ultrasound

Belly at 7 months
Savannah's profile
Savannah looking straight at you!


So here is the 7 month ultrasound. Since we don't have a scanner, it's simply a picture of the ultrasound, so it's kinda fuzzy. I think you get the point though!

more baby updates

I had another check up on Friday and it went very well. My blood pressure is good, weight good, baby's heart rate good. There is not too much done at these appointments, but it's always reassuring to go and hear that everything is good. I'm now at the stage of pregnancy where I have an appointment every 2 weeks! It seems a little much this early, but I was told every doctor is different. Anyway, it is nice to be able to see her this often and ask questions that come up. Most recently I have had to ask what I can take for a cough. I've had this same dry cough for over 2 weeks now. I feel so bad every time I go into a coughing fit since it shakes up my belly so much. I feel like I'm giving her "shaken baby syndrome" in the womb. Anyway, other than the cough everything is good. :) I am now 7 months and 1 week (tomorrow). I'll post 7 month pics soon.
In other news, however still baby related, Dave surprised me the other day with the stroller and car seat we want! I'm starting to get that anxious feeling, like we're not ready, so every little thing that gets done or purchased makes me feel so much better! This definitely helped!!! We put them together right away and figured out all the latches. I'm very pleased with them! I keep going into the nursery and just staring at them. Weird, maybe...but, it just is all starting to feel so much more real! I can't wait to meet our little girl!

Latest ultrasound

We had another ultrasound today and everything went very well! Last time, Savannah was about 5 months and now she's just a few days short of 7 months, so she looked a lot less skeletal, which was nice! The tech kept commenting on her long fingers and told us that she was a very beautiful baby more than once! Maybe she says that to everyone, but she seemed pretty sincere. In any case, we think she's beautiful! She has big cheeks like me and big lips like Dave! She weighs 2 lbs 8 oz currently and is growing at exactly the rate she should be. So, I'm still due on March 8th. We'll see...some people have a feeling she's going to come early! Stay tuned for 7 month belly pics...

6 months

It's already been 6 months! It's very hard to believe! No new updates, really. I'm still feeling really good. I don't think I could've asked for a better pregnancy, although it's not over yet! I go for my 6 month check up on Thursday, so hopefully that will be all positive. We continue to go baby shopping on a regular basis, though we try not to buy too much right now. We did lots of research on the furniture, particularly the crib. I think we finally picked out what we want and will probably order it soon! That's all I have...hopefully everything is well with all of you!

It's a girl!!!

Most of you already know, but we found out we're having a girl!!! We were both surprised, because almost everyone thought we were having a boy! We are very excited though! I can't believe I'll have my little girl! A shopping partner for life! I love it!!! :) I held off going to any stores for almost a week, but broke down yesterday! I got 4 little outfits all on clearance for a couple bucks each! They are sooo cute! It's crazy how my focus has already shifted...normally when it comes to clothes I only think of myself. I have to admit that I am very selfish in that category! However, now when I go in a store I go right past all my clothes straight to the baby stuff!!! It's so much more fun! :) We'll keep everyone updated! I have another appointment in 3 weeks and another ultrasound in a month and a half!

What's in a name?

