Sam's Room

My mom, dad, and Aunt Juuuuuuuuday came in this weekend to help get Sam's room ready!  It turned out well, we think :)  We painted three walls a light grey-blue color and then a darker accent wall that the crib is against.  The room has a Port Aransas, fishing, nautical theme.  All of Clint's and my favorite things!


We also got clothes washed and hung in the closet.  It is amazing to think Sam will fit in all the tiny outfits.

Sam's beautiful crib from Aunt TARA!!!!

My parents & me

Baby Shower

We had our first baby shower on October 1st in Austin hosted by Kristen, my mom, Mommy Elsass, and Barbara!  It was so much fun!  Thank you for putting together a beautiful shower and to those who came to help celebrate Baby Sam.  He is already one spoiled rotten baby!

My mom and dad

Cutest diaper cake ever! 

Great friends from high school and college

The Culp girls

Aunt Juuuuuuudy, Aunt Jean, and me

Kristen (baby Stella) and me

We also had our latest doctor appointment on Monday.  It went great!  Nothing new to report.  I got my glucose test drink.  Looks disgusting.  I have to drink this orange drink, which the doctor said tastes better with vodka, shoot, and then go in for a test in two weeks.  I'll let you know how it goes :)  Hope you're doing great!

30th Birthday

I turned 30 on September 22nd!  I was going to wait to turn 30 until next year, because I thought, "How much fun can I really have on a birthday while being pregnant?"  Well, my wonderful husband, family, friends, and class proved me wrong.  This turned out to be one of the best birthdays ever!

I came to work and found this gigantic blow-up cake in my classroom from the PTA!  My class was so sweet too!

After school, Clint had us flying out to Las Vegas for a long weekend!!!  I was so excited!!  We got married in Vegas at the Bellagio 4 years ago, so whenever we go I always have so many great memories.  When you fly into Vegas it is always a mad dash to get to the tram, race to get your luggage, and then stand in line for a cab (which can take up to or over an hour sometimes!).  Therefore, I was "in the zone!"  We got to the tram faster than most others, got to the baggage carousel, and all we needed to do was get the bags and race to the cab line.  Normally, I can get our bag(s) while Clint parks himself at a slot machine nearby, but this time I needed help!  I couldn't lift both bags by myself.  Clint kept walking off to talk to his parents on the phone, and it was driving me nuts!  He wasn't around me and I just knew the bags were going to pass by and he was going to be nowhere in sight.  Then waiting for a cab would take even longer.  Finally, Clint came back over, I think he could tell I was getting fairly annoyed by him walking around talking on the phone instead of watching for the bags.  Clint turned to me and said, "Hey look!  Do you think there is another 'Sam's Mom' here?"  I looked over and saw a limo driver holding a sign that said, "Sam's Mom."  I just laughed and shrugged it off.  Sure there is, just keep watching for the bags!  Geez!  Focus!  That cab line is getting longer and longer by the second!!!  Clint kept on talking about the sign, and finally, I clued in.  Duh!  I'm "Sam's Mom!"  I immediately started crying!  It was the sweetest gift ever!  Clint had arranged for a limo to pick us up and take us to the Bellagio for my birthday!  How awesome is that?  He was on the phone with the limo diver because he wasn't there when we came down the escalators.  That's why he had been walking away.  I felt terrible.  What a great start to my birthday weekend in Vegas though!!

As far as the pregnancy goes, everything has been wonderful!  I have been feeling really good and Sam continues to grow and move around.  It is such a neat experience to be able to feel my baby boy making himself comfortable in my belly.  Clint has also been able to feel him move more now.  Sam is definitely getting stronger and his kicks and punches more powerful!

Below is my latest belly pic.  Just when I think there is no possible way that my stomach can get any bigger, it does.  I have gained about 20 lbs now, so I am hoping my doctor will approve at my appointment tomorrow afternoon.  At the last appointment he told me I hadn't gained enough and said to have an extra bowl of ice cream every night.  That has definitely been a plus to pregnancy :)

We have started receiving baby gifts too and had our first baby shower this weekend.  I will be posting pics soon!!  It was so much fun!  My family is coming next weekend to help paint and organize the nursery, so I'll have some pictures of Sam's room to share soon too!  This has been so much fun and I don't want it to end, but I also dream every day of holding my sweet boy in my arms and just staring at him.  I just can't wait to see what he looks like!

More to come!  I hope you had a great weekend too!

