New Apartment and Preggo Pics

Congratulations Brianne and Andy!  Don't be alarmed this is not our little girl Cody is holding. My friend gave birth to Macey Dawn on Thursday morning at 2:15 a.m. and I should know because I was there!  It was incredible to see and I learned so much.  I have never seen a real live birth.  Brianne was such a champ and Macey is gorgeous.  Look at all the full head of dark hair!  

Okay so we have the keys to our new apartment in Albuquerque.  Technically it's a barn but I forgot to take an outside shot of the whole thing.  It's a loft on top of a barn and we are moving our stuff up there next weekend so I'll take outside pics next time.  The washer/dryer is downstairs and we have a big yard!  (well we actually share it with the people who own the house and barn and are letting us stay here :)


Here is the baby's room.  Already came equipped with a crib that the owner, Earl, built with is own two hands.  We have some work to do to make the nursery girly.  The walls are two shades of blue.  
Here is our magnificent kitchen with TONS of counter space.  Our bedroom is completely empty so I will have to take some "after" pics once we are all moved in.  The bathroom is huge and is the middle of our room and the baby's room with doors opening into both rooms.  

BG Update:

First, here are your weekly pregnancy pointers:




-BG had the hiccups tonight, so cute!

-She is between 3-4 pounds, but I am not exactly sure b/c I haven't had an ultrasound done here.  My midwife wants to do one next visit maybe to check her growth.

-My appointment went good and I had a low diabetes glucose score but had to get more blood drawn for some other testing they forgot to do.  My blood pressure is always a little low and she told me I was anemic (lack of iron).  Not worried b/c that happens a lot with pregnant woman.  For those of you who know what I am talking about, my fundal height was measuring 27 weeks instead of 30.  (means my belly is just a tad small)  

-I FINALLY broke down and registered.  I was so torn as to where to register.  My friend Brianne just registered at Target and had a terrible experience and their selection in LC stinks!  But I thought everybody had to register at Target.  There is not one in Clovis but there is a Wal Mart so I decided to do Wal-Mart and BabiesRus.  The selections at the BabiesRus in El Paso and Albuquerque is incredible!  I am so glad to have that out of the way.  

So here are some pics from my impromptu photo session with Jan.  My first session (too much skin to post on the internet) I had my makeup and hair all done.  This one was done on the fly but I love the colors.  The indigo scarf and jewelry is from North Africa.  

Good times in Clovis, NM

This week we have TONS of pics.  Ali and Jan were taking tons of pics on their camera plus pics from my camera, so get ready for your pictorial adventure in Clovis, NM!  This week we went to the Curry County Fair, not only once...but twice!  

We arrived just in time for the pig show.  We saw all the animals, went to all the booths, and saw the oldest house in Clovis.  

This man was carving intricate things out of wood stumps.  

Funny story about this ride.  When Cody and I were dating we went to a progressive dinner and stuffed ourselves and then went to the Southern NM State Fair.  I insisted that we ride the rides...bad move.  Half way through the ride I started feeling queasy, and I thought I could make it.  Alas, the ride stopped and we were teetering in the air at the top waiting for our turn to get off.  I looked right at Cody and puked all over is shirt and jeans.  Sure, I could have looked down and did at my own feet, but I am not sure why I chose to do it on Cody.  When we got off the ride everybody was pointing and saying "EEWWW that guy puked on himself!"  It totally looked like he had done it!  And can you believe it, we stayed together and got married :)  

 The picture at this photo booth cracked me up.  The top says "Suavacito" which Cody did a skit in college and played "Senor Suavacito."  My favorite part is that the baby is also wearing a hair net.  I bet all the hair he has gets in his way.  (go ahead, click to enlarge)

Me and Ali and a prize cow.  Let me tell you, this was one good looking prize cow. BTW, I am not referring to the cow in the green and white shirt!


