Baby Girl @ 20 Weeks!

Our 20 week check-up was on Monday May 23rd!  We were so excited as it was the day we were finding out the gender of the baby.  We were 99.9% certain is was a boy.  Probably because Rudi was wishing SO hard for a boy, then the Drano test said it was going to be a boy, then the Chinese Lunar calendar said it was going to be a boy.  Plus, a lot of people guessed boy over girl.  Here is a belly picture of me at 20 weeks.  I swear it's only been a little over a week, but I am already getting bigger and it feels like the baby is taking up every inch of space...good news is the baby is growing!!

The doctors appointment was awesome as Dr. Vanek showed us many photos of the baby as she was checking and measuring.  We got to see it's little lips, the kidneys, the heart beating, etc.  The baby was measuring great and the due date is still as expected - October 8th!  Here you can see some of the photos, too - The top one is the foot, the next the hand, and the last two are of the face.  

Dr. Vanek made us turn our heads while she determined the sex of the baby.  As most of you know from the Facebook video, we had the doctors office call our local baker and only tell the baker what it was.  The baker was then told to make a cake with white icing and either pink or blue batter! Well, during the appointment, the baby was being difficult (Rudi mentioned "just like it's mom") and each time she would try and get a peak, the baby would move it's feet over the private area.  The doctor had to shake my stomach around (with a full bladder) about 8 times to finally figure out what it was.  She said she has only been wrong once in 13 years!  After determining the sex, she said she was going to get one more face picture for us.  It was so cute because the baby then put her arms in an X over her face!  Awww...the doctor embarrassed her by checking out her private parts!  Good girl.  


Apparently this picture shows that it's a girl. :)  I am glad the doctor knows what she is looking for!  If you want a visual at what you are looking at, you are basically looking at it from her behind.  The arrow is pointing to the "girl" part.  Those two spots on the left hand side are her feet, which she kept putting in front of her area to hide!

For those of you that weren't able to see the video on Facebook, I will attach it below.  It was so fun as Shelley, Rob, Ryleigh, Alex, Presley, & Dylan were in town, Mom, Dad, Ash, Louis, Kathy, Harriett & Rick Evans, and Karen Decker were all over for the big reveal!  We had all just gotten back from dad's retirement reception at State Farm.  It was such a great weekend and great day!  It was awesome to have the two grandpas cut the cake and announce if it was a boy or a girl!  I think the only one disappointed was Alex.  Poor kid is the only boy...he just doesn't know yet how exciting it will be to have his sisters and cousins friends over!  Pick of the litter - and of all ages!!  Lucky kid! It was such a fun way to find out what we were having!  I had waited all day.  From our appointment at 9:15AM to finally cutting the cake around 7:30PM!  We were ready!  It was typical Curl Chaotic, but such a blast and I am so blessed to have so many people there to be a part of it!  

Rudi & I went to Buy Buy Baby on Monday.  Oh boy was that overwhelming! There is so much to think about, so much to get!  We made it about a little over an hour in there before we wanted to burst.  We will definitely be making more trips back to check out more things!  And I will definitely be taking one of my mom friends with me the next time to help me pick through the thousands of different items available out there.  For those moms that are reading this...what is one thing you couldn't live without?  ONE.  :)  I'd love to see your input!

Until next time!  Hope you enjoyed the pictures and the video!  This pregnancy has been so much fun and I've enjoyed every minute.  I hope that the rest of the pregnancy AND the labor continue to be this easy (I am sure I probably just jinxed myself somehow, but I'll take my chances!)!

XOXO, 

Leigh Ann, Rudi, and Miss Harper Grace!

Shannon & The Drano Test

So, one of my oldest and dearest friends, Shannon (Wilson) Graham - who also happens to be due on the EXACT same day as me - told me about an old wives tale about trying to determine the gender of the baby.  The Drano Test.

