handmade

thank you to blair hill for the beautiful photos! we will cherish these forever.

A new human! | PitBulls

A new human! PitBulls

i read this blog entry today and felt like i was reading about our soon-to-be family!

mojo is going to be the best momma around. she already loves babies and kids, so i don't think we're going to have any issues. i think the only thing we'll have to worry about is her tongue! :) mojo can be quite the kissing monster sometimes!

celebrating graham

thank you to everyone who came to the shower and sent such wonderful things for our little chickadude. he is such a lucky little guy that so many people love him already.

"honeydew" me a favor...

those are the words grady is hearing more often than not now! because right now i have 35 weeks down....35 days to go! :)

and i haven't done a fruit comparison in awhile...but chickadude is the size of a...

...honeydew!

i do want to give a shout out to grady for a second. he's been very understanding with my recent mood changes and has offered to help out with more things since the mundane tasks i used to do are becoming much more difficult! i love you hun!

bump in full effect

34 weeks!!! only 6 more to go!

if we flipped the weeks around...i found out i was pregnant at 6 weeks and felt like it was going to take forever to get this far! quite the opposite. where did the time go?!

recent pregnancy updates:

gained 24 pounds total so far
started my weekly non-stress tests (nst)
apparently have had contractions but haven't felt them....yet! (found that out at my last nst)
carpal tunnel has completely set into my right hand
started lamaze classes and have practiced my breathing before i fall asleep
start to feel pretty uncomfortable around 8:45pm from chickadude moving around on the right side of my stomach
had my maternity photo shoot
got my first stretch marks (d'oh!)
have "the line" up to my belly button
belly button has almost completely popped
still going on walks with mojo twice a day
still going to pilates...i'll go until i can't move!
and best yet...am still getting the comment "you don't look pregnant from the back!" woo hoo!!

so cheesy!

how could i not buy these!

breath 1, 2, 3, 4

here comes the contraction....take a cleansing breath....now short breaths....contraction is fading....take another cleansing breath! phew...one contraction closer to having that baby!

that's right folks....we have officially started our childbirth education classes. i was planning on taking them through the birthing inn, where we'll deliver chickadude, but they were all full. so instead we are taking a lamaze class every monday until october 4th. i think i actually like this setting a little bit better. we're actually at a ladies house and there are about 8 or 9 other couples in the class with us.

it was so cute to see all the dads in the class. you could tell most of them were completely clueless as to what was going on. and when the teacher pulled out the HUGE anatomy chart and doll...priceless!

so after going through some basic anatomy and warning signs we got to the good stuff...breathing, relaxation and massage!! i think this was all the mom's favorite part of the class. and i have to say, i definitely enjoyed it! learning how to breath in pilates i think definitely helped for the deep and short breathing as well. so hopefully i'll be able to stay strong through most of the contractions and control my breathing. i'll also be having grady give me some massages to get me through it. no worries...we'll be practicing on a regular basis so we know he has it down pat! ;)

so the first class was a success and i think we both walked away with one key thought in our mind that i definitely want grady to remind me with each contraction. once the contraction ends we both have to keep thinking...

"we are one contraction closer to having our baby!"

photos

so today we had my maternity photo shoot. it was SO much fun! blair, our photographer, was great and definitely made me feel very comfortable with my belly all hanging out! she was snapping pictures left and right for a good hour and a half. i think at one point she said she had taken 2,000 pictures and we weren't even done at that point, so i'm sure we got some good ones!

we even got grady to get in on the photo shoot action, and mojo too! our little chickadude is so loved. little does he know that he's going to be the next subject for our photo shoot!! and i already have prop ideas building up in my head.

splish splash

it wouldn't be a trip to houston without visiting olivia's favorite place....the pool!



it was also nice to spend some quality time with my brother. i'm so happy i was able to share this time in my life with him. it makes me think back to the days when we were little and i can only imagine how my parents feel now that we're both grown up and starting families of our own.

miss o

i can't belive it's been 10 months since i've seen olivia!! she has grown up to such be such an animated little girl. she is too cute and was always making us laugh. it's also so cute seeing how she acts with mason too. she loves him so much. such a good big sister!

we had such a good time with her....eating peanut butter sandwiches, aquadoodling ("doodoo" in olivia talk), watching the hummingbirds while eating breakfast, having cookies ("kuhkuh" in olivia talk), and cuddling with mason ("bebe" in olivia talk). too much fun!

and we'll see how she says my name in december, but i think for now i might be aunt bebe! "k" is a hard one...and when i asked her who i was she shouted "BEBE!" katie....bebe....pretty close! :)

the hertels

i love seeing my family so happy. the new proud parents, the proud big sister and the proud grana and grandpa!



i can't wait for december when we're all together again...this time with our new little chickadude.
we'll definitely make sure to take a family photo, since i realized when i got back to virginia that we didn't take one while in houston! d'oh!

little man mason

houston day 1 was full of mason time!!! i have the cutest little nephew. the minute i saw him i fell in love. it makes me want to see our little chickadude even more! he's got the cutest little wrinkles and chin. and such a content little baby. you can tell he's a very happy little man with his new family. one thing is for sure...this little man gets lots of love!

and i can already tell that these two cousins are going to have some great times together. starting next june actually, when we have the hertel OMG 2o11 summer vacation. can't wait!!

i definitely got some good practice in though. thanks andrea!!!

my new best friend...

yes, that's right.....tums are now my new best friend!!! they live on my nightstand, in my purse and i think they will find another new home in the basement at my desk. oh tums, how i love your speedy heartburn relief!

i never had heartburn before being pregnant, so at first i wasn't quite sure what it would feel like. oh, but now i know! that burning feeling in my throat...not fun! so i pop one or two of these and then i'm good to go. it's almost second nature now to take one not too long after i eat anything and i definitely take at least one before going to bed! i think it was lisa who said i would have a supply of them with me at all times during some point of my pregnancy. she was right!

but if the legend holds true, chickadude is going to have a ton of hair (unlike his dad...sorry hun, i couldn't resist)!