17 Weeks

I am a little behind on this post. I am 17 weeks along now, but our last appointment was Jan. 14th and I had just turned 16 weeks. The appointment was short and quick. Nothing really changed at all except when we were trying to hear the heartbeat the baby was moving around. The doc said he/she was squirming around but only for a second or two and then we heard the heart beat, strong and steady just like before. We discussed a few things and then were sent on our way. Our next appt. is Feb. 7th! We are so excited about this appt. we can hardly stand it! We will get to see our baby and hopefully find out the sex! We are really hoping that the baby cooperates! We are also switching things up a bit and will be having a gender reveal party! Our family friend Kris and my Aunt Carrie will be hosting the party on Feb. 9th! The invites have been sent out and I can't wait until the day comes! I just really hope that the baby will cooperate and we don't run into any problems. If so, we will have to cancel the whole party and I will be one sad Momma! :(
On a brighter note, the Doc said we are right on course and the baby seems to be healthy and happy. I haven't gained any weight at all yet, and the doc said this is fine. I am starting to see a bump finally although I feel as though I am just fat. Rhea use to tell me to eat more so that my belly would grow but just yesterday she said "Momma, you are getting bigger and that means the baby is growing!" I haven't felt any butterflies, as they call it, or movements yet. I am hoping by our next appt. I will have felt them. The kids have also really enjoyed me reading to them about the baby. Each week we read how big the baby has grown and what it is doing now. They love knowing how big it is! This week it is as big as an onion. When Jacob heard this he ran to the kitchen to grab an onion but we were all out. So I went to the store the next day and bought an onion. They carried the onion around for a while acting like it was the baby. Silly kids!
Well, I guess that about wraps it up for now. Here is the invite we sent out to our Gender Reveal Party I think Kris and Carrie did a wonderful job! Can't wait til Feb. 9th!! Rheanna wants us to have a boy and Jacob said he will be happy either way. What do you think it is?

Practice makes perfect!

This year we had planned to go see Grandpa Jerry and Jane for Christmas. We had planned to leave the day after Christmas get there at night then rest up and enjoy a few days with them. The kids were excited, especially Rheanna. She wanted to see snow so bad and get to play in it. I thought it would be great to get to spend Christmas break somewhere new and was looking very forward to it. As we got closer to Christmas it was getting harder for me to stay seated for a very long time. My tailbone ached if I sat too long and had to get up and walk around or stand for a while. So when we went to the doctor for our next appt. we asked if it would be a good idea to travel during the holidays. The doctor said that we could but I would need to get out every other hour and walk for a while, also to sit with a tempur-pedic pillow underneath me as well for extra support. After discussing this with the doctor and between ourselves, we decided it wouldn't be a good idea to go to New Mexico after all. I was really upset and told Jonathan I thought I could just lay on my side and sleep the whole way there. He wasn't buying it though. We told the kids and they were really upset as well, but they also understood it wasn't good for me to sit that long either. They decided we could all go next year so that Grandpa Jerry and Jane could see the baby as well! So glad they are understanding...well sometimes! ;)
Rheanna called Grandpa Jerry later that week and they got to visit. He had asked if she got to shoot her gun yet. (When they came down for the wedding they brought the kids Christmas gifts since they wouldn't fit in the mail or couldn't be shipped anyways. Grandpa Jerry handed down his .22 gun to Rheanna as long as she promised to take care of it and keep it in the family. She agreed.) We hadn't had time to take it to deer camp and let her practice until the week after Christmas. She was a little hesitate at first but then really got the hang of it. She did GREAT! It took Daddy a while to site the gun in but once it was sited, it shot like a champ!! Daddy taught her how to load the bullets, safety, and fire. She has a pretty good aim! She takes good care of her gun and Daddy even lets her keep it in her closet. Other day we were watching the news and saw a house get burglarized, Rhea said, "That's why I keep my gun in the closet! So in case someone tries to break in I can protect myself!" Smart little girl. We have gone over gun safety with her many times and she is probably more aware about safety than most adults out there. She would like to Thank Grandpa Jerry for giving her such a meaningful gift and most of all one she can treasure and keep for years to come! Thanks!

Loading the bullets

Take Aim...

Using her gun holder she win from the Wild Game Supper

Daddy teaching Rhea to aim

Getting ready for another round

Yea, she shoots Left handed.

Pretty good target!

