Week 21

Diary of Baby Boy Turner (Week 21):

That's right, as you all now know, I'm a BOY! 100% B-O-Y...I can't wait for eating bugs, playing in the dirt with my tractors, building the tallest buildings in the world with my legos, racing my cousin Reece on our tricycles, learning how to play basketball, football, soccer and baseball and most of all, hangin' out with my super cool dad, just trying to be as much like him as I can! Being a boy is going to be really awesome when I get out in that big world of yours.

I had such a fun time at my party on Saturday! Getting to hear the voices of some of my great-grandparents, my grandparents and of course mom and dad, that made it a blast. My mama will post some pictures soon so that those of you who weren't there can see my party!

Well these days I'm working hard at practicing my swallowing and digesting, and my taste buds are really working, would someone tell my mama, that I like the desserts the best, so that's all she needs to eat! :)

It's just now beginning to get awfully tight in here. My mama keeps saying that she feels me kicking and punching more all the time. Infact, just this week here's the way a text message exchange between my mama and daddy went, at around 11:00am one morning:

Mama: "Our little man is moving all over the place right now! :) "

Daddy: "Sounds like he is gonna be energetic like his mama!

Mama: "Ha ha...or maybe he just woke up...which means he's like his daddy! :)"

So they still haven't figured out my personality, but they can feel me moving all over the place. I'll have to start kicking harder now!

Love you, you're little man!

Week 20

Diary of Baby Turner (week 20!),

I think this has been the best week of my life so far! I got to go to the doctor with mommy and daddy and they took lots of pictures of me! I got to show off my whole body to my mama and daddy, all 10 oz. of it. My heart was beating at 156 beats per min. I got to show them my head, brain, spine, hands, arms, legs, feet, kidneys, stomach, and YES I even showed them if I was a boy or girl! I got to show them how I do a somersault, sit indian style, wave and even hit myself in the head!!! That made them all laugh. See, I'm hilarious already!

Mama and daddy decided to tell you all this Saturday at my party if I'm a boy or girl! She's excited about making the cupcakes and filling them with either blue or pink filling, so that when you bite into them you can find out if I'm a BOY or GIRL! I wish everyone could be there, but those of you who can't, that's ok, we'll email you right after. Now don't forget to come wearing either blue or pink Saturday. Blue if you think I'm a boy and pink if you think I'm a girl! Also, my mama is making a scrapbook family tree for me, so if you have copies of pictures of my grandparents, great grandparents, great great grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins as babies &/or adults, I will love having those to keep forever!

Can't wait for the big reveal party! See some of you Saturday!

Love, your big boy OR girl!!! :)

Movement

Well tomorrow is a big day for us, we have a doctor appointment, where they will be taking a sonogram picture of our precious baby. We will hopefully get the news that everything is developing normally and progressing as it should. We will also hopefully get the exciting news about what we are having! A BOY or a GIRL!?!?! We have both had this gut feeling that it might be a girl, which would be a blast, but there's something that would be so fun about having a boy first too. I can honestly say I don't know which I would even prefer, I just can't wait to find out what it is and start imagining life as a family with a sweet son or daughter.

This past week I was able to confirm that those little pulses I have felt in my lower abdomen have actually been little kicks and punches from our Baby Turner. I cannot begin to describe the feeling that gives me as a mom. While they are still subtle and small, just imagining my sweet baby rolling, twisting, kicking, punching and living life in me is amazing to think about. I feel as though I am already beginning to sense his/her personality. Sometimes it's fun to imagine that my sweet baby gives me a good kick out of the blue, just to remind me that he/she is there and to say hi, maybe so I will talk to him/her and they can hear my voice again. :) In the mornings as I drive to work, I have a tendency to turn up the radio or ipod to a favorite song and little Baby Turner is already a music lover, because it isn't until then that he/she wakes up and starts dancing, it's so cute, it makes me giggle.

I've only been feeling these flutters for a little over a week now, and I can't wait for them to get more distinct and prominent and to happen more often. What sweet moments these are that a mom can intimately share with her child. I'm so blessed to have the opportunity to carry my child and experience God's creation growing inside of me. What a huge honor and responsibility.

