Our doctor's appointment

Our appointment with our midwife went well, as always. We heard the heartbeat again, and it's so crazy how much louder it is and easier to find than it was when we first started hearing it! The heart rate did go down, though, from the 160s to 146, so for those putting stock in old wives' tales, it might not be a girl as originally thought! (I, of course, still think it's a boy).

She said I'm measuring big, though, and although she didn't seem concerned at all (she just mentioned it in passing) I kind of had a mental pause at this information. Apparently, your uterus is supposed to be 2 inches either way from how many weeks you are; since I'm 24 weeks, I should be measuring anywhere from 22 to 26 inches. Apparently I'm bigger than that (she didn't say by how much, just that I was "measuring big".) Hmmmm.... I'm all for having a big, healthy baby, but I am worried about having one that's too big!

24 Weeks Today!

So I'm 24 weeks exactly as of today, and I'm really happy about this milestone, since 24 weeks is considered the viability point. I'm thrilled to have made it this far! (Not that I didn't expect to, but you just never know). We have another midwife appointment today, and hopefully everything will still be going well.

I have a feeling that this baby is going to be one contrary little bugger. Whenever I feel it kicking a lot and squirming around, I'll say to Dan, "Give me your hand," which he does, and the minute I place it on my stomach, the movement stops. Dan will have to wait five minutes or so to feel it kicking again, and even then, it'll just be one or two movements (so at least he's felt it, which is good). But the minute he takes his hand away, the baby starts moving like crazy again and is practically doing gymnastics in there. It's like the baby is purposefully being contrary and saying, "Nope, Dad, you don't get to feel me kick as much as Mom does." *sigh* (And yes, obviously I know this is beyond the cognitive ability of my child, but it just seems kind of funny :D)

Fall Fun

We had so much fun with Nancy and Jason over the weekend! They got in Friday night and we decided to go to the Essenhaus, which is this really good German restaurant. I can tell my cravings must be kicking in, since I actually wanted German food--not something I'm known for!

Saturday we went to Old World Wisconsin, which is this really neat place near Milwaukee that recreates life as it was in the nineteenth century in Wisconsin. They actually brought all these authentic cabins, barns and farmhouses from across the state and then put them together in this 576-acre park. They have separate villages for all the prominent immigrant groups, so we saw the German area, the Norwegian, Polish, Danish, Finnish, etc. (Hint: the German area was the nicest; we saw some tiny one-room cabin that the Norwegians lived in, and both Nancy and I said right away, "Uh-uh. No way would we be able to live here; we're heading back to the German part.") I was so happy the weather was nice; people had predicted that it would be so cold and icky, but it was actually sunny and beautiful (albeit a bit chilly, but since we had sweatshirts and jackets, we were fine).

Saturday night we went to Ginza of Tokyo, which is this excellent Japanese restaurant near our house. Soooo yummy; I love their hibachi chicken and shrimp. This morning we went to our new favorite breakfast/brunch spot, Marigold Kitchen (Dan and I really like to support non-chain, local restaurants), and it was sooooo good. Then we just hung out at our house for a little bit before they had to go to the airport. I got a few pictures, although not as many as I'd like to, and I'll post them tomorrow. All in all, it was a great weekend!

Some belly pictures... (and my crazy cat)

Here I am at 21 weeks, 3 days. This was the night that we went out for Dan's birthday, and before I got into bed, I figured that since I actually had my hair done and I looked halfway decent, I should take some pictures to chronicle how my body is changing. So this is me a little over halfway through my pregnancy.




ignore the fact that this picture is crooked; Dan took the shot from a weird angle lying down

And then because I'm like the crazy cat lady that you always see in sitcoms, I found this cute pharaoh hat for Maxine at Target for $5 (yes, I dress up my pet for Halloween). She looked really cute but was NOT pleased about this.




"Why must I go through this humiliation?"


Resigned to her fate


"OK, maybe I could kinda get into this pharaoh thing..."

