Definitely a boy

Today we had our 5 month "anatomy scan" ultrasound to verify the sex of the baby and make sure all of his limbs and organs are okay and developing right. We are happy to say everything is great! He was not shy at all in this ultrasound and seemed pretty proud to show off that he was a boy.

All of his little limbs are  moving around great. His heart sounded great, had 4 chambers, and was pumping blood the way it should. He has 10 fingers and 10 toes and he even stretches his toes out in a creepy way like his mommy does (my mom said that is actually a hereditary thing, so I guess he got my creepy toes haha). We saw his eye sockets and his brain...and at this point is bony little face looked kind of like a Halloween mask from straight on, but boy does he have a cute profile. He even sleeps like his mommy: rolled up in a ball in the smallest corner possible.

We were happy to even get to see a little bit of is stubborn personality. We had to go back and do the ultrasound a second time because even after getting up and poking him, he wouldn't flip over and let us see a good view of his heart or foot. He even kicked the ultrasound tech when she nudged him with the ultrasound tool to get him to flip over. It was kind of funny but felt super weird to watch him kick up at her on the screen and then feel it in my belly at the same time. He is getting so big and is laying flat out horizontally in my belly with his legs completely stretched out on the left side and his head on the right. Silly boy likes his space.

Here is an overload of pictures of our little boy. I am not sure if he will be super embarrassed to have these on the internet when he grows up, but I don't really care. haha.

His cute little profile and big baby head

His leg and feet, and in the last one you can see his stretched out toes

Him proving that he is indeed a boy, and the tech's comments haha

My life just got better

Today, I experience pure bliss. I, for the first time in over 2 years, ate mac n' cheese! It was delicious. Ever since I found out I had Celiac Disease, I haven't been able to devour the happiness that is mac n' cheese. Trader Joe's has cured the sadness though with their Gluten Free Rice Pasta and Cheddar (fancy way of saying mac n' cheese). It is yummmmm...

To say that it was amazing would be an understatement. I sat there with the entire pot and ate every last bite. Cheesy, carb filled goodness. Am I fat kid? Oh yes. Love it. 

An evening at the beach

The other night, we went to the beach to have a picnic dinner with our friends, the Walshs. It was a beautiful night, not too hot, the water was warm, the sun was setting under the pier, and we even got to watch a pod of dolphins playing in the shallow water. It was one of those perfect nights that remind me why I was so excited to move here. 

I'm getting really spoiled having Laura around taking pictures all of time! Brad and I never get pictures of ourselves so it is kind of fun, and she takes gorgeous pictures. The last photo of Keeva makes me laugh, because if you know our crazy dog, that image explains her to a T:

Correction: I swear I'm not 6 months pregnant

After my last post, I got so many great compliments about how good I looked. Thank you! But, I also got many comments on HUGE I was for being 16.4 weeks pregnant. I agree, I do look pretty large and in charge, but let me clear it up a little bit.

I am ROUND. Very round. I know some women get pregnant everywhere, but I basically (so far) am just getting a round blob on my belly. From the front, it makes me look pretty big (especially when you add a tight shirt and high-waist belt to the mix, and not to mention that perfect belly-popping pose). From the side, I am still fairly small. I mean, don't get me wrong, I am still pregnant, but not 6 months pregnant...more like 17 weeks :). 

So for all of you who were stressed about how big I am so early, don't fret, Laura seems to be a pro at pregnancy shots, because she knows exactly how to make that belly pop :) ! I love the picture she took waaaaay more than this ugly mug that I just took in the bathroom, but here is a side shot of me at 17 weeks and 3 days:

And as for how I am feeling...let's just say I am  not sure how any women gets through pregnancy without an amazing massage therapist. I am lucky I get to go to the chiropractor and have a massage 1-2 times a week...otherwise I might die. I came across this blog this morning, and I think this woman pretty accurately describes what it is like to be just about 18 weeks pregnant: 18 Weeks. WARNING: If you are easily offended, do not read it, she is a little PG-13 but hilariously accurate. 

On to non-pregnancy news. Life is well in the Woodard home. We have been enjoying cooler temps here in california and the excitement of 1970's scary movies on Netflix for October. I am jealous because Brad gets to go to Rhode Island and New York next week on business...which means he will get to see a REAL fall instead of this slightly cool, but no colorful leaves fall that we have in So-Cal. Keeva and I will go to the beach in spite of him. :) 

16 weeks and 4 days

This week, this little guy decided to make his presence known. Before now, I haven't really been showing at all. I mean I was looking a little chunkier but that average person would never have guessed I was pregnant. Now, I feel like you can't really deny it.

Yesterday, in effort to conceal my growing belly, I wore a large shirt and felt pretty comfortable with it. Brad came home an informed me that I looked like a "frumpy nurse" and needed to "embrace the bump" he swears that the baby bump is a cute look. So that is what I am going to do, I will take my husbands advice and embrace the bump!

As I mentioned in the last post, Keeva, destroyer extraordinaire, ruined our camera, so my friend Laura kindly took some 4 month shots for me today to share with family. You should check out her stuff, she is really great: http://laurawattswalsh.blogspot.com/.

Enjoy my 16 weeks and 4 days bump (p.s. that belt really accentuates the roundness haha):

Hopefully these pictures will be a monthly occurrence so everyone out there can keep up with this bump.

As far as the pregnancy goes, I am doing super well. Women, please don't hate me for saying this, but pregnancy has made me healthier! No throwing up, no nausea or food aversion, and my auto-immune issues have been completely suppressed so far.  Brad is a little worried that I am going to want to be pregnant all of the time because of how well I feel! I am starting to get to the point where finding a comfy sleep position is hard...but considering I am the queen of sleeping in, I can't complain. The doctor is really happy with my progression and she says that even for being a high-risk pregnancy, everything is just perfect and he is measuring at the perfect size! I even get to sneak in extra candy bars now and then because I am not putting on enough weight. I swear I am NOT bragging this is just the first time in my life that something with my health has gone RIGHT and I am NOT a negative medical anomaly. I am just praying the next 5 months go as well.

We have another ultrasound in 3 weeks to make sure his limbs are growing right and all is well :) I am hoping we feel him a little better by then. Right now I just get the occasional hard lumps in my stomach but no solid kicks yet. We are just excited for that next milestone. 

Now for a Brad and Keeva update. Keeva is all healed from her spaying and as hyper as ever. Now Brad and I are just working to make her trained a little more and she is fighting it. Brad is working hard on his freelance, work, and everything else he decides he wants to do. He is also still growing out his hair (which I love) but the comments about looking homeless are starting to get to him so he trimmed up the beard (bummer). He still looks good though.

Well that's our update. I hope you enjoy it...sorry it is sooo long!