to grad school with is getting married in a month in St. Louis. It is truly the season for weddings!!! First me, now all of my friends and then my sister is going to be marrying Brandon in April or May. I sure can't wait till their special day.

I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the cooler weather. I know I sure am. I love this time of year when the leaves starting changing color, the air is cooler, it becomes hoodie season, and football begins. We are going to a Chiefs game in October and I can't wait!!! Take care and God Bless!!

Big Girl Job

Well I officially started my first big girl job on August 13th. I have been attending meetings, orientations, and trainings up to now for Springfield Public Schools. I have set up my classroom at Cowden which is my home school. I will be at Cowden everyday and at Holland, my second school, only two afternoons. As of right now, I have about 37 kids on my caseload at both schools. I am sure the number will continue to fluctuate for some time. There are three district programs at Cowden this year. I will be seeing all of the kids in these programs for speech and language therapy. The three district programs include two autism programs and one mental retardation program. This year is going to be a challenging one but one I will never forget because it is my FIRST YEAR!! I am excited and feel blessed to have a job and to have one that I think I am going to truly love. I hope to make a difference in all of my kids' lives. Tomorrow is the first day of school for Springfield but I get a week to schedule my therapy groups so I actually will not begin seeing children until around next Wednesday. I am nervous but oh so excited!!!