Belly Photo, Old Settlers and More

So now that I don't feel or look as bloated anymore-I decided that I could go ahead and post a belly shot.

Here I am at 13 weeks and 6 days. My belly is a little bit bigger because I took this right after we got back from Rob's 3rd birthday dinner of the week.

Things are still going good-still feeling great. Bean is now the size of a lemon-and getting bigger and bigger every day.

This weekend we went to Mulvane to go to Old Settlers and to see some of Rob's friends. We stayed with Aunt Carole-her and I were able to spend some great one-on-one time together while Rob went down to the County Line Bar Friday and Saturday. Old Settlers is a small-town festival that happens once a year. They have a carnival, parade, food, crafts, etc. It was fantastic! Here are some pics that I took during the parade

Here we are anxiously awaiting (ok-maybe just me) for the parade to start. It was too cute-little kids were all on the edge of the street waiting with their bags waiting to collect the candy from the parade participants. This time next year-Bean will be about 6 months and will be able to enjoy his/her first Old Settlers.

Here was the start of the parade-with the Patriot Guard. Learned a little trivia while we were there-the Patriot Guard was actually started in Mulvane Kansas--who would of thought?!?! These guys were great-they gave me goosebumps.

And then the cutest part of the parade-Little Miss Pioneer. I wasn't able to see the competition-but I was able to see some of the girls--so cute. So this picture didn't come out as good as I had wanted-my camera was taking too long. But this dog was riding on the back of the horse with no problem at all. Could you imagine Tubs or Addy trying to do that? That poor horse....
After the parade was over-Rob, Aunt Carole and I went and got some lunch. There were so many options to choose from-it was great! Most everything was fried and you could get it on a stick! After lunch we went and looked at the craft booths-Rob was a little bored but Aunt Carole and I were having fun slowly browsing each booth. I didn't purchase all that much-a cute winter sign-and this really cool burp cloth for Bean.

We left the fair and went back to take a nap before heading to the Bollinger's for a bar-b-que. Went to Big Jim and Kay's and spent the evening with them and Jennifer and Jim and all of the grand kids, sisters, friends, children etc. It was a great time--thanks for having us! Jennifer and Jim gave us our first KU gift-a Jayhawk bib-which Rob will put Bean in most likely on a regular basis!

Sunday we went to church at Rob's old church-First Baptist Church. We sat smack-dab in the front row so Aunt Carole could sit with us after she was finished playing the organ. After church everyone wanted to come up and talk to Robbie Swindle since they hadn't seen them for quite some time. One of them asked if I was Sissy (Carole). Went back to Aunt Carole's and had a great meal with Pam, Chuck and Dee. All in all-it was a great trip to Mulvane-Aunt Carole-thanks so much for letting us stay and for making us all that great food!

On our way home-Rob told me what my baby gift is--he's giving me a trip to NYC to stay with Sara for a long weekend! I'm so excited! He and Sara had been planning this for the last few weeks--we are going to go shopping, get massages, see Legally Blonde on Broadway--I can't wait! So fun!!

Pretty easy week here-nothing new to report. Just that in less than 6 months our Baby Bean Swindle will be with us-it is kind of going fast...Have a great week!

Moving on Up...

Today is officially the day that I (we) get to move onto the 2nd trimester. Yahoo! Bean is apparently now the size of a peach. Things are going really well--feeling great again. I've been walking/jogging for the last 3 days-and that's really helped with the bloat, etc. I feel normal again!

No fun doctor's appointments this week-but Wednesday is Rob's birthday-so we get to celebrate all week. I took him to dinner on Saturday night-then going out again on Wednesday and Thursday-so we are going to be eating well all week--I love it!

This weekend we are headed to Mulvane to stay with Aunt Carole and to go to Old Settlers. I'm really stoked about this because I'm excited to eat all of the carnival food that my belly will hold-and then of course to watch Little Miss Pioneer--honestly-how cute is that going to be?!?!

Other than that-everything is safe and sound at the Swindle household-Have a good week!

12 Week Check-Up

Went today and saw Dr. Piquard. It was a super fast visit. She asked how I was-told her that I was great-nothing new to ask. So then she said that it was time to listen for the heartbeat. She told Rob and I that it might take a few minutes to find it because they aren't the easiest to find. So she squirted the jelly on my belly and away she went. Right when she put the doppler on my belly-we heard the swoosh, swoosh, swoosh of Bean's heartbeat. He/She must have a great beat-with Dr. P being able to find it so fast-and it was 160 beats per minute. Our next appointment is September 3rd-then after that it's the big one--20 weeks!