ACL Festival

Sam had his first music festival experience this past weekend at ACL!  We had a great time and he really enjoyed dancing and moving to the music :)  I got some of the strongest kicks and movements that I have felt so far!

Thankfully, I was able to hang in there all day and didn't get too tired or have my feet swell too bad.  Yay!

My mom got Sam this unique Austin shirt!  I can't wait for him to wear it!

Me, my mom, and brother, Kyle

My mom and me (before it got super crowded)

22 Weeks

I can not believe that I am halfway through this pregnancy.  It is almost sad for me to think about that.  I have really been enjoying this stage of pregnancy.  Sam has been moving a lot!  He had a blast at my friend Kristen's baby shower and squirmed the whole time!  I guess it's good he is in my tummy for now, because we may have been asked to go outside :)  He is also really active during Good Morning, Bledsoe, our school assembly we have every Friday and after dinner when I finally have a chance to sit down for the day.


A few side effects of pregnancy:

• My feet have swollen and usually hurt terribly at the end of the day.  I sit and wheel myself around in my rolling desk chair as much as possible, but with 21 third graders sometimes you have to be faster than they are!  A rolling chair also isn't the best way to sneak up on them.  (I have an awesome class this year, which I know is going to make it hard to leave them in January.)
• My fingernails look amazing!  I wish I had these nails for my wedding!
• Last week I popped a blood vessel in my eye.  I went to an eye doctor and he said that they don't know how it happens; it could be from bending over or rubbing my eye.  Weight lifters tend to get them, but I'm pretty sure I am not a weight lifter :)  I would post a picture of it, but it is pretty gross.  Hopefully it will be better by Monday.
• My ring finger is starting to swell too.  I think my wedding ring wearing days are numbered. I told Clint that it's almost time for him to take me to "The Wal-Marts" to buy a new ring. (you have to read that last sentence with a strong Texas accent)
• I have been getting indigestion regularly.  I have never had indigestion in my life!  My doctor recommended some OTC medicine that is helping.
• My doctor also recommended that I eat a bowl of ice cream every night!  Yes!  He wants me to gain more weight (I've gained 13 lbs. so far).  I guess that's a good thing...
• When I squat down to get things from the refrigerator (or anything close to the floor), it is really, really hard to get back up.  I am having to pull myself up using the counters or the coffee table.
• Putting on shoes has become interesting (and challenging).  I am still trying to perfect this move.
• Getting up off the floor is also becoming a challenge!  I usually have to roll over and bring my feet in one at a time to stand up.  I will not be posting videos of any of these moves!

Here's my 21 week belly pic.  Not too much of a change.

My mom, dad, Clint, and I all went to register last weekend while we were in Austin.  I got hungry.  Yes, that is a gigantic container of animal crackers!

My Aunt TARA sent us a snuggle nest for Sam.  But, until he arrives Ponkey can use it!

20 Week Belly Pic

The doorknob is almost hidden!

It's a........ BOY!

Clint and I found out yesterday at our 20 week appointment that we are having a baby boy!  We are so excited and I know Clint can't wait to start teaching him how to throw a baseball.  He weighs in at about 12 oz. and is in the 52nd percentile for babies his "age," so everything looks great!


The ultrasound tech asked us when we walked in if we wanted to know the gender, we said, "YES!!"  But, then she proceeded to start her research at the head and worked her way down the little baby's body parts.  The very last thing she did was show us that it was a boy.  Geez!  The suspense was killing us!


Here are some pictures of our sweet little boy, Sam Culp (middle name to come):

If you are wondering abut the name, it is a very special family name on the Culp side.  Clint's dad, Raymond, had a brother named Sammy.

My "motherly instinct" told me this was going to be a boy from the first day I knew I was pregnant.  When I went to work the day we got the big "positive" a little boy named Sam said, "Hi Mrs. Culp!  Did you have a good day today?"  This kid had been at Bledsoe for a several months and had never spoken to me before this day.  I just knew it had to be a sign!  There were also several dreams and other little weird signs that I had (and Clint too) about the baby being a boy.

However, a month ago though, I started doubting myself and thinking, that this might be a girl!  It had a high heart rate, so some people say that means girl and there were a couple other old wives tales that pointed towards a girl.  So, I spent the last four weeks thinking of all the girly things we could do, just so I would be prepared and I wouldn't have a shocked reaction in the ultrasound room.  Now, of course, I am really going to want baby #2 to be a girl!