My sweet littles

My sweet littles

Cy and Lila

Lilypie Fifth Birthday tickers Lilypie Third Birthday tickers

Saturday, December 27, 2008

It's A Girl for the Randers!

We are so very pleased to announce that a sweet baby girl will be joining our family in May! No, not to Travis and I, but to TJ & Cassie. Trav & I hope to find out the sex of our little one in 2 short weeks- Jan 9th!!! Our pregnancy is progressing beautifully. I am 17 weeks prego, have gained 5 1/2 lbs, am starting to "show" a bit and feel the occasional flutterings of our nugget...which are becoming more & more frequent. Baby Epperson weighs about 4 oz and is approximately the size of my hand spread wide open!!! We were able to hear the baby's heart beat again last week...which is beating at a rate of 146-150 beats per minute. Rhonda (Dr. Owen's nurse & a friend of ours from church) gave us her "unofficial guess" as to the sex of the baby....she confirmed what the sonographer, Dr. Owen, and every old wives tale, pencil & ring test have all attested to- a BOY!!!! We'll soon see!
Hope you all had a wonderful christmas with your families...we certainly did as I turned the big 2-9 & enjoyed my very favorite time of year with those we love most- an amazing reminder of how incredibly blessed we are!

Monday, December 1, 2008

Epperson McNugget!!!

Thought I would share some pics of our precious baby taken at my sonogram last Wednesday. It was incredible to watch as our little one kicked, turned, sucked his/her thumb & moved about! Dr. Hales said that we have a very photogenic baby (& may I add... active baby thanks to the cherry, vanilla, cream Dr. Pepper that I downed right before the sonogram!) who seems to be developing as hoped. Praise God!!! He was also kind enough to give us his educated suspicion as to the sex of the baby at this point in development...all signs point to our little nugget being a sweet baby boy, but we'll have to wait until January 21st to confirm the sex. Travis and I will, of course, be elated either way, but a little boy would be oh, so fun!!! We'll keep you all posted~


Sweetest profile in the world...

Sucking his/her thumb...so cute!

Legs kicking mom...innocently enough- for now!


It's A Boy ????????

My 1st belly shot @ 13 weeks...

Balloon pacifier bouquet from Becky following our 1st sonogram~

And let us not forget our 3 other children of the canine variety...

Zoey

Hannah Grace

and Jaz

Happy Holidays!!!!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Music to Our Ears...

Travis & I were in awe as we listened to the most precious sound in the world on Monday- the sound of our little one's heartbeat!!! What an amazing experience...God is soooo very good! Even though we have been aware of our pregnancy for a couple months now, it has seemed more like a dream than reality until that moment. I know that neither Travis nor I can completely wrap our minds around the fact that we will become parents in a few short months. What an unbelievable blessing!! I'm trying so hard not to take one second of this pregnancy for granted...just trusting whole-heartedly & watching in amazment at the control & power of the Great Creator.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

The most wonderful time of the year!

Welcome to my very favorite time of the year...& this year, I'm pregnant to boot!!! So Fun!!! I love, Love, LOVE the holidays! This year, Travis & I are doing something a bit different for Thanksgiving. We (he rather) has planned a fabulous trip to South Texas for a bit of fishing and relaxing with some of our dear friends from Houston. We decided that this may be the last holiday that the grandparents will allow us to miss a family function once the baby comes & Travis is even further justifying his need for some coast fishing by saying that this just might be "his last opportunity for this kind of trip" before we become parents. In any case, come Wednesday we are off to sunny Matagorda.

Baby Epperson has now grown to the size of a lime...they grow up so fast! (He, he!) Next week we will get to hear the baby's heartbeat (God-willing) & see him or her in our 2nd sonogram. I have to admit that I have become extremely envious of my sweet sister-in-law. She is 4 weeks ahead of me and gets to find out the sex of their little one in a few short weeks. I, on the other hand, won't find out until January. Travis reminded me that it's probably good for me to be forced to work on my patience and take a backseat to someone else every once in awhile....I'm sure he's right!
I'm very excited to report that we have purchased the rest of the baby's nursery furniture. We ordered a beautiful dresser w/ a gally rail for a changing pad & chest of drawers from KidSpace last week. YEAH! I just love them! We have a white Stephanie Anne crib that we bought from a family in Dallas & a black denim glider that one of my very generous patients gave to us- so I chose a black dresser & chest of drawers...hoping for a shabby chic look. Both of the bedding sets that I've picked out (boy & girl) have some black in the fabric so I think everything will come together nicely.

Next post, I'll have some new pics of our nugget & hopefully my first belly shot @ 12 weeks! Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving~

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Our Baby's A Kumquat!!!

That's right...our sweet little nugget has grown to the size of a kumquat- measuring about 2 inches long & weighing in between 1/4 & 1/3 of an ounce!

Our next appt with Dr. Owen & sonogram is scheduled for Nov. 24th & 26th..as we complete the first trimester! We continue to pray deligently that God will bless the rapid development of our little one & that we will receive an excellent report at our next check-up. I thought in this post I would include some of my new-found food favs (& some not so new) courtesy of pregnancy.

  • Baked Ruffles w/ French Onion Dip...never been a big chip fan until now! In moderation, of course:)
  • OJ
  • Mexican food
  • Chicken Salad
  • Gramsy's Mac-N-Cheese
  • Honey Crisp Apples....throw in a bit of Peanut Butter & you've got the perfect snack!
  • Sonic Grilled Chicken Wrap...my lunch staple as of late.
  • Clearly, comfort foods & anything salty have hit the spot!
  • And the one MAJOR aversion......COFFEE (drip & even my once favorites caramel macchiatos & pumpkin spice lattes)-anyone who knows me, knows that this was truly a blessing! It would have been extremely tough for me to kick my coffee habit...thankfully, the aroma & mere mention of coffee turns my stomach!

    or PREGNANT!

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Pregnancy HodgePodge

So far...so good! At 9 1/2 weeks, my pregnancy is going great!!! I have felt wonderful, which I am certainly aware is an incredible blessing! The baby is growing properly and I'm told, is now the size of a grape! So fun!! At each stage of pregnancy, BabyCenter.com compares the size of the fetus to a piece of fruit..a bit comical, but a great visual. The only negative side effect I have experienced is a recently diagnosed bladder infection....bummer. I've been put on antibiotics and instructed to consume large quantities of water, yogurt and cranberry juice...delish! All in all...I have absolutely loved being pregnant- especially as we successfully approach the end of the first trimester! Grow, Baby Epperson...GROW!!!

Monday, October 27, 2008

WE'RE EXPECTING!!!!

Travis and I have some very exciting news to share...WE'RE EXPECTING!!!!! We decided to go ahead and share the news since most of our friends were made aware of our little secret ...thanks to a mass text message sent by an overly-enthusiastic new papa (Travis) following our first sonogram. We are both completely overjoyed and exceedingly thankful for this amazing blessing....Thank you, Lord. Our pregnancy is going great...we received an excellent report following our sonogram. The baby is healthy, has a strong heartbeat and appears to be growing properly! Travis and I are expecting our sweet nugget around the first part of June. My due date is June 6th. As an added bonus...my sister-in-law, Cassie is also pregnant- we are four short weeks apart!! God is Good!!! Our sincere thanks to so many of you who have included us in your thoughts and prayers. We are truly blessed & would appreciate continued prayers for the healthy development of our little miracle!

Baby Epperson @ 6 wks gestation w/ yolk sac

(which nourishes baby until placenta forms) attached.

Our sweet little bean's heartbeat...the two bright dots that the arrow is pointing to!!!

God has truly granted the desire of my heart!