3-D Ultrasound at 26 weeks

Today I had my second 3-D ultrasound. The first one did not go so well because Elliotte would not move her hands from her face. Today, she didn't do much better. I decided to pay for a 3-D US (insurance does not cover them outside a doctor's office) to make sure Elliotte was really a girl (after some convincing from Jennifer who is my go-to for everything baby). I did not want any delivery room surprises after prepping for a girl. A little boy would not be happy with the nursery the way it is or all the dresses we have received. I went to Focused Imaging on 21st Ave right across the street from Harris Teeter. The man who own the business does the ultrasounds, and he is so nice. The first time he worked with me for about an hour trying to get her to move to a good position. I did everything but stand on my head, and she would not budge. She even rolled over so we couldn't see her anymore. Stubborn already. So, the man offered to let me come back free of charge for another US in 2 weeks. I was so excited. My mom went with me the first time, and Ben went with me today since he was off work.
Today was a little better. She only had one arm in front of her face. We were able to get a few good pics but not of her whole face. She was a mover and shaker today! We can tell she has big lips like me! I'll try to describe the pics as best I can. I can't wait til we get to meet our beautiful baby girl in August!

Pic of her lips and chin.

The top pic below is a profile view. Her mouth is open and you can see her nose and left eye.

The bottom pic is of her left arm. She's got a good bicep!

Better pic of her pretty face. She's got her hand to her mouth and her eye is closed.


Best pic we got. She is kind of pouting her lips. Probably tired of us pushing on her. Her right hand is up at her cheek, and you can see her nose and left eye.

1st Baby Shower

Yesterday I had my very first baby shower! It was hosted by Claire, Gale, Lu, Mrs. Rach, and Kristen. It was such a nice shower with yummy food. The decorations were so sweet and no detail was left untouched. Mrs. Rach even used the same wreath she had on her front door from my wedding shower! She put a bottle and some pacis on it to baby it up a bit. I received such great gifts for Elliotte. Many beautiful things and very practical things. We need all of it! It was fun putting it up in her room last night. The nursery has been painted and the furniture is assembled. We just need a few more basics and it will be ready!

The beautiful table and food. We had cheesecake with toppings, fresh fruit, chocolate covered strawberries and mint tea. It was so good!

Lu, Kristen, Claire, Mrs. Rach, Me, and Gale

The three pregos: Lu, me, and Heather. Lu is due in the next few weeks!


Smocked dress from Heather and Kathy.

Monogrammed romper from Jessie.

Of course the shower wouldn't be complete without something pug from my mom! She also gave me beautiful Feltman Bros. dresses and a nursing gown.

Drennon and Barbara Jo gave me a quilt with Elliotte's full name on it. It is so pretty!

The table full of gifts!

Nanny, me, and Grandmom. Elliotte will be Nanny's first great-grandchild and Grandmom's 6th!

Me and Mom

I'm going to be an Aunt!

Yes, you read that correctly, I am going to be Aunt Beth the beginning of December by way of Clay and Leslie! We are very excited for them, and could not be any more thrilled that Elliotte will have a cousin about 3 months younger than her. Hopefully they will be best friends! It was quite a shock to learn that my baby brother (by 14 months) was going to be a dad. Although to some, it was probably more of a shock that Ben Miller was going to be a dad! Their baby is due December 8th, a little over 3 months after Elliotte is due. We are going to be a busy family!

Clay and Leslie told us they were having a baby about 3 weeks ago. They asked us to go to dinner with them, and we went to Chili's. We were almost done with dinner when Clay said he had something to show me. The nurse in me immediately thought he was going to show me some awful mole that was probably skin cancer. What else would he need to show me? He pulled out an ultrasound picture and smiled. I said "whose is that?" That's the second time recently someone has done this to me, and I still ask that question. From now on I will assume it belongs to the person holding it. After I realized it was Leslie's and when the shock wore off, I was so excited. Ben picked Clay up and hugged him. They both asked if we were upset? How could I be upset? We are thrilled of course. While it did take us quite awhile to get pregnant, I am not the least bit jealous or upset. It is such an exciting time, and we can't wait for our little Elliotte to grow up with her cousin!

No turning back...

This morning I met Drennon at the Green Hills Post Office at 7:30 to help her hand cancel her wedding invitations. For those of you who are not familiar with the term "canceling," it means canceling the stamp by hand like it would be done when it is run through the postage machine. Doing it by hand makes sure that the ink on the pretty invitations does not get smeared since it does not have to go through the machine once it has been stamped with the date. Ben could not understand why I was saying that I was going to help Drennon "cancel" her invitations. Apparently, it is not a term people are familiar with unless you've done it yourself.

We had a little bit of a scare when we got there and the man behind the counter told us they did not allow people to hand cancel envelopes anymore. Bad idea to freak out a stressed bride and her matron of honor first thing in the morning! He asked his manager who told him that yes, we could do it ourselves. Thank goodness. I would have had to pick Drennon up off the floor. It only took us about 20 minutes to stamp all 304 invitations! We had a quick little system going. So, there's no turning back now!! Six weeks to go...

Drennon stamping the last invitation!

Music City Pugnic 2009

Yesterday was the 5th annual Music City Pugnic. Yes, it's a picnic for pugs and the ones who love them. I really thought we were going to get rained out, but the weather held off long enough for us to go for a little while. Buster and I have been to all 5 Pugnics; we are so proud! It's held every year on the lawn in front of Trinity Church on Hillsboro Road. It's the perfect place because there are plenty of trees to shade the pugs. This year, we weren't worried about them getting too hot. Ben and I only took Buster this year because it was so wet and muddy. Belle is just too into things, and I would have had to hold her the whole time. I think she has "little pug" syndrome because she likes to pick fights with bigger pugs. Buster is very mellow and just walks around smelling everything. He does have to mark just about every thing that sticks out of the ground. Everyone always comments on his age because he looks so good to be 11. He's my little man and I think he had fun. We saw my friend Stacy and her pug Halle who we've seen at other Pugnics. It was good to see her and her baby boy Cooper.

Buster checking out the volunteers' pugs.

They are in a fence so their owners can work the Pugnic.

More pugs...so cute.

My sweet little man being curious.


All the Pugnic shirts for sale. I had to buy the black one with the pink Pugnic on it.

Buster and his daddy. Normally there would be pugs everywhere in the background.

There just weren't as many this year since it rained.

The unofficial king and queen of Pugnic. They sat in that chair and did not even try to get down. They were very content. (and no, I would NEVER do this to my pugs.)