Before...and AFTER

Ok so here are the pictures of our "Baby Room Makeover". When we bought our condo a year and a half ago, we always knew the extra room would be for a baby someday so we didn't want to bother doing anything with it until it was time for that. Therefore, as most extra rooms do, it became a "junk room". Lots of random boxes, storage for who knows what, and stuff everywhere. We just closed the door every time people came over (except for Kristen, who was kind enough to sleep in there when she came to visit. She graciously let us refer to it as "her room" even in the hideous condition it was in. Don't worry Kris, I'm sure baby will let you still sleep in there when you come!!)
Just to give a little background, the room was previously lived in by 2 elementary age boys, had huge wall units attached to the walls therefore leaving behind some MAJOR wall damage, and (though these pictures don't do it justice) was painted with a nauseating periwinkle. It even had some nasty glow in the dark stars on the walls in random places. So all that to say, we had quite a project ahead of us:

And here it is now!

So there it is! All organized and ready for him to come! Now if he'd only realize that his room is MUCH more comfortable to live in, and just COME already.... :-)

Time to Catch Up

I can't believe its already been almost a month since I last blogged. Time has definitely flown by which is a good thing considering baby is almost here and I am so ready for him to be! Besides feeling bigger each day, I am ready to meet this little man that we've anticipated for so long. It's so weird not knowing when he will come--all this anticipation for an unknown time and moment. But I can say I am really enjoying my time off not working, getting things ready for the baby. February 4th was my last day of work, and ever since I have somehow kept myself pretty busy. Some people were warning me that taking some time off work before the baby could make it feel longer, since you aren't as distracted. I am thankful to say it doesn't feel like that to me! Yes, I am anxious for him to come but I am LOVING not working, spending time at home, working on projects I hadn't had time for before. Plus, my ever growing body slows me down these days so its nice to be able to kick my feet up and nap when I feel like it. I keep teasing Jon that I could get used to this! :) I am eating it all up though, since I know I won't be spoiled like this much longer!

Well, like I said, its been a busy month, and lots of fun stuff has been happening! Jon's Aunt Sue threw me and baby a shower on January 26th. It was so sweet to be surrounded by family and friends--it was a mix of my family, Jon's family, and friends of Jon's mom and my mom. Sue's home is so beautiful and I had to admit, I had a real sentimental moment when I was there for the shower thinking that it seemed like just yesterday Jon proposed to me there in the backyard, then soon after had a wedding shower there, and now here I was for our baby shower! Its amazing how time flies....Well, anyways, all the details and decorations were beautiful and we are again well stocked with baby things thanks to people's generosity! Here are a couple pics from that shower: Isn't that cake the cutest? It was really yummy too!

Baby's Mom, Grandmas and Great-Grandmas!

Ok I had to put this picture in because its one of my favorite gifts---so funny! My friend Jennie gave baby a cute little "wee man" set that came with a bib that looks like a superhero outfit, a burp cloth that looks like a cape, and this little item I am holding up. What is it you ask? When lets just say it will protect mommy from any foreign substances that might squirt me in the face while changing his diaper. Just cover the area and you won't have to duck! Don't worry--its washable!

A week later, my "friends" shower was on Friday February 1st. If you haven't already read on Kristen's blog (you can click on it from mine), it involved one of the greatest surprises of all time. Kristen certainly got me as she flew down and surprised me to be at the shower thrown by her and Bethany. I was SO suprised, and was so touched at all the planning and secrecy involved to make it all happen! Even better, Kristen got to stay with me for the 2 nights after, so we got to spend some much needed time together!
Kristen did a great job of capturing all the details of the surprise, so you need to read it from her perspective. All in all, it was a cozy night followed by a wonderful day that I was able to spend with Kristen and B catching up, just hanging out. It was so fun to be able to see Kristen while I'm still pregnant, as its been so hard to be so far away during all that has been happening. But like usual, it was like not a minute had passed as we enjoyed the weekend that quickly flew by. The good news is, she will be here again soon to see the baby and Carrie's baby in April. So it was a little easier to say goodbye knowing she will be back soon!

