It's a Charlie! :)

Gender Reveal Party!

Today was yet another excellent day!  Even though the doctor was mad at me for gaining 9 pounds this month, I decided to have another Chick Fil A breakfast this morning since it really was a big day for mommy and baby!  (It is dangerous that we moved right next to my favorite Chinese fast food and a Chick Fil A). 
School was a breeze!  Freshman STAAR academy went well and my juniors took their social studies TAKS test and came back to me with big confident smiles!  Also, I felt the baby kick in the middle of 8th period!  It was an awesome feeling!  I just shouted out "I felt it!"  I cried and the kids were so excited!  As soon as the bell rang I was ready to get home and get ready for the gender reveal party...Cory had been working hard all day on my "honey do" list and he even made a cake!  I got home just in time to frost it with him!  We had a blast making fun of ourselves and our wonderful frosting abilities.  :)  After the cake was done we went to Party City to buy the balloons for the party.  After buying over 2 dozen balloons, we realized we didn't think it all the way through.  There was no way that many balloons could fit into my compact car.  I didn't want to take two trips so I told Cory to just shove the second set of balloons on top of me!  Cory could barely see to drive because there were literally balloons from floor to ceiling in the car.  Luckily, Party City is just around the corner from our house! 

It's a girl!

The party was perfect!  Mom and Dad came over to help set up and our first guests started rolling in shortly after that.  As each guest walked in they chose a mustache or a bow to go along with our Beaus and Bows theme!  I also taped an index card with the name of a random baby item on their back for them to guess later on in the party.  Then they voted on whether they thought Baby "C" was a girl or a boy.  We ate Tacos and Taquitos for dinner and then went straight for the baby games.  Andie lead an "old wives tale" game which predicted that I am to have a baby boy.  Katie lead a nursery rhymes game, where we found out that alot of the young kids don't know their nursery rhymes!  (I thought they would be the best at it!)  Then it was time for the grand finale... the balloon box!  Cory and I opened the box to find PINK "It's a girl!" balloons inside!  We played Beyonce's "Run the World (Girls)" song to the room FULL of little girls!  (I LOVE my little nieces and cousins!)  Everyone was so excited that now we can call Baby "C".... Charlie! 

It's a Charlie!

Charlize Angelica Countryman to be exact!  I can't wait!  She is going to be such a beautiful and cute and sweet and precious baby girl!  And I am SO happy and so excited and SO blessed to have her in my tummy! 

Yay!!!

Today was all around awesome!  I had the best time with my fabulous family!  I'm so glad they were here to share this special moment.  I am so grateful to Cory for allowing me to throw "my little party" and for working so hard behind the scenes to make it happen. That strawberry cake was delish!  After everyone has gone our little family is just lying together on the couch basking in happiness.  Cory and his girls (me, Sno and....Charlie!)

Suspense!

Baby "C" at 19 weeks! 

Thursday was a wonderful day!  I started of with a Chick Fil A Breakfast because I knew it would be a big day for baby "C"  Yum!  I taught the freshman in "STAAR Geography Acadamy" while my juniors were taking the TAKS test. (Which wasn't as bad as I thought it would be!)  I had one class of "TAKS Jeopardy" with my 3rd period, then I was off to the doctor!  Cory and I were so nervous!  But also nervous of the fact that we can't tell anyone until the next day!  The doctors visit was a beautiful experience, which I will write about in a later post. Then I had to get ready for my New Ground performance at Razoo's.  I was sad to leave Cory after such a happy occasion and miss my softball game, but the Razoo's gigs are pretty fun!  Especially since as soon as I got there I saw Cory's Grandpa waving at me!  I was so excited to see him out and about at Razoo's along with Grandma Countryman, Aunt Sharon, Aunt Pam, Aunt Dottie and Cousin Daretha!  They all came out just to see me! :)  I was also happy to see my mom, dad, and cousin Olivia come out again, even though it was so hard not to give them clues on the sex of the baby!  We had a great gig at Razoo's!  I was so happy to see Grandpa and Grandma Countryman dancing to our old Motown songs and I was just in a great mood over all! 

Zaza at the Softball game

Meanwhile, at the softball game... Cory was trying so hard to avoid all the baby questions.  Especially from Zaza!  She showed up to the game with pink and blue balloons and kept asking Cory to choose which one!  I'm so glad it wasn't me!  Cory said he couldn't even look at her!  After our team "The Runs" won 14-4 Cory came out to Razoo's and had a great time with his Aunts, Cousin Daretha, and my parents.  All and all Thursday the 26th was a great day and I can't wait until our gender reveal party!!!!

Cory and Cousin Daretha

Sno is still our baby girl!

Sno is still our baby girl!

While Cory was working, I went to my parents house last night to visit.  My mom was showing me the new Snap N Go stroller that she bought herself as a grandma gift!  She was pushing it along the grand entryway when Sno jumped from behind into the car seat of the stroller!  And she stayed there for quite some time!  Hilarious!  I couldn't stop laughing!  I guess this means she's not ready to give up her throne as the baby of the family! LoL!  I sent the picture to Sno's daddy via text and he said "Aww my pup... I think someone is going to be jealous. haha!"  And she just might be!  I'm so afraid of how Sno will feel when the baby comes.  She knows there is something in my tummy right now.  Everytime I put her next to my tummy and talk about the baby, Sno turns her head to try to ignore it like she did when Wilson got a new puppy!  Eventually she will know that Baby "C" is a new member of our pack and she will be as protective of the baby as she is of Cory and me.  As of now, Sno is still our baby girl!

