Allison June

So I think I have shared with everyone how I chose the name Allison June, but to refresh your memory, here it goes. Allie was my best friend in high school who passed away a month before I started my senior year. It was a tough way to start off the year and unfortunately only got worse from there. However, Allie and I did a lot together; we would go to movies, spend-the-night at each others house and played in the band together. She died in a car accident due to people street racing, thanks Fast and the Furious! It was hard to be at school without her, but to have the driver of the car there was even harder! When I was 18 I got a tattoo that has the Chinese symbol for heaven and her initials under it. It reminds me of her but also helps me remember that life is short and precious and we are not guaranteed every day, so live life to the fullest.
Most of you probably know that June was my grandmother's name and those of you that knew her, knew that she was a special person! Going back to the original story of how my senior year sucked, two months into the year, I was pulled out of class and taken by our principal to the hospital because there was something going on with my grandma. Little did I know that she had already passed and that time, I thought she was just sick or something! Anyway, she was the most precious, wonderful, godly person that I have ever met. I was her only grand-daughter, so I think I was able to bond with her a little more. She and I would bake cakes, brownies, cookies whatever we wanted together. After she passed, my Aunt moved into her house and said that there were boxes of brownie and cake mix in the cabinet. I miss her so much and I only wish that I could've spent more time with her. I also wish she could see me now and meet Chris... I know she would love him! When I was 19 I got a tattoo on my foot of a hawaiian-looking flower with a ladybug sitting on it to remind me of her. I used to love looking at her pictures from when she and my Aunt Linda went to Hawaii and hear the stories of the trip. I wanted to get a june-bug on the leaf, because when she was younger people called her June-Bug, but when I was finding a picture of one I realized that they look a LOT like roaches, and I HATE roaches! So, I went with something cuter and decided on the ladybug!
So, that's how Allison June Lindquist got her name. Here are some pictures of her from our last ultrasound that I was saving so you wouldn't be overwhelmed by the baby girl news and video!

Like I said before, she was being rather stubborn that day!

She has a nice head and good spine

If you watched my video on Facebook, you might have heard me call my baby a monster and I was a little scared of her... this is why! It reminded my mom and I of the Clown from SAW...

Hopefully AJ will cooperate a little bit more and we can get good pictures of her face! I can't wait to see what she is going to look like!

Allie, the Ninja

So it's been a couple of days since we found out we were having a girl and I have to say I was shocked at first! I really could've sworn we were having a boy, but as sure I was it was a boy, Chris knew it was a girl! Apparently he has the better instinct on what it was. It did take a day to get used to, but we are calling her by her name instead of referring her to "baby" or "him." It sounds nice calling her AJ or Allison or Allie. I think it really fits her! 

Going back a couple of days, at the Dr. appointment Allie was being quite stubborn and laying on her tummy so we couldn't get great pictures of her and the nurse kept poking me to try to get her to turn over, but Allie wasn't having any of it! So the nurse kept poking and Allie kept kicking back! Apparently our child will be a fighter or at least not take crap from anyone! So that night, we all went out to dinner and Allie decided that she was going to have her revenge on me for letting the nurse poke her. I had always heard that the kicking of a baby feels like a flutter in your tummy or a twinge of gas pain, but not my child! She is apparently really a ninja and was kicking me from the inside out! She, I swear, was jumping up and down on my uterus! It was great for my mom and Chris because they got to feel it, but Lord have mercy, it was killing me! The next morning I woke up and I didn't think I would be able to get out of bed! I was so sore! I'm sure it was a combination of Allie and the nurse, but I DO NOT want to go through that again! And the only "advice" my mom could give me was, "Just wait until she's bigger and can really kick!" Thanks mom, I look forward to that! 

Chris does love feeling her kick and she is very active at night, so it's perfect for when he gets home from work or right before bed he'll lay next to me and just wait for her to start kicking. It really is an exciting time for us and it makes it seem so real! I can't believe that in about 4 months we will have a baby! It seems like it's taken forever to get here, but I know it's going to go by so quickly; especially once she arrives! This weekend we are working on the nursery and getting that set up, or at least making some progress on it. I keep having different ideas running through my head as to what I want the nursery theme to be and it changes constantly! I think I have FINALLY narrowed it down, but we will see when we get done with everything what it actually is!

Until next time, 

Holly 

We're Having a Baby....

