26 Week Checkup

Yesterday we had another doctors appointment to check on little Caleb. The ultrasound showed his heart rate at 136 and his weight at 2pounds 4 ounces. Caleb is growing right on schedule and maybe a little bit fast than schedule. The sonogram tech measured Caleb at 27.4 weeks when I am actually only 26.4 weeks pregnant. God help me that this baby does not come out too big. I want him to bake as long as he needs but not be overdone and a 10lb baby.


Before my appointment I had to drink a Glucose (sugar) Drink so the doctor could test my blood sugar to determine if I might develop diabetes during pregnancy. I was a little worried because diabetes runs in my family. But, my test came back and showed that my blood sugar was normal and therefore my body processes sugars correctly. Unfortunately, the test also showed that my iron level was down (normal but on the low side of normal). So, my doctor has put me on iron supplements to help my body produce the blood that is needed to keep Caleb healthy and happy.

Caleb at 26 weeks (side view)

His knees are bent into his tummy & arms are folded over his chest

Random Picture

Barrett & Amy spent Christmas in Tokyo visiting Amy's brother. They brought Braden back a Japanese headband as a souvenir.

It Was A Very Good Holiday

Braden and I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas. We had a blessed holiday with both of our families. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas day with Mom & Dad Howell then headed to Pearland for the weekend to see the entire Morina Crew. Here are a few pictures from our Christmas.

Morina Family Tradition - - Matching Christmas PJs

Jessica bought Caleb a sling for Christmas. Lexi tried it out and loved it.

Caleb was being very active all weekend. My mom was trying to feel him move around.

Braden's favorite present - BOOTS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

We wish all our friends and family a very

Merry Christmas.

May you have safe travels and get to share this holiday with those you love.

Love from our home to yours - Rebecca & Braden

Another Week Closer

It is hard to believe that in a short 15 weeks Braden and I will be welcoming Caleb into the world. The journey has been a great one and I am treasuring the days as they go by. I am enjoying my growing belly as Caleb grows and moves. I am enjoying the quiet times when Caleb really likes to kick and move around. But most of all I am enjoying this experience unlike anything else in the world. Knowing that I am the life line for this small human in my belly is an amazing thing. God created women to reproduce and WOW is it a miracle what your body does and how it was made to do this. I am amazed now and know I will continue to be amazed as I get closer to the due date and deliver our gift from God.

This past weekend was exceptionally crazy.
Friday night: Braden and I went to a Christmas party hosted by Chuck (Braden's best friend) and his wife Lilly. It is an annual tradition to gather at their house for holiday cheer and Chuck's famous egg nog. This year I had to pass on the egg nog since just smelling it will get you drunk. It is always nice to be with friends for the holidays.
Saturday: I got up early to do some last minute Christmas shopping. Then Braden and I headed to Ft Worth. Our first stop in Ft Worth was at TCU (Go Frogs!!). We bought Caleb his first TCU t-shirt from the bookstore then drove around campus. It is hard to believe that it was the same school we graduated from 4 1/2 years ago. Our second stop was at Billy Bobs to see Pat Green. As Braden said in the last post, it was Caleb's first concert. I think he really enjoyed it. Our third, and final stop in Ft Worth, was at my annual Christmas party with "The Girls." Now that we are all married, we invite the husbands too. It was great to see Sasha/Jeff, Katie/Sam, and Robin/Chad. We missed Tiffany and Alicia, maybe we can all be together again next year :( After the Christmas party Braden went to the Cowboys game. He was excited to attend the last game being played at Texas Stadium. Braden has a lot of fond memories from Texas Stadium. He will have to share all the memories with Caleb since he will never see the Cowboys play there.
Sunday: was the usual church, lunch, and errands. There were definitely not enough hours in the weekend to get everything done. Thank goodness for a long weekend ahead of us. Lastly, I would like to thank Caleb's amazing Grandparents. The four Grandparents went in on an early Christmas/Baby gift and bought us our baby furniture. Last night Braden and I picked out a paint color for the bedroom. Braden has so graciously taken on the task of repainting Caleb's room so we can pick up the furniture and get the room started. Thank you honey for being the best husband!

