A very HEART-ful day!

I LOVE those flip-flops!

Today was a very big day for us! Most of you know that I was born with a heart condition that requires extra care my entire life! My heart condition is called Tetralogy of Fallot. To this day, this congenital heart condition is often rare...The chances of me running into someone with Tetralogy of Fallot is slim...but that changed when I was in college and met a girl with the same condition. Anyway, my health history in itself can have its own book!

When I was born, my parents were unaware of any health problems prior to my birth. Then again, technology was still advancing in the late 80's. The doctors told my parents that my chance of survival was very slim and that my chances of living would mean emergency open heart surgery...I can't even imagine how my parents felt at that very moment. With much prayer and a priesthood blessing, my parents decided that this was the only way...WELL, HERE I AM! Twenty-seven years old, 3 open heart surgeries, and a melody valve replacement later, I'm healthy and pregnant!

 So where am I going with all this? Today's technology can detect if the fetus has any signs of heart diseases. They do this testing called the fetal echocardiogram when the pregnant woman is between 24-28 weeks pregnant, usually when the woman is at a high risk pregnancy like myself. For the longest time ever, even before I was married I was afraid of what my child can inherit from me. I'm just glad that my heart condition is not hereditary! I went in today to get this testing done and a LONG hour and a half later, I finally got to sit down with the doctor about the consultation of the echo. Her exact words: 

"His heart is beautiful..."

I was so happy to hear those words...his heart is beautiful! I listened as she explained to me how the baby's heart works in the womb. The consultation was short and sweet. When I got back to the car, I said a prayer and thanked my Heavenly Father for watching over our little family. I couldn't help but start crying tears of joy. I am ever so grateful for my amazing parents who did everything in their power to keep me alive and healthy!

SO when I got home from my doctors appointments today, Daniel took me to the mall to build a bear so we can put a heart in him and cherish this day of awesome news! I have the best husband!!

Cilantro-Lime Grilled Chicken Recipe

Okay, I know most of you have been asking me to post food recipes...and most of the time, I remember to do it step by step with photos AFTER I've already started preparing it. This may not be what ya'll expect, but this is an easy go to dish packed with flavor! And all it requires is a little preparation and 30 mins of marinade! How awesome is THAT!? I think so, especially after you take the first bite and realize how much flavor the marinade has already made its way to stick to the chicken. So, I won't take all the credit for this recipe! My sister in law, Laura made it for us one night for dinner and I've been hooked since! If you have these ingredients in your pantry/fridge, you've got to give it a try! Also, you don't feel horrible for eating it! Daniel and I had it over rice for dinner tonight...we've also had it as a sandwich and it was delish, too! Tell me what ya think!

Cilantro-Lime Grilled Chicken:

4 boneless skinless chicken breast

2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

1/4-1/2 cup chopped cilantro

2 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp toasted sesame oil

Juice of one lime

Pour the marinade over chicken to coat the meat. Let it sit in the fridge covered in plastic wrap for 30 minutes. Prepare the grill or broiler and cook until internal temperature reaches 165F on the meat thermometer. Let chicken sit for about 5 minutes before serving. 

Baby bump, Baptisms, Callings, and Mothers Day OH MY!

Bump-ba-bump-bump-bump!

Ok, it's official..the bump is finally on the verge of popping! Even though it seems as if its getting bigger, its pretty compact...must be the angle that I'm taking the picture...or so I like to tell myself :) Well, not only have I been oober busy, we had some pretty eventful things happen in the last few weeks! My sister came to visit from Houston with her three kids and her husband. They stayed with us for almost a week and we LOOOVED every minute of it! Our sweet niece Eliza turned eight not too long ago and we spent that time with family and got to attend her baptism. Daniel's dad was given a new calling as the new Stake President of the Shawnee Frisco Trail Stake and we were able to attend their Stake Conference and be there with them as he was set apart in his new calling. Lets not mention, in between all the crazy yet fun things that happened, Daniel managed to sneak away from it all and take a break and go to Braums to get his double double ice cream scoop! YUMMMM-ME! And then last and not least, we celebrated Mother's Day! My sweet dear husband made dinner for the family (with some assistance) and it was absolutely delish! How did I get so lucky, right? 