These verses mean more to me now than ever before:

Psalm 139:13-17

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!"

2 things I love about being pregnant so far:

1. Feeling life moving inside of me

2. When daddy asks for "family hugs" - family changing from 2-3 is a sweet experience, especially as the hugs get bigger. :)

Week 19

Diary of Baby Turner (week 19),

I'm now the size of a mango! 6 inches long already! My bones are getting stronger, all my neurons are now connected between my brain and my muscles and my arms and legs are now in proportion....you know what this means? :) I can really kick, punch, twist and roll like a gymnast who's working on perfecting Tae Bo and soccer skills! I've really gotten it down, infact I'm finally kicking and punching hard enough that mommy and daddy are feeling me. FINALLY! It's been a really fun week, showing off my moves to them.

And it actually really helps to twist and roll all around when you've got this slick, cheesy coating covering you're body. I guess it's protecting me from the water I'm swimming in so that when I come out I don't look like a raisin from being in water too long. But it's pretty cool!

This week was sure fun getting to see my Great-Grandma and Grandpa Fortney and Turner, Aunt Lauren, Uncle Blake, Aunt Carlin and cousin Reece!!!! I sure don't get to see the 8 of them very often, and so this week was full of fun family time. It was great to hear all their voices, if only I'd been able to show off my karate skills to all of them too, agh, maybe next time.

Well as you all probably know, this Friday is the big day!!! The day when the doctor takes a sonogram picture of me and can make sure I'm growing healthy and normal and strong and can also find out if I'm a boy or girl! (if I let them :) ) . Mama and Daddy can't wait, the 3 of us have a fun date planned after the appointment to go celebrate and go out to eat and go look at all sorts of fun baby stuff for me to start planning! But you all will have to wait one more week to find out, the party is Saturday March 27th, and for those of you who can't make it, mommy and daddy will be sending out an email right after the party to let you know!!

Mommy's going to email out an invitation for you all to put down your guesses for the baby pool (you know, to guess my gender, weight, height, day & time I'm born, name, etc)! And for those of you in the Buhrman family, you might get 2! One for me and one for my cousin Buhrman in Thailand! Just be on the look out for it!

Alright, gotta keep kickin and punchin! Talk to you soon!

Love, Your big mango!

Week 18

Diary from Baby Turner (week 18),

Can you believe that I've been growing for 18 weeks already!?!?! I'm really getting big this week, 5 1/2 in. long, about the size of a boneless chicken breast! Funny tidbit, I found out my cousin Reece doesn't even like chicken! That's what Uncle Blake told me when he and Aunt Carlin and Cousin Reece surprised us with a visit the past couple days, he's more of steak kind of boy I guess! It's been a blast have Reece around, I can't wait to play with him, he's so much fun, and he's wanting everyone to help walk him all around the house, I wish I could hurry up and grow so I could walk around with him!

The rest of this week I get to see Aunt Lauren because she's back in the states and Great-Grandma and Grandpa Turner and Fortney! They are all coming this week, it will be so fun to see them and hear them talk! I'm working on all my tricks before they take my picture with the sonogram next week, so that hopefully I can show off my amazing yawning skills, twists, rolls, kicks and punches! I'm trying to kick as hard as I can, but mama still isn't sure she feels me yet. I'll have to kick harder this week!

My nervous system is really shaping up this week too. And my senses, touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing are really developing because of it! I can hear even better now! Please keep praying for me that all the complex connections forming in my nervous system this week are done perfectly by God so that I can out a big, strong, healthy baby!

Love you all and so happy I get to see some of you this week!!

Love, your boneless chicken breast :)

Week 17

Diary of Baby Turner (week 17):

Life is so good! I'm seeing light, hearing noises, moving my eyes from side-to-side, getting better and better every day at my sucking and swallowing! This week my mama says that I've really grown! She said that she can really tell by her tummy that I'm getting to be a big boy/girl!

My bones are getting harder and my umbilical cord is really getting strong. And I'm not so skinny anymore, there's getting to be more and more fat on me that will be great for lots of kisses from my family!

