Welcome Second Trimester!

Good-bye anxiety and nausea; Welcome growing belly and maternity clothes! I have reached one of many milestones in this pregnancy- completing the first trimester! I am so excited to have finally reached the second trimester- when the risk of miscarriage drastically decreases, my pants slowly become tighter and tighter due to my growing belly, and I regain some energy! They say that the second trimester is when most women feel the best during their pregnancy. I can't wait to see what this trimester brings. Some of the highlights I look forward to are a growing belly and seeing a healthy baby at our ultrasound (finding out the sex will also be a bonus)! Thanks for all the "congrats" and well wishes from wonderful friends and family! Pregnancy is such an exciting journey and it just feels that much more special with the love and support of friends and family. I have enjoyed reading the stories and seeing the pictures of all YOUR pregnancies. I hope you enjoy our journey as well!

The Club

I am excited to announce that I am officially a member of the "pregnant mommies club." This is an unofficial club that you are officially a part of once you become pregnant. A club in which we all have many things in common: raging hormones, changing bodies, goofy appetites, and most importantly, the amazing privilege of creating a human being inside our very own bodies. Like many of you have already experienced, I've been waiting WEEKS to share the big news! I am now almost 13 weeks pregnant and I am due October 26th. Last week, I had my first appointment with our midwife in which Rob and I were able to hear the most beautiful sound ever, our baby's heartbeat. I had been preparing myself all day to hear this, however, when I actually heard it, I was still speechless and teary-eyed. Although I knew I was pregnant on February 17th, I didn't truly believe it until I heard that strong heart beating. Here's our story so far... On February 17th, I was two days "late". Although I had gone off birth control only the month before, in hopes of getting pregnant, I couldn't believe it would happen so quickly for me. I decided to take a pregnancy test "just to be sure" that I wasn't pregnant. I was home by myself and took the test. After only an instant, the test showed a positive result. I was in shock and denial. I had no idea what to do next, so I called Rob at work. As I was calling him, I realized how silly it would be to tell him over the phone while he was working, so I had a very short, akward conversation with him, and then came up with a plan "B." I took another pregnancy test "just to be sure" that the first one wasn't wrong, then I decided to write him a little note and wrap it up in a box along with the positive pregancy test. Then I waited, and waited, and waited. FINALLY, he arrived home from work to find the gift waiting for him on his night stand. I was already in bed and had to keep my back to him until he opened it because I knew my face would give it away! After opening his surprise gift, he grinned, and his first words were, "Are you serious?" followed by "I told you so!" :) Rob was positive I would get pregnant as soon as I went off of birth control, and boy was he right! Then, I burst into tears. After the initial shock and excitement, I was greeted by the strong urge to tell everyone I knew, but my head said otherwise. Nobody tells you that the first 12 weeks of pregnancy are an awful mix of excitment, fear, and anxiousness! I wanted to talk to everyone I knew, but was afraid to tell anyone for fear of having a miscarriage. I'm sure Rob got tired of hearing me say "Can you believe we're going to have a baby?" after the 650th time. Maybe not, because it's still pretty cool! After 5 painful (not literally painful, but it sure felt that way) weeks of waiting, I finally had my first appointment with a nurse. I could call it a "disappointment" because it involved paper work and blood work, but provided no confirmation of a growing baby- not even a pregnancy test! It was another 3 weeks before we could hear the heartbeat. That day was the most exciting and scary day I have ever anticipated. All I could think about was how amazing it was going to be to hear the heartbeat, and how painfully devastating it would be if we didn't. I can excitedly say that I WAS able to hear the heart beating, and that was all the reassurance I needed! That evening, Rob and I decided to share our news. We had already told our immediate family over Easter, but wanted to tell the extend family, friends, and co-workers. The word is out, and it is such a relief! In the meantime, I am waiting. Waiting for my next appointment in two weeks to hear that amazing sound again, waiting to completely outgrow my clothes (as they are beginning to get a little tight), and waiting until our 20 week appointment when we can find out if our little pumpkin is a boy or a girl. Wish us luck!

UnDeR CoNsTrUcTiOn!!

Yikes -- Under construction!! Yes- it's true! I am actually updating my blog! I hope this will give me the motivation to get back into the loop :)

Our New Baby (Part 3 of 3)

Wow, November already? Boy, am I terrible at updating this thing!! I follow friend's blogs, friend's of friends blogs, and even stranger's blogs on a regular basis, but can never seem to find time to update my very own blog. I guess it is more exciting for me to read about others' lives than write about my own.

Anyways, the newest addition to our family is our yellow lab puppy, Annie. We got her in August when she was only 7 weeks old and weighed 9 pounds. She is now 5 months old and 45 pounds! Our life with a dog has been quite a ride, filled with many laughs and tears. Having a puppy is like having a toddler. She is potty training, teething, waking up at night, getting into EVERYTHING, and testing the boundaries around our house. It is a full time job. Gone are the days of coming home from work and hitting the couch just in time for Oprah! Welcome to the days of walking Annie at 7am and 4pm, rain or shine. We are permanently at her beckon call at potty time, dinner time, play time (or whenever she wants our attention.) While it has been quite a drastic change in our lifestyle, I wouldn't change a thing. She is sweet and snuggly and is learning more and more every day. It can only get BETTER from here, right??

