Are you a boy? Or a girl?

My dearest baby,
Last night, your Auntie Rachael offered to give us an ultra-sound so we could see if you are a boy or a girl. I called your dad, since he was still at work, to see if he could get off work early, and thankfully, his co-worker offered to come back to work, so he could come to the ultra-sound (of course he wanted to be there, so if he couldn't, then we would have had to wait until today, but I didn't want to wait anymore!)
So, your Auntie Rachael, Auntie Nay-Nay, cousin Mason and I met your daddy at the office to check you out!

One of the first things I heard was "It's a BOY!" And the first thing out of my mouth was "What?!? It is???" I guess I really thought you were a girl! And your dad was just ecstatic! He hadn't realized just how much he wanted a boy!

And then... "wait a minute..."
After looking at you for quite a long time, none of us were really sure... so it has been determined that it's just too early to know for sure, one way or the other. To me and your dad, it was extremely hard to really know what to look for and what we were looking at!

Thankfully, your Auntie Rachael said she would check again next Sunday, October 23rd when you're 17 weeks along, because then we should know for sure!

Jason and I are so happy we were able to see you though! It's been a little over 6 weeks since we last saw you and you have grown so much since then! Last time you were like a gummy bear, but you really look like a mini baby now! We saw your adorable profile and your cute little nose and ears...
One of the pictures we have of you looks like you are holding your hands together, just above your belly, which makes me smile because your daddy and grandpa Ron both do that, all the time! It officially a family trait! Haha! It's so amazing how much personality you already have, my baby, and I'm so thankful that God has blessed us with you!

Can't wait to see you again in a week! Love you!

I heard your heart beat today!

Little baby,

I got to hear your heart beat today! It beat 152 times a minute and it sounded awesome! I recorded part of it for your dad and in only 7 seconds, I heard 17 beats!

Our next chance to see how you're doing is in four weeks and we're already looking forward to it!
AND thanks to your Auntie Rachael we'll get to find out if you're a boy or a girl, sooner than the standard 20 weeks, and then we can start getting your bedroom ready and fine tuning your name!

A lot of people have been asking if I want a boy or a girl and I tell them that I just want a healthy baby. You are such a miracle and we thank God, every day, that He has blessed us!

By the way, a huge shout out to your Auntie Nay-Nay for sending me "The Belly Book" so I can document all the exciting things about being pregnant, and she also sent me "The Baby Book" so I can document your entire first year! Just as soon as I find a good pen, I'll start filling out what I can.

I love you, little baby.

Baby name Do's and Don't's

My little baby,
Today, your daddy and I shared the news about you to your cousins, Kristen, Jack and Ben. Katya was at gymnastics. We took the three kids to DQ to celebrate and they had some pretty interesting ideas for your name!
A couple that I remember were Kate-aria and Patty (followed by Patty Fatty, so that's definitely out!). Kristen actually came up with a good name for you: Charlie! And it's funny because ever since we knew about you, your dad has called you Charlie! ;)
Since we love all their names, we had a little fun with combo names such as Back or Jen (a mix between Jack and Ben's names). By the way, they prefer Back or possibly Beck. Bristen was another cute idea, and actually sounds like a common name too! However, Batya, sounded more like a disease! So that's out.
Don't worry, kid, we'll find a cute name for you, even though all my siblings took a lot of the better names already!
So far, if you're a boy I like the names Jake, Zachary, and Jason Jr (Or Jason Ryan). Or if you're a girl, I like the names Annie (after your great grandma), Jacqueline and Jocelyn (although your daddy doesn't like those last ones).
Your dad likes the names Liliana, Lily, Emily and Allison. And Andrew, Jacob, Mason (which your auntie Nay-Nay stole already), Lucas, Jackson and Alexander (but he knows I wouldn't go for that one.)
We still have about 6 months to decide, so I'm sure we'll be narrowing it down by half at least when we find out if you're a girl or boy!

Dear Baby - if you're a girl...

September 26, 2011

Dear Baby,

If you're a girl... I'll REALLY need some practice with doing hair! 

I remember playing with Barbies when I was a little girl, and I couldn't do their hair at all! I'm horrible at doing my nieces hair, and just today, I tried to tie a bow with ribbon today and it just looked horrible! 

So, I just want to say that I hope you have a really tough head, because I'll be gentle, but it may take multiple tries for me to make it look good!

Although, on a good note, you'll have two aunties in town that both have girls and we could always head over to their house for help, if needed. Luckily!

188 days until we get to see you, little one!

Love you!

13 weeks and baby bump pictures

September 25, 2011

Dear Baby,

Today you are 13 weeks old, in my belly, which means you are the size of a peach. About 3 inches from the top of your head to the bottom of your bottom. Oh! And you're getting your fingerprints today too! I thought that was pretty cool! (Both my ring finger tips have swirls on them, so I'm curious if you will have anything similar to mine!)

