The Christmas Holiday

We spent most of last week (Tuesday - Saturday) in Louisville, KY with my mother, sister Keri & her family and sister Kristina.


Tuesday and Wednesday we hung out around Keri and Shawn's house to celebrate Christmas with Dad and Pam. It was a very nice time filled with a lot of laughs while playing Wii.

Thursday was mostly spent at mom's making stuffed cabbage for Christmas dinner and shopping for last minute gifts.


Friday (Christmas) started out as a late morning. Unlike most years we did not get up at the crack of dawn to open presents. We started with breakfast - French Toast Yummy! - and then opened presents around 11:30. The rest of the day was spent hanging around mom's spending quality time with family.

It was great to see everyone again! Our nephew Bennett is adorable and getting so BIG. Below are some pictures from the trip. ~ Kelly

My sisters Kristina and Keri + Me

My nephew Bennett - what a cutie!

My belly Christmas day at 22 weeks

Shawn giving Bennett an Airplane

Bennett playing with his animals

Me and Pat at mom's house Christmas day

We left Louisville with sun and green grass to come home to 7+ inches of snow on our patio stoop. Cabo enjoyed every minute of destroying the pretty back yard with tracks and footprints.

What exactly was that?

It was a cold night.

Wind was blowing while the snow was falling.

Cabo rested peacefully at Kelly's feet while I was just finishing up looking at our pictures from the holiday week. I looked over at Kelly and she appeared to be off in a day dream. I put the camera aside, closed down the computer and looked at her again. What came from her mouth next was an unforgettable sound. They were words, very audible words, and they sounded like this, "you have to put your hand right here."

It was said with urgency so I felt obliged to listen to her. After all, she had only said it about a hundred times. Even with that thought running through my mind, I still decided to have my hand gently take the place of Kelly's. In one quick, gentle movement I placed my hand directly where Kelly had instructed. Within 30 seconds, as expected, Kelly said "well now she isn't moving." I have been through this before. I kept my hand in place for another few minutes. The baby started moving again, which forced Kelly to ask If I felt that... with my common response of no.

Just as I was gearing up to remove my hand, little baby Husk decided it was time to make her presence known to her daddy. It was just about 4-5 inches below Kelly's belly button and I felt a sudden, soft nudge, as if someone was trying to move my hand, almost as if a little voice came out saying "hey, I just wanted to let you know I am already taking this spot." Kelly said, "did you feel that?" My only response was a wide-eyed, YES I did. I continued to keep my hand in place, and felt a few more kicks. She soon settled her activity down and stopped moving.

Amazing.

I want more. I gave Kelly's belly a few stiff shakes and resumed waiting for the baby to kick. She responded ever so nicely. I am in heaven, the first time my little girl listened to me.

What to do now? How is Kelly going to deal with me being glued to her belly for the next few months?

Patrick

Home for the Holidays

Well, we are actually at Momma C's home in Kentucky, but it is still home for the holidays as long as family is gathered.

The trip to Kentucky started out a little rough as we left in the snow and caught rush hour traffic on Interstate 90. It significantly improved as we continued heading East and South. I am very proud of Kelly as she did not need to make me stop every hour for a bathroom break. I am even more proud that Cabo didn't need me to stop often either. Cabo was very well behaved and actually seemed to enjoy the trip... except the last 20 minutes.

Once we got to Momma C's house, we let Cabo run in the yard and he had a blast checking out the new smells. Bennett and Keri stopped by and Cabo was oh so happy to receive the bone that Bennett was giving him. We brought Cabo down to board him in Kentucky where we will be able to stay with the family for an extra day and still save about $50. We dropped him off and were very impressed with the facility. Thank you Keri and Mom for checking it out for us. Kelly got a little emotional (thank you pregnancy) when we dropped him off. She was sad we had to leave him.

The next stop was at Keri and Shawn's house for a visit. Shawn needed a little help with switching light switches and cleaning up one of his most recent projects. He had most of it done before I got there. We had dinner and spent some time hanging out. Bennett loves to dance, jump, run , hide, play ring around the rosey, and tackle. Yes, I did each of these and by far, "we all fall down" hurts more than an unexpected tackle.

Karen and Alex are not in town this year. Karen has a 3 day trip that she has to work. We will miss them this year. Can't wait to celebrate with them later.

It is about time to sign off for the night. If we are not back on this before the 25th, Merry Christmas to you all.

Patrick

Now that we know she's a GIRL!

So - now that we know she's a girl we've had a lot to think about.

Names #1
Nursery theme #2

We were all set for a boy, had the bedding and name all picked out. Now that she's a girl - we've narrowed the list to around 15 names (to obviously be narrowed down by more in the upcoming weeks). Here's a little tease -
One of mine - Alexis
One of Pat's - Leah

Bedding??? I'm really thinking PINK now! I was never fond of what we were finding before. It was all too girly. Flowers, ribbon, lace, etc but I've been able to come up with a couple collections that we like.

- More to come

Right on target

We had our 4th monthly visit this morning....
We are now in week 21 of our pregnancy and things are right on target. Baby girls heart beat was still in the 140's (perfect) and my tummy is measuring 21 weeks exactly. Before the doctor stepped in the room Pat noticed a stethoscope on the counter and proceeded to try and hear the baby's heart beat with it - disappointed that all he could hear was mine.

We were excited going into today's visit because we were stepping foot into the newly built Sherman Hospital on Randall Rd. in Elgin. It's a very nice building and I cant wait to see what new gadgets await me on the labor and delivery floor. I'm sure my imagination is much better than reality. (fantastic gowns and delivery suites anyone?)

