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Check out the link on the right to see our recent family photo session! :)

update anyone?

Good Lord there's a lot to update. Well first of all Owen is THREE MONTHS OLD now. I know I don't need to say it but time is flying way too fast. My little boy is growing up! He's huge too... I haven't weighed him in a couple of weeks but I'm guessing he's about 17lbs now. Isn't that crazy?! I just want to kiss him and cuddle with him all the time. It never gets old. He is just too precious! So some major milestone updates on the little man:

-He loves 'tummy time,' which is awesome! 

-He slobbers like crazy

-He chews on his fists constantly

-We believe he has a tooth poking through already... one of his k9 teeth. I think that's what you call them?

-He kicks his legs and swings his arms all the time! He's an active little guy!

-He LOVES the swing.

-He also loves to be outside. This is another good calming agent for him. If I walk outside while he is upset he immediately quiets down. It's amazing!

-He loves our new hammock.... again with the swinging and being outside!

-He loves baths!

-He loves Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga. no joke! One day he was fussy and couldn't be easily consoled so I came upstairs and popped on some Human Nature by Michael Jackson and he was instantly quiet! He has good taste. :)

-He's only slept through the night twice. He gets up sometime between 2 and 4, then again between 5 and 6, depending on the first time he woke up. 

-He loves to go for a walk

-He smiles A LOT :)

-He's sleeping right now and I honestly miss him...

I just can't talk enough about him. He's an absolute joy to be around and I'm so thankful to be his mama. 

I recently went back to work, thankfully only part-time. It's bittersweet really. On one hand it's nice to be challenged and needed for my brain but on the other hand I miss my baby and I want to be there when he's upset or happy or being silly or just sleeping. I want to teach him new things everyday and I want to be the first face he sees when he wakes up. I know I'm only gone from him for a short time while I'm at work but I just can't help but wonder... is it really worth it? I worry daily about my decision to go back to work. Not only that but we only have a babysitter through the end of August then I need to find a replacement. Matt's cousin is watching him now and when she goes back to school I have no idea what we'll do. It's so incredibly hard to call a complete stranger and ask them to potentially watch your child while you're at work. I feel awful about it. It honestly makes me sick with worry and the decision just tears at me. Ugh, what to do!!!! 

It's amazing how much a child flips your entire world upside down. In a good way of course. I don't know what I would do without him, I don't know what I would do without my husband either. He is a huge help and I'm so grateful for that. 

So life is great overall, we're doing just fine, and hopefully I'll be a little better about updating this thing... we'll see. :) Until next time, here's some pics of my little man.

my sweet baby...

Obviously this is SO INCREDIBLY OVERDUE... and to look back now and document the events of my sweet baby Owen's birth seems very important but would take way too much time than I have. So like you don't know already, our baby boy Owen Matthew was born April 1st at 11:10am weighing 7lbs 13ozs and it was the most awesome experience ever. I absolutely LOVE being a Mom and can't believe I have this sweet baby to call my own. I love him more than anything. 

so cute!!

When we left the hospital Owen weighed 7lbs 9ozs, he now weighs 11lbs 11ozs! The boy loves to eat!! He now no longer fits into his newborn clothes, which is sad that my baby is growing so incredibly fast and that soon I'll have to go back to work and won't be able to be with him all day everyday anymore. (at least it's only part time!! and it was totally my choice by the way) We'll see if I can stand to be away from the little man. :)

Other than him growing like a weed he is doing everything a newborn should be doing... eating, pooping, sleeping, being absolutely adorable, melting our hearts, wrapping us around his little fingers, making us proud to be called his parents. :)

I'm so in love. :)

What do you think???

I'm just interested to know what everyone thinks. :) So I created a poll! (check it out in the right corner)

Do you think we'll have a boy or girl??? Hopefully in about a week we'll finally find out!

38 weeks... c'mon baby!

Thankful

As my pregnancy is coming close to it's final days (11 days and counting!!) I can't help but think about I lucky I am. I think about the journey we took to get where we are today... all of the fertility treatments, heartache, stress, hope, fear, amazement... and then I remember where we are today. In just a few short days we will have a baby. A little tiny human being who will be ours to keep. The joy is so emotional and overwhelming. At a few points in my life I never thought that would happen. It seemed unreachable and foreign.

