To Jonah

Happy birthday to the cutest Jonah I know! I remember seeing your tiny little body for the first time and marvelling over the fact that you turned my sister from just a wife into a mom as well. I love your goofy expressions and your great imagination. You were the first to make me an Aunt! I love you very much and wish you a very happy 5th birthday!

Another baby boy!

My sweet friend, Stephanie, had a baby boy yesterday. She didn't know what the gender was and I am thrilled to find out that Blake will have a great boy playmate that is only 3 months older than he is! I am so excited for her and her family as they add this third child into the mix and it makes me even more excited for my turn, albeit a little bit more nervous too! She delivered at the same hospital that I will be delivering so I will be curious to know how everything went for her. Yay for little Graham in entering the world.

Steph and I at her diaper shower. Too bad her eyes are closed!

On Nov 1, I hosted a surprise diaper shower for Stephanie. She was completely blown away and we all had a great time with food, a devotion led my MIL, a huge pile of diapers to unwrap, and a game of Baby Jeopardy.

All the guests waiting to surprise her.

An adorable diaper cake made by our pastor's wife and their two daughters.

Diapers and gifts galore!

Pregnancy pains

Now that I am getting bigger, I definitely notice more changes/limitations to my body. In cleaning my house, I usually like to have a day or two set aside to clean everything in one fell swoop, (with touch-ups during the week of course), because I like everything to feel clean and fresh at the same time. With dogs, I am pretty much constantly cleaning my house but doing a major clean all at once is really nice. Well, I have figured out that I can't really do that anymore. Not only does my energy level prevent me from doing everything at once but add to that my constantly aching back and my bulging belly that gets in the way. I was cleaning the bathtub last week and found that it is getting much harder to do. I felt as though I couldn't do a good job of scrubbing the tub because my stomach was getting in the way. Also the tile in the kitchen and bathrooms have a grooved surface to it which dirt likes to burrow away in so cleaning on my hands and knees is the best way to get them sparkling but thats pretty difficult with a belly and sore back. James has told me that he will take over these jobs and I am thinking that the time has come.

I think I am getting a little taste of what its going to be like with a baby in the house. I feel as though there is so much to do or things that don't get done because I am too tired and my body has its limitations but it gets me thinking that I will have lots of interruptions once Blake is here. So its probably good practice even though it can be frustrating for me at times.

Since my back is constantly aching because its trying to support the growing weight up front, James gave me a gift certificate to get an hour massage with a person who is trained in pregnancy massages. I went last Monday and it was really nice. She had a foam cushion that is designed for pregnant women with an indentation to lay your stomach and boobs into. It was surprisingly comfortable. I don't think Blake liked it too much as he seemed to be moving around a lot once I was laying on my stomach. She started on the back and spent most of the time there since that was my problem area. Ah, how soothing! Then she asked if it was okay to do my glutes (butt muscles) and I said yes because all those muscles are connected to the back muscles. You would think its really weird to have a stranger massage your butt but it felt really nice. lol Then she worked her way down the legs to the feet, had my turn over onto my back, and then worked her way up to my arms and shoulders. It was really nice and relaxing during the massage but later that day I felt as though the stomach muscles on my sides were really stretched out. It really hurt and made me feel sick but sometimes massages can do that to you because it releases "toxins" from all the knotted up muscles into your system. (Or something like that). But I have noticed an improvement in my back since the massage so that is nice!

Also I have been getting leg cramps more often. I woke up to one yesterday that was like a huge ball on my right calf muscle and it really hurt! Its still a little sore today. Ouch. Being pregnant definitely has its ups and downs and I am not looking forward to going into the third trimester only to get even more bigger and more uncomfortable than I am now. But the reward at the end will be sweet!

New 'do

My hair was really starting to bug me because I felt as though there was no real style to it. Just kinda boring. Also I had not had my hair colored since May and really wanted to get fresh highlights again. I also knew that I wanted to get a shorter haircut that would be easier to style in the mornings ie: take less time blowdrying and flat ironing for once Blake is here. I always blow dry my hair and that is not something I will stop doing once he is here because my hair does not look good when it dries naturally. So since I will still style it I just wanted something that would cut my time down. Yay for fresh hair cuts that make one feel chic! :)

First snow

We had our first light snow on Sunday night. These pictures were taken the next morning so there is not much left but some still stuck around!






The weather has been pretty cold recently with temps in the mid 30s during the day. Also the pond in the back of our house has already started freezing over. Winter always comes early here! It is fun to have the first snow of the season though. It was really pretty as we were driving to evening worship Sunday night and saw the snow coming down against the dark sky. I really get sick of winter by mid January but its always fun when its just beginning.

Veteran's Day Weekend

I am a bit behind on blogging as things have been pretty busy around here so this is the start of the catch-up. During the weekend preceding Veteran's Day we had James' older brother, Jason, and his family come visit from Ohio. It was a quick weekend trip but it was good to see them all. We had not seen them since May