Changing spaces, places, and faces!!

So, it has been OVER a MONTH since I have last updated! Oops! :) So here is what has been going on in our lives:

~Just in case you haven't heard, Richard and I are having a BOY!!! Yep that's right! The first boy on my side of the family! We could not be more excited! His name? James Walker Willis ("Walker")! It is a WONDERFUL family name on Richard's side. James Walker is actually Richard's grandfather's name, and let me tell you, I could imagine a more special person for our son to be named after. Pop is one amazing man.

~I started to feel Walker move at week 18 and at week 19.5 he decided he really likes moving and has not stopped since! Walker really likes it when I teach RPM. He kicks and rolls the whole time! I am pretty sure Les Mills music is going to soothe him when he arrives :) Yesterday, I decided to introduce him to swimming. I forced myself to get into a swimsuit and attempted to swim (which I haven't done in a LONG time). When I was done Walker started moving and seriously did not stop AT ALL yesterday! Maybe another swimmer in the family??

~Right now I am 21 weeks and 1 day and I feel GREAT! :) I really can't complain at all! I have been feeling so good that I even agreed to eat Mexican food the other week! That is HUGE! I use to LOVE LOVE LOVE Mexican food, but during my first trimester the mere THOUGHT of it made me sick so I hadn't eaten it since December! I am still teaching BodyPump and RPM and plan on trying to continue until July.

Baby Bump at 20 weeks 3 days:

(There IS a bump I PROMISE! :) )

Well, May is going to be an extremly BUSY month for both Richard and myself. Here is what we have going on:

* When we moved into our house we knew that we were going to eventually have to have some work done on our backyard. Well, we are starting a big renivation of our yard NEXT WEEK! We can't wait! We have been planning on this for a LONG time and just can't wait for a yard that is a little bigger and alot more functional.

* I have ordered all of the furniture for the nursery and it should be coming in within the next couple of weeks, so, as of TONIGHT Richard is starting to paint the nursery! I can't wait to see how everything is going to look! I will post pictures of both projects as soon as they get started! :)

* Okay, just in case you were interested, here is our schedule for May:

May 1-2: We are off to Atlanta to a food show where we are going to see BOBBY FLAY and MARIO BATALLI!!! SO FUN!

May 3rd: We head to Mongtomery to get ready to leave for our trips:

May 4th-7th: I head to the beach for work (and some fun..my friend Stephanie is going with me!) and Richard leaves EARLY in the morning for a trip to Nashville

May 7th-9th: Richard and I come back to Montgomery to celebrate my neice's (Margaret Ann) FIRST birthday and Mother's day

May14-15: Richard and I head back to Atlanta to meet up with Becky, Damon, LB, and Carter to go see the Braves play and to see Mary Poppins at the Fox...How fun will that be???

May 18-24: BEACH TRIP with my family!!! WOOHOO!! A week long vacation with my family and husband...what could be better?? Richard hasn't had a week off work since our honeymoon...I think it will be a well deserved vacation for him! :)

May28-31: Henderson, TN to visit with Richard's family! It is always so nice to be able to see his family. We don't get to see them often so when we can make the trip it is always wonderful!

Hopefully, by the end of the month I will have lots of fun pictures to post!!! :)

Our Weekend

Well, Richard and I had a WONDERFUL but very busy weekend!! Here is a quick recap:

First, here is a baby bump update. This is little bit at 16 weeks 6 days. Yep, almost 17 weeks!! Can you believe it?? Richard and I find out in LESS THAN 48 hours if we are going to be having a GIRL OR BOY!! Don't forget to cast your vote!! :)

I SEE A BUMP!!!

On Saturday night, our share group threw a Baby Shower for Lydia! It was so much fun and Lydia looks AMAZING! I can't wait to meet little Cooper!

The food table...after we started eating (please don't judge me on my picture taking skills! :) )
Flowers:







Lydia and her precious niece:


The girls:

Lydia, Amy H., Jami and Aleesa


Audra, Kim, Brooke:

Abbie and Jamie

Aleesa playing our fun game...Guess what is in the baby food. I decided at that moment I will be making my OWN baby food......one word: EWWWWW


Audra...not a fan!

Lydia opening gifts:

FUN SHOWER!!!

On Sunday, after church, Gold's Gym Max launched our NEW BodyPump and RPM releases! So much fun!!

Richard, me, Hollis, Christy...the 2:00 PUMP instructors
Most of the instructors....pre-bodypump

Christy, showing us how it is done before warm up (notice....my hands on my hips, as always, and I believe I have rubbed off on my husband!)
SQUATS
Me teaching chest ...with pregnancy option..of course :)

the husband :)

CUTE! Scarlett and Kelly

The class...while Richard was teaching the back track....yep...we had 50 in the class!!

PRE-RPM...Kelly and Chris

Scott

Lacey....excuse me...Mrs. Haney! :)

Shellie:
Richard:

The first group of instructors:

Then I was on stage and could not take pictures :(. We had fun!

Lately...

So, here is what has been going on lately with the Willis':


1. Baby Willis at 15 weeks 3 days...Not much of a bump, but trust me this is the most belly I have EVER had!! :)
I am feeling GOOD. My sensitivity to smells and food aversions have decreased dramatically. Some foods definitely sound better to me than others but no real cravings....yet :). I am still teaching BodyPump at almost my normal weights and RPM. I am teaching 4-6 classes a week...depending on the week. They are slowly getting MUCH harder to teach, but it does make me feel very good after I am done working out. Some people have asked me how long I plan on teaching...and my response...as long as my body will physically allow me. Ideally, I would teach until the day before lil' bit arrives...but I know that may not be the case and that is fine as well.

