Why hello there!

Maternity jeans have arrived at the Gustafson home. I don't feel quite big enough yet to wear them but  jeans are physically impossible for me anymore. On the good note though, I have 1 pair of work pants that still fit although I'm sure the girls at work are wondering if I ever wash them since I wear them every other day!!

I went to the Dr on Wednesday and left quite deflated. Going in, I was hoping for some great news but ended with no new ultrasound pics, no gender revelation, and the Dr telling me that he didn't like my baby already!! You see, my little lima bean didn't move almost the whole appt. Last time they couldn't get any good looks because he/she was so active and this time, it was nap time. So, I left with no new info but so glad to see the spine looked strong, the baby has the right size head, and next time we should be able to tell the gender no problem.

Things I'm noticing at 16 weeks:

• I'm always hot... the fan is constantly on at work or else I'm fanning myself
• My belly is growing  :)
• I've had a little discomfort this week in my lower abdomen from beginning to stretch. Nothing major, just different!
• I'm so, so, so antsy to start on the nursery. We have decided what we want to go with whether it's a boy or girl so now we just wait...

Thanks for reading.

-Crystal-

Roughin' It

Luke  & I needed a get-away and it so happens that our big 5 year anniversary is next week so it was a win-win to go camping! Let me make something clear, we have never been camping together, alone, ever so there was an element of stress that came along with that but I'm happy to announce, nothing major was forgotten and we had an amazing time. Quite a few photos so hope you can bear with me..

We stayed in a cute little one bedroom cabin (I'd recommend not going while pregnant because I made frequent trips to the little bathroom in the night but I was blessed to have a flushable toilet and not a porto to use!) at Angels Camp RV & Camping Resort   

I'd definitely recommend it to anyone in our area because it was a quiet location and great price.

Our love nest.... of sleeping bags  :)

We ate hobos, hotdogs, pancakes & sausage, smores, and even snuck in a Starbucks one afternoon

... went olive oil tasting ( flavors like white chocolate truffle, blood orange, cilantro and roasted onion, etc.) It was quite the experience for Luke, I just took the pics and smelled each one!

http://marisolio.com/olive-oil

... played games

... I got to watch my husband play a new role as "woodsman" which was fun. Can't wait to see him fill the new "daddy" shoes soon too!!

.. and had a truly unforgettable time together. Here's to at least 50 more, babe!

As for the bump, I hit week 15 today!!

 and Luke loves laughing at me when I can't button my pants so he snuck a photo.

Next week I have a Dr. appt so I'll keep you posted!!!

-Crystal-

Peeeeeeek-a-boo

Ladies & gents, the "pooch" has arrived.... at least that's what I'm told. I've felt the weight difference for a while now but my friends and co-workers are now starting to notice so it must be more evident now. What do YOU think!?

     
      Most of my work pants don't fit anymore so I usually have 1 button undone..... But, I went out to dinner with Kaelee the other night and had both my buttons undone on my jeans!!! However, I don't feel near big enough to rock maternity jeans yet. So, until I break them out, I'm stuck looking like a hillbilly :)

Thought or feelings of week 14/Month 4:

• I'm eating less often. When I was first pregnant, I ate about 5 small meals a day. However, I've slowed to 3-4 which probably makes my boss happy that I'm being more productive!
• I'm more tired and my feet are more worn out but... it's all worth it in the end, right?
• I can't wait to get started on the nursery! Every time I walk into the guest bedroom, I try to imagine the queen bed replaced by a crib and I can't quite picture it yet....
• Most excited for this week: hubby & I are going camping this "weekend". (Oh, but did I mention, we are staying in a little log cabin with mattresses?) S'mores, here we come!!

The Big News

       Well, the time has come. After keeping a wonderful secret between Luke & I, it was time to share the news about our sweet baby. Jill's birthday was May 29th and we thought we'd have the best gift to share..

       We went to see my OB-GYN that day and saw our first sonogram. Wow. I was amazed to actually see the heartbeat. I knew we would get the chance to hear it but actually seeing the beating was an amazing moment for me. At that point, the tears started flowing. How can you  see a beating heart when this tiny bundle is not even 8 weeks old... wow!

       So, back to the surprise... we put our tiny onesie into a gift bag and added one of the sonogram pictures into the bag. Once we handed over the gift, Kirk, Jill & Jacy were all thrilled. Lots of tears and rejoicing!!

       Before heading to NE, we wanted to let our California friends in on the news since it would become "Facebook official" while we were gone and we didn't want any hurt feelings. (By the way, do you know how hard it is to keep secrets with Facebook and family scattered in so many states?!?!) We shared with our Bible study the week before we left. After searching the internet high & low for a clever idea, I went to our pregnancy book and read the baby at 11 weeks is the size of a lime. Filling a vase with limes, I made a note that read "the size of BABY GUS due 1/10/13" and set it on the snack table. As people started arriving, no one had noticed yet but once Sarah noticed the vase, the news was out  :)

       I was determined to tell my family in person which meant I had 7 long weeks of secret holding ahead. But I knew it would be worth it. The day finally came to fly home. I'd called Eileen's cookies and had the announcement made and the plans were set. When we landed in Grand Island, Tyson, Sarah, & Brynn were there to take us home. I asked for a trip to Eileen's and we headed back to their house to wait for Zade to finish his nap at Grandma's house. Well, good ol' Tyson can't stand a secret and waiting about 30 mins to start asking what was in the box. Needless to say, he was pretty surprised! They were thrilled for our surprise. Next we headed over to my parents. I kept waiting for the perfect moment to reveal the news but it didn't seem quite right. Anxiously I waited through dinner until my dad was headed outside to do some work. Asking him to hold on for a sec, I ran to get the cookie, flipped open the box, and waiting for the surprise to hit. Surprisingly enough, my mom caught the news before my dad and then the hugs began.

       And finally, sharing with the Facebook world was a tough decision. I've seen so many cute ideas on Pinterest but the cute ideas were slowly being taken by all my pregnant friends and I was determined to be different. We saw this sign while in Hawaii and, although I had to push hard, I made a little bump for the photo (since I'm only 9 weeks here). I made a caption that read, "Hubby is going to be a daddy -- best news of the day, I'm the baby mama". It was fun!

So, now the news is out! Glad you could be apart of it.

-Crystal-