20 Weeks! Half Way There!

Wow, the time has gone by SO fast! Our little boy is so active inside my tummy. I love sitting on the couch in the evening and just feeling him move around, kick, punch, and whatever other antics he's performing. It's been a challenge for Bryce to feel the movement because every time I talk, baby Seger stops moving! Maybe he's actually listening to me :) Bryce and I have a secret gesture now to let him know when he's moving around.

My personal favorite change that we have made to the house in preparation for the baby is our sleeping quarters. It has been near impossible to sleep since I have grown a little bigger, so last night I had a genius idea. We moved the queen bed from our guest room in to our master room, jammed it right up against our other queen bed, and now have a wall-to-wall ROYAL sleeping arrangement with plenty of room for body pillows, heating pads, extra blankets and more. A bit ghetto looking, but who cares!

I am also working on a new painting in the baby's room. A big tall giraffe is in the works on one wall, which will take a few full days to finish. I plan to paint a height chart on the side of him so we can compare our little man's (and maybe mommy's and daddy's too!) height to the big tall giraffe!

Thank you to my wonderful husband, Bryce, for offering nightly massages, for washing the kitchen floor, and for always telling me how beautiful he thinks I am. What a lucky lady I am. I love my boys.

20 Weeks and Growing!

The beginning of Mr. Giraffe

Yep, that's right! That's how we roll!

19 Week Ultrasound

The day is finally here! Trying to get to sleep last night was like trying to fall asleep the night before leaving on a Hawaiian vacation! So...the verdict is in and Baby Seger is most definitely a BOY! He wasn't shy at all during the ultrasound! "Check out what I've got Mom & Dad!"

We have narrowed it down a couple potential names, but will wait to share with everyone until we decide for sure :) In the mean time, he (oh man, it's a wonderful feeling not call him "it" anymore) is squirming around, doing flips, and keeping busy inside there getting ready for his debut in May 2011.

Bryce picked out his work shirt with much thought this morning. He stratigically picked out one with BLUE and PINK in it, not to hurt the baby's feelings no matter the sex.  :)

     Getting ready to leave for the appointment. Had to get a picture!

               Getting closer to the moment of truth!

                    With fingers crossed that will be able to find out!

                          So much for the girly figure :)

        Bryce texting moms, dads, grandmas, and friends the news!

Face Profile and bicep shot!

Stretched out leg!

A little foot! How cute!

Is this appropriate??? Who cares! That's my boy!

Celebrating 1 Year of Marriage

Some say that the first year of marriage can be the toughest. If that is indeed the truth, then Bryce and I are going to be just fine! This past year has been full of many good changes for us. Moving in to a place with a little more room, new jobs, and getting pregnant are just a few. It's weird to think that 1 year ago we were standing on the beaches on Maui exchanging vows. If I could have written out an ideal plan of how my life would go up to the age of 30, it might have looked pretty darn similar to what we have created within the Seger home. I m so grateful for Bryce and our families everyday.

To celebrate, Bryce and I went downtown and started the evening with some Christmas shopping at Pioneer Place. We walked  around enjoying the festive lights and decorations that I love about Portland during the holidays! We finished off the evening with a delicious dinner at Portland City Grill, overlooking the city from the 30th floor of the US Bank Tower Building.

                                  (Scary eyes in this picture. Yikes!)

Belly Bump - 17 Weeks

Baby: Officially in to the 2nd trimester! Baby Seger is now approximately the size of my hand spread open from crown to rump. Fat begins to form in the baby this week which is important to the body's  heat production and metabolism. He or she is moving around just enough for me to start feeling little wiggles inside! The first few times, I wasn't sure what the strange sensation was that I was feeling was, but after a few wiggles everyday I am decided that Baby Seger is having a dance party in there.
Dad: A big help in "nesting!" Cutting and setting up our Christmas tree, sealing the grout in our newly re-constructed bathroom, and other helpful chores around the house. Bryce will be such an attentive and patient father...just like he is as a husband!
Mom:  I'm feeling great, and SO anxious to find out if we are having a boy or a girl. We will wait until I'm between 18-20 weeks to find out ~ a change in doctor appointments leaves us unsure of the exact date that we'll know. I'm spacey and forgetful as ever! Such an adjustment from my normal organized self. Oh well!

Baby Bump 15.5 Weeks

The Growing Family...
Baby: He/she now has a big secret! The sex organs are developed enough to determine the sex by ultrasound, but we won't know until December 7th! The peanut is about 4 inches from crown to rump, and has been working so hard in there to grow, grow, grow! All joints are now formed and can be moved voluntarily. He/she can now suck his/her thumb, and sense light even though the eyelids are still fused shut.
Bryce:  Thinking that we have the boy and girl names narrowed down. Lots of name brain storming going on at our house. Continues to be a great support.
Cara:  Continuing to get bigger, and SO excited to find out the sex next month. Although I feel good physically, I am noticing big emotional ups and downs while these hormones continue to rage. Needing extra love and understanding this week.

The Baby's Room...So Far

Our orginal plan was to wait to paint the baby's room until we found out the sex in early December. This morning, however, I was staring at the walls of the soon-to-be baby's room (which is now our psuedo office) and got a WiLd HaIr! I whipped out my old paints and paint brushes from the garage and free handed-up a storm! 12 hours later we now have a life size tree, birds, butterflies, leaves, and a vine swinging monkey! It's a good start anyways  :)

                                       Getting started on the tree...

                                              Further along!

