Minnesota!

This past weekend, Mark and I headed up to Minnesota for a fun-filled vacation with our family. We had a fantastic time! Here are some highlights from the trip.

We left on Friday and after getting settled at the hotel, we all headed over to Taylor's Falls to take a scenic boat ride and do some hiking. All though it was rainy and cold, the scenery was so amazing! We all really enjoyed hiking on the trails. We went on one called "Pothole Trail". There are literally pot holes everywhere! They are naturally made and some of them are HUGE and so deep. They were very cool.

On Saturday we hung around the hotel for a while in the morning to have some R&R. Then we headed over to the Mall of America. While the parents with kids went to the aquarium, the parents-to-be went to Barnes and Noble. Mark and I had a lot of fun looking at the children's books reminiscing about the books we loved when we were young. We got a book of great children's tales & one about Peter Rabbit. We plan on buying a lot more books for the baby because there are just so many great ones! After the mall, we headed over to Ikea - the best store on earth! We picked up some much needed blinds for the kitchen. We got wood ones which I've been wanting ever since we moved in to the house 2 years ago.

After a day of shopping and dinner at Toby Keith's Bar & Grill, we spent the evening relaxing at the Water Park of America. It was nice to get to hang out and have a good time with everyone.

We headed home on Sunday. It was a long, tiring weekend but totally worth it. It was definitely hard to go back to reality on Monday!

*Blogger isn't letting me upload pictures right now so those will be coming!

A quarter(-ish) finished!

Here are some pictures of the basement with the walls framed...

This will be the living room.

This will be the office/workout room.

And this is the laundry room. No changes here except a door and a sink, which is featured in the picture!

Now we just have to wait for the electrician to come and then we'll be ready for drywall!

Weight a minute...

Over the course of the last two years, I have worked extremely to go from this...

To this...

Not bad, eh?

I'll be the first to admit that I did (and still do) get a bit obsessed with the number on the scale. I've come a long way from my heaviest of 176 so I feel like I deserve to be obsessive over how much I weigh. And now that I'm pregnant, I'm finding it extremely hard to come to terms with the rising number on the scale which fuels my obsession. My second thought after seeing the positive pregnancy test was "There goes all my hard work". Sad but true.

I was extremely relieved to be told by my doctor that I only need an extra 150-300 calories a day which should be from fruits and veggies and that it's ok to continue to workout like I did before. In fact, it's recommended. Hallelujah! I NEED to workout. It helps me sleep better and just makes me feel better about myself in general.

But on the other hand, I have my husband telling me to take it easy and eat whatever I want, when I want. He just doesn't understand. I physically can't "eat for two" - at least not yet! I don't want to gain a lot of weight. That's not healthy for me OR the baby. And I need to workout because there is a very good chance it will help me have an easy delivery which in turn will help HIM. I guess when I think deeper about his feelings, he says what he says because he knows I'll deprive myself of my unhealthy cravings and he just wants me to be happy.

I guess the ol' "moderation is key" phrase is going to have to be instilled in order to make us both happy.

The Big Remodel!

Mark and I have lived in our house for two years and one of the biggest projects we knew we would eventually take on is finishing the basement. That time has finally arrived! With the help of my amazing brother, Mark is currently down in the basement learning how to shoot a nail gun and frame walls. Thankfully I haven't had to do much besides run to the hardware store a few times and supply lunch.

Here are a few before pictures of the basement...

This is where the closet will go...

There will be a wall where those two support posts are that will separate the living room, office & laundry room.

The office is going to be where that stack of wood currently is.

And this is the nursery which is currently being used as storage. I hope they're finished by the time the baby comes!

I will post some in-between pictures after the weekend is over!

The perfect day

Today Mark and I had our very first baby doctor appointment! As we were sitting in the waiting room, we were looking at a brochure for the clinic and reading up on the doctor we were about to see. I told Mark that his name sounded familiar and his picture looked familiar too - like I had seen him before. Mark had a huge smile come across his face and he said "I think he is Paul's dad". Paul being a guy who lived across the hall from Mark in the dorms when he was an R.A. at Iowa. Pretty random, right? We asked if he has a son named Paul and low and behold, he does! It was a pretty funny coincidence.

Anyway, on to the good stuff!

The appointment started out with the normal stuff...asking the doctor questions, getting lectured about proper diet and exercise. Then I had to have the dreaded pelvic exam. My brave husband stayed in the room! He was rewarded though because right after the exam, we got to finally hear the heartbeat! It was amazing. Seriously, you guys. Amazing. Words can't describe it. I never believed anyone who said that to me but it's totally true. The heartbeat was strong - 166 beats per minute. The doctor said "girl range if you believe the old wives tale". Uh...YES I DO! I believe them all! Now the gender will really be a surprise on delivery day!

The doctor told me I am 11 weeks, 2 days along and my due date is December 13th. Only a day before I had been guessing!The only issue he had with my health is that I don't get enough calcium since I'm not a big milk drinker. I have to take a supplement every day plus force a cup of milk down. Maybe I'll just take two pills :-)

We left with an armful of information to read and ended this amazingly perfect afternoon with an ice cream cone at McDonald's. All in all...it was the second best day of my life...thus far.

Baby loot

My husband is the type of guy who likes to plan ahead. Usually it frustrates me but when he told me we are going to buy stuff for the baby throughout the pregnancy instead of near the end, I couldn't say no! We aren't planning to find out the gender of the baby before he/she is born so everything we've gotten is gender neutral and super cute (to my surprise!). The best deal we've gotten so far is the glider chair. Our neighbors sold it to us for $20! Can't beat that! I'm planning to change the cushion as soon as I can figure out how to do it.

I can't wait to buy more stuff and get the nursery all ready for Baby Testa!

 

One rainy Wednesday night...

I'm stealing this idea from a blog I follow (and love!), the O My Family blog. She writes a letter to her son every month. Now I can follow suite and write a letter to my child. I begin on the day I found out he or she exists.

Dear baby Testa,

One rainy Wednesday night (April 7th to be exact) on our way home from work, I said to daddy "We need to stop at the drug store". He knew why. Once we got home, I began to make dinner because I couldn't muster up the courage to take that pregnancy test. I wanted so badly for it to be positive and I could not bare the thought that it could be negative. We had only begun trying to conceive you 3 weeks earlier!

I finally worked up the courage to go to the bathroom and then wait those 3 very long minutes. I made daddy look first. He came out of the bathroom with a half shocked half ecstatic look on his face. And I knew. He told me to look for myself. Then I saw what I have waited 5 years for...two pink lines. I started crying and hugging daddy. All I could say was "Oh, my God!" We have loved you from that very moment.

Daddy wanted me to keep you a secret until it was confirmed by a doctor. Everyone knew the next day. How could I possibly keep you a secret? I want to tell everyone, even strangers, that I'm pregnant. You'll come to learn that mommy can't keep a secret!

This amazing news became official on April 15th when the doctor confirmed that you do, indeed, exist inside of me. Daddy high-fived me so hard I thought the doctor was going to come back in the room and ask if I smacked him!

You are only 6 weeks old but I wish I could look into your eyes and tell you just how much I love you...how much everyone loves you. On or around December 14th, you are going to be welcomed with open arms into two families who already can't imagine the world without you. I promise I will keep you safe and healthy until then. After that, daddy will have to help :)

Love,
Mommy