New Beginnings Ahead!

Tuesday December 21, 2010

4 Days Until Christmas!!! I just can't believe it! Where did this year go?? This past year has been great but it also makes me realize this will be our last full year of just Morgan & Crystal. Starting in April of next year it will be: Morgan, Crystal, & Cayle. I can't wait!!
I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas. This Christmas is so bittersweet since it will be our last Christmas of a family of two. (Even though Cayle already has presents under the tree ;) Thanks to Grandpa & Gramma/Dad & Robin)
Since this will be our last Christmas of just Morgan and I, I really wanted to get Christmas pictures taken together. So, my wonderful friend Angel came over and took some Christmas photos of us and the pups. It was fun, sweet, and of course chaotic at times. But when is it not chaotic around here with those two pups??
Here is one of my favorite photos. I love this one because it shows my belly with our bundle of joy inside. :)


Not only will we be welcoming a baby into the world next year, we also have more changes ahead.
Yesterday, December 20th, Morgan re-enlisted into the Marine Corps. Basically dedicating four more years of his life (ehhmmm our lives) to this country. How awesome is that?? Can I get an Amen!? :D I am so proud of him and so very thankful. It takes a special person to dedicate their life to the service and we would not be the country we are without our service men and women.
With the re-enlistment also comes a new duty station. Morgan will be deploying one last time with his current squadron. They will deploy in the beginning of 2011. That will be his last tour of duty with his current squadron here in Hawaii. We have definitely made some awesome friends and made some amazing memories here in Hawaii. However, after this deployment....we will be sent to a new place.
When Morgan returns from deployment later next year we will then transfer to North Carolina. I am so looking forward to that move because I already have family in NC. It will be nice to get to see them more frequently. Also, I am not sure if you know this or not but NC is a LOT closer to Texas than Hawaii is. So, we will be able to see our family and friends in Texas a lot more too! Yee Haw!!

Now about little Cayle. I will be flying home to Texas in early February with our pups. I will stay in Texas the entire time Morgan is deployed. Therefore, I will be delivering the baby in Texas. I am really excited to be able to be around family during this time. HOWEVER, Morgan will be deployed when it is time for Cayle to be born. BUT he should be able to fly home for the birth and get to stay a couple weeks with us. I really hope it works out and he can make it home for the birth. If not....well...yea, I am not even going to think about that.
It will be very sad to not have Morgan there with us for the first few months of the baby's life. But you know what...we do what we have to do. Morgan is doing his job and making this country, your life, and my life better by doing what he does so I cannot complain. God has blessed us with amazing family and friends and I know they will be there for us through this all.

This next year is going to be such a wonderful experience...I just know it! I am so looking forward to being in Texas and seeing everyone and of course can't wait for April to be here!
Friday I will be 24 weeks!! eeeeee!! Time seems to be flying by. I am so thankful to be where I am. I am not having any pain and not being too moody. Right Morgan?? ;) This part of the pregnancy has been really good. I wish I could stay this size for the rest of the way. I am really not looking forward to getting bigger and feeling like a blob and being achy and yadda ya. But I guess I gotta take it. And I will! Anything for this little man.

Well, that is all for now. I hope you are still awake and have made it this far in the blog. I feel like I have typed a chapter already.
Love to all and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

2nd Trimester. Wooo hoo!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Howdy everyone! It has been way too long since I have updated this thing. So, here we go.....

As of tomorrow, I will be 22 weeks pregnant. 5 1/2 months!! I can't believe I am already over half way. It makes me so happy to know things are truckin' right along. The first 3-4 months were not easy but I must say things are a LOT better nowadays. I guess what they say is true: 1st Trimester is hard, 2nd Trimester is a breeze, and 3rd Trimester you are just over the whole thing.
I am definitely feeling more "normal" for the most part. I haven't gotten sick in several weeks and have a good amount of energy during the day. Thank you Lord! I still feel nauseous first thing in the morning but as soon as I have me a bowl of cereal I am good to go.
Two weeks ago we had our 20 week checkup and ultrasound. I thought the ultrasound would take just a few minutes; the tech would check the gender and make sure the baby was healthy and we would be on our way. But nope! Apparently they can tell a LOT more than that with all of this technology they got goin' on. She documented his weight, length, 7 views of his heart, checked all his organs and got numbers on all sorts of stuff that I had no clue about. That appointment is very important to track that stuff so they can tell if the baby is developing properly. It is really great to know they do that. Even if it took over an hour. Of course our little baby boy had a lot to do with the time frame of the appt. He decided he wanted to stay folded up like a book the whole time and that made it difficult for the tech to get proper readings and measurements on things.
Here he is:


At the appointment he measured 10in and 13 oz. Morgan and I already have a bet going as to his size at birth. I think he is going to be 20 in long and Morgan thinks 19. We haven't bet on the weight yet. That is to come... :)

Cayle (pronounced like Kale, the vegetable) has definitely been moving around a lot lately. Well, I am sure he has always moved around but I am finally starting to feel it! It is SO cool. It feels similar to gas bubbles (gross I know). But I like to think of it as soapy bubbles that are being blown in my belly and when one of the bubbles pops that is when I feel him. :) Morgan has tried feeling him but he hasn't yet. The OB said it will be a few weeks before he can feel it from the outside. I can't wait for that moment though!!
Besides me feeling him move around in my belly not a lot has changed besides the way I feel physically. I still eat all throughout the day. I am not craving fruit and pickled okra like I was but I still try to eat some sort of fruit everyday. I ate the heck out of watermelon in my first trimester. I guess watermelons are out of season or something because I bought one the other day and it was not very sweet. But nothing a salt shaker won't fix!! Mmmmmm
There aren't any foods that turn my head the other way anymore either. Eggs were a big "HECK NO" for awhile but I can eat them now. Pretty much I am on the good road I would say.

I am so thankful and I can NOT wait for April. I am just so ready for my little boy to be here.
We have no clue where we will be in April and where we will be delivering him. It really bothers me not having a set plan but there is nothing I can do about it. That is the military life for ya. All I can do is pray to God to take care of us and all else will fall into place. It is a big possibility that Morgan will be deployed in April but hopefully he will be able to fly home for the birth. We will cross that bridge when we get there.

Exciting news: We have a nursery started!!! Thanks to our wonderful friends Ann and Geoff and our awesome parents Ken and Dana!! Ann and Geoff have given us a baby swing and bouncer for the nursery!! And Morgan's folks bought us our crib, changing table, and glider!! Morgan has assembled the crib and changing table but we are still waiting on the glider to arrive. We LOVE everything and are so thankful for it all!!!
Here is one of my favorite pics of Morgan assembling the crib. He has his little handyman Tank with him. Also, on the side you will notice our swing from Ann and Geoff.


Well, I guess this will be all for now. I am so thankful to still be carrying a healthy baby and dream of meeting him everyday. Thank you God for this blessing and thank you all for your support!

Here I am as of today:
22 Weeks

We are having a BABY BOY!

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Do a little daaaaaaance.......
Make a little loooooove......
Get down tonight!
Get down tonight!

This chic is just so excited!!! Morgan and I found out yesterday, on my birthday, that we are having a baby boy!! I never thought of how I would feel after hearing the news. I just knew I was really excited to finally find out the gender. Well, ever since yesterday I have been on cloud 9. I feel like I want to tell everyone I see...even the people I pass in the store or at the post office! But I don't....I am not THAT crazy.
I must admit...I was kind of hoping it was a girl. Just because I have always dreamed of doing my little girl's hair...and dressing her up head to toe in the girliest outfits. But I do know this...when the tech pointed out his "parts" and said: "It's a baby boy." I felt like my heart just burst out of my chest! I was completely immersed with joy and excitement. A boy!!! OMG!!! The first thing that I thought was 'Morgan got what he wanted!!! I am so happy for him'. Not that I didn't want a boy....but he was really hoping for one.
I looked over at my wonderful Morgan and he had buried his head in his hand and his face was red. After he looked up his eyes were filled with happy tears. I just knew he had heard the most wonderful thing in the entire world. He was having a son!!! I was having a son!!! WE were having a son!! We clenched each others hands so tight and just beamed with happiness. And in my head I thought of the little baby inside of me that we would soon call Cayle Crawford Jones. It made me feel complete.