I'll never forget the day I found out I was pregnant. It was a Sunday morning and I couldn't sleep because I was too anxious and nervous. Once I took the test my heart skipped a beat. Was this for real? It was like I was dreaming. I was shaking with excitement, hesitation, precaution, joy.... awe. The past nine months have flown by but I feel like I remember each month so clearly and destinctly. (which is amazing because I can't seem to remember which side the gas tank is on for my car! haha!) Of course with your first pregnancy you do tend to document everything.

I guess the reason I am thinking about these things is because I see my close friends going through the same battle I went through when trying to conceive. I see the hesitation and hope in their faces when they've just completed a treatment... trying to stay positive but don't want to get their hopes up for fear of another disappointment. I feel for them so strongly I can't help but hold back the tears. I want this for them so badly it hurts. I can't do anything to help them but I hope they know that I felt the same way, and I'm living proof that it can happen and sometimes you just need the right tools in order for it to work.

Fertility is an amazing and unpredictable science. Hopefully some day in the future couple's will not have to go through the pain of wanting a child so badly only to have hurt and disappointment every month that it hasn't happened for them. Just don't give up...

tick tock, tick tock

I am so tired these days. I'm having a really hard time focusing on work when all I want so badly is for this baby to arrive. I know, I should enjoy this time while I have it because once this baby comes the silence will be gone forever! I had my 36 week doctor appointment yesterday. No progress has been made as of yet... meaning I'm not dilated. The baby's heartrate was 155. He or she has definitely dropped at least a little bit which is so very nice because I'm able to breathe a little easier! :)

Over the past couple of weeks I've been so lucky to have had two baby showers! One thrown by some very dear friends of mine and another was a dual shower at work with my friend Meredith who is due a week before me. How lucky we are! Here are a few pictures from the first shower on 2/28.

This is my friend Michelle, she made the cute tiered cake with the little pregnant lady on the top!! It was so delicious too. She is so stinkin' talented... love this girl!

Everyone was encouraged to decorate a onesie. Oh my gosh they are priceless!! It was such a great idea and it will be a wonderful memory from the shower each time the baby wears one. How sweet! :)

Ah yes, the belly string game... let's guess how big you are! This is Ellie, my cousin's daughter, trying her string on for size. She did a good job guessing!

My wonderful friend Valerie made a cute-as-can-be diaper cake! We will definitely be using those here soon! Thanks Val, you're the best! :)

And last but not least, are the amazing party planners! I know these girls put a lot of work into making it a beautiful shower and I can't thank them enough!! I am so incredibly lucky to have such great/amazing/sweet friends!!! :)

What's in a name?

Matt and I are having the hardest time picking baby names. We just can't seem to find one we both love. AND it's so much harder to have to pick one boy name and one girl name... it would be so much easier if we knew the gender! Oh well too late now! I just have to laugh because we're so indecisive.... here's an email chain we've been working on for oh, about 5 days now...

Me:
Do you like??
Boys:
Alec
Benson

Girls:
Juliana (I think I mentioned before but can’t remember what you said about it)
Brenna
Calista
Eden

Matt:
I like Alex better than Alec, but I'm sure that is off the table because of Mr. Stoermer (FYI-a friend of ours)

I like Bennett better than Benson.
I do like Juliana... what do you think about Julia?
Of the last 3, I like Eden the best.
What do you think of Caelyn?

Me:
Well I thought I would suggest Alec BECAUSE you like Alex.
I like Juliana better than Julia.
I like Caelyn.

Matt:
What about Dillon or Vanessa?

Me:
Not really a fan of either. For girls, I don’t really like names that end in –issa or –essa, that’s why I don’t like Alyssa either (sorry no offense to anyone!!).

Matt:
Do you like:
Hannah
Pheobe

I'm liking Owen more and more...
I really like this website: http://www.nymbler.com/
Try it out!

Me:
That website it not helping. It keeps showing me the same names over again even though I have blocked them!

Matt:
It works awesome for me...found a few more names to try on for size:
Girls
Elise
Avery
Hope
Clara
Olivia

Boys
Vaughn
Graham
Grant
Caedyn
Quinn

Me:
Oh my God I'm going to smack you... I asked you about Elise a long time ago and you didn't like it!

Matt:
We've discussed a million names at this point! You also loved Bennett and have since changed your mind. Do you like any of the other ones?

Me:
I still like Bennett... I just want to give our child his own name and feel like Bennett is maybe a little too close to Benjamin. I'm on the fence.