Christmas Day at Grandma & Nana's Houses

Christmas Day was a day full of adventures. First, Christmas at our house in the morning. Then we headed over to Grandma Drapelas house. We got to visit with everyone and we had a special visitor, Santa!! Grandma Drapela had a full house just as always but I wouldn't have it any other way! We had a HUGE array of food and we all chowed down! The kids both liked their gifts and then we head home so I could take a nap before we headed to Nana Isaac's house. Pics below are at Grandmas Drapelas:

Rhea with Santa

All the family

Jake and Santa

Rhea and Jake with their gifts

Rhea got a beautiful new necklace



Rhea and Jake

 Next we headed to Nana Isaac's house. It had been pretty warm all day until we got to Nana's house then the cold front decided to blow in! Brrr!!! It was freezing! Nana had made some yummy green chili and regular chili so that warmed us up a bit! She also had some killer cheese dip that we couldn't stay away from. Which reminds me I was suppose to go get some of that chili to put up in the freezer! Shucks! I can't remember anything now a days. The kids got MORE presents over at Nana's house too...where do we have room for all this!?!? Nana also got a special Christmas gift from Dawn and Josh. They are too sweet! She was very excited!

Rhea and Jake getting ready to open presents

Dig in!

Braden, Hannah, Kyler, and Chase tearing through their presents!

Close your mouth Mom!

She was SO happy!!

Christmas Day 2012

Christmas is here! Christmas is here! I love Christmas just for the simple fact of seeing joy on everybody's face. It was the day our Savior was born and what a better way to celebrate! This Christmas was wonderful and so glad we got to spend it in our new home! The kids received LOTS of gifts and we got some too! For warning in the following pics, my son does not like to wear pants and sleeps in his underwear everynight. So for the next few pics disregard him in his underwear. He was too excited to put any pants on! Boys will be boys!!

Rhea and Jake Christmas morning

Rhea got a new book

And Rollerblades

Jake got new Boots

Rheas favorite Chips

Jacobs Build-a-Motor

Rhea's new Boombox. Lord help us!

Finally got a Wii

Jacob got Spongebob's Ants in the Pants

Christmas Eve at So & Mo's House

Just like every other year we go to Christmas Eve Mass with my parents and brothers. This year was a little hectic because So has been working a lot! She got off work 30 minutes before Mass started, ran home took a shower, and met us up at Church. After Mass we went over to So & Mo's house to have supper and see what presents Santa had left us over there! We had a great spread of food including, fried oysters, shrimp, french fries, mac-n-cheese, coleslaw, and shrimp/crawfish etoufee. It was all very yummy, even though we didn't eat til 8:45! This Momma was hungry!! Afterwards we opened presents and everyone was delighted with what they got! Jonathan got a new button down camo shirt, and brand new waders!! Rheanna got a new cowgirl belt, pink John Deere boots, and her favorite cheetah onesies pajamas. Jacob got new camo hunting toys, telescope, and his favorite, a bull piggy bank that moo's when you put money in it. I received 3 new shirts, Snoogie pillow, and camo boots for the baby. We had a great Christmas Eve as always with lots of laughs, good food, and love to go around.  Here are some pics of Christmas Eve:

Rhea in her pretty Christmas dress

Jacobs present from Uncle JC

Rhea with her PJ's

Patricia opening her gift from Mikey

Jacob helping Mo

Jacob helping So



Opening my gift from my brothers



Rhea had to go change into her PJ's

JC opening his gifts

Baby's 1st Camo Boots

Jacob with his piggy bank in their new home! LOL! (JC's crate for Cledus)

12 Weeks

So yesterday Jonathan and I went to our 12 week appt. in Rosenberg at 3:45. They didn't have any openings in Wharton so that is why we had to travel to Rosenberg. It was nice faculty and everyone was really friendly. We didn't do much at this appt. All my blood levels looked fine and nothing was out of whack. We got to listen to the baby's heartbeat again and it was a strong, steady heartbeat! I love hearing that loud beating heart! Makes me smile every time!! :) The doc asked us a few questions and then we got to ask a few questions of concern. My main concern was my tailbone. I sit down quite a bit at work but try to get up and move around every once in a while. We also go walking every evening so I can get some exercise done too. But my tailbone hurts me a LOT! Especially when I sit for a long time but also when I move too fast. He said that it is normal and some people have it worse than others. He said that I should use a memory foam pillow to sit on and that should help with the pain. Other than that everything was good and it was a pretty fast appt. Oh, I also got my flu shot and whooping cough shot as well, one in each arm. They are both pretty sore today!! Afterwards we looked around at JCP and Home Depot until about 6 and then went an ate at the famous Gringos! It was so delicious!! I love that place! We both got our favorites. Mine is the Seafood Enchildas and Jonathan is the San Antonio Burrito. We both got so full and ate way too much! Our next appt. is in 4 weeks and I can't wait! Hopefully we will get to have an ultrasound and see our little munchkin!

