Dear Baby...

This is a beautiful poem I came across and want to share.


Dear Baby, here beneath my heart,
I thought that you might come today;
The timing seemed just right.

But the stars are out
And the moon is high
And sheepishly I wonder why
I try to arrange the plans
Of God.

For now I know
You will not come
Until the One who holds eternity
Rustles your soft cocoon
And whispers in tones that I will not hear,
“It’s time, precious gift.” “Now it’s time.”

-by Robin Jones Gunn

February/March

Keepin' up with the Joneses through the blog probably hasn't been too hard over the last couple of months, but if you are involved with us day to day...you probably would have a little trouble keeping up!! I hope Baby J is getting used to this fast paced life we live.

Here's what's been going on:

February
21st & 25th: For most of February I was studying for the Wellness Coaching exam. There were 3 parts to it: a written exam of 125 questions, a 30 minute practical exam via phone with an licensed WellCoach, and submission of a practice client's sessions. I'm happy to say that I've received my results and I've passed all 3 parts and am a Certified Wellness Coach.

Studying toward the end of the pregnancy was a little tough. I'm already tired from doing nothing so adding study time and role playing coaching sessions added that much more to my fatigue. But it's over now and time to move on to developing our health/wellness business.

28th: The weekend after I finished the exams I had my first baby shower at my Mom's in Fleming Island. It was AWESOME!!! I was so touched by the people that showed up to celebrate Baby J. I loved that I had people from so many areas of my life there...what a blessing!

Cookies that Aunt Jennifer in VA made and sent to FL

That same weekend we had Benny's brother Kevin, his wife Eddia, and their son Elijah stay with us. It was so much fun seeing how big our nephew Elijah has gotten and how much energy he has :) What a cutie!!


March
6th: Attended my cousin Lieren's wedding in Amelia Island. It was beautiful and we had a great time seeing family and friends that we don't see often.

I got in a little dancing with Baby J. It was so much fun!!

7th & 8th: Mom and I came back to Palm Coast and worked on the nursery. She had someone paint the room while we opened up everything received at the shower. We washed baby clothes, the bedding, and baby blankets. Mom put together the swing, bouncy seat, bassinet, hung shelves, curtains, ironed the bedding, etc...you name it and she did it!!! I think we went to bed at 2:00 am Sunday morning and got up to do more. It was finished when she left at 4:00 pm on Sunday. It was a lot of work, but so worth it. I love it...it's the most peaceful room in our house :)



13th: I had a wonderful shower at work. It was great celebrating with all the people I see each day. We received so many wonderful gifts and I'm still working on putting them away! I did try to relax a little that weekend, but I can't sit still for too long - I wound up doing a lot of cleaning.

20th-22nd: Benny was off work on Friday so I took the day off and we went to Gainesville to have a "babymoon". We stayed at The Laurel Oak Inn - it was a lovely Bed & Breakfast. We stayed in the Lavender room. I really wanted this room because of it's bathtub - a two seater with 70 jets! I love taking baths so this was heaven :) I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of the tub! Monta and Peggy, the inn keepers, were a super nice couple that made sure we were taken care of. Breakfast was delicious...fresh fruit, a yummy pastry, egg florentine over an English muffin with peppered bacon...YUM!


After checkout we had lunch with Hank, Sarah, Piper, and Phoebe at BJ's. Then we went back to the Inn to do a maternity photo shoot. We took pics at the Inn, the Thomas Center, the Swamp (Gator football field), inside the college that Benny and I both attended, and then Lake Alice. The weather could not have been better. It was so much fun and I can't wait to see the pics!

We stayed at Mom's Saturday night and got to visit with her, Rob, and Gabi. And that leads us to this moment. We are tired, tired, tired and are relaxing this evening.

Gabi looking so beautiful after Grandma did her makeup :)

Feb/Mar: We've been taking the Prepared Childbirth Class and are 1/2 way finished with it. Only 3 more classes to go and only 4 more weeks until our due date. I guess we cut that a little close! I'm 36 weeks tomorrow and start my weekly OB checks. I'm planning on packing the hospital bag this week since we have no idea when Baby J will decide to make his/her entrance into this world.

I'm so thankful for great family, friends, a healthy pregnancy, and a loving husband who has learned to deal with my crazy pregnancy emotions. It's a great life!!

Lots of Love,
Christy, Benny, & Baby J

Random thoughts...

This pregnancy brain is all over the place so here are some things that have been going on lately.

