24 week baby bump

It's hard to believe that we are already 24 weeks along.  Before we know it we will be meeting our new little guy.  We can't wait!!! Here is my baby bump at 24 weeks.  It is safe to say that I am officially 'showing'! I feel like my belly is growing daily and I absolutely LOVE it!!! :)

23 week appointment

Last week, we had our 23 week appointment and sonogram.  I can't believe that we are already more than half way to meeting our sweet little boy!! The appointment went great and he is growing (and kicking) away! We loved seeing him again! Here are a few highlights from our appointment:

* He weighed 1 pound, 7 ounces

* Had a healthy heartbeat of 153 BPM

* He is healthy and growing just the way he should be.  Yay!! 

* The sonographer told us he was all legs- I'm thinking he is a future Longhorn kicker, soccer or basketball player :)

* During the sonogram he was extremely active- one of his legs was touching his nose- he was practicing his kicking skills already!!

This was the first week that I really felt him kicking away and I LOVED it!! He is an active little thing.  Justin was even able to feel him kick too! I have been pain free for two weeks now.  This week I was really starting to feel more like myself and had more energy compared to last week.  Great news!!! We appreciate everyone's love, support, and prayers throughout the past month.  It is greatly appreciated!!!

Update

Wow! So much has happened since the last time we posted anything.  About 2 weeks ago, we were in the ER at about 2am.  After many tests and talking to doctors, we found out that I have fibroids in my abdomen that have been degenerating, which causes extreme pain and pre-term contractions.  Good news is everything is okay with baby Rucker, bad news is that I am in lots of pain and have had to rest for the past 2 weeks. No teaching, no working out, no yoga, no dinner dates, no TX/OU game......nothing!!   Plus, this happened the same weekend that I was supposed to travel to Houston to visit my sweet friend, Jenny.  So sad I wasn't able to make it!!! Anyone that knows me well knows that it is extremely hard for me to stay still and rest.  But, I will do whatever it takes for our little guy.

We are so lucky and blessed though that everything is okay with baby Rucker.  We had two Level 2 sonograms during this time and we loved seeing him! Doctors say he is doing great and growing away.  They are all amazed at how active he is! He continues to have a strong heartbeat and is a busy little guy.  We love that! Here he is during one of the sonogram pictures.  We are amazed at how much he is already grown since the last time we saw him.

Thanks so much for everyone's love and support throughout this time.  We truly appreciate everything!!!

We are having a.......

sweet baby BOY!!! Today was definitely a day that we will not forget.  I was very nervous going into this appointment.  I just hoped that everything was okay and that he was growing just the way he should be.  Well, we found out wonderful news that baby Rucker is growing and has a fast and healthy heartbeat of 156. He is an active little thing already....just like his mom!!! He weighs 9 ounces (average is 8 ounces for 18 weeks) and the nurse said that he has long legs!! I love it because I can already tell he is going to be an awesome college quarterback!!  Justin tells me that it is good for golfers to be tall too!!!  

Meet our new precious baby boy......

Charlie Austin Rucker!!!

Here is a video of us when we found out it was a BOY:

Here we are beaming after we found out the wonderful news!!!

Thank you to everyone's support and LOVE during this exciting time!!! 

Love, Brandi, Justin, Charlie, and Ripley :)

(so excited to say this for the first time...our new family!!)

Sundae Sunday #78: We're Having a Baby!

A few weeks ago my wonderful brother-in-law taped his Sundae Sunday at our place announcing that we are expecting. Thanks Adam for featuring us in your video for the week. We hope you enjoy it! :)

15 weeks

Baby Rucker is doing great and it is growing by the second!! Here is my baby bump at 15 weeks with Ripley closely looking on!! :)

NYC Trip....

Part of being a Rucker means that you LOVE to travel and travel often! So, we thought Baby Rucker's first big trip would be to NYC. We had a blast and were able to see a lot of the city in the short amount of time we were there. By the end of the trip we were exhausted, but we had so much fun and I think Baby Rucker enjoyed being in the Big Apple as well!!!

We first experienced Times Square and saw a taping of the Daily Show. Justin was really excited about seeing the Daily Show.....it is his favorite! The next day we went on the Circle Line Tour around Manhattan and saw a lot of the city! It was great and we both got a good tan, which is always a plus for me! :)

The next evening we went to the Top of the Rock at sunset. The views of NYC are beautiful! We went during the perfect time and were able to get some great pictures!!!

By far the highlight of the trip (at least for me) was going to see Wicked on Broadway! It was AMAZING!!! If you haven't seen this show, it is a must! It was such a fun night out and was so good. I would love to see it again it was that good!!!

We had to get a baby bump picture with Lady Liberty. Here it is at 14 weeks! I'm starting to officially show and love it!!!

The trip would not be complete without a souvenir for Baby Rucker. I saw this 'I love NY' onesie and had to get it! :)

Exciting News!!!

Welcome to our new blog!! We hope that you will use it to stay connected with our new adventures! As many of you know, we are expecting our first child due in February! We are beyond excited and can not wait to meet baby Rucker. Here is the 8 week sonogram below......isn't he/she cute?! We are in love already!!

We shared the news with both of our families over July 4th weekend. They were over the moon and so excited and anxious for a new little one to enter the family. We were able to catch the excitement on video of us telling my family. We gave my Dad a late Father's Day gift which was a onesie that says 'Coming February 2011!' Check it out below....

Thank you everyone for your love and support throughout this new journey of our lives. We could not be more blessed and more excited!!!