I learned my lesson

Swallowing my pride, admitting defeat, and flat on my back!

Okay so my super woman days are over, or at least at bay for a while. I have come to terms with the fact that I might have a SMALL tendency to overdo, overexert, pull late nighters, work like a dog... you get it. Zach and I both seem to have this problem and maybe that is one of the things we love about each other. We laugh it off when we often hear the comment "when do y'all sleep?".

Well this weekend was no exception. This was one of our last totally free weekends for a few months and I'm still energy packed and not too huge to move, so we decided to tackle the nursery in full force. Friday night, Saturday night, and all Sunday we were machines. Dismantling furniture, repainting furniture, painting the walls, taping the walls, striping the walls, cleaning, fixing things, organizing things, and most importantly TRASHING things (my

favorite thing to do lately!) I am only going to give you a sneak peak because we want the before and afters to be a surprise...so give us a few weeks. We still have a few things to draw, sew, purchase, and receive in the mail.

A shirt I made Z 8 years ago in college for the "Thank God I'm not" swap, how funny how things change

Zach putting on the first of many coats

Measuring every 18.1" to create horizontal stripes on our 11 foot walls

Taping the stripes (Frog tape is AMAZING!)

Stripes are taped, now time for paint...what colors will they be???

So this leads me to my point, people....listen to your body. When it starts to cry out for rest, listen to it. I was so consumed with seeing the finish line by Sunday night that I was too stubborn to just rest. Oops, did I forget to mention I also did a 5K Saturday morning..yeah that might have contributed to my body crying for rest. Needless to say that is what I am doing today. My body decided this morning that it would not let me move without constant reminders (aka shooting pains in my back and legs) that it hates me. What really scared us last night was the combination of back pains and a really bad stomach ache. I was so worried about our little man and I was regretting pushing myself to my limit, or over it. I learned a very important lesson, it's not just about me anymore. There is a little life depending on me to protect him. So as I lay here home sick from work, laying on my back, legs elevated, heating pad kicking.....I am forced to "think about what you did missy". Zach said I am now grounded from all manual labor... he said from now on all I can do is direct. I just hope manual labor doesn't include artwork...I have a pretty nifty art piece planned for the nursery.

Oh but we finished painting the nursery and may I just say, it's AMAZING!!! I hope our little man loves it...and I hope he never asks to repaint it black when he "goes through I phase"...I will cry!

What a wonderful week!

Gender Party!

Here are some of our favorite families casting their votes from afar! Lauren and Hunter in NYC were hoping for a cheerleading buddy for Hunter and the Lupher family is all BOY. Elle wants a younger boyfriend!

Shannon @ 20 weeks

I'm 20 weeks and HALF WAY!!!

How many weeks/days remaining: 20 weeks
Expected Due Date: July 15, 2011
Next Dr. Appointment: March 16

Size of baby: At the 19 week sonogram he weighed 10oz and was the size of a small melon.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 9lbs

Maternity Clothes: Wearing maternity pants because they feel so good. Still normal tops and regular workout clothes.

Gender: IT’S A BOY…and we finally have a name :) and YES we are telling!!! (bedding w/ monogram has already been ordered)

Sickness: I feel great!

Workout: 3-4 days a week. Turbo Kick and walking downtown

Movement: I felt something at 18 ½ weeks, nothing since

Sleep: Sometimes restless, but overall good

Pregnancy Highlights: I have been a cleaning and organizing fool. I made Lisha proud the other day by testing every marker and paint pen in the studio. I love feeling so driven to be productive...this winter was making me feel like a lazy bum.

What I miss: nothing really. Pregnancy has been great!

Cravings/Aversions: Back to eating everything I always did. No cravings recently.

Symptoms: I get short of breath very easily.

Best Moment this week: Seeing our healthy baby on the sonogram was amazing. Everything looked perfect and measured correctly! Also the gender reveal party and finding out we are HAVING A SON!!! Zach was beyond thrilled! Just watch the last few minutes of the video to see him screaming! (see gender reveal video on right side of blog). So glad we got to share the night with so many family and friends, here and out of town. It was a wonderful day! Thanks for all the love everyone!

Bows Or Bowties?

Here is a slideshow Aunt B put together for us from our Gender Reveal party this past Friday. Such a fun and exciting night!

It's a....

OH BOY, OH BOY, OH BOY!

TOMORROW IS GENDER DAY!!

TOMORROW IS THE BIG DAY. 19 weeks and ready to find out what this baby is!
I know a lot of you can't be with us tomorrow night as we all watch the sonogram together for the big reveal but you can be there virtually if you don't have big plans on a Friday night! All you have to do is log onto www.justin.tv/zachjex at 5:15 CST. We are having the sonogram burned to a DVD and will not find out at the appointment, instead we will watch it that evening with our close family and friends.