Everyone have a safe and Merry Christmas.
Lots of love to all our friends and family.

Braden's Last Cowboys game at Texas Stadium

"The Girls" [Me, Robin, Katie, Sasha]

Caleb's First Pat Green Experience

A Post from the Father-To-Be

Today is a very exciting day! I am typing this post from Billy Bob's Texas (thank God for my Blackberry!) where Rebecca and I are at the annual event for Pat Green fanclub members. It's always an awesome event where you get your photo taken with Pat, get his autograph, and then he does a nice Q&A session followed by a short set with his band.

This year is particularly exciting because it will be the first time little Caleb hears the great music of Pat Green! I've read that babies in the womb can hear what goes on around them, so we are happy to be introducing him to Pat Green at an early age (-15 weeks old!).

This is our third time at this event, and during our photo with Pat, we told him the first time we came we were engaged, the second time we were married and his version of Lucky Ones was our song, and this time, we're pregnant! We then mentioned that if we keep up this pace we'll probably have to stop coming after next year!

Well, Pat is about to go on stage so it's time for me to sign off. I'll update soon but now it's time for Caleb to enjoy his first Pat Green experience!

Christmas at the Howell House

After traveling for the last 3 weekends - Braden and I stayed home this weekend and put up our Christmas Tree. It is not a lot of fun to get the tree out of the box and set up (yes, we have a fake tree). But once the tree is up, it is so much fun to go through our ornaments and strategically place them on the tree. My favorite old ornaments are "Our First Christmas" and "My First Ski Trip to Crested Butte, CO". I loved putting the ornaments on the tree and reminiscing with Braden about how much fun the last year has been.

Secretly I had been looking for the PERFECT ornament to commemorate this years Christmas of being pregnant with Caleb. I had looked in a few shops and online a little bit but had not found anything I really loved. Then, much to my surprise, my mother-in-law (Bertie) gave me the PERFECT ornament this weekend. It is exactly what I was looking for. This ornament will always be special to me. Thank you Nana B for this wonderful addition to our tree.

Baby & Mommy Update - I am finally feeling better. I am not 100% over my cold but I am now able to think straight again since my head it not congested. I still have a slight cough but it is getting better too. Caleb is doing well. He has been moving a lot lately. Up until now I have been able to feel him move around from inside but it is hard to locate him on the outside. But, Friday night I was laying in bed and Caleb was moving so much I tried to wake up Braden so he could hopefully get to feel him move. Braden was so tired from a long week that it was impossible to get him to wake up enough to feel my belly. Better luck next time - hopefully Braden gets to feel him move soon.
And now, back by popular demand, a new belly pic (in front of our Christmas Tree)

23 Weeks

Turkey & A Celebration

This past weekend was a Morina Family celebration in Austin, TX. The weekend started on Thursday as we all met up for Thanksgiving lunch at a local Austin restaurant. The rest of the weekend was devoted to lots of shopping, football, golf, and of course Jennifer's 30th Birthday Festivities. Saturday night we all went to Carmelo's Italian Restaurant to eat and open presents. I think Jennifer had a great weekend and 30th Birthday.

On a little less happy note - I have a cold and ear infection. If you have ever been pregnant AND sick at the same time, you know how miserable it can be. The doctor can not prescribe anything good to help kick the cold out of my system so now I just have to wait it out.

In Baby News - Today I had another prenatal doctor's appointment. The baby is growing right on schedule. I have been feeling him move around but the movements are not big enough to feel him from the outside yet. Don't worry, just a couple more weeks and I am sure everyone will get to feel our little man kick me.
Other than having a cold, I have been feeling good and doing well. I have been working hard to control the inevitable weight gain. With all the ups and downs over the weeks, I have only gained 10 lbs since I got pregnant (not too bad for almost 23 weeks).
I go back to the doctor in 4 weeks for another sonogram and to get tests ran to see if I have a high risk of diabetes during pregnancy. I will keep every updated on the results (and maybe I will have a new picture of Caleb to share).

Here are some pictures from this weekend.

SISTERS:: Jessica, Jennifer (birthday girl), Me

Mom & Dad to be

The Morina Family