We had 2D, 3D, and 4D ultrasounds done. It was so neat to watch the baby move around. He was such a little stubborn thing at first though. But that is no surprise. He has been like that since conception. It DEFINITELY is no doubt that he is his father's son. Anyone who knows my husband well enough knows he is stubborn, hard headed, strong, and sometimes as redneck as they come. But that is what makes him who he is and I wouldn't change him for the world. And as it seems...our son may be the same way. O Lord help us! ;)
In the beginning, the baby was on his stomach with his legs crossed. So, we couldn't see between his legs for the longest to figure out if it was a he or a she. FINALLY, after a half hour or so and me turning from side to side....he finally flipped over and spread his legs for us. :D
Of course he flipped right back over on his tummy so for awhile we couldn't see his face. But finally after more waiting and flipping and waiting...he moved his hands and arms from his face and showed us his eyes, nose, and smiling mouth. It was so neat. On some of the 3D pictures that show his face, he has the biggest smile on his face. I just love it!
2D profile:

At this point he is still growing and developing so in the 3D pictures he looked similar to a Halloween skeleton...just a little cuter. :) But after these 9 months are over I know he is going to be the most perfect thing I have ever touched. I can't wait to meet him, and hold him, and kiss him, and be there for him in everything.
I get so emotional thinking about him. I know Morgan is just as excited as I am. I couldn't resist and went and bought a 5-pack of onesies yesterday. They are sports themed. When I showed them to Morgan this morning he just got the biggest smile on his face. He is going to be an amazing dad. I can't say that enough. He will want him to do everything he did. I can see it now: football, Star Wars, sports in general, and playing with the dogs.
Whatever our little man decides to do...I will be there to support him. Within reason of course. But no ballet. haha Just kidding.
I can definitely say I had the BEST birthday ever! Now it is time to shop and pick out all the things we want for our little guy!!! Fun fun!!
To all of you who support us...THANK YOU! I can't say that enough.
Until next time....I will be dancing around with crazy songs in my head!

My Heart is Overflowing

Sunday October 24, 2010

This coming week I will be 16 weeks pregnant. This week is also my 25th birthday and also the week we find out if our little baby is a boy or girl!! I will say that Wednesday cannot come fast enough!
This pregnancy so far has been rough. No doubt about that. But I just can't believe how much love I already have for this little human inside of me. Not a second goes by that I am not thinking of how much I love Lil' Jonesie. I haven't even met him/her but I already know that I will do everything I can to be the most loving, supportive, understanding, and nurturing mother I can be.

According to my 'What to Expect' Iphone App., the baby is now the size of an avocado. I look down at my belly and can't wait for it to be a 6-9 lb. baby inside. It is just so exciting to think about!
I give all my thanks to the Lord above. He has blessed us with this baby and I will be forever grateful. I am also extremely thankful for my wonderful husband. He will be an awesome daddy. I can't wait to witness him and our little one together. That will be a blessing in itself.
My heart is overflowing with love today. I realize I get caught up in everyday life and forget to count my blessings. But I am just so thankful for my life.
I can't wait for our parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends to meet our little one. I often think about the first time our parents or family and friends will hold Lil' Jonesie...and the joy he or she will bring. It just brings a smile to my face. Babies are just so wonderful. :)
To all of you who support us: Thank you! Your love and support mean so much.

Also, we went to the doc this past week for a regular checkup. We got to hear the heartbeat which is always so neat. The heartbeat was slower than the last time.
12 week appt: 166 bpm
16 week appt: 159 bpm
The day of the appointment was really rough. I had awful morning sickness all day and couldn't keep anything down. I was really dehydrated but the OB gave me a prescription for nausea that really helps. I wonder if me being so sick that day had anything to do with the baby's slower heart rate??? Who knows??
It took her a couple minutes for us to hear the heartbeat because she said the baby kept kicking and wouldn't be still. I guess it was mad at me for not keeping any food down. :P
It is already a feisty little booger! (just like it's daddy ;)

Until next time.....be good!

It Has Been a CrAzY Three Months!

