Cooperation.

  Tuesday was my last doctor's appointment before I move to Mississippi (which occurs in T-minus 7 days)! Somehow, with maybe a little begging and  an "I want to make sure everything looks normal before I have to find a new OB" line, I managed to weasel myself into getting another ultrasound!

  Justin and I were hoping to find out Little's gender at this appointment, but have the nurse put it in an envelope for us to open this weekend together. Unfortunately, Little was not being very cooperative. At first glance the cord was between the legs, then a hand, and finally ended up cross-legged face down, butt sticking straight up. The nurse tried, and tried, and even had me stand up and wiggle, but nothing motivated this kid to reveal secrets.

  Some say, due to Little's modesty, they think it is a girl. We shall see. We've come to the conclusion, if this uncooperative streak keeps up and we are unable to find out the gender at the next ultrasound, we're just going to wait until Little's in our arms to know.

  On to other news. I stepped on the scale and actually lost a pound since my last appointment. The doctor didn't seem worried, she just recommended I eat more calories if I was going to keep up my daily 45 minute walk.  I'll happily take that advice!

  The ultrasound showed baby was developmentally a week behind my estimated due date, which matched up perfectly with the first ultrasound. When I went in for my first appointment, the gestational age of Little was 7 weeks 1 day, but according to my estimated due date I was supposed to be 8 weeks 1 day along. The nurse said the growth between the ultrasounds was right on target and everything looked as normal as she could tell for a baby of 15 weeks. With all said and done, my estimated due date is now inching closer to Thanksgiving and is now coming in at November 15th.

   According to my new due date, I'll be 19 weeks at my next appointment in McComb, MS. Maybe since Justin will be with me Little will cooperate and clue us in on what accent color should be chosen for the nursery. :)

Heart.

Love grows in so many ways. Over the course of a year it has many opportunities to blossom and expand more than anyone can imagine. As Justin and I celebrate our one year anniversary and reflect on a years worth of marriage, fun, friendship, change, and celebrations, we come to the realization that love does not remain stagnant, love does not remain the same. It changes with time. It changes with every hardship, with every kiss, and every conversation.

As we venture through our daily routine of trying to act like grown-ups, paying bills, and working our grown-up jobs, our love seems to transform before our eyes, although it is not spectacularly noticeable until we look back.

When Justin proposed I though my heart already held as much love as it ever possibly could. Then our wedding day proved that I was capable of so much more.

After our relaxing anniversary weekend in Birmingham, we discovered that even living in separate states doesn't have to hinder the love that two people share for each other. With all my heart, I love my husband. Let's see how big my heart can expand in a lifetime of marriage.



First Letter - 15 weeks

Dear Little,

   Just a little while ago your daddy and I found out our world would soon be changing, even more than we originally expected. Our world and hearts will never be the same. We have loved and shared, laughed and cried, but when it comes to you, we are all joy.

   We are already preparing for the day that you arrive. We know the way we are now, our sweet family of two, will soon be transformed into a whole new kind of happiness, a family of three.

   You are currently a mystery to us. Will you wear pink? Will you like trees? Will your eyes be blue? Your hair red? We may not know much, but one thing we do know, one thing we are absolutely sure of, we already love you.

   You'll be here in no time.
     

Best. Line. Ever.

Middle school teachers have the best job. Hands down. There really is no comparison when the room is quiet, the kids are focused, and all of a sudden your most inquisitive and sarcastic student's hand goes up with a question. Throughout the course of the year I've heard many of comments and lines from my students, and even though I know to expect random statements, you never really know what is going through these kiddos' minds.

Friday, this was exactly the situation I had before me. A quiet classroom, hard-working students, when a hand went up.

