Happy Halloween!!

Yes, sadly, I am "one of THOSE people" who dresses her dog up for Halloween. In my defense, I bought the costume last year after halloween when it was on clearance.

Drew's traveling this week so Bailey and I passed out candy together. Bailey quickly realized that we were having frequent visitors so he stayed within view of the door and wouldn't take his eyes off of it. Whenever the doorbell rang, he'd take off at full speed and jump and bounce off the door - then look at me and wait for me to open it. Silly dog! Here are some pics of Bailey in his pumpkin costume.

My sister came over for part of the evening with her two pug dogs. One was dressed as a bumblebee and the other as a "jail bird".

Clothes for Jenna

I just had to share pictures of these adorable outfits we've received for Jenna. Our Cedarville friends, Christen and Carrie, bought the cutest jeans, pink socks, and gray/pink zip up hoodie for her! I can't wait to see Jenna in it. In fact, I told Drew that I'd like to have the same outfit in my size - it's adorable!

Soon after we found out we were having a girl, my sister went shopping as well. These are the cute outfits she bought for Jenna. I love the one that says, "I am not a boy".

And my mom also bought a couple outfits. I fell in love with the little strawberry sundress and bonnet. It'll be perfect for next summer's Strawberry Festival!

Jenna's going to be one fashionable little girl!

Weekend fun!

This past weekend Drew and I drove to NY for Christen Fowler and Keith Dougherty's wedding. It was so fun seeing all our Cedarville friends - there was Christen, Keith, Jamie Kelly, Kristen Erikson, and Carrie Churchward. We also got to meet Erikson's fiance and Jamie's fiance. Christen and Keith's wedding was so nice. Christen was absolutely stunning in her gown!

We had fun talking about all our Cedarville memories. So many good times at CU with a great group of girls.

We drove home on Sunday and Drew had the privilege of fighting the strong Ike winds once we reached Ohio. We were planning on stopping for dinner before we got home, but the restaurants were closed because there was no power. So we came home to a house with no power as well. We fared pretty well compared to others in the area. The only damage we incurred was losing one strip of the trim on the side of our house. Since we live in a newer development, there aren't any big trees yet so we didn't have any fallen trees or branches in our yard. The only other downside to the storm was having our power out for about 24 hours (without a generator), so we ended up having to throw out most of our nonperishable food items. Not a big deal compared to how others were affected by this storm. We're very thankful!

Lots to update

Sorry for the long delay in posting a new blog. I am finally past the 5 month mark and now into my 6th - yeah! Here are pictures from when I was 5 months along...

Things are going well. We have FINALLY decided on a name for our precious baby girl - Jenna Marie. Little Jenna's been quite the active one. It seems like her movements/kicks are getting stronger and more pronounced each day. Drew is now able to feel her move around and it's always so exciting for him. In fact, the other day I had Drew watch to see if he could actually SEE her move and he could. It's the little things that are so exciting! :)

I am now 24 1/2 weeks along. Here's Jenna's development update:

Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts her at just over a pound. Since she's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), she cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but her body is filling out proportionally and she'll soon start to plump up. Her brain is also growing quickly now, and her taste buds are continuing to develop. Her lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help her air sacs inflate once she hits the outside world. Her skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

It's exciting to read how big she's getting. My next doctor appointment is the first week of October. That will be my last monthly appointment - after that I'll be visiting the doctor every two weeks. I can't believe how fast this is going!

I've been promising you pictures of the baby's room, so here you go. We got things cleared out (that was a big job!!), assembled the crib and moved Jenna's furniture in.

The empty room after being cleaned out

Drew assembling the crib

Bailey was quite curious about the new furniture

And now pictures of the room. It's quite empty right now - just the furniture so far.

Last night Drew and I ordered the bedding so we can see what it looks like up close. Plus we're wanting to paint the room and need to get a better idea of color schemes. The bedding we finally decided upon is Cocalo Tropical Punch. Here's a picture from the website:

I can't wait to get it and see how it looks! Originally we were planning on painting the room a light green color; however, I'm not sure if that'll look right with this bedding. We're now considering maybe a light yellow. We'll see! Drew's sister and brother-in-law are coming out in October to help us paint the room, so we'll have to make a decision by then. I'm looking forward to it though!

IT'S A GIRL!!!!

