29 Weeks

I had my week 29 doctor's visit today and it went well. My blood pressure is still a little high but not bad. I met with the final doctor I hadn't seen yet and she was wonderful! She spent a long time talking with me and made me feel confident that I'm doing a decent job in the baby growing department :) She let me listen to the baby's heartbeat a little longer than usual and it was wonderful! The heartbeat is still in the 150's and it always sounds so great! The most exciting news that I got was that the baby is FINALLY head down!!! Hopefully she stays that way! She has been breech the entire pregnancy. The doctor confirmed that I have been having Braxton Hicks contractions which has been a little uncomfortable and makes it feel like her birth is that much closer.

I have tried not to be too much of a crazy person with first time Mommy questions at the doctor's office but I gave in to ask a few today. My friends will be happy to know that the baby indeed can't grab an internal organ and I am not hurting her by laying on my side when she is kicking. AND... the doctor didn't laugh too hard when I asked. Overall, it was a happy appointment. She wants me to have another ultrasound in 2 weeks and Kimberly will be in town and able to go which is very exciting for both of us. After this next appointment I have to go every week and have ultrasounds to make sure the baby is doing okay with the slight rise in my blood pressure. I don't mind at all... I get to see this little girl on a regular basis until she is born! (And hopefully get a couple more opinions on the fact that she actually IS a girl!)

More Pregnancy Whining...

OH MY GOODNESS!!! I have decided that every negative thing I've ever heard about the third trimester of pregnancy is TRUE! Last week I went to my first OB appointment by myself. I have been really lucky that Michael has been able to go to most of my appointments and until last week, the one he couldn't make, my Mom went with me. Well... my blood pressure was a little bit high and there were a few other things that were a little off. They monitored me closely and did a little bit more testing for about a week to make sure I wasn't showing some early signs of Preeclampsia. Other than my blood pressure still being a little on the high side everything seems to be okay. I'm very happy about this because this baby girl is not ready to come out and I'm definitely not ready to be off work yet! I go back to the doctor again Tuesday so hopefully everything continues to go well.

This little girl has started being crazy at night. She seems to sleep a lot during the day and when I'm relaxing or trying to sleep she decides to have a little dance party. The movements are so strong now that I'm having trouble sleeping. She also is reacting to Michael's voice which I think is adorable.

Adam and Katie finally closed on their new house last week and we got to stop by and see it Saturday afternoon. The house is great and I can see them having a lot of very happy years there. I know this has been a long time dream for them and this holiday season is even more fun now that there is another thing to be excited about and celebrate.

Isabella and Adelyn spent the night with Michael and I on Saturday night. We put our pjs on and drove the Sharon Woods for Holiday in Lights. It was a great idea because we were able to stay warm in the car but do something festive. We loved every minute of having them but I think Michael really saw the difference between a 4 year old (Adelyn) and an 8 year old (Bella)!

I have tried to upload some pictures to the blog but my memory card is not cooperating. Hopefully I will get that worked out and be able to post a lot of pictures soon! Hope everyone is staying warm and has a great week!

Thanksgiving Weekend

Wow... I haven't posted in a month! Things have been busy and I went on a bit of a roller coaster ride of emotions there for a bit. Things are much better now and I'll try to catch up the month's events briefly!

After another frustrating experience at 25 weeks pregnant trying to find out the gender of our baby we were able to have a 3D/4D ultrasound where we found out we are having a little GIRL!!! The ultrasound technology in my doctor's office is very outdated and this other experience was MUCH better. They spent a long time with us going through each organ and watching it work in 4D. We saw our baby girl yawn and move around. It was amazing!!! Since the ultrasound we have celebrated knowing we're going to have a baby girl in our lives and started on the nursery... finally!

On November 20th, Michael's family had a fabulous baby shower for me. It is so much fun being around the women in his family... I'm so lucky to have married into such a great family (I know I say this a lot... but I mean it!) We had a lot of fun hanging out, eating some good food and I got some fabulous presents for Baby Lee... she is spoiled already! I'm really excited that Michael's cousin, Lindsey, is due next month and his cousin Brandon's wife, Kim, is due at the end of April. It will be so fun to watch them grow up together and be so close in age! Baby Lee has LOTS of cousins on both sides of the family and for that I am incredibly thankful because I have enjoyed having so many cousins that I am close to myself!

This Thanksgiving weekend we have spent a lot of time with family and just hanging out. Thanksgiving day was unfortunately spent apart which is kind of sad considering it was our first Thanksgiving as a married couple. Our family's celebrated at the same time an hour away from each other so after MUCH debate we decided that instead of skipping one we would just go our separate ways and then spend Thanksgiving evening at home just the two of us. It was a wonderful day, minus the weather, and we both had a lot of fun and lots of great food!

Saturday night we had a bunch of Michael's family over to hang out and it was great. We don't have people over often enough! The boys were able to play pool and the girls hung out with the adorable kids. We also played Apples to Apples which I hadn't played in a long time. It was a lot of fun even if Michael kicked our butts!

Today we attended a brunch for Michael's Aunt Robin's surprise 60th birthday! It is sooooo much fun being in on a surprise! It was nice seeing everyone on his Dad's side of the family since I wasn't able to make it to Thanksgiving. It was a great ending to a great weekend!