Sorry to burst your bubble, but no photo shoot pictures for week 23 and 24...I promise I will take some this week for week 25. Things just feel so much crazier and life a little busier when you're pregnant...Can't imagine what its going to be like when the little man comes!! 

Sweet Emma and her new Hello Kitty sunglasses! :) 

Jake and Taylor spending time with Butters!

Claire enjoying that Platt oatmeal chocolate chip cookie! :)

Sweet Eliza on her Baptism day!

Just like a little kid!

My father in law (2nd to the left) and the new Stake leaders

You know you're pregnant when you're belly catches your food! LOL

My Mother's Day breakfast from babe : Lemon Blueberry pancakes with coconut syrup!

Mother's Day dinner: Surf and Turf (I could't fit everything on my plate)

It's a...

IT'S A BOY!!

It may seem like blowing a bubble gum is pretty easy...well it is...until you're doing it under pressure and it finally takes you 30 minutes before you want to give up! haha! Not only did it take forever, but sitting in that position for the longest time was the most uncomfortable thing EVERRR! I think it's time for me to invest in some maternity jeans! Whoever said maternity clothes are uncomfortable, is lying! I love the elasticity of it all! This little "photo shoot" was suppose to be real quick and easy...I am SO happy that my husband is so very patient with me! 

Goodness gracious, I can't believe we're having a boy!! It seems so surreal! Daniel and I couldn't be any happier whether it was going to be a little girl or a little boy. But as we all know, Daniel really wanted his little man! :) And a little man is what he gets! I for one, always knew it was going to be a boy. I guess I was just ready to coach my little man in T-ball... :)

Trimester: 2nd

How many weeks: 22 WEEKS, 1 DAY (5 1/2 months)

Today's date: April 21, 2014

How big is baby: Baby is 12 oz big...that's almost one pound!

Total weight gain: 12 pounds.......!

Cravings: Asian foods...I miss my parents home cooked meals :(

Awesomeness this week: 

-Seeing our growing baby during the ultra sound

-The excitement of finding out what we were going to have

-Being able to share that excitement with our families

-Finding out it was going to be a BOY!

-Hung out with friends that we haven't seen in over a year

-Watching my ever so growing tummy

NOT so awesome: 

-EVERYTHING WAS AWESOME!

Gender Reveal Party

We had our anatomy appointment on Thursday, April 17th. We decided ahead of time that we were going to do a gender reveal party with our family. But how were we gonna do that when most of our families were out of state? THANK YOU, TECHNOLOGY! We were able to get almost all of our immediate family on Facetime/Skype. And those who lived here in the Dallas area, were able to join us for our fun reveal!

We actually didn't find out the baby's gender when we were at the doctors. We waited a whole extra day so we could wait for our family! They should feel special...haha! It was nerve wrecking and I was so anxious!! The end of Friday's work day seemed like Forever! 

The most amazing thing was seeing baby inside my belly. The last time we saw it, it was a little peanut...and then we saw all of it's anatomy parts (well almost all). The tech told us to look away as she focused on the baby's private area...it was SO hard to look away! But it was in a matter of seconds and she said, ok done! She came back with the baby's gender in an enclosed envelope...I was so ready to rip that thing apart! haha! Baby had a lot of daddy's personality when he was a little one. Baby slept with one arm covering its face with its thumbs up...I think we may have a thumb sucker amongst us! I hope not...Everything that we saw during that appointment made it all seem so real! SO the real question is, are we having a BOY or a GIRL?!
AHHH!!We are going to be PARENTS!

The Fergie Fam

OH YEA! We also had some family out of town/state make some guesses to the baby's gender just before the big reveal! :)

ITS A BOY!!

What's it going to be? BOY or GIRL?!

