Spring is Here!

This past weekend I was reminded how lucky I am to have such a wonderful family and husband. With Michele and Mike living so far away, our times together as one big family are few and far in between. Mike had come to Green Bay for work on Thursday and coincidentally, his brother who works for Disney was going to be in town on Saturday for a show at the Resch Center. So Michele decided to fly to Green Bay for the weekend. She is planning on coming home next month for my baby shower, so this trip was really just an added bonus. Her flight was suppose to come in on Friday at 7:30 in Milwaukee, but the plane had mechanical problems in Boston and she didn't come into Milwaukee until 9:30 or so. Mike picked her up and they got to Green Bay around 11:30 that night. I am proud to say I managed to stay awake waiting for them! (OK, maybe I snoozed just a little on my parents couch!) Saturday, Michele and Mike came over to see the baby's nursery, went to lunch, met up with Andrew, Mike's brother, and then met the family up at Eve's to celebrate dad's birthday - Happy Birthday Dad! As usual, Eve's did not disappoint and we had a wonderful dinner with great food, our favorite waitress Mary Ann, and wonderful company! We were excited to have both Grandma Willis and Grandma Von join us for the meal!

Given that the weather was nicer than forcasted, we decided on Sunday we really needed to take advantage so we put on some sweatshirts, made a fire in the fire pit, and sat out in the sun and grilled brats and burgers. It was such a fun afternoon. After a long Wisconsin winter, nothing beats sitting outside for the first time taking in the sun:) It was ALMOST like we were at Miller Park for Opening Day!

There is a baby in my belly!

This week Bob and I had our second ultrasound. We were very excited for the occasion and decided to ask both my mom and Bob’s mom to come along with, so they too could catch a glimpse of their future grandchild. We decided going into the appointment we were not going to find out, which is a good thing, because the ultrasound tech herself was not able to tell what the sex of the baby is, looks like we have a feisty one on our hands! We were her last appointment of the day and the first couple to not want to know. Up until us, she had boys all day long, which only peaked my curiosity more, but we managed to stay strong. She was able to render a guess in our file, with question marks all around it and assured us if we changed our mind we could come in for another peak and she would try again. Baby looks good, very active and weighs approx 13 oz, and is in the 35th percentile. The ultrasound tech did do a 3 D scan, which was so exciting to see. Being able to make out the features of baby’s eyes, nose, and mouth brings a whole new sense of reality that there really is a baby in my belly! For the first time, I think I finally believe this is really going to happen. Bob is still adamant it is a girl and Lois is determined it is a boy. From the beginning of the pregnancy, I have always said we were going to have a boy, but now after seeing the sonogram, I don’t know what to think. Either or, we both agree all we want is our baby to be strong and healthy!

Did you feel that?!?!?

Such very exciting new - this weekend Bob was able to feel the baby kick!!! I have been feeling flutters every so often, especially right before I go to sleep at night, but for the first time this weekend, I was able to feel Baby Seidel kick when I put my hand on my tummy. I was laying in bed Saturday morning, watching the Food Network Channel, which is my normal Saturday morning routine, when all of a sudden I realized that those little bumps I could feel with my hand on my stomach was the baby moving! I called Bob in a frantic into the bedroom, because I didn't want him to miss it. Sure enough, Bob could feel it too! I loved seeing his reaction to it, because I know it definitely makes the whole thing feel that much more real.

We had a great weekend celebrating some birthdays. Friday night we were up at Titletown for Joanne's 30th surprise b-day party and Saturday we went up to Door County to the clubhouse where mom and dad have purchased some land and went swimming with my parents, Liz, and Grandma. We came home and had a Willis family Chinese pig out and cake and ice cream. Happy Birthday Mom and Jo!!!! Bob and I spent Sunday cleaning the house and shopping for the nursery. We found some picture frames, a lamp, some wall decals, and very cute blue bird beanbag chair that match the bedding we picked out very well at Target, so it was a successful shopping trip.

My prenatal yoga class at the Y ended two weeks ago and so my girlfriend Kelly and I decided to try the prenatal swim class this session and I absolutely love it! I have always loved swimming and being in the pool and this class is a great way to get some exercise and enjoy the water. The girls and the instructor are great, I highly recommend the class to anyone who is expecting!