We didn't do any shopping this weekend and I was wanting to get out of the house this evening so we went to Meijer to walk around and pick up a few things. Man am I moving slow already... Michael was very patient as we slowly strolled through the store. It blows his mind that I am always wanting to go out and do something but am so miserable once I get there. It is going to be a long 13 more weeks! :)

Overall this pregnancy really has not been bad! It is a lot harder than I thought it would be but I am so thankful to be experiencing it! The baby has been moving a ton and I am loving feeling her move on the inside and outside! It has also been fun to have Michael get to feel her moving around too.

I hope everyone had a happy and safe Thanksgiving and that you are enjoying the holiday season!!!

Missing in Action...

So I have slacked off the past few weeks and haven't updated. Sorry guys! We had my 21 week OB appointment where we got to have our big ultrasound! It was so amazing to see our little baby and to find out that he or she is healthy!!! That is all I wanted to see... but the stubborn little stinker decided not to show mommy and daddy what gender he or she is! I was disappointed because a lot of planning was riding on that day but I guess we will just take this as a lesson in patience... thanks Baby :)

I have been traveling a lot these past two weeks for work and there is more to come. I've been trying to attend as many meetings and conferences all over Kentucky as I can because I'm not sure how much I'll be able to do next year with a newborn! Work has been going really well with the help of my favorite co-workers. I even got the 2010 Outstanding Employee of the Year Award this week. Man was that embarrassing... Michael came down to Louisville to have dinner with me at Ruth's Chris which is our favorite restaurant. It was a perfect time to have our favorite meal one more time before the baby gets here!

We started a baby registry at Babies R Us last weekend and that was an adventure! We stuck with mostly neutral things. I think it sunk in a little more with Michael that a baby is actually on its way between registering and the ultrasound. We are both very anxious and excited!

I'll try to update again soon!!! Have a great weekend everyone.

Bella's Special Day

Bella decided for her 8th birthday (September 19th) she wanted to have a special day with Michael and I instead of a gift. Because we've been so busy it took almost a month for us to figure out when to have this special day but it was worth the wait!

I picked Bella up on Friday and we went to the grocery store to pick up some goodies for a slumber party. Michael's birthday was Sunday so we made him homemade chocolate chip cookies as a surprise for when he got home from work. After the cookies were finished we watched a Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen Halloween movie- I thought it was hilarious to watch and even more funny that she doesn't know the Olsen twins from Full House... just their movies.

After hanging out for a while Michael finally got home and we went to O'Charley's for dinner. When we got home we all put on our pjs and watched another movie... Paul Blart, Mall Cop. It was pretty funny but Bella and I were doing most of the laughing.

We woke up Saturday morning and Bella and I made a big yummy breakfast. I think it is much more fun to cook for more than just Mike and I! We got ready and headed out to the Conservatory... Bella has never been. The waterfall was her favorite part and she made a special wish underneath. We took lots of pictures!

Next it was time for the Florence Mall for the main event... Build-A-Bear. Bella and I had a blast picking everything out and her bear turned out adorable... Michael even managed to stay patient throughout all of our indecisiveness! Bella and I took a ride on the carousel and then we headed to the Art's house to take Bella home.

It was a great day... we love Miss Isabella so much!!! Happy Birthday!!

Bella and the butterfly chair at the Conservatory.

The waterfall was her favorite part!

Two of my favorite people :)

Today is Michael's 27th birthday! Last night we went to Morton's Steakhouse downtown (THANK YOU MICHELLE AND TONY!!!) for a really nice dinner and then today he woke up to a bunch of presents and we went out for breakfast. Mike's mom came over to surprise him this afternoon with a huge bundle of big balloons and homemade meatloaf and cheesecake! It was so nice to have her visit and it made Michael's day special! She also brought a onesie and stuffed animal for the baby. The onsie says "if you think i'm smart, you should meet my dad". So cute!!

In pregnancy news... I'm 20 weeks today!!! Halfway there!!!! My pregnancy email that I get at the beginning of every week said that the baby is about 10 inches from head to heel. I think that is insane and hard to comprehend! We have our ultrasound in a week from Monday and we couldn't be more excited! I'm feeling very nervous though... I just want him or her to be healthy and I'm very anxious to see if everything is okay! Everyone think happy thoughts for us!

Walton Verona Bearcats!

Michael and I went this afternoon to see Ethan play football and Bella cheer. I knew that Bella and Ethan have been practicing more than 4 hours a week and spending their entire Sunday afternoons at games but I had no idea how serious this was until we got there!

Michael had gone to a game earlier in the season but being pregnant and not loving the heat I stayed away until it was cooler... and man was it cooler! It was somewhere around the mid 50's so we bundled up and took some warm blankets and headed to the Walton Verona Sports Complex.

Ethan's game had already started when we got there so we found Tony, Michelle and Adelyn and got our seats. Ethan wasn't playing but he was doing an amazing job cheering on his team and getting the crowd up and out of their seats. These 1st and 2nd graders mean business on the football field. There is seriously some major tackling and competition going on out there. Ethan's team ended up going into double overtime and the Bearcats pulled out a win!

Next game was the 3rd and 4th graders and Bella took the field very timidly at first because she was freezing. She quickly warmed up and was adorable. She is a fantastic cheerleader and is really growing up so quickly. I loved that she was taking the lead and starting some cheers and the interaction between her and her little friends makes me so happy. I explained to her later how a lot of the friends that I made at her age are still some of my best friends today.