And no, I'm sorry I don't like the other names.

Matt:
What about Owen?



This is just hilarious to me! This doesn't include all of the countless conversations we've had about names up until now... Who knew picking a name for your child could be so hard!! haha! It's all in good fun though and hopefully we'll be able to agree on something soon! :)

much ado about baby

It's about time I update this thing! So here goes... We never did get the 3D ultrasound. Due to the atrocious Ohio weather the office called and cancelled the appointment just 2 short hours before we were due to arrive. Matt and I were SOOOOOO bummed, to say the least. :( The office said they could reschedule us for late February/early March. whaaaa?? Oh I was mad. But what are you going to do? At this point the baby will be here in less than 6 weeks anyway so we'll just save the money and see our little babe then. 


We're having a blast putting the nursery together. It looks wonderful! Here's a little preview so far...

It's exactly what I imagined! Is it weird to be in love with a room?? Well then I'm guilty because I loooooooove it! It's so calming and beautiful. :)


This past weekend my step-mom Angie threw me a baby shower for my Dad's side of the family. It was kind of a couple's shower. The guys were invited to come and participate in a poker tournament as long as they brought a package of diapers. We are definitely good on diapers for a LONG TIME! Well until the baby reaches about 15 pounds... which might not last as long as we think. Anyway, while the guys did that the girls did the baby shower thing. It was so much fun! We got SO MUCH wonderful stuff. More importantly stuff we need! :) Of course we need absolutely everything so it was all appreciated! We are so thankful!

My parents are HUGE Harley fans so this little onesie was quite appropriate. :) It says 

From Cradle to Chrome

My cousins Kylie and Kenlea

My cousin Kenlea is due exactly one week after me!

My wonderful parents!

I have another shower this weekend with my Mom and Matt's side of the family. Then we should be all set for baby! I've also been working on a few projects of my own. I've been 'trying' to make baby bibs... 'trying' being the key word here! Here's a few that I've done.... I've actually made all of them by now I just haven't taken a new picture. They are quite cute if I do say so myself but I'm just not sure how they'll hold up. The thing is my sewing machine only sews in zigzag mode so it's a little tricky to make the stitching look pretty as well as make sure the fabric stays put. If they fall apart, oh well! I've really wnjoyed making them and they were made with love so that makes them even cuter, right?! :) 

and here's few random cute pictures... Matt putting together the pack n' play. Good job babe!

and how funny is this picture of Cricket?! haha! Someone's going to be a little jealous when the baby gets here!

Time Goes By...

I cannot believe that it's 2010 already. Every year seems to fly by faster and faster. I'm sure it gets worse the older you get. I am so so ready for this year though. There are SO many wonderful things to look forward to!

So to start off... things are going great with the baby and my pregnancy in general has been smooth sailing. Thankfully I didn't gain a crazy amount of weight during the holidays (like I thought I would!). My weakness these past few months have been buckeyes. Oh those sweet delicious rounds of peanut butter dipped in chocolate... I just couldn't resist them... and I didn't. Thankfully they are completely gone from our house so they won't be tempting me anymore. Otherwise the baby's heartbeat has been pretty steady at 145. I'm starting to see my doctor every two weeks now which means I'm in my final trimester! (or will be at the end of this week) How exciting! I've been feeling a ton of movement from the babe in the last couple of months. He or she is very fond of my ribs. I haven't noticed a pattern as far as when I feel the most activity... whether it's day or night, but I do cherish every movement. I love it! I feel as though if the baby is moving then it must be doing ok in there. It still absolutely amazes me how far we've come and that this is actually happening to us! We've slowly been preparing the nursery... it seems like it's taking forever. People ask all the time if the room is ready or what kind of things we've bought so far and so far, nothing. In which I get a super surprised face saying -Really?! You better get going! Nope, we don't have the furniture yet, nope, I haven't bought a single thing for the baby... wow this baby is coming in roughly 3 months, maybe I should get busy?! We've finally registered though, does that count?? I guess I haven't quite hit the 'nesting' period yet because otherwise I'd probably be going crazy stressing about it. Anyway, without further ado here is the most recent belly shot at 27 weeks. It's getting huge!!

We have also decided to get a 3D ultrasound which I am SOOOO excited about! Our last time seeing the baby before it's born... it's going to be amazing. :) I'll be sure to post pictures!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year! Here's to a wonderful, exciting, and happy 2010!