Nothing exciting this week-Rob's going to Memphis for work for the week-and I'll be puppy sitting Caity and Cassie. So hopefully the weather will cool down so that they can play outside.

Have a great week!

Some Pictures, Info, etc.

Well-I tried to scan a picture of Bean in-but for some reason-it didn't want to work. So I figured I would put a few pics of us in here from our party we just had. The past 2 years, Rob and I have had some sort of 'Ugly Something' party. Just a few weeks ago we had an Ugly Hawaiian Shirt party--and below you will see what I mean...

Here's a picture of the host and hostess next to our fantastic palm tree--digging the outfits??? You can find your very own for a very low price at your local Salvation Army retail shop...

Now here's little Miss Addy. She was dressed for the party in a nice lei. She did rather well-and was actually quite nice to everyone-but she did not want to take a picture-I think she thought I was going to take her inside and put her in bed.

And finally-the man of the night-Tubs. He was a P-A-R-T-Y animal! He was enjoying everyone being in his backyard. He loved all the free food and booze that he was getting. As you can tell-he was dressed in a lei as well. I think he was the last one to leave the party!

It's super hot here. It was about 99 today with a heat index of 112. Rob and I ran errands all day and I'm thinking that I got a little over heated. Dad right now is on his way to Sturges on his Harley--couldn't imagine! Drink lots of water Dad!

Rob and I have decided to take our house off of the market-I know-we just put it on 2 weeks ago. We just decided that it's too much right now to play a waiting game to see if someone would want to buy it. So for now-we're staying put-and we're happy about it. Rob also visited a daycare this past week. The daycare is about 2 minutes from the house-he seemed to really like it. He said he really didn't have anything else to compare it to-but he said all the kids seemed like they were having fun. So once things settle down with work-I'm going to stop by and see as well. We have an appointment on August 19th to check out another daycare at a local Lutheran Church that's right by my work.

Tomorrow we meet with Dr. Piquard at 4:30 for another check-up. Hopefully she'll just come in-ask how we are-things are good, blah, blah and then we can head out. Or maybe we'll get to hear Bean's heartbeat...now that would be fantastic! I'll update when we get back from the doctor!

Bean Swindle

Well this is officially the first blog from the Swindles. As many of you know-Rob and I are expecting. We found out on June 7th that we were going to be welcoming a little bundle of joy into our lives! It was a surprise to us...but who doesn't like surprises?!?!

Things are going fantastic. As of today, I am 11 weeks. We will be having a Valentine's Baby-due on February 14, 2009. We started going to a new doctor, Dr. Piquard when we found out. She's fabulous. She's very down to earth and laid back--and for any of you that know me well-she's perfect for me because she doesn't let me worry about the little things-and gives it all to me straight--so no need for the extra worries that I tend to have. We are a match made in heaven!

Rob and I were able to see little Bean Swindle on the sonogram that we had on July 9th. Rob decided that he was going to make a snide comment to the sonogram lady when she said 'Dad-can you get the lights'--he responded by saying he wasn't the dad-he was just some random guy. So she got him right back--she looked at the TV screen and said...'Congratulations! There's 3 in there!' Rob turned as white as a ghost-but it serves him right! There Bean was doing the worm across the screen--already taking after his father! They pushed us back a week after the ultrasound. Bean looked great-heart rate was 176--2 cm long. If all goes well-we will go back to get another sonogram at the end of September to find out if it's a girl Bean or a boy Bean.

I've been feeling TONS better. As some of you know-it was pretty rough for me about the first 9 weeks. I was tired, nauseous, bloated, etc. all the time. This week I've felt back to normal-and I'm ready to get back on the tennis court and continue to beat my non-pregnant husband on a regular basis!

Other fun news-we put our house on the market almost 2 weeks ago. We love our house-but we don't feel that it is conducive for a baby. So we're going to try the market right now and see what happens. Also-a big CONGRATS to Matt and Steph Owings on the birth of their beautiful son Ethan Matthew Owings this past Tuesday. I was able to spend the day with them today-and it made me realize how excited I am to meet our Bean. Congratulations guys-he's wonderful.

I'll be updating this blog on a regular basis. As of now-there won't be any belly pics until the baby starts to show through-sorry but belly bloat pictures aren't all that cute. But I'll post other pics of our two fur-babies--because you know Tubs and Addy like to be in the lime light! Our next appointment is August 4th-and I'm thinking that we will hear Bean's heartbeat...but not that sure.

Have a great week!