Here are some more pics from the shower. It was a shower with just my girl friends, and it was so much fun. Kris was kind enough to let me steal some pictures from her since the shock of the evening apparently made me forget to take pics of my own! I'm not exaggerating on the shock portion---I think I was in shock the whole night!

Bethany, the other hostess and Kristen's partner in crime in planning the surprise!
Kristen and the preggers girls! Carrie is due a couple weeks after me, and Jen is due in May. They both are waiting to find out what they are having---I can't wait until they are all born and our babies can play!
Opening presents...isn't that the cutest bucket? My friend Cathlene made it with ribbon, adorable paper and it even has Caden's name on it! She had it stuffed full of fun baby stuff too! So cute--I told her she officially needs to start a side business. I have the bucket on our dresser/changing table full of diapers--its so cute!

Well, thats all for now. Time to go work on another project! The room is almost done and I will post pics of that soon! My mom came over the other day and she finished sewing the cushion covers to the glider, which is one of the finishing touches to the room! It was SO sweet of her to sew those herself, as it saved us lots of money and the fabric looks great! She also helped me go through the stuff I have and see what else baby needs! Thank goodness for moms! I don't know what I'd do without her!
I will also blog again soon and post some pregnancy pictures Jon and I took this past weekend. We are waiting for the final pics, and they turned out awesome! A friend of Jon's family took them for us--he does photography as his ministry and wouldn't let us pay! It was so generous of him! And they turned out great! I will let you see them soon...

Baby's First Shower

Friday night was my first baby shower and it was so much fun! 4 of my friends from Mariners threw it for me, and every last detail was so personal and beautiful. They had my favorite flowers, candies and the baby's colors everywhere in all the decor. About 35 friends and coworkers came and I felt so blessed and honored that they all came to celebrate our little one. Here are a "smattering" (as my best friend Kristen would say) of pictures from the evening:

The hosts: (From left) Cristi, Trisha, Michelle and Jodi

The pregnant girls! Remember how I've said I have a lot of pregnant friends? Here are just some of them! (From Left) Kelly (due the first week February), Debbi (due in May), Me, and Tristina (due February 12th).

The hosts hard at work---the food was so yummy!
One of many adorable, pint sized presents! (Ps--I just found out Quiksilver started making infant sized clothes starting at 3 months instead of 12 months! This is a 3-6 month tshirt that came with cute little shorts too! Baby will get to dress just like his daddy!)

Well, we are down to about 2 weeks left of work before I go on maternity leave. I can't believe how fast all this is going! I guess that's good since everyone says your last month drags on as you anticipate the baby's arrival any day. I am taking about 3 weeks off before my due date ( my work covers 4 weeks of disability maternity leave before the baby is born, and if you don't use it before the baby comes, you can't use it after. So it kind of inspired me to for sure take some extra time since I'm sure I won't feel much like working!) I am planning on "fading out" (as I've been calling it) sometime in that week of February 3rd. I've been able to transition a lot of things at work over to other people already, so I feel good that I can walk away and not look back and focus on the things to come!
Ok, I'm off to try to put our new Bob Jogger Stroller together. (Everyone at work pitched in and bought this for us---so generous!) Its a good thing I love putting things together because it looks like a challenge!

Happy Birthday, Husband!