On Tuesday I will officially be 20 weeks along. It is hard to believe we are already halfway through! We have our ultrasound in two weeks and cannot wait catch a glimpse of Baby Seidel!!!

4 Month Update

Above are some pics, the first is of our first glimpse of our little peanut - this was from my first ultrasound at 8 weeks and the second is Bob putting together our crib ...

We had our 3rd OB appointment today and I am happy to report all is going well. My appointment was scheduled for 3:30 and around 11 I received a call from the Doctor's office asking if we could come in for 12:30 because my Doc had to do an emergency surgery this afternoon. Since Bob couldn't get off of work and home in time, my mom was able to go with me. Needless to say, she jumped at the chance to hear her future grandchild's heartbeat, which was beating at a strong 152 - which was music to our ears. I am measuring right at 17 weeks and am happy to report I haven't gained any weight yet! I have no doubt that will catch up with me very soon as I am starting to notice my pants are getting a little tight - might be time to start shopping for some maternity clothes...which I have to admit, I am a little excited to do! We are looking forward to our next OB appt - we will have our second ultrasound and will be able to find out the sex of the baby if we want.....do we or don't we?!?!? As of now, we don't think we want to, but are very tempted!!! We have also officially settled on names for both a boy or girl. We have had a boy name picked out for quite a while, but have struggled to agree on a girl name. We decided to give ourselves a week to come up with our top 5 girl names each and see if we could pick one from there...turns out it wasn't as hard as we thought it would be and over dinner quickly settled on one we both loved.

We officially have a painted nursery and I am very excited with how it turned out. After testing the colors on the wall I decided I didn't care for the brown stripes I was thinking of going with. I hadn't taken into consideration the difference in brown to the woodwork and closet doors and did not like the way it would look, so we decided to do just a simple light green color. The paint color is Pistachio Ice Cream and it is a very calming and soothing pastel green.

Employment is Key!

Good news to share - I have a job! I was fortunate enough to get a job with WPS, this time on the regulated side of the business. I am very thankful for the opportunity to stay with a company I truly admire as well as to know Bob and I do not have to worry about employment in 2010. There is no doubt the decline in the economy over the past two years has affected everyone in some capacity and Bob and I have both felt a hit with our jobs. The good news is Bob is busier than a bee at work. In fact, as I write this, it is Saturday morning and he as work right now. We are very thankful to be so fortunate to have good jobs that will allow us to provide for our family.

I am looking forward to our weekend. The past two have been very busy and a little stressful and this weekend is looking to be nice and relaxing. Last night Bob and I grabbed a quick bite to eat (Ok I confess, we litterally drove through the Taco Bell drive thru - I didnt get done with work until 6:30 or so and I was STARVING). Long gone are our late night dinners at Angelinas (at least for the time being!) and then we ran some errands. We looked at Younkers for baby and maternity clothes and stopped at Barnes and Noble to pick up some books. I have combed What to Expect When You Are Expecting over and over since finding out the news and was looking for some more reading material. I found a book that focused more on birth and the first 48 hours after birth and am looking forward to diving in, as well as a baby book that I can use to document all of our exciting baby experiences we have had and look forward to having! This afternoon our friend Erika and her little one, Evan are coming over for a visit. I am looking forward to catch up, we haven't seen each other since we found out we were expecting and I cannont wait to see Evan, he is such a cutie. And this will be a good test for the puppies, hopefully they are on their best behavior!

Last weekend we went to Home Depot to look at paint colors and finally settled on a light green and brown. I want to paint the room a calming light green color and brown stripes on the bottom half of all 4 walls in the nursery to match the crib. Bob isn't wild about the idea (And I quite honestly, don't blame him, it sounds like a lot of work, but I am determined!) Our friend Kelly was gracious enough to volunteer to help, which we really appreciate! We are planning on painting the nursery the last weekend in Feburary. Once we have the nursery painted we can set up the crib and focus on all of the fun baby details!!!

How Many is Too Many?

