Purchases Big & Small

Our couch and chair have finally arrived! It feels so good to actually have a living room that we can, well, live in. And the furniture is SO comfortable-- just what this pregnant woman needs!

AND this is the very first outfit that I purchased specifically for our daughter. It doesn't show up real well in the photograph, but it is green with Winnie the Pooh. Very cute. She will have to grow into it, but by late next spring or summer she should be ready for it. We can't wait. (And for all you people who insist on guessing our daughter's name: We are NOT revealing that information!!! And, no, it is not Eleanor or Emily or Stephanie or Wendy . . .)

Completed Projects

So, Dave and I did manage to build the fire pit and clean out the flower beds on Sunday. We spent hours upon hours working but the end results are good. I forgot to take pictures of Dave's fire pit, but it looks nice (it is some rocks in a circle) and it works great! We had a nice fire going Monday evening. My gardening project was quite the undertaking. The entire side of the house and flowerbeds were underneath mounds of old leaves and debris. But, once cleared, the planting was easy and I think it doesn't look half bad. (The flower bed extends around the side of the house as well.)

In other, and far more important news, the basic genetic tests of the amnio came back and everything looks normal! We do not yet know about Dave's disease or her heart, but at this point she is proving to be a healthy baby girl. We couldn't be happier or feel more blessed.

Yard Work and Landscaping

So, we now have about five acres of land that need to be tended to. Of course, only about 1.5 acres of that are wood-free. And, really, how hard can 1.5 acres be, right? Well, I thought I would include some pictures of our yard. The front is littered with trees and a pond and the back is, well, just HUGE. With tomorrow being Memorial Day (my favorite holiday) we are having a few people up for a visit and a chance to roast some marshmallows. Of course, this means we need to build a fire pit before they arrive. That is Dave's job today. (By the way, the fire pit will be located off from the view you get in the pictures.)

My job? Well, I would like to say that being the pregnant woman I am my job is simply to watch and coach my hubby from the sidelines. But, honestly, do you think I would be satisfied with just doing that? No, my job for the day is to clean out the flower beds in the front and plant flowers in them. We bought a rake and some gardening tools (and flowers!) yesterday so I could do just that. Of course, we forgot to buy planting soil and we don't have a watering can or any Miracle Grow, but hey, it's our first gardening venture, right? (And I am doing all this on the one day that hosts my favorite sporting event: The Indy 500.)

Stay tuned for the results!

And . . . Happy Memorial Day to all!

P.S. Chloe just yelled at us, "Pretty bird!" To which we replied, "Yes, Chloe, you are a pretty bird." And what did she say in return? "Yeah, I'll say."

Babies, Babies, Babies!

This blog is meant to hopefully bring a smile to your face. This past weekend our close friends (and neighbors!) adopted an adorable little kitten named Simon. He is about four and a half weeks old and is probably one of the cutest things I have ever seen. I'm sure you'll agree.



We also have a pair of Canada Geese on our property that nested on a tiny island in the middle of one of our ponds. Last Wednesday was the first day the four little goslings made their venture out of the nest. They waddled after Mom and Dad and jumped in the water eager to swim wherever Dad led.

And, finally, I thought I would include pictures of our daughter's hand and foot. There is nothing cuter than baby feet (even in utero!).

And We Have a Bouncing Baby . . .

Thursday we had a growth and anatomy sonogram and an amniocentesis done. Already our little one is proving to be stubborn and difficult! Baby would simply not cooperate for the ultrasound technician. Not only was she unable to get all the measurements she needed but we also couldn't see the gender. Baby simply would not reveal the "nether regions" to us, and it got Dave and me very frustrated! Based on the little the technician did see and her over twenty years experience she did take an educated guess, but made it clear that our chances only increased to a 60/40.

The amniocentesis went smoothly; although, it was actually a lot more painful than expected. We were told that the basic chromosomal count would take about 24 hours and that we should learn the primary results by Monday. (Full results for the "common" abnormalities takes two weeks, and it will be four weeks total before we learn about Von-Hippel Lindau, Dave's disease.) Amazingly I heard back from the genetics counselor Friday afternoon. Thus far, everything looks normal and it also turns out that the technician's guess was indeed correct. We are having a baby girl! Dave is so incredibly thrilled. He has always wanted a daughter.

The first picture is of our daughter at not quite 13 weeks gestation. The next picture is of her at 17 weeks. She is already (or very, very nearly) proportioned the way she will be at birth. We saw her ears and her fingers and toes. We saw her "wave" to us and open her mouth as if to say "hello." We saw her roll over and scratch her face. It was such an incredible experience to be able to see our baby girl months before she will be born. We can't wait for our next opportunity to see her again.

Blogging Has Begun!

At the advice of a few friends of mine I have decided to begin a blog to keep everyone updated on all the changes happening in our lives right now. The largest of which includes our coming family member: Our baby will be born in October. We are currently 17 weeks into the pregnancy and if I can manage to add it, included will be a picture of me and baby at 16 weeks.

Dave is currently working for the Grand Rapids Medical and Education Research Center for Health Professionals. I nanny for two small boys and am busy "setting up house." A few weeks ago we moved into our first home. We gave up the inner-city life of Grand Rapids and moved to the far more rustic region of Newaygo, Michigan. Despite losing the amenities of the city, we love having all the space. We can now finally accomodate our family of two adults, three cats, a Society finch and Chloe, our Timneh African Grey parrot.

If I can get this blog entry to work I will come back and write about the most exciting news in our pregnancy to date: The gender!