I’m 32 weeks now and Baby J measures over 16 inches long and weighs about 3.75 pounds and is heading into a growth spurt. I'm gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to the baby. He/she now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Skin is becoming soft and smooth as he plumps up in preparation for birth. There is a lot of movement going on these days and I know it’s a sign of an active, healthy baby!

How am I feeling??? I have my days where I’m just dragging in the afternoon. But I’m staying committed to the gym and going twice a week and that helps me to feel better and energized. I know I have to “spend” energy to get more energy!

I’ve started having a few headaches recently, but nothing to worry about because they are not like the migraines I was getting in the first trimester. They feel like tension headaches so I will continue enjoying my 3-4 baths a week along with massage ☺

Sleep has been an issue off and on throughout the pregnancy. Some nights are better than others. Some nights I feel like I’m up every hour visiting the restroom and some nights I wake up with awful leg cramps (not the normal charley horse that runs down the back of your calf, but it’s on the side and it’s difficult to get that muscle to release). Then some nights I can sleep about 3-4 hours straight and those are the good nights! I know that all of this is God’s way of preparing me for those sleepless nights!!

Bending over is becoming a chore and just normal breathing is becoming a little more difficult. I can tell that Baby J is growing fast and everything inside of me is being pushed upward. Other than that, I really am feeling great and I’m enjoying each day. Baby J is getting bigger and moving around quite a bit. It’s such an amazing feeling!

I belong to an online fitness group and there are a few preggos on there. Kate was due March 4th and had baby Joshua on Tuesday, Feb 17 – about 2 weeks early. I have to say that finding out that great news made me realize that I don’t have long to go and Baby J may come early and all of this is becoming very REAL!!

I’ve mentioned before that we’re having a shower at my mom’s house on Feb 28 and I’m very excited. I’m most excited about having friends and family celebrate such a special occasion that it feels like it’s taken a lifetime for. It makes me think of my wedding day and one of the most magical feelings from that day was when my brother walked me down the aisle and I looked at all the people and realized they were there to celebrate our wedding day…to celebrate us! I felt so much love and gratitude for everyone that had come to share that day with me and Benny. I think this day will be just as magical. Yes, get out the tissues because I'm bound to shed a few tears that day! Crying is a daily event now (I just love my hormones!!).

On a much lighter note...I found out the tour dates of one of my favorite bands and I'm so happy they'll be in FL later this year. The Dave Matthews Band will be in West Palm Beach on August 15 and I’ll be there (thanks for getting tix Monica)!! I’ve already started planning how I’m going to do this since Baby J will be 4 months old and I’m hoping to be nursing. I think I have a plan and if I need advice I know Sarah will help me out :) And in case Benny wants a break, I've already lined up a babysitter...Grandma!

And I'll end on a celebratory note...I passed the first portion of my Wellness Coaching Certification exam this weekend. I feel such a weight lifted. I should have taken this exam last year, but once I got the news that we were expecting I couldn't study!! Are you kidding?!? If you know me well you know that I love to research and learn about health topics and what could be more important than diving into all the pregnancy books and learning about what my body is experiencing. But I had to get back to my studies and it paid off. I have two more portions of the exam process that will be completed this week and I'll be a Certified Wellness Coach. I'm so excited!

Lots of Love,
Christy, Benny, and Baby J

30 down...10 to go!

I'm 30 weeks this week...only 10 more to go! I know I've said it before, but this pregnancy seems to have been going by so fast. I think it's because we had almost 2 months of going out of town for the holidays and vacation. I'm now counting down the weeks instead of counting up.

I had a follow up appt today and now I get to start going every 2 weeks for the follow ups. I'm so thankful that everything is still going well and I'm feeling great overall. I've started getting tired again and I'm not sleeping all that well so it makes for some really long days. I've been getting pretty grumpy some days and the little things can really get under my skin! Thank goodness for great friends (Monica and Stephanie) that lend a listening ear...they just let me vent and cry when I need to :) And I do try to keep a smile on my face so no one really knows how I'm feeling!

Today was the dreaded day that I started looking for daycare. Ugh...I did not enjoy it at all!! Now we'll have to start making some serious decisions on who will keep Baby J. Unfortunately there aren't that many providers that take infants here in Palm Coast.

I'm still in the nesting phase and I think Benny has joined me! We spent last Saturday cleaning out the garage. We pulled everything out and reorganized and got rid of a lot of junk. People were driving by and pulling over because they thought we were having a garage sale! We're working on the inside now and will start the baby's room very soon...gotta get that crib put together!