2. When I passed my RD exam at the beginning of February, Richard and my parents went in together and got me some AMAZING curtains!!!! They finally came in and were hung today... I can not tell you how EXCITED I was and still am for the gift, they look better than I could ever imagine!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!!

BEFORE:

AFTER!!!!!:

Aren't they GORGEOUS?!?!

3. Since Richard and I were apart last week and will be again pretty much all next week, we headed to Atlanta on Saturday for some MUCH needed us time. The trip was pretty FABULOUS. After we checked in on Saturday, we just relaxed for about 3 hours...and...let me tell you, we haven't just sat together, much less for 3 hours, in I don't know how long! It was SO nice. That night we went to a DELICIOUS French restaurant...one word: YUMMOO!!!!

Sunday, we enjoyed brunch at the Cheesecake factory and then browsed around at baby bedding at the Lenox Square mall. While we were at the mall I forced my husband to buy a few new shirts for spring. Richard's philosophy on clothing is that if it doesn't have a hole in it it is good to wear...it doesn't matter if he has had it for 10+ years or that it is tattered and threads are coming out. One thing I can say is that he gets his money's worth out of his clothes.

That night we went to see MICHEAL BUBLE in concert at the Gwinett Arena...a completely SOLD OUT show! One word: AMAZING!!! Richard and I had gone to see Micheal a couple of years ago at the Fox and he was awesome then...but now he is incredible!!! I took a video with my phone...but I have NO idea how to get the video from my phone to computer...but if I figure it out I will post it! :)

BITTERSWEET

Well, today has been extremely bittersweet.

Starting with the bitter news….

This morning, at a BodyPump class at 5:45 am, I had to say goodbye to my husband! :(. He is jetting off to Sacramento, CA today (actually is in en route as we speak) and will not be back until LATE on Thursday night. He is heading to the west coast for a conference for work and is presenting on Wednesday. I really HATE being apart from my husband. You know, I was thinking today that I am really thankful that God has a hand in who we end up with. God knows what each person can handle and I am so thankful for that. As I was telling Richard goodbye today I realized how extremely HARD it would be to have a spouse in the service where were gone a lot and most of the time cannot even tell where they are going. I admire those couples for their strength.

I really don’t like being apart from Richard, but, I must say that I am extremely proud of him. He works so hard and it really does pay off. He is asked to present his research, others research, and to represent NCAT at so many conferences. He is so dedicated, trustworthy, hardworking , smart and honest that people want to be associated with him. Richard represents God, his family and his work so well in ALL that he does. He is pretty amazing.

Ok…now some sweet news….

This morning I went back to the doctor for a follow up appointment. It was wonderful because I was able to hear my sweet baby’s heartbeat again. Today, it was 148 and let me tell you, that baby was moving and grooving! The nurse was surprised how active Baby was! Every time she found the heartbeat it was gone in half a second and Baby had moved to the other side! I was also able to set up our next appointment to find out if it is a BOY or GIRL!! March 30th can’t come soon enough!! I can’t wait to see my angel for the first time!

Luckily, about a week ago the nausea went away and my energy is bouncing back!! WOOHOO! The only real problem I have been having lately is that sometimes I forget that I am pregnant. So, for several days I go 100 miles an hour and then inevitably CRASH. Good thing I have a sweet (and very patient) husband who kindly reminds me that I need to slow down and take care of not only myself but also our child. Now, I just need to learn to not be so stubborn and listen to him BEFORE I crash! :)

Since Richard was leaving today and I DETEST being home alone, mom and I planned a trip to Guntersville, AL to visit my sister, brother-in-law and 2 precious nieces. We arrived late this afternoon and ate a YUMMY dinner with them and then Mom and I headed back to the hotel for some rest. We will hit the ground running tomorrow!! Hopefully I will have some pictures from the week posted soon!

The Latest!

Some exciting things have been taking place in the Willis household over the past couple of weeks.

Let's start with the most exciting; on Tuesday afternoon Richard and I went for our second doctors appointment and we heard the heartbeat!! It was absolutely amazing. I rationally know that I am pregnant, but so many times I can't believe there is a human growing in me, so it was an amazing thing to hear.

When the docotor came in she told us not to worry if we didn't hear the heart beat right away. She said with as early along as I am it usually takes several minutes to find. Well, the moment they put the sonogram to my stomach we heard it! The doctor was shocked that they found it so quickly and that it was so strong! They were almost able to detect a rate! Dr. Hensarling estimated that it was about 160....so you know what the old wives tale says: If its over 140 it's a girl. We will see. We go back on March 8th and then just a couple of weeks after that we find out!

Last time I wrote I was feeling pretty miserable, but about a week and a half ago I started feeling great! Nausea would come every now and then but nothing too bad. I thought that I was over the hump; unfortunately, about 3 days ago the nausea and fatigue came back...and came back with a vengeance. Luckily only 2 more weeks until I am OUT of the first trimester! Can you believe it??




Week 10: This week lil' bit willis is the size of lime (2 inches) and weighs a quarter of an ounce!

"This is the beginning of the fetal period when your baby's organs continue to grow and mature. The majority of his/her vital organs, kidneys, liver, brain, and lungs are functioning, but will continue to mature throughout the remainder of your pregnancy. Your baby's head makes up half the length of the body, and there is a bulge in the forehead allowing for brain development. Fingernails, toenails, and hair will begin to become visible this week. The fingers are no longer webbed. The baby is actively swallowing amniotic fluid and kicking his/her legs." American Pregnancy. com

In other news, I finally stopped procrastinating (which I had been doing since AUGUST) and decided to take my RD exam....and I PASSED!!! YAY! That's right I am offically: Amy Willis RD, LD :) So, just in case you were already tired of me telling you what you should be eating (hint hint mom and dad :) ) ...you better watch out! :)