Saturday, October 16, 2010

I am back! Finally!! I know it has been a long time since I last updated. It is sad to say...but it is Lil' Jonesie's fault. Seriously. I have had sickness, fatigue, moodiness.....You name it...I probably have been dealing with it. I had a couple good weeks in the ladder part of my first trimester. But for the most part I was sick almost every morning or day. Not vommitting sick everyday. I just had a lot of nauseousness and zero energy.
This is pretty much how an average day would go for me:
5:30am Wake up. Let the dogs outside. Feel nauseous. Eat a bowl of cereal. Go back to sleep.
7:00am Get ready for work. Eat again. Go to work. Feel okay until about 9:30/10 then feel nauseous again. So...eat again.
12:00 Eat lunch. Take a break while Sydnee napped.
Feel better for the rest of the day but still not much energy.
5:00 Get home from work and not feel like doing a darn thing.

Not not everyday was just like this. But I definitely have had to eat about every two hours to keep me going during the day. And when I eat it is usually small meals or snacks.
When I don't eat after about two hours I start feeling weak and nauseous. Isn't that ridiculous!!??
One funny food aversion I have dealt with is salad and eggs. The first trimester I couldn't stand the thought, sight, or smell of eggs. Pretty much the same goes for salad.
But now...almost every morning I am wanting eggs and I love me my salads again! I am so glad because my whole life one of my most favorite things to eat is salad.
I am now 14 weeks along! 99 days exactly!
I woke up this morning and took a pic so I could post a recent one. It seems my belly grew overnight!! I swear it wasn't that big yesterday!! :D
Here I am. 14 weeks as of yesterday:


Next Friday we go back to the doc for my 16 week appt. I cannot wait to hear that little heartbeat again!! I am not actually 16 weeks until the following week but they didn't have any openings that week.
HOWEVER, my 16th week we are going to a 3D Ultrasound office. The appointment is set for Wednesday, the 27th. My birthday!!!
We will get to see 3D images of our little one and find out the gender!!!! That is what Morgan and I are both so excited about. I am not going to lie...I am a little weary about seeing the 3D images because sometimes those pics look creepy! But finding out the gender will be amazing!!! Once we know the gender then we can decide on a name! We already have the first names picked out for a boy or girl...but still undecided (or shall I say, can't agree) on the middle names. :)
The names we HAVE decided on, and we have had these names picked out for years, are:
Girl: Kirra
Boy: Cayle (after Morgan's late grandfather, his hero)

Well, here is one last pic for Halloween grins.
13 Weeks.


As of now our baby is the size of an orange!! In the next couple weeks it will be able to hear!
So, I will be talking to it and singing songs in my awful unblessed singing voice. :)

Until next time, I will be snacking and eating. Eating and snacking. :)

1st Doctor Appt. Today!

September 3, 2010

I have been waiting on this day for weeks! I was so excited about our first visit to good ol' Tripler today. (Tripler is the name of the military hospital here that I will go to for all of my OB appointments.)
I could barely sleep last night I was so excited. And Morgan is off of work today so it was nice to wake up to him this morning and get ready together for the appointment. I don't see much of him during the week lately because he works nights and I work days. Yea, me no like.

I knew the appointment would consist of paperwork, getting setup in the system, and scheduling my next appointment. I have been told by several people that Tripler normally does NOT do an ultrasound on the first visit. Why? I have no clue. But because of my history they set me up with a doctor and she did an ultrasound. I was so glad to know that all my worries would be put to rest today...well, hopefully they would.
As Morgan and I anxiously waited for the doc we took a picture for grins. Inside I was hoping for the best but still a little nervous. Because that very room we were in was the room I visited many times last year when I was experiencing the ectopic pregnancy.
Here we are:


After the doc came in, she did an ultrasound and it took her no time to find our Lil' Jonesie!!
I poked my head up and saw the little thing and it's heart beat just beating away! Morgan reached over, put his arm around me and smiled. I am pretty sure we were both feeling and thinking the same thing: THANK YOU LORD!
I was just so excited I could barely talk, blink, think, anything! I don't recall her saying what the heart rate was and my blank mind forgot to ask. So, I have no clue what it is/was. But I do know we have a healthy baby in the RIGHT SPOT! :)
Check it out:


So, basically I am just as happy as I can be. I give all my thanks to the Lord above and am so thankful for this blessing, my wonderful husband, family, and friends. (all of you!)
At the moment I am quite sleepy so I am going to cut the blog short today and go relax for a few before little Jacob gets home from school. But I will update soon. You know you want to know all the wonderful symptoms I am dealing with, right?! hehehe

But before I leave here is my 8 week side profile pic:
It is neat comparing this pic from my 5 week one :)

Getting My Fair Share

Thursday 08-26-10

I have been contemplating on whether or not to update again. But....why not? Right?
I can defintely say it is really weird experiencing being pregnant by the way I feel and not the way I look. I am still very early but I am just ready to have a big belly so I can have an excuse for all these "symptoms".

