ALMOST Halfway There!

How far along? 19 weeks, 5 days (so, basically 20 weeks. yes!)
Total weight gain: Haven't weighed in a while. :/
Maternity clothes? Some. My favorite most favorite thing to wear is either a skirt or dress.
Stretch marks? no
Sleep: Last night was restless, not sure why, but usually sleeping pretty good.
Best moment this week: Last week was Spring Break for my mom and Lisa. So, last week was pretty fun. It's nice to not be alone all day.
Miss Anything? yes, I do.
Movement:Yes. And, I felt it on the outside, too. Super fun.
Food cravings: Nope.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really. Been feeling pretty good lately.
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: no
Symptoms: My boobs seem to have doubled in size. I know, Too much info maybe, but for real. It's quite annoying to me.
Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: Umm, happy I guess. I have a LOT to be thankful for.
Looking forward to: TOMORROW evening. My sister will find out what she is having, and I can not even wait to hear!


Being pregnant makes me realize how impatient I am! It's like a marathon! 9-10 months is a long time. BUT, I had a little freak out this week when I realized I am halfway there. AND the fact that this one is a boy. My life is not only very unknown right now, which is stressful enough, but this baby needs clothes! Ha. I know, silly thing to worry about. But, all we have are very girly clothes. I have a feeling the rest of the pregnancy will go by as fast as these first 20 weeks. So, I no longer want to be impatient about seeing him, and use the time I have to prepare, which actually seems impossible. But, whatever.


I have been having the BEST time with Annabelle lately. She is at a really fun age. I think I have said that at every stage so far, but we really have fun together. She makes me laugh so much and brings an insane amount of joy into my days. Her teeth, and this age also makes her very cranky, demanding, and tired, but we take the good with the bad, right? She keeps me very busy, but I am loving it. I have so much to be thankful for. She is incredible. I cant wait to hear her talk. She "talks" now, trying so hard to tell us something, and I think when they are real words, she will be hilarious. I know every parent says this, but I think I have the best kid ever. :)

Pictures to come soon.

"For your heart that loves me,
For your feet that pursue me,
For your voice that calls out to me,
I thank you, O God.
Thank you for raising the questions that draw me into a dialogue with you
about my life and how I have been living it.
Thank you for every tug of conscience
that has led to every timid step
that has brought me out in the open in my relationship with you.
My hope, O God, my only hope,
is that you are more persistent in your seeking
than I am in my hiding."

-Ken Gire
Reflections on the Word

Big Day

I tossed and turned all night last night, and my stomach was in knots. Today we had our first big ultrasound. Of course, I was so super excited to find out what we were having, but I was so anxious and ALL I cared about was to hear of a healthy baby. Ultrasounds with my pregnancy with Annabelle were always a little tough. I would NEVER change the experience if I was given the option, but it was still hard. All morning, I was high energy and and taking a lot of deep breaths. I have prayed and prayed that the Lord will keep this baby safe and help it to develop properly.

Thanks to Pinterest and youtube, I decided to make the gender reveal a little more exciting than a text. I invited my family over to have a small party so that we could share the surprise. I wanted to invite more people, but knew in the back of my mind that if the ultrasound went anything like the last pregnancy, I would ONLY want family here. SO, it was small and fantastic. I captured a few pics of the party...
(the pics somehow got a little out of order, but oh well.)
The group proudly wearing their TEAM BLUE bow ties.

Craig doesnt really enjoy pictures, but I thought he looked cute.

The voting. NO ONE chose pink. I was kind of surprised.

Belly Pics! (I think I was laughing at craig here.)

With the Suprise cupcake. (I had them all bite into the suprise cupcakes at the end of a game that I made up. We played SCHMIDT TRIVIA, and I asked 20 questions all about Craig, Annabelle and me. It was pretty fun.)

PREGNANT SISTERS! It's so awesome to be doing this together, only about a week apart!

Cupcakes!

The "WEAR YOUR VOTE" hairbows and bowties. No one wore a hair bow.



THE BLUE!!

We feel very blessed with a healthy baby. I was praising Jesus during that ultrasound. I was shocked how quickly it went actually. Annabelle's ultrasounds took so so long. I couldn't be more thankful for today and how faithful and good God is to us. A BOY! What do I do with a BOY? Annabelle is going to be the greatest big sister to him. I cant wait to see it. I prayed that God would give us a sibling for Annabelle that He knew she needed. Now, I really can't wait till August!

Here's a video of the reveal. They were all a little excited! :)

17 Weeks

How far along? 17 weeks
Total weight gain: about 6 lbs.
Maternity clothes? Some. Wore my ugly maternity jeans the other day.
Stretch marks? no
Sleep: sleeping fine.
Best moment this week: Time with Craig.
Miss Anything? Beergaritas
Movement: I think so, yes.
Food cravings: Not really, no. LOVE Starbucks iced black tea with Vanilla instead of classic. But, I love that in the spring/summer all the time, not just while I'm pregnant.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Yes, but it has nothing to do with food, but with life. Sounds dramatic, but it's true.
Gender: We find out on the 6th of March. Less than a week!
Labor Signs: Is it too early for Braxton Hicks? Cause I'm positive I am getting them.
Symptoms: Mostly just uncomfortable every now and then.
Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: Meh.
Looking forward to: Nothing. I shouldn't even be blogging right now. I'm not in the greatest mood.