This weekend we'll be celebrating Valentine's Day and our 12th wedding anniversary. It's the last celebrations for just the two of us. We're planning a "babymoon" mid-March to a bed and breakfast. It will be our final trip together before Baby J arrives.

We have a baby shower on Saturday, February 28 at my mom's house. I'm really excited!!

Here are a couple of pictures to show my progress.

At 12 weeks I "thought" I was showing!!

At 30 weeks I really am showing!!

Lots of Love,
Christy, Benny, and Baby J

Pregalicious!

I'm 28 weeks this week and the baby is weighing a little over 2 lbs and is measuring almost 15 inches long. I've made it to the 3rd trimester and I have to say that this pregnancy has been so good to me. I haven't been sick (just a little nausea in the beginning), I've gained very little weight, and my skin and nails have never looked better! I could go on and on, but you get the picture. I can't believe it's so close to being over and at the same time just beginning!

I am getting a little uncomfortable with bending over trying to tie my shoes, shave my legs, and getting up from very comfy sofas and chairs. Benny has been a big help and always gives me a hand when he sees that I'm starting to struggle. He was so awesome in Park City watching my every step in the snow/ice and getting on and off the bus. My family was awesome too with getting me a chair when we had to wait in long lines and also helping me with finding an empty seat on the bus. I've learned that I don't like having any special treatment unless I absolutely need it!

Some days Baby J is very active...especially after I've had lots of sugar! I had my glucose tolerance test recently. 50 grams of glucose in 5 minutes...I had a sugar crash and Baby J had a sugar high. Not only could I feel the kicks, but could see them through my sweater! And while on vacation we celebrated my birthday with my favorite cake, German chocolate....yum!! Baby J had a dance party in my belly :) Sometimes I feel kicks and sometimes it feels like karate chops. Makes me wonder what's going on in there, but it always puts a smile on my face.

I'm going through a major nesting phase and it's making me a little crazy. I want to clean, organize, improve things around the house, work on the nursery, etc. I have to put all of that on hold until after Feb 21 when I take my Wellness Coach Certification exam. So until then, I'm making a long list of honey do's. At least we've finished the registries at Target and Babies 'R' Us...one item down and many more to go!

I have one more monthly OB check and then I start going every 2 weeks. I'm looking into birthing classes (looking forward to this) and starting to look for daycare (I'm dreading this!!). I ordered a Hypnobirthing book and CD today and I'm looking forward to reading and practicing pain control techniques. I guess we are in the homestretch now!

I hope to start posting more. We have not been home on a weekend since December 6th!! We went to Tampa to visit my FIL, Biloxi over Christmas to visit my MIL, Orange Park over New Year's to visit my family, back to Tampa to visit friends and my FIL, and just returned from a wonderful vacation to Park City for the Sundance Film Festival. It's been a crazy time for us and we are looking forward to slowing down and getting back into our routines. I will post some Christmas and vacation pics soon.

Lots of Love,
Christy, Benny, & Baby J

Happy Birthday, Happy Thanksgiving, and Merry Christmas

In November we celebrated birthdays for Benny, Sarah, and Kyle. We went to Orlando mid-November and celebrated with Benny & Sarah. And we got to celebrate Kyle's b-day over Thanksgiving.

We had a great time visiting with family and friends we haven't seen in a long time. I'm posting some pics of the celebrations along with some cute pics of Gabi, Kennedy, Piper, and Phoebe.

Gabi using Aunt Christy's velcro rollers

Kennedy using the rollers as binoculars
Aarrrgghhh...our little pirate!
Meow...our little kitty cat

Happy Birthday Benny & Sarah...making birthday wishes
Piper & Phoebe
Kyle making his b-day wishes

Uncle Kyle and Kennedy

Go Gators!! Uncle Kyle got hooked up with all kinds of Gator gear

Benny & Kyle enjoying some Wii boxing

Kyle & Benny...Go Big Orange and Blue

Are you ready for Christmas? I don't think we are, but we have no choice in the matter! We are going to Tampa this weekend to visit Benny's father to celebrate a little early. And we leave on Dec 24th to fly to Biloxi to visit Benny's mom during Christmas. We'll get to visit my family in Orange Park after the New Year. It's a busy season!! I hope everyone is taking some time to enjoy this special time of year.

Time flies when you're pregnant!

I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going by. It feels just like yesterday when I found out the great news. I'm 20 weeks now...1/2 way there. A couple of weeks ago I had my last ultrasound and we didn't find out the sex. Here are a few pics of Baby J.

This baby has Benny's long legs :)

Baby's first foot print