Only 2 more weeks and the doctor will take a sonogram picture of me to show all of you! If you all are really nice and love on me tons, maybe I'll let them be able to tell if I'm a boy or a girl. :) In the meantime, mommy seems to think that I will and it would be fun to have a "baby gender revealing party" to tell you all if I'm a boy or a girl....so keep the weekend of March 26-28th free and mommy and daddy will be sending you an invitation to my party sometime that weekend!

I attached a picture of mommy and me at 17 weeks!

Love, your open hand! :)

Week 16

Diary of Baby Turner (Week 16),

Ah, what a great week it has been! I got to show off my strong heartbeat at the doctor's appointment and it was beating 155 beats/min! Dr. Bradley said that was still faster than the average. I've been working on making my backbone and back muscles stronger, so now I'm straightening my head and neck even more. My incredibly good looking face has both eyebrows and eyelashes now. And I do have skin, but you can see through it! It's so cool to look at all my blood vessels under here, wish you could see it.

And the most exciting part of the week, is that I can HEAR! It's been so fun to hear my mommy and daddy's voices and the music they listen to and everything they say!

Last night Grandpa and Grandma T took me out to eat at a really yummy restaurant! It was so great to finally hear their voices and be with them again, they told me last night that they've even got a pack-n-play for me already! They must really love me. :)

Mommy told me that she's really noticing me pushing out more this week, I guess I'm just growing and growing and getting bigger! Thankfully Auntie Carlin has given mama some maternity clothes, it's going to really come in handy now.

Well, better get growin!

Love, your big avocado!

Week 15

Diary of Baby Turner (week 15!),

Family! I'm getting SO BIG! I'm the size of a large orange already! My ears are moving to the side of my head and eyes to the front of my face, I've got to be honest, I'm getting to be one really good looking kid! I bet you all are so curious if I'll have the notch in my ears like the Turner boys or if I'll inherit my Uncle Blake's cool ears that stick out! Guess you'll have to wait 6 months to find out! I've been practicing up on all my breathing, sucking and swallowing and I think I'm really getting the hang of it. I've been doing all sorts of moving around, with all this space I've got in here. I'm trying to get my mama's attention, but I don't think she has any idea that I'm even moving at all in here. Maybe I'll try to kick harder, that way I can practice and maybe someday be able to kick the soccer ball even farther than my daddy ever did! :)

With all this work I've been doing in here this week, my mama has sure made it hard! She just keeps getting sick! I'm beginning to think she's always sick! She got the flu really bad this weekend and I hardly got any food for about 3 days straight! Thankfully Grandma B is looking out for me and made her some stew that thankfully tasted good to her and so I got some yummy food last night. Hopefully she'll start feeling better, it's been a rough few days for the two of us.

I sure am excited for Friday! I get to show off my strong beating heart to my mama at the doctor's office!

Does anyone have any guesses if I'm a girl or a boy? I'll have mommy and daddy do some of the old wives tales tricks predicting the gender and let you know what they come up with. See if that helps anyone's predictions!! We'll find out at the doctor on Friday for sure, but I think in just 4 short weeks from now, the doctor might be able to tell mommy and daddy if I'm a girl or a boy! It's coming soon!

Love, your big orange!

Week 14

Diary of Baby Turner (Week 14!):

Well these weeks are just moving right along! Can you all believe that I'm a 1/3rd of the way done growing and ready to come out and meet you all?!?! The next 6 months are going to fly by! While I wait here, I'm going to keep working on my swimming strokes, maybe I'll be the next Michael Phelps. My mama's thinking about starting to swim more for exercise, maybe she can teach me some strokes. I've also been working on my posture, maybe to get ready for my ballerina classes, with all those cute little tutus and leotards!

I think I have my daddy to thank for this, but you wouldn't believe all this hair all over my body! As my daddy so affectionately has called me, I'm one cute hairy little monkey!

I wish you guys could check this out, I can wiggle my fingers and toes, clench my fist and suck my thumb! These hands will come in great for all that basketball playing & tractor driving, or maybe for all the nail painting I'm going to do with my mama!!

Talk to you next week!! Oh and mommy attached a picture that daddy took of me and her this last weekend...you can start to see me, so exciting!!