Happy 28th Birthday to my amazing husband Jon! Today we were able to celebrate our last birthday with just "us", and we enjoyed ourselves with a night out to a very yummy restaurant. I took him to Flemmings, which is a nice steak restaurant in Newport Beach, and we ate a LOT! It was so fun to sit and talk in a cozy booth and talk about stuff, including how weird it is that he/we are almost 30! We don't feel that grown up, but I guess with a kid on the way and being in our late 20's, we need to officially admit that we are.
A few things that I love about Jon are: the selfless way he always puts me before himself. Especially throughout this pregnancy, I've seen him constantly put my needs before his and go above and beyond to serve me down to the craziest of requests. I love how he comforts me when I need it the most, while most people would probably just think I'm irrational or crazy (ok so he probably thinks that deep down but you would never know it!). I love the caring and playful dad I know he is going to be, and the excitement I see in his eyes whenever we talk about our little boy that will soon be joining us. I love how he consistently tells me how thankful he is for the little things that I do, around the house, or at my job; I can feel his appreciation right when I'm doubting if he or anyone else notices.
While I can list many more, I will end with saying I am so excited for this year to come for many reasons, and one of them is to see how God is going to grow our family and Jon and I's relationship as we enter this new phase and journey of our lives together. We are aware it might not always be easy, but I am thankful that God has blessed me with a loving husband that I know will be holding my hand the whole way whatever the journey may be. Happy Birthday Jon!

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve and is having a great 2008 so far! Mine is going pretty well, besides the fact that I have to go back to work tomorrow. I was just getting used to not working and man, did I love it. Oh well... Today I had lunch with my high school friends Brittany (and her son Gavin!) and Julie. It was so fun to see them and catch up! I don't get to see them very often since we all live in different parts of California, but each time we get together we pick right up where we left off. I love that about friends! Ok, I guess I should go now since I actually have to wake up on time tomorrow. Happy New Year to everyone!

Big Day!

Today was a Big day for 2 reasons:
1) We had a doctors appointment and got a 4D Ultrasound where we got to see our little boy (and confirm for SURE it is a boy. I have to admit, we still had that suspicion in the back of our minds even though we've bought things and been planning on a boy. We were scared we would be one of those statistics where the 1st ultrasound was wrong. But for sure, Its a Boy!)
2) and most excitingly, Bethany and Kevan had their baby girl, Rebekah Jane Plumb. Born today at 12:07pm at 8 pounds 6 oz. and 19 inches long! I got to stay with Ezekiel all this morning while mom and dad went in to the hospital (they had planned to have her come in first thing this morning to break her water and see how it went). And obviously, things progressed just fine and little Rebekah came into the world just around lunch time! I took Ezekiel to the hospital to see his little sister and got to hold and see her too! Here are some of my favorite pics!

Ezekiel meeting Rebekah for the first time.


I think he likes her! :)

Rebekah Jane
The girls...how beautiful do they both look? There's no way Bethany just had a baby...oh wait she did.



And now for the other baby--our little boy!
He kept having his arms in front of his face, but we finally got some pics of his little face after he moved around a bit.
This one is how he spent most his time--blocking us with his arm. But we still got a little peek at him!
But there he is! We can't believe we got to see him and get a sneak peek of what he looks like! It makes it all the more real that we only have about 8 weeks to go!
We are progressively working on his room this week since we both have some time off, starting with the painters coming to give it a much needed paint makeover. I have taken some before pics of the room and will share the after when the transformation is complete!

Goodbye 2nd Trimester...Hello 3rd!

Just a quick update to show baby and I! (Please don't judge the shiny/tired nature of my face. This is after a long day but I promised I'd post a pic tonight. Please note this is after working a 13 hour day. That's right, 13 hours. But I posted one--PACT! love you Kris!)
I can't believe I've started my 3rd Trimester. Its flying by, but at the same time doesn't seem quick enough as we anticipate meeting this little guy! Jon and I are consciously trying to stay in the moment these days as we eagerly anticipate his arrival, but know we need to enjoy each stage of pregnancy since soon it will be over! My favorite thing I know I will miss will be all his little kicks and movement I feel so much during the day. So I make every effort to soak it all in! It helps that all my friends at work want to feel the baby every day, so it seems like I have a hand on my belly at least a few times each work day. Their excitement is a good daily reminder of what a miracle this all is and to enjoy this time of him growing inside me.
Well, that's all for now. Here I am at 28 weeks. I will try to be better with pictures! I gotta be honest, I just don't feel as photogenic as I used to. (Growing in size will do that to ya!) Bye for now!