One night we had some friends over and ate outside and made smore's.  Jan and Cody makin' some delicious cinnamon graham cracker smore's.  The weather has been surprisingly cool and lots of rain.  In fact, we had a tornado watch last night in our county.  I'm okay...thanks everybody for calling :)

The second night we went to the fair for the dance.  This is right before we ate at Foxy's and got our bootscootin'boogy on.  The truth is, we danced one time and my round ligaments were killing me and it was cold and rainy so we only stayed about an hour and left.  
Here's the four kids getting ready to go to the fair.  Me, Lauren (22), Ali (21), Cody (36).  I LOVE my sisters!

Cody and I leaving for a funeral.  Believe it or not, this was the first funeral I have ever been to.  

One last pic that Jan took.  I think it's a cool angle and this is what I have been doing a lot of our time here...still sitting my fat booty on the couch watching the Olympics.  It's soooo good, I can't help it!  

Tomorrow we are headed to Albuquerque so I'll try to get pics of our new (slightly used...okay it's a '94) car and our apartment.  

BG Update:

-Wednesday is my 30 week appointment!  I can't believe I am in my 30's now!  I could have the baby in as little as 7 weeks!  (hey, a girl can dream can't she?)

-She is moving and pushing out constantly and feels so huge.  

-Since returning to America I have been eating so terrible, not walking at all, and gaining weight like crazy!!  I can't wait to hear what my midwife says about the last two weeks.

-BG is currently communicating by Morse Code with her kicks and pokes.  Dang, this girl is smart!  

-As for a name, we have a few picked out.  Almost every week we were changing our mind about a name.  So we decided to announce the name at the birth so we have the option of changing our mind.  Besides, people won't give negative comments AFTER the baby is born  :)

Here are this weeks helpful tips for pregnancy:  

Please peel me off the couch

So the last week as pretty much been characterized by watching the Olympics and eating waaayyy too much unhealthy food. I am currently gaining about a pound a day since coming back to America! Swimming and gymnastics has been really exciting to watch. I can't wait for track and field to start.

Here is Cody and Thomas enjoying the Olympics.  Cody LOVES cats, can you tell?  Oh, by the way we are currently in Clovis spending two weeks with the Garrett fam.  

Also, while in Clovis I got my haircut. I know you can't tell much is different but it's lighter on the ends and this is after she just styled it.  

Here is the back view.  Getting long, right?!

Cody and his sister Lauren played tennis yesterday afternoon and here is a sweet action shot.  For the record...Lauren kicked his booty!  

"oh yeah....I am SO cool"

So I have never blogged in America and until the baby is born I am not sure what to write to about.  Once I have the baby I know what everyone will want to see...HER!  But until then I am just not sure what to blog about.  Tonight we are going to the Curry County Fair so I am hope to get some great pics of that!  So...if any of you any tips about what to blog and how to blog please help me out!  

BG Update:

-I officially feel "fat and pregnant."  I can't get around as easy and my back hurts by the end of the day.  The photo above is funny looking.  I am laying Lauren's lap and you can see my big belly sticking up with my hand on top.  

-I feel like BG is huge because she is always bulging out some body part I can feel and she is constantly moving.  

-She is currently about 16 inches long and almost three pounds.  She won't get too much longer but she will double or more her weight.  

-A baby is considered full term anywhere between 37-42 weeks, SO BG could come in 8 weeks!  Which I would totally be okay with :)

Here are some pregnancy tips I have been learning about.  It really helps to stay educated.  

Goodbye North Africa

Our last week we had two last gatherings with our group and they gave us our goodbye gifts.  The anticipation is killing us!  

YEAH!  The one on the left is a verse from Daniel in Arabic and the one on the left has a verse and was made by our old Arabic teacher.  These are sooo cool!  

