Update: 25 weeks

The bump is finally getting a little more obvious, and I'm still feeling really good. A lot of people are asking 2 questions: "Have you picked a name yet?" and "Do you have any weird cravings?" To the latter, my response is no, I have only consistently craved Blue Bell French Vanilla ice cream, which I have always loved, and from which I have heretofore abstained, so I'm enjoying the excuse to indulge. To the former question, the answer is YES! We have finally found a name that seems just right:

Marin Reed Wheeler

I hope everyone likes it, because it took some serious time to arrive at this decision, so we're sticking with it! So it's fun to call her by name now. I'm feeling her moving around a lot, and my favorite time of day is bedtime when I finally stop for the day, and we can just watch Marin go!

Our remodel project is about 30% done, and we're very excited as we see the progress, day by day. Still lots to do in the next 3 1/2 mos! Ben has been traveling quite a bit for work recently, but he's really enjoying the great things that are happening at RemitData, and the travel will slow down pretty soon. He's in Austin this week, which is why I'm up WAY past my bedtime tonight, as I always stay up too late when he's gone.

Check out the previous entry below...I posted a couple of entries tonight, as it's been a month since the last one.

I "Heart" NY - Our Valentine's Trip

Ben took me to NYC for Valentine's Day weekend! We stayed with my sister, Becky, and we had a great time. Here are a few pics.





Since we've done all the touristy things before (and because it was REALLY cold that weekend), we took it easy and just hung out at her great apartment. Ben took me to Gramercy Tavern for a great Valentine's Day meal, different parts of which we both thoroughly enjoyed. He savored a local Brooklyn brew, and I, the German Chocolate Cake. It was truly unforgettable! We pondered whether the experience was really, truly that great, or whether the atmosphere and our circumstances (the fleeting time we have left for peaceful, quiet dates alone together) just made it that much more precious? ...I think it was a mix of all those factors! We have been so blessed to be able to travel and enjoy each other so much in recent years. Ok, gush, gush...I'll spare you now! Hey, it was Valentine's Day--what else can you expect from an emotional pregnant lady?

Let the Nesting Begin

We're past the halfway mark, at 21 weeks! Here's an updated pic of me...I know, it's a little disappointing as far as the bump goes, but the Dr. promises me our little girl is growing as expected. I suppose I should count my blessings before the real discomfort sets in. At a minimum, this pic shows you the future site of our new home office!

That's right, construction will begin later this week. We're finally going to do (that is, have a professional do) the remodeling that we've been wanting to do since we moved in 4+ years ago. We'll have a new, larger master bath and walk-in closet, as well as a formal home office, with most of the extra space being carved out of the former game room. That's right, the pool table was listed on Craigslist last Saturday morning, and within 24 hours of posting, it was sold and hauled out :( It was fun while it lasted. We'll be sure to take before and after shots and share them once the projects are done.

One parting note...a shout out of congratulations to our friends Greg & Amanda for the arrival last Thursday of their strapping baby boy, Gavin. I can only aspire to be as great a trooper as Amanda was!

P.S. Check out Ben's entry below, which includes a link to the sonogram video.

My favorite silent film: "It's a girl!"

The video is here!
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8642258704952177628&hl=en
If you find yourself longing for the days of silent films, this will be a very fullfilling video for you :)

I knew we were having a little GIRL several minutes before the sonogram technician made her announcement. My first clue was that she was crossing her legs and sitting on her feet. OUCH! WHAT GUY DOES THAT?!!

I love taking Janet shopping. Now I'll have two ladies in the house to take shopping:) Seriously, I have our first father daughter hunting trip already scheduled.....unless she wants to go shopping, or whatever else she wants to do:)

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

That's right, it's a girl! We learned a few things about our baby today...

1) Most importantly, we can start referring to the baby as a "she," as opposed to "it," or "shim" or "fetus" (I think that one came about at Christmas with the Wheelers).

2) She's very stubborn, just like her Daddy (and maybe a tiny sliver of me ;). It took quite a bit of maneuvering by the sonogram tech to get her to kick out those legs and show that which needed to be seen...or in our case, not seen.

And 3) She carries the Lewis family trait of long toes...the second toe, in particular, being notably longer than the big toe. I inherited this trait from my Dad, so she has her Poppa Gary's trademark long second toe, which we Lewises choose to believe is a sign of intelligence!

I'll ask Ben to post some sonogram pics or other items of note tomorrow, since it's late and I'm tired! But I'm still very blessed to be feeling great.

It's a...

...rescheduled sonogram! We were expecting to find out if we're having a boy or girl next Wednesday, but I had to reschedule for the following week, the 16th. So, we're just waiting! Everyone's curious to know whether we want a boy or girl. Well, besides the obvious answer that we want a healthy baby and will be totally excited either way, I'll just say we have a 50/50 vote in our house as to what we think we're having, so one of us will be surprised either way. I'm still feeling good and showing a little more each day. There's not much that's very exciting going on at this point (which is good, I'm told). Just wanted to wish everyone the best for 2008. Happy New Year!

14-Week Checkup

Went to the Dr. again on Thursday and heard the heartbeat, nice and strong at 156 beats per minute! Here's a picture of me at 14 weeks...just starting to show. Early in early January, we'll find out if it's a boy or a girl! We finally decorated our Christmas tree earlier this week. We're looking forward to being in Van with the Wheelers and Millers the weekend before Christmas, and then we will also get to see my parents when both sides of the family are in Dallas for a couple of days around Christmas.

New Sonogram Pic

We had another sonogram yesterday, the first one where we could actually make a few things out...hands, legs, facial features forming. We also heard/saw the strong heartbeat. It was so neat! She couldn't get the baby to stretch out for a good measurement, so she pretty much confirmed the doc's first due date of June 12th. In this pic, the baby was waving at us...can you see it? I'm feeling pretty good, with the biggest change being the amount of sleep I need. It's actually kind of nice to get a good 8 hrs + of sleep out of necessity. More later!

Mom's First EVER Blog Entry

That's right, my first ever blog! With a techie husband like Ben, I have realized that my resistance to starting one was futile. I guess now that we have something in our lives that's acutally exciting enough to want to keep everyone updated about (yes, a baby on the way!), I can justify it! So, here you have Janet's inaugural entry:

We are in Orlando this week for Thanksgiving with my family, which has been really great, with the exception of my first really bad wave of morning sickness (TOTAL misnomer, btw) from about mid-day Mon through Wed pm. THANKfully, I was feeling good enough to share in the wonderful Thanksgiving meal Mom prepared for all of us yesterday. Here we are at EPCOT for the big Christmas show. My Aunt Sue and cousin Karen who live in Orlando joined us (front left).

We're headed home early Sunday morning and are looking forward to our next sonogram on Thursday, 11/29. The first pic (I think it's already posted below?) was not great because the pro sonogram tech at my Dr.'s office was out the day of our 1st appt. But it was enough to let us know the baby's rockin' & rollin' and everything looks good!!!

The Wheelhouse has begun

We had our first doctors appointment on Monday. Yea! We're having a baby! It doesn't look like a baby but the doctor assures us that it's real and there's no turning back (not that we would want to, of course)!