Ready for the Week!

Most of the time I love weekends, but this week, I am excited for the actual week! After a busy weekend, I am really looking forward to this week since its Thanksgiving and with that comes food, family and must needed time off. Jon and I had a packed weekend with a family wedding on Saturday (Jon's uncle Dave got married), then I had a full weekend of work Saturday night, Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon. The wedding was small and so beautiful. They got married at their church, then the reception was at a restaurant on the water in Long Beach called Tantalum where the food was amazing. We had a really good time and ate way too much!

So after that full weekend, when I got home around 4pm this afternoon, I crashed. It was like a flash back to college when Sundays were "nap days". Oh how I miss those days. I better get those in the next few months because I have a feeling the baby won't let me have those every week. Luckily, this week is a really short work week (only Monday and Tuesday), and we even get Tuesday night off, when Jon and I usually lead a small group for 5th graders at our church.

I am excited for Thanksgiving--traditionally a day full of family, football, games, and food! We are going over to my aunts house this year so get to stay close to home, which is nice. Jon's family goes out to Palm Springs each year, so unfortunately we can't split our time with them as well. But it will be kind of nice to be able to stay in once place for a holiday instead of running around all day. I hope all of you have a GREAT holiday and enjoy spending time with your family and friends! Happy Thanksgiving!

Jon and I at the wedding.

Ezekiel Time!

Here are some pics of our time with Ezekiel! He spent yesterday and half of today with us while Bethany is away at a Women's Retreat and Kevan is working. It was really fun, and Jon and I appreciated the "practice time" we got as parents. Here is the cute little boy!
Ezekiel became obsessed with Roxy's doggy door. He spent a lot of time on the floor opening and closing it while Roxy watched in confusion. Who needs toys when you got a doggy door!

The boys talking about boy stuff.

Getting our shoes on before our walk.


Snuggle time before bed. Roxy tried to be a part of it too.

Playing at the park this morning. He looks very serious in this picture, but seconds before he was laughing and smiling, I promise. (Time to get that camera with no delay.)

That's all! If you think this is a lot of pictures, just wait until its my own little boy! :)

Bigger Baby Bump

Baby has popped out! In the past couple weeks, our little boy has gotten bigger and bigger and my tummy has too! According to our "weekly updates" we get from a baby website, he's now well over a pound (I wish I could say that he weighed more than that so I could blame the ever rising number on my scale on him, but not so much...) and can hear whats going on so Jon and I have been talking to him lots.
That's all for now--things have been really busy at work lately, so Jon and I are excited for the weekend coming. We are really excited because we get to have a special guest stay with us Friday night---a slumber party with Ezekiel! :) Bethany is brave enough to let us practice parenting on her little guy while she is away at a women's retreat. We are so excited to get the chance--he is the cutest!
I will let you know how it goes!