                                    Details complete!

                                   Monkey'ing around with the paint brush!

                                             Bryce's contribution  :)

Wilson Volleyball Loves the Fetus!

Wow! What an epic surprise baby shower this evening thrown by the entire Wilson High School volleyball program! After turning in their jerseys tonight at the gym, I was led in to a seperate area behind the gym where the girls (and coaches and parents!) had everything set up. From a heaping pile of gifts to the most adorable cake I've ever seen- they thought of everything!

Thank you to everyone for making the volleyball season and tonight such a joy. I'm very blessed to have you all in my life. And thank you so much for all of the thoughtful gifts. Love you guys! Go TROJANS!

I was SO excited to get home and show Bryce everything! Notice the WHS onesie complete with our volleyball logo! How cute!

The JV2 team even made me a poster! How sweet!

Forget the binky and nipple butter (ha! nice addition Ashley!), Bryce was lovin' the UofO gear!

Go Team Seger! And the clever elephant towel arrangement- how cute!

The cake was successfully demolished at the party, but a few cute sections were saved for Mommy and Daddy.

BUSTED! Digging into the goods!

                                  Mmmmmmmmm......don't mind if I do.

Bryce enjoying the goodness.

And last but NOT least....the infamous SNOUPLE! This is a Couple-Snuggie invented, constructed, and delivered by Rhiana, one of my JV players. At our first tournament she amused us all by coming up with the idea of making one for me and Bryce.  If you could see the whole thing, you would notice that it is sewn together and also has a baby pouch on my side. Thank you Gann family!

Mama, Daddy, and Baby News

Bryce: What a thoughtful and caring daddy-to-be. Bryce always has his family first in mind. From making sure I don't carry anything too heavy, to buying healthy pregnancy super-foods (we learned that term in one of our pregnancy books), I couldn't ask for more. What a lucky baby to have him to look forward to!
Baby: At 11.5 weeks along, "Peanut" is as big as a large lime! Finger and toenails are developing and the sex organs are beginning to become distinguishable (Yes, we will be finding out the sex!). He/she is wiggling up a storm in there although he's just too small for me to feel it quite yet.
Cara: I'm beginning to welcome my energy back! Naps consumed my existance for a while and bedtime was no later than 8:30pm. I'm finally able to stay up for a late football game again! Weird smells still gross me out and I have to be careful about looking at raw meat (gag!). I'm looking forward to being able to exercise lightly with my new found energy!

Baby Bump - 11.5 weeks

Just a few millimeters at a time! Just enough to make buttoning my regular jeans impossible.

Bryce and I paid a visit to GAP Maternity for the most comfy (and cute!) jeans ever! No more button indentations in my growing belly from too-tight jeans for me- I wash and wear this one pair of new comfy jeans almost everyday :) GAP also has super cute shirts! We'll be going back there when I get a little bigger.

Baby Gifts & Thank You's!

Our first official baby gift! Thank you Aunt Michelle & Uncle Will. While the little one already has a few nicknames like "peanut" and "monster," I always know just who Aunt Michelle is talking about when she refers to "Baby O." Go Ducks!

Thank you Uncle Steve, Aunt Dawn, Sagen, and Malea for the precious and super soft cuddly lion. We were SO excited when the package came in the mail  :)

WOW! I walked up to our front door after work, and a huge box was waiting for me! A million thank you's to Greg Hoxsie for the very generous gift! We love it!

Thank you Mom and Dad for the most "tuggy" blanky of all time. I can't wait to wrap up the little peanut in this. Love you!

First Pregnancy Appointment - 8 Weeks

We have been anxiously awaiting this day and appointment since the day I found out that I was pregnant! As the day got closer, the anxiety that I have about getting my blood drawn (I usually pass out - I know, I know...) was grossly overshadowed by the anticipation of seeing the heart beat for the first time.

Bryce and I walked in to Kaiser-Beaverton Clinic this morning and sat in the waiting room checking out all of the pregnant women coming in and out. When our name was finally called, we sat in the exam room and were checking out the pregnancy growth chart while we waited for the doctor. Of course she came walking in right as I was saying "Oh look, our little peanut just made it passed the monster-looking stage!"

We got to see our little "monster" on ultrasound. The little heart beat is working triple time in there! No twins for all of you that voted for those!

                                                     On the way to Kaiser!

                         I'm one among many preggo women in Beaverton, OR

                                               Our little monster!

Home with more prenatal vitamins, fish oil supplement, an ultrasound picture, and lots of helpful information! Next appointment scheduled for November 8th!

Belly Bump- 7.5 weeks

Could there possibly be a change already or is it my new obsession with ice cream that's creating the illusion?

Baby: Baby's brain is growing and developing. The heart has divided into right & left chambers. Eyelid folds are forming and the tip of the nose is present. Baby has been very busy growing and is now just slightly smaller than a pinto bean!

Bryce: What a guy! Happily offers mama-to-be nightly back/neck massages, and is getting excited to see baby's heartbeat at our first Dr.'s appointment next week.
Cara: Whatever you do, don't offer me meat! YUCK!

Belly Bump - 6 Weeks

6 WEEKS into the journey...
Baby: The little embryo is only slightly bigger than a sesame seed at this point! Heart contractions begin this week, and small limb buds (future QB throwing arm as Bryce sees it!) are developing.
Bryce: Is so excited! Secretly (or not so secretly!) hoping for a little linebacker.
Cara: Feeling good so far! Naps & ice cream are my new BFF's.