Memorial Day

Memorial Day weekend was absolutely wonderful. We decided to stay in town due to getting ready for our baby girl's room, housework, and relaxation. We cleaned our back patio area, and I planted my final Earthbox, we have planted tomatoes, lettuce, and cucumbers! I will have to take some pictures to post :) I am very proud of myself, can't wait to eat our own veggies. We missed traveling this weekend, but realized we are running out of time to get ready.

We will be celebrating 4 years of marriage this Thursday! June 2nd. Next weekend we will be out of town, going on a boat trip for a day. Then, the weekend after that we will be in Michigan!! I get to see all my family and Chachi, it will be so much fun.

At this point our little girl is as big as a cantelope, growing anywhere between 4 lbs -4.5 lbs., tomorrow we have an OB appointment to hear the heart rate and take measurements. She continues to grow more and more adipose tissue along with my pregnancy induced cellulite :) I have been feeling pretty good, just getting fatigued due to not sleeping, our little girl loves to move first thing in the morning when I start waking up.  Yesterday was the first day I felt her little foot push up into my rib cage. And when we went to watch the movie Thor... she was bouncing along with all the music and vibrations!

Here we are 32 weeks along!

Week 32

 Week 32



 Chloe exhausted after a walk in the 85 degree weather!!

31 Weeks

Well, the countdown is starting soon, we have 9 weeks until our little girl is here in our arms! I can't believe we are getting so close, yet so much more growing to do.

We had our 30th week appointment, and our little girl is 3 lbs. 9 ounces, and growing strong, her heart rate at 139 bpm, and boy oh boy... she is moving strong. I am starting to feel her foot stretch, and her hands wiggle. I would have to say these past 3 weeks she has been moving and groving, especially when her Aunt Angie sings to her :)

Eric has been doing great with his internship, he enjoys it and his hours. We are getting close to our anniversary... 4 years! :)

FYI, we are also registered at www.babycrunchy.com for cloth diapers.

Here we are at week 31!

Baby shower, 7 months, etc.

Well these past fews months have been very exciting for us!! Eric has been working so hard to get an internship close to me and our little girl, and FINALLY! he has an internship at Bowen Engineering here in Indianapolis as a Estimator/Engineer, starting May 9th. We are so happy and it truly is such a blessing.

Also, we celebrated the Ridvan Festival, a very special Holy day season for the Baha'i Faith when Baha'u'llah declared His teachings and the mission of Universal Peace :) Also, in Haifa, Israel there was beautiful rennovation of the Shrine of the Bab. When Eric and I were there it was covered and we were not able to see it, so beautiful and majestic!

Many other celebrations included reaching 28 weeks with our little girl, very important milestone as now her lungs have mostly matured, she is the size of an eggplant, and now I am starting to feel her really stretch her limbs and rolling more. She is now sleeping 70-80% of the time (REM), and should be ~2 1/2 lbs. I go to the OB tomorrow for my screening of gestational diabetes, and hear her heart beating, my favorite part. Things have been smooth, I've gained about 20 lbs. and have sniffles, but have escaped the flu season with no flu! I have been having a difficult time sleeping >6-7 hours, there is a lot in my mind of what we need to do to prepare for her arrival.

Week 27

We had my baby shower yesterday, and it was so wonderful. Thank you sincerely to all the friends that visited and all the special gifts, Eric and I really appreciate your support and love. Here a few pictures my beautiful niece was able to take.

 Baba (Eric's grandma) and I

 Beautiful cake Eric's mom made for the shower! and so yummy!!

 Eric's mom, step-dad and Baba, helped so much with the baby shower

 Mom and I

Katie and I

 Baby belly at week 28

Week 28

exhausted at the end of the day!

95 Days to go!!

Well, we are approaching the 3rd and final :) trimester. Baby has been doing good, I've been healthy and so far it has been as smooth ride. I had some cramps from pushing it a little bit too hard and stressing myself out with work "stuff". So I am learning to take it a little easy, which for me is a big effort to stop and relax.

