KC the Bird:

i'm sad to say that kc, the bird, has passed. he had been chris' buddy for many years and most recently he had gone to live with a coworker of mine and his family, including their 5 kids! with a baby on the way, we thought it was best to find a new place for him. i think they loved that bird more than we ever could, so it makes me feel good to know his last few months were very happy. one of their favorite games was to let him out of his cage and run around the house while he chased after them :) they are anxious to replace him as the children were really attached to the little green guy and they say the house is just too quiet without him (that i can believe!).

we'll miss you, buddy...you certainly fulfilled your role as a good pet in providing us with lots of entertainment! even though you have been gone from our house for a few months, i still think i hear your sqwauk when i come in the door and miss your whistle when i walk into our bedroom.

Happy Anniversary, Craigery and Marley!

happy one-year anniversary, you crazy kids! what a beautiful wedding that was just a year ago, and with such a beautiful bride and a handsome groom (and those attendants don't look too shabby, either!). marla, we love having you in the fincher family!! here's to many more years of happiness to you two and of fincher-family gatherings with my new sisters :)

Family Time:

chris, tilly, and i just love it when family comes to visit!! we had a fun, though rainy/windy time with nana and granddad last weekend. the tour of sun studio where elvis, johnny cash, jerry lee lewis, etc...recorded was very cool, and chris whooped up on some mexican train! nana even brought baby some surprises! a burp cloth she had sewn some ribbons onto, a receiving blanket and a hooded towel set. we're already racking up on blue stuff!! see how much fun we had together :)

on a side note...i just thought these pictures my mom sent of tilly walking her little buddy gracie mae around when they were here over easter were too cute not to share. tilly tries to be a good influence on gracie :) too funny!!
mom also sent some pics of gracie having a good time in her backyard. what a goofy girl! she likes the pool almost as much as the tillster, but she prefers to lounge on the top step. thank goodness she didn't learn her digging skills from tilly or we'd be in some serious trouble with mom!

Just for Kicks!

last night our little guy kicked chris for the first time!! peanut and his daddy happened to time it just right for chris to feel one little kick :) chris was so amazed and still can't stop talking about how awesome it was to feel our baby moving around!!

i want to keep track of this and all the special moments in my pregnancy so far so I don't forget how much fun this has been. chris and i pray God blesses us with more children one day, but this first pregnancy is really special to us because everything is so new and amazing!

here are some sweet memories of this journey so far:
-running all around kuwait - eating lots of hummus and pita and 4-wheeling riding in the desert - not yet knowing the new love of our lives was already starting his life in my little belly
-driving straight to rite aid on the way home from the airport when we arrived in memphis from our kuwait trip
-taking the test with chris anxiously waiting down the hall...when i came out with the good news we kept missing each other in the doorways trying to talk to each other and then we busted out laughing!
-jumping around the house because we were so excited!!
-going back to the same rite aid the next day for pepto and ginger ale :)
-my first lunch with trish after the holidays when we both shared our exciting news to each other at the same time :) when she and jacob first moved to memphis a few years ago, we always said how fun it would be to be pregnant together...little did we know that would really happen!
-our first doctor appointment where we got to see our little guy's heart beat. chris grabbed my hand and i think we both cried...how amazing to see the beginning of a new life!
-feeling pretty nauseous from about week 5 to week 12...so eating lots of cereal and yogurt, and when the craving would strike...lots of pizza and pasta with extra marina sauce! and sometimes the only thing that would do would be some good ol' southern veggies :)
-taking a business trip to orlando and trying to make excuses for skipping out on the open bar and sushi dinners
-calling mama jeannie and daddy-o steve to tell them they just might want to reschedule their trip home from kuwait this year to be around to meet their new grandbaby!
-going to decatur to share the exciting news with mom and dad. mom had just given us a valentine's present of a hand towel that reads, "Don't make me get the flying monkeys!" and so we gave them their valentine's present...an ultrasound picture i had put in a frame and painted with the words "baby's first picture". mom was holding gracie so dad opened the present...when he realized what it was his jaw about dropped to the floor and i think mom screamed!
-meeting grandmother, casey, sara, julie, scott, and natalie in nashville for breakfast at the pancake pantry. i was about to die with anticipation when we were waiting in line to get in, knowing everyone was just thinking this was just any other breakfast together. after we sat down and place our order, i handed casey a photo album with our little guy's first ultrasound picture in it...confused at first, casey was completely shocked! he and sara were sooo excited as was everyone else at the table. that was so fun!
-telling the girls at bible study...it's like a right of passage :)
-taking dinner to andrew and jennifer and sharing the news. they said jennifer first felt hannah's movements about week 13 and i just didn't believe that was possible until i felt the first little flutters right at week 13!
-buying my first pair of preggo pants...never thought i would be the type to have maternity seven's jeans...but man, i love 'em
-my little belly just starting to pop out where people would notice it right about week 14
-people starting to touch my belly! that's a new thing to get used to!!
-feeling those little flutters turn into kicks at 18 weeks and about jumping out of my chair when a good one startles me!
-finding out we were having a boy at our ultrasound appointment at 18 1/2 weeks! we were soo excited and still are!! it was so much fun with everyone guessing what our little peanut would be...most of the people i work with were right on the money with their guesses. funny!
-mom sending a bunch of little blue outfits and nana bringing blue baby gear :)
-my cute little belly actually looking pregnant enough that strangers ask about what we're having wherever i go

