The only blizzard I was every thankful for!

Well, we got pounded with another 10 inches of snow last night. I had an OB appointment this morning at 10:20 and I was really worried the clinic would be closed or I just wouldn't be able to go! If I couldn't go today, I wouldn't be able to get in till after Christmas, and that's just too long to go for me without worrying!

I braved the snow and spent 25 minutes digging the car out. Then Ian and I were off. The normally 10 minute trip to closer to 30 minutes. The roads were awful!!! When I got there, there was NO ONE in the clinic! I was the only patient who was apparently stupid enough to go out!

My weight was down another pound, but that's better than last time when I was down 3. Hopefully I'll be able to eat more in the next weeks without throwing up! Now, I get into the best part and another reason why I LOVE my doctor! She comes in the room and asks all the normal stuff. Then she says, "Well, since you're the only one here, how bout I go grab the ultrasound machine and we do a quick ultrasound!" Of course I said, "YEAH!!" The baby is SOO much bigger than the last time! Moving all around with perfect limbs, cute little face and a spine that was clear as can be! When she first started, the baby was pretending to chew away! Maybe because Ian was munching on his crackers while watching?!

Anyhow, I asked her if it was possible to see boy or girl as this point. She said it was early, but we can try! So she looked and looked and looked. Baby would not cooperate and was flipping all over the place. Finally, right before she was finished baby gave us a really quick spread eagle and it was clear as day, Ian is going to have a little brother!!

On the way home, we stopped at Target and I picked up a card for Charles to tell him! Then I put the few u/s pics in there. When he got home he opened it up and was very surprised! We are THRILLED!!

The newest member of our family, Sean Patrick Raymond, will be set to arrive in June!!

Tis the Season!

Pregnancy craving of the day: A chocolate shake and tater tots, together.

Second trimester already?!

It's hard to believe that I'm already 1/3 of the way through my pregnancy. Since I have a few minutes, I'd like to share a little bit of what has been going on since we found out we were expecting our second baby!

First off, we are thrilled beyond belief that our kids will be close in age and will surely be the best of friends. We know that being the one and only grandchild on both sides of the family, Ian is a tad bit spoiled. Before he became too rotten, we thought it'd be great for him to have a sibling! We were SOO excited when my sister Kristina announced that she was also pregnant and a few weeks later when Charles' sister, Laure, announce that she was pregnant! If you can believe it, Kristina is due June 2nd, Laure is due June 3rd and I'm due June 4th!!

Thus far we've had an ultrasound to date the pregnancy at 8 weeks-ish. We were able to see our little one's heartbeat flickering away! I also had an appointment at around 12 weeks which we were able to hear his/her heartbeat on the doppler. Our big ultrasound is scheduled for January 19th.

We were of course a little hesitant to announce to everyone till we were a ways into the pregnancy, but because I was sooo sick, we announced sooner than planned (I was about 8 weeks along). So far this pregnancy has been similar in some ways and different in many ways than my pregnancy with Ian.

With Ian, I started getting sick right at 6 weeks. I would be nauseous for much of the day, but only threw up a few times. I was feeling back to my old self at 12 weeks. With this pregnancy, I didn't get sick till just before 8 weeks. When I say sick, I mean SICK. I've thrown up almost every morning since then, if not more than once a day. Thus far I've thrown up in the obvious place, the toilet, but don't forget the kitchen sink, our bedroom garbage can, on the bathroom rug and outside in the snow. I'm now 14 weeks along and still feeling awful. I've even had to take prescription medication to help with the vomiting.

When I was pregnant with Ian, I was able to wear most of my regular pants till about 20 weeks and regular shirts till about 25 weeks. I'm still in regular shirts at this point, but I've been in maternity jeans since 10 weeks. You really do show sooner with your second!

My food aversions have been pretty much the same... BEEF. Well, not hamburgers, but steak and any kind of cut of beef. I love things that are fresh... fruits, veggies, and anything cold. Starbucks (which I used to LOVE) makes me want to gag, I hope this passes soon!

Ian obviously has no idea that he's going to have a little sibling at this point, but he does have one of my Cabbage Patch Dolls that he will give a nuk to if you ask him. Then he throws her on the floor and runs her over with his push cart. Hey, he's got some time, right?

We do have names picked out, but we'll wait to share those till we know what we're having. Most people are guessing it's a girl, as is Charles. I really feel it's another boy! Honestly, I'd love to have one of each, but I'd be clueless as to what to do with a girl and how cool would it be for Ian to have a brother so close in age?! We're blessed with whatever we're given, though.

Anyhow, we're looking foward to going on this journey all over again. We know we're in for more sleepless nights, but let's be honest, I haven't slept through the night since... what? Probably September, 2007.

Ian's 1st Birthday!

Almost a month later, and I finally find the time to make this HUGE post!! Our little guy is officially a 1 year old!! First, I'll show off all the pictures from his birthday brunch and his birthday party, then I'll do a post later with his 12 month picture and talk about all the new things he's learned this month!