Many of you know that Dave and I have been set on our names for a long time! Chloe Jane for a girl and Aidan Ryan for a boy. However, a little incident in a grocery store may have changed all that! Let me explain...
So, I was in the produce section trying to get out of the grocery store as soon as physically possible (I hate grocery shopping) and this little boy went right in front of me blocking the aisle. He started dancing in circles. Very cute, but remember I wanted to leave! With old ladies thoroughly examining the apples behind me, I had no where to go. Finally, the mom of the boy noticed where he was and started yelling his name...you guessed it....."Aidan. Aidan. AIDAN!!!!" The boy didn't budge. Then the unexpected happened...she yelled his name once more..."AIDAN RYAN!!!" You've got to be kidding me! Granted we knew the name Aidan is becoming increasingly more popular, but really...what are the chances that I would be standing right there in the grocery store at the same time and place that the boy happened to act up enough to require his mom to yell his first and middle name? Come on. So, as I scurried away from the produce section and gathered up the rest of my groceries I was thinking about whether or not it was some sort of weird sign...does it mean we're having a boy? Does it mean Aidan Ryan is the perfect name for our little boy? Or most likely...does it mean that it wasn't a sign at all and that there are a million Aidan's in the world including enough Aidan Ryan's that I could run into one! After telling Dave the story we decided to change our boy's name. For the fun of it we both started making lists of both girl and boy names. Boy names for this one and girl names for the future...until we found a new girl's name too! Now I LOVE Chloe Jane and haven't had any run ins with a Chloe, but we also love our new choice. The long and the short of it is, don't trust any name we tell you until after the child is born! The new tops are Savannah Elise and
Austin Patrick...but, don't count on it yet! :)

Parent's trip

Mom and Dad in front of the Alamo

Dad and me in San Antonio

Nursery...so far

My belly...so far :)


I took my mom and dad back to the airport early this morning. It's amazing how quickly things get back to normal. I am all alone in the house again (Dave is at work), and I have to go back to work again in a few hours. It's actually pouring outside right now...the first rain we've had since Ike. It was beautiful the whole time my parents were here...80's and sunny! Anyway, the trip was great! We did do some sight seeing, but not a whole lot. We went to San Antonio on thursday. It was their first time and my second. Other than that, we did a lot of relaxing, some shopping and lots of eating! We also worked on the nursery, which is coming along quite nicely. The hardest part (all the painting) is done! Now, it's just decorating and getting furniture! I couldn't have asked for anything better! It was just so good to spend time with them. It's definitely really hard to be away while I am pregnant, but at least I have a lot to look forward to, which will help the time go by quickly. Dave's parents will be in town next month and then there's all the holidays and before we know it, it'll be March! I am going to have an ultrasound in a couple weeks that will determine the baby's sex and possibly give us a new due date. Maybe I'm further along than we think, who knows! Anyway, that's about all here in Texas!

Ike and other distractions

Obviously, it has been awhile. However, I think we have a series of really good excuses! The first excuse was moving into our new house. We moved at the end of July! It's wonderful...we love everything about owning a home! Unfortunately, we had major trouble getting our phone line set up, thus no internet for over a month long! Then the day we got our internet back is the day Ike decided to pay us a visit! Then...we of course lost power. We were out for 11 days, but finally got it back last night! We will never take a light switch, the air or the tv for granted again! So, now life is beginning to get back to normal! Except that I am now fighting a bad cold! I swear....it never ends! So, this won't be too long....
Dave and I both went back to work late last week after the Ike break. Things are pretty normal there, but very busy for both of us!
I had 2 check ups with the OB. The baby is good! The ultrasound was incredible and I indeed was right on the money about how far along I am. As of now, I am 5 days short of 4 months! I have my next appointment on the 3rd!
My parents canceled their trip to Houston, as we still did not have power, there was a curfew and there certainly wasn't a lot to do in Houston. Anyway, they rescheduled and will be here on Tuesday! I can't wait! My mom will even be able to go to the doctor with me! We're also planning a trip to San Antonio!!! It'll be great!
Well, that's all I have right now! I need to go rest more! Love to all of you!

6 weeks...I think

As many of you know Dave and I found out on July 6th that I am pregnant! The "you are pregnant line" on the home pregnancy test could not have appeared faster! I then went to my family doctor the next day and got the pregnancy confirmed. I picked an OBGYN based on recommendations from 2 friends who have recently had babies and have my first appointment with her on August 6th! I can't wait to get more information! Right now, we estimate (from info gathered online and from a nurse I talked to) that I am probably about 6 weeks pregnant! So, that means a March baby! So far I have had no morning sickness at all! I have only experienced utter exhaustion!!! But, that is partly due to working extra hours at work now that my General Manager is transferring to another location (possible promotion for me...keep your fingers crossed)! Anyway, part of me wishes I had more symptoms like morning sickness, because it's hard for me to believe I'm pregnant. I'm excited to see some sort of evidence. It will certainly give me piece of mind! So, I will keep everyone updated and in the mean time hope and pray for a healthy baby please!!!

