20 Weeks

My pants are finally starting to get tight!

Well, it's happened: I'm halfway there. It's a little crazy to think that we've known now for 3 1/2 months that our family of two will soon become three. It's also crazy to think of everything else that has happened in the last 3 1/2 months: we graduated, went to Hawaii, Virginia, and Texas, and I went to Alaska. This summer has reminded me slightly of the summer before we got married, although this one has been a bit more slow: we haven't been to Venezuela or Florida this summer!

Everything seems to be going ok with Baby Scarbrough. I still haven't felt him/her move yet, but hopefully I will by my next ultrasound next Friday. We still don't know if it's a girl or a boy: hopefully we will by next Friday! But I have had a bit more energy (I don't need a nap every day, only on days I have to be at work before the sun rises). I'm still quite hungry a lot of the time, which is annoying, but I'm trying to keep fruit and homemade bread/muffins in the house: the fruit for the nutrition, and the bread simply to fill the empty space in my stomach. I'm not in maternity clothes yet (obviously), but I can see the need for some new pants in the next month or so: my before-"loose" jeans are now fairly tight.

Anyways, that's all that's up as far as Baby Scarbrough goes. I'm going to write another post later this week about what else is up with us.

16 Weeks, 18 Weeks, and More Pregnancy Stuff

So, sorry it's been awhile since I updated. I keep having great intentions of updating more frequently, but I have just been so tired. Working 30 hours a week and trying to keep food in the house and the apartment clean is proving to be about as much as I can handle these days.

I am going to try to be better at updating though. I'm starting with pregnancy photos because I know that's what our families want to see the most, and hopefully this weekend I'll get to posting about our trip to Texas last week for Marci's wedding, our 2nd anniversary, and Shannon's 35th birthday.

We went to the doctor yesterday for my 18-week ultrasound, and all looks good with the baby! Baby Scarbrough is healthy, but wouldn't show us if it's a girl or a boy. Baby was sitting on its feet, head up, and facing my spine. No way were we getting any gender shots! However, we do have to go back in three weeks so the technician can get some shots of the heart chambers, because while the heartbeat is strong, she couldn't actually see the heart to make sure it's developing properly. So we'll get another shot in 3 weeks to find out if it's a girl or a boy!

She also told me that I have an anterior placenta, which basically means there's an extra layer of padding between the baby and my stomach, so I probably won't feel the baby move as early as many people. Instead of feeling the baby for the first time at 18-20 weeks, it will probably be sometime after that before I start feeling Baby Scarbrough's kicks for the first time.


Two weeks ago, when I was 16 weeks pregnant.

I was worried that the doctor would be upset with me for not gaining any weight since my 12-week appointment, but I was happily surprised when the scales showed I had gained four pounds. I don't really know where it all went...I can still wear all of my regular clothes. My belly is a teensy bit bigger, but I only really notice it when I'm lying on my back. Anyhow, the baby was measuring between 16 and 17 weeks in size, but I think it's just a small baby. I'm pretty sure I'm actually 18 weeks along and baby is just small because we don't eat a lot of junk food around here!


Three days ago, when I was 18 weeks pregnant.

So that's about all that's up with Baby Scarbrough! I'm feeling just fine, other than being tired. I keep waiting for that 2nd trimester "burst of energy" to come, but I don't think it's going to. Oh well, at least I'm not sick! All in all, it's been a pretty easy pregnancy so far, and I have nothing to complain about. So until I find the time and energy to update again, pray that baby will show us the goods on August 28th!

Carolina Mudcats

A couple of weeks ago, our friend Steve got about 25 free tickets to the Carolina Mudcats vs. the Jacksonville Suns baseball game. Seeing how the tickets were free, and I'd never been to a baseball game before, we decided to go.


The ticket to my first-ever baseball game!

Our friend Brian treated us all to an upgrade to box seats, so we ended up right behind home plate...excellent seats! Later, Brian even caught a foul ball.


Our view of the field.


Randy, Shannon, and Brian.


Me and Shannon with Muddy, the Mudcats' mascot. We got Brian's baseball signed for him.

All in all, I would say that my first baseball experience was a fun one. The Mudcats won, and I got to see two home runs. Shannon got a $1 hot dog, and we got to have a good time with friends we don't see very often. Next up: getting to a Durham Bulls game...I hear they're better than the Mudcats!