First, let's get back to the fact that Shannon and I are due on the same day.  To give you the back story, our moms were pregnant with us at the same time.  I was born July 18, she was born September 25.  Our parents have been great friends for many years as they were all State Farmer's.  Shannon and I were together when we were first born, met a few times over the years, but finally spent our first "real" amount of time together in 8th grade.  We both lived in Bloomington together and hit it off immediately.  We heard our parents went on a camping trip around the time we were both conceived, so we always joke that we were separated at birth, or perhaps, have one of the same parent. LOL.  We have always had crazy things happen to us that is similar...whether it be wearing the same dress to prom (she lived in FL, I lived in OH...we didn't know until we sent pictures), having the exact same color blue eyes, finishing each others sentences, both working for State Farm and often showing up in very similar outfits, etc.  We officially refer to each other as STF...Siamese Twins Forever.  Her first born (Sailor) was due on my birthday, although she was late.  Now, we are due on the EXACT same day.  What are the chances with 365 days in the year???  She has already found out she is having a girl.  Now the joke is, if I have a boy, what are the chances they get married?  Crazier things have happened!!  Here is a picture of us from early high school - LOL.  (For Shannon - Ch Pow Pow!)

Okay, so now for The Drano Test.  Shannon said that you pee in a cup, then you pour Drano Crystals about 1/4 full in the cup.  After the foam and smoke disappears, you end up with Brownish Water (a Girl) or Greenish-Blue Water (a Boy).  I couldn't wait for Rudi to get home to try this out.  He, of course, was skeptical, but super excited with the results.  Here is the picture, so you can see for yourself. We will find out if this works on Monday May 23rd, when we finally find out what we are having!!

Easter 2011

I was lucky enough to get out of the wet, dreary Ohio weather and head to Atlanta to the lakehouse first with Andrea, then with Shelley & family over their Spring Break.  It was so great to see them and to finally meet Ms. Dylan!  We had a great time out on the lake, getting some sun, and decorating Easter eggs.    I miss them so much, so a week with them was much needed and much enjoyed.  Here is Shelley & I's creation when dying Easter eggs:

Here are 4 of my most favorite little people in the whole world:

Once back in dreary, wet Ohio, Rudi & I spent Easter (which was actually a nice day outside) at my parents house with Ashley.  It was a great day, great food, and great company.  Here are a few fun photos from that day!

The infamous plate decorated by Dad:

Me and my adorable Rudi showing you a side-shot to try and see the bump:

Hope everyone had a great Easter!

3rd & 4th Month

This pregnancy has really been a breeze.  I was a little nauseous during the first trimester, but never got morning sickness!  I was definitely tired, but considered myself VERY lucky.  Once I hit about week 13, all of that went away.  I got some energy back, the nauseousness went away, and I was a brand new woman!  It was nice to have that extra energy as I think Rudi was having enough of me not wanting to do ANYTHING and going to bed by 7:30PM.  LOL.


Okay, you know I really love you guys if I can share these photos with you.  I decided I will take a picture of my belly every month, starting at month 3.  


12 Weeks:

16 Weeks:

More to come each month...

Our First Doctors Appointment - February 28, 2011

We went to our first doctor's appointment on February 28, 2011.  It was a very overwhelming experience as they tell you 1,000 things and give you a huge packet of information about just about anything you could imagine.  I went through all the normal tests, peeing in a cup, getting weighed, etc.  We saw our doctor, Dr. Stephanie Vanek, and she continued the questioning and then we finally got to see our little BABY BEAN!  She confirmed the pregnancy, said we were a little over 8 weeks along and were due on October 8th!

We were relieved she found the little bean & so thrilled to finally see it!  It made it SO REAL to see this little life that was growing inside of me!  What an awesome experience.  Here are some 8 week photos:

Who We Told & When

First to Know:

Carmen and I had been attending Weight Watchers for about 1-2 months when I found out I was pregnant. I kept up the secret for a while, but couldn't imagine continuing the charade much longer.  I had to tell her 1) because I didn't want to keep paying the $12/week for Weight Watchers and 2) I had to tell someone!!  She and I were in her kitchen when I told her the news...she screamed and hugged me and was so excited for us!  That night we went to Babies R Us and Barnes & Noble to find a Pregnancy Journal.  It was a fun night and I was excited to share the news with someone!