Baby Blog!

Baby Blog Time!  Cory and I are now 18 weeks pregnant and my belly is growing and growing and so is every thing else!  We are SO excited to add a new member to our family!  Cory talks to my tummy every day and hopefully soon we'll be feeling the baby's moves because we know it moves ALOT!  Here are the fun baby stories we've had so far:

How I found out:  On January 17, I had my annual lady doctor appointment.  As I sat in the waiting room I was watching birthing videos and laughing to myself at the pain that the pregnant ladies next to me had to endure pretty soon.  "Haha!  Sucks to be you!"  Little did I know what news was coming to me!  I finally got into the examination room and the nurse said "since you were late, I went ahead tested your urine sample and it came out positive!"  When she said I was late, I was like "late for what?  the appointment?  I am only one day late for my period?"  And then it hit me... I'm pregnant!  I was shaking, crying tears of joy, freaking out and the first thing I did was ask for something to read because "I've never done this before!"  I sat there reading all the things I'm supposed to eat/not eat and wondered how in the world I was going to tell Cory.

How I told Cory:  It was a Tuesday when I found out, so it was one of Cory's work days.  His "lunch break was at 11:00pm and I had planned on making him dinner.  As soon as I left the doctor's office I went straight to Target to buy a bunch of Baby stuff to surprise him with!  I bought "Daddy loves me" bibs, the cutest police man rubber ducky, sippy cups, a baby giraffe and of course the "What to Expect When You're Expecting" book so I can read up on how this pregnancy thing is supposed to go.  I was really nervous when I got home and started to question the fact that I was actually pregnant, so of course I took an at home pregnancy test to make sure.... Positive right away!  I made my specialty, Chicken Teriyaki and Cory suspected nothing unusual when he got home.  I asked him what he wanted to drink and handed his water to him in a SIPPY CUP!  He looked confused.  He said... "Is this because I'm your sippy cup boy?"  (Inside joke from high school)  And I just smiled really big until he said "Are we having a baby?"  As I said yes, the rest was a blur of crying and hugs and kisses!  Finally I showed him all the baby stuff I bought him and the pregnancy test to prove it.  When he asked about the due date I had a song ready to play on our surround sound... "September" by Earth Wind and Fire.  (His birthday song)  As he heard the song he couldn't believe that our baby was due on "the 21st night of September!"

How we told Zaza and Papa:  We had to wait until Thursday of that week for Cory to be off of work so that we could tell his mom and dad in person.  It was hard to keep it all in!  We took Zaza her Avon order, but in the Avon bag were baby toys and the Avon baby catalog!  She was SO excited as she had been waiting a whole year for someone to have another grandbaby.  She thought after three weddings, she'd have at least one by now. (Little did she know she'd have TWO soon!)  Somehow she "knew" or "had a feeling" that day that we were going to announce a baby that night! 

How we told Grandma Carla:  At my mom's birthday party, my entire family was gathered at Septembers in Arlington, where I was singing with my band, to celebrate.  As soon as Cory and I got there I gave her a birthday present.  The card read "Happy Birthday Grandma!"  She asked "Is this from Sno?"  and I said "yeah, her too!"  She saw my face and knew she was going to have her first grandbaby!  In the bag she got a bib that said "I love grandma!"  All the family was so excited, especially "Great" Grandma and Grandpa who were so excited to call themselves "Great" for the first time!  My aunts were not so excited to call themselves "Great," but they were excited to have another little one around and had tons of advice for me and Cory.  So did the many strangers that Grandma bragged to!  LoL!  We had a blast that night!

How we told the rest of the Countrymans:  Cory's family was having a party for Bryan's birthday and passing his dental exam.  During the party Cory and I hid the baby toys, baby literature, and the pregnancy test all around the house when they weren't looking.  It took a while for them to notice anything.  Anabella picked up one of the baby toys and asked Michelle and Katie if it was Cayden's toy.  They said no and looked confused.  Cory and I just smiled and waited some more.  Finally, Michelle found my "What to Expect When your Expecting" book and asked Shannon and Katie if it was theirs.  By process of elimination they screamed my name...."Cherie!!!" And by the look on my face they all knew.  The whole family celebrated their new niece/nephew or cousin!

Since then, pregnancy has been a great ride! (except for the nausea and morning sickness) We have already had 3 sonograms and are going in for our fourth one on Thursday!   Here are the pics we have had so far:

Our First Sonogram (7 weeks)

Our "Facebook Official" Announcement!

Our 2nd Sonogram (11 weeks)

Baby "C's first 3D Sono (17 weeks)

Welcome to the Countryman Crew blog!

Introducing the Countryman Crew...

Cory Countryman

Cherie Countryman

Baby "C"

Sno Angel Countryman

Welcome to our family blog!  We will now be posting our Countryman family updates via blog!  With Baby "C" coming soon we have alot to blog about.  Stay tuned for updates on doctor visits, sono pics, and all that comes with becoming a new family of three!