15 WEEKS!

Baby Maple is just about 4 inches from head to tush and weighs about 2 1/2 ounces! About the size of an orange. Baby is busy moving amniotic fluid through his/her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the  air sacs in his/her lungs begin to develop. His/Her legs are growing longer than her arms now! And baby is wiggling all over the place, but I am still waiting to feel the movement. Baby's eyelids are still fused shut but he/she can sense light. Also baby is busy forming taste buds! Good thing my palate includes a wider variety of foods :)

Baby Maple is growing and so is my tummy! Last week on Thursday I woke up and could not button my pants. I have to say I was a little stressed. Luckily my mom and sister were around that day and while running our errands we were able to go out and get some clothes with an expandable waist band! I also bought one of those great inventions, The Bella Band, so you can wear it over your other shorts and leave them unbuttoned and "pretend" they still fit.  I am excited to finally have a bit of a baby belly!

This weekend has been really wonderful.  We have had time to spend with friends and family. Thursday I had a wonderful lunch with my dear friend Leanne, who is pursuing her dreams and moving back home to Denver Colorado for graduate school! It was so special to be able to have one last Albuquerque Leanne/Tara date before she moved. It is also nice to know that I will get to see her in a little over a month when our friends Nick and Lindsey get married!

Thursday night we had dinner with our friend Tom, Rachel and Baby Kyle, and Jane and Josh! Rachel, Jane and I were all in the same pledge class in Pi Phi as well as bridesmaids in our wedding.  I have to give the update on baby Kyle - He is so damn adorable! Unfortunately he was a little fussy with me the last time I saw him and this time.  Rachel is convinced it has to do with the sex of the baby that I am carrying, there is some old wives tale about that.  I know deep down he really loves me, but this time he really loved his Uncle Jonathan! They got to do the "Hover Chair" which is Jonathans own invention and they got to cuddle!

Friday night we were supposed to meet up with My 2nd cousin Ross and his girlfriend Kayla, but unfortunately they were running a little bit behind schedule and this mommy couldn't stay up that late to wait for them! But we did get to spend time with my siblings and my dad and his wife and her kids! Which was a good time!

Also this weekend we got the crib and the dresser assembled! It looks so great! We are anxious to figure out whether baby is a boy baby or a girl baby, and then the nursery decorating can really begin! 

--It's Jonathan - have you all noticed that my lovely bride starts these posts and then I join in?  She is so fun that way.  I'm really excited to be sharing some of our good times!  She covered pretty much everything that has been going on these last 3 days.  The only other thing we did is create a REALLY cool wall in our kitchen.  We turned a regular old wall into a magnetic chalkboard wall!!!  Tara's sis helped and we totally got it done, from shopping to removing masking tape, in about 4 hours.  It looks great and the magnetic paint works well.  To all those DIYers out there, make sure that you ask the paint department to shake your paint before you leave the store!  Even if it isn't a custom color, it makes all the difference in the world when you go to apply it.  We are having a lovely Breakfast this morning with Linda.  It's always fun to have us, Kait, Linda, Guiness, Quinn, Lucy, Ramble, Sampson and Willow all together =p  It makes for quite a good time!  I guess that's pretty much it.  My 3 day weekends are coming to an end which is quite sad.  My company ebbs and flows with the School Districts.   So once Summer ends we go from a 9/80 schedule, to regular hours.  Thanks to everyone who has been excited for us!!!  We are really happy and life is good in NM ^_^ 

And Baby Maple makes Three!

Meet Baby Maple! Currently measuring about 3 1/2 inches about the size of a lemon (currently one of Tara's favorite flavors!) and weighing in at 1 1/2 ounces! Being just like Daddy, this baby was active! Jumping and flipping throughout the entire ultrasound!

We could not be happier! We are overwhelmingly excited for our bundle of joy and we feel so blessed! We will be keeping all of our friends and family up to speed on our new family addition as often as possible!