That's right, we're having a baby! I'm sure you know that already, but I am going to make this as dramatic as possible, so if you have to know now, just scroll to the bottom and see for yourself. For the rest of you, it's going to be a great story!
As most of you know, I have been back and forth for the past 2 weeks trying to decide if I want to know what we're having. I was set on not finding out and then as the time got closer it seemed that I would not be able to wait. So I started figuring out why I wanted to wait and the reason was that I wanted Chris to be the one to tell me. So, I was going to ask the nurse to write it on a piece of paper and then Chris and I could open it together later that night and he could be the one that still tells me! So here how it actually happened:
I had been counting down the minutes until it was time to leave for the Dr appointment and was trying to do everything I could to distract me and make time go by quicker! I found a couple of errands to run and clothes to wash. It helped, but I still couldn't help but think, "In 5 hours from now, I will know if it's a boy or girl." Or, "This time tomorrow we will know what we're having!" So finally the time came to go pick up Chris from work and then we were going for some lunch with my mom and her friend before the appointment. I pick up Chris, head toward the area where the appointment is and then we go to Einstein Bros. Bagels and get some lunch. I tell you, it was hard to eat. I just wanted to go sit in the waiting room and wait to see my baby!
We finally finished lunch and headed to the appointment and checked in and sat and waited. It seemed like I waited forever, but finally the nurse called me to come back! When she saw the crowd that was with me, she said that Chris and I could start the process and after everything checked out ok we could come and get my mom. So, Chris and I headed back and got ready to see our baby! I couldn't believe how big it was! I was still expecting to see something similar to a bean or small and I was shocked when I saw how big it was! We got to see every part of the baby in detail as they did the anatomy check and everything was perfect. However, the baby was being rather stubborn and wouldn't turn over so we didn't get to get a good picture of the face and boy/girl parts! The nurse kept poking the baby and pushing on my uterus to try to get him/her to move, but it didn't work! I guess the baby comes by it honestly, apparently I was a rather stubborn child as well, so I can't blame him/her that much!
So here it is... she asked us what we wanted to do and I told her my romantic plan and she said that was perfect and what a lot of couples like to do. Well Chris decided that since he was going to find out before me that it was ok for him to watch the ultra sound, which I was fine with because I watched his face the whole time and saw the smile that came to his face and stayed all day long! So now Chris knows and I don't. I have to say, I was perfectly fine with not knowing at the time. I was just happy to see my baby and the cute positions that he/she was getting in. So we sat and waited for the doctor and that was the longest wait! It seemed like the longer we wait the more impatient I was getting and the more I wanted to know what we were having!
We finally made it through the appointment and as we were getting in the car to go home, I had to know! I couldn't wait any longer and my mom and her friend were in the backseat and I thought it was the perfect moment. That way, my mom could video us and still be there to find out what her grand-baby is going to be! Well, it finally happened! As I sat there I could not stop crying and was so excited about the results! I was also still in shock that it's a baby... my baby... my baby GIRL!!! Yep, we are having a baby girl!!! YEA!!!! I know that this is really long, so I will save my reactions and thoughts for the next post! Thanks for reading through it! Love you all!

Tick, Tick, Tick

You know what it's like when you look forward to something and time just seems to stop! Like the weekend, or the end of the day, or a baby! I tell you.. I know that 9 months is a long time, but oh my gosh! I can't wait to hold my baby and see what he/she is going to look like! I'm pretty sure that it's going to look EXACTLY like Chris, but I just want to know if it's going to have my blue eyes! I just want one child that looks like Chris with my eyes... Hello Heartbreaker! I'll be fighting the boys/girls off with a bat! I take that back... Chris will be fighting them off with the bat! I think he's going to be a little over-protective, but it'll be a good thing!
Going back to time standing still...I like that throughout the 9 months you get little surprises to look forward to, like seeing him/her for the first time, buying decorations for the room or clothes, or finding out the gender. However, I am going next week to see the baby and possibly find out the sex (we are still debating whether or not we want to find out) but it seems like next week is a year away! My friend went to the Dr today and found out she was having a girl and I think it just is taunting me on having to wait a whole week to see my baby! We were supposed to go on Friday but had to change it since Chris will be in a class and that too is taunting me and making me regret changing it! At least Chris will be with me Wednesday to see the baby!
I finally started a registry at Pottery Barn Kids and have added way too much! I figure if we find out what the sex is I will modify it a little and delete some stuff, but there is lots to choose from now! I plan on starting a registry at Babies-R-Us too, but I would like to do that in person, so it might be a couple of weeks before that on is set up. I am feeling so overwhelmed about everything that I need and what to choose from that I told my Mom that she has to come with me to help me pick stuff out! That's one main reason why it will take a couple of weeks to get it started since I don't get to Birmingham that much and when she comes over I'm usually not off.
Nothing too exciting has been going on with the baby since last week, so there hasn't been to much to talk about with that. Stay tuned for next weeks all new blog. Will we find out the sex of the baby? Will the baby be kicking like a Ninja? These questions and more will all be answered!