Baby Day

Today, which Jon and I nicknamed "Baby Day 2007", was a very productive and fun day. You see, I work about every other Saturday and on top of that, lately Saturdays have been filled with family things, showers, random events and even just catching up with "house" stuff. So being that I had today off, we scheduled the day "Baby Day 2007" so we could spend the day doing some much needed "baby things". So today we made our rounds to many a baby store and even the swap meet and all in all, it was a very successful day. Jon was such a trooper; I mean, what guy really wants to go to baby stores. But he had a lot of good input and opinions as we looked at things, and we had a lot of fun.
The day was so successful because we found a dresser for the baby's room and registered at BabiesRUs. And in the midst of many discussions, even found a name for our baby boy that we are both loving. (Sorry if that's vague: We are still deciding on it and deciding if we are "telling" or not). We think we found a crib too, but haven't purchased it yet. We thought we'd go back some night this week cuz we were pretty pooped by the end of the day. Over all, I think I have our bedding nailed down (which has been my project for the last few weeks) and things are coming together quite nicely. Next on the list? Paint colors...
Ok, so here is where all you mothers come in. I am posting an open call for all you mama's who are experienced in Baby Gear and registering: I am openly asking for any input, advice, and maybe just encouragement on our registry. If you have time, go to BabiesRUs and check out our registry to see how we did and let me know. We kind of laughed out loud many a time on how MUCH stuff a tiny person "needs" and really didn't know if we were doing it "right". I've sought some advice of mothers before on the subject, but who knew I should have asked about what type of nail clippers to get! So all that to say, I'd love any feedback or advice from those of you who have done this before. (I'm looking for things like, "no you don't need little mittens to put on their hands so they don't scratch their eyes; the mittens will fall right off anyways," and "Register for more sheets--they pee right through them". Stuff like that. Feel free to email, call, or just plain comment and I'd love your feedback.
And for those who aren't moms yet and want to look at my registry, I'd love your comments too. Just because I love you.

Half Way There!

20 (and a half) weeks and counting! Here are some pictures (finally!) of my ever growing belly. I keep meaning to keep taking pictures and posting them but somehow I always forget and even think "how much have I really grown anyways?". Well, that lasts until I put on my jeans. Then I remember, "Oh yeah A LOT!"



Jon and I are in the midst of looking at baby boy bedding, paint colors and all that. I'm excited to get the room all ready for him but is frustrating that I can't just be a full time "baby room decorator." Work really gets in the way of that. :) We've already received some really cute little boy gifts including Jon's favorite, a Denver Broncos one-sie. I'm excited to see all of it come together and get shopping!

It's a BOY!

Today was the big day! Here is us at the ultrasound...

I have to admit, our first premonition was that our little one was a girl, but boy were we wrong! (no pun intended) Of course, as all parents say, we really do just want a healthy little baby and didn't have a strong preference, so we are thrilled to find out that Baby Epperson is a little BOY! Jon, of course, is extra thrilled. I will never forget the look on his face when the ultrasound technician told us and pointed out the little "part" that made it so obvious. I think images of football games, tiny Denver Bronco jerseys, and baby's first wet suit immediately flashed in his head. All in all, it was such an amazing time seeing his little hands, feet, watching him move around like CRAZY (at one point we were convinced he was hiding from the ultrasound because he flipped completely around, put his butt in the air and was hiding everything from us!), and getting to see how much that little heart has grown since we first got to see it when he was 6 weeks old.

So here are some of his very first pictures!

Baby Boy Epperson!

A profile shot!

Of course, the classic "money" shot--its the little thing to the right of the "pointer" in the center. (He would be so embarrassed if he knew his mom was posting this on the internet!) Its definitely a boy!

So I am still adjusting because apparently, I was unintentionally slipping up before and calling him a girl sometimes when he would kick, but Jon is now all over that and will make sure I never do that again. But I am SO excited and can't wait to meet our little boy! And of course, I'm thrilled to find out Hurley makes baby clothes starting at 6 months. :)
I could only find Quiksilver in 12 months size today, but its a start. ( I HAD to get this shirt cuz Jon has one just like it).