14 Weeks

So, I really don't like the whole "belly picture" thing. I think it's weird. But, I know that there are at least a few people out there who read our blog (when I actually bother to update, that is), and would appreciate pictures to see how large my belly is getting. I hate to disappoint this first time around, but I figured that I have to start somewhere, and since I think a lot of moms-to-be have started showing a bit by 14 weeks, I figured I should start the pictures when others do. So, here is my 14-week "belly" picture:


Ta-da! Yeah...no belly yet!

I'll try to do a good job of putting up pictures every two or so weeks. So far I have had nothing to complain about. There was about a month where I didn't feel so hot and things just smelled nasty, but I've been feeling fine for 2-3 weeks now. I'm just tired all the time. Today I actually felt like getting out of bed, and I determined it was because I slept nine hours on Saturday night, took a three-hour nap on Sunday, and then slept 9 nine more hours last night. I feel like a big bum. Hopefully that "2nd trimester burst-of-energy" will come soon.

I also have intentions of posting pictures from our trip to Hawaii...I've even re-sized some of the pictures already, I just haven't posted them yet. Maybe today I'll get started on that. I also have new recipes for the recipe blog. Let's just say that I've been trying to enjoy not being insanely busy for the first time in about six months, and it all started last week. Hopefully it's a trend that will continue for at least a few months!

12 Weeks...

Hopefully this will make up for the lack of posting on my part in the last month or so. :-)

Great Hair Chop 2009

Almost 2 years ago after Shannon and I got back from our honeymoon, I cut my hair and gave it to Locks of Love. Locks of Love provides free hairpieces (which would cost $3500-$6000 normally!) to children who have lost their hair due to cancer or other medical conditions which cause hair loss. Each hairpiece requires 6-10 at-least-10-inch ponytails, and the hairpiece arrives long so the child can have it cut to suit their face. You can go here to see pictures of kids before and after they got their hairpiece.

So, in 2007 my hair went from:


to:


I then decided that I wanted to try to grow it out for Locks of Love one more time before we moved overseas. I have fairly nice, healthy hair that grows pretty quickly, and I figure that it's one small thing I can do to help someone out. My hair finally got long enough in April, so about a month ago, I went to Salon Blu, which came recommended by some of my friends who have short hair, to give to Locks of Love for my third time. Here's the mess I began with:


And the super-cute 'do I ended up with:


I'm super happy with the cut, and although I still haven't managed to perfect the "fresh out of the salon" look that I have in this picture, I'm happy to say that I am becoming skilled with a hair straightener. I don't think I'll keep it quite this short in the long run, but for now and for summer, I rather like it. It's been a long time since my hair was this short. It's not easier to take care of than the long hair that I've usually had (which everyone is always surprised by), but it doesn't take nearly as long to blow-dry, which is nice! While I still think I like longer hair for myself better than shorter, I think I can handle this hairstyle for awhile!

We Graduated!!!! (Well...Almost)

Friday was the big day: Shannon and I graduated! Shannon's mom and stepdad made the 10-hour drive from Alabama to be a part of our day. We met them for breakfast at their hotel, brought them up to school for graduation, and then after taking lots of pictures we all went out for lunch at a local Lebanese place. Then it was home to take naps and recooperate before heading to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner and dessert. Then goodbyes were said, at least for 2 weeks until we see them in Hawaii!

I can't even begin to explain how wonderful it feels to know that I don't have thousands of pages of reading to do, or dozens of papers to write. I'm so...relaxed. :-) Today I dusted our filthy apartment. It had been accumulating dust for about two months, since right before we left for Turkmenistan. But I just hadn't had time to clean. All the schoolwork just seemed more important. But today, the apartment is clean. It's wonderful.



Biggest shock of Shannon's life: opening his diploma cover to discover that they really don't give it to you until you've finished all your classes. I guess they'll mail it to him this summer after he's completed his independent study.


Showing off our cool hoods.


At the celebratory dinner at The Cheesecake Factory, which I had never been to. Thanks, Sharon and Milton, for the great dinner and fabulous cheesecake!

As I type, Rachel and Lucas are driving over from Greensboro to spend the evening with us in celebration. I bought a watermelon and made homemade hummus for snacks, and we may go to Red Robin for a burger or something for dinner. I mean, it is Memorial Day. You have to eat burgers and such, right? Then I think we'll play a game or two of Catan before saying goodnight and settling into our clean apartment and clean sheets for a good night's sleep before work starts again tomorrow. I think we'll survive though...only 8 more workdays until we have two weeks off and are headed to gorgeous Hawaii for vacation! We can't wait.