Student: "Mrs. Tyson, can I ask you a question?"
Me: "Is it appropriate or relevant to instruction?"
Student: "Well, uh, I guess it might be."
Me: (A little intrigued, because their questions are rarely unamusing.) "Okay, what's the question?"
Student: "Well, I was just wondering. Um. Can you still stand the smell of your husband? My mom said that when she was pregnant she couldn't stand the smell of my dad."
Me: (In a very shocked, not knowing what the appropriate response is to that question when responding to a 13 year old, I answered...) "Well, not sure where that came from when you were supposed to be finding the main idea, but yes, yes I can still stand the smell of my husband."

I do believe we need to review the important concept of what relevant and appropriate classroom questions sound like. Have I mentioned that teaching middle school is very entertaining?

Reactions.

One of the hardest part of pregnancy so far has been keeping the good news just between us. Do you know how hard it is not to tell other people, especially another pregnant person that you're pregnant? One of the best parts of pregnancy so far ties in nicely with the hardest: sharing the news!

We decided early on that we wanted to wait until the end of the first trimester, tell family in person, and make something special to give in honor of our new sweet blessing before we revealed our secret. Shortly after our positive pregnancy test, Justin put his fabulous woodworking skills to use and began making child-sized rocking chairs - one for my parents, one for his. 

 Justin arrived in North Augusta late Thursday night of Easter weekend. I had scheduled an ultrasound with an independent ultrasound clinic in Augusta on Friday for Justin to see Little wiggle and jump for himself and so we could get an updated picture to include in our surprise.  After Justin's heart melted and he was grinning from ear to ear, we walked out of the ultrasound with some great photos and the urge to tell someone immediately. He looked at me on the drive to his dad's and said, "Can we tell him tonight?!" Of course I smiled and said, "absolutely!" Mr. Tony would be the first family member to know.

We arrived at his parents' house right at dinner time. As excited as we were, amazingly we were able to keep our secret through supper.  Afterwards, Justin snuck the special rocking chair in (while Mr. Tony was still cleaning the kitchen) and placed it in the living room. Then, we waited. When Mr. Tony walked in the room, he noticed it right away. It was a replica of a child's rocking chair that Justin's granddad has. As Mr. Tony inspected it for a good 5 minutes with no suspicions of why we would choose to give it to him then, we were anxiously waiting for him to look on the bottom.   Finally he turned the chair over and found the ultrasound. "What's this on the bottom of the chair," Mr. Tony asked. "Well, that's your new grand baby, dad!" Still really confused, he looked at it harder. Honestly not knowing the answer, he asked, "Who is C. Tyson?" There was a pause. Justin laughed, "Well, that's Casie!" Mr. Tony's eye widened and that grandpa grin ran across his face! "Are you serious? Well, congratulations!" Hugs for everyone! :)

Brii and Travis were honored to know that same weekend because they came to visit Mr. Tony - and we were in a telling mood! :) We told them on an Easter egg. Unlike my other sister-in-law who knew I was pregnant almost before I did, Brii had no clue and her expression and reaction will stay with me a long time! 

Finally, it's time for my parents to get in on the action. My parents found out the day before Mother's day. When my dad got in from work we all sat down at the table to open presents. I had a few birthday presents left to open, and Justin and I brought Mom a Mother's Day present and Dad a Father's Day present since we won't be with him then. Before the opening could begin, Justin ran out to the car to get the other part of their gift. The rocking chair. He came in and placed it on the table. Mom immediately looked at me with a sneaky grin, "Is there going to be something to put in this chair?" I replied, "I don't know, daddy needs to open his present." Still trying to wrap his head around it all, daddy said, "Ohhhhh, I think I'm going to let Sharon open her gift first..." Mom quickly searched through the tissue paper and found a cute little onesie that read, "Grandma's favorite helper!" Daddy wiped his eyes and said in a very happy yet shocked tone, "Oh Lord, this was more than what I was expecting." Mom's tears followed shortly afterwards and continued off and on throughout the weekend.