Yep, we're having a girl! We're both thrilled and have already picked up some cute girly clothes from a garage sale. It's so fun to now be able to say "she" instead of "it" or "baby". Here are some pictures from our ultrasound.

Here's her arm and leg. Our ultrasound tech labeled them to make it easier to distinguish. :)

Her footprint

Her left leg (and behind)

This one might be hard to "see". Both her legs are there and they're crossed at her ankles.

Her spine

Her profile

Lastly, here's a picture of the proud parents-to-be. As I was getting ready for our appointment, I had already planned on wearing the pink shirt not even thinking of it being pink. But when it dawned on me that I was wearing pink, I had Drew wear blue. Haha...I won...it's a girl!

The ultrasound tech said our girl is quite active. She had a difficult time even getting any pictures of her because she was moving around so much. I've started feeling some movements - little flutters here and there. It's so fun to think that's my little acrobatic girl wiggling around in there.

While at the appointment, Drew took some videos of the ultrasounds. With this first video you'll be able to see our little girl moving around and arching her neck. Also be warned...at the end of the clip the ultrasound tech takes one of the pictures and views it in 3-D...and, to be honest, it's quite scary looking. Poor little girl! :)

This next video is just another profile picture of our baby girl.

And our last video is of when we found out that we're having a girl!

We still have not completely decided on a name yet. I've been surprised with how difficult it has been for us to find a name that we're both comfortable with. We've been narrowing it down so I'm sure we'll decide on one soon.

Coming soon...pictures of the baby's room. We made it our project this weekend to FINALLY empty out the baby's room and assemble the furniture. So once I get those pictures off my camera, I'll post them on here.

Hair Cut

I'm finding that I get bored with my hair quite easily and am always looking for new cuts and styles. So last week my sister and I headed to a salon to get our hair chopped. Here's my new look:

It's much shorter than I'm used to, but I like it.

On Sunday we had a wedding reception for my cousin. Since we had the whole family in town, we took lots of pictures.

All of my family on the Shafer side

My family with Grandpa and Grandma

Drew and me

And lastly, here's a picture of Drew working on his final project for school. I think Bailey wanted to cuddle instead...

Oh, and tomorrow's the day we find out whether we're having a boy or a girl!!! We can't wait. I'm just hoping the baby cooperates with us because we're planning on registering afterwards. I guess if we have a stubborn baby tomorrow then we might be registering for neutral things. We'll see! We're planning on bringing our video camera (well, camera with video capabilities) and a CD-R so they can save pictures onto it along with the heartbeat. So, be looking for an update tomorrow or Friday!

Dr. appointment

Yesterday we had our monthly pregnancy check-up. I had been looking forward to this appointment since we were unable to hear the heartbeat at our last appt. THANKFULLY they found the heartbeat right away. It's at 150 bpm. So it looks like everything's good right now. I'm 18 weeks and 5 days today so here's what took place this week with the baby's development:

Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bellpepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born.

In another book I'm reading, it says that the baby now has his/her own unique set of fingerprints on the fingertips and toes. How neat!!

Drew and I are REALLY looking forward to next Thursday when we'll be able to see our baby again! And (hopefully) find out whether we're having a boy or a girl. :) Next Thursday is also our 4-year anniversary and I can't think of a better way to celebrate. We're planning on spending the whole day together which is another reason I'm really looking forward to that day. I feel as though I've barely gotten to speak to him these past few months with all his schoolwork. He's now in the final stages of finishing his capstone paper. His goal is to have it completely finished and submitted by next Wed. so that we can enjoy Thursday together without feeling the burden of it. I'll be glad for Drew too when it's finished. I know it's wearing him out, especially now that he's back to work this week - he'll work a full day, come home, eat dinner, and then work on his paper until bedtime. But he's a trooper - he never complains.

As for me, I've been keeping busy lately getting my classroom put together for the start of another school year. I can't believe it's time to go back to school already!! I'm looking forward to about September when we've been in school for a few weeks and the routines are already established. I LOVE what I do, so it should be fun.

The baby's room got put on hold for now. There's only so much I can do without Drew's help, so I'm waiting for when he's finished with schoolwork. We have a lot of moving and maneuvering to do with our furniture to get everything in the right spot, but hopefully pictures to come within the next month of our baby's room.

Well, I can't wait to post in a week and show you updated pictures of our baby!