Birthday and a Big Day

As my birthday week comes to a close, I thought I'd quickly write about it before it passes me by. The week was a very busy one, but very good. Jon and I went out to dinner last Saturday night--he always surprises me on where we go, and he once again did a good job! We went to La Fondue in San Juan Capistrano. It was SO yummy (we LOVE fondue!) and had a very dark, romantic environment so we loved it! I think I actually out ate Jon for the first time at a fondue restaurant. I tried to blame the baby but it was just dang good. On top of that, Jon's present to me was a new camera. He's going to let me pick it out in person, but knew I've been dying for a new one that doesn't have a delay ( a must have with a baby on the way). So we will go to Best Buy this weekend and get one.
The actual day of my birthday, Monday, was a really busy one at work but was fun. My department took me out to lunch and we have the tradition of affirming the birthday person, so got to hear lots of nice things from my co workers. Every year I can't help but be surprised by what people say since I spend the most time with these people and I feel like they see all sides of me. But nonetheless, they always have such nice things to say! :)
Jon sent me flowers at my office that day, which is always so fun. Then that night Jon and I went to dinner with my parents and they bought us a yummy meal and gave me some cute sweaters that will fit my baby bump when the weather turns cold. All in all, 27 ain't bad so far!
As for "a big day", I've officially booked our ultrasound where we find out if little baby Jeppy is a boy or a girl! And the big day is....September 28th! A week from tomorrow! Soon enough we can go back to throwing names around, deciding on paint colors and picking some bedding for this kid. We can't wait! Let the count down begin!

What a Week!

Well, what a week its been. This past weekend was such an amazing one, being able to spend some much needed time with my best friend Kristen and catch up with life in person. Its times like this past weekend that carry me through life; making memories that I will never forget, laughing like I don't do enough, and feeling re-engergized and encouraged by real conversations with true friends. So I figured I'd be able to live off that high for a while and cruise right into my birthday week no problem. Boy was I wrong.
After having some great conversations with my dear friends this past weekend, it kind of led me into having some needed conversations with people at my work about the future. All the change that is going to come with our new baby is something that I am so looking forward to, but then every once in a while it hits me how much change it will do to the everyday life that I am used to and love. I have this weird, internal mix of ready and excited, and yet anxious for the unknown. Well, the mix of pregnancy and deep thought always leads me to sleepless nights. I've found that when I have nights like this, its pretty much God straight up telling me I need to talk to Him about whatever is causing me anxiety. But man, am I tired the next day! And after having some good "information gathering" conversations with my bosses, it gives me a little more info, but still leads me to the unknown. I am still working through this and earnestly praying for patience and trust through this journey, but it kind of all hit me at once this week and got me a little emotional and anxious (ok ok so a pregnant girl cant get " a little" emotional)---a little earlier than I expected.
And then there was Roxy...oh little Roxy. Unfortunately on Tuesday Roxy got really sick. I mean REALLY sick. Like making a mess everywhere, really dehydrated, not her spazy self, sick. (For those of you who "know" her, shes usually running everywhere, overly friendly and way hyper. But she was so sick we were checking to see if she was still breathing half the time, she was lying that still).
I will summarize the "pet drama", but after 2 non-sleep nights being up with her sick, 4 trips to the vet, a trip to a pet hospital, Jon and I both taking shifts to watch her and missing work, and WAY too much money later, she is finally home and feeling better. But it was scary there for a while. She's so little (4 pounds) that since she didn't eat for 2 days, things were not looking good and we still had no idea what was wrong with her. But God even answers our prayers for our little pets, and today she's on her way back to recovery. This was all in the midst of a really busy at work and needless to say, I'm not too sure my bosses were thrilled I had to take time off to deal with a pet emergency. But oh well. Do whatcha gotta do.
I know what you are thinking: A) "its a pet". and I know. But she's Roxy. That's all for that. and B) "This is just preparing me for parenthood." The sleepless nights, the worrying, the sacrificing of time. Again, I know, and I just hope that the baby involves a whole lot less smelly liquids squirting out of him/her. Who am I kidding. This was definitely a little glimpse of and preparation for baby.
Well, thats all for my week. Quite an interesting one. I am looking forward to two whole days off!
Now off to bed, because I'm exhausted!

