Baby T wishes you all a very Merry Christmas!

‘Twas days before Christmas and all through the house
Everyone was stirring, even a mouse.
The stockings were hung in the living room with care
In hopes that Santa would soon be there.
I have been battling a cold in the head,
While wishing there were meds I could take instead.
Brad is busy working at the mine,
But the thoughts of Baby T always make him shine.
Nimbus and Pooka are both doing well
Hyper with excitement from what we can tell.
Baby T’s also ready for this holiday season
And is looking forward to meeting all of you for good reason.
Our last doctor’s visit was without any worry
Baby T is growing great, but in no hurry.
With flying colors I passed my glucose test
This is great news due to the sweets in our nest!
We have finally sent cards out and decorated our Christmas tree
And it is the first real one for me.
The ornaments are on and the lights are hung
And Christmas music is all that is sung.
I look forward to seeing many of you soon
I just hope my flight is not delayed passed noon.
So that is our update for this week
I am sure there will be more info you will seek.
Last, but not least, Merry Christmas to you
And your families too!

Merry Christmas from Brad, Ashley, and Baby T!

Me with my very first real tree as we were making sure it was standing straight.
Nimbus after a long day's work of sleeping and helping to decorate the house.
Pooka is also enjoying the festive tree. She has even been helping clean up the needles!

Thanksgiving pics

As promised, there is a picture taken from Thanksgiving. Better late than never, right?

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

I am still waiting for some pictures to be sent my way from Thanksgiving, but I do have some to share. Whether Baby T's taste buds were developed or not, she had a wonderful meal. Brad and I shared the holiday with my parents, who drove down from Chicago, and Brad's family. It was wonderful to see my family and I think they were surprised to see me in person (even though they have had warning of the ever growing belly!). At least I only have to wait another month to see them again! I am sure that will be an adventure all its own because I will be flying (and it will be a solo trip because Brad has to work).
Now 27 weeks, Baby T continues to grow, kick, and entertain us. She is pushing against ribs more, which isn't the most comfortable feeling, but I can only believe she doesn't mean to. She is even giving us a show now during church. Last week, while singing, I noticed that my book was moving and I wasn't moving it! She is pushing against it hard enough to make it move away from my belly! Then it was just entertaining to see if Brad and I could watch her kicks and not just feel them. We have another appointment next week (the last of our monthly visits before going to every 2 weeks!) where we hope to hear that everything is right on target. We will keep you posted!

Baby T is 6 months! (in the making)

Baby T at 24 weeks! We are growing every day it seems!

This Friday, 11/16/07, is the 6 month mark for Baby T! We can't believe that it has been that long already, and that there are only about 3 1/2 months till she is here! Baby T and I have a check up tomorrow; where we hope all is well. I am still feeling great, with the exception on some back pain. The baby's room is coming along, my belly is getting bigger, and the anticipation is getting greater. Brad has been doing a bunch of reading now too, and knows exactly what I should expect while expecting. He is very excited and loves to listen to the bed time story I read to Baby T every night, and talks out his daydreams about what she will look like, what she will be like, and what he will teach her.
Other fun happenings....she loves music and dancing! Brad and I went to the So You Think You Can Dance Tour show last weekend with her. I can't say whether she liked it or not, but she was kicking and dancing throughout the entire show! I think the only time she stopped was when the music stopped during intermission! It was funny to feel her being so active for so long. Usually her movements are sporadic and brief, but this was craziness! Now that there is no booming bass or loud music playing, she is back to her normal self and moving and kicking a few times an hour. It really is too bad that there aren't any Irish Dancing schools around here because I think she would be the youngest prebeginner to do it! Ballet will have to do.

Brad's quote most recently: "She is so lucky! She is developing taste buds just in time for Thanksgiving!"

I can feel her!

