Not much longer...

Well, the title kinda means 2 things:
First, not much longer til Savannah arrives!!! I am 39 weeks tomorrow and being induced on Tuesday!!! I can't wait! We are definitely feeling the pressure, nervousness, excitement and all the other emotions that go with having a baby!!! We are very prepared at this point! We have tons of clothes (thanks to 2 wonderful baby showers), lots of diapers, all the furniture set up in the nursery and pretty much every little gadget you can think of! Dave's parents have arranged to come into town on Monday, so we won't be alone. Dave will be off 2 weeks and then my mom will come to town for 2 weeks! It'll be great to have help around the house for a whole month before I am alone. By that time, I should have a routine down!
So, the second thing the title means is that I am not sure how much longer it will be that we keep up our blog. My guess is that no one will even read this entry. I'm not surprised though. I haven't done that great of a job keeping up with it! :( And Dave stopped writing on it a long time ago, so it's just me. With the baby arriving, I doubt I'll have the time to spend on here. Anyway, if there is someone out there still checking our blog, don't be surprised if the entries stop one day. I am much better at e-mails and facebook anyway!

31 weeks

Well, today I am 31 weeks along! It definitely is going fast! The holidays were simple and nice...quiet, and probably the last time we'll be able to say that! :) I have another doc appt tomorrow and we've registered for our baby classes. We also bought and set up the changing table and have been buying diapers little by little. I'm slowly starting to feel more prepared! Other than that, not much else new...I am tired and looking very forward to going home to Milwaukee this friday! Seeing family and being off of work is much needed!

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.