while we're just kicking along at 18 weeks...

Our little "sweet potato" is 18 weeks today. This is the first week where I'm like, "Oh. A sweet potato? Those are pretty big. Baby Bauer is that big already?!"

I can't believe I am almost halfway through this pregnancy. Since my nausea went away, time has gone by much faster. And here come the holidays...

The negative this past week has been the return of awful heartburn. But I really hate to complain about it because I will take heartburn all the day long over nausea and throwing up. It doesn't really kick in until the afternoon/evening, and I just pop some Tums before I go to sleep. By morning, it's gone. Repeat again the next evening.

Now for the way more important positives. Ready?

I FELT THE BABY KICK THIS PAST WEEK.

Holy, exciting moment, Batman!

I had been anticipating it happening anytime, and one night we were lying on the couch and I felt a little flutter/tiny thump. I deduced it was not gas or hunger. It must have been Baby Bauer. 

Aaron was excited too but said he was a little jealous that he couldn't feel it yet. I told him I get to have some perks since I've been going through all the not fun stuff too. He concurred.

I've felt it again a few times each day. It's usually when I'm lying down or sitting still and paying attention. Although if it happens when I'm not expecting it, it's a tiny bit weird for a second. What was that?! Oh yeah, there's a person inside me...

So, all that to say, it's very, very cool to be able to feel the baby every once in awhile. I'm glad it's making itself at home in there. We still have quite a few weeks to go.


In just one week, Lord willing, we will know if Baby Bauer is a baby boy or a baby girl. A week still seems so far away. We can't wait to know and share it with everyone. I am praying that our little one will not be hiding anything from us. I am also a little wary of the "Please come with a full bladder," part of the appointment. I'm sure once I'm distracted with the computer screen it won't be too uncomfortable...right?!

Oh well. Every second of the good and not-so-pleasant parts of pregnancy is totally worth it. Happy 18 weeks, sweet Baby Bauer! We thank God for you constantly!

a catch up post

It's time for a catch up post because I am waaay behind in pictures and things that have been going on. Here we go:




So, MISSION:FX happened on Friday, October 4th. That basically consumed the week leading up to it. A lot of our time was spent organizing prizes, candy, super hero masks, and food.

This picture does not begin to show the madness.

All of the hard work payed off, and MISSION:FX was SO awesome.

It was hard to say exactly, but we estimate that around 1,000 people showed up. We couldn't have pulled it off without our fearless lead team and the 200 amazing volunteers that showed up.

The weekend wasn't over after that, and my sweet husband was exhausted on Sunday night when he got home. I did my best to cheer him up with some Minnie loves Mickey pancakes. Yes, sometimes I can be clever. 

Thankfully, this past week was much calmer. We weren't even sure what to talk about at work.

This past week also brought the wonderful, cool, fall weather. It was time to pull out my Batman pajama pants.

The big negative this past week was the result of one of my arch nemesis:  bees. You may remember a certain post alluding to my hatred of bees here.

Anyway.

I was indoors at church in rainy weather minding my own business. There was a little kids' jean jacket that had been left in one of the classrooms. I innocently reached to grab it from where it was hanging when what should occur but a horrible stinging pain. 

I shook my hand and down fell a yellow jacket. As the bee venom spread in my hand and became quite unpleasant, I called Aaron in to kill the stupid bee that was somehow in the building (?!). I only cried for a minute (hey, I'm pregnant...and it really hurt!)

I have been stung many, many times in my life for some strange reason (hence my terror and utter avoidance of buzzing things). But this guy came out of nowhere. What were the chances?!

I wouldn't normally panic much, but of course I immediately freaked out for the baby. After typing in "stung by a bee while pregnant" on Google proved more fear-inducing than helpful, I put in a call to my OB.

She didn't answer so I left a message along the lines of "Hi, I'm Whitney Bauer. I'm pregnant and was just stung by a bee. Is this bad?"

I missed her call back, but she assured me that unless I was typically allergic to bee stings, all was well. 

That was good to know, and I just dealt with my hand hurting for the remainder of the day. Thankfully the next day it felt better.



The rest of last week was spent celebrating Aaron's birthday with presents, friends, and too much food. He had a great birthday, and now begins the 16ish days that he is five years older than I am. I like to rub that in a lot while I can.




Oh, one more thing. This:

is happening right outside our door every. day.

I will not be sad when these houses are built and we no longer live in a construction zone.



The end.

30 things for Aaron's birthday

Today, my very best friend turns another year older. Actually, another decade older, although he's not so thrilled about that part.

Happy, happy birthday, Aaron. I love you so very much. And I am so thankful God put you on this earth 30 years ago.

Here are 30 fun memories with you. Let's keep making more, okay?

1.  After two months of dating, we spent New Year's Eve of 2008/2009 together. I still wasn't technically your "girlfriend," but I was so, so smitten with you.

