16 weeks! Baby Q1-13 is the size of an avocado.

Here are a few things my 7th and 8th graders said after I told them about the baby:  

Girl: "Wait....are you even married?"
Boy: "M

y mom told me you would have a baby before we graduate."
Another boy: " So when will the baby be in there?"
Me:" It's already in there!"
Boy looks me up and down puzzled, "It doesn't look like it..."
Girl: "When you get bigger can we touch your belly?"
Boy: "You should name it Grant!" This was followed by every other child telling me I should name the baby after them.... lol.

How far along? 16 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 5 lbs
Maternity clothes? Using the hair tie trick on my jeans and shorts.  I'm wearing a lot of dresses as my dress pants and skirts area a little tight at the waist! 
Stretch marks? No
Can you see your toes?  yes
Sleep: It's starting to become easier to sleep on my left side than on my back like I'm used to (which is the recommended position.

Best moment this week: Telling the XC team about the baby, and then telling my students.  They were so excited! Also, lately Matt has been coming up to me, putting his hand on my stomach and saying, "BEH-BEH"
Miss Anything? The thing I miss the most is my old running pace.  I haven't stopped running, but I run sooooo much slower now just to make sure my HR doesn't get too high.  Also, I was missing the sangria this weekend when out with friends. 
Movement: I did feel something move on my left side yesterday while sitting in the van, but it was just one big move and it may have just been my bagel :)
Still running?  Yes, the XC girls ask, "why are you running so slow, Coach Lewis?" 
Food cravings: Cheeseburgers..... I had 3 this week! Oddly enough, before this summer I don't think I had had 3 cheeseburgers in the last year!  Also- goetta mac and cheese. 
Anything making you queasy or sick: didn't have any problems with anything this week!  I was able to eat my first salad since June!  
Have you started to show yet:  There is definitely a little ballon inflating down there! 
Gender prediction:  The cheeseburger craving is telling me it's a boy. 
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Still pretty up and down with my emotions.  I tear up at the silliest little things.  In addition, I think pregnancy is affecting my IQ.  I feel like I'm making a lot of dumb mistakes! 
Weekly Wisdom: Where to get the best baby coupons, and some tips on cloth diapering.  I plan to do it the summer after the baby is born (since I will have more time then.) 

Looking forward to: Our appointment this Friday!  I want to hear the heartbeat! 

Here I am with Baby Miles!  I have 2 babies in this picture!!!  :)  He is a wonderful baby!  I'm so glad I was able to meet him today, and see his gorgeous momma again.  

Just imagine, this is what I will look like in March- smiling and holding a baby :) 

14 Weeks- Baby is the size of a lemon!

How far along? 14 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 2 lbs
Maternity clothes? not really just a lot of sweat pants, and having trouble buttoning my jeans so I use a hair tie to tie the button in :) 
Stretch marks? No
Can you see your toes? yes
Sleep: Slept great on my side last night! 
Best moment this week: Hearing from all of our friends and family and sharing the good news still :) 
Have you told family and friends: Yes! The whole world knows!!! 
Miss Anything? White wine when going out with friends. And running- fast! 
Movement: Not yet
Still running?  Yes, but sooooo slow!  It's getting embarrassing at XC practice! 
Food cravings: Strawberries, blueberries, avocados, and Krispy Kreme Glazed Cruellers (weird!)
Anything making you queasy or sick: green veggies still, provolone, and apples
Have you started to show yet: Yep!  It's a very tiny little baby bump! 
Gender prediction: Boy - at least that's what Uncle Grant says! 
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Emotional lately.  Losing our puppy was very hard! 
Weekly Wisdom: Find out what the sex is. It will be so much easier to buy everything! 
Looking forward to: Our next appt on the 31st! 

A Sad Shock

Two nights ago, Tuesday August 7th, at around 10 pm, we lost our beautiful, fun, active, healthy, 3 year-old Roxy dog.  On Tuesday night, a neighbor brought a puppy over to play.  Roxy was in the middle of playing when she collapsed. She seized (we think) for about 15 seconds, let out the most painful moan I have ever heard in my life, and took her last breath.  It was the most horrific thing I have ever experienced.  Thanks to our kind and loving neighbors, I was consoled next door, while the men took care of Roxy. I am still in awe at the strength of my husband, who loved Roxy as much as I did (she loved him more than me, that was always obvious). I don't know how he was able to put the pain aside and deal with issues, but he did. God truly gave me a courageous man who took our dog to the clinic by himself that night so I could concentrate on keeping calm.  He drove her to a late night emergency clinic where the vet tech says she suffered from a Cordae Tendineae in her heart.  Have you ever heard those heart-wrenching stories about young athletes- football players, runners- suddenly collapsing in mid-stride?  This is what happened to our poor athletic puppy. The vet said the pain was very quick (the duration of the moan we heard), so it was brief for her.  The quick and sudden death, although easier for the victim, is so much harder on the survivors. 