The last several days, I have definitely been getting my fair share of '1st Trimester Ickiness'. I had about a week where I was doing great...not feeling sick, just a little tired here and there. Well, that has all changed again. I wake up in the middle of the night to pee (which peeing is a whole different story...we will get to that shortly) around 2am or so and feel nauseous. So, I eat a few crackers and go back to bed. Then from the time I wake up, even after I eat breakfast, until around noon or so I feel like poop. I feel weak and the need to eat, but nothing sounds appetizing. So, by the time lunch time rolls around and I force myself a meal, I have the shakes from feeling queezy and not eating much all morning. It is GREAT! This has been the norm the past several days.
And let me remind you that while I describe all these uneasy symptoms...I wouldn't trade one darn thing of it. I am so amazingly grateful for what is happening. I can't say that enough.

Now onto my pee situation. (You definitely couldn't tell I am conservative by these posts could ya?)
I am sure many of you know that I normally go pee...a lot (like super duper frequent). Always have...probably always will. But since being pregnant it has gotten a jillion times worse!
I pee all throughout the day...no big deal, right? During the day it is fine because I am up and about anyways. But, no...the frustrating part is when I go to bed at night. For the first few hours I am in bed I am up every 20 mins to pee. NO JOKE!! Last night I decided I wouldn't drink anything past 8pm to see if that would help. But nope, it didn't. I still made probably 10 trips to the bathroom between 9:30pm and 5am. It is madness I tell ya'!

So, this has been the jist of me lately. I am so happy to be on this journey. Even if it means I pee a hundred times a day and feel sick 18 out of the 24 hours in a day. (okay, I don't feel sick THAT much hehe)

I have my first OB appointment next Friday. I am so excited. I really hope we get to see/hear the heartbeat. That will just make things so much sweeter. Not sure they can get any sweeter...but we will see. :)
I will take another profile pic next week and also update after the appointment.

My favorite foods recently: peanut butter/banana smoothies, pickled okra, pickles, salads, anything chocolate, orange juice, and watermelon.

This will be it for today. I apologize for the super intimate details...but it is a pregnancy blog. :)
Thanks to all of you for reading and I will update next week!

It Has Sunk In....I think.

Thursday 08-19-10

I think the past couple weeks of: running to the restroom every 30 minutes, snacking every hour, getting tired throughout the day, and feeling nauseous in the mornings have finally made me realize that I am really pregnant. I sit here this morning in complete awe and joy. I can't believe THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING!!! :D
I must admit my "symptoms" have not been as bad as a lot of moms experience but I do get my spells of them throughout the day. But I would not trade one thing for this wonderful being inside of me.
I have been eating pretty good (except for the past couple days). :-/ I attended a class here on base and let me tell you what...there was no limit to the sweets I indulged while in that class. I wasn't even craving sweets and I still stuffed my face. I mean come on...I was given a PayDay candy bare AND cake within minutes. Who could turn those down??
Then after the class yesterday I was so wanting something NOT sweet and I was in a hurry to eat before work so I took a trip to McDonald's.
The fries didn't taste normal...it just wasn't that good. I know McDonald's chicken sandwich and fries are not "healthy" but this girl normally loves anything from the golden arches. Well, not yesterday. Lil' Jonesie did NOT let me forget how much I hated it either because on my jog to the gym yesterday afternoon I was burping the WHOLE way and it tasted like disgusting McD's. So, I guess I better stick with my fruits, veggies, edamame, beans, almonds, yogurt, and the mostly normal stuff that I have been feeding the Lil' one.

