Hiiiiiyah!!

Jeff and I filmed a wedding this past Saturday.  It was a gorgeous, outdoor wedding, and we enjoyed filming it!  But once we got home Saturday evening, I was relaxing on the couch and I felt Evan move for the first time (from the outside)!  So I called Jeff over, hoping she would move again and he could feel her....and she did!  Jeff's eyes lit up....It was so cool!  And now, I can definitely tell whenever she's moving around in there.  Yesterday, at work, she was wiggling around after lunch while I was sitting at my desk.  It's so awesome...I love it, and I love HER!  :)  

HALF WAY THERE!

Yesterday marked 20 weeks!!  We are officially over half-way through with the pregnancy.  Here is what little Evan is doing right now:

This is the week most women get that ever-important gender-revealing ultrasound. If your baby isn't shy, the genitals can be clearly seen at this point. Will the baby pee standing up or sitting down? Well, that depends on how you potty train—but if you're interested, you could leave the appointment knowing if you're carrying a boy or a girl. 

Other highlights this week:

• Your baby has established sleep patterns akin to a newborn now. Many babies even have a favorite sleep position already. Some snooze with their chins resting on their chests, while others nap with their head flung back. Many babies at this age fall into noticeable cycles of sleep and activity, so you may know before she arrives whether you have a night owl or an early bird.

• If your baby is a boy, the testes have begun descending from the pelvis into the scrotum. If it's a girl, her uterus is completely formed and the rest of her "parts" are in development. (Is that TMI?)

• From this point forward, your baby will put most of her energy into gaining weight and, not coincidentally, so will you! Right now your baby weighs approximately 10 1/2 ounces and is about 6 1/2 inches long, about the size of a can of Red Bull (which has way too much caffeine for a pregnant woman to be drinking).

And here is the 20 week belly picture ( + me being stupid ):

We have SO many things to get done before she makes her grand entrance into the world!!  The next thing on our list is to PAINT....we've (or should I say "I've"?...wink, wink) been wanting to paint inside the house for a while now, and since we're sort-of on a deadline to get things done, hopefully we can go ahead and knock it out.  I'm excited to take before & after pictures because it shows how drastically the room changed....and how much work we put into it!  We're looking at nursery bedding & furniture now too....phew, why is furniture sooo expensive?!?  Crazy.  But we gotta do it....and it will be cute!  :)  I can't wait!

A name and a face...

We have finally officially decided on a name for Baby Jennings......DRUM ROLL PLEASE......

Her name will be Evangeline Reese Jennings.  But we are planning on calling her "Evan" all the time.  We love it and we're so excited to actually start calling her by name and talking to her!!

Today we had our 20 week ultrasound done at Durham Women's Clinic.  It was amazing!  The appointment lasted about 45 minutes because they have to get all of her measurements and make sure everything looks normal and healthy.  God is so great, because we have an absolutely perfect little girl growing away in my womb.  She is healthy as can be, and she is beautiful on top of that!  :)

She was very cooperative and let us take several pictures of her sweet face.  Here are the pictures of our baby girl, Evan (remember you can click on them to enlarge them):

The more I look at these, the more I get emotional (yes, it's great being pregnant!)....haha...but I just can't wait to see her in person now.  We are almost to the half-way point in the pregnancy, so she definitely has much more growing to do.

I will hopefully post a 20-week update and belly picture soon....

In OTHER news.....here is yet ANOTHER reason why God is so wonderful, and the power of prayer is beyond measure:
Jeff is coming back to work at CJT---he will be taking over my position.  He is VERY excited about going back to work...not only just back to work, but back to work with people he knows and trusts, and he won't have to worry about adjusting to a new environment or learning completely new skills.
I will be starting part-time work at StudioYou in Roxboro with Allison & Lianna on June 1st!!  I am EXTREMELY excited to be working with these girls because they work very hard to run their business the best they can and I can't wait to be a part of helping them be successful!  Plus, it is in the similar industry as our film business.  :)  It is perfect.  And since it is only part-time work, I will have more time to dedicate to High Rock Films and after Evan arrives, I will be able to spend more time with her while only working in Roxboro.  Of course, this means that money will be a little bit tighter---but we don't live on an extravagant budget anyway---so hopefully we won't have to struggle too much with that.....but in the long run, it will be totally worth it!  Jeff and I are seriously floating on cloud 9 right now.  :)

Thanks for checking out the blog---we appreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers!!  (and Evan appreciates it too!)  :)  We love ALL of our family and friends who have helped us be who we are today---you guys are incredible!!

Katy and Michael get married

Michael and Katy were officially hitched this past Saturday, May 7th!  Jeff and I were lucky enough to both be part of their big day.  It was a gorgeous day with lots of friends and family!  The wedding went on without any problems and we had a great time at the reception!  Here are some pictures from the day:

Ashley and Steffi working on their dresses  :)

Getting ready

Katy and her mom

Flower girl and Junior Bridesmaid (Reagan & Morgan)

Barbara Ann & me

Me and the bride!

fixing dresses!

"Mrs. Whitfield"

The girls (minus Katy)

Cindy, Steffi, Bruce

Snackin' on strawberries while we wait!

Won't be long now...

We clean up pretty good...

There's a baby girl in there!

Pretty Ladies!

First dance

Jeff giving his toast

Siblings!

Siblings + Spouses  :)

"all the single ladies..."

the get-away car

ready for the honeymoon!

"it looks like Mexican restaurant!"

What a great night!

Love you!

Julie & Warren (and little Katie!)  :)

Congratulations Michael and Katy!!!  We love y'all!!  :)

Sunday was Mother's Day, and it was a great day too!  Barry preached a great sermon that morning, and thanks to pregnancy hormones, I was a mess throughout the whole thing.  My eyes kept tearing up, and all I could think about was how great my Mother was to me and my brother, and how much I want to do for my children as they grow up.  I hope to lead by example and show them how you should live your life as good as you possibly can.  We only have one life to live...we don't get a second chance, and I want them to have the best memories of their childhood that I can provide.  :)  Next mother's day, I will be even MORE of a mess for sure!  But I can't wait! 

We're having a precious little GIRL!!!!

Yep, she had us ALL fooled!!  We're so excited to be expecting a little GIRL !!!!  

We had our ultrasound done yesterday at Prenatal Peek, and it was awesome.  We had the room packed with family and friends, anxiously awaiting to find out the sex of Baby Jennings.  The whole room erupted when we found out she's a little girl!  I hope the world is ready for a little Laura/Jeff combo running around!  :)

We went out to eat at Chili's afterwards, then rode over to Babies R Us to look at all the girlie stuff.  It was a great night, and I look forward to everything in store!

Here are pictures from the ultrasound and afterwards:

 

 

One PROUD DADDY!  :)

So excited!!

 

I'm so glad we got to share yesterday with our family and friends!   I cannot wait to meet my daughter in a few months!  Jeff will be absolutely wrapped around her finger, and I love it. 

Oh, and I guess all those at-home gender tests, old-wives tales and myths are just that.....MYTHS!!  :)