This past weekend

We went to the Epelgaarden with Tracy and Rori to pick some apples; it's become kind of a fall tradition for us. It was such a beautiful day out and we had so much fun. (Plus, I'm excited because Dan makes the best apple pie, so I'm sure he'll be doing that pretty soon in order to use up all the apples we picked!) I'm really looking forward to THIS weekend because Nancy and Jason are coming to visit; that'll be so much fun (and I'm sure I'll have lots of cool pictures from then, too!)

Some pictures

My mom threw me a surprise baby shower in late July when we went up to the Dells for our annual summer trip (I know, I should have posted this three months ago! :D) It was really cool; we just went out to dinner and then returned to the resort (we always stay in this really nice condo; I swear it's bigger than the townhouse I actually live in!) to find a shower with our family! It was me (obviously!), Dan, my mom, my aunt Tracy and uncle Dan, my aunt Chris, her daughter Karissa, Tracy and Dan's girls Kirsti and Rori, and my grandma. It was really, really fun and an amazing surprise! Here are some highlights.



I love the decorations/plates/napkins my mom picked out.


The whole family (minus my mom, who's taking the pic!)


My mom's orange chiffon cake; so yummy!


Tracy got me this really cute maternity dress; I love it!


Just in case my mom does get her granddaughter ;) Don't worry, I got tons of cute gender neutral stuff, too!


If this one is a boy, I'm saving these for the next child, because they're so cute!


Tracy and Dan got us this "Whale of a Tub" for the baby, although when we first brought it home, I think Maxine thought it was a bed for her. :)


Kirsti gave me some cute ugg boots for the baby! (Ignore the fact that this is a horrible picture of me!)


Rori being silly...








Don't worry; it's non-alcoholic! ;)




Tracy and Dan






The two Dans with their fake cigars :)

Catching Up...

I swear I have been so bad about blogging recently! Let's see what's been going on...

I had to go down to Chicago for a business trip in early October, and that's always a good time. (It's not quite as fun now that I can't have my wine, but it was still a good time!) The night that I got back, Dan and I were laying in bed talking, and for the first time, I could feel the baby from the outside (as in, I had my hand on my stomach and could feel my stomach kick out a little). So that was the first time Dan was able to feel his baby kicking, which was kind of sweet.

The next day was his birthday, but we didn't really do anything the day of, since it was a Thursday (and The Office wedding was on!) I mean, I gave him his gifts and cards (I got him the Wii Active and a book) but we saved the going out part for Saturday, when I took him to Johnny Delmonico's. It's this place that is known for steak, but we were actually disappointed in the steak itself. Everything else was good; the sides, the bread, the beer (according to Dan, of course) but the entrees just weren't that good. I've had better steaks at Outback! It was still fun to go out, though, and the atmosphere of the restaurant was really nice.

In pregnancy news, I've been feeling the baby move more and more, but it's mainly at night, right before I go to bed. I love to feel it moving around in there, but at the same time, I'm crossing my fingers thinking, "I hope when you come out, you aren't all quiet during the day and then up and rowdy at night! Please, please get your schedule straight once you arrive in the world! Love, Mommy."

We also looked at Babies R' Us a lot the other night (yes, we now spend our Saturday nights going to Babies R' Us) and we found the perfect bassinet (click here) for the baby, since we want to keep it in our room for the first 3-4 months. The bassinet is so cute and actually fits our master bedroom's decor (well, as much as any bassinet can, but there's kind of a "French" pattern on there, which goes with our bedroom); it's not all cheesy and kid-like. So we'll probably buy that as the due date gets closer. I'm so excited, but I feel like time is going too slow. I want to enjoy my pregnancy so I'm trying to take it each day at a time, but at the same time, I'm thinking, "I just want to see my baby and hold it/name it/ know what it is!" So it seems like time will really drag until February/March. :)

I think I may have felt movement!