How did we find out?! Better yet How did I tell Jonathan?!

It was the weekend of my sister Kait's graduation from college. Jonathan and I had flown out with my mom to Tucson AZ to celebrate Kait's achievement and spend time with my Gramps and Grams and my Aunt Carol! We were really excited to be out in Tucson and spend the weekend with the family; however, God had other plans. My beautiful friend Rachel had asked me months before if I would be in the delivery room with her and her husband when she delivered her baby boy. Of course while we were eating lunch before Kait's ceremony Rachel's water broke! At that point I wasn't sure could I fly back tomorrow and still make it or did I have to go tonight? I decided to fly home that evening. I was able to watch my little sister graduate from college and receive her diploma, right after she walked across the stage Jonathan rushed me to the airport! I flew back to Albuquerque and Jonathan stayed in Tucson with the family!
It was a crazy whirlwind rushing home from Tucson, getting back to Albuquerque I can't remember much but I did make it to the hospital that night! Of course, there was no baby that night or the next morning... Mid morning Saturday I decided to head home and shower since it didn't look like that baby was coming anytime soon. I was running around the house talking on the phone to my mom, when I thought " I'm just going to take another test." Note: I had taken one on Friday morning and it was negative, or so I thought. Actually I didn't have the instructions on how to read it....so I will never know I just assumed it was negative! Anyways, I took the test and OH MY GOD! It was POSITIVE! I made my mom swear to secrecy even from my husband for the rest of the weekend! This was big news, I had to tell him someway special! My poor mom had to spend the rest of the weekend with Jonathan, my sister and her family and keep the big secret under wraps!
After all that excitement I headed back to the hospital, scared to talk to anyone in fear I would blurt out my news on Rachel and her husbands big day! At 4:33pm on May 14th Rachel delivered a handsome healthy baby boy, Kyle Matthew Brunton, weighing 7lbs and 3oz, 20 1/4inches long!
Waiting till Jonathan got home the next day was excruciating! He of course was making all these plans for running errands and working on rental houses, and all I wanted was for him to come home so I could tell him our good news! Thank goodness for my mom, she just dropped Jonathan off at our house and solved that problem!
...It's Jonathan now -  I was so bummed that Tara had to leave from Tuscon!! I was really looking forward to a weekend away with her on our family celebration .  We knew it was a possibility that she would have to leave and what can I say?  She's just that kind of friend, my Tara is a Saint.  When I was coming back I had NO idea that anything was going on.  In fact, with old tenants leaving and new tenants moving in over the weekend, I was on high alert to deal with all the joys of being a landlord.  I remember telling Linda that I had to go do a final walk through with my old tenants and that I didn't have high hopes for their behavior.  So, here I am wondering how fun of a time THAT is going to be, pondering how I am going to get my 4runner from Linda's house, worried about the trees we are trying to grow and thinking bout groceries amongst a myriad of other unknowables.  We are exiting the airport shuttle to our car, I've tried calling Tara and all of a sudden, Linda interrupts me and says "I'm taking you home."  I of course realized my thoughtful meandering through life's chore list had worn on her...and I could hardly blame her so, we jumped in the car, forewent the planning of this and that and headed to our house.

We get there and of course what do I do?  I glance to make sure 1.) no one has broken in 2.) the plants are alive 3.) the mail was picked up by our neighbors 4.) nothing has burned down, fallen over or flooded and 5.) that there are no random cars parked and casing the neighborhood.  I think this is instinctual for a man, we just have to make sure everything is safe and sound with our homes.  We can perfectly well convince ourselves that in addition to a automatic gate, we should, for example, dig a moat around our property for added security.  Linda opens the garage door and proceeds inward all the while I am busy doing everything BUT entering the house.  I'm just sure something needs my attention.  Well, not 10 secs after she goes in, Linda comes darting out and with a VERY serious tone says - "Your wife left you a note."  Oh !@%#,  she didn't even say anything after that, she just got in her car and left.  I can still hear the words "Well is it a good note?!!" falling out of my mouth as she pulled out of the driveway.  That's it, I'd done it.  I'd finally found a way to piss off my Mother-In-Law without being near her, saying anything and from what I could tell doing anything.  Maybe I smelled like muggy traveler that's been on an airplane too long?