Lambeau

We got our boy Lambeau yesterday! Things are going really well so far! Fenway and him play pretty good together. They both have their advantages....Fenway is bigger (at least for now) and faster, but Lambeau has those horribly sharp puppy teeth!!! OUCH! Things will be easier when they have the back yard to play in, but for now everyone's happy! Enjoy the pics!

Lambeau

Puppies!
Mom
Willie
Our 2 boys!
Lambeau and Daddy!


We drove to College Station today to pick out our new addition to the family! We got there at 9am sharp and they started bringing in the puppies! They started with the pups that had rottweiler markings...we eliminated some and then they brought in more. We then had them bring in all the male puppies, since we were pretty certain we wanted another boy. Some of them were playful, some were sleeping, some were feisty as can be! We decided on 3...Waylon, Willie and Cash. We based our decision on personality and looks. Waylon and Cash look like rottweilers, while Willie had a lot of muted catahoula markings. Cash was the most active of the group, while the others were more laid back. They were all getting tired, so we left for breakfast and then came back and was introduced to mom along with our top 3 choices. Mom was amazing! She is incredibly sweet and beautiful! She couldn't get enough attention! She was wonderful! So, then we took her out of the room and brought in Fenway! We wanted him to make the final decision! Everyone was a bit nervous...it was a long drive for Fenway and he was crated while we looked at the other pups and this was the first time any of the pups had met a dog other than their mother. Waylon was not having it! He barked at Fenway the whole time, so we took him out of the mix. We then decided to go in one of the yards, so they would all feel more comfortable. Fenway opened up immediately and he started interacting with the pups much more. Willie desperately wanted to play, but didn't seem to be as brave as Cash. Cash was all over Fenway and Fenway definitely gravitated towards him too! So, in the ens Fenway chose our new puppy...Cash, or should I say "Lambeau"??!!

Mandy and Tyson's wedding

At the end of our trip to Milwaukee we went to our friend's wedding! We've known Mandy and Tyson for about 2 1/2 -3 years now. I met Mandy when we worked together at the Houston Zoo. Tyson is actually from Wisconsin, so we hit it off with him right away! We were very happy we were able to make it to their wedding! We drove down to Galesburg, Illinois on friday and left early Sunday morning. We met lots of their families and friends and went out in the booming (sarcastic) town of Galesburg! Actually, it was quite a nice place. Congrats Mandy and Tyson!!! We love you!

Home

When we were gone we asked to get updates on the house. During that week, they put in the security system and the carpeting! We stopped by on our way home from the airport, but couldn't get in because the house was all locked up! By peeking in the window, we couldn't see any changes. No appliances yet, no sod or landscaping and general touch-ups still need to be done! But, we did see that our address was up and obviously since it was locked, it means that all the knobs/locks were out on! We'll stop by later to see if any other changes are present!

Family

This trip back home was all about family! We spent very little time with friends; in fact we hardly told anyone we were in town. It was important to us to spend quality time with our parents, siblings and especially our niece and nephew! I never spend as much time as I want with them, but every moment was precious! They pretty much know who I am now, which is so cool! I love being called "Aunt Laura"! It's amazing how much we miss them when we're not there! Maybe one day we'll be closer again, but for now, we have to just cherish each visit to Milwaukee! And maybe Lynn and the kids can visit us in Houston soon!!!!!! :)

Anniversary

It's crazy that it has been a year since Dave and I got married! It went so quickly! I couldn't be happier with the life that we chose! I love Dave more than anything and can't wait to spend dozens more anniversaries together!
We spent the day in Milwaukee this year. We had a nice quiet dinner and then went to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the Red Sox game and have some drinks! Which by the way, was my idea...Dave is just lucky he married a pretty simple girl who loves sports! Anyway, we already had our nice dinner! :) It was a great day!

