Sledding with Arizona Friends and the baby's name: Brooke Marie

Our sweet friends from Arizona flew to see us last weekend. Their kids were really excited to play in the snow. Sadly, most of it had melted by the time they got to our house. We were able to go sledding on Saturday at the golf course; it was really fun. My friend's little boy Logan decided he'd rather sit and eat snow than sled. They were really cute.
While they were visiting we decided on a nursery theme. We are going to use the bedding called Arctic Babies. http://www.cottontaledesigns.com/collections/artic-babies.html
It has little penguins, polar bears, and whales. It seems fitting since we live in such a freezing cold place. My friend Sally is super creative and she gave me some great ideas on decorating. I wish she lived closer. I'm definitely not crafty enough to make any of the decor. I'm hoping she can help me from long distance.
I asked my friend's daughter Emma what we should name the baby and she suggested Cinderella. While that is a lovely name, I think CInderella McSpadden would be quite long. Keith and I are excited to name the baby Brooke Marie. Brooke is a name that we both like and Marie is a family name on Keith's side. Our little niece Claire has the middle name Marie too. I think it will be fun for them to have the same middle name; especially since they will be born less than one year apart. I know they will be great friends!
We also got a crib this week. Keith is going to put it together soon, so stay posted for pictures. I am finally able to feel the baby kicking. It is so nice to know she's in there moving around. It will still be a few weeks before the kicks are strong enough for Keith to feel. He is already excited about it.
Keith has been cracking up lately at my cravings. Last night I made Kraft Mac and Cheese and Fish Sticks. He feels like he's eating with a 5 year old kid. I am just excited to be enjoying food on a stable stomach. I will have Keith take a belly picture soon. One of the resident's kids (she is 3)told me last week that I've been eating too much chicken and that's why my belly is big. ha!

We're having a girl!

We had our sonogram today at the hospital. It was the coolest thing. First it was amazing to see a real baby on the screen. We were so happy to see she was healthy and developing normally. Keith was happy that she didn't have clubbed feet. I was shocked at how much she was moving around and moving her hands, feet and mouth. At some points it looked like she was talking in there. Our sonogram technician was calling her sassy girl becuase she would not cooperate with her positions and wouldn't hold still for any of the pictures. We are expecting a crazy, rambunctious baby; as payback for all the trouble we caused our parents when we were little. Keith and I definitely received the most spankings of our siblings. She also had some aggie moments with her clear thumbs up! Keith is already convinced that she's bound for Aggieland.
Now we are excited to choose a name and start picking out nursery stuff. Keith and I went to a baby store right after our appointment and he bought a pink shirt that says "I'm better than a puppy" We are curious to see how the dogs will react to the baby. Thankyou to everyone for your thoughts and prayers for the baby. We are very thankful that she is healthy and developing on track. Right now she weighs about 1/2of a pound. Our due date is June 16, 2010.
We will go back at the end of March for another sonogram; this time a 3D sonogram. I'll try to post a belly picture sometime soon. There is not much to show at this point. Hopefully this baby belly will begin to pop out soon.

Time in Texas

We had a great time in Texas visiting friends and family. We loved our Claire time! She is our first neice. Keith enjoyed holding her and singing silly songs. I loved getting to see all her sweet faces. Claire is definitely the best dressed McSpadden. She has a bow to coordinate with every outfit and she's already sporting A&M gear.
Keith was finally able to relax and sleep in on our trip. We had lots of relax time at his parents house. There was plenty of great food, a warm fire and of course Keith's beloved family pet Maggie. We enjoyed our time with his parents too!
We got to have lunch with my favorite girls at a great Mexican food restaurant in Richardson. It was my first time to eat salsa in 3 months. My tummy still wasn't completely okay but it was worth it. My friend Liz and I are planning a girls New York trip for March. Hopefully Jen and Val will be able to come too!
We had to fly back to Pittsburgh at the end of the week. It was sad to leave everyone; especially not knowing when we will see them next. But, we couldn't wait to get back to Pittsburgh and see our dogs Mason and Jackson. They had a great week playing at the Thomas' house with Chase and Tally. Thanks for taking such great care of them.
We are now back in Pittsburgh and the snow is still falling. Our friends from Arizona are coming to visit next week and their kids have never been in the snow. Hopefully it will stick around until then. We get to find out if the baby is a boy or girl on Wednesday. Stay tuned!

Christmas in Pittsburgh

We were very excited to have my mom come to Pittsburgh for a whole week. Keith still had to work, but we managed to have some fun. On Sunday the 20th we went to Heinz Hall to see the Holiday Pops Show. It really put us in the Christmas spirit.
On Tuesday my mom took me to lunch at my favorite type of restaurant; Hibachi. I love all Asian food but Hibachi is the best. Then we went to the hospital to see my friend Lindsey and her new baby Christen. He was born about 10 days early; just in time for Christmas. He is so cute! I was amazed that he never cried while we were there. Lindsey looked awesome. You would never know that she just had a baby. I am hoping for a labor like hers.
We had our big Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve with my mom, Keith, Ryan and his fiance Kelly. It seemed like we had enough food to feed twice that many people. After dinner we opened presents. I was so excited to get two new board games; Blockus and an old favorite Clue. I am ready to play board games anytime!
On Christmas morning I woke up early and made Eggs Benedict for everyone. I have been craving Eggs Benedict for the last month. The only cravings I am having so far are for Eggs Benedict and Guacamole; weird. Keith opened a present from his mom on Christmas morning. It was a professional chef jacket with his name embroidered. He was very excited to put it on and pull out the big knives.
We ended our holiday week in Pittsburgh by having a special dinner at Monterey Bay. Ryan and Kelly are having their wedding reception there in June. They had never eaten there before and we thought it was the perfect time to try it! We had a wonderful meal. It was a great way to end our Christmas week!

West Penn Holiday Party

We went to a holiday party for Keith's work a couple weekends ago. It was really nice. They had dinner and dancing at a fancy hotel in downtown Pittsburgh. They put all the residents up at the hotel after the party. We really enjoyed being downtown to see all the Christmas decorations. When we woke up the next morning it was snowing! It ended up snowing all day. Here are a few pictures from the work party. There are 5 other pregnant ladies who are married to guys in the podiatry program. We thought it would be funny to take a picture from most to least pregnant. Allison was in the lead; she's due on December 6th but is still waiting for her baby boy to make an appearance. Lindsey is next, with a due date of January 1st. Then Amber is due on January 11th. Heather is due towards the end of January. Jessica (not pictured because her husband was on-call) is due in May, and I am at the end of the line, due in June. Maybe we will take this picture again in June with all the babies. It is really nice to be pregnant at the same time with these ladies. They can offer me a lot of advice on what is coming up in the next 6 months. I am very thankful for their friendships.

We're having a baby

Today was a big day for the McSpaddens. I was able to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time at the doctor's office. She said the baby is healthy with a strong heartbeat. The baby was moving all around and she had to keep adjusting the heart monitor to find the heartbeat. Hopefully this is not a sign that our baby already has TONS of energy. Keith and I were both a handful as little kids, so we're pretty sure that we're in for a wild one! Our next appt is on January 13th. We are having a sonogram and will find out the sex of the baby; unless he/she is being shy. Our tenative due date is June 17th, 2010. We should have a better idea of the due date after our visit in January. We are excited to start this blog! This should be a great way to keep everyone updated on the baby happenings. We are very thankful for all your support and prayers. Love,