Next month begins our apointments with the other doctors in the practice. We decided that since any one of the 5 women in the practice could potentially deliver our girl we might as well get aquanted with everyone. I also need to go for my glucose test sometime between now and then. (that seems like a very fun test - NOT!)

Let's all play the Name Game!!!!

No, it is not time to sing, it is time to think.

Kelly and I have decided it would be fun to involve our friends and family in picking the name. We had our minds made up if we were to be having a boy, but nothing for a girl. We have a baby book, but it may not hold the answer to the question "What are we going to name her?"

This is your chance to have your opinion(s) heard.

WARNING!!!!!!!!

This is not a competition, it is a place to suggest names. If you feel you would be offended if we do not choose the name you submitted, then it would be best that you do not participate in this GAME. We are not out to hurt anyone, steal any one's future name choices, just trying to have fun while we debate our daughter's future name.

Here is a picture to inspire you.

Have fun everybody. We look forward to seeing your lists.

Patrick and Kelly

Reality Sets In...

Yesterday was our big day at the doctor's office. We have confirmed what our poll suggested... we are expecting a little girl.


The ultrasound was completely captivating. Our tech had plenty of experience and she was flying through her check points. At some points she was going too fast and I got a little lost with what we were zoomed in on. The only other bad part was she didn't talk very loud, which meant I hardly heard half the things she was saying. Besides those two issues, I was amazed.

Here is how the appointment played out... please keep in mind this was how it felt to me.

The tech called us in and prior to entering the room, we both decided we had to go to the bathroom. We didn't know how long it would be so it was a good idea to go. Once that was taken care of, we entered the room.

Suddenly, the lights dimmed (that's how it felt, but I am pretty sure thats how they are all the time, but this is my story so they dimmed) and the tech had Kelly get on the table. She pulled out the gel and put it all over Kelly's stomach. Kelly cooed "that's warm, nice" and the wand was placed on her belly. The very first sight was the baby's head, more specifically, the view of the brain. Looked like a science book to me so I was pleased. I did hear the lady mutter something but couldn't hear her. She did say "normal" so I was relieved. She then moved to a new view.

This is the point where I became mezmerized. You see, the moment she moved the little wand she was on the baby's face. The eyes were open. You could see the baby looking around at what was going on. There was a very recognizable smile on the baby's face and it was flexing it's left hand in a way that looked like it was waving. That's it, put a fork in me, I'm done. More appropriately, I am hooked. It was as if I was watching the most amazing, most entertaining, most educational thing in the world... and actually I was. The rest of the appointment flew by me. I remember going over the feet, the legs, the brain, the neck, the heart, the cord, on and on right up until the next big check point. It was time to check out the sex of the baby. ROADBLOCK... crossed legs.... frustrating. Or so I thought.

The very experienced ultrasound tech has dealt with this before. Once she moved the wand around a bit, she decided the baby was being stubborn so she decided to persuade the baby to move it's legs. The tech decided to give a couple of little jiggles to the baby. Then a couple more. And then a couple more times, more vigorously too. In the end, the tech was able to get a clear shot that was saved and printed... right after she put an arrow to the crotch and typed "100% GIRL." The exam finished up looking at all other organs and it was determined that we are healthy and in the clear (and by we I really mean Kelly and our little girl.) The doctor came in after the tech and confirmed everything the tech told us.

WOW!!!! We are going to have a little girl. Can this be right? Is it safe? What am I going to do?

No, I am not upset, shocked, or saddened in any way. These thoughts are reserved for the future, the distant future.

For now, its time to prepare to welcome our little ray of sunshine.

Daddy's little girl.

-Patrick

Let it snow..... let it snow.... let it snow!!!!

Today we had our first big snowfall of the year. It was terrible to drive in. I thought for sure we were going to be in an accident on our way home from work. An oncoming car came into our lane and we were unable to stop - Fortunately Pat is very skilled and calm when driving in the snow - he was able to maneuver to the shoulder, avoid the ditch and pass the three cars involved all while sliding on ice. How the drivers behind us fared we do not know.... we were both very shocked that we made home without a ding.

(Pregnancy side effect: All I could think of was "Don't let us get into a ditch, don't let us get into a ditch - I have to pee!)

When we finally got home Cabo was super excited. He loves the snow and had a blast in the yard.....

Was That The Baby?

I was told it felt like gas bubbles, or popping corn... I would have to say that for me it is more like involuntary muscle twinges. At least in the beginning.

I'm pretty confident that I have been feeling the baby's movements over the last couple weeks. It would start as just one or two flutters a day but now it is more frequent and noticeable. Especially after I have a caffeinated drink. Yesterday while I was in an all day meeting at work the little (nugget??? Peanut???) thing was going crazy. And last night while I was laying on the couch watching TV I felt three quick twinges. All I could do was smile and think, that's my baby.

Pat likes this stage but I know he can't wait until those movements can be felt on the outside of the body. I have a feeling he won't leave my belly alone once he's able to actually feel the baby.

Nugget??? Peanut??? Is it pathetic that we have yet to pick a nick name for this little one? Should we even bother giving it a nick name at this point - after all by next Thursday we will be calling it "he" or "she". (Oh by the way if you haven't seen the poll above please vote on what you think we're having).

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree............

Tis the Season!

This is our 2009 Christmas Card. Incase you can't read it, the message says: Warmest thoughts and best wishes for a wonderful holiday and very happy new year.

Patrick, Kelly, Cabo and baby to be

We find out next week what we're having. We plan to announce it in our Christmas card so look for an addition when you receive yours.