Six months!

I'm now officially six months pregnant and there's really no mistaking it now!  Here are some recent pictures of Riess and me:

                                   

We're still feeling good... maybe a little more tired lately than I have been in the past few weeks.  She's still a kicker!  

A Day at the Zoo

My days off work this week were definitely more fun than usual!  Courtney, Ashley, Hillary and Parker came up to Louisville to visit for two days.  We had a fun day at the zoo, followed by dinner, ice cream and a good old-fashioned slumber party.  Here are some pictures:

                                                          

Us preggo gals had to take a break after walking around the zoo!

  

Hillary and Parker were our tour guides... they knew everything about every animal we saw.  

I think they should look into summer jobs at the zoo.

We had a delish dinner, and Hillary got to bring her new friend, MOJO, she took home with her from the zoo.

My favorite part was Scotty the baby elephant!  Made me think of my own little one!  Of course, let's hope she's not THAT big at one year old!

Eggplant Baby!

This month, thenestbaby.com says my baby is the size of an EGGPLANT! Hmmm...

Interesting.

Here's what it says about what Riess is up to this month:Let your spouse put an ear to your belly -- he might be able to pick up baby's heartbeat (no stethoscope required). Inside the womb, the formation of tiny capillaries is giving baby a healthy pink glow. Baby's also soaking up your antibodies, getting the immune system ready for life outside the womb. Eyes are forming, and baby will soon perfect the blink -- perfect for batting those freshly grown lashes.

Bigger Baby picture

I've heard from several people who wanted to see a bigger picture of Riess from our ultrasound. This is the best picture we have from our last ultrasound. This is actually a picture I took OF the picture they printed out at the office. So it isn't the best quality, but you can see her little face. The good news is that I just found out at my last appointment that we get another ultrasound when I'm at 36 weeks! (I was told before I could only have the one)

So, by then, we'll have a GREAT sneak peak inside there to see what she'll look like on the outside.

She continues to be a wiggle worm! She kept me up a lot of Friday night with her hopping around. I think she was happy to hear her dad's voice again, since he got home that night.

From the feel of it, I think she could join "A Chorus Line" by next season!

Pregnancy Brain

So here's a good one for you...
You know how they say your brain gets mushy when you're pregnant? Well, if you haven't heard of it, they call it "pregnancy brain." The mix of hormones and growing an EXTRA brain really takes away from what you ever had to begin with.
So, I've definitely noticed this in my own situation, but today's showing really takes the cake.
Today at work I'm wearing one of the (very cute, by the way) maternity dresses that my sweet mom bought for me while she was in town. (Thanks mom!!)
Of course I'm late to my morning meeting... rushing in, take a seat at the conference table... pitch my stories, contribute to the meeting, etc.
I'm getting up to leave as the meeting is dismissed. A fellow reporter says, "Kelsey, you've got something attached to your dress..." pointing to the bottom of the frock.
I look down -- a piece of paper. What could it be?? Wait, it's sewn on... wait, that's the TAG! Wait, is my DRESS ON INSIDE-OUT??!
Yes. Yes it is.
I burst out laughing and realize my entire dress is on inside out. Seams out, tags out (not to mention I do still have on the price tag hanging off the back as well).
I rush to the bathroom, do the 'ole switch-a-roo and try to hold my head up as a professional woman for the rest of the day.
Secretly, I know I'm only one change of clothes away from being certifiably crazy.
And you know what? I even looked in the mirror before I left today!
Oh, baby....

Baby shopping

Well, my mom came up during my days off work this week.  She's helping us work on the house and get things "fixed up" a bit for baby.  Yesterday, we drove to Cincinnati and went to the new IKEA store there.  WOW!  It is absolutely amazing and HUGE!  We spent the entire day there almost.  We got a few cute things for baby's room.  Not a ton of stuff, but we did get some great ideas!  Today, we're off to the doctor's office where mom will here Riess' heart beat for the first time.  Then more shopping!  We will keep you posted with some pictures of our progress soon...   Stay tuned!

Baby Papaya!

I love these things... they are on http://www.thenestbaby.com/ It tells you each month or so how big the baby is (compared to a fruit!) and what she's up to in there. This month, she's a papaya!Weeks 21-24 (Month 5): Papaya
Watch what you say -- baby is now able to hear outside noise from down in the womb. Studies show that baby finds gentle music and your own voice most soothing. Nipples are starting to sprout, and that little face is fully formed. And, baby's starting to settle into sleep cycles, snoozing about 12 to 14 hours a day. It shouldn't be hard to figure out when -- just pay attention to those kicks as they start and stop.

Week 22

So I'm fairly impressed with myself for actually loading up some pictures to this blog.  I really didn't think I could do it.  But it is looking pretty good, if I do say so myself.

So this week baby is kicking a lot!  It's fun (and a little creepy) to feel her moving around in there.  Chris can feel her kicking too when he feels my belly.  And if she's kicking really hard, you can see my stomach actually move.

I think my belly button is close to popping out ... I'm not sure when that actually happens.

This weekend, for the 4th of July, we went to a BBQ and got to hang out with lots of friends... one couple brought their 4 month old baby!  How adorable was Caroline?!  She was so teeny tiny, and holding her got us both excited about holding our own little one soon!  That's about the size our little Riess will be for this Thanksgiving.  We have a whole new excitement for the holidays this year!

WELCOME!

This is my first time blogging... I got this great idea from a work colleague to post all things to do with the new baby coming into the world this November. So this will be a blog for "Baby Starks." We will post our pictures and going-ons in her life here so our friends and family can keep up with our latest addition.
I'm hoping to get in the habit of taking many pictures when she arrives! I'll post a few when I can of her in my belly.
But here's the wrap up... I'm five months pregnant (week 21) with our first baby! We found out on June 17 (our 2 year anniversary!) that it will be a baby girl.
We are still debating names, but our favorite as of now is Jane "Riess" Starks. She will go by Riess.
We both love the name. It is Chris' middle name, his maternal grandmother's maiden name. The spelling is different, but it sounds just like Reese. We both googled "Riess Starks" and found there is no one else with that name out there! She's already an original!
Forgive me as I'm learning this blogging thing. There may be technical difficulties! Stay tuned!