This past weekend, Craig came home from a long trip. He took Annabelle and me to my most favorite town for a night. Felt like a little vacation, even though it's only about 2 hours away. I didn't take many pictures, but the ones I did take kinda make me laugh. I have a pretty crappy camera for one, and for two, all the pics were basically taken in our little motel room.
I tried getting a family picture in the morning, when we were all snuggled in bed. So, I aimed at the mirror, and the quality is not super great. But, it kinda cracks me up...



Another attempt at a family pic. Poor Craig. Ha.

Cartoons and a motel danish...


Check out my sweet little girl.

YES!!!

My sweet husband comes home today and then we are taking a little overnight family trip to my favorite town! So far, BEST birthday weekend ever! I can't wait to see him and spend time with him and our sweet little Annabelle.

OH! And, happy birthday tomorrow to Johnny Cash, too. ;)

MY Girl.

So, I just watched THIS sweet video, and tears went streaming down my face. Every now and then I realize things about myself and my daughter that bring me back to reality. Annabelle having Down Syndrome is not something that I think about often. It's really not something that overwhelms my mind. But,then sometimes, the reality comes to mind. Craig and I have a daughter with special needs. Our lives and our future will be "different". Different how? I don't know. But, when I do allow myself to think of it, I find my FUTURE self begging people to accept her. I see myself saying, "PLEASE be nice to her. PLEASE love her! PLEASE DON'T LIMIT HER!" Then, the tears do stream down my face. Sometimes, I can see the same thing in her eyes when she looks at me in a moment of frustration. "Mom, please be patient with me. Mom, please teach me." Sometimes I wonder if I do enough, and sometimes I feel guilty that maybe I don't. I want to see Annabelle excel SO BADLY, that I often feel like that responsibility is on my shoulders to allow that.

My desire is to let Annabelle be as talented as she can be, and to get MANY opportunities to express how unique she is. I want to see her change peoples lives just by being in the same room as them. (I have already seen this a couple times.) I just told my dad last week after we were talking about how many people at church were loving on her, "Dad, I think a MAIN purpose for Annabelle's life is to bring JOY to people and to bless people."

She's incredible and I dont want me or anyone else to hold her back. This girl is determined. She's spunky. She's motivated. The more I see her personality as she is growing up, I keep saying, "She's a SCHMIDT!" She's got so much of her daddy and her aunts and uncles in her. It's a great thing for her. She sees something that she wants or wants to do, and is motivated and determined to make it happen. Her O.T. encourages me so much about that quality in Annabelle. Some may see it as stubborn, but she sees it as opportunity. That makes me happy for Annabelle even though sometimes, it's a fight and a struggle.

Since she was super tiny, we noticed that she loved music of any kind. We see it more all the time. She loves to listen to it, make it, loves to "sing", and watch people sing or dance. She needs some drums, a piano, a guitar, a tambourine, and anything else that might make music. Someday our house may be loud enough to bring on a headache, but I want her to play! I know other babies and kids love these toys, too, but I see a joy in Annabelle when she is able to make the music with her OWN fingers! This video was when she was about 8 months I think.

And this one was this past weekend...

I could see her jammin in a garage someday with a want-to-be-band. I can see her there as a teenager, giddy with joy by the sound of music.

Also, check out my little walker. I'm tellin ya, she's determined, and will not let anyone get in her way.


I'm convicted after watching that video, and reading THIS post by Kelle Hampton, to become more involved. Somehow. And to encourage people to be more accepting, not only of differently abled children and adults, but of PEOPLE. My heart feels like it wants to burst sometimes with the love that I want to give to people. The love I want them to feel. To know that somebody cares for them, especially when they feel that maybe people don't.

15 weeks.

How far along? 15 weeks 1 day
Total weight gain: 5-6lbs.
Maternity clothes? Some. Had to bust out the WONDERFUL belly band the other day to keep my unbuttoned pants up.
Stretch marks? no
Sleep: sleeping fine.
Best moment this week: Spending Valentine's Day (morning) on a little date with Annabelle. She got a strawberry mini cupcake, while I enjoyed a chocolate covered strawberry. I took her grocery shopping after she devoured the cupcake and she was bouncing in the basket and very happy. (or hyper). We spent dinner with my parents who took me on their date with them, and I enjoyed an amazing steak!
Miss Anything? BEER and my husband.
Movement: Pretty positive I feel him/her randomly. And always in the same spot.
Food cravings: No. Appetite seems to be back to normal. Which is GOOD.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really. Still don't want a hamburger.
Gender: Can't even wait to find out. I certainly have my prediction.
Labor Signs: no
Symptoms: Just get sore and uncomfortable sometimes. Mostly in the evening when my belly seems the biggest.
Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: Wouldn't say moody. I'll use the word hormonal.
Looking forward to: Next weekend when I hope to be seeing my man.