This evening was very exciting for Brad...he felt Baby T for the very first time! She has been kicking me for a couple weeks now, but tonight she decided to kick hard enough for Brad to feel it. At least now he believes me that during last night's football game, she really was cheering her Uncle Joey on by stomping the whole game! She is even playing with us now! If she kicks, we can tap on that stop and get her to kick again! It is all very weird and awesome at the same time!

Baby T practicing equalizing for when she learns to scuba dive with the family.
Blowing you a kiss!

Once upon a time...

Baby T makes his/her debut at 8 weeks! Hard to tell, but Baby T is unside down. Our little Gummie Bear!

Once upon a time on the 30th of June, 2007, it was learned that a new member would soon be added to the Tempel family. I felt every emotion possible; surprise, excitement, fear...etc. all in one moment. Brad, on the other hand, danced around the house with our dog, Pooka, filled with excitement. This news was both a surprise and a blessing to both of us. Over the passing weeks, the idea of having a new baby in our family started to settle into a reality and became the topic of all our thoughts, dreams, and discussions. Since my parents were visiting the weekend of July 6th, we felt it was a good time to tell everyone our news. We were having a house warming party that evening, and waited until the very end to tell. I had written a message on our chalkboard in the dining room and invited all our parents inside. It took 3 of 4 grandparents about a minute to figure out the message that was written in code like in the game "Mad Gab." My mom was the last to figure it out, taking about 5 minutes to give a reaction and a handful more before it set in. It was a very memorable night to say the least!

On July 26th, we had our very first doctor's appointment and ultrasound. We learned that we were 8 weeks along (making March 6th our due date) and that our baby was indeed real. Baby T, as we nick named him/her, was no bigger than a pea and looked like a gummy bear (a body with the beginning nubs of arms and legs).

From that appointment until the next a month later, the pregnancy was pretty uneventful. No morning sickness, but the occasional nausea in the evenings which lead to a loss of appetite. Our next doctor's appointment was quick and simple. Me gaining a grand total of 2 pounds by the end of August! My doctor was just thrilled that I was in the positive weight gain instead of the negatives. September was also very quiet with the only notable thing being the size of my belly. Brad would not admit that it looked any different until the very end of the month, and then said I had gained "only a little."

14 weeks and only showing a bit!
17 weeks and showing a little bit more!

October has been much more eventful! On October 10th I felt Baby T for the very first time, by accident I believe. I was driving to work on a country road, I will admit that I was going a little faster than I should have been, when I went over a hill. I felt my stomach return, then something else, and then a rush of "bubbles." I think I woke someone from their slumber and he/she was throwing a tantrum. From then on I felt something every now and then, but very inconsistently. It was like a small thump now and then. Our next ultrasound was on October 18th, and this was the one were we could find out the gender of our Baby T. Brad was able to make this appointment; which I was very glad he could share in it with me. The appointment was very exciting! We learned that Baby T was, without a doubt, a little girl (yeah!), 14 ounces and 7 inches, has 2 arms, 2 legs, likes to wave her tiny fingers, does gymnastics, yoga, dances, and yawns a lot! It was all too cool to she her in action!
Here is Miss T at 20 weeks resting comfortably.
Baby T showing off her beautiful feet
Baby T was very shy during the ultrasound at first, but we were able to get a glimse at her face

There are a couple more pictures from the ultrasound, but they are not downloading for some reason. So, they will make an appearance at a later time.

Now in the 21st week of pregnancy, just over halfway, I am feeling Baby T (or Miss T as I have started calling her) regularly. She is most active at about 7 am as I am driving to work in the morning, and at about 9:30 pm as I am winding down at night. My belly is unmistakable, I actually had a kindergartener today ask if I had a "baby in my tummy." It has been very exciting and I can't wait to continue sharing it all with you.

Me at 21 weeks--look at Baby T grow!


The new crib was put together by my Master Assembler (aka Brad) on Saturday! Doesn't it look beautiful? This is what we have done with the room so far :-)

Brad's quote of the week..."I'm hugging 2 people at once!"