Be patient, we will probably get started with the DVD around 5:20 but I am telling everyone to log on at 5:15 just to make sure you don't miss it! Feel free to send pictures of you and your family to me by email (shannonrjex@gmail.com) if you are wearing BLUE OR PINK, all of this will be going in the baby book. So just in case when he/she is 14 and grounded for God knows what and thinks that we hate him/her and that the world is so unfair and cruel --- I will simply slide the baby book under his/her bedroom door with a note that says....

"I loved you the minute I heard your heartbeat. I threw a party just to find out your gender. I loved you the second you were born; then I saw your face and fell in love some more. You were only a minute old, but I knew I would die for you and to this day I still would. When we chose to have a child, we made a conscious decision to allow our hearts to walk around outside of our bodies....
So quit your moaning, you are the one that messed up and got yourself grounded"

(Haha sorry I have to add humor to all the cheese these days or I will just burst out into tears)

Thanks for all the support! We are beyond thrilled... so the big questions..will you be wearing BLUE OR PINK TOMORROW??

Happy LOVE day!

I think it's perfect timing that Valentine's Day is this week. A week that is so special for us...we find out the gender of our little one and we get to share the day with family and friends. We are so excited to have my parents and Zach's parents here for the weekend!
So happy LOVE day family and friends. I hope you are spending it with someone(s) special! I have not found this chapter in any of my maternity books so I am still trying to diagnose why I love everything/everyone in site lately but we will just chalk it up to hormones!

I have two share to exciting things. First, we finally hung Zach's painting in the study. It was his Christmas gift from me but due to pregnancy sickness I was delayed in finishing it until this weekend. We spent most of our Sunday outside on the most gorgeous day constructing a frame for the canvas. Then after youth group we put the final touches on it and it's now FINALLY home on what used to be a huge empty wall. We just love it! Here are some pics of Zach during the frame construction process...
Our second bit of news came last night. We were watching the Grammy's and the Avett Brothers performed alongside Bob Dylan and Mumford & Sons. They all were awesome. We got in bed and Zach was downloading all of the music so we could listen to it. Then he got out the guitar and started to learn one of the songs. Right about then I felt the strangest thing, little movements in my tummy. Looks like Baby J loves music too!! We just laughed and Z kept playing and the baby kept moving on and off for about 20 minutes! It was the most amazing thing I have experienced. I am so excited to see the little bugger again, we have not seen it in 8 weeks!

18 Week Baby Update

I'm 18 weeks! (2nd Trimester)

How many weeks/days remaining: 22 weeks
Expected Due Date: July 15, 2011
Next Dr. Appointment: One week from today!!!

Size of baby: Baby Jex now measures about 6 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 5-7 ounce. The size of a sweet potato.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 8lbs overall! They say right now 10 is average so my doctor will be happy!!

Maternity Clothes: Last week was the last time I bothered with my normal jeans. By the end of the day they get so uncomfortable. I decided to make the leap into maternity slacks for work and thanks to my friend Kim, I know have an entire maternity wardrobe to grow into…I am talking an entire closet full! I have worn 2 pairs of slack every other day and I am so comfortable! I would be content if I never had a zipper ever again on my pants! I have not worn the pregnancy jeans yet because I am either at the gym or at home in sweats after work but when this awful weather leaves I am sure I will venture into public more.

Gender: Gender reveal party one week from today (Friday, Feb 18, 5pm)

Sickness: I feel AMAZING. I really don’t feel pregnant, it is fabulous!

Workout: This week and last have been awesome. 4-5 workouts per week. No more ab work or sumo burpees

Movement: Not sure... I feel something at night but I am not sure if it’s movement or gas

Sleep: 2 thumbs DOWN. I have become very conscience about not sleeping on my back (favorite position) and trying to sleep on my left side because it improves blood flow and nutrients to the placenta and this in turn reduces risk of swelling in your ankles, feet, and hands. Well easier said than done. I hate my left side so I toss and turn all night trying to return to my left side when I often times find myself on my back.

Pregnancy Highlights: Starting to notice a sweet little bump!

What I miss: not really anything. I really love this stage! However, I would die for some normal sized boobs right about now! I know, TMI!

Cravings/Aversions: Still love fruit and I am now back to liking everything I used to.

Symptoms: As you might have read in a prior post, I blacked out 2 Saturdays ago. According to some research at this point in pregnancy the cardiovascular system is going through a major change and your blood pressure might be lower than normal. So I guess my little spell had some merit. I also get restless legs at night especially if I am on the couch and Emma is laying on my legs. It is the weirdest feeling.

Best Moment this week: Sweet moments with Zach, he is so sweet to me and this baby. He has said and done things I will cherish forever. It’s funny how you see your spouse in a different light…and love them more then ever.

