She is still Breeched

We had another sonogram today to check on the positioning of baby Brooke. She is currently in a Frank Breech position. She seems to really like this breech position that she is in. THis is the same position that she was in 10 weeks ago. We watched her moving around her arms and legs and doing lots of smiling. It does not look comfortable to me but the dr. said she is fine. Based on the measurements today they think she weighs 6 pounds and 3 ounces. We have a couple options to consider now. We can schedule a manual rotation, where they try to move her into a head down position. Or we can go ahead and schedule a C Section. The doctor said there is a 5% chance she will turn on her own and a 20% chance they can manually turn her. The other bad thing is that my tummy is measuring small so she doesn't have much room to turn. I have gained a total of 19 pounds; which is a little under where they would like me to be. It is not easy to gain weight on a diabetic diet. Anyway, I see my OBGYN on Wednesday and I have a ton of questions to ask her. In the meantime, I am going to try all the home remedies for turning a breeched baby. First thing tomorrow I am putting a bag of frozen peas on her head. That worked for one of my friends here. Please be saying lots of prayers that she will turn on her own. We are very thankful that she is a healthy baby and still growing each day. Here is a 3D picture they took inbetween her kicking her arms and legs.

Jackson and Golf

Our dog Jackson is kind of obsessed with playing fetch. He has recently decided that when someone hits a golf ball, it is his job to go get it. We happen to live next to a golf course, so now Jackson is only taken outside on a leash. We were watching the PGA Byron Nelson Tournament today and Jackson was mesmorized by the golfers. He would folllow the ball and then run up to the screen to get the ball. He seemed very confused when he licked or pawed at the screen and could not get the ball. This might be the end of us watching golf with him on the big screen.

Ryan's Graduation, Nursery, and Stress Tests

Our family was very excited for Ryan last weekend. He officially graduated with a Masters Degree in Business from Bentley University in Boston. He drove with his fiance Kelly so he could walk accross the stage and get his diploma. Congrats Ry, we are so proud of you! He has also reminded me that I am now the least educated person in our immediate family. I guess I'd better get cracking on a masters degree.
We added a couple key items to the nursery last week. The Brooke letters came in and we hung them over her crib. I am very happy with them and could never produce anything close on my own. I had a dream that the baby was actually a boy and I told Keith that we would have to come up with a boy name using the letters in Brooke. That would limit our choices by a LOT. We also decided to hang up the quilt that went with her bedding. SHe won't be able to use this quilt in the crib for at least 6 months and it is super cute. Finally, I bought a rag/shag rug. It is really really soft and breaks up the wood floors a bit. I have a couple more little things to add to the nursery but we are pretty much done! Hooray!! You might be wondering why there is not any pink in this nursery. Keith and I decided to keep the decor gender neutral incase the next baby is a boy. No worries though, Brooke will be dressed in pink a LOT. She has tons of pink outfits, bows, and cute shoes to let everyone know that she is super girly.
Today was my first stress test for Brooke. The doctor wants to monitor her heartbeat once a week to make sure she is doing okay. This test is being done because of my gestational diabetes. The test today went great. We listened to her heartbeat for about 30 minutes. They showed me the printout with the fluctuations when she was moving around. I'll be doing another test next Friday with hopefully the same type of results. I am also going on Tuesday for another sonogram. They cannot tell if she is still breeched. Please be praying for a head down baby. I am not looking forward to the manual turning if she is still breeched. Hopefully they will do a 3D sonogram of her face. I will defintely post pictures after that appointment.

New belly pictures, cute dogs, and the herb garden

The belly button has popped!




We are just about 36 weeks pregnant. I had Keith take a couple of belly pictures today to document. I am hoping this little girl will be ready to come out in 4 weeks. I have only gained 16 pounds to date and she only weighs about 4-5 pounds. My next doctor's appointment is on Wednesday and they are going to check dilation, baby position, etc. I also have an appointment this week at the diabetes center. It has already been a month since I started taking blood sugar readings 4 times a day. I have had 3 high sugar readings over the past month; all after dinner checks. All three were due to eating rice. If you have diabetes or gestational diabetes; stay away from rice. It is killer! I am hoping they will let me back off on the blood sugar checks since the other times a day have been in range. How great would it be to only have to check blood sugar once a day after dinner!!
The dogs have been extra rowdy lately. They long to get outside in the sun and play. The only problem is they run onto the golf course and will not come back. A couple weeks ago Jackson ran over to a golfer and took his ball(very embarassing). I have to keep them on a leash when they are outside now. We bought them this steak flavored rope recently and they love it. Last night they were sitting on the floor next to Keith and I while we ate dinner. They positioned the rope inbetween them and were so cute sharing. I had to take a picture.
We are very excited about Ryan and Kelly's wedding. They are getting married here in Pittsburgh in less than 3 weeks. Our family starts flying in on Thursday June 3rd. I can't wait!!
Keith is very excited about the recent planting of herbs. We spent about 2 hours at Lowe's picking out flowers, herbs and pots. We are hoping to have tomatillos, jalepenos, basil, mint, rosemary, thyme, and a few others that I cannot remember now. Keith looks at the plants/seeds every day as soon as he gets home. He is very proud of his porch garden. We would probably have a big garden here if it weren't for all the deer. Our neigbors advised us not to plant anything in the ground without a big fence.