Your dad took my first baby bump profile photos today, which was quite eventful... first I had to find the skinniest clothes to wear so I could look as skinny as possible! I figure it'd be good to see where I start, how I progress, and where I end up to be, before I hold you in my arms. So, anyways, I found my skinny pants and gave your dad my phone to take the picture on. Then we headed into our room with the darker turquoise walls and I stood sideways so he could take the picture. And I stand there, and I stand there, and then he FINALLY takes the picture! But it didn't turn out, because he was too close, so I tell him to get on the bed, so he's further away, but then he stands on the bed and takes a photo from too high up, which was a really bad angle for me! Haha! So then I tell him that he has to sit or kneel on the bed, so he can get a profile photo from right in front of me. As I stand there waiting and waiting for him to figure out the camera, again, I'm like, hurry up! I'm standing there, sucking in my belly, so I can look skinny, holding my breath, and he's taking his sweet time! Grrr! He finally got a good photo, though!

And let me just tell you, he's going to be such a good daddy! He's so patient and loving and he shows that to me every day!
Very true, Lori... okay, I've added one of the photos, although it doesn't really show anything! LOL Apparently, I can hide a peach pretty well! But, baby, you're in there! And I can't wait to hear your heart beat again this Wednesday!

Dear Baby - 09.24.11

September 24, 2011

Dear Baby,

This morning your dad said to me, "I just hope we have a healthy baby and that it looks like me!"
"And what about me?" I asked him.

He said, "just take a look at my baby pictures... I'm just sayin'"!

He then recanted and said that if you are a girl, then you could look like me... 

He's too funny!

We love you, little one.

P.S. Tomorrow you'll be as big as a peach!

Dear Baby...

08.09.2011

Dear Baby,

Your daddy and I saw your heart beat for the first time today. It was like the fast beat of one of the little baby frogs that stick to our back windows, only a million times more beautiful! There is nothing more amazing than seeing you via that ultra sound! Of course, we asked for pictures, and we now have three pictures of you on our refrigerator door.
Right now you are 6 weeks and two days old, in my belly, and you look like a little booger! Haha. When you see the picture, you'll know what I mean, of course, everyone at the Dr.'s office said you look like a diamond and I told daddy that it was more beautiful than the diamond ring he gave me last October.
We love you so much.
BTW: You're due April 1st! 04.01.12

Just a few wedding photos for the blog

 My mom took this photo and I just love it!

 We had a chance to take some really great pictures in downtown St. Joseph after the wedding and before the reception and this is one of them!

 Natalie hand made the cake topper for me and it was the most beautiful, most perfect topper ever! Nothing else would have been better!

 One of my friends took this picture of me as I sang "When I look at you" to Jason.

One of the biggest hits at our reception was the photo booth! I loved it so much! We really got so many awesome pictures of our guests because of this booth!

My friend, Christiane, took this picture of Jason and I as we exited the Church and it's one of my favorites too! I made all these red flags for our guests to wave as we walked out and it was so pretty!

My bouquet with our rings. The vibrant reds of the roses and berries and the burnt orange calla lily's were so gorgeous. I started crying when I first saw them in the church!

Jason and I at The Whitcomb, St. Joseph.

Jason and I with the new carousel in the background.

At the Millcreek Barn. Loved that location!

Yes. Me and my red shoes!

This is definitely my absolute favorite picture! Love all the smiles and genuine reactions!

Little excitements

Sometimes it's the small things that just make me so excited! For example, we have finally ordered an over-the-range microwave and I just picked it up today! We have it in the house now, but have to wait for our buddy, Jimmy, to get a chance to get it installed for us! I'm really excited though! There were only two appliances missing from our house when we bought it, and this is the second thing. And now, our house will be pretty much complete! Oh, wait a minute... I forgot about the dishwasher we don't have. Jason does a pretty good job, but a dishwasher would really be best!

Mini marriage update

Just a few random tidbits...
Married life is great! Jason is the best husband ever! I've started a new job at Whirlpool that I love and instead of working 4-10 hour days with Friday's off, I now work 7:30 to 4 p.m. and I've been working out after work and making dinner, so we aren't eating so late anymore!
We've really got hooked on Glee and American Idol this spring, they can be so addictive!
Jason loves salads and we both love home made pizza, so that's what we had for dinner tonight. I'm in charge of the grocery shopping, but I'm also on a budget, so that's the bummer part of it, but we've been eating healthy and it feels great!
Lori and Todd usually invite us over for dinner about once a week, and it's great! Lori makes great meals and I go over and help play with the kids while she cooks, sometimes I help Lori cook too, though. We love those kids so much! And of course, Todd usually entices us to stay longer with a bonfire! Or at least Jason! They seem to be BFF's! Haha!
Until next time!