Since I am not showing in clothing yet, I decided to post a picture of Baby J's older sisters Emma and Sydney (cause who likes a blog post without pics...not this girl). This was them on my chair as I was writing this post last night. I just hope Baby J will take after their sleeping habits.... unless you are eating or walking, you are sleeping. Oh to be a dog in this house.

Bloogy McBloggster

Yeah you can call me Bloogy McBloggster. I think I have blogged more in the past 2 months then all 3 years combined. My mind is just always going these days in directions I never knew. I am going to open up the sappy can of pregnant worms here but I feel like my heart is bursting at the seams lately. Any mother or mother-to-be out there can relate I am sure but I have this unbelievable love I have never experienced....for this sweet baby, for Zach, for my wonderful family, our friends.... I feel like little Jessica and her Daily Affirmation. (Is that not the funniest thing you have ever seen)

I was reading our friend Shauna's Blog this morning and it brought tears to my eyes despite the fact that it was totally hilarious. She was explaining the mental transformation she went through after wanting a girl, finding out it's a boy, and now totally loving the idea of a boy.

There are only 10 days until we find out what we are having. Deep down I can't help but think it's a girl because I know the uniquely awesome, dependent, and trusting relationship a girl has with her daddy and the close bond and 'call-me-everyday-friendship' a girl has with her mommy...because I am a girl and I am so blessed to have those relationships. But now I am starting to realize it is the same for our husbands. They were little boys who loved and trusted their mommy and daddy. So it is natural for Zach to see a little man looking up to him with adoring eyes waiting to play catch with him in the yard. When we think of our little one, we remember our childhoods. So in 10 days I know our world will be changed forever as God's plans are revealed. Boy or girl... that is not what matters. That child will be so loved and will have a father to depend on and a mother to call everyday and that is what matters!

And if you are reading this...I love you too :) Shannon loves everything.

I will now close my sappy can of pregnant worms.

Baby Daddy

I think we all know who the author of this blog is...that would be me, Shannon! Just in case the sappy comments, slightly obsessive baby chatter, dorky anecdotes, or the sometimes TMI pregnancy soapboxes didn't give it away....it is in fact me writing.

So as much as I know you love hearing about baby bumps and updated weight gain I have something far more entertaining. I met this man about 9 years ago. His insatiable appetite to to fill his head with knowledge always intrigued me. He caught my eye (and heart) then and continues to be the source of so much excitement and love in my life. Since this blog has been focused on the baby so much lately I thought I would take a day to honor the baby's amazing father. I asked Zach to write me a short essay on the things he is up to on the computer after I roll over and fall asleep every night.....

My app company, INOV8, (50% partner) has been working on a new app for the last several months. We just went into development about two weeks ago, and the final product should be ready for market in about 4 weeks. I can't really divulge what it does exactly because we don't want to give any competitors a head start, but we will spill the beans soon. If you want to keep up with what we're doing, check us out on Twitter @INOV8Apps. My other company, Wyatt's Torch (100% owner), is currently working on redesigning and launching GamedayMap before football season this fall. Things fell apart with the company I was working with before, so I am taking things on myself. A major cellular carrier in this region (any guesses as to who?) has recently expressed interest in partnering for marketing purposes and I'm in discussions with web development firm in New York about taking on the task of the redesign. It will entail a website overhaul, brand new iPhone and Android Apps, and synergy between all 3. With a baby coming this Summer, things are going to be hectic, but I'm up for the challenge. This is in addition to my law practice, which is moving along nicely. I was hired on two large criminal defense cases in the last two months so I am busy there as well. Oh, and I'm starting work on an eBook that I hope to have available on e-readers like the Kindle, Nook, and iPhone, and also will be available in .PDF format. It will basically be a step by step account of how to take an iphone app from conception to production in 6 months with no programming experience. If you're wondering...... I'll sleep when I'm dead.

Obvious Bump!!

So this morning I was heading out the door for a brunch when I realized we have an OBVIOUS baby bump on our hands! From the front I look pretty normal and then BAMMM...turn to the side and we have Shay Party of 2! T- minus 13 days until we know what this sweet little baby will be. And for all of you out of towners---you can watch the gender reveal as it happens! Zach, the uber techie and super smart baby-daddy, figured out a way to do a live feed from our living room so as we are watching the sonogram you can join into the excitement as well. It will be like all of our out of town family and friends are right there with us...too bad we can't beam over a glass of champagne and a piece of blue or pink cake too.

All you have to do is log onto www.justin.tv/zachjex at 5:15 CST on Friday, February 18. We are having the sonogram burned to a DVD and will not find out at the appointment, instead we will watch it that evening with our close family and friends.

So what is your guess...BOWS or BOW TIES for Baby J???