22 Weeks

Total weight gain: ??? I'll know Wednesday at my doctors appointment.
Maternity clothes? Yes, this is a new shirt in the picture but it is big...
Stretch marks? No, none yet!
Sleep: Still pretty good.  No major complaints
Best moment this week: Getting to spend time with my cousins and family that I don't see nearly enough.  It's always fun to catch up!
Miss Anything? Nothing really pregnancy related, but I miss the sunshine when I get off work.  I miss walking and running in the fresh air!

Movement:  oh yeah.  Mark even got to feel a few little squirms one night in laying in bed!
Food cravings:  Nothing really that I can think of.  Still having a bit more of sweet tooth than normal.
Anything making you queasy or sick:  No foods, but Mark came down with the flu late last night and this morning and that was kinda iffy.  I had to keep my distance at first but I got over it.
Gender:  Your guess is as good as mine at this point. We find out on Wednesday!
Labor Signs: Nothin'
Symptoms: I've had some congestion and some sinus pressure but I don't know if it is pregnancy related or just a result of a little bit of what everyone else is sick with right now.
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time:  Pretty happy!
Looking forward to: Finding out if Baby Brown is a boy or a girl!!!!!! FINALLY!

21 Weeks

Total weight gain: ??? I'm not sure I want to know with all the Christmas goodies I've been eating.
Maternity clothes? Same, this is the shirt I wore in my thirteen week picture.  It will be interesting to see how it fits in another month or two.
Stretch marks? None, but I have been really itchy....
Sleep: Sleeping better again, I'm not beating the alarm clock awake.
Best moment this week: Some friends of ours welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world on Saturday and it made me all the more anxious to meet our little Charlie.  That will be us in just a few short months.
Miss Anything? Nothing really, I might tomorrow and on Christmas day when I can't indulge in all the wine that shows up everywhere we go!

Movement:  Yes. More and More
Food cravings:  I can't say I'm really craving anything, but I do seem to have a little bit more of a sweet tooth.  Maybe it is just because I am surrounded by them.
Anything making you queasy or sick:  No.
Gender:  Having more girl feelings than boy feelings right now. 
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: Heartburn, but it's way more tolerable than the headaches so I will take it.
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, Happy, Happy!

Looking forward to:  Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Family Time!!!

I hope all of you have a very Merry Christmas and get everything you asked Santa for! 

20 Weeks

Already halfway! I can't believe it.

Total weight gain: Not Sure. I thought about pulling the scale out earlier this week then just didn't do it.
Maternity clothes? The same few things.
Stretch marks? No.  I'm keeping my baby bump pretty moisturized so hopefully I won't get any.
Sleep:  It really just depends. This week sleep was not that great but I slept great all weekend.
Best moment this week: Getting some Christmas shopping done and feeling little Charlie wiggle and squirm more often and stronger now.
Miss Anything?  Nothing really. However, a red beer does still sound pretty good.
Movement: YES! I can't wait until Mark can feel something.
Food cravings:  The usual, fruits and veggies. 
Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really, I think chicken is even getting back to normal.
Gender:  I'm still going back and forth on boy or girl.          
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: Some heartburn on and off.  But everything else is relatively normal.
Belly Button in or out? Still in..
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, and yes, occasionally moody!!

Looking forward to: Some more Christmas shopping, we are almost done!

Heavy

I'm sitting here, staring at a blinking cursor, the news on in the background.  I'm not sure at this point which is heavier my fingers or my heart. 

My fingers are heavy because there is nothing we can say.  My heart is heavy because there is nothing we can change. 

I just keep sitting here imagining what it must be like to be one of the families, someone that lost a loved one, an innocent child.  A mother, a father, a daughter, or a son.  You can't put into words the way these people in Connecticut must be feeling.  At least I can't.  My only hope is that these families can find some sort of peace, even though that seems impossible. 

I also hope that people realize that these people are mourning, if we think our hearts are heavy, imagine theirs. I can only hope that we will let them mourn and that we can leave the politics that so often follow these types of situations out of it.  Like I said, there is nothing we can change.  We can only hope and pray that people come together and act in kindness.  Hug a little tighter and love a little stronger. Be thankful for the people you have in your life and that they are somewhere safe and sound tonight.

Chuck

Right around the same time that Mark and I got married we were into The Real World: New Orleans on MTV.  In the season there was a girl with a more boyish name.  During a commercial break we got to talking about how we liked boy names for girls.  The conversation went something like this:

Mark:  I really kinda like that, a boy name for a girl.

