We are carrying on the Dean Tradition

Well we've had a busy, busy weekend in the Dean Household. Yesterday we went to our nephew's 5th birthday party (which was so much fun), dinner with Jason's parents for his birthday and a retirement party for Jason's old boss.

BUT we started our day with something that I will hold in my heart forever!

As many of you know, Jason and I weren't sure if we were going to find out the sex of Butterbean. I told Jason it was completely his decision to whethere we found out or not, I would have been happy either way, but if you know me, deep down I really wanted to know - I'm way too much of a planner in life.

Well as I mentioned in my last post our next OB appointment and "big" ultrasound is on 2/24, and Jason and I are headed to Texas in February and my wonderful family will be throwing us a baby shower. I told Jason if we are going to find out, I'd love to be able to tell my family before the trip... Soooooo... after what felt like much comtemplation, Jason text me last Monday and said "Let's Do It!" He threw his little message in a text with something else, so I literally had to read and re-read it again to see if I was reading it correctly. Needless to say I was thrilled :)

Now fast forward... There is a 3D/4D imaging center here in Atlanta that not only does 3D/4D ultrasounds, but they also offer early gender determination. So I made us an appointment for Saturday at 12:30 pm. Although Jason did start having second thoughts late Friday night, it was too late - no turning back, the appointment's been made (well at least that's what I kept saying).

The morning flew by and there we were - off to Baby's First Images. Jason kept saying he was nervous, because I kept saying I thought Butterbean was a girl. He must of have been envisioning: puberty, dating and a wedding ;)

Well after only a few short seconds and I mean a few short seconds the words came out...

IT'S A BOY!

All I can say, those words were probably some of the most cherished words I've ever heard. My heart just melted. Evidently Butterbean was letting it all show - that's our boy! So here are a few pictures of our sweet boy and "proof":

It has been so much fun sharing the news and we have another busy day today - we are off to look at nursery furniture!

Reading, reading & more reading!

I think everyone approaches pregnancy very differently. Some women want all the information they can get their hands on, others will just follow what the doctor tells them. Me, well I guess I'm a little in the middle to maybe on the extreme side. As you can see I have a plethora of books, many were given to me, others I purchased and I will say, YES I have been reading ALL of them. This may come to a shock to many of you (my sweet husband being one of those), as most of my reading before Butterbean was US Weekly, People, or In Touch. Clearly I'm not much of an intellect :).

I will admit for someone who isn't much of book worm, I am enjoying or have enjoyed each of these books. Each of them unique, but helping me understand everything that's going on with our sweet little Bean. And I have 2 more books to add to the reading list too!

16 Week Update

Happy Monday and what a great day it is!

I had my 16 week OB appointment today and to be honest it was a much anticipated appointment. It has been 4 weeks since my last appointment, and while I've been feeling absolutely fantastic, those 4 weeks felt like an absolute eternity. I guess nerves were getting the best of me, but I started to get anxious about this appointment, all I wanted was to hear Butterbean's little heartbeat. I even had Jason come along for moral support, he is such a sweet husband!

So the appointment was great, Butterbean's heartbeat was 151 and the nurse said moving a lot when she was trying to find it - active little Bean we have. I haven't felt any movement yet, although last night I thought I did, but the nurse said the location was too high for that to have been the baby. The doctor also measured my belly and said I was measuring perfect. And I only gained 1 lb since my last appointment, but I know these next few months is when the growth really happens.

And last but not least, here are 16 week belly pics - not too much growth from 14 weeks, but there is a baby bump, which I might add I absolutely love!! My friend Melanie said to wear it proudly and I have to admit - I DO!

Great surprise for the Parents to Be

Jason and I got the best surprise today from my most favorite uncle - that would be Uncle Pedro in case you are wondering :)

Clearly I won't be enjoying a sip of tasty champagne until after Butterbean arrives, but what a great way to celebrate his/her arrival!

I may just have to smuggle this into the hospital (wink, wink)...

Thank you Uncle Pedro - the glasses are beautiful, we can't wait to make our toast to Butterbean!

Belly Watch - 14 Weeks

First, please excuse the self taken belly picture - our digital camera is out of commission and I had to take this with my blackberry. But I've been wanting to post a updated belly shot since (in my opinion) there has been quite a bit a change since my 12 week post :) You can give me your opinion if you agree or disagree....

I've been feeling great overall, exercising as much as I can, even making it out to boot camp. Of course I have to modify some exercises and I am running a bit slower. I will say that since the day I got pregnant, I have not been sleeping well at all! If you know me, I've always been a sound sleeper, but now, I toss and turn all night. I definitely think this is my body's way of preparing me for Butterbean's arrival and the lack there of sleep.

My next appointment is on January 25th - it will be my 16 week appointment and I can't wait! I'm so ready to hear Butterbean's heartbeat again, it's been a long few weeks :)

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

And today marks the day I made my first maternity purchase....

Well I guess it was inevitable to happen sooner or later, I mean I am growing another person in my belly, but today I sucked it up and went into a maternity store for the first time... I would have to say that for the most part, all my clothes are still fitting okay. However, it's pretty apparent that there is some growth happening around my waist :) All my jeans are low rise, so with the Bella Band, I can still wear them unbutton and/or unzipped and I have a few pairs I can still button (yay! yay!). But I have noticed I'm constantly tugging at them to stay up and not because I've lost any weight in my butt or legs, I think just with the sheer fact that my body is changing shape.

Today I had to make a return to Macy's and my very sweet friend, Brandy, had given me a gift card to Pea in a Pod/Destination Maternity, since I always said I wanted to splurg on one purchase when I was pregnant and that would be on some designer maternity jeans. So after I left Macy's, I thought what the heck, I'll walk over to the store and check out some jeans.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but the jeans were right in the front of the store, so I grabbed 3 pairs of jeans and headed to the dressing room. The first pair I tried on were the Pea in a Pod brand and they were so comfortable. Man that band of elastic is the best thing since sliced bread! I then moved on to a pair of 7's and Citizens - I didn't have nearly the luck. I already hate buying jeans, but for some reason I thought it wouldn't be as bad being pregnant... not the case... The 2 designer jeans a) say they were petites, however the extra 5 inches in the length could not have been petite and b) the sales woman said they fit like normal jeans, with a bit of stretch to "grow with you".... Now it's my hope that I don't grow too much in my bootie and legs, but I'm trying to be realistic here... And sadly they just fit really strange. So I folded my "would be" splurg purchase and kept the first pair.

As I went to the register to pay, the Pea in a Pod pair didn't have a price tag, so I wasn't sure of the price, but I did know they probably weren't the price of the 7's or Citizens (incriminating information I won't share, wink, wink). As sales associate rung me up and after my gift card, I ended up splurging a whole $47.76! Let's just say this is a round about 1/4 the cost of the other jeans.

So after being a bit nervous to walk into a maternity store for the first time, I felt pretty darn proud of myself. Besides, the bag from the store was super cute too, I kinda felt cool walking around with maternity purchase :)