Our life in a nutshell (Part 2 of 3)

JULY~

Once we returned from our honeymoon, Rob and I began packing to move into our new house. We were so excited to use all our new wedding gifts in our new house. We closed on July 9th, had some awesome helpers for the move, and immediately painted most of the rooms in our house! We knew if we didn't do it right away, we'd probably never do it. I'd be ok if I never had to paint again!! It was a busy, busy month!! We LOVE our new place! We are so comfortable here - It instantly became our "home." We have friendly neighbors, a nice yard, and live on a quiet cul-de-sac ... what's not to love??

The front of our house - LOVING the two car garage :) :)
This picture of the front of the house is missing the homeowners!!
I guess we'll have to get a picture before the summer is over!


Our living room
Our dining room

Our kitchen

Our kitties loving their new house

Our guest bathroom

Our laundry room

Our master bedroom

Our master bathroom

Not pictured: office (2nd bedroom), 3rd bedroom, and family room

You might notice the walls are a little empty! We've since fixed that! I guess you'll have to come visit us to see all the final touches! Hope you enjoyed a tour of our new "crib"!

Coming soon: Part 3 of 3 ~ a new addition to our family ;)

Our life in a nutshell (Part 1 of 3)

JUNE ~

Rob and I were married June 13th, 2009. We had the most beautiful day for a wedding and it was as perfect as I could have ever imagined! I have included some pictures below. Sorry, I couldn't choose just a couple - our photographer was just so awesome! They're ALL my favorites! (in no particular order) All photos courtesy of Kathy at Forever Photography. She was AWESOME!! You can check out her work at http://www.foreverphotographyonline.com/

Following our wedding, we spent 7 days in Riviera Maya, Mexico (1 hour South of Cancun) for our honeymoon. Once again, it was AMAZING! Hot and beautiful the entire time. We went shopping in Playa del Carmen, scuba diving, snorkeling/kayaking, swimming with the dolphins, touring the Ancient Mayan Ruins of Tulum, spa-ing (a romantic couples massage,) and lots and lots of relaxing around the pool with a cool beverage in hand. Bahama Mamas were my favorite... yum!! We also met many, many nice people and even made some new friends!

The beautiful entrance to our resort ~ Aventura Spa Palace, Riviera Maya

Rob and I with our scuba diving instructor

Had to do it ;) R+A = Love on the beaches of Tulum Just after swimming with the dolphins!

Isn't he handsome??? And I got to spend a whole week with him in beautiful Mexico. Love him! :)

Our First Shower!!!

This weekend my family threw Rob and me a beautiful wedding shower. On Friday after school, I headed back to Eau Claire for the weekend of festivities. Friday evening, my mom, Mike (her husband), Rob, and I made some delicious polka dotted cupcakes to serve at the shower. They turned out to be very yummy and also served as a beautiful centerpiece!

Below: Applying the white polka dots to the pool colored cupcakes -

the same color as my bridesmaid dresses!
Rob was the photographer documenting our hard work- thus, no pictures of him!

Our final product!!

Now serving as delicious dessert AND a centerpiece!

Both sides of my family attended the shower on Saturday, so it was a big one! My mom, aunts, cousins, grandmas, sisters, nieces, family friends, and maid of honor were all there. We also invited my soon to be mother-in-law, Mary, Rob's grandma, Catherine, Rob's step-mother, Jane, and his step-sister, Amanda. It was so nice to have them join us for the shower. Rob was a good sport and hung out around the house most of the day- wandering in and out of the festivities. My sister, Stephanie, planned some fun trivia games to help the guests learn about Rob and me, as well as a bingo game to play during the gift opening. My sister, Sara, served as my personal photographer. She did a great job documenting almost EVERY gift :) My maid of honor, Jenni, sat next to me and recorded every gift for me to refer back to in years to come. Thanks Jen!! My mom provided the clean house and most of the food. She also cleaned up afterwards - Thanks Mom!! We also had a TON of good food, and I'm sad to say that we didn't take ANY pictures of the spread.

My beautiful cousins, Terren and Lynsey, who will be bridesmaids in our wedding!!!

My maid of honor, Jenni, included a bonus item with my gift - "Bride Wars" I can't wait to watch it!! I'm sure we would NEVER be like them!! :)

My niece, Ella, found this "Bride To Be" veil at a garage sale and thought I needed to have it.

Ella will be one of our flower girls, along with her two little sisters, Olivia and Ava.

Thanks Ella, love you!!

Here are my special helpers: Jerra (in the pink), Olivia, and Ella. These sweet girls helped me open almost EVERY gift. They were GREAT helpers. Thanks girls!! Love you all!

Here's the final inventory - much more than our small kitchen can accommodate.

Can't wait to have a new house!! Hopefully SOON!!

Thanks to everyone who attended our shower and helped to make it a beautiful success!!! Thanks ladies!