We had Tita Laure's surprise birthday party on November 8th, so the following morning on Ian's actual birthday, we went out for brunch at the Delafield Brew Haus with Grandma and Grandpa, Lolo and Lola, Tita Laure and Tito Pete and Tita Elizabeth! Ian wore his Birthday Boy shirt and crown. After brunch we brought out his little cake and let him have at it! He looooved it!!

Showing off for the people sitting next to us.

Give me that cake!!!

Digging in!

Here Dad, try some!

The following Saturday, on November 15th, we had Ian's birthday party in Waukesha. We had tons and tons of family and friends come and celebrate with us! It was such a great time! The theme of the party was Packer Tailgate. All of our guests dressed up in Packer attire!

Here is the big cake. I love how it turned out!

Ian's smash cake.

Opening presents with help from Mom.

Now getting help from Dad!

Oh, look at this funny book!

Soon he'll be old enough to play with his big cousins, Jacob and Joe!

Looooooooving ballons!

Ian and Aunt Kristina!

Everyone singing Happy Birthday! This cake is for me?!

I like it!

Touchdown!!

Messy boy!

All cleaned up!

Thanks to everyone who came and shared these special days with us!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Ian's Birthday pictures. That post requires much time, which I don't have at the moment... being so sick.

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, and as it is Ian's first SECOND holiday, here are some pictures from last year's Thanksgiving! The date was November 22nd, 2007 and Ian was 13 days old!

I like to call this picture, "before we knew he was allergic to dairy".

Meeting our friends, Tim and Melissa Ruder for the first time!

Family picture of all of us watching the Packer game! The Pack beat the Lions 37-26.

How cute is this little one?

Pretty cute, we think! We'll get a better look sometime around June 4th, 2009!!!

2 under 2, here we come!!!

Ian's First Packer Game

On Sunday, October 5th, we brought Ian to his very first Packer game! It was an early birthday present for Tita Elizabeth from all of us.

We left very early on Sunday morning and met Elizabeth at McDonalds in Oskosh. After a quick breakfast, we were on our way to Lambeau! We got into Green Bay before 10am and found a place to park not far from Lambeau. We had decided that bringing a grill and meat to tailgate would be too much work, so instead we brought snacks, soda and beer and planned to get lunch in town.

Ian enjoyed walking around the lot and watching all the Packer fans tailgate! Around 11:30 we started our walk to Lambeau. We had to wait in line for quite a while before getting into the gates. There were lots and lots of people taking pictures of Ian and telling us how cute he was!

Once in the stadium, we found our seats. Within just a few minutes of the start of the game, Ian fell asleep. He was passed over to me and I buckled him in the Ergo. He slept happily that way till the end of halftime!

He spent the rest of the game waving his flag, watching all the people and roaming around our bleacher area. Again, lots of people commented on how cute he was and took pictures of him!

Unfortunetly, the Packers lost to the Falcons 24-27, but it was a great experience and something we'll never forget!

11 Months Old

I realize this is a late post, but we've been sick!

As an official 11 monther, Ian can say the words "mama", "dada", "hot", and "ball" and some words that resemble banana, Penny, hi and bye.

He has quite the sense of humor and laughs at whatever he thinks is funny including people in glasses/sunglasses, peak-a-boo, being tossed in the air, being tickeled by Daddy, and just about anything Penny does.

He sleeps from 8pm till about 6am every night. He is in the process of switching from 2 naps a day to 1 nap a day.

He claps when he sees someone else clapping, or when you say "Yay!"

He can get from a sitting or laying down position to standing up without holding onto something. He is also a professional walker, no longer walking like Frankenstein!

One of Ian's favorite games is to bounce his big kickball to Daddy and Daddy bounces is back to him. He has recently discovered Penny's kennel and loves to go in there and shut the door. Penny isn't such a fan of this.

He will pat his belly or nose when you ask him where each are. He uses his index finger to point to objects.

He understands that his shoes and socks go on his feet and will try to put them on when he sees them.

Best of all, his little personality has evolved even more and he's such a fun little kid to be around! We are so lucky!

RAAAAR!!!

We have a walker!

Ian took his first "steps" a few weekends ago, but he's getting so good at it now, I think we may be able to call him a walker!

10 Months Old

Ian was 10 months old yesterday! We're officially (and sadly!) out of the single digit months.

He's showing so much more of his little personality. He's stubborn, loving, extremely happy, but becomes very mad when he doesn't get his way!

Ian is VERY active and always getting into something! He is now standing up on his own and took his first unassisted steps on Saturday!

He's waving, saying Mama and Dada, and plays "sooo big!".

Ian loves animals and squeals at the sight of his best friend, Penny, our beagle!

He is quite the eater and some of his favorite foods include bannas, waffles, spagetti, peaches, and crackers, crackers, crackers!

How did he grow up so fast?!

Can you believe how much he looks like a little boy these days? In just over 2 months he'll be a year old. *TEAR*