WE LOVE IOWA!!

Danny and I just returned from a great weekend in Iowa for our family reunion. From canoeing down the river, to wine night (Danny seemed to enjoy it more than me), to an exciting trap shoot (Congrats Jeff!!), to a great potluck and winding it all up with a firework show that would rival some small towns on the 4th (thanks again Matt).. we again realized how lucky we are to have such an amazing family.
But this year Pam threw a little baby shower for me and I was again amazed at the generosity of all the gifts.. but almost even more fun were the advice cards I got and thought I would put down a few highlights

1) Give them whatever they want
2) Start saving now for college (ouch!)
3) “Kids can be wild and weird sometime so be aware” from a 9 year old cousin
4) Work and cleaning can wait until tomorrow – hugs and kisses can’t ( a personal fave)
5) Dad can learn to change Diapers but Grandpas can’t

There are so many more that I will post a few more next time..

Here are few of my fave pics from the reunion!!!

Lessons Learned….

Danny and I had the fun this weekend of spending time with two couples who both recently had a child. Charlotte is between 3 and 4 months while Annabel is almost 14 months..

Top 5 lessons
5. There is no such thing as a perfect baby product
4. Teaching a baby to sleep through the night requires letting them cry...
3. Breastfeeding is not completely natural and can be quite painful…
2. Learn to take naps whenever you can the first 6 weeks...
1. Our life as we know it is over but it’s all worth it! (Just check out the pictures below!)























Isn't Charlotte the cutest!! Great job - Dave and Jenna!!




Cutest One Year old ever.. our favorite was the Baby Signs...



Please mommy can I stay up just a little bit longer??

















Hopefully we are as good of parents as both of you!! We love ya!

Just checking in..

Just thought I would drop a quick line.. all is well at this point in my world.. Feel good, eat like a horse and besides getting really tired at 8pm and the no alcohol thing.. am starting to enjoy the pregnancy.. Still hard to believe that in about 3 months I will be responsible for baby..

I had the fun of hanging out with Aimee and her little boy, Jake, last night and can't get over how quickly he is growing up.. here are a few of my favorite pics of Jake as he turned one last month..

So nice and clean..

and then the fun begins!!

I WON!!! I BEAT THE CAKE!!

Quick Update: Doc Appt

We had a doctor's appt this morning as a follow up to last week's "fun" visit to the hospital and the doctor said all seems well to her.. the heartbeat is fast and strong at 150 beats per minute (which they say is normal) and she could tell the baby has grown quite a bit since the last appt two weeks ago..
I thought I would include a picture two from our trip to the lakehouse for those few of you who have been asking how big am I - as you can tell from the picture below I am not too big yet but somehow already feel huge :) and here is one of my favorite pictures from the water relay..

Slight Scare...

It seems as though I went from the proud pregnant person to the slightly paranoid pregnant person.. Last Wednesday night/Thursday morning, I awoke with what seemed to be horrible cramps.. but as it did not fade I got up for awhile and did a little interneter research on the internet and convinced myself it was likely just the pain of my uterus stretching and so I tried to force myself back to sleep. However, after a night of tossing and turning the pain did not seem to subside so headed off to work and then called my doctor. He advised I put a heat compress on my stomach, take a Tylenol and drink lots of water. However by 1PM they had not gone away and with the knowledge that I was headed out of town for the weekend and would not be near a doctor I put another call into the doctor to see if I might be able to come in for a quick appt that afternoon. However, much to my surprise they decided that I needed to go straight to the hospital to check if I was actually having contractions. So after 3 hours of being strapped to a machine that checked for contractions and a few calls to the my doctor, they sent me home with little more information then what I walked in with.. as they said I may bed having very mild contractions or it was just an irritation, that I should stick to a bland diet and that I should make an appt with my doctor for early next week.. However, unfortunately I was still in pain (and now with a small idea of how painful labor will be if this was mild) but am happy to report I woke up feeling 100 times better and have had no similar pains..

Woohoo! Watch that baby kick!

I'm afraid I am already turning into one of those parents who thinks their kid is amazing and mine isn't even born yet.... I must say I am amazed at the strength of this little 1+ pound baby to kick/punch or whatever he is doing in there. Danny was able to feel the movements last week and now at night you can actually just sit there and watch my stomach jump..

The 20 week sonogram went great.. according to those measurements they are estimating my due date to be Nov. 6th - a full week ahead of where it was before.. so at least that means the baby is growing quite well. I have only added 5 pounds so far and according to Danny (and a few of this friends) that would be mostly in the chest area.. :)

Well I will have Danny add the sono pics soon..

With love from Singapore

With Love From Singapore
So it looks like my air sickness was just a part of the pregnancy that has luckily seemed to subside.. I made it to Germany and now Singapore with little nausea and the ability to keep food down.. YEAH!!! (ok well I actually wrote this on the plane on the way to Singapore and must have jinxed myself.. since as soon as we landed – I “lost” my breakfast.. definitely something about flying and lack of sleep that just does not do well with me.)

On that note, I must say I am still not sure about the people who say they absolutely loved being pregnant ( I mean not being able to drink alcohol, play contact sports or wear my normal clothes plus these shots I have to take to travel still does not quite strike me as wonderful….however please don’t take this as complaining.. more like if I had a choice in the future I would probably let Danny carry one…) However, I do agree it is absolutely amazing to feel little Junior kicking or punching away…. I actually just wait in the morning for that first little kick (a little more than a flutter at this point) that signals to me he is doing ok (or so I hope)…. The stomach has continued to grow although depending what I wear people still don’t automatically guess that I am pregnant.. I actually can’t wait for the next sonogram (July 3rd for those who want to see the next pic) as I love seeing how much bigger he has gotten…..

Well that is all from this side of the world.. I am currently in Singapore in the midst of the great Shopping sale so I think I will head out and see the “damage” I can do on my Amex..