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!

Our weekend

Our weekend was pretty fun. I didn't get the guest room (which will soon be the nursery... and guest room.... and office) cleaned out like I wanted, but we did get to see a movie (Surrogates; very interesting), go out to eat a couple of times (we tried a new Italian place in Sun Prairie and will NOT be eating there again, but hey, at least we got to spend time together, right?) and I got my showers cleaned and laundry put away. I have a nagging suspicion that it's a sad reflection on my life if I'm excited about getting my showers cleaned, but oh well.

I made a little headway on my quest for boy bedding (option 1). I'm still not sure if this is what we'll go with (I was hoping for just navy and ivory or navy and white, without any cutesy decorations) but it is kind of cute. I also like this one (option 2) and this one (option 3), even though it's not in line with my nautical theme, but I love blue and brown together. This one (option 4) and this one (option 5) aren't bad, either, although they're probably my least favorite. Let me know your thoughts... option 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5? Ooh, I just found this one (option 6), which I really like. Thoughts?

As for girl bedding, I thought I was all set (see my last post) but then I found this one, which I also think is really cute. I can't decide which one I like better... probably still the first one, but I don't know.

I tell ya; as glad as I am to be keeping the gender a surprise until delivery, I admit that I am *slightly* wishing that we knew the gender so that we could get the room painted and the bedding bought! :)

Back from my two-month hiatus!

Ok, wow, I did not mean to let two months go by without writing; oops! Anyway, this pregnancy is going well, thankfully. I was sick (and I mean, "I-can't-get-off-the-couch-someone-put-me-out-of-my-misery" sick) for a total of three weeks, and now I'm pretty much back to normal. Considering that some people are sick the whole nine months, I'm not complaining!

We first heard the heartbeat at our appointment when I was 12 weeks. It was weird, I couldn't distinguish it at first (although Dan could; the look in his eyes when he heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time was amazing), but then after it went away, it kind of clicked, like, "Oh, ok, that noise that I'm no longer hearing that I thought was static was the heartbeat."

We had another appointment when I was 16 weeks. This time the baby was very active; I could hear the heartbeat right away, and the baby was doing lots of flips and stuff to get away from the doppler. As you know, we're pretty non-invasive; we're not even getting an ultrasound unless there is some issue (bleeding, cramping, etc.) But when we were at this most recent appointment, we did get offered the quad screen test, which tests for our risk for Down Syndrome, anencelaphy, Trisomy 21 or 18, and spina bifida (I think those are all right). Since it's just a simple blood test, Dan and I figured, why not? So I had my blood taken (which I HATE) and then we got our tests back after Labor Day. Our test was thankfully negative, so while there are a few false negatives, it is very rare, meaning that we have a very small likelihood of having a child with any of these disorders. We're so relieved, even though that wasn't even really something we were thinking our baby had in the first place!

Our next appointment is on September 30, so a week from tomorrow. I'm 19 weeks tomorrow, by the way, which means I'm almost halfway there. I can't believe it.

I have been looking for crib bedding for this little imp (we're going to turn our guest room/office into a guest room/nursery/office--yes, it'll be a multi-purpose room!) and I think I've found my girl bedding. Click here if you'd like to see it; I love it and think it's very English cottage-esque, which is totally me! I haven't found my boy's bedding, though, even though I can totally see it in my head. Oh well, I guess I'll keep looking.

Very soon I will be posting pictures of various things we did throughout the summer, including the awesome shower my mom threw for me :)