Happy Labor Day

I just wanted to post a quick one to say HAPPY LABOR DAY! I hope everyone had a great day off work and enjoyed the weekend, even though it may have felt like we live in Palm Springs! A little hotter please? No thanks. The best thing about this weekend is....drum roll please... I had the whole weekend off! This is slightly unheard of with my job, since I only get 3 Sundays off a year. (That's right--out of 52. Not that I'm bitter or anything).
So I decided a few weeks ago to just go ahead and take my 3rd and final Sunday of this year because of the holiday weekend. Jon and I had researched a few places to get away to this weekend, and then realized how expensive holiday weekends can be (maybe that's why we never went away before) so decided to just stay home. And it was so fun! We got to do things around the house, run errands we never have time for, go to yummy meals, lay by the pool, and just spend 3 whole days together without pesky work getting in the way of that time. And despite the insanely hot weather, it was a great weekend! I officially decided I love having Sundays off. Like LOVE LOVE having them off. Going to church like a normal person is somewhat of a novelty to me and I could really get used to it. (Disclaimer that Jon is good at reminding me of: My job has a lot of other perks and flexible hours, so that is a great trade off. But I'm just sayin'....)
Anyways, I hope all of you enjoyed time off and got to spend time with those you love. Have a great week---(thought its hard to get back to work, just remember we have a shorter work week this week--yay!)
PS--only 3 more days until my favorite Washingtonian comes to California. IM BEYOND EXCITED!! HURRY UP WEEK!

Little Bump

So as you saw on my last post...We're having a baby! We are excited beyond words and it all seems to become more and more real each week. I have to be honest, at first it really didn't seem real even after seeing it on a pregnancy test and hearing it from a doctor at about the 6th week (yep--we found out early!). Here is our first real "proof"--an ultrasound they had me do really early to try to get a due date. (Its that little thing between the two plus marks in the center/right of the pic. This is only at 6.5 weeks, so baby is really tiny! We have another ultrasound in about 5 weeks---the boy or girl one! That one should have some more detail to show!)
My mom and my sister were able to come to this first appointment with me (Jon wasn't able to get off work) and it was so great to have them there. My sister happen to be in town right after we found out, so it was so fun to tell her and my family in person and then have her come to a doctors appointment. We all got to see the little tiny "flash" as we saw the baby and its heartbeat. Then we all went to Barnes and Noble where my mom bought me the classic "What to Expect When You're Expecting" and a cool pregnancy journal I am recording all the milestones and details in. It was such a memorable day I will never forget.

So like I said, after being sick for a few weeks (made for some NOT so fun days at work, some horrible experiences at restaurants and just being plain exhausted for weeks), I am in week 13 feeling a lot better! ( I won't mention a HORRIBLE experience I had on Tuesday after our drs. appointment that involved a mexican restaurant and me running to the bathroom. Apparently Baby Epperson hates mexican food. But up until then I had been doing great for more than a week!) I feel less tired and more apt to wanting to eat, which are huge wins in my eyes. Jon and I have been to 2 appointments where we heard the heartbeat both times (8.5 weeks and 12.5 weeks) loud and clear! I think thats when it really started sinking in for both of us. Ok well, maybe its the fact that my jeans are getting tighter that really made it sink it for me. ;-) I think I need to have some real reason why everything feels so tight and awkward each morning as I get dressed. So here I am, 13 weeks along:

Yes, there is a little bump there! I know it may not seem big yet, but its definitely there and I feel growth all around my stomach. I am anxious for a real bump so I just don't feel like I have eaten too much. Its quickly approaching that awkward stage I've heard and read about--almost out of normal clothes and not ready for maternity clothes. Not that I want the huge panel pants or anything, but you know what I mean.
On another note, Jon has been the most supportive and amazing husband through all this crazy beginning stuff. Well, aside from the few times he's just bursted out laughing at some of my insane requests or comments. While they probably are really crazy and funny, the last thing a pregnant girl wants is to be laughed at. :) But he's been so great at making/getting the only food in the world that sounds digestable at the minute, picking up the slack on things around the house that I just can't get up the energy to do, and just being excited and supportive of everything I'm feeling. And only laughing at me occasionally. :)

Thanks to all of you who are so excited for us! We are just in the beginnings of this amazing journey, and its so much fun to share it with all of you! I'm sure there is lots more to come, so thanks for caring!