"Are you thirsty?"

Hello all! So tomorrow I am 13 weeks along and it is amazing how much better I feel now that the first trimester is over. People kept telling me that I would start to feel like me again once I got through the first 12 weeks. Let me tell you...they were SO right! I am starting to get my energy back and just generally feeling a lot better.

Today Gabe and I went to the grocery store (which I have not done in a while) and about halfway through my shopping, I looked into our basket and started laughing at myself. I am not exaggerating when I tell you I had at least 10 different kinds of beverages. I think I grabbed about 6 kinds of juice alone! I thought to myself, "I wonder how long it will take for Gabe to make a comment about this." So, Gabe comes along after he was on another aisle picking out his cereal. (Because I never know what he wants in this department, he picks it out. I swear every time we go, he gets a different kind..very unpredictable, but back to what I was saying...) He walks up, drops the cereal in the cart, and just stares. He looks at me and says ever so nicely, "Ummm, honey are we getting any food? All we have is some fruit and then every kind of drink this place offers." I just laughed and explained to him how yummy they all looked. He just laughed and we continued on, but I think I may be banned from grocery shopping here soon!

This weekend we are taking a little mini vacation down to Dallas, TX for Labor Day weekend. We have no plans at all except to hang out at the pool. We decided we better do this while we can, because soon this will not be so easy.

I hope everyone is doing well. I get several comments about how much you like reading the blog but no one ever comments on here. Come on people! Little Jelly Bean is going to think no one wanted to read about him/her because no one ever commented. Okay maybe he/she won't care but I just thought maybe that would encourage you to LEAVE A COMMENT! :)

P.S. I know I said I would post our last ultra sound picture but really you cannot see anything at all because Jelly Bean was moving so much. Let's wait until next month so you can see more than just the head and a blur!

"Did you swallow an iPod?"

Hello everyone, Kara here. Thanks for all the prayers... my headaches are definitely getting better. My doctor said he thinks they should be gone by the end of the first trimester, which (unbelievably) is in 1 week! I can't believe I will be 12 weeks along next Wednesday.

We went in and got to see "Jelly Bean" on Wednesday (August 13th), and this baby is already a character. It would not even sit still for a picture. We were able to get another look at it and it was just dancing around. My doctor was laughing and asked me what kind of music I had on the iPod I swallowed! Heart rate this time was around 170 and Jelly Bean was having a great time in there. It was amazing to me that you can already see its legs and arms so perfectly. It was so nice to be able to see and hear him/her in there. I think all my headaches had made me start to think, "Is this normal? Is the baby okay?" But once I saw the picture on screen and heard the heartbeat, it was like he/she was saying, "Mom I am having a great time in here-don't worry about me!"

I will be going back in 4 more weeks and my doctor said he will start looking to determine the gender. It may be this time we find out, but if not, then definitely the next time. I can't believe that I could know what we are having in a little less than a month. Gabe and I would be truly happy with either a boy or girl as long as it's healthy. Still thinking though names but we are pretty excited about a few. I think once we know we will really start narrowing it down. I will keep you posted.

I will try and get a good picture of the sonogram or maybe I can scan it and get it uploaded. But like I said, it is not the best picture because of the dancing!

Who's talking NOW, bay-bay?!?!

I screamed.

The US men's swim team came from behind to beat France in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay. The anchor swimmer, Jason Lezak, was about half a body length behind Bernard (France's swiftest swimmer), and in the closing seconds of the race, he turned it up and finished first! Oh yeah... and he smashed a world record too by finishing his leg in 46 seconds flat. It was one of the most amazing moments in sports I have ever witnessed. I actually jumped out of bed and pumped my fist in the air. My favorite part? Michael Phelps' reaction. The French were talking smack for weeks, saying they were going to "smash the Americans." Yeah? YEAH? Well, who's talking now, bay-bay?! Check it out:


Well hello there. Gabe here... otherwise known as "Daddy." Sorry it's been a while since our last post... Kara hasn't been feeling well. In addition to the unusual fatigue, she's been stricken with migraines every night for the past week and a half. About 1 or 2am, she wakes up to take her migraine medication and put a cold rag over her eyes. I have never had a migraine, but Kara tells me that the entire right side of her face throbs in pain, that it feels like somebody punched her in the eye. The slightest noise or light makes the pain even worse. The headaches are absolutely crippling, and all she can take is Tylenol. Thankfully, her doctor has also called in a pain medicine that is safe for her and the baby. Please keep her in your prayers. We know God is able!

Guess what I did on Friday night while Kara was out of town visiting her grandmother? I played G.R.A.W. (Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter) on my Xbox360 until my mind was numb... it was great! Yeah, I know it's about 2 years old but it's still fun. I am currently putting down an insurrection in Mexico City, and I will re-enter the fray this weekend sometime. Don't worry... I'll be sure to train my son or daughter in the finer arts of tactical warfare.


I'm also going to see "The Dark Knight" again with my father-in-law tomorrow afternoon. His name is Dan and he says he will go by "Dan-pappy" instead of Grandpa after the baby is born. Why? That's Dan. And I'm Batman. I always see my movies twice. In the IMAX. By the way, if you're not funding our $440 million-plus drive to record-breaking box office standings, then you need to join in the fun. Won't you help? Won't you buy a ticket for your friend Batman so we can dethrone that sissy Titanic movie? Click here to act now. The Batman thanks you.

Speaking of Batman, I got a new Dark Knight toy last night for my birthday! Some friends bought me the Stealth Launch Dark Knight Batmobile Tumbler! And yes, I put it together right away and played with it. It scares Adrian (our weiner dog) to death when the Batpod launches from the Batmobile. Here it is:
On another note... You know what shocks me? Our country's political hypocrisy. People scream all the time how politicians' private lives don't matter, and then these SAME people get all bent out of shape when John Edwards betrays his cancer-stricken wife by sleeping with a member of his political campaign and then lying about it to the public. What's the big deal? It's just a marriage. (Pardon the sarcasm.) If you're going to be a reprobate and excuse reprobate lifestyles, then at least be consistent.

People always go on and on about how Christians aren't "tolerant." Everyone's intolerant... just on different terms. For example, someone who's very passionate about minimizing eco-footprints would not be very appreciative if I left the engine running in our SUV all day, for no reason other than to hear the sound of the motor and to burn gas. They would ask me, "Don't you care about our environment, about conserving natural resources and keeping the atmosphere clean?" To that I would say, "Well if you were tolerant you would leave me alone!"

The same is true about people's moral code, which seems to shift whenever it's convenient. Don't make light of family values, and then scream betrayal when somebody violates one. I heard on NBC News last night that John Edwards thinks his political career is over. Pretty odd for a nation that claims it doesn't care about personal morality.

Well that does it for now. In the words of the eloquent Ron Burgundy: Stay classy, San Diego. And leave a comment.