Next, came Bella's halftime show. I've been trying to upload the video but have been having a ton of problems. It is too big for the blog and it keeps cancelling out on facebook. I'll figure it out eventually! The halftime show was 4 minutes long and very high energy and those girls can really dance and cheer! It got me kind of teary eyed watching her dance so well and know what she is doing out in the field. And seeing her as a "flyer"(sp?) was so fun because she has worked really hard!

This was such a wonderful day and I'm so glad we went to their last home game! Hopefully we'll be able to go see them at their playoffs in the coming weeks.

`Pictures were posted on my Facebook page from the game if you'd like to check them out!

Girl's Day

Today was a great day full of some great girl fun... with family and friends!

Early Saturday afternoon I was headed to Michael's cousin Lindsey's baby shower. I went to meet up with Kim S. and Kim G. and the little guys so that we could go together to the shower. When we arrived it was so nice to see all of these people that love Lindsey and are excited about welcoming baby Mia in December. The house was packed and everyone was having a great time eating some food and spending time together. It was fantastic watching Lindsey open ALL of her gifts... there were so many! I don't know if it was my pregnancy hormones but Lindsey teared up a few times while opening her gifts and I would start crying right along with her :) Lindsey and Tony are going to be fabulous parents. Lindsey is so fun and outgoing... I hope Mia gets those traits from her mommy. It was a wonderful shower!

Saturday evening was reserved for Libby time!!!! It was Libby's birthday and she wanted to meet down on the river for all of us to have Don Pablos and then part of the group were going to go out to some haunted houses. You can guess which part of the group I was in... (i know, I'm a wimp!) Dinner was so much fun. We gave Libby a hard time but it was all in good fun and I think everyone enjoyed spending three hours laughing very hard! Everyone loves Libby so much and I really hope she felt it on that day! Happy Birthday, again, Lib!!!

Great Weekend!

There was a lot going on this weekend! I started Saturday morning going to a Thirty One party at Cathy's. The Art girls were there there and Isabella and Adelyn ran up to me right away asking where Michael was! First of all... there were only women there... and Second... what is that all about! Oh well... its kind of cute :)

Next, we had my Godson Ayden's Christening. It was a beautiful ceremony and I am proud to be a Godmother to such a gorgeous baby boy! He is so cute and growing so quickly! Kim and Drew had everyone over for a great cookout at their house and it was a great time. After the cookout we went to stop by Michael's brother, Matt's house. They had a great bonfire outside and it was a great evening to hang out. I was up later than I have been most of this pregnancy and by 11:00pm the baby was kicking and moving like crazy! I'm not sure if I'm just usually asleep or the baby liked being around a bunch of family :) The bad news is that I woke up with over 50 bug bites on my legs!!! UGH was that not fun! It is now Thursday and they are just now starting to clear up. The girls at work had to listen to me complain quite a bit this week!

Sunday we had a birthday lunch for my great sister-in-law, Katie ( her birthday was Tuesday the 21st) and an early celebration for Michael (October 1oth). We ate at Longhorn which is one of our favorites and it was a lot of fun. Adam and Katie are house hunting so there was a lot of grown up talk about houses and babies. We are getting old! After going back to my parent's house for a bit and visiting with little Toby we spent the Sunday afternoon watching the Bengals win and doing laundry. It was a great end to a great weekend!

Prego Update

On Monday Michael and I went to the OB for my 16 week checkup. Everything went well and the baby was moving like crazy when the doctor was listening for the heartbeat. So far the baby and I are healthy and doing great! All of the week 16 blood work came back okay AND we got to schedule our ultrasound. It seems forever away but we will make it! It is scheduled for October 18th. I'm getting a little more anxious to find out the sex of the baby. I've decided I haven't found too much neutral clothing that I love but I suppose it has kept the spending to a minimum.

We have quite a baby collection going already! Between Michelle and Kim S. we have a growing corner of baby stuff... clothes, blankets, lots of diapers and even a bassinet. We are waiting to find out if the baby is a boy or girl before we start on the nursery. We have lots of rearranging to do with the rooms in this house but I think it will be fun once we get started. My mom and I have been looking at furniture and bedding. It is so overwhelming to me. Hopefully October 18th will help us get started with this decision making business!

Some Pictures from the Labor Day/Birthday Bash

There are going to be a lot of playmates for Baby Lee.
The birthday girls, Adelyn and Bella.

Adelyn and Bella.

My gorgeous Sister-in-Law, Katie and Roxy the puppy.

Adelyn and her PawPaw.

Aunt TT and Lexi.

Lexi.

Grace and Bella.

A lot of names to fit on one cake!

Labor Day Weekend

Now that I've waited so long to blog I have a lot to talk about! I will be 4 months pregnant this weekend... that seems sooo crazy to me! In the past few days I have definitely been feeling some movement in there. I seem to feel it most at night and it is exciting but still a little strange. We're getting closer to our ultrasound to find out if this little person is a girl or a boy. It is so weird to me that it is now a complete little person in there and we don't know what it is! I still have a gut feeling that it is a boy and can't help but plan everything in my mind around a little boy. I've been getting lots of questions about names lately and it overwhelms me. What a huge decision! I'm afraid we'll be those parents that are forced to name the child so we can leave the hospital. I'll have to work on that!