Before leaving with her, Matt let me say goodbye. If you ever lose a pet, and you have this opportunity, I suggest you take it. I knew it was going to be hard, and it was.  I am lucky, though, that even though it took too many Matt and Sarah tears, I was able to pet her hair back one more time, kiss her little nose, and tell her how much I loved her. Gah- I can't do this!  Pregnant Sarah = already emotional Sarah x 10,000. 

We all know dogs' lives are short. In my experience with 4 doggy deaths so far, dogs have always died of old age. It's not supposed to be when they are only 3, in the middle of playing, still able to jump up on the bed and snuggle, still able to run 6 miles with you when it's cool out, still chasing you around the house. This is not how it's supposed to be.  We needed more time with her. Two years was not enough! She loved us so much (we know it!) I have never loved an animal as deeply as her. I sit here and long for even just one more year with her, but I know I'm being selfish.  God has a plan, and this was part of it.  Maybe Roxy had to leave us because God knows the baby will need our full attention?  Or maybe (I like this one better), God sent us baby because He had to take Roxy from us.  Knowing I have to care for baby already has helped keep me distracted, and thinking of our little one on the way has eased the heartache just a bit. I thank God for the outpouring of love and support we have received from our neighbors and friends. They all understand that there are not many words they can give, but the prayers and thoughts have meant so much. 




I cannot type any more.  This has already taken such an emotional toll on me. I sit here and my feet are cold, because she is not lying next to them in the computer room. I just dropped a blueberry on the floor and now I have to pick it up instead of letting her eat it. The TV has been on in the background for hours so that the silence won't get to me. When I leave the house next, I'll be 5 minutes ahead of schedule because I wont be letter her out. 
It really is the little things, isn't it?  

"She wasn't our whole life, but she made our life whole."

Goodbye, Roxy Lewis 

June 10, 2009- August 7, 2012 

*Adoption date- July 8th, 2010

13 Weeks!

We just returned from Germany where we reached our 12 week point, and today we are 13 weeks!
The baby is the size of a PEACH!














The day after we returned from our trip, we sent out a mass email to extended family that looked like this:

Greetings Gase family!

Matt and I just returned from Germany yesterday. We visited Allison and Uwe and were later joined by Mom and Dad. We stayed with Uwe's lovely family, and Matt and I took a short trip to Munich just the two of us. I learned a little bit of German, and Matt experienced some fun driving on the Autobahn!  We had a wonderful time, but of course it was too short! Maybe next summer we will visit again, but I'm not sure how a baby will do on a 9 hour flight! 
That's right, we're due in February! I will be 13 weeks pregnant on Sunday. God is good! We are very excited, and we plan on making our announcement public within the next week. 

Hope everyone is doing well! I do not have everyone's emails so if there is a cousin I am missing on the list please feel free to inform them, but Matt and I do not wanted anything posted on the internet until we make our public announcement.

Tschüss!

Love,
Sarah and Matt

On Friday, we had our 12 week appointment (at 12 weeks 5 days), and we did get to have an unscheduled ultrasound to make sure everything was okay.  The baby is doing GREAT!  He/She was VERY active!  We saw a lot of finger movement, stretching, swimming around and even the heart pumping!

How far along? 13 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 1 pound from 7/6/12! 
Maternity clothes? nope- just a lot of sweat pants when it's not too hot! 
Stretch marks? No
Can you see your toes? yep!
Sleep: I haven't been needing as much these last 2 weeks, but there are a few days when I can't seem to go on without a nap. 
Best moment this week: The surprise ultrasound and getting to see all that baby movement.  
Have you told family and friends: Yes! Finally everyone important to us knows.  Next step, tell Facebook this week! 
Miss Anything? Sushi, BUT doctor said go ahead and eat the veggie rolls.  I do miss my JB roll though. Also missing 
Movement: Not yet
Still running?  Yes.  My pace was down to about 9 minute miles, but since returning from Germany it's about a 10 minute mile.  But, I can still run for an hour! 
Food cravings: Potato Pancakes! (when in Germany...) Spagetti and meatballs, Cheerios with banana, Cheese rice!  Yesterday, I woke up at 5 am STARVING and had to have pretzel bread dipped in spicy mustard (more German food)
Anything making you queasy or sick: Sadly, green vegetables! Threw up on a spinach salad twice, asparagus makes me gag as does celery and occasionally apples. 
Have you started to show yet: In most of my clothing you can't see it, but in tighter shirts and sundresses you can see a bumpidy-bump!  But it really just looks like I ate 2 Chipotle burritos or something. 
Gender prediction: Boy 
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Emotional lately.  The Olympics make me cry.   Everything makes me cry! 
Weekly Wisdom: Don't listen to people tell you how your pregnancy is supposed to go just because they had a baby once upon a time. Even if 95% of pregnant women do something, doesn't mean that thats going to happen in your pregnancy.  Listen to your body and listen to your body, not the women at work. 
Looking forward to: When I have a bump that looks like BABY and not like a burrito.