Tomorrow is the day! Tomorrow, we have the anatomy appointment to find out whether our little nugget is a boy or girl! FINALLY! I.HAVE.BEEN.WAITING.FOREVERRR! One thing I'm hoping for is 1) The obvious, that baby is healthy and 2) That baby cooperates when the time comes to find out the gender...Do YOU have any guesses to what baby will be, or what features they'll have? If you asK me, I have no idea! I have stared and compared baby pictures of me and Daniel when we were kiddos and still no clue! 

Brown hair? Red hair? brown eyes? hazel eyes? fair skin? tanned? who knows!?

I guess we'll have to wait another 18 weeks to find out :)

Every day that passes makes me so anxious!!

So cast your votes now...BOY? or GIRL? 

Here's a little something for you to help you decide...

Answer these questions and I will give you the final results! Let's see if this "Old Wives Tale" is a yay or a nay in determining baby's gender...HAVE FUN!

OLD WIVES TALE

BOY or GIRL?

1) Is baby heartbeat below or above 140?

2) Do you crave sweet or salty?

3) Do you sleep on your right or left?

4) Do you have morning sickness yes or no?

5)Are you moody or happy?

6) Is your skin soft or dry?

7) Do you carry high or low?

8) Daddy gaining or maintaining?

9) Do you have more headaches yes or no?

This last week, babe and I went and had a fancy dinner at a Brazilian steakhouse here in Dallas! Seriously, SO.YUMMY! Better than Rodizio's and better than Tucanos!...I guess it's also because its a bit fancier too.

I made this quilt during General Conference weekend...my attempt was to get neutral colored fabrics because we still didn't know the baby's gender...I figured I had to start sewing anyway...this is pretty neutral, right? Either way, I loved the fabric too much to turn it down!

The finished product, TA-DA!

I also made some neutral colored burp cloths with some of my girlfriends during one of our craft nights...As soon as I know baby's gender, momma is gonna go "sew-crazy"! get it? SEW-crazy? ;)

Half way there! AND we've got a kicker!

Blue Dress:H&M//Necklace and earrings:Kendra Scott

Black knit dress: H&M

(Enjoying the nice weather on our balcony!)

ANNNNND we've got a kicker ya'll! First time I felt the baby kick was Saturday night somewhere between 11pm-12am...for some reason, the baby likes to move around when I'm relaxing! The first time the baby kicked, I laid in the same spot for a while and  yelled for Daniel to come feel it...although the kick was very light and settle, I was super excited! SO, I yelled and yelled for Daniel to come to the living room and I get no answer...Finally I gave up and went to look for him. 

...Homeboy was fast asleep...

haha! I was a little bummed out but there was always next time! AND then today, it happened again! This time, it was a bigger kick! I told Daniel to put his hand on my belly right away and wait for the kick...and there it was, an even bigger kick for daddy! We were so excited!! As a matter of fact, baby is kicking and moving like crazy right now! It feels amazing! I am loving maternity!

We did it, we did it, yeaaa we did it! We are 20 weeks and 1 day along! Can't believe we are halfway there! It's gone by so fast...and I'm loving every bit of it.

So funny story...I have been experiencing some pregnancy "symptoms" as of lately. Yesterday, after we finished watching General Conference...I sneezed. You can only imagine what happened after that. YUP! I pee'd a little... LOL! I was caught totally off guard. After I sneezed, I said, "Uh, I think I pee'd a little bit"...Daniel was grossed out but we couldn't stop laughing after that! 

OH YEA...no gender yet...any guesses?

Trimester: 2nd

How many weeks: 20 WEEKS, 1 DAY

Today's date: April 7, 2014

How big is baby: Baby is about the size of a banana

Total weight gain: 8 pounds...eeek!

Cravings: Fudge pops

Awesomeness this week: 

-Obviously, baby Platt kicking!

-Daddy surprised mommy with a snoogle body pillow...this week, sleep was amazing! 

-Annual General Conference

NOT so awesome: 

-Speeze (sneeze-pee)...LOL