Obviously being a first-time mom, I do not have a lot of experience with pregnancy ;) But I think the other night, when I was 19 weeks 6 days (yes, I know exactly how far along I am; can you tell I am so excited for Februrary?), I was laying in bed, and I just felt a tiny bit of pressure in one spot. It wasn't gas, it wasn't hunger; it was something different than I'd ever felt before. That was Tuesday, and ever since then, I've been noticing it more and more. It's usually at night when I'm laying there, but sometimes it'll be during the day, too, although I obviously notice it more when I'm just laying there, as opposed to when I'm working or walking around, etc. It makes it seem so much more real now that I can actually feel the little guy/girl moving around in there!

Our Doctor's Appointment

So we had our doctor's appointment yesterday, when I was exactly 20 weeks (yay! Halfway there!) Everything sounded good; the heartbeat is still going strong at 160 beats per minute (which, if you go by the old wives' tales, means we're having a GIRL!!!!.... although I know not to put too much stock in those, haha). She said everything sounded great; I'm measuring just what I should be, I'm apparently eating all the right things, etc. So we were glad that everything appears to be spot on!

Our appointment got done around 3:45, so we figured there was no point in going back to work for a whole half hour, so we decided to go see The Informant. It was pretty good, although kind of slow in parts, but overall it was entertaining.

So, I cannot believe I am halfway done with this pregnancy. I am so excited to meet this little guy/girl. February (or, knowing how my family is, early March) just seems soooo far away! I am so thrilled to expand our little family. I can honestly say that I have no preference for the sex of this child. Before I got pregnant, I was SO girl-hungry. I pictured us with a girl, always said, "When we have a daughter," etc. It's not that I didn't want a boy; I just didn't have this overwhelming desire for one like I had for a girl. I can honestly say that the minute I knew I was pregnant with this little bean, all preferences I ever had vanished.

Sure, I would still LOVE to have a girl; my little Kate Elizabeth. I would love to have a daughter to raise into a strong, intelligent, confident, feminine woman who is a wonderful mother to her own children. I would love to (knock on wood) have that close relationship with her that I have with my own mom. And, of course, I'd like the more "superficial" things about having a daughter, too; prom dress/wedding dress shopping, helping her plan her wedding, buying the cute frilly clothes when she's a baby and toddler. And seeing Dan with Rori and Kirsti just makes my heart melt; he is so gentle and sweet with them, and I know he'd only be even more so with his own daughter. I think every little girl deserves a dad like Dan, and that is a HUGE reason that I want a daughter of our own.

But I would absolutely LOVE to have a boy as well. Dan has been so fantastic throughout this pregnancy; he has always been an absolutely wonderful husband, but he's stepped up to the plate even more than I could have ever imagined. Happily taking off work for my doctor's appointments, doing whatever he could to make me feel less nauseous when I was in the throes of sickness; I can't even articulate how lucky I am to have a husband like him. I hear other women complaining about their husbands: how he doesn't help around the house, how he forgets birthdays and anniversaries, how he doesn't get along with their (the wife's) family, how he's not romantic anymore... and I honestly cannot identify with ANY of that. I'm just sitting there thinking, "Hmmm, Dan does just as much housework as I do--and 90% of the cooking--he sends me cards for birthdays and anniversaries--even the anniversary of our first date--he's still romantic, he loves my family, etc." And I realized that the world needs more men like Dan. So I would be so THRILLED to have a little boy to raise with Dan as his role model. I can see him growing into a loving, respectful man who takes just as much of an interest in his children as their mom does, who takes pride in providing for his family, and who believes in treating women with respect--just like Dan does. (Need I point out that my mother-in-law, Gail, did an AMAZING job of raising her son?) There's this song that pretty much epitomizes how I feel; I don't even LIKE country music, for the most part, but there's this song called Watching You by Rodney Atkins, and it's about how his little boy idolizes everything he does and wants to be just like him, so he realizes he needs to be the best dad he can be. It's really sweet and makes me cry every time.

Plus, since Dan's own dad pretty much ran out on him, I think it would be almost healing in a way for Dan to have that father-son relationship that he never had with his own dad.

So, there is my long treatise on why I can honestly say I have no preference as to the sex of this child!