A Year Later...

Last year on September 19, 2008 we got married! Here is a quick run down of the past year:
Sept. 19th: married
January 30th Alan graduated from fire fighter training
Feb. 10th: closed on our house, kitchen demolition began an hour after closing
Around March 7th finished the kitchen
March 15th: found out that I was pregnant
March-August: remodeled the entire upstairs: 3 bedrooms, living room, and 1 1/2 baths
Currently: working on the basement and going to baby classes.

We both agreed that this time last year as we were getting ready to leave for our honeymoon in Maine that we would have accomplished soo much! Maybe we can take it easy this next year!

Thank you to all who have and continue to show us their support and love. We love you all!

3rd Trimester! 27 weeks

Wow! Time is flying by! 27 weeks marks the start of the 3rd trimester, the home stretch! I will be considered full term in 10 weeks and then Benjamin can decide to enter the world. However, I would appreciate it if he waited until 40 weeks.

Benjamin is about 15 inches long (and he is cramped in his home since my uterus is only about 10 inches!) and weighs 2 pounds. He can open and close his eyes and reacts to light. He love to kick and roll and we love watching him.

Momma and Daddy: are doing great, getting lots done in the house. The upstairs is almost complete and then we will start working on the basement. I have noticed that I am not as hungry as I used to be, I get full soo much quicker. I am not complaining! Other than my hips hurting a lot lately I feel great.

Our one year anniversary is coming up and we are hoping to get away for the weekend. Not sure where we will end up, but somewhere close by. I can't wait!

Belly Dancing...Baby Style

Baby Benjamin has been moving, rolling, punching, and who knows what else a lot lately. As I was laying on the couch watching America's Got Talent, he decided to show me what talent he has. It finally occurred to me as I sat there laughing at my belly to video tape it so other could watch our son's amazing talent! I will try to remember to catch more of his moves on video.
*note you do not need sound, I think there is a commercial playing in the background.

Enjoy!

Natural Disaster #3 in less than a year.

Above: our new office door. This was where the glass door crashed in to our office. The water level was last seen two feet above the top of the door (see last picture)
Above: the aftermath of our office on Thursday.
Below: the glass dorr that crashed in. You can see the water level above the handle to the door. You can also see water coming in from the sides of the door.
Flash Flood in Louisville. We received 7 inches of rain in one hour, which caused downtown Louisville to flood quickly. I was at work when the rain started and noticed that the water was rising up the outside door to our office. We started moving computers and medical supplies out of our office as sewage water started pouring in.
The above picture you can see the water line above the door handle and water coming in from the sides of the door. We were told to evacuate and about 15 minutes after I took this picture, we were upstairs when we heard this horrible noise...it was the door crashing in.
We were in the stairwell when we saw a file cabinet floating down the hallway. We were all told to go home before an electric fire started (because the electric panel was downstairs and is also filling up with water). The problem with leaving is that the streets were flooded and I and another coworker couldn't get to our cars. Dr. C took us to her house and Alan came to pick me up when the weather settled down. We were on the way home when Alan asked "what is that smell?" I guess I had gotten used to smelling like sewage and said "oh, the water was sewage water and I'm covered in it." I got home and took a shower and felt much better.
After the rain stopped and flood waters receded and 65 north was reopened mom and I went downtown to find my car before the next storm came. We got my car and it started pouring again and was difficult to drive in, but we made it home and my car is fine!
We were able to go back to work on Thursday to see if we could salvage anything. The pictures above were taken on Thursday. Some of our files were ok, some we had to throw away. We have been working from home until they can find us a work home. One person said that the downstairs will be up and running again by Aug. 24th and someone else said it could be 2-3 months! We will know more on Monday *hopefully*
Thankfully, our house was ok and received no flooding in the basement. I would have loved to seen the creek as I am sure it was pretty high! In less than a year Louisville has had three natural disasters: wind storm (the week of our wedding), and ice storm and now flas flood. Someone said we have had wind, ice, and water, all we need now is fire! No thank you!

23 weeks

So we have reached the point where the Bump (the website that offers the fruit comparison) must have run out of fruit examples because baby will be a papaya for weeks 21-24.

Studies show that baby finds gentle music and your own voice most soothing. Nipples are starting to sprout, and that little face is fully formed. And, baby's starting to settle into sleep cycles, snoozing about 12 to 14 hours a day. It shouldn't be hard to figure out when -- just pay attention to those kicks as they start and stop.



We decided on a name; Benjamin Thomas. He isn't named after anyone particular, we just liked the name. It was actually pretty easy to decide! It fit, just like when I found my wedding dress, I knew that this was the one!

Daddy and I are doing great, busy trying to get the house ready for Benjamin (see his room pictures below). There is so much to do! Benjamin loves to kick and has fun showing off his flips and kicks to us. Watching my belly move is the strangest and coolest thing ever! Alan are amazed every time!

That is all for now!

House Update

Benjamin's room


We like to call the room color; Blue Truck Blue!

Alan did an amazing job on Baby's room! We love it!

Guest/office room
Painting the stripe was not easy. I stood on a step stool and held the laser while Alan painted. Team effort!
Our beautiful kitchen, my favorite room!



More pictures to come, next up finishing the bathrooms and then the upstairs is done!

Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails....

How we told my family, I dyed the white cake batter blue so when they
ate the cupcake they found out!We had Alan's mom and dad on speaker
phone so mom and dad could tell them!

Alan trying on the Moby wrap that mom got us!
He figured it out on the first try!

Dad calling his side of the family to tell them that he is getting a grandson.
Puppy, Jesse looks at dad as to say "we are getting another boy? Yay! Oh yay!"

3D ultrasound of baby, his hand is in front of his face

I think he already looks like his daddy!

The money shot!

21 Weeks

Looks like I swallowed a ball!

Baby Boy Vaesa: Baby gulps down several ounces of amniotic fluid every day, both for hydration and nutrition and to practice swallowing and digesting. And, these days, those taste buds actually work! Studies show that after birth, babies are most interested in tastes they've already experienced through amniotic fluid. Meaning, think about what you want your future child to eat as you prepare your own lunch. He also loves to move around, punching, kicking, rolling and what ever else he likes to do in there! At the "big ultrasound" you were not afraid to show your goods! The tech asked us if we wanted to know and we said yes. She put the wand on my belly and presto! There was the money shot! Just so you know little one, that was the one and only time you are allowed to show off your goods like that!

Momma: Doing great! Though it is getting hard to do things like planting flowers and get tired after working around the house and yard. This has been a hard thing for me to get used to. Before getting pregnant I could get soo much accomplished, now babe is having me slow way down! I am so thrilled to be having a little boy! I cannot wait!

Daddy: is excited about having a son and getting more excited about getting to do all the father son things. He is going to be such a great daddy! He even surprised me with three bouquets of flowers! This little baby is going to have a great role model! And if he is anything like his daddy (which I am sure he will be) he will be a ladies man! :)

In other news: Alan has been working on finishing the half bathroom (will post pictures when its done). We are also working on painting the guest room (and yes I helped with the muding of the walls). As soon as the guest room is done, we will work on painting the baby's room. Can't wait to having the upstairs done!