Wylie Jewell Collier- 22 weeks

How far along: 22 weeks

Food comparison: Papaya (10.5 to 12.7 inches long, 12.7 to 20.8 ounces)

Weight gain: 9 pounds

Sleep: it's not bad but not normal either. That body pillow is a must for sure!

Best moment of the week: celebrating my birthday and Christmas with all of our families!

 Movement: I feel her a lot.  So reassuring.  Caleb has even felt her kick now!

Food cravings/aversions:  Baked potatoes and ice cream/yogurt

What I miss: my back not hurting at the end of the day & being able to comfortably flex forward and tie my shoes

Workouts: ha, sometimes just being on my feet all day at work and working at home is workout enough for a pregnant gal.  Between the holiday hustle, cleaning, decorating, un-decorating, work being so busy, laundry, etc I'm literally pooped at the end of the day! I will do better on Jan 2nd! :)

Stretch marks: none- I am slathering on cocoa butter lotion daily hoping to prevent them.

Maternity clothes: yes. I 'm not sure if I will ever remember to button and zip pants again when I can wear normal clothes again!

Belly button: in but it's close to not being in much longer.

Gender: my sweet Wylie girl

Symptoms: Feet and back ache daily after the work day and it's frustrating because I can't stretch into flexion because she is in my way; heartburn, stuffy nose, increased heart rate and shortness of breath with one flight of stairs, heartbeat in my left ear (ANNOYING)

Rings: on

Mood: just depends on the day.  Some days I'm really tired but need to get so much done but I can't be the energizer bunny like I used to, so I wind up getting frustrated.  Poor Caleb has been trying to help me as much as he can.  I don't know what I would do without my Johnny Homemaker!

Labor signs: no

Upcoming appts/events: New Year's, Caleb's birthday (Jan 1st-- football all day) and Jan 10th is my glucose test (yuck)

Her new monogram from her grandmothers & the crib from my mom! Blankets from my Aunt Kim and SIL Sarah

Just a small part of her Christmas presents she got!

21 week view

Love my wonderful parents

Cheesecake Factory for my birthday

My birthday presents from Caleb! Love my diaper bag & our matching infinity scarves

We loved you before we knew you, even when there was just hope for you, we loved you.

Wylie Jewell Collier- 20 weeks

Um when did I get huge?

How far along: 20 weeks

Food comparison: Mango (6.5 inches long, 13 ounces)

Weight gain: 6 pounds

Sleep: sleeping great with the body pillow until Caleb steals it when I get up to go to the bathroom around 3am

Best moment of the week: seeing her on the anatomy ultrasound and hearing confirmation that everything is going perfectly well! Heart beat was 161! God is so so good!!

Movement: I can feel her tapping a lot more.  I can't wait until Caleb can feel her kick!

Food cravings/aversions:  Hungry, but get full really fast. Loving cream sodas and red velvet Christmas tree cakes.  And i want seafood and lots of it.  Too bad I can't indulge like I want to!

What I miss: seafood apparently

Workouts: zumba, pilates, cleaning the house, putting baby furniture together

Stretch marks: none

Maternity clothes: yes.

Belly button: in but really hard

Gender: Confirmation again that she is a SHE for sure!

Symptoms: Face clearing up,  round ligament stretching/pain, tired, heartburn

Rings: on

Mood: ecstatic!

Labor signs: no

Upcoming appts/events: Christmas parties, my birthday next week (Cheesecake Factory, yum!), Christmas celebrations.

Everyone knows I am the furthest thing from a procrastinator so I am very pleased of how much I have gotten done at the halfway point even with the holidays! Furniture is almost ready, shopping for a glider this weekend, registries are done (BRU, Target and PBK), and closet organization has begun!

Below are some pictures of some of the furniture and building processes as well as some ultrasound pics and things I've been given or purchased so far!

Manning supervising

My furniture we refinished. It's 28+ years old

Dolly got some supervising time in too

Sucking her little thumb

messy closet

before and after paint job on my old baby furniture

Manning supervising with his eyes closed

4 weeks left, 20 weeks right

I LOVE POLAR BEARS! I could NOT resist this!