Just as I entered DEFCON 1...my lovely bride was standing on the other side of the door.  She had lowered the lights and the house smelled really good.  She had this look on her face and I was reeling.  I had dreamed of this look...I had never actually seen it on her, but I had dreamed of it and my entire body got caught in my throat.  What vision I had left was used to paw my way around the house as Tara guided me on a little treasure hunt.  She had written cards, each with a poem on them and each with a gift and hidden them.  Each gift that was hand picked especially with me and our baby in mind.  It was amazing!  She got us a Tickle Monster Kit!!!  and a Twilight Turtle!  and 3 other gifts!  It actually took me weeks to read the poems.  I didn't realize that she would be upset by that! But I was saving them...keeping the magic alive, I knew their secret and it made me giggle just looking at them.  I knew.  My lovely bride was telling me that we were pregnant.  And what an amazing tale it was.  I have never felt more loved and cared for in my entire life, than I did in that moment.  We have dreamed of our family for a very long time and now we would get the chance.  The day I learned I would be a Daddy is second only to the day my lovely bride took me as her husband.  And every time I turn on the Twilight Turtle, I think about camping in the back yard, our tent lit up in its stars and our little baby's imagination soaring through the heavens.  Lucy and Ramble, the guardian spirit dogs keeping our baby safe.  A Tale of Two Maple's - the World Ramblers - have just begun their greatest adventure ever - making a family.

13 WEEKS!

Baby's now the size of a peach!
Baby is forming teeth and vocal cords. Baby is approaching normal proportions, with his/her head now only one third the size of his body. And intestines are in the process of moving from the umbilical cord to baby's tummy -- much more convenient.

So how was the first trimester?

Figured I had better write an entry about the first trimester because it is one of the most frequently asked questions, that and "how are you feeling?" So let me tell you!
Truthfully I feel very lucky to have experienced the feelings that I have experienced! It is all part of what Jonathan and I had been dreaming about, having a baby!
 I was nauseous. Not in the morning but in the afternoons and evenings. It would creep in around 3:30pm and would not go away until the next morning. Different, I know. Although, when it would get really bad I would just go to bed!
Which leads to the next thing that was beyond what I ever expected. Extreme fatigue. I really thought there is no way women could possible be THAT tired! Oh, but it is true. At work if I was in a dark patient room and my patient was asleep and I could hear the heart rate on the monitor and I just closed my eyes...I would fall asleep! Me! The girl who can not sleep in cars or planes etc! I would also day dream about going to sleep around mid morning!
I feel so blessed to be pregnant and to experience all of these symptoms; however, I am thankful to welcome the second trimester! I have been feeling much more like myself and have had much more energy. I also have been back to my normal pre-pregnancy diet of fresh vegetables and adult food!

My saving graces for the first trimester:
Pizza
Pasta
Macaroni and Cheese
Lucky Charms
Cinnamon Toast Crunch 

Things I could not stand:
Eggs (Now I like them, sometimes!)
Anything BBQ flavored or the smells of BBQ (still can't...)
Perfumes and fragrant lotions (still having a hard time...)

12 WEEKS!

Baby is the size of a plum! After weeks of intense development all the baby's critical systems are almost formed! And HELLO 2nd TRIMESTER, how I have been waiting for this!

11 WEEKS!

Baby's now the size of a lime!Baby currently enjoys a 1:1 ratio between body and head, and has skin so transparent that blood vessels show right through it. But fingers and toes are no longer webbed, and hair follicles, tooth buds, and nail beds are forming -- setting up a significantly more attractive future.