Guess What?

It's a BOY!!!

We had the ultrasound on Monday, February 27th.

Andy & I stared in awe at this little one that we did not have in our plans...what a wonderful surprise he is.
He moves all the time! I am always surprised at how strong he is at this stage with the little kicks and punches that are being thrown around in my belly.
All the stats look healthy, positive, and BIG. He is already 1.5 lbs when his expected weight should be around 12-13 oz......yeah. The doctor counseled me right away that we are to expect a big baby again and an ultrasound at 36 weeks to check on the size of the baby to keep me and the baby safe in delivery.
Marie was not with us at the ultrasound so we quickly picked her up at daycare to share the news. She was happy and seemed to really understand. When I said, "it's a boy" she said, "wow it is???" It was a great moment.

Now comes the naming....we have many ideas but nothing that we are set on.

We are so very thankful for this healthy little boy!

21 weeks

Here we are at 21 weeks!

The baby is kicking, punching, and doing somersaults all day long. I don't remember Marie being this active at this stage in the pregnancy. I am feeling great except for some swelling in my hands and the dreaded carpel tunnel. That last symptom hit me early in this pregnancy with sleepless nights. But, thanks to some beautiful wrist braces, I am sleeping well again and the wrist/arm pain isn't waking me up at night.


We find out this afternoon at our ultrasound if it is a boy or girl! We are so excited to see that the baby is healthy and strong...and to find out the gender of course. Marie will not be attending the ultrasound but she knows it is happening today. She told us for so long that it was a boy but this morning she said girl.

We took a quick trip to Sioux City/Sheldon this weekend to look at a few more houses. We are going to place an offer on a house this week and see what happens. It is a nice ranch style in a settled neighborhood with a great backyard. It needs some updating but nothing we can't handle.

A lot of exciting things happening for our family!

oh so many things

1. Marie has been sick all week - 1 visit to urgent care, 2 visits to ER, a chest X-Ray, and a med reaction to discover pneumonia.

2. We had our first showings of the house.

3. One of the interested buyers made an offer.

4. We accepted the offer!

5. Closing will occur on April 17.

6. Inspection done next week.

7. We are looking for housing for April and May...probably a furnished extended stay apartment/hotel in Des Moines. Charlie may not be able to join us so he is hoping "Hotel Grammy & Papa" has vacancy...

8. The baby is moving so much that Andy was able to feel it for the first time on 2/14/12.

Times like this make us feel very overwhelmed but we are so thankful that things are moving in the right direction for our move.

Charlie is 7!

Happy Birthday Charlie!

You are 7 years old and looking every minute of it...you have had a tough year with a knee surgery, recovery, and not enough hunting which has resulted in a few extra pounds. (I am sure the increase in snacks and rawhide has nothing to do with it)

However, you have become more special with age...even Marie thinks so.

You 2 are spending more and more time together.

You both stare at me when I get my camera out and pretend to be interested in taking ANOTHER picture.

You lay on the couch and watch movies.

You let her lay her head on you when she needs a rest.

You sleep while she reads you a story.

You lie still so Marie can give you kisses.
We have an ADVENTUROUS year ahead of us so get some rest Charzo Barzo.

We love you so much!

Finally...

Even though we have enjoyed our beautiful winter weather this year, it was nice to finally get some good snow that we could play in! Marie took full advantage of this snowfall playing outside multiple times in one day, building at least 4 snowmen, and making more than enough snow angels not only in our yard but also in our neighbor's.


Charlie was also thrilled with the snow but spent about 1/4 of the time outside that Marie did...apparently she can handle the cold better than the old guy who quickly came in to cuddle with his blanket after his fun in the snow.

Andy & I are headed to Sioux City this weekend to visit daycares, look around at homes with a realtor, and visit with the residency program again. It will be a busy but worthwhile trip...and it's always nice for the 2 of us to get away and have some quality time together.

Marie & Char get to hang out with Grammy & Papa in Des Moines...I am sure they will be just as busy!

Go Bulldogs!

On Friday night we headed to the Drake Women's Basketball game. Last year we went to a game and Marie had so much fun we thought we should do it again... the $1 admission, $1 hot dogs, $1 popcorn, and $1 soda had nothing to do with it....yeah right :)

Marie cheered, ate some cheap and delicious food, and of course she had to meet the different mascots over and over again...it became a little stalker-ish. Drake has the typical mascot bulldog running around giving high-5s to kids and they also have a real bulldog who travels around the stadium and gets treats for letting little kids pet him. Marie loved both. While we were getting something from the concession stand we saw the big mascot. We went back to Andy and she said, "Daddy! I saw the the the the the Grinch!"

On Saturday morning, the unthinkable happened....Minnie Mouse fell into the toilet. Marie was crushed. So, this lead to every stuffed animal in Marie's room needing a bath. Marie did a good job scrubbing them clean and then decided she needed to join in as well.
Unfortunately Marie and I ended the weekend with us getting sick. I have a sinus infection and Marie had a virus plus ear infection. So, tomorrow will be our 3rd day home. We were very lucky to have Andy home with us for 2 days to help us get better. Hopefully we can all get back to normal on Thursday!

Sledding & Swimming

We FINALLY have some snow in Des Moines so we took advantage of it this weekend with some playtime in the snow. It wasn't a lot of snow, so Andy piled it up around Marie's slide and she enjoyed sliding on down into the pile. Marie really loves the outdoors so we were happy to endulge...especially since Andy had the afternoon off and could enjoy it with her.


Unfortunately along with this cold snap comes cabin fever. So, we decided to take advantage of a local indoor pool. Marie was thrilled to put on her suit and splash in the water. We all jumped into the mildly cold water and played basketball and worked on our swimming techniques as well...she is getting pretty good at kicking those feet but still not so sure about putting her head under the water.
I also got to spend some time at home with Marie on Friday due to her cold/cough. We got to play, watch movies, and of course talk...this girl likes to talk. Here were a few of her funny things this weekend:

"Marie, I am going to take a shower now."
"Ok mom...don't forget to take off your socks and underwear ok?"
***
"I love you so much Marie...you are the best girl in the world."
"Oh I love you too mom, you are the mom in the best world."
***
"Mom, do you think the baby will like Charlie?"
"yes I think so."
"Do you think Charlie will like the baby?"
(This conversation continued through about every person in our family...overall we agreed that the baby will like everyone and everyone will like the baby.)
***
"Mommy and Daddy?"
"Yes?"
"I need help hanging my picture on the wall because I put it up there because I want it up there but it fall down because it didn't stay up there."
"Ok, do you want help?"
"Yeah because I want help."
(Marie is really into the whole "because" thing right now.)
***
"Mommy!!!"
"What?"
"Where did your baby go???"
(I was lying on the couch so my stomach looked much more flat than usual)
***