Love, your little fist :)

Week 13

Diary of Baby Turner (Week 13),

Well, I'm getting so big now! That's right, I'm already the size of a peach! And it's so exciting, my vocal chords are really developing now, I really wonder if I'll love to sing like mommy and daddy! My body is starting to catch up to my very large head and these intestines that were growing inside my umbilical cord are now moving into my tummy! Wow, this is so cool, I can't wait to see what will happen next!

I've been doing so much growing this week, that mommy has been very tired, but I don't think it's all my fault, they moved into a new house and they've been working hard unpacking and cleaning and organizing, hopefully we can start to relax a little this weekend now that a lot of the hard work is done! It was sure fun to have all 4 of my grandparents around this weekend! I know mommy and daddy sure liked having them there to help move! I sure wish I could see my Aunts and Uncles more!!

It sounds like Funcle Brett and Aunt Kavia aren't sure if my new cousin will be a boy or a girl. The doctor couldn't tell them for sure, but thought maybe it was a girl. Aunt Kavia is very sure it will be a girl! How fun would that be for me to have a girl cousin AND a boy cousin! What do you think cousin Reece? Do you think your 2 new cousins will be a girls or boys?

I love you all!!

-Your little peach

Week 12

Diary of Baby Turner (or otherwise affectionately know as "Herman Turner" from Great Grandpa Turner),

Well hello family! This week has been filled with so much excitement! My mama and daddy are telling EVERYONE about me now, and it's so much fun! This past weekend I got to meet all of my great-grandparents and they got to meet me, they are great, I can't wait to come out and play with them.

I went to the doctor last week too, and I was hoping that they would take a picture of me so I could see my mommy and daddy again, but they didn't, but they did listen to my fast beating heart! I think they were all very excited and impressed with how good it sounded. It was beating at 165 bpm the doctor said. Mama and daddy are trying to guess if I'm a boy or girl and they heard somewhere that girls have faster heartbeats than boys, and 165 bpm is pretty fast I guess, so they think I might be a girl....hmmmm.

One thing is for sure, I can't WAIT for this Saturday when I found out if my cousin is going to be a girl or boy. Aunt Kavia and Funcle Brett get to find out at their doctor appointment this Saturday and I can't wait to see if their baby is a girl like me.....or maybe I'm a boy......hmmmm....maybe all 3 of us 1st born cousins are boys...... Guess you'll have to keep waiting a couple more months! :) My mommy told me that Aunt Kavia's belly is growing and my cousins eyes are moving side to side and can start to see light even though his/her eyelids are still closed. I can't wait for that to happen to me in another month or so! Funcle Brett should take more pictures of my cousin so we can all see how much he/she and Aunt Kavia are growing!

Well, even though I can hear mommy's digestive track gurgling all the time and I hear her talk about how it's not working so well right now, mine is really starting to take off! All my digestive muscles are practicing for all the hard work of eating I have ahead of me. And my white blood cells are forming which will help me not get sick when I come out in the real world.

Well, I've got a lot more growing to get to, better go!

Love, your extra large Plum!

Week 11

Diary from Baby Turner (Week 11):

This head of mine just keeps growing and growing! Which sure makes all the somersaults and rolls that I'm doing in here easy and fun -- when you are top-heavy! This stretching feels great and my mama's been feeling well enough this week to start exercising again (when she's not too tired!), it sure makes my fast-beating heart beat even faster!

There's this thing that's been growing all around me that they are calling a placenta, and this week it's really taken off... it is amazing all the things it's doing for me. I bet that's why my mama is so so so tired this week. I am almost completely formed now too, hurray! I still have a long way to go, but everything has started to form and now I just need to develop.

And oh, my hair is in the beginning stages of forming and I can't wait to see if it will be thick and dark like my daddy's, Grandma Buhrman's and Grandpa Turner's, or if it will be thin and lighter like mommy's, Grandpa Buhrman's and Grandma Turner's!

I can't wait to see my mommy and daddy again tomorrow and show them all the growing I've been doing! I'm sure they will send you all a picture to show you too. This weekend will be so much fun telling my great-grandparents that I'm on the way!

