As tradition would dictate, we spent Thanksgiving day at the Cowboys game…the last Cowboys game to be played at Texas Stadium! Jason, Stephanie, Mike, & Oscar joined us.

We got up early Friday morning and made mashed potatoes and green beans. We drove to Tyler to spend the day with Dannise, Jeff, Linda, George, Alan, Victoria, MamaLou & DaddyDann. We pulled my mom and George into the bedroom to share the news with them. We gave them your sonogram picture and a countdown clock. They were both very excited and appreciated the fact that we told them first. We then shared the news with everyone else. They were all surprised…and very happy for us. MamaLou and DaddyDann were especially excited.

The doctor appointment went well. They drew about 7 vials of blood to do testing on and gave me another sonogram. This one was with the doppler on the outside of my belly. There you were again…lookin’ all cozy and comfy in there. You weren’t quite as active this time, but I got the feeling you were not a fan of all the poking and prodding that was going on. 🙂

You passed the only visual test they did today with flying colors! They measured the distance between the placenta and the back of your neck to determine the health of your heart. Thank goodness, all was well. Speaking of heart, I got to hear your heartbeat again…I think you were at 164 beats per minute this time and last time was like 176. Of course, my heart was racing a little faster last time, too!

The doctor gave us an option to an ultrasound/blood work that would screen for things like down syndrome. Since it was covered by insurance we took ’em up on the offer. Well, the appointment is today at 10:30am. I am really excited for the sonogram part – I can’t wait to see you again and make sure you’re doing all right in there. Other than a few stomach cramps and some tiredness, at this point, it’s really hard to “tell” I am pregnant. And since I tend to be a worry wart – you’ll get first hand experience of that in a few months – I like all the reassurance I can get. So, today is an exciting day!

You father and I threw around some different name options this weekend. So far we both like Carter and Zach(ary) if you’re a boy…& Nicole and Hailey if you’re a girl. That decision will be easier to narrow down once we know for sure what you are – hopefully sometime in early January.

We met Terry and Sue for lunch at Love & War in Texas today. We put your sonogram picture in a cute little frame that had a stork on it and says “Tiny Miracle”. We gave it to him and told him it was an early Xmas present, but that it was not returnable so we hoped he liked it. They opened it together and were both a little confused at first. Terry was very somber, most likely in shock, and Sue let out a big “Awwwww!” once she realized what was going on.

Like most people, they were pretty much in disbelief that we were actually pregnant. Sue immediately spread the news to your Uncles, Chris & Jeff, via text. They too, were totally surprised. Getting to tell people is soooo much fun!

Your grandma Linda and grandpa George are the next family members to know (when we see them next weekend for Thanksgiving)…they too are going to be absolutely shocked! I can’t wait!

Your father and I decided a week or so ago to call you “Tiny” for now. I am 5’8″ tall with a size 12-13 shoe, your father is 6’4″ tall with a size 14-15 shoe. Because you are truly so tiny right now and because if you take after the two of us you don’t stand a chance of being a tiny person later…we figured you’d enjoy being able to be called that at some point in your life….even if it’s during the part you don’t really remember. 🙂

I can tell that my stomach is growing. The waist line I did have is slowly dwindling away. It’s so hard to believe that we are already 3 months pregnant! By the time we get to Iowa for Christmas we will be 4 months along! So hard to believe.

Your father’s best friend Jeremy Morgan and his wife Stacey (they live in Iowa too) just found out that they are pregnant with their 2nd child. They had a little boy, Grant, about 3 years ago and have been giving us a hard time about having kids ever since. When he told Brad they were expecting, Brad went into this big long story about how we better get busy making a baby since they now lapped us – twice! Little do they know that we are probably going to have you before they have their 2nd one – she is due in July. We are both so excited to tell them….they are going to die!

At this point I am wondering if the cat will be out of the bag when we get off the plane, though. I’m definitely not getting any smaller! It’s all so fun and we absoultely can’t wait for the day we finally get to meet you. We know without a doubt that you will be a beautiful person – both inside and out. We are anxious and excited to see all that you will become in your life…what joyous times we have in store for us!