There were other classic reactions:
Grandma Stone took about a year to understand who was having her next great-grandchild...and when she finally got it she began counting on her fingers! (We couldn't tell if it was to see if we had been married long enough to already be 3 months pregnant or just curious to see how long we will be married when Little arrives. Either way, it was hilarious! :) )

And another favorite:
Hillary: "WHOA! Well, Casie, you do always have major news when you call people, first moving to Mississippi, now you're having a BABY? CASIE'S HAVING A BABY?????".

It has been a fun ride so far! Please keep us in your prayers as we enter this time of drastic change! :)

Questions.

Please forgive me if my blogging has been a bit uninspired lately. All that has been on my mind recently is miniature sized, so coming up with topics other than such, and trying my best not to disclose any suspicious details, has been a bit difficult.

Anyway:  Who would have thought that the boy who said "WHY!?!...I mean, not why, I mean, WHAT!?!, " in response to his sister's pregnancy would be having a little one of his own just a little while later. Well, it's true. You've seen the ultrasound pictures. We're pregnant!

Since the news went viral on Mother's day there have been a lot of questions. So this blog is dedicated to answering some of the most popular questions we've been asked so far:

•  Yes, this was sort of planned. Without going into too much detail- when we decided we were going to stop trying not to have a little...four weeks later we had a positive pregnancy test.
• Yes, we are very excited! 
• No, we did not just find out. We found out in February, just before the 4 week mark. We were waiting until the end of the first trimester to tell. 
• We are 14 weeks along, we go up a week every Tuesday. Estimated due date: November 8th. 
• No, I have not had much morning sickness, just constant fatigue and nausea, which is more than enough to reassure me there is a baby growing in my ever bloated belly.
• Yes, we want to find out Little's gender. Though we could find out before I leave for Mississippi, we are waiting until I move so Justin can be at the doctor's appointment with me. :)

Justin has been a precious daddy-to-be, and very understanding of my weeping spells and small fits of rage.  Although some say it is because we are three states away and he doesn't have to deal with my mood swings first hand everyday. I disagree. In the age of cell phones and instant connectivity, I have enough ways to communicate my frustrations, anxieties, and overwhelming emotions as soon as they happen for him not to miss any of the excitement. 

Thank you for sharing in our joy! We feel extrordinarily blessed as we start yet another adventure!

Dear Friends.

Dear Friends,

    It’s been a pretty great year so far. We have experienced a lot more than we ever expected, but even in the early days of 2011 our hearts have grown, expanded, and filled to capacity beyond our wildest dreams. It grew on emotional nights full of tears and hugs, it grew on the backyard swing, and on lazy Saturday mornings.

    As we prepare to leave our cozy green house under the sturdy oak tree in Carolina to make a new home in a picture perfect bungalow in Mississippi, we feel a sense of peace, happiness, and hope. We will make new traditions, make new friends, and find new adventures in this leap of faith.

   As we approach a whole new life full of change, we have learned to hold true to the verse, “With the faith the size of a mustard seed, you can move mountains.” We’re happy to share a little secret we’ve been carrying close to our hearts for the past little while. Our sweet family of two will soon become a family of three.

    Our eyes have been opened to a world of possibility. Our hearts have been lifted and we are full of joy. Over the past year we have learned a few lessons, but our greatest discovery so far is: without love, we are nothing. When we act out of love, everything else seems to fall into place.

Love,

J + C
 

Little at 7 weeks 1 day



Little at 10 weeks 3 days



My Dear Sweet Husband.

I just wanted to share with the world how precious my husband is. (Yes, I guess we can still be considered semi-newlyweds.)

Yesterday, as I braced myself for the hour which is known as 8th period, my lovely aide waltzed in the room with this beautiful arrangement grinning from ear to ear.  My day was made!  Since lovie couldn't come over for my birthday weekend, he sent me flowers... at school!

I didn't write this blog post just to brag ;), I promise. Justin was curious what his money magically transformed into, so I figured I'd just turn it into a blog post!