in the mean time . . .

We have

a baby

dog.

Kelly's Belly w14.5

If you can't tell she/our child is growing, come hang out with us for a while. You will quickly notice Kelly's appetite is considerably different. She is frequently hungry to the point of being nauseated until she eats. Then she is so full that she is uncomfortable until she is hungry again and the cycle repeats itself. I guess the little guy/gal in there is taking up a considerable amount of space already.
Personally I try to lay low and keep the food coming, I would say more but I have to go make dinner, or else.

You have to start somewhere...Kelly's Belly w13.5

Some of you will be wondering what this is picture of (other than Kelly) because she doesn't really "look that pregnant" in this picture. Let me assure that she has all the other symptoms. Some good, some a little more difficult to deal with. Truthfully she has begun to get into her maternity gear already and she is growing, not that you can tell that much by this picture. Showing the picture with the real evidence would no doubt get me in trouble because it isn't the most flattering and I was instructed not to post that on onto the internet. I thought it was great shot but then again, the internet is a very public place for such photos.
Mother to be and the lil peach, pickle, squirrel or whatever you want to call it are doing well and it is very obvious that Kelly is already beginning to enjoy being pregnant more and more in the lull between the 1st trimester morning sickness and the 3rd trimester point where you are uncomfortably large; even though I still have a hard time imagining Kelly in that state. Nevertheless, you have to start somewhere and well, here it is.

Heartbeat

Kelly and I went to the doctor yesterday and got to hear the heartbeat of our child for the first time. It was clicking along at about 150 bpm which is pretty fast unless you are the size of a small peach, then it is normal. In true doctor fashion he then began to tell us that studies have shown that you can predict the sex of the baby based on heartrate and be correct almost 50% of the time (ha. . ha). Due to the fact that we were using doppler to hear the heartbeat, Michael Taylor and I thought it would have been funnier if he had said, "Well we can hear the heartbeat and can see a 40% chance of severe thunderstorms moving across Kelly's stomach on the radar, so if you have weekend plans be sure to bring your umbrella."

The Dog who cried Woof

Typically Heidi barks and we tend to ignore her, but there are definitely times when you can distinguish between, "I want to be inside under the bed," and "HEY, you get outta here!" Thinking the neighborhood teenagers were teasing her or walking behind the fence I went outside to scare them back, as I was scantily clad. After figuring out that there was nothing outside of the fence she was barking at I decided maybe she had treed a squirrel (can you do that since that is there home?) Anyway Heidi greets me at the gate with exuberance that I have not usually seen at 12:45 AM. Since she sleeps more than any of us. She is excited because apparently the hunt is on. She proceeds to show me what she is hunting and points out a rattlesnake, barks and darts in and out of its strike range. Not knowing exactly where it was as Heidi completed laps around, over, and among said snake, I didn't really want to wade in barefoot, let alone no pants (just shorts), no shirt etc to pull her away. I was afraid their might be more than one or Heidi would scare it towards me. I had no time to compose myself as I thought any moment my dog would be barking her last time I went about it lion tamer style with one of our lawn chairs. Seeing Jon the Snake Charmer/Lion Tamer in action spurred on Heidi more however and she started to really hassle him. Finally after tiptoeing across the lawn and trying to call a very stubborn dog, I convinced Heidi to check it out from a different angle behind the chain link in her dog run and I was able to grab her without becoming a half naked Texas statistic. I can just see it now, "Over 38% of Texans are bitten by snakes, while in their underwear or something to that effect.
I believe I did break a rule set out for any member of the Texas Republic. I encountered a rattlesnake and didn't kill it. I didn't discharge a firearm within the city limits or blindly wield a shovel at 1:00am to finish off the cursed reptile. Mostly it was dark, I was barefoot, I was sleepy, and I figured as long as it didn't come in the house maybe it would keep the mice out (see previous post)?