Love,

Baby Turner

Week 10

Week 10: Diary from Baby Turner,

Hello family! Can you believe it? I'm a whole 1 1/2 inches long already! This week in Cancun I've been working hard on my teeth, forming them under my gums, I wonder if I will get teeth as early as my cousin Reece did. I remember when he was here for Christmas everyone couldn't believe he already had 4 teeth! I wondered why everyone was so surprised that my own cousin is so advanced, if you ask me, it's just good genes. I think about my other cousin growing in Thailand as we speak, he/she is working on growing lots of hair this week, can't wait to see how dark or light it is and if it's head will be covered or bald like it's daddy's!

Back here in Kansas, I'm working hard on my bones, and am forming my knees and ankles and elbows maybe to be an amazing athlete or maybe to wave my arm just right for the perfect beauty pageant queen wave. It is just THIS PAST WEEK that I started developing my hormones to show if I'm a boy or girl! And again....it's my secret for several more weeks, so ahead, keep guessing! Mommy and daddy keep saying they think I'm a girl, boy will I surprise them! :)

Well, my mama has begged me to help her feel better today since it's her 25th birthday, so I will try, but I can't stop growing, she'll just have to deal with it. :) We'll have a fun day, I know it. Can't wait for Olive Garden tonight!

Love,

Your little prune!

Week 9

Week 9: Diary of Baby Turner,

Well it's been quite a week family. First of all, I am growing so much that I have officially become a "fetus" and am no longer just an "embryo"! Yippee!!! It's been a big week, not only have I been growing like crazy this week, my mama has been fighting a yucky sickness for the past 5 days, it was like a sauna in here, she said she had a fever, and I don't like fevers I decided. I've gotta be honest, I'm sick of crackers, toast, chicken noodle soup, hot tea and 7up! But last night I finally got some real food so she must be feeling much better, which is great because tomorrow morning bright and early we leave for Cancun for Uncle David and Aunt Lauren's wedding...I'm very excited for warmer weather and a fun party!

I'm beating my heart louder everyday, so hopefully in a couple weeks my mommy and daddy will be able to hear me! And I'm not telling you for several more weeks if I'm a boy or girl (it's my secret :) ) but either way I'm growing very strong muscles this week, so that I can start punching and kicking my mama soon!

It's been quite a week, and I've got a fun week ahead as I move into week 10 of existence in Mexico!! Hope mama feels good so she can fill me up with chips and salsa!!

Love you all!

-You're little Olive

Week 8

Baby Turner has been sending out these emails to his/her family over the last 10 weeks and I thought maybe others would enjoy hearing all about the progress Baby Turner is making!

Week 8: Diary from Baby Turner,

Hello family! I'm SO glad that my parents have finally let you all (my grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and cousins) know of my existence. I had such fun Christmas' with you all! Getting to start off at the Turner Grandparents to talk all about Lauren's exciting wedding coming up in a couple weeks...oh how happy I am for a little warmer weather and a chance to meet Uncle David! Then at the Buhrman's Christmas, I got to meet my cousin Reece, oh man, we are gonna have a BLAST next Christmas, he got the most amazing presents...how fun it will be to open them together! And mom and dad even told me about another cousin on the way, he/she will have to wait about one month to see me, mama says I won't be "done" until August 12th.

My daddy and mama keep calling me their little jelly bean, but I think they should start calling me their little raspberry...cause I'm growing more and more every week! Not only are they calling me their bean, but they keep practicing on some different names...some of them are not so good! So please, help them!!! This has been a big week for me, mama knows cause she's been really tired because of all my growing. My cute little nose is showing and you should see these toes and fingers! I can't tell yet if I've got the recessive gene of my mama's crooked pinkies, but I should be able to tell soon! This heart of mine is beating so fast, and I got to show it off to mommy and daddy in the ultra sound last week, it was so good to see them, I'm glad I got to show them my heart, it really put them at ease and they got really excited! I attached my first picture that doctor Bradley took of me at 7 weeks. I get another picture taken when I'm 11 weeks, and mama and daddy think that it might be a good idea to tell other people about me after that.

Well, better go, my back and eyelids are needing to get growing, I've got a lot of work ahead of me tonight!

Love you all!!!

Baby Turner