2.  We have always loved to hang out downtown. And sometimes match.

3.  On February 13, 2009 you took me to the beach for the day. You told me you loved me. And that was that. We were in. No looking back.

4.  In June of 2009, you went with me on a family vacation. You were brave. And it was fun sneaking away to Universal Studios for the day.

5.  I thought you might propose in Florida, but you didn't. You pretended like you couldn't afford to. Actually, you already had the ring...

6.  You did propose on August 8, 2009. On this bridge. And the random joggers took this picture and emailed it to us.

7.  I loved being engaged to you and planning our wedding that would take place in front of this lake.

8.  What's to say? I just love this picture.

9.  Taking our engagement pictures was a fun day. After planning out all our outfits we just stayed in the same ones the whole time. Oh well.

10.  This was our first and only holiday season as an engaged couple. The year before, we were barely dating. The next year, we were married. That was a strange, wonderful thing.

11.  Less than a month before we got married, I graduated from college. Thanks for making it a big deal amidst all of the other stress around that time.

12.  The day before our wedding is kind of a blur. I just couldn't wait for the next day. What did we even eat at our rehearsal dinner? I honestly have no recollection of eating food.

13.  I will never get tired of looking at our wedding pictures. They capture our joy on that day so well.

14.  Off we went to start the real adventure:  marriage. And what an adventure it has been. 

15.  Our honeymoon was SO much fun. I'm glad it didn't end when we got off the ship. I'm also glad you always call our anniversary trips honeymoons. They are.

16.  Our first year of marriage was wonderful. Living in an apartment, figuring out how to cook, budgeting money, and so many other firsts with you make me smile when I think about them.

17.  We spent our first anniversary at Disney World, of course. Remember that nice old couple that talked to us at dinner that night? They had been married for over 50 years. There's so much to still look forward to!

18.  One day, we came home with this little fur ball. It's been fun learning how to take care of another living thing with you. I love our Penny girl.

19.  Sometimes we still try to be handy. We really should stop. But it's always funny, at least.

20.  I love, love, love doing ministry with you. Sometimes it sucks. But it's always worth it at the end of the day. God never ceases to show off and show us up.

21.  And sometimes in ministry, we do things where we don't feel like we know what we're doing. But it's an honor to do it with you, and it's fun along the way.

22.  You make sure we never have a dull moment. Thank you for putting a smile on my face every day.

23.  One day, let's win the lottery and build a mountain house. I love all of our trips to the mountains. 

24.  Every once in awhile, we can pretend to care about sports. But we really don't. And I'm glad I married someone that doesn't make me care about sports. This baseball game was still fun though.

25.  I'm glad we decided to take another cruise this past year. That was the most relaxing trip we had had since our honeymoon.

26.  And thankfully, we didn't have to wait too long to pay a visit to our favorite place (where relaxing is not a thing).

27.  Let's take our kids here as much as we can. And buy them Minnie/Mickey ears.

28.  The day we found out we were pregnant with this baby was one of the best days of my life. I'm so glad I got to share it with you.

29.  You are already such a wonderful dad and I love to see you love our baby. I can't wait to see you grow as a father, and I know you'll be amazing.

30.  Aaron, I've had so much fun celebrating this birthday with you. I'm so proud of you, and I'm blessed to be your wife. Happy 30th Birthday.

another weekly update

Alright, people. I'm back.

There's much to catch up on after our crazy weekend, but that will have to wait because it's Wednesday. And that means that Baby Bauer is another week older.

Happy 17 weeks, adorable, little baby!

It may say over there on the side of the blog that you are the size of an onion, but I'm sure you're much, much cuter than one. And smell way better.



It's been a good week for baby and me. I've continued to feel great. Hooray for no more nausea! I've also had a bit more energy. Although this cloudy weather doesn't help...

This week's negative has been... not sleeping well. You see, normally I sleep on my stomach. That, of course, is getting to be quite uncomfortable. But since I'm used to sleeping on my stomach, sleeping on my side or my back isn't comfortable either. After resorting to sleeping on the couch one night, I decided it was time to try a body pillow. I had read that they help. So far, it helps a little. I'm not completely sold on it, but it's better than nothing. 

Anyway, if that's the only thing I have to complain about, I'll take it.



We had an appointment on Monday and heard Baby's heartbeat again. This time they were able to find it with the little doppler thing. She kept finding it and losing it, but we did hear it for a few seconds. Everything was great, minus having to get a flu shot. I hate shots.

In just a couple weeks we will go back for our anatomy ultrasound. Ah! It is getting close!

People keep asking us if we have names picked out. The answer is:  yes. We are pretty settled on two names. And we are planning on announcing the name once we know the gender.

Stay tuned!

to celebrate sixteen weeks

Happy 16 weeks to Baby Bauer!

It's hard to believe that just eight weeks ago we were looking at an ultrasound of a little blob-looking baby that was only a little over a centimeter long. Now, our little one is supposed to be over four inches long. Woah. That's a lot of growing in eight weeks!

