25 Weeks and More

This Thursday marked 25 weeks for me, which means we have only 15 weeks to wait(give or take a little depending on when she decides to come). At 25 weeks, I am definitely feeling her move quite a bit. Sometimes it is just light taps and at other times it is large rolls and tumbles. At the last doctor appointment, I was told that she is measuring right on time and both my and her heartbeat, bloodpressure,.... are right on target. I can't believe I will meet my daughter in 15 weeks!

15 weeks left in the pregnancy means that Will has 14 weeks to wait before graduation day. So far, this semester he has been kept busy working on his thesis project. We are waiting to hear from one more medical school before we can move ahead with any plans toward the future. With the thesis project, waiting on medical school decisions, our normal jobs, and watching my belly grow, we have been kept busy.

Beautiful

I worked with Belwood for three years in college. One family in particular, the Sotos, grabbed my heart. I picked them up for church many Sundays. I used to love driving with them to church. They loved my Nicole C. Mullen cd, and I loved to hear the chorus of children behind me singing "When I call on Jesus, all things are possible,......" Going to Lorena's quince has a lot of those memories fresh in my mind. So, I thought I would share one of my favorite pictures ever of beautiful Daisy Soto. Enjoy!

Quinceanera

Will and I went to our first quinceanera this weekend! (Like we have sweet sixteens, the spanish culture makes a big deal about a girl's fifteenth birthday.) It was so neat to get to be a part of it. It was also wonderful to see so many of the Belwood children that I have not seen in 2 years. They have grown up so much! So, for any of you who read my blog and used to help with Belwood, look at these beautiful faces! For those of you don't know my Belwood children, you can still enjoy these beautiful children!

The birthday girl Lorena and her older brother Reynaldo during one of the dances.

Reina and Daisy, two of the girls who have held my hear for about 8 years now. They are in 5th and 3rd grade now.

Anna Kate also enjoyed her first quince. For three hours she rolled, tumbled, kicked and poked to the music. I had never felt her move for such a long duration of time.

Snow Days!

What a beautiful sight to wake up to this morning! I can't wait to bundle up and go for a long walk in the snow, or pour some hot chocolate and enjoy watching the snow from the window. It's 8:30 and still snowing!

Did you know that snow days are teacher work days? It is nice to have been teaching long enough to have comp time so I don't have to go in today. Unfortunately Will is not so lucky. Though, I heard the pride in his voice when he said that his coworkers expect him at work knowing what he drives. (insert a few manly grunts)

23 weeks

The best part of 23 weeks is the way my daughter is making her presence known. She is kicking for longer intervals and more often through the day. I am also starting to see her movements as well as feel them. This morning Will sat with his hand on my stomach while we watched the news. She started moving. We looked down and could see Will's hand move. Then she moved again and you could see my stomach jump where Will's hand was not covering. It is such a great feeling and wonderful to watch Will's smile as he has started feeling her more.

Bragging Rights

I love being married! I tell anyone who will listen that I have an amazing husband!! My birthday was this week, so Will planned to take me out on Friday night. When Will plans a date, it is so wonderful. He called and made reservations at a nice restaurant downtown. He picked up firewood, so that he could make a fire for us after dinner. My only task was to pick any movie I wanted for us to watch while we enjoyed the heat of the fire. Knowing his birthday might get hectic this year, I asked him if I could give him his birthday present on my birthday. [His birthday is May 10, 2 days after his graduation, same day as Mother's Day, and 4 days before the baby is due.] So we also exchanged birthday presents. I gave him a nice book that he has wanted for a few years and he surprised me with a small camera that I have been wanting. It is more than my dreams come true to be married to a man who spoils me and takes care of me the way my man does.

Naming the Baby

The post that everyone has been waiting for... Since finding out that Will and I are expecting a girl, the favorite question we have answered is, "are you going to share her name?" Yes, we are. But I also thought it would be fun to hear the suggestions we had and the ideas we had before we settled on her name. So, here is the list:

becca's favorite:
- "Lillian" Will vetoed because Lille is the name of his family's dog of 16 years now.

Students' suggesions:
- "Bubbles" because that is a strong name for a baby.
- "Sarah Rose" which was actually a reasonable suggestion just funny coming from a 17 year old boy
- combine Rebecca and William and come up with a new name, so maybe "Rebiam" or "Wilca"
- "Rebecca Junior"

Siblings' Suggestions:
- Amanda jokingly suggested "Petra Ismene"
- Walter suggested "Cornelius Esperanza", which he likes because it means "soldier of hope."
Apparently my brother and sister think I am going to deliver a Czech soldier instead of a baby girl.

Final Decision........drum roll please.......
"Anna Kate Simmons"
We plan to call her "Anna Kate." Where did the name come from? I really like the name Kate, but I couldn't think of a middle name that flowed well. So, I then thought of Emma Kate, but I have met many Emma's under the age of 10. From there, I thought of Anna Kate. This was the first name that Will said, "I like that name." It grew on us the longer we tossed it around and we have thought of nothing we like better. For a few weeks now she has just been Anna Kate. Maybe other moms have felt this before too, but I think it was totally decided for me the first time I heard Will refer to Anna Kate, rather than the baby.

Back to School

I was hoping after the break my students would give me some more good material for the blog. They really do keep me laughing. Not as much as I had hoped; they are still pretty mellow with the after-break-don't-make-me-come-back-tired feeling. I can appreciate that. Here are a few of their random comments:

"Miz Simmons, what's poppin'?" [what's up?]
"Yeah, you still kinda fat, but you G." [being "G" is a good thing]
As I walk into the room today, "Look out, big girl comin'!" [no explanation required]

Oddly, I do think I will miss being in this environment. :)

Happy New Year

I hope everyone had a great holiday season. Tomorrow it is back to work for both Will and myself. Here comes the real world. I have enjoyed my time off work. I have loved that Will has been more relaxed and out of class longer this semester. Love the time with family!! But, I think what characterizes my break most is that I am getting huge! Okay, I know, a little melodramatic. I have been around other pregnant women before and know that I am not big yet. But my belly feels like it is way out there now. And, I have definitely hit the place where others -without knowing me- know I am pregnant. I walked into Ann Taylor Loft at Triangle Town and the salesclerk said immediately, "I don't know if you live near Crabtree Mall in Raleigh, but they have a maternity section." We'll see what my students say on Monday; they are my most honest, or at least blunt, opinion about how big I am getting.