Hey baby, I see you!!

There is nothing quite like the miracle of seeing your baby on the screen for the first time. We saw Baby Hayhurst at 8 weeks, which was the neatest thing ever. Even though he/she was just a "blob" at that point, it was a blob with a beating heart that we could see, and then hear just 4 short weeks later. I continue to be dumbfounded by the little miracle that is happening inside of me, and it just becomes more and more surreal every time we see another glimpse of God's little creation.

We had the unique opportunity to visit StorkVision, a boutique sonogram office in Fort Worth. I had never heard about it, but a friend at work recommended it, and there was a deal on Living Social for half price, so we thought, "what do we have to lose here?" It was a chance to see our baby a few weeks earlier than the Doctor's office sonogram was scheduled. What was so cool is that they have a large enough room with couches etc, so it was a perfect opportunity to invite our parents to come and witness the little miracle with us. And...hopefully be there for the gender reveal if our little peanut was cooperating!! We were so ecstatic that all five of the first-time grandparents-to-be were able to be in attendance, it wouldn't have been the same without all of them.

All of these images were taken on July 13, 2012. Baby Hayhurst was 16 weeks and  3 days.

Side Profile

Baby Hands

Long legs, like momma!

She was cooperating...it's a GIRL!!

In addition to the standard 2-D black and white images, we also got to see a 3-D glimpse of our little angel. Baby doesn't have any body fat at this point, and skin is very transparent, so it's a little early to get a good 3D read (they say to come back around 28 weeks or so to get a better view). However, we could see some really cool gestures:

Thumbs up, Mom! All is well down here!!

Just hanging out! Resting with my arms behind my head! (Grammy says Daddy used to do this when he was a baby)

Sucking my left thumb while covering up my eye with my right hand.

OK, enough of the paparazzi already!

And here are some pictures of us and our parents during the experience.

Anxious, nervous, excited...all of the above!!

Proud mom and dad

Papa and CiCi looking on

Nana and Gramps watching in amazement

Grammy came prepared with a little boy gift and a little girl gift. We're seeing PINK!!

This was truly an amazing experience, especially since we were able to share it with our parents. I would highly recommend doing this to any of my friends. There just aren't words to describe it!

Love,
Candace & Trevor

Bump Ahead

Well, I've been a little delinquent in my posting. Blame it on the travel schedule and the end-of-day exhaustion, but found a little motivation today so thought I would catch everyone up on the growing bump!

My last post left off in sunny California, and since then I have been to Milan (Italy) and New York a couple times, so I have some new images to share. First stop, Milano!

This first picture was taken July 1st, which would have made me 14 weeks and 5 days. This was taken outside the restaurant we went to for dinner, where I dined on some amazing pizza. Several people ask me if I have had any food cravings yet. The first was surely Italian food, but after this trip to Milan, I was over that real quickly.  ;)

14 weeks, 5 days: On a street in Milan, Italy

 The next evening, several of us buyers that were still in Milan went to dinner together on our last night. Afterwards, we grabbed some gelato and decided to walk to the famous Duomo, definitely the most popular attraction in Milan, and one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen!

14 weeks, 6 days: Duomo Cathedral, Milan, Italy.

I went to New York from July 16-20, but due to the insane schedule I was keeping, there wasn't a great opportunity to grab a photo op in front of something famous, but I made up for it on the second trip, which I just returned from.

In my August trip (Aug 6-9), I hit a very important pregnancy milestone...20 weeks, also known as halfway there!! I can definitely say that on this trip, it was obvious I was pregnant. My vendors were not afraid to ask, and I had several subway patrons hop up and offer their seat to me. It was nice for a change to look pregnant and not just like I had too much to eat for lunch.  ;)

My first photo op found me at Bryant Park Grill. I had gone to lunch with a vendor, who is also pregnant (she is four weeks further along than me), so we had so much to chat about. After lunch, she grabbed a few images of me outside the restaurant to commemorate me hitting 20 weeks. Here is my favorite picture:

20 weeks. Bryant Park Grill, New York City.

The next day, I was walking from one appointment to the next, not really paying attention to where I was. All of a sudden I looked up and realized I was standing right in front of the Flatiron Building, a pretty famous landmark in NYC. I saw some tourists taking their own photos, so I asked one to snap a quick photo of me in front of the building. It's not the best picture ever, but hey, beggars can't be choosers.

20 weeks, 1 day. Flatiron Building, New York City.

At my next appointment, which was in the Penthouse of the Setai Hotel on 5th Avenue, there were spectacular panoramic views of the city. These images aren't the best, but hey, it's me pregnant in front of famous landmarks, which was the point!

20 weeks, 1 day. Chrysler Building in the background. Taken from the Penthouse of the Setai Hotel in NYC.

20 weeks, 1 day. In front of the Empire State Building. Taken from the Penthouse of the Setai Hotel in NYC.

That's all for now! Next stop is Las Vegas in a little over a week. Then it's home for awhile (which will be NICE.)

