Miss Drake

I wanted to add a picture of our beloved Miss Drake to the blog. Here we caught her watching TV - her favorite activity by far. She also has on her Okra Strut festival bandana - green gingham with sunflowers - the one she wore last year in the parade with me. This year was the Okra Strut anniversary, but we weren't in the parade this year. Our normal float didn't participate. But that's OK - Drake still got her share of weekend attention. We love that silly dog so much!

HALLOWEEN

I went ahead and put out Halloween decorations because, quite frankly, it's my favorite holiday. Maybe it's because its my birthday, maybe because its the fall season of my year - also my favorite season. I saw this owl and couldn't resist it. It's hideously ugly but gives me a laugh every time I walk by it. Looks like an American Indian craft to me, so maybe my Mom will like it too. HAHA! I thought Brian would hate it but he actually thinks its cute. Oh well. Well - here is the newest edition to our house - the Halloween owl.

On another note, here is our Halloween mantle. Thank you to Pam for giving us the items on the left and right sides. They are so cute and I'll keep them out as long as Brian will let me. Happy Halloween! Hey - It is almost October after all!?

WHOA MAMA

22 Weeks Pictures! If I keep growing at this rate the belly pics could be short lived. Apologies to my adoring fans... My belly has now gotten large enough so that I often find myself resting a hand on top of it. Quite a step.

Brian felt the baby move for the first time today. We slept in and I think the baby was telling me to GET UP! Probably used to me being in the full swing of work by that time. I'm so glad he finally felt the baby move. I think he was too. One more new thing to add to the blog!

We also registered for the bulk of our items at Babies R Us today. Thank you to Brandi, Emily, Mary, Pam, and Cortney for your much appreciated input. It feels good to have that part of the deal complete.

We find out Baby's sex on October 6th! Just 8 days away!

FYI

For those of you wanting to follow what's going on inside the tummy of mine more closely, you can click on the picture of the 3-D baby and get caught up on highlights of the week. Just a little FYI for those curious cats!

The rash...

Here is a picture of my arm and the rash that has decided to make an appearance. We believe it to be poison ivy, oak, or sumac. Anyone care to guess? Doc looked at it and wasn't too concerned. He said to treat it with cortisone and that it couldn't hurt the baby, only me. Wonderful, huh? Leave it to me to get poison ivy. And I'm not really sure where I would have gotten it? Maybe down by the lake? Anyway - here is the rash. But it is getting better.

19 weeks and counting!

Here I am at 19 weeks. Hopefully you can tell from the pics that things are growing. I will say though that the shirt is pretty flattering of a prego belly, as I don't look nearly as prego in just a plain black t-shirt.

Anyway - Baby Krouse is doing well too. I felt the first "kick" last Saturday, then nothing all week, then yesterday and today there has been a full kickboxing match going on right inside my belly. At this point it feels like I'm being flicked very lightly and politely but from underneath my skin! Very wonderful and odd all at the same time. Baby K likes to make an appearance especially early afternoon or after a can of sliced peaches (my new craving).

We had another doctor's appointment on Friday and Doc said all was well, the heartbeat was nice and strong - he found it on the first try. Baby K and I both got the thumbs up. Yeah! Well...other than the fact that Doc told me to lose the heels. He said they were dangerous. Seriously though - how can "banker chick" wear flats?? So I laughed at the Doc but he just stared back at me with all seriousness. Which of course made me muffle my giggle.

The only bad news is that we don't find out Baby K's gender until Monday October 6th. But I guess it is less than a month away and counting. We can't wait to find out!

Till next time! Love Haley, Brian, Drake, Macon and "Thumper".

2.33333333

Here I am at 15 weeks. I was definitely pooching out my tummy, but as you can see I've got the beginnings of a bump! So far, I'm still in regular clothes, but not for too much longer. We have rented a home doppler device so we can hear Baby's heartbeat whenever we want. It seems to be getting much louder! This week, the baby is the size of an apple and weighs 3 oz, complete with unique fingerprints, and supposedly very active. I can't wait to feel him or her for the first time! We find out whether Baby is a boy or a girl the first week in October at 22 weeks. It seems so far away! Anyway, we thought this would be a good way to keep our friends and family informed of our growing bundle and also the goings on in our life. Check in on us often!

Love, Haley and Brian (Drake and Macon too)