Baby on Board

Surprise! We are expecting, July 4th! Apparently we had too much fun on our honeymoon! I originally wanted to wait a while before we had children but that wasn't in Gods plan for us. When we got back from our honeymoon everything was fine. Life went on and everything went back to normal for us. Work, school, and kids. About a week before I missed my period I woke up with a sore throat and my body ached! I was telling a friend and she said, "You better take a pregnancy test!" No way! I couldn't be! She said she felt that way right before she found out she was pregnant. I faced my fears and took the test. Negative. Whew! No big deal, I went to the doctor the next morning and he said I had a viral infection prescribed me a Z-pac and sent me on my way. I took the antibiotics and felt better within a few days. But I still didn't feel myself, not really bad, just different. I should have started on Monday but nothing. I really didn't think too much about it since I had recently taken a test and it showed negative. Saturday morning, Oct. 27th I woke up and just knew something wasn't right. I just felt different but couldn't place my finger on what though. It kept bothering me that maybe indeed I was pregnant. I decided to go ahead and just take a test again just to put my mind at ease. Before I could even flush the toilet 2 pink lines appeared! I was in total shock! Every thought went through my mind, excited, scared, happy, nervous, even an Oh Sh**! I didn't know how to react, I was in total surprise! I told Jonathan to go look in the bathroom, that is where I left the pregnancy test laying on the sink. He walked out and said, "Really?!" all I could do was shake my head yes. He was excited and asked if everything was OK? I just shook my head agreeing. He then asked, "Well can I at least have a hug?" LOL! I just hugged him with a blank stare. I was just still in shock! And really in disbelief!

I went to the doctors office and took a blood test that following Wednesday, Oct. 31st to verify we were really pregnant. I called the docs office an hour later and it was confirmed, we are expecting! They set up my 1st appointment for Nov.29th. I called Jonathan and told him the news and the excitement began. Now the only thing left was to decide when to tell our parents, friends, and family. We had originally planned to tell them after our 1st appointment just to make sure everything was OK. But Thanksgiving was right before it and we could tell EVERYONE then all at the same time. We contemplated back and forth on when to tell our parents and then everyone else. Finally, we decided to go ahead and tell everyone on Thanksgiving, except the kids and my parents. Sunday the day before Thanksgiving we went to 7am Mass, had breakfast with my parents afterwards and then went home to change and then head out to my parents house to help them cut up some deer meat. When we got home, I sat the kids down in the living room and handed them a poem to read out loud. It said: "We are thankful for so many things, our toys, our friends and so much more. But one thing we can all be thankful for, just maybe, Mom and Dad are having a baby!" They were all smiles! Rheanna asked, "Where is it going to stay?" I told her we were turning the spare/storage room into the baby's room. She was relieved, she just didn't want to share her room! On the other hand Jacob was more than happy to have the baby where ever. He even offered to share his room! But then had lots of questions like how can I have a baby? I am not fat! LOL! Love that lil' boy! Once all the excitement settled at our house we headed to my parents house. We had the kids read the same poem to them! Mom was a little in shock, kinda like how I was at first, but Dad was really excited!! He gave both of us a huge hug!! Fast forward to Thanksgiving day, I had shirts made for the kids that said Big Sister and Big Brother. So when we went to Thanksgiving this how we would tell them! First I had to make a call to my brother, JC. He had to work Thanksgiving and was stuck on the island off of Rockport. He was thrilled when we told him! I could feel the love on the other end of the phone. He will be the one to spoil this child rotten! We went to 3 different house on Thanksgiving so it made for one eventful day! Everyone was excited for us and we couldn't have been more happy!

Nov. 29th was our 1st appointment. Jonathan took off in the morning and joined me. We had our 1st ultrasound at 9. I was nervous but excited! When we got to see him or her for the 1st time my heart fluttered! Then she let us listen to the heartbeat, I was in awe and even got a little teary eyed. It was neat to see our little one on the screen and I can't wait until next time! Everything went well at the appointments, although this was one long appointment. Finally once I though we were done I was sent to do blood work. It didn't take long so it wasn't bad.
Symptoms I have been feeling:

• TIRED! I have been really tired! Anytime I would sit or relax for more than 10 minutes I will fall asleep. Although this last week I have gained more energy and aren't feeling soo wore out!

• Hello DD's! Within a months time I had to be re-fitted at Victoria Secret for new bras! I had too make several trips to different department stores too and find a sports bra that would fit and didn't have the razor back. Wearing a bra to bed now is a must! Need the extra support!  

• Nausea/Smells: I have gotten nausea a few times but nothing too too bad. I haven't had any morning sickness what so ever and haven't had to urge to vomit at all. On the other hand, there are certain smells that get to me. Stinky dogs like the labs at our house make my stomache turn. Smoke smell is starting to really get to me. Some of our Scentsy smells are a little too strong for me and give me a tummy ache. Not trying to gross anyone out but fart smells get to me the worst. I know they aren't suppose to smell like roses but MAN! Those make me gag the worst!

• No cravings really. Popcorn was a #1 on the list for a while but that has fizzled out now. Still love ranch! Ice Cream is beginning to make its presence known.

Everything else is going good. I haven't been running instead I walk every evening, not really to far seeing as it gets dark early now and I don't want to be on the roads after dark. Our next appointment is Dec. 20th this time we will have to go to Rosenberg which is fine maybe we can do some shopping while we are there! Here is a pic of the kids holding the pic of their baby brother or sister!