Also, according to some of the websites I read (however reliable they are...) say that the baby should be able to hear the sound of my voice within the next week. Talk about pressure. I mean, I feel like I really need to watch what comes out of my mouth now! 

I am also anticipating those first little flutters that are to come in the next few weeks. I don't think I've felt any yet. Not that I know of, at least.

Exactly three weeks from today, pending Baby's cooperation, we will know if we are having a sweet little boy or girl. I. Can. Not. Wait.

I am definitely enjoying pregnancy much more now that I'm not leaning over the toilet multiple times every day. I think...think...think...that I'm safe to say "morning" sickness is over. I've been fine for over two weeks now.

*Pardon while I knock on some wood.


With sixteen weeks down, there's only twenty four (ish) left. After this week of insanity with MISSION:FX is over, we are planning to get the baby's nursery in order. We have quite a bit of furniture to move around.

We have been insanely blessed with furniture for the baby. You may remember a post I wrote a very long time ago about when we got a crib.

It's sitting upstairs disassembled right now, but here's what it looks like:

Then, just a few weeks ago, some friends of ours at church said they had a changing table we could have if we wanted it. I didn't think much of it at first, but then she sent me a picture:

It's hard to tell, but it basically exactly matches the crib. And it is a dresser which is awesome. We were going to have to buy one.

We also already have a toy box/window seat that is the same color wood. I volunteered my mom to make a cushion for it once we have fabric picked out. And Aaron has a little bookshelf that matches the wood as well.

All that is left for us to worry about is some sort of rocking chair/glider/arm chair thing. Well, as far as the nursery furniture goes, at least. 

With the holidays coming up, I know time is going to start flying by. 

We can't wait to welcome you to the world, sweet Baby!

Happy October!

Hello, October. It's so good to see you again. You are my favorite month. And here you are. Thirty one days of cool, crisp you.

Get ready for a long list, people. You have my permission to not read it. Here comes all of the fun that is October (in order of date, because that's just easiest)...

1. MISSION:FX.   Friday night, if you live in the Raleigh area and have kids or know kids or like kids, you have no excuse to not be at 3500 Spring Forest Road. It is FREE fun, games, prizes, bounce houses, face painting, super hero masks, and so much more. Do not miss it. No excuses. You have to come. 6-9pm. Friday night. October 4th. Be there.
2. Baby Bauer check-up.   Next Monday we have an appointment to check on our little peanut. I am so looking forward to hearing that heart beat-beat-beating again. And no finger prick this time. For the win.
3. A haircut.   This is so sad. I have not had my haircut since May. There is just always something else to spend money on. This month, a haircut is happening. I'm not sure if it will be drastic or not. But it's happening.
4. Aaron's birthday.    My wonderful, sexy, amazing, baby daddy, best friend, husband is turning 30 this month! Woah! He is not looking forward to being 30, but he does like his birthday in general, and I love celebrating him. I'm so thankful that 30 years ago God already knew His plan for Aaron and for us!
5. The Paige's.    Remember our fun friends, Ryan and Aura? Well, we do, but barely! Thankfully, we will remedy the fact that we haven't seen them in forever this month. We are looking forward to seeing them (sans baked pumpkins).
6. NC State Fair.    Oh fair. We hate to love you. You and your tasty, heart attack food. But we will go to you. We have to.
7. Sarah's birthday.    My future sis-in-law is turning the big 21 this month. She joins Aaron and myself in the best month to have a birthday.
8. Chris Tomlin concert.    When I was in high school, I wanted to marry Chris Tomlin. Well, I ended up falling in love with someone way better. And Chris got married too. So, it just didn't work out. Anyway, I still think he's an incredible songwriter/worship leader and I'm excited to go to his concert this month.
9. Dinner at Ruths Chris.    My brother got engaged like two months ago, but we are finally getting around to celebrating properly with a fancy-schmancy dinner this month. We haven't been to Ruths Chris since my parents took us when we got engaged. They are probably glad they only have two children to take there...
10. BABY BAUER GENDER REVEAL.     Ok, this wins hands down on my list as the most exciting thing of the whole month. Ah! I can't wait to know what this sweet little baby is!!!!
11. Scaremare.    It is still in question if I will attend Scaremare at the end of the month. I would love to, but it's a late, late night at a haunted house so...I just don't know if me and baby will be up for it. It's still fun though, and it makes my list.
12. My birthday.    Well, I don't suppose 26 is that exciting of a number, but it's bound to be my most adventuresome year of life yet. I will probably deny all gifts for myself to rather spoil the little one on the way.
13. Halloween.    I actually don't really care that much about Halloween. Next year it will probably be a little more exciting when we have someone to dress up. But, it's a holiday, and since it worked out to be number 13, I had to add it.

So, here we go! October is off and running. We will do our best to keep up. So much to be thankful for this month!