Mom's 60th

We surprised Mom good! Her birthday is on June 18th, but my Uncle decided to have a family reunion/birthday party for her on the 15th. She didn't know that my brother or I would be in town that day! She looked at me 3 times before realizing who I was!!! It was a great time! My brother made a wonderful slideshow for mom with pictures from when she was a baby to present day. She of course loved it! My uncle Fran wrote her a song and played the guitar and sang the song for her! It turned out to be a beautiful day and although all of us are much older now, it still had the feel of our annual family reunions at my Uncle Joe's that we had when I was a kid!

Our new home...Lowe's

It's amazing how fun a home improvement store is when you actually have a home! Dave and I have gone to Lowe's more times in the last week than we've ever gone there! We traded in our "thank you points" that we get by using our debit card with Citi bank for a $110 Lowe's gift card. There were a million things we considered getting, but we found a work bench on clearance for only $74! We decided to get that and an extension cord for our edger/trimmer. Due to a coupon we had, we ended up with $20 bucks remaining on the gift card. Soooo, what did we do a couple days later...we were back at Lowe's. This time we bought a rake and some gardening tools and still have $6 on the gift card! Not bad! The only bad thing about all this is that we have lots more to move now that we've been shopping. Although, I think in the end, we'll be happy that we've spread our purchases out a bit and have a lot of the things we'll need right away. We still want tons of new furniture, since we're going from a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment to a 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom house! We need bathroom supplies, a new couch, tables, decorations, a new t.v......yeah, I know...all in good time! :)

"He's going too damn fast"

Not to break away from the house updates, but seeing as how there is a very good chance of seeing the first Triple Crown winner in 30 years, I thought you should all know who one of my heroes is. No joking, this video brings me to tears when I watch it. Take the 10 minutes and watch...you'll understand what I'm talking about when it's done.

Big Changes

Dave taking picture of me in far corner of yard while standing on the patio

From that same corner looking towards the house

Kitchen flooring (it's the same in the bathrooms)

View from spare bedroom upstairs. There's a large ditch behind our house, then a field, then the freeway. Rumor has it, that the leveled dirt in the distance will be the new practice facility for the Houston Dynamo Soccer Team.


We were very happy to see all that was done over the course of one day!!! The fence was completely finished, the air conditioning unit installed, the tile around the master tub put in and all the laminate flooring was laid (all 3 bathrooms, entry and kitchen). They got some really big things taken care of, so it seems as if the construction manager was right...it'll be done by the end of the month! Although, we've heard so many dates that we are not getting our hopes up until we actually have the keys in our hands!!!

New Puppy

Mom with puppies

Dave's first choice

My first choice


Some of you may know our plan was to get another puppy when we got into the house, and for others it may be a surprise! Fenway is incredibly active and loves to play with other dogs and with our new big back yard it seems like the perfect fit. DAve and I have both always loved Rottweilers and knowing how wonderful "Candy" (Jenny and Don's rott) is, we knew it was the breed we were going to get. We didn't care if it was a full blooded rott or a mix, we just wanted the coloration and size of a rottweiler! I've been looking for about a month now on petfinder.com. It's a great website to go to to see all of the animals, from chickens to dogs to horses, that are up for adoption in your area. We adopted Fenway through a rescue center that posted on the site and we obviously feel great about that decision. We could have went to a breeder and found one right away, but we both agree that adoption is the only way to go! There are way too many homeless animals!!! Anyway, I was looking a few days ago and found Rottweiler/Catahoula mixes! They are only about 4 weeks old now and won't be ready to go for another 4-6 weeks, which will hopefully be around the time that we are in our new house. Oh, yeah by the way, we talked to our construction manager yesterday and he thinks the house will in fact be done by the end of this month!!! The lady in the sales center is the one that said the end of July. I hope this is the last time we get conflicting dates! Anyway, the mom was a recuse that was brought into the center starving and very pregnant. She had 12 puppies 3 days later! Half of them look like Catahoulas and the other half like Rottweilers. Our application was officially accepted yesterday and we will be going right after our vacation to pick out our new baby boy!!! There are 4 boys that have the coloration of a Rottweiler and we will get the first pick of those 4. We're sooo excited for........."Lambeau" to come home!!!