Next to Know: 

Rudi & I went to dinner with my parents (Eschol & Dorothy) and Rudi's dad & fiance (Louie & Kathy) at Windward Passage on February 12th.  We had already had plans to go to dinner with them before we found out we were pregnant, so we figured it would be great to tell them while we had them all together in one place.  We went through cocktail hour and dinner and hadn't yet spread the word.  Rudi kept kicking me under the table and asking me if I was ready to tell them, but for some reason I was nervous to tell the news!  After we were done with dinner, Rudi says to the table "Well, Leigh Ann & I have some news that we would like to share with you".  I think my mom's eyes were about to pop out of her head!  He said "We are expecting!"  My mom screamed and everyone was super excited and happy for us.  We got big hugs from everyone and told them the story of how we found out, etc.  It was fun to have them all together for that moment.

Ashley called us from out of town the next day (Saturday) and we told her the news on speakerphone.  She was super excited and happy for us, as well.

Next we tried calling Shelley, Marti, Jamie, Derek, and Ella to share the exciting news.  I don't think any of them answered when we called, so we waited patiently for call backs.  I believe Marti was the first to call back, then we heard from Jaime & Derek, then we got the opportunity to Skype with Shelley & family.  It was so fun to share this news with our family and hear their reactions!  Ryleigh screamed and was super excited and it was fun to see her face over the computer.

I was lucky enough to take a short business trip to Atlanta.  I was able to get together most of the Atlanta crew and have them meet me for dinner.  It was there that I was able to tell them - Andrea, Alex, Heather Kotula, Kelley Juhasz, Devon, Barrett, Heather Anthony, & Christy.  It was great to see all my Atlanta friends and so exciting to see their reactions in person.  That dinner was definitely a change from most as we talked about birth, raising kids, changing diapers, etc.  Times are sure changing!

We waited to tell most non-family until our 12 week appointment...just to make sure all was good with the baby.  When we heard the heartbeat for the first time, it was nothing short of AMAZING.  We both made our rounds of phones calls to our friends and their responses were so fun.  This baby will definitely come into this world surrounded by love and support.  We feel so lucky to have so many wonderful friends and family in our life.  We love you all and THANK YOU for all the wishes and support!

Our Little Miracle!

Hey Everyone!

Mauri gave me the idea to start a blog so that she could stay up-to-date on my pregnancy and our baby plans, appointments, stories, etc.  I thought it was a great idea for all our friends and family to walk through this journey with us!

For those of you that don't know how and when we found out, here goes!

Julie & Jansen's Wedding Weekend in Tennessee
Rudi & I traveled to TN to see one of my good friends, Julie, get married the weekend of January 28th.  We had a FABULOUS weekend meeting back up with all my Atlanta friends and watching Julie marry Jansen!  In true ATL-style, we were not at a loss for a little partying and drinking over the weekend.  Friday night was a very fun night and I wasn't feeling so hot on Saturday.  I just figured I was getting old and I'd be fine before the wedding started.  Unfortunately, it did not wear off and I took it (somewhat) easy on Saturday night.  Rudi, however, felt great and partied it up again on Saturday night.  We had to head back to Ohio on Sunday.  I drove and Rudi recovered in the passenger seat.  I couldn't wait for the 6 hour drive to be over for more than one reason.  When I got home, I decided to go upstairs and take a pregnancy test.  Since we'd been trying, I knew that I was a day late, so why not give it a shot.  Rudi was still downstairs unpacking the car.  As I sat upstairs staring at the pregnancy test, my hands began to shake and I couldn't believe my eyes!!  The test was DEFINITELY turning to a POSITIVE!  Holy crap!  I was so excited and still shaking I ran downstairs to tell Rudi the good news.  Exhausted from the fun weekend and long drive, he was excited, but still needed a few minutes to "process" the news! I think it took a minute to sink in what I had just told him, but we were so happy, I was crying, we were hugging, and it was finally here....WE ARE HAVING A BABY!!!  Yippee!!