God Bless this Baby!

Now that all the symptoms of pregnancy are subdued (other than the ever-growing belly), God has given us an opportunity to just fully enjoy each moment of this pregnancy and focus on the health of the baby and his/her future. This week Baby Sunkist (the size of an orange) is looking less and less alien-like as her eyes and ears move to where they should be and she (or he) begins to wiggle her fingers and toes and make breathing motions! Every week our baby is growing something different or learning something new. Just the idea of someone growing like this inside of me reminds me daily of what an amazing God we serve and how loving a Creator He is! JR and I are reminded through this of our huge responsibility to raise this child to love the Lord and serve Him in everything he/she does and says. That is our prayer, that Baby Sunkist have an ever growing desire to serve and love the Lord Almighty and rely fully on God and His grace. We pray that God allows us to show this child God's grace and mercy, teaching him/her early on of the Creator we serve. May God bless this baby abundantly!

What Baby?

Baby Peach (for the 13th week size) has just returned from her first missions trip in West Virginia and her first experience with junior high craziness!! The entire four days of our trip the junior highers joked about how they think I'm having twins. I experienced everything from hearing the neverending chant "What Baby? Toler's Baby! Keisha's Twins!!" to even seeing a drawing of the future twins' faces on Toler's big belly (sparing you from seeing that picture!) to even having junior highers tossing corn hole bags for me to have twins. It was too funny, most of the time! :-) We won't know for sure anything until the first week of September, so I guess I'll just have to put up with it until then. I love those kids though and am glad to have all those who have "cursed" me with twins already as FREE babysitters any time I choose!

As for what Baby Peach developed last week and is developing this week, here's what WhattoExpect.com has to say:

12th week
"By now, your baby weighs a full half-ounce and is about the size of a large plum. Most of his systems are in place, though there's still plenty of maturing to do. For one thing, his fetal digestive system is beginning to practice contraction movements so he can eat someday, and his bone marrow is busy making white blood cells — weapons against germs once he's out of your safe haven. The pituitary gland (at the base of the brain) has started producing the hormones that'll enable him (or her) to make babies of his (or her) own in a couple of decades or so."

13th week
"What's up with your baby? Well, that big old noggin is now about half the size of her crown-to-rump length. By the time you give birth, her body will catch up, measuring three-quarters of her total size. In other news, the intestines are beginning to move from the umbilical cord to the abdomen, and the vocal chords are well under construction (the first step toward one day saying, "I love you, Mommy!")"

Tomorrow we take Baby Peach out of the country for his/her very first time as we go on our very first vacation and relax on the beaches of Punta Cana. Our baby is already experiencing more than either JR or I experienced in our first few years of life! Please pray for safety and good weather. We look forward to this time but will be glad to get home to our family and friends. God bless each and every one of you!

Hearing the Heartbeat!!

What a miraculous moment we shared today at our very first baby appointment - hearing our child's heart beat at a rate of 150 bpm for the very first time!! I didn't know whether to smile the biggest smile I've ever had or cry; it was so special. The doctor did say that everything looks good and we are officially at 12 weeks, not further along than we thought we were. Our next appointment is August 4, which will include the tests for Downs Syndrome and spina bofida (spelling?). Then the big one will probably be the first week of September - THE ultrasound!! Of course, that means 8 more weeks of JR worrying that we're having more than one kid, but we'll just leave everything in God's hands and be at peace with His plan!

First Belly Pic!

Drum roll please.......

And revealing my very first belly pic for Baby Plum (well, this week at least), posted at what we think is 12 weeks along. Yes, I appear to be bigger than other women at 12 weeks causing us to have some concern about having more than 1... We'll hopefully find out Tuesday!

Excitement all around!

We're getting ecstatic as each day passes, getting us closer to Tuesday, our very first baby appointment. I'm so thrilled of the thought of getting to hear the baby's heartbeat and hopefully hear the doctor say that all is well with the baby and the heartbeat is strong. Please continue to pray for Baby Shortcake (next week it's Baby Plum!) in all ways. Each night JR and I pray for our child - for health but especially for Baby to have a desire and love for God early on, wanting to follow Him all of his/her days. We ask that you pray the same.

This next week you'll see my first belly shot, as it's beginning to be a toss up for what sticks out the furthest already! It makes us somewhat nervous because people are asking us if we're sure we're just having one child because of how big I am and how quickly everything started and finished (such as the morning sickness starting just 5 days after our thought-to-be conception date). I guess we'll find all that out on Tuesday!!

Thank you again for following our journey and praying for us as new parents and especially for Baby Shortcake. We can't wait to introduce the baby to all y'all and show the baby all of you who have been following his/her journey and been praying for him/her. We love each of you and thank you for your support, encouragement, advice, and prayers! Keep it coming!