Shower at Holiday Park Church in Pittsburgh

Our new church in Pittsburgh wanted to throw us a baby shower. We still don't know everyone and didn't feel like they should go to all that effort. Well, the ladies were insistent so we finally agreed. They had a combination potluck/shower on Sunday May 2nd. Keith and I were blown away by all the decorations, people and gifts. This church is fairly small, but that didn't stop them from putting on a big shower for us. We were blessed to receive a TON of diapers and wipes. We also got a swing, diaper genie and tons of Babies-r-us gift cards. We are so thankful for the generosity of the members of Holiday Park Church. They did a great job helping us to celebrate the upcoming arrival of baby Brooke.
Keith put the swing together when we got home from church. It is so cute. My brother Ryan saw it this weekend and said he'd love to have a swing like that in his size, ha!
We are almost done setting up the nursery. The Brooke letters that I ordered should be here this weekend and I bought a rag/shag rug last week. We are deciding weather to order some black-n-white polka dot wall decals next. It will depend on how the name letters look aboe the crib. I promise to post pictures once we are done.

Trip to Dallas

Flowers from the Hostess

Brooke's First Aggie Gear

Claire getting a kiss from Caleb

The ACU Girls

Girls getting ready for the shower


I had a wonderful trip to Dallas a couple weeks ago. The only thing missing was Keith; he had to stay in Pittsburgh and work.
I worked out of our new Fort Worth office on Thursday and got to catch up with some great people! Thursday was also Rodney's birthday so we went to lunch at Dos Gringos. He was very embarrassed when I had the staff sing happy birthday to him. He even got a praline cookie!
Friday I worked out of our corporate office and continued catching up with members of my Ops Team. It was so nice to see everyone. I was able to get a sneak peak of the new buildout on the 11th floor. I am excited to see the finished product in a few months. It is going to be quite an impressive setup for the Encompass Development Center. Yay Brit!!
On Saturday my sister-in-law Shevawn hosted a shower with my college girlfriends. They did the best job! All the decorations were super cute and the food was delicious. Shevawn even had a diet coke for me from Sonic since I could not drink the sugary punch. The girls invited a mix of family, work and church friends to the shower. We had a wonderful turnout. I am amazed at how many cute girl clothes are out there. Brooke received several very cute outfits at this shower; including her first Aggie gear.
After the shower I went to dinner with my girls from college. We always have fun together and it doesn't seem like any time has gone by since we were all living in Abilene. We had an old fashioned slumber party at Jenn's house after dinner. I stayed up later that night then I have in a long time! Emily was even able to make it to dinner and the sleepover. She brought her little girl Lucy who is now about 6 months old. Lucy was very entertained with Jenn's dogs Maybe and Cosmo. I wish that we had all taken a picture together.
Sunday I went to church with Mark and Shevawn and spent the afternoon hanging out at their house. It is always great to spend time with them; especially since I used to live there. Claire was in a great mood and we had tons of fun playing. Mark grilled out for dinner and we watched the Mavs game. The only bad part of the evening was watching the Mavs lose to San Antonio. It seems to happen way too often.
I was really sad to leave on Monday morning. I love Dallas and miss everyone who lives there. It was so nice to stay with all my friends and family. I spent one night at each person's house. It was also surreal to know that the next time I visit Dallas I will have a baby.
Keith was there to pick me up at the airport on Monday night. We decided to have a Texas type meal and went to a steakhouse. He is very excited to fly back to Texas for a visit at the end of May. I will not be travling with him for this trip. At that point I will be 37 weeks pregnant. So let's hope that he has a great trip and that baby Brooke stays put until after Ryan's wedding on June 5th.