Happy Mother's Day

I know the blog is a little late, but I have been pondering about what to write for a while. Chris came home Friday night and I was very happy to see him! We haven't spend that much time apart since we got married and especially since I got pregnant and hormonal! I had to work on Saturday, but he came and ate dinner with me and then went back home. I then came home and was surprised when he handed me a bag and yelled "Happy Anniversary" at me! It was a big book of famous poets/poems and he had written his own poem on the inside cover! I totally started crying and then was even more shocked when he asked me if I wanted my Anniversary/Mother's Day gift then or Sunday. I am kinda greedy, so I really wanted it then and it was like 9pm, so it was almost Mother's Day. He then handed me a wrapped package and I was completely floored when I opened it up! It was the Barne's & Nobel NOOK! He apparently was listening when I was talking about my new love of reading and he wanted to support that, but then it was lots of cool gadgets that I can use anywhere! I then suggested that I can put kids books on there so when we go on trips we don't have to take a heap of books with us... so there was the Mother's Day part! I'm just trying to think ahead, you know!
Anyway, I did have to work, but the day went by quickly and the baby must've know it was Mommy's day... he/she was kicking up a storm! It reminds me that Chris really wanted a Ninja baby, and I feel like we are going to have one! That night Chris and I were reading Baby Sesame Streets books and we were taking turns reading pages. We then picked up another book and he read it by himself and I had the image of him sitting in a rocker, which we don't own yet, holding the baby and reading to him/her. I almost started crying and then the book was over. The good news is that Chris really liked the book and said he could get into it! I guess we will be buying more Elmo books in the near future! I hope everyone else's Mother's Day was as wonderful as mine was! I can't wait until next year and I actually am a mom!

19 Weeks

I realized that it had been awhile since I had taken any pictures of myself and when Chris came home yesterday, after being gone for a week, he said that my tummy had grown! So I figured it was time for me to get back to taking pictures of myself.
And by the way, it is time for me to start shopping for the maternity clothes! I have been wearing a lot of knit skirts and dresses lately, but I have hardly any pants to wear now! Hopefully on my next off day, I can make it to a store and by something else to wear to work besides skirts/dresses!

Here I am at 19 weeks.

Book Club

So much has been going on, but nothing too terribly important. I decided that my baby was getting too smart for the ABC book, and I honestly was getting sick of reading it everyday, so we moved up! I figured it didn't really matter what I was reading just as long as it was hearing my voice, but I also thought I should start catching up on some childhood favorites. So, I went to the library and cruised through the children's sections seeing what would pop out to me. I found some little "Winnie the Pooh" books, but I didn't think that would peak baby's interest for very long. So, I finally stumbled upon "The Chronicles of Narnia" series and decided to start there. I remember reading "The Lion. The Witch, and the Wardrobe" when I was little, and of course seeing the movie, but I thought I should refresh my memory and maybe read that to the baby when he/she get's a little older. I started with "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" and I forgot how good it really was! I then read the 3rd book, "The Horse and His Boy" and I can honestly say I couldn't put it down. I finished both books in a day (mostly because I wasn't working)!
On another note, I felt my baby kick the other day! I had been working all day and came home and was resting in bed when I felt a poking coming from around the baby. I sat up and looked down and said, "Baby? Are you kicking me?" I was unsure if it was really a kick and I went to work the next day and talked to some girls and they all agreed that yes, it was the baby indeed! I then had to call Chris, since he still is not home, and tell him that he needed to come home and have a talk with his child. He then asked why, and I said, "because he keeps kicking me!" Chris, of course, was so excited and I could tell that he was smiling like crazy! I wished that he was here for it, but I then realized that it's not like he could feel it... I could barely feel it! But at least now he has something to look forward to coming home to!
Going back to the original story, I was then reading my book out loud to the baby and stopped to take a break between chapters when I felt another kick from the baby! I am slightly enthused that he/she is actually listening to me and likes when I talk to him! As much as I am getting tired of hearing my voice, apparently the baby is enjoying it! So I guess I am going back to the library tomorrow to get some more books in the series and read to the baby. I do have to say, I did get a book for me, which included a lot of cursing and adult themes, so I didn't read that to the baby, I figure I might start shielding them now. I would also have to recommend "The Breathtaker" by Alice Blanchard for anyone looking for a good novel. It's 391 pages, and I finished it with 24 hours! I couldn't put it down! Very suspenseful!

Happy Anniversary

Today is my and Chris' 1 year anniversary! I can't believe it's been a year already! It seems like just yesterday I was planning the wedding and getting all the last minute details together! I also can't believe that a year from now we will be celebrating with a 7 month old! It still gets me every once in a while that I am going to be a mom! I was washing my hands the other day at work and looked in the mirror and thought, "I am going to be a mom.... like a mom, with a baby! Can I handle this?" And then I had to regain my composure and get back to work! It's funny that it hits at some of the oddest times though! I was talking to Chris the other night at he said the same thing... "I'm going to be a dad!" It's like neither of us can believe it so we keep telling ourselves that we are going to be a mom and dad hoping that it will sink in before October!
So here are some pictures to remember our Anniversary by! Enjoy!

 Here is Chris and his niece, Lucianna

One of my favorite pics from the day!

 Another favorite pic

Our first dance

Chris dancing with Tess, they both look like they are having too much fun!