Coming along...

She is growing!!! (Her, not me...well maybe, both of us!) Today marks 23 weeks and 5 days preggo! I went to a prenatal appointment yesterday and all checked out well. I'm measuring normal and Baby Girl's heartbeat was 156. Blood pressure and all was good. Next appointment in four weeks will be my Glucose test. (Not looking forward to the icky orange drink).

Jimmy and I placed the Home Depot order for our windows and door for the back porch yesterday. I'm definitely in a nesting phase right now! I can think of a million things I would like to do to our home before she arrives. Good thing she won't mind if it all doesn't get done! We expect to have Jimmy's office moved out to the porch by the second week of August or so. Then....nursery time! Mom has been ordering the crib bedding piece by piece (Brooke by Pottery Barn...sooo cute!- check it out http://www.potterybarnkids.com/room/rom/romnur/romnurbrk/index.cfm).

As far as fetal development goes... Baby Girl is gaining about 3 ounces a week (then why am I gaining, 1 lb a week, right??) Her tastes buds are forming, which means she can actually experience the yummy foods I am eating through the amniotic fluid. While I'm spinning, swimming, and yoga-ing to stay in shape, she is sucking her thumb to increase muscular coordination of her hands. Believe me, she gets quite a work out running the walls of my uterus (or whatever she is doing in there!). She is a whopping foot long and is now covered in fine, downy hair and waxy vernix to protect her skin. I thought it was very interesting to read that babies born at this age have 36% chance of survival...hard to imagine, as they are still so tiny and fragile. Stay in there little one, just as long as you can!

Hurst Girls Fishing Trip (with Guide Jimmy)

Saturday, Jimmy took his wife, mom, and sister fishing!!! What was he thinking, right?? Aside from a motor malfunction and a hard time catching bait, we had a great (but hot!) day out on the water. We drove over to Stuart (East Coast) and actually went off shore for a bit, before coming back and fishing the beach and inlet. We didn't catch a ton of fish, but the fish we caught put up a good fight! Belinda and I caught Bonita offshore and Jimmy and Lindsey caught a couple of HUGE Jack up by the beach. We piddled around and reeled in a few small snook before calling it a day.

You can tell the difference in the color of water offshore. It is absolutely clear, blue and beautiful! We don't go offshore much, so when we do, I just love it! Excuse my protruding abdomen... I wasn't prepared for pictures. We caught these Bonita just as soon as our line hit the water. They must have seen us coming!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

My wonderful hubby took me to one of my favorite restaurants for my 25th Birthday last night...The Melting Pot in Orlando. Such a fun place to celebrate something special.

Jimmy...stuffed!


Did I mention you have to cook your own food?! We had duck, shrimp, steak, marinated pork, potstickers, and veggies! Yummy!

Lots of delicious treats to dip in our "Flaming Turtle" chocolate fondue for dessert. (Free with coupon...yay!)

Here we are on our way out the door after a wonderful evening together.

Thanks, Baby, for an awesome birthday night!

Half way there!

Now that we know that Baby H is more likely to stand for Hazel than Hansel, and I've posted adorable in-utero snapshots of our baby girl, I keep trying to think of ways to one-up myself with a better post. I figured a video clip in her amniotic swimming pool should do the trick. Watch closely at the beginning and you can see that she is covering her face with her hands...then she pulls them away and you can see alien like features. That's her beautiful face!

Today, I am 20 weeks and 2 days. Technically over half way there! (But probably not...my mom was late with all of us, so things aren't looking good for punctuality). We are now measuring baby girl from head to toe (vs. head to rump) and she measures a staggering 10+ inches. (Did we mention she might have Uncle Marsh's legs?) Apparently, one of her favorite past times is practicing swallowing, which is kind of gross considering that she pee pees in the amniotic fluid. When we went in for the sonogram a couple weeks ago, we actually saw her opening her mouth and swallowing...so cool! She has been flipping around and kicking like crazy- most active in the evenings (typical bedtime rebellion). I've been trying to get her to perform for Jimmy, but up until two nights ago, the timing was off. Finally, I caught her really close to the surface (trying to come up for air?) and just a kickin! Jimmy felt her kick over 5 times! It was so fun- and funny...it makes me laugh hysterically!

Still no name- or at least not that we are sharing. I've noticed that is one of the questions most people love to ask. Along with, "how much weight have you gained?" Arghhh!!! (That is my mean pregnant lady growl).

I'm actually really enjoying being pregnant. I'm sure that some women who never have fertility issues completely enjoy and appreciate their pregancy and growing fetus, but from my own experience, I have to say that I am relishing in every moment more than I ever would have without the trials. I'm thankful for each moment, and, now that I'm out of puke purgatory, I feel better, stronger, and healthier than I ever have. Pregnancy is good to me :-) at least so far!