Eric has 2 weeks left of class, then he takes his Finals. Countdown is on for Eric, he has one more semester and graduates in December!

We are trying to get things arranged at our new home, painted our room, "uncluttering" our baby girl's room, and Eric has some furniture to build :) Trying to get finances and all that fun stuff set in place. It has been becoming more real to me that I will be a mommy, so many emotions just thinking about motherhood..
My next OB appointment I have the gestational diabetes screening, and then we start seeing the OB every other week. I have a pretty solid birth plan in place and we take our birthing classes in May :)

Here are some updated pictures over the past 3-4 weeks.

Week 24

Week 25

Aunt Lisa and Taylor

Kayleb on his 1st Bday!!

Eric and Kayleb (our little nephew on his 1st Bday!!)

Week 26

Happy Naw Ruz!

Happy Naw Ruz! March 20th marks the beginning of a new year on the Baha'i calendar, at the end of the Fast, and the first day of spring!!! There was some beautiful 70 deg weather, but I worked during those days, evenings were nice, but didn't get to see much of the sun.

"O SON OF BEING!Thou art My lamp and My light is in thee. Get thou from it thy radiance and seek none other than Me. For I have created thee rich and have bountifully shed My favor upon thee." (Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words)

News: Eric had surgery on Friday to get a benign tumor removed out of his leg, so we have been recovering this weekend, as I am battling off a little bit of a cold. Our little girl continues to be active and moving frequently in my belly throughout the day as we mark the near 6 months of pregnancy! I can't believe it... it's slow and fast at the same time. I just returned from a week long class in Michigan learning about the cervical spine and shoulder... it was amazing through NAIOMT. I had some time to myself... and much needed to relax and got to see my Dad & Lisa, it was very  nice.

Next trips we have planned are out the Cleveland to see my family :) and Eric's first Disc Golf tournament is in Columbus the weekend after. We are busy just trying to clean out our little girl's room.

Here's pics at week 22 and 23

 Week 22

Week 23

Spring is around the corner

We are doing good, just getting settled into our new place still. I am done with my OCS exam! and Eric has finished his midterms, only 1 1/2 semesters left. Our little girl is growing big at 14 ounces, 139 bpm resting heart rate and I have been feeling good. I am 21 weeks along, can't believe I'm half way through my pregnancy. We found out last Thursday that we are having a little girl :) We are so very happy she is healthy as we can see so far.  July 21st isn't too far along, we have showers booked, paint colors picked out, but our little girl has a room that is a little cluttered right now. We are working on cleaning it up!

Much love and here are a few pictures of my growing baby/belly during the past two weeks during the Baha'i Fast (which, no I am not participating in because I'm pregnant)

Week 20



Week 21

Happy Ayyam-i-Ha!

These next 4 days 2.26 through 3.1 are the Intercalary days before the Baha'i Fast; these days are Baha'i Holiday celebrating family and friendship.
"...the Intercalary Days (Ayyam-i-Ha) are the four days of the year (five days in leap year) which fall between the eighteenth and nineteenth month of the Bahá'í Calendar (Mulk and 'Ala'), February 26 to March 1. These days are set aside for hospitality, gift-giving, special acts of charity, and preparing for the Fast."

Things have been smooth sailing so far with our little family. Eric has midterms next week, I have THE exam next week (finallly!). I will be done studying and on to preparing for our little one to arrive. We have 2 weeks left until we have our next OB appointment, we will get to see the baby again. I know the baby will look very different from when we were 8 weeks along :) I am feeling our little one move and squirming at night for the first time, very active at night of course, like his/her Daddy. The baby is the size of a Mango and continues to grow bigger and bigger along with Mommy. I have started yoga this week and it has helped keep away the leg cramps at night, thank goodness!

We missed week 18 pics, opps! Sorry about that :)

Much Love,
McGowans'

 Week 19

Week 19 Belly