Love,
Candace

Trip to the Wine Country (CA)

To celebrate a significant birthday of my stepmother, we took a vacation with her and my dad, and Trevor's parents to one of her favorite places - the California wine country. Trevor and I had never been to the wine country before, so though it was going to be a "little" annoying that I couldn't partake in all the wine drinking, we were so excited to see that part of the country. And Trevor was excited about the wine of course. We left Dallas on June 20, which happened to be our 3rd anniversary, so it was a nice way to celebrate that as well. Our fist stop was the infamous Golden Gate bridge, where as promised, I took another belly shot. I wasn't crazy about how these came out, but here are a couple nonetheless.

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco CA - 13 wks, 1 day

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco CA - 13 wks, 1 day

After some photo ops at the Golden Gate bridge, we headed to the wine country. We stayed at the most charming place in Napa called Carneros Inn. If you ever find yourself in that neck of the woods, please check it out! Here is us in front of our own little cabin, complete with a private patio and outdoor shower (though I was too much of a wuss to use it in the cold northern CA mornings).

Carneros Inn, Napa, California

On Thursday the 21st, we spent all day at various wineries. We popped into Opus One without a reservation, just to see if a tasting was a possibility at the infamous winery. We were in luck, and the rest of the crew was allowed to taste two different cabs by the glass.  And I was in luck, because these were some of the most beautiful grounds we saw in all of Napa. So...belly shot number 2!

Opus One Vineyards,  13 wks 2 days

On Friday, we went to a really cool winery where there was a medeival-inspired castle on the grounds. If you are ever in the wine country with children (or pregnant people - neither of whom can taste wine), this is a definite must-stop. There is so much history and the grounds are absolutely spectacular....and they even give the non-drinkers some Riesling grape juice! The sky was pretty overcast that day, which actually makes for taking better pictures, so here is my one of my favorite pictures of Trevor and me taken on the trip in front of some of their vines.

Castello di Amorosa, Calistoga, CA

 On our last day of wine tasting (Saturday), we went to the Ferrari Carano vineyards and winery in Healdsburg, CA. The grounds were absolutely spectacular, and we took some fun group shots while we were waiting for the tour to start.

Silly girls, mocking a statue.  =)

The group on our last day in the wine country - Ferrari Carano Vineyards

Trevor and I definitely plan to go back, when I'm not pregnant, and maybe stay a bit longer. We had such a nice time and are super thankful to George (dad) and Nancy for putting together such a fun trip!

This baby is a world traveler!

As Candace's job has her traveling a lot in the summer, this baby has already been to two "bucket list" kind of places, with many more to come before he/she makes a debut in December. On May 31, Candace went to Las Vegas, and then a few days later went to the big apple for a week. While in NYC, she hit the 11-week mark, and decided to start documenting the belly progress in a more unique way. Blessed with the opportunity to travel a lot of places this summer, why not show off "the bump" in front of some majorly cool landmarks, right? 1st stop - Times Square!

11 weeks, 2 days - Times Square, NYC

Still to come: San Francisco, Milan, NYC (twice more), and Vegas again, who knows where else! Stay tuned for more pics!

On a side note, we are gradually getting over the 1st trimester yuckiness. Candace has been dealing with some queasiness, indigestion, and flat out exhaustion, but learning quickly what to eat, when to eat, and to take naps when baby demands so! She is definitely looking forward, however, to that 2nd trimester energy spurt everyone keeps talking about!

Lots of love,
Trevor and Candace

Baby on Board

We found out mid-April that we were expecting our first baby, and could not be more thrilled. At our first OB appointment (with the OB coordinator), she brought out the "pregnancy wheel" and determined our initial due date as December 20, 2012. Candace knew this was slightly off, however, and was convinced the due date was a few days later than that. Sure enough, when we went in for our eight week appointment, they did the first ultrasound, and the CRL (crown-to-rump length) measured us exactly at 8 weeks, and spit out a revised due date of December 25, 2012...a Christmas baby! We started commenting about how that baby could possibly share a birthday with a very important person, and if he/she arrived on the day itself, we may have to come up with a name using the initials "JC" (joking slightly, but maybe??).  At this 8-week appointment, we witnessed the first of many tiny miracles to come - we saw the heartbeat fluttering about on the ultrasound! It was amazing and indescribable; the doctor referred to it as a "strong and perfect" heartbeat. In the ultrasound pictures we've added below, you can see the heart as a tiny bright spot in the middle of the baby's form. Truly magical! We have received an outpouring of support and love from the close friends and family that have been let in on our news, and look forward to being able to tell the world after the 12-week appointment (June 13, when we should get to HEAR the heartbeat!). Thank you to everyone for your support and prayers, we will continue to need them for the next 6 or 7 months, and beyond!

The heart can be seen best in this last image, the bright white spot in the middle. In these images, Baby Hayhurst is upside down, head at the bottom and butt in the air, doing gymnastics already!