The answer to that question my friend, is four! Starting last Wednesday Bob and I have taken on the pleasure of dog-sitting for both of my parents dogs, Brewski and Lucy, in addition to our two dogs. It is a favor I am happy to do in return for all the times they have taken our dogs for us, but four is quite alot! I am pretty positive the younger two, Oscar and Brewski don't even notice that mom and dad are gone - they are having so much fun playing with each other, they truly are best buds. The older two, Lucy and Belle keep looking at me with these big brown eyes as if to say, "when will it end and we can go back to our normal life of puppy rest?" Bob has dubbed me the Puppy Queen, as all four insist on cuddling with mom at night. No lie, I have fallen asleep with one on my pillow, one on my left, one on my right on one laying straight down my back. We have manged so far and are happy to note we are more than half way through our adventure. With only few minor mishaps - A quick trip to the groomers for Lucy and Belle has only lost her dinner a few times to Brewski, we are starting to get into a good routine with the pups and I am certain we will be totally comfortable with them just in time for my parents return on Saturday.

Sunday we had the pleasure of celebrating Liz's 21st birthday with her! Michele and I have jokingly always said we hope to be "bare foot and pregnant" when she turns 21 and somehow I managed to make that dream come true, although I think I would have enjoyed myself more if I wasn't aching for my bed, sweats, and a good movie by 9:00 PM. Michele and Mike are on a cruise with my parents, and while Liz and I would have prefered Michele to be there to help us celebrate, we made the best of it and had a good time! We went out dinner at Nakoshima's, hit up Hinterland for a few drinks and finished the night off at Top Hat. I hope you enjoyed yourself Liz - Happy Birthday!!!

Not too much to update on the baby front. Bob's parents came over on Sunday to help move the treadmill and some other furniture out of baby's room to the basement. Thanks Paul and Lois!!! We purchased a crib and picked out the baby's bedding at Pottery Barn Kids a few weeks ago, so I am hoping to pick some paint colors and start painting the room soon. I cannot wait to see it all come together!

The Beginning

Since we found out we were pregnant, I have been meaning to start a journal to track our thoughts, feelings, experiences, highs and lows. Then I realized it was time to get with the 21st century and put it all into a blog to share with our family and friends. So here it begins....



Our story begins approximately 9 weeks ago when we found out we were pregnant. I hadn't been feeling good for a week or so, it was a different kind of sick feeling, much different than the first time we had found out we were pregnant. My sister Michele, who lives a mllion miles away (not really, but it feels like that some days) was insistent that I take a pregnancy test. So I convinced Bob begrudgingly to go to Walmart with me to pick up a test. (A side trip to DQ typically gets him to do stuff like that). Came home and took the test and it was negative. Over emotional, tired, and frusterated to still not know why I was feeling the way I was, I took a bottle of wine out of the cupboard and crawled into bed. I was pretty bummed. The week went on and still not feeling well I took a another test on Thursday morning and low and behold the words PREGNANT popped up 3 minutes later!!! We were so excited and yet cautiously optimistic, remembering the pain and heartache we had experienced just a few months prior when I had miscarried after a few short weeks. That being said it was a great day and certaintly one we will never forget!



And so our adventure begins! We laid low for the next few weeks, just waiting to make to the 8 week mark to our first prenatal appointment and ultrasound. That was a another day we will never forget. That was the day we first caught a glimpse of our little peanut and heard a very strong heartbeat - 160, which was just music to our ears! Christmas came and went and we were thrilled to officially feel comfortable enough to share the news with friends and family. Last Tuesday we had our second OB appt, which we found just as reassuring as the first as we were able to hear our little peanut's heartbeat once again - still a strong 160.



This week marks the official 13 week mark and end of my first trimester - a week we have anxiously been waiting for! Unfortunately, I also found out this week I would be no longer with Integrys as of April or May of 2010 as a result of a reorg. I was prepared for this possibility, but very devasted to learn the news. I have been searching the job market for quite awhile and have a few leads, and am hoping one of those will pan out sooner rather than later. I am confident that everything happens for a reason and this will only lead to something better on the other side! Until then, Bob and I continue to anxiously wait for July 27th, our official due date!