I was having a lot of trouble sleeping last week and I broke down and bought a pregnancy pillow. I got "The Snoogle". It is basically a really long body pillow that curves behind your neck and between your knees. The first night I used it was like heaven! I have been sleeping better this week so I haven't used it as much but I'm sure I'll need it again before this pregnancy is over.

Enough about the pregnancy for now... it seems to be all I talk about! Last Friday my fellow State of Kentucky employees and I were furloughed so we had a lovely unpaid day off. To celebrate Libby and I had a little furlough party :) Her little girl, Julianna, is now 2 and 1/2 years old and ADORABLE! We got to hang out and have a girl's night and being around her made me excited about being a mommy. We thought all week about what girly movie we wanted to watch and we couldn't decide. We went to Blockbuster after work and picked out an Ashley Judd movie called "Helen". It was soooo depressing! And not sappy girl movie depressing... depressing depressing. At least we had fun hanging out and spending some time with Juli!

Friday I had another girl's day with my fabulous new cousin, Kim. We talk all the time but don't get to hang out very often. I went up to her house and we hung out with little Ayden (my Godson!). He was a little fussy because his belly has been hurting but is absolutely adorable! Austyn was away for the day and Drew had to work so Kim and I got to hang out and talk... what we do best! Kim and Drew recently remodeled their basement and it looks amazing! Ayden's little nursery was done as well and couldn't have been more adorable. We went to lunch at Chipolte and it was yummy. Ayden just chilled in his car seat and seemed to love the noisy people and music. It was a good day!

Saturday Michael and I were ready for a little road trip. My friend Kennetta who sang in our wedding was getting married! Kennetta is from Ashland, Kentucky and her wedding was in a little town called South Shore and the reception was right across the Ohio river in Portmouth, Ohio. Since we were making the trip to Eastern Kentucky I finally convinced Michael to visit Morehead with me! I lived there for many years and he had never been. The weather was so gorgeous Saturday that it was the perfect day for us to drive the curvy back roads to Morehead. We had a great time driving down and I pointed out everything along the way. When we got to Morehead the campus was EMPTY... We parked and spent an hour or so walking through campus. We also stopped in the bookstore and we purchased the baby it's first Morehead State onsie! I got to show Michael all of the places I lived, where my classes were and where I worked. I had so much fun visiting and telling Michael all of my fun stories and memories.

Next we were on our way to South Shore. The GPS decided to take us some insane back way. The roads were so curvy and I had no idea where we were. At one point we passed a sign that said "Road Closed in 2 Miles". We both freaked out there for a minute when we turned on the "detour" and the GPS said we were out of the signal area. We eventually made it back on our path and got to South Shore! When we arrived at the church it was a cute little building and inside it was decorated beautifully. Kennetta did all of the flowers herself and they couldn't have looked more amazing. (I took some pictures with our older camera but they didn't turn out so I apologize there are none posted!) The ceremony was short and sweet... and I mean really sweet! Kennetta's new husband, Michael, has a lovely daughter from a previous relationship(Wesley) who they exchanged rings with during the ceremony. Wes was so shocked and seemed so happy it made it very emotional! Kennetta and Michael looked very happy and I was thrilled to be there to see my friend on one of the biggest days of her life! The reception was great as well. It was different from any other wedding I've ever attended. We didn't stay too long since we had such a long drive back and it was late but everyone was having a great time and both Kennetta and Michael were beaming! Congratulations guys!

After getting home late Saturday night we slept in on Sunday. Sunday evening we had a huge Labor Day bash with my family. There were lots of people there and tons of food. I did take a few pictures from the party and I'll have to post them as soon as I upload them. We celebrated all of the recent and upcoming birthdays and got to spend time with my Uncle Mike who was home visiting from Chicago. Everyone passed around baby Lexi all day and I think she was loving being held so much. My cousins Kenny and Susan got a new puppy named Roxy who was also getting passed around quite a bit. ADORABLE! Adelyn was attached to Michael and the other boys as usual and Bella was attached to my hip. Ethan was very tired after his football game earlier but was still the same sweet boy as always. Grace and Kaleb were as cute as ever and it was so nice to see them. They are getting so big! A small group of us stayed late to play our favorite game... The Mexican Train Game. Has anyone else played this? We have been obsessed for years but it has been a while since we have played. I came in 3rd place out of 6. It was so much fun!

This week seems to be creeping by. Michael made dinner tonight and it was great! He made a pork tenderloin with carrots and potatoes. I'm looking forward to another weekend starting and we don't have a lot planned which I'm happy about. I hope everyone enjoys this new weather that is making Fall seem very close! Sorry this was so long but I hope everyone has a very happy FRIDAY tomorrow!!!

Birthdays and Eyebrows

So I'm now officially 14 weeks and in my second trimester! I've been having a lot of trouble sleeping and am debating the purchase of a pregnancy pillow. Has anyone tried one? They are expensive and I don't want to waste the money on something that isn't worth it but I really miss the 10 hours of sleep a night I was getting!


This past week went by really quickly. We went to dinner with Mike's family for his grandma Rosie's birthday. I really wasn't feeling well but it still was nice to see everyone. Rosie had to have one of her knees replaced on Thursday but is doing really well. She has moved to the rehab facility where she will hopefully get lots of good care and heal quickly!


We went to Adeyln's 4th princess surprise birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese and it was complete madness but fun. She was very cute and excited. I also ran into Tara and her nieces... is that a sign of getting old when you run into your friends at Chuck E. Cheese?