I also can't believe how much Morgan is getting excited over our Lil' one. He has told me a couple times recently that I "smell like a Mommy". haha I am not really sure how that is possible...but okay. :) He calls me mommy already and touches my belly. It is so sweet. I just love it. It is crazy the way our relationship has already gone to a completely new level and we haven't even had Lil' Jonesie yet. But I just love love love it. Sometimes we just look at each other and smile...without saying anything. It is awesome.
Okay...one more thing for today. We already got our FIRST baby gift!! Last week my boss....ehmm my awesome boss surprised me with a gift! I opened it at work and low and behold it was the most adorable set of towels and washcloths. Here is a pic:


As they say, "Over and Out!"

1st Preggers Pic

Tuesday 08-10-10

I decided that I want to track my belly growth with pictures. I thought about waiting a couple more weeks but why not start now, right?
This week I am 5 weeks. I probably should have taken this pic in the morning since I have a full belly right now from dinner. But mornings haven't been too chipper for me so I figured I would go ahead and take a pic.

5 Weeks


Food, Food, and more Food!

Yes, that has been my life the past few days. If I am not eating..then I am going to be munching on something in the next hour. It is crazy. I don't eat much at all at a time...but after an hour or two I get to feeling a little fatigued and the need to eat. Well, this just can't be happening.
Ann suggested getting some gum or suck on candies to pop in my mouth when I get to feeling like that. So, today I bought some nuts and Werther's Original candies. I bought the sugar-free Werther's. Not because I am diabetic. But because...well...gotta save calories where I can. :) And they definitely helped me a lot today.

And The Ride Begins....

Monday 08-09-10

Welp, our time has come....to be parents! And let me tell you what...I could NOT be more excited. I have dreamed of being a mommy ever since I was a little girl. It really is a dream come true for me. I absolutely love children and am so glad that God has blessed us with this opportunity. Joyful: that's me!



The Low Down:
Morgan and I weren't "trying" per say...but we weren't "preventing" either. But over the past couple months I have really been hoping the time would come sooner than later. I just feel so ready, ya know.
A few days ago I woke up feeling nauseous. That was my first sign that something was up. But after I ate breakfast I was fine. So, I got ready for work and off I went. Then a couple hours later I got a headache. And a headache that lasted ALL darn day! I took Advil and later ibuprofen but neither seemed to help. That evening I decided to nap to see if that would help rid my annoying headache. Thankfully, it did.

However, the next day I woke up feeling nauseous AGAIN! Now something is not right.
Sunday morning about 6am , I got up to let the dogs outside and Morgan was stumbling in the door. He had been out all night and morning on a party bus with his friends. He came in and was telling me all about it and I was trying to stand there without feeling like I was going to fall over. So, I went to the bathroom and....you know...peed on the stick.
It says you are supposed to wait like three mins but I looked at it after a few seconds. I thought I saw a really faint line but wasn't for sure. I called Morgan in the bathroom and got him to check it out and he said he thought he saw a line.
I said, "Well, if that is a line...then that means I am pregnant." His reaction, "Good! I hope ya are!" Then after a few off to bed he went.

I wasn't sure about the test so I called Ann to tell her and she suggested going and getting another test. So, she went with me and I got one of the digital tests. It plainly reads 'Pregnant' or 'Not Pregnant'.
Well, I waited on that test result and Ann was looking at the test while it was processing. I went over and looked and holy smokes and banana balls it said PREGNANT!!! I squealed and cried and hugged her and could definitely barely breathe. I was SO SO SO excited I didn't know what to do with myself. And from there I picked up the little ol' cell phone and started making the calls to spread the news. I know I found out really early on. But I just could not hold back the news. I mean I would have liked to wait until my pregnancy is further along but I just couldn't. And of course I had to post on Facebook so that everyone and their dog would know too. :)



This morning Morgan and I went to the clinic on base and they had me take a urine test again to confirm my pregnancy there. Then I got paperwork and vitamins and yadda ya. I also had to schedule my first OB appointment and it is set for September 3. That seems SO far away. But I am glad it is a ways away because by that time we will get to see the little heartbeat. :)
And today I definitely "feel" pregnant. Every two hours I feel the need to eat. This can NOT be happening! Because if I continue eating every two hours...I will be as big as Buddha!
I am just going to stock up on fruits and veggies and healthy snacks so that when I do need to eat I am not eating 300 calories every hour. hehe

Well, this is all for now. I am still on cloud 9 and can't wait to meet our lil' Jonesie.
Stay tuned...