My sweet friend Megan Swanger sent me this adorable box she covered as well as Wylie's first headbands!

What's in a name?

What's in a name?
 
Well, everything. My name being April, I still get asked to this day if I was born in April. That would make sense, but I'm not. I was born six days prior to Christmas. My dad thinks April is the prettiest month of the year because the flowers and trees start blooming after a grey winter. Therefore, he wanted his daughter to be named after his favorite month of the year. I always enjoy telling that story. Caleb means faithful or whole hearted in Hebrew. I have also seen where it means dog lover which fits so well. "But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it. (Numbers 14:24 NIV)" He was also named after his grandpa and father (Robert Caleb) Manning is named after my favorite football family and Dolly is after Dolly Parton because she has big... Ears. Dolly Parton was also my Papaw Roberts' favorite singer.
 
So when considering our name for our baby girl, it was never taken lightly. Caleb is a teacher so he has tons of kids that share the same trendy name or sometimes associates names with an unruly child. A name for our child has been no easy feat and has been discussed since our honeymoon. I have gently vetoed names like Rango and John Wayne that were suggested while we dined on the beach in Mexico.  Others opinions and suggestions for names were politely tossed to the wayside. This name needed to mean something to us even if it only means "I can't believe they are calling her that" to the general public. This name won't be found in the top 10 names of 2013 or probably any year for that matter.  Not even the top 100 and we like it that way.
 
Some of you from back home knew my Nana and Papa Agee who owned the only motel in Pikeville. The only one still to this day. Some of you may remember fishing stories about my Papa or got a card every year on your birthday, anniversary or Christmas from my Nana. Some of you just may know I admired my Nana in so many ways and miss her terribly. We were extremely close. I stayed with her every summer watching the Price is Right, CMT and the Walton's. She picked me up from school everyday. She made me every type of sodium nitrate meat they make (spam, Vienna sausages, hot dogs...she didn't know any better) and scrambled eggs in the microwave. She took me to every Sunday school and church service. When I was old enough to drive and she no longer did, I took her instead. She spoiled me rotten as I was her only grandchild for 11 years. When my cousin Samantha came along, I was very hesitant to "share" my Nana. When she smiled she wrinkled up her nose at the same time if it was a very excited smile. Her eyes even sparkled.  I do the same thing sometimes and my aunt Kim caught it via camera on my wedding day. I wore her pearls that day as well. I wish she could have been there. I do not however have this many memories of my Papa as he passed away when I was 4. I have heard stories from my mom, uncle, dad and Nana and wish had known/remembered him better. I have seen pictures of him feeding me chocolate pudding with a fork when I was a baby, making a huge mess. I know he was a trusting man who used to pick up hitchhikers and let them drive so he could sleep on road trips. I know he was very patient as fishing was his favorite pastime. My Nana was also very patient and never uttered a complaint or unkind word about anyone. Yep that's my Nana and Papa, Wiley and Jewell Agee. Two fine folks. Two memorable folks. Two very missed folks. Two gone too soon folks. I want their memory and goodness to live on in this generation. I want my daughter to ask about them and let me tell her where her name came from. And be proud of it. Caleb's great grandpa's full name (that he was named after) was Robert Wiley Hale so this name covers both of mine and Caleb's heritages. 

This precious little girl will be called Wylie Jewell Collier.
 

Wylie means resolute protection or well watered meadow. 
"The Lord will guide you always, he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame.  You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail." Isaiah 58:11 (thanks Heidi for the verse)

There are not many versions of this name out there, with this spelling particularly and especially not many girls with this name. We think Wylie Jewell Collier would make a great name for a country music singer.
 
Jewell means obviously a precious gem or "delight."  "She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. "(Proverbs 3:15 ESV)
 
There may be times she doesn't like her name because it's different than her friends but once she realizes it's importance and value she will have no reason not to love it. Her name is full of consideration, heritage and meaningfulness to us. Wylie Jewell Collier is loved so much by so many already and I can't wait to meet her.