AND, of course

-the first time chris felt our little guy's kick! peanut is only going to be encouraged to kick his daddy for about a year...then he'll have to focus his attention on a soccer ball :)

we will hit the big half-way mark at 20 weeks saturday! our little guy is waay beyond the peanut stage and is now as big as a coconut!! no wonder my pants don't fit! this week his nervous system has been really busy and he can see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. time to start with the bedtime stories :)

It's a...

BOY!!! our little sweet pea is a happy, healthy baby boy and we are just sooo thrilled!! watching the ultrasound was just amazing! he was having great ol' time flipping around...putting his feet over his head...then putting his arms behind his head and waving at us. it was just the most awesome thing i've ever seen and chris and i are so completely in love with our little guy.

here's a picture of our sweet pea with his arms up over his head looking pretty comfortable in there :)

we got to check out his heart, stomach, bladder and kidneys and everything looks like it's working perfectly. his little heart is beating at about 146 beats per minute. we saw a little ear when he turned side ways for a brief moment and we even saw the lenses in his eyes. amazing! she measured the size of his head and his abdomen and little legs and is estimating he's about 11 oz. right now. just a few more weeks and he'll be hitting the big 1 pound mark! the technician was so sweet and really patient. most of the visit he was not cooperating to give us a nice profile shot for her to print out for us...he was faced so he was looking out at us...so at my next appointment she said i could ask them to try to see if they can get a better picture. yay! i get to see my little guy again next month :)

he's really been kicking this week! last night he startled me with a swift kick right in the middle of bible study and i about popped out of my seat! i think clemson needs to go ahead and think about recruiting our little football player :)

yay!! a BOY!!! can you believe it?? i'm soo excited!!

Happy Easter!

i hope everyone had a wonderful easter celebrating the resurrection of our lord, jesus christ! we were blessed this year to celebrate with my mom and dad here in memphis. here are schmoopy and i (and little peanut, of course!) ready to head to church.

it's always fun to have visitors with us here in memphis. we took mom and dad to the pink palace museum, for a chilly walk at shelby farms, and you know we had some yummy food, too! next weekend we are lucky to have another house full when nana and granddad come for a visit! i had just been complaining to chris that our house just feels too empty, so this has been a welcome blessing to have family visits back-to-back. of course...our house won't be quite as empty in just about 21 weeks and 5 days (give or take a few...)!!

unless our little one is being especially modest...we will find out on wednesday if we have a future clemson football player or cheerleader on our hands! so place your guesses now :) the little flutters i have been feeling since about week 13 have now progressed into little kicks that feel like popcorn popping. for the first time i have felt them on the outside of my tummy, too. we just have to work on daddy's timing because everytime he tries to feel them, our little one settles down. i hope daddy will have the same calming effect when peanut makes his or her entrance into the world!

New Names All Around:

you might have noticed that the title of this bloggo has changed a bit...well, there's good reason for that! growing up craig, casey, and i were never allowed to use the b-u-t-t word, and i would guess that most of you can relate to that rule. well, now schmoopy and i are going to going to be a mommy and daddy and setting household rules of our very own for our little one! since chris is going to have to stop calling all the memphis drivers "monkey butts!", i thought it was best to change the title of the bloggarooni as we get ready to add another little monkey to our household :)

by the way...only 1 week until we find out if our household is going to be drenched in pink or blue!!

Happy B'day Craigery!!

happy birthday, chef craig! wish we could have been with you and marla in sc to celebrate with you yesterday over some yummy sushi :) hope it was a good one!