The past 2 days have been uneventful….which is good. I have been really tired but feel really good all things considered. I am still amazed at how easy the first 12 weeks have been – I hope that keeps up! I read on one of the baby sites that you can now feel your uterus by pushing on your lower belly…sure enough! It’s kind of hard feeling…I thought it would be more soft. It’s just so weird to think that you are in there growing and moving.

We are excited to find out if you are a boy or a girl. Though some parents have their heart set one way or the other, your father and I both see eye to eye on this one. We can think of so many reasons why it would be awesome to have a girl and so many reasons why it would be great to have a boy….we really don’t care either way. We have thrown around a few names, both boy and girl names, but don’t have our hearts set on anything in particular. This will be a much easier decision once we know what you are – sometime in early January.

I meet with my team each Thursday morning – today they had the cutest card waiting for me when I got to the room. It had an adorable die cut lion and elephant on the front and they all signed well wishes on the inside. It’s my first official anything baby!

We are trying to make plans with Sue & Terry (your grandpa) for this weekend so we can share the news with him. But it’s kind of hard to pin him down or get him to commit to much – you’ll get to see that first hand as you get older. 🙂

The plan is to tell George & Linda (your grandma) when we get the family together for Thanksgiving and then we’ll tell Karen & Bruce (grandma & grandpa) once we get to Iowa for Xmas. Everyone is going to be so ecstatic! We can’t wait!

Got to work Tuesday knowing this was the big day….the day I officially let everyone at work know that the Nash’s are having a baby! I started off by telling Violet Moore because I knew she would be so super excited, I’ve seen her go through a pregnancy, and she’s been super ready for us to get pregnant.

Next was my boss, Jim Henegar, who also has been very anxious for us to have a baby. I figured he’d be excited, then realize I’d be gone for 3 months and get worried. Boy was I wrong! After a huge hug he continued to be just as excited, if not more excited, than when I first said the words. He told me my whole life would change for the better, my focus in life would change, and that we would make great parents! So weird to think that I am going to be a parent!

I spent the rest of the day breaking the news to the rest of my team: Sheila Tieken, Katherin Strachan, Deidra Whitmire, Danielle Cortes, Moses Escalante, & Don Jones. More excitement and congratulations! How fun is this!? I also sent an email to my friends located at other Uline branches.

The cat is officially out of the bag. It’s not a secret anymore and my co-workers are freely talking and joking about it.

We wanted to tell all of our Uline friends so we got everyone together at Razoo’s under the guise of needing a drink after a stressful work week – the Uihlein visit. We were able to make the announcement to Jason Simpkins, Stephanie Dixon, Pablo Flores Vasquez, Chris Yard, Amanda Vasquez, J & Rachel Lomax, Kelly Lair, Jessica & Jose, and Ashley Kebshull. Everyone was extremely surprised and so very happy for us. We definitely surprised all of them!

I told my work friends, Mary Shelby Costello and April Inmon that I was pregnant while we were dined at Chili’s for lunch! They were both very surprised…..and excited. Told Lauren Deary from work that afternoon. She too was super excited. It’s all becoming more real!

View Hailey’s First Video

Brad met me at the doctor office at 1pm. We got into the room and she started the sonogram. Thinking you were only about 8 weeks old, we both expected to see a little tadpole or something small, but it was only a couple of seconds before you were there on the screen…with arms, and legs, and a heartbeat! It was absolutely amazing and without a doubt one of the most memorable moments in our lives! You were so squirmy and wouldn’t sit still…even the nurse commented on how active you were. I joked about that being a sign of how much trouble you were going to give us! Besides hearing the heartbeat and making sure you were healthy, the other main goal of the sonogram was to figure out how old you were. She measured you from head to rump on the screen and then announced that you were about 11 weeks old! WHAT?! 11 weeks?! How could that be? We were later told 11 weeks and 4 days to be exact. That means our first trimester was almost over, that we were pretty much out of the danger zone for a miscarriage, and that we could start safely telling our friends and family! It was all very weird, crazy, and super exciting!

Here’s one of the very first picture/video ever taken of you!

Hailey's First Sonogram

Click here to see the video