We flew out with only a few minor problems.  Here we are at the airport on Thursday morning. Almost all our checked bags were overweight but PTL the lady didn't even seem to look at the scale and didn't say a word!  Because of the time change we ended up at the airport an hour early (better than an hour late!) so we had some breakfast with our friends that were seeing us off.  While trying to go through security the guy weighed our carry-on's and said they were double the weight and we would have to pay almost $100!  I have never had my carry-on's weighed at security but it was just some scam from the airport to get more money b/c he was very selective about who he made pay.  The American in front of me that I was translating for had to pay for his but because we could speak Arabic we were able to talk our way out it and didn't have to pay.  PTL!  The flight went great and we got all our bags in El Paso.  

We haven't taken many photos in America but we'll try and catch up this weekend.  Hope to start seeing some of you soon.  (By the way if you are a blog reader, let us know when you see us...gives me motivation to keep posting :)  

BG Update:

-As I write this I am using the free wireless at Lovelace Women's Hospital in Albuquerque.  I met my new midwife yesterday and she was super cool.  This morning I am re-doing some of the test I already done in North Africa (figured as much).  I am doing my glucose test again for diabetes and some bloodwork.  

-The hospital is really nice and now I have appointments every two weeks so we will be traveling back until we actually move here at the end of September.  In two weeks we have our breastfeeding class so I hope we get to tour the family birthing unit then.  All my classes, midwife appointments, and delivery are in the same hospital so that makes it really convenient 

-BG is doing great and I read that she may actually start dreaming this week!  How cute is that?!  Her little eyes are opening and closing and she is forming sleep/wake patterns. 

-The most trouble I have is sleeping at night and trying to get comfortable.  She feels so heavy at night, but other than that my rash as completely cleared up and I am feeling great.  

-Here is the three of us after our CPR class with some friends.  We are now officially certified for adult and infant CPR.  

Pottery Village and All Moved Out

We took one last trip to a pottery village across the river this week for a few last minute items to bring home.  Cody wanted a serving dish for our tagines (the traditional meal here) and a new tagine to cook in.  If you come to our house for dinner get ready for some delicious North African cooking!  


Here is what the traditional tagines look like. The colorfully decorated ones are just for looks but these are for cooking in.

This store sold random wrought iron animals.  Such as deer, rhinoceros, and donkeys.  We couldn't exactly figure out which market they are targeting, I have never seen one of these anywhere in the country!  

Well we are officially moved out of our apartment today.  We packed up all the small stuff yesterday and got it out and the movers came today for the big stuff.  We are staying at a guesthouse for the remainder of our time.  

Goodbye, old bedroom.  All we have to left to do is clean the place and give the keys back to our landlord.  We still have our four bags and carry ons to rearrange and get settled.  BUT our flight leaves at 9:40 a.m on Thursday!  So that means the next post will be coming from America.  

I can totally relate to this one.  I am an emotional mess this week!  

BG Update:

-This Thursday (the day we fly out), I start my THIRD trimester, woot woot!

-Trust me, this week I am definitely feeling the affects of ending my second trimester.  My body is so tired and sore from all the moving and this girl is getting heavy!

-Another new development is I developed a rash this week and freaked out, hoping it wasn't PUPPPS, the pregnancy induced rash that doesn't let up until after delivery.  I went to the doctor on Friday (mine was out of town so it was all in French and Arabic) and she thought it was temporary and gave me a wash and some creme to put on.  She did an ultrasound just to make sure everything was okay.  (they hand out ultrasounds here like they're lollipops)  So it has been improving and today the redness is almost gone, PTL!!  I will see my normal doc on Tuesday for my last check up and for her to give me a letter for the airlines saying its okay to fly.  

-This week BG is almost 15 inches long!!  She's over two pounds and at my ultrasound was in the head down position.  She probably won't stay like that, but hopefully she's practicing her moves for October.  

-The last big news of the week is her little eyes are opening up and she can see!  She is developing sleep/wake patterns and may start dreaming as early as next week.  

Went to the beach this weekend.  I had just gotten out of the water here and it sure did wear me out!