Saturday was very low key. Michael woke up early to go with our neighbor, Ken, to visit one of Ken's brothers in Indiana who has some kind of self sufficient home. I don't know much about it but Michael said it was really cool. Apparently he doesn't pay for electric or water and they grow all of their own food. While Michael was away visiting I spent the day reading Kristin Hannah's "The Winter Garden". I love to read but I haven't written a book report since ummm.... who knows... but it was such an amazing book! It took a while to get into but I really ended up loving it. For a serious book reviewer check out Michael's cousin Amanda's awesome blog here... http://www.glowsnoveladdiction.blogspot.com/ Just thought I'd share!


Michael spent Sunday afternoon out in the heat at Ethan's football game and then stayed to watch some of Bella's cheerleading. I've decided to wait to go to a game when it gets cooler out. While he was at the game I went to a family get together at my parent's house. My Uncle Mike is home from Chicago so this was a little pre-gathering before our big cookout next Sunday. It was a lot of fun to see everyone and my face was hurting from laughing so hard! My cousin Lisa made some delicious vegetable soup that I enjoyed! Vegetable soup has been one of my only cravings so far and this soup was GOOD! I also got to spend a little time with my little Toby boy.


Tonight we're just kind of hanging out. I've been trying to convince Michael for years to let me pluck his eyebrows. He has very thick, dark hair and big handsome brown eyes that would look so much better sans the hair! For some reason he chose tonight to let me pluck away!! Too bad I got about 3 eyebrows out before he couldn't take anymore. Why are boys such wimps? I explained to him that waxing is much quicker and hurts a lot less and he is considering it! We might need to have a date and visit the salon and both get ours done (mine are pretty rough these days too). I think this might be an example of why women give birth and not men... :)

Lucky Girl

There wasn't much going on again this week. Work was insane for me and I'm hoping the stress will decrease in the next couple of weeks. Michael had a better week because his assistant was back from vacation. I was so exhausted from my stressful days at work I went to bed early every night. Luckily I've been physically feeling better... I'm hoping its part of the move into the second trimester! I'm anxious to start feeling the baby move but from what I hear it will be a few more weeks. My belly has gotten harder and my pants officially no longer fit. I've been wearing a lot of dresses and have a couple pair of maternity pants. I think the winter will be much more challenging when it comes to clothes!

This weekend was full of relaxation and I really enjoyed it! Saturday Michael and I went to lunch with his sister Erin and her boyfriend Conor who were visiting from Pittsburgh. Mama Peggy came along also and it was so much fun. It's always so great to see Erin! She is always smiling and kind and you can tell she really loves and cares about her family. And we love and care about her and Conor a ton too :)

On the way home from lunch we stopped at the jewelers and Michael ran in to have my ring cleaned. It needed it soooo bad because I hadn't stopped in since the wedding! He came back to the car with a big sparkly diamond. It looks great! He also brought with him a little surprise. The jeweler, Phil, says he is always about 90% right about guessing the sex of his customer's babies! He gave us a little tiny gold baby ring in a pink little box. So I'm marking it on our list of predictions. I still deep down really believe this baby is a boy but we will be THRILLED either way! I'm excited to know what this little person is but part of me will miss the excitement of not knowing. Who knows... maybe he or she won't cooperate and we'll have to wait the rest of the 9 months. Never know!

Michael was going later that night to a cookout at his brother's and I decided I needed a mini-vacation. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to do this but the best escape from life's stress for me is to go stay with my parents for a night! We had a nice (and healthy) home cooked dinner together and my mom and I stayed up watching a Hallmark movie together. I got to sleep in my big comfy bed with my favorite little fury guy Toby. Then I wake up to breakfast! Man... the life!!

When I got home I discovered my wonderful husband had cleaned the kitchen and living room! Now the rest of Sunday afternoon can be spent reading, catching up on the DVR and laundry. I'm a lucky girl!

The next couple weeks should be fun. Adelyn turns 4 on the 29th and she is having a princess themed party. She has invited all of her little girlfriends and Michael (???). She says he is her Price Charming. How hilarious is that? She loves him as much as he loves her. So cute! Labor Day weekend Michael and I are travelling down to Ashland, Ky to go to Kennetta's wedding. When we get back home we're having a big family cookout with my family to celebrate a bunch of birthdays and my Uncle Mike will be home from Chicago for a visit. I'll be sure to blog and post pictures. I hope everyone has a great week!

Not Much New

Other than Michael and I both having a crazy work week last week not much has been going on. It seems like we haven't been seeing each other very much. By the time we get home from work and eat dinner I'm about ready for bed. I've been pretty lucky that I haven't been too incredibly tired during the day but by 9:30 at night I will fall asleep on the couch if I'm not in bed. This is a really funny change in our relationship because I was always the one up for hours after Michael went to sleep. After living alone for so long I really enjoy some alone time to read or catch up with friends by talking on the phone or watching some of my reality TV addictions. Now that I'm in bed early Michael has been staying up playing XBox with his friends and family or watching some boy shows which has been some great alone time for him. I guess the adjustment to having less "Tammi-time" needed to happen eventually before the baby gets here. It just seems like it is happening so quickly :)

Some books say I have transitioned to my second trimester this week while others say I have another week to go. Regardless, there have been some significant changes. My nausea (which was getting pretty bad) has almost subsided. I have a little trouble in the evenings if I haven't eaten enough but that is much better than being sick all day. What has taken place of the nausea is this INSANE back pain! Between last week's stress from work and this back pain getting so bad I thought I wasn't going to be able to take it. I spent the weekend trying to rest as much as I could. I had to miss Kennetta's bachelorette party in Louisville and I was really sad about that. (I've heard it was still a huge success and they had a great time!)