A Few Updates

We went to the house yesterday to find a couple of new additions. The front and side yards have been leveled, the bathroom counter tops are in, the lighting was put in throughout the house, the light switches and outlet plates have been installed and the smoke alarms are in! Unfortunately, we were told that as for now they are keeping our closing date as late July. It may change as time goes on, but they don't want to change it now because they have several houses that are closing in the next couple weeks. Dave and I were disappointed, but at the same time, it's probably better. We don't want to have to rush when we move and we want to do some painting before we're all the way moved in. So, I think we are ok with it! It also gives us more time to slowly get more of the things we need. We recently bought a lawnmower and Dave went shopping yesterday and got some gardening gloves, a saw and a stud finder/laser leveler! He's pretty excited about the last 2 purchases, although I'm not sure what he's going to saw in a new house! :)
So, as far as I know this is what they have left to do:
-gutters
-sod
-finish fence
-all the flooring
-install appliances
-install mirrors in bathrooms
-tile in master bath
-toilets
-front landscaping
-general paint touch-ups, etc throughout house

Slow progress

We are getting so close to the house being done that we are just hoping and expecting significant progress everyday, but unfortunately not a whole lot was done over the weekend. Several days ago, the counter tops were put in the kitchen, which does look really nice, although you can't really tell from the picture since they are covered. The following day the tile was put up around the spare bathroom tub and we got our water heater installed. And yesterday a few vents were put up and it looks like they are preparing to level the front yard. I guess it does sound like a lot now that I am typing it out, but it really isn't compared to progress they have made over past weekends. We have been following up with the sales center and our realtor for an updated closing date and were told we should get one this week. In preparation for the move coming quickly after our vacation to Milwaukee, we have started packing. We're hoping that if it is ready in June, we can get out of the apartment quick enough to not have to pay rent for July!

House

Not too much has been done over the last couple days. The interior of the whole house is painted and we figure they didn't do anything yesterday in order to allow it to dry properly. The walls and ceilings are a light tan color, while the baseboards, window sills, etc are all bright white. We did see a note in the bathroom that had info on the counter tops, which made it look like they will be installed on the 4th of June. We still don't have an updated closing date, but we're hoping for the end of this month! :)

Trip to Lowes

Dave and I took advantage of the Memorial Day sales and went shopping at Lowes yesterday!!! Texas also had a tax free weekend on all energy efficient products, so we benefited from that by getting a ceiling fan for our bedroom. Here's what we got:
-ceiling fan
-trimmer/edger
-100 foot hose for the back yard
-50 foot hose for the front yard
-holders for both
-nozzles for both
-sprinkler
-shovel
-lawn fertilizer dispenser thing
-palm tree
We started with a lot of stuff for the yard for a couple reasons. It will be a new lawn, so we'll have to really care for it. And we're both really excited about having a yard!!! We're going to visit the house tonight, so hopefully we'll have another update!

More additions!

We went back to the house tonight and we're pleased to see all the work that was done during the day today! Among the things that have been completed...
-window sills are in
-all interior doors installed
-shelfing in most closets up
-railing going up the stairs in
-attic pull-down stairs installed
-all cabinets (kitchen, master bath and second bath) are in
-back yard is leveled
It's getting even more fun now that the details are starting!