Me:  Yeah, I do too.

Mark sprouted off a list off names

Me:  Well...I really love the name Charlie for a girl.

SILENCE........

Mark: WE! CANNOT! NAME! OUR! DAUGHTER! CHARLIE! BROWN!!!!!

It took me a second to realize why and then it clicked, between fits of laughter.  "Oh, Charlie Brown."

We both got a good laugh out of the entire thing.  At that point I just wasn't thinking about my last name being Brown yet.  Needless to say, it has been one of my favorite stories to tell.

Most people think that I'm joking when I say I like the name Charlie, but I really do.  Usually the reaction to the story is first a little bit of laughing and then someone asks.  "Are you really going to name her that?"  "You can't name her that."  The funny thing is, these conversations happened long before Mark and I told anybody that we were even expecting. 

For our family though, Charlie stuck, now it has turned into a big joke withe everyone.  Mark's younger sister kept walking around the house one morning telling his parents, "if it's a girl and they really name her that I will call her Chuck.  Just like Peppermint Patty in the cartoon."  This also caused fits of laughter for everyone. 

Let's face it the girl wouldn't stand a chance if we named her Charlie Brown! Can you imagine?  For now however, girl or boy, Baby Brown is known as Charlie or Chuck.  Charlie and Chuck both sound better than the baby, or my baby, or he, or she, or it.  No matter, what little Charlie Brown is already so very loved and doesn't even know the amount of laughs he or she has already brought us!  

I'll leave you with this little gem in case you need a refresher course in Peanuts.

Let's Chat

Hi all-

I know there are a few people that follow pretty regularly but I wanted to point out that you can be a follower of the blog in a few different ways. 

There are three links on the right hand side of the blog that will let you follow by e-mail, follow if you are a blogger member, or a google plus user.  So pick one and tag along more closely!!

Also please feel free to leave comments and/or input in the comments section as well.  I'd love to hear from everyone, get any input anyone may have, and ask or answer questions.  To do this there should be a small "comments" link at the end of each post. 

Thanks for following!

19 Weeks

Can't believe we are already this far along!

Total weight gain: Not sure, but I don't feel like I am gaining to much, just in my belly.
Maternity clothes? Nothing new, same few shirts and the belly belt for my jeans!
Stretch marks? None
Sleep: Sleep is great except my bladder is beating out my alarm clock as a wake up call.  I hate waking up fifteen minutes before the alarm goes off and that happened all this last week.
Best moment this week: Feeling the little wiggle worm move around more and more.
Miss Anything? Not really missing anything. Everything has been pretty easy and normal so far.
Movement: YES
Food cravings: Nothing really, still enjoying salads and fruits!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing that I can think of. Some foods will give me heartburn pretty quick though.
Gender:  Mixed feelings about it!
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: Heartburn and I had my first headache in a few weeks....I'm over the headaches for sure!!!  (At least they seem to be few and far between now.)
Belly Button in or out? In.  On another note, I'm starting to get the line down my belly.
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy most of the time but I can also snap quickly too.

Looking forward to: Holiday festivities!

18 Weeks

We are back in business.....

I really need to find a new place to take these pictures, there is always a glare and the lighting is terrible. 

Total weight gain: Not really sure but I feel like this baby belly is growing faster and faster now days.     
Maternity clothes? A few things.
Stretch marks? None
Sleep: Sleeping really well still.           
Best moment this week: An overwhelming trip to Babies R Us on Saturday (who knew you could make so many things for one tiny human.)  Confirming movement, and we just decorated the Brown family Christmas tree. I've been watching Christmas movies all day so there is some definite spirit in the house!!
Miss Anything?  Nothing really pregnancy related...I do miss the snow though!
Movement: YES! Wednesday morning was like a dance party for the little one, I've felt things ever since.  Now I'm pretty sure all this time that I thought I felt something I really did.  I wasn't making it up after all!!
Food cravings: I can't say I'm really craving anything...fruit and veggies still just taste the best to me.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Iffy with chicken, nothing else though.
Gender:  I don't know, I'm not really leaning one way versus the other anymore.
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: Small headaches.  Thankfully this is it.  Maybe we are over hump on not feeling well.
Belly Button in or out? In.
Wedding rings on or off? On.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy

Looking forward to: More Christmas cheer, a friends wedding reception, and feeling more and more wiggles!!