I went to my 12 week doctor's appointment today. Sorry if this is TMI... but I found out that my uterus is very tilted which is causing the baby to grow into my spine instead of my abdomen. (I'm totally THAT girl discussing her uterus to anyone who will listen... so sorry). The good news is that it will correct itself over the next 2 months. I'm glad to know there is a reason and that the baby is okay and most importantly it will only be a couple months of pain instead of 6 more! We were unable to hear the heartbeat because of this same problem. I was a little upset about that but the doctor assured me that everything is progressing normally and I have nothing to worry about.

So that is pretty much the summary of my life... maybe I need to get Michael to guest blog about how he is doing. I'm not sure that would happen but if it did he would say all he does is work and come home to an evil prego wife. First year of marriage.... so fun :)

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!!!!

Pictures

Here are few random cute pictures because I haven't included any in my past couple blogs.

These first two pictures are from some of the million dress fittings we went to for the wedding. Kim couldn't make it to this one but we were trying to get the girl's dresses ready. I know it was a nightmare but at least we have the crazy memories :) Bella actually found out that night she had strep... poor thing.

Here is a picture from our cookout at Cathy's last weekend. Doesn't he look pretty good with a baby? He is starting to bond with Alexis :)

Ethan played football last weekend at Paul Brown Stadium and Bella cheered for her team as well! I thought this picture Michelle sent me was adorable! Doesn't he look so grown up?

That is all for now!

Goodbye 10th Week!

So I'm officially 11 weeks pregnant today and I cannot even begin to tell you how happy I am that the 10th week is over! It was a rough one!! Aside from all of the typical prego symptoms (mostly fatigue and lots of nausea) my pregnancy brain MAJORLY kicked in this week.

A couple of weeks ago Michael made a very tough decision for our family and traded his gorgeous truck in for two cars because I've still been driving my 2002 Toyota Echo that is not very safe and would not work once the baby comes. He surprised me and got me a brand new 2010 Mercury Milan Premier that has every feature I could dream of. It is white with black leather interior and one of the features I'm most excited about are the heated seats for winter! Wednesday night I was meeting my mom, her best friend Debbie, her mom and my Grandpa for dinner and I was feeling kind of sick so I stopped by the house between work and dinner. When I was pulling out of the driveway and as I was going in reverse I ran into the HOUSE and knocked the mirror off the driver's side. WHAT THE HECK! I ended up not going to dinner and cried until Michael got home. He wasn't happy but to his credit he didn't yell at me and was happy I was safe. He has ordered the parts for the car but it has been sitting in the garage ever since.

Another very sad moment this week happened Monday morning. When I was getting ready for work I was listening to the radio and the traffic report said that there was an accident on I-75 South which is the way I usually travel to work. Thinking I was being smarter than the traffic I decided to take I-74 to I-275 and go the back way to Florence. I'm feeling very proud of myself as I get on the interstate, turn some music on and think about the day ahead. Next thing I know I look around me and I'm in Brookeville, Indiana!!! I had to go another 2 exits to find a way to get back on the interstate in the opposite direction. Apparently I missed the I-275 turn off and my 30-40 minute commute turned into a good 2 hours. I also got lost on Thursday on my way to Frankfort for a meeting but that detour was not quite as bad. Needless to say, I totally believe in pregnancy brain and only hope it gets better!!!

On a brighter note, Michael and I went to a cookout Saturday at my Aunt Cathy's and got to see the Art kids. The food was great and we had a lot of fun. Cathy even bought me my first pumpkin pie of the season and it was YUMMY! My favorite! Alexis was in a good mood for half of the night and I got some really cute pictures. She is getting big too fast!

Today was Leah's second birthday!!! Valerie and Tom had a bunch of friends and family over to their house to celebrate. Leah was so adorable and it was a blast watching her open her gifts. I can't believe 2 years ago we were all at the hospital waiting for her to arrive! The newest Ramp, Nathan, is almost 3 months and growing quickly! He is so cute and was so good and let everyone pass him around and take turns holding him.

I'm excited to see what week 11 brings and I'll be very happy to transition into my second trimester!

Tara's First Bridal Shower!!!

Today was fantastic! It was so wonderful to celebrate such a deserving person and couple! Tara and Matt have been together FOREVER :) When I was on the way to the shower today I was thinking that this previous winter we were all getting together to go to Tara and Matt's engagement party. Since that party Michael and I became engaged, got married, went on our honeymoon and then found out we're expecting our first baby! So while I have been doing all of that... Tara has been my right hand girl even though she has been doing all of this planning herself!

Tara is the greatest friend a girl could ask for. She is kind, considerate and most importantly she is a get things done kind of girl. She has been so selfless throughout my wedding planning and helped me with ideas and kept me sane through all of the drama.

Today was the first time that all of that is now in the past and we are 100% focused and happy about the upcoming wedding of Tara and Matt! January 7th 2011 can't come fast enough if you ask me! It is going to be a very emotionaly charged fun day!

Tara's shower today was thrown by our friend Libby. Libby and Tara met through me and our crazy workout schedules. I've dropped out for the most part but Tara and Libby are still going strong and so is their friendship. That makes me so happy! Isn't it the best when your friends become friends?

Libby had so much amazing food and a lovely cake! She had little party favors of puppy chow in cute little bags with green ribbon because we are all dog lovers and there were a lot of kids there. Pink roses were spread throughout the house to give it a beautiful smell and look! My favorite part were the games! I had to get competitive like usual but I didn't win! There was a question and answer game that helped everyone get to know the couple a little better if they didn't already, then the PRICE IS RIGHT which was so fun! And finally a list of celebrities that we had to come up with thier spouse's names. That was tough for me!

After food and games Tara went to town on her presents which were many!!! She got a ton of great stuff and Lisa and I got a pretty good start on her ribbon bouquet for the rehearsal.

This shower couldn't have been better. We watched all of the little girls play together while we got to chat about wedding stuff and other summer fun.

Best Wishes Tara... You deserve nothing but the best. I know there is much more fun to come... soon! :) Love you!

Baby!!!! 9 Weeks

I have so much catching up to do so I figured I'd skip the wedding and honeymoon posts for now and go back later to finish them up since so much is going on!

We found out a few weeks after the wedding that we conceived on the honeymoon! It is completely unexpected but we are absolutely thrilled. Michael is having to deal with some pretty crazy hormones but other than that marriage life has been good.

Last week we got to go have our first ultrasound and we were able to see the little bean and it felt like my whole world stopped for a minute when I saw a little heartbeat. It is CRAZY to understand that all of that is going on inside of you! Michael was mesmerized too, whether he would like to admit that or not. It was an incredible moment that our little family got to experience with each other.

So far we have felt so much love and support from everyone! Baby Lee will be the first Grandchild on both sides of our families and we get to make all of our brothers and sisters aunties and uncles for the first time. Knowing how happy and excited everyone is melts my heart. I can't express how much I love all of you!

So there is that exciting news! I'll work on getting the ultrasound pics up on here.

Tomorrow is Tara day! We're going to celebrate Tara and Libby is throwing a great party for all the girls tomorrow for her Bridal Shower.

I will write about that and post pictures of all my fav girls :)

Ayden Joseph

So I know that this summer has been the summer of weddings and babies but today was a big day! My Godson was born! Ayden Joseph Schroeder was born this afternoon and he is a big healthy boy! He is 8lb 13oz and 22 1/2 inches long. He is so handsome. He is a little man and seems very even tempered and calm. I loved holding him!

I absolutely love the family that I have married into! Ayden's mommy Kim and I have been close for years but now we like to pretend we are sisters-in-law. Kim and Drew are great parents and Austyn is adorable and full of 2 year old little boy energy.

Kim had told me that I could be in the room when she had the little guy and I tried! She was admitted into the hospital to be induced Sunday night at midnight. I got to the hospital about 2:30am to hang out and hoped things would move quickly like they did with her first, Austyn. I had my ultrasound at 10am downtown so I stuck around as long as I could. When I left at 9 she had made some progress and was about the get her epidural. By the time my appointment was over I went back to work and got the news that he had been born and everyone was doing great.

Michael and I went to the hospital when we got off work to see and hold the new little guy. He was so big and handsome! He was very cuddly! I even got to feed him a little which was so fun! Mike was exhausted from a long hot day at work but he held little Ayden as well.

Then Gigi (Mike's Aunt Susie) came in with Austyn to introduce him to his baby brother. He didn't seem too interested but he was very excited to see his mommy and quickly grabbed a snack and climbed into the hospital bed with her.

Such an amazing day. Welcome baby Ayden... we are here to always love and support you! Congratulations Drew, Kim and Austyn... such an adorable family!

Alexis Michelle

Alexis Michelle Art was born today! She is absolutely gorgeous and very tiny! She is 6 lb 14 oz. I went up to the hospital this morning right after Michelle's C- Section and was one of the first people to be able to hold her. She is doing really well and everyone is trying to figure out who she looks like. I think she looks just like her brother and sisters. She seems to have a lot of personality already... she screamed the entire time during her first bath. She loves to be held.

Michael and I went back to the hosptial tonight so he could meet her. It is so cute seeing him hold a little tiny baby.

Congratulations Tony, Michelle, Isabella, Ethan and Adelyn! She is a gorgeous addition to your beautiful family and I can't wait to get to know her!

Good Luck Rules

I came across these "Good Luck Rules" today and I loved them so I thought I'd share... wonder if my stress recently has anything to do with me not following #6???

Lotus Touts

ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

THREE. Don’t believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

FOUR. When you say, ‘I love you,’ mean it.

FIVE. When you say, ‘I’m sorry,’ look the person in the eye.

SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight.

EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone’s dreams. People who don’t have dreams don’t have much.

NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it’s the only way to live life
completely.

TEN.. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.

ELEVEN. Don’t judge people by their relatives.

TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.

THIRTEEN! .. When someone asks you a question you don’t want to answer, smile and ask, ‘Why do you want to know?’

FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

FIFTEEN. Say ‘bless you’ when you hear someone sneeze.

SIXTEEN. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.

SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R’s: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.

EIGHTEEN. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

NINETEEN. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.

TWENTY- ONE. Spend some time alone.

Update- Wedding Planning and Welcoming Baby Nathan!

Baby Nathan
Tara holding Nathan for the first time!

Mommy and Nathan

So I haven't done a very good job of updating this blog to reflect all of the wedding planning madness that has gone on in the past couple months so I'm going to try to update in one long post! Everything has been happening so quickly that we focus so much on what is left to do and haven't looked back on everything that has been accomplished! All of the big stuff fell into place with the help of lots of researching friends and family. I feel so lucky that when I had an idea I could take it to my mom or a friend and they will have already researched some information for me. Without this help Michael and I would NEVER have been able to plan a wedding in 3 months!

Michael and I originally wanted to have something very very small. We looked into any kind of park you can imagine in the area. We had envisioned a casual ceremony with a cookout to follow. THEN we started putting the guest list together and realized it would be impossible to keep it as small as we had wanted. We both have fairly large families and a lot of friends we wanted to have share our day with us. After making a list and aiming for a group of 100 people that were made up of all of our parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and first cousins, and a few close friends and co-workers we went to visit a banquet hall to see if it would be a good fit. We wanted to have the wedding and reception at the same place since our friends and families would be traveling so far to come together and the Marquise in Wilder could offer that. We wanted them to provide all of the food and drinks so our families wouldn't be working the whole time and the Marquise could offer that. We wanted a place where we could see ourselves getting married and picture all of these people we love in one place having a great time... and the Marquise helped us see that. SO we went ahead with it!

Next came finding a DJ, florist, photographer and of course THE DRESS. All of this happened in a matter of a week or two. The DJ will be from DJ Butlers, Music By Request, the florist is Fort Thomas Florist, the photographer is the amazing Izabela Mroczko (Jara Photography) who has worked with friends in the past and will also be shooting Tara and Matt's wedding in January. The dress shopping was a little overwhelming. I picked with I felt was "The Dress" and then it took a little time to convince my mom that it was the one- after she was on board the dress was ordered and another thing was checked off the scary long list!

The next step was dealing with invitation trouble and planning the details of the ceremony. I've also had 3 wonderful showers. Libby was the first to throw a shower for all of my work friends. It was a gorgeous day and Libby was a fantastic host as always. The food was great and it was fun to have everyone together. Next was my family shower that my Aunt Connie and cousin Susan threw at Susan's house. The games were SO much fun and the food and cake were yummy. I love my family so much and am very thankful for everything they have done for me! Most recently was my friend shower/bachelorette party that my friend and Maid of Honor Kim threw for me with the help of my other friend and bridesmaid, Tara. They did a fantastic job and we all laughed so hard that my cheeks were hurting! Stephanie and Kennetta both drove a very long time to be with us, Kim planned every detail fantastically and had some great games, Tara took care of the desserts that were INCREDIBLE! I'm really looking forward to Michael's family shower next weekend!!

All of our gifts are finally making Michael's house feel more like a home. It's going to take him a while to feel okay with actually having STUFF around. All of the love and support we have been shown from everyone has been so wonderful.

Michael and I are nervous about the big day but very, very excited to be married! We are also looking forward to the cruise!

This weekend Kim was in town for another wedding so we were able to have final fittings for the bridesmaid's dresses with Tara. They are looking great. After dresses the three of us were able to go visit Tom and Valerie in the hospital because baby Nathan was born on Friday May 14th! He was so perfect and it was fun to hold a tiny baby just a few hours after being born. Valerie and Tom are such wonderful parents to little Leah and I'm so happy that Nathan has completed their beautiful family! Congratulations guys!!

And now I'll leave you with a promise to update more often! I hope everyone has a great week!

Adam and Katie!!!

Mr & Mrs Adam and Katie Brumley

(taken by: Susan Rath)
Katie before the Ceremony- Gorgeous!

Amazing Rehearsal Dinner Cake

made by Katie's mother, Sue Rother

Adam and Katie got married this weekend! Everything was beautiful and even the weather cooperated! I remember when my family first met Katie... we were so excited and hoping that Adam would recognize what he had! She is so lovely... kind, considerate and easy going... perfect for my little brother! They are a perfect pair and I know they will have a very long and happy marriage!

And on a selfish note... I'm way excited to now have a fabulous sister-in-law!!!!! :)

ENGAGED!!!

Michael proposed!!!! After much convincing to get me to leave the house, Michael and I left the house to go visit his brother, Matt. I was not happy about leaving the house because I wanted to watch the Amazing Race! When I got in the car we were talking about random things. Michael reached over to hold my hand and his palms were sweaty. I should have been suspicious at this point but didn't think anything of it. Once we were almost to Hamilton Michael got upset because he said his car was making a noise and he had to pull over to check it out. He pulled into a parking lot and walked around to the trunk. Next thing I knew, he was opening my car door and getting down on one knee. I thought he was playing a joke on me (which happens often) but when I saw him open the ring box I knew it was real!

Michael said that the building in front of us was Ross Middle School and that when he was in the 8th grade he would look out "that" window and dream of the woman he would marry. He listed all of the qualities he thought about and said that I was everything he could have dreamed of and would I spend the rest of my life with him.

It was very exciting! We drove around and talked to all of our friends and family that evening for almost 4 hours!

We were both bursting with happiness and so excited about this new chapter in our relationship. I felt an immediate anxiety thinking about wedding plans as each person we told about the engagement asked "when?" and "where"?

I had trouble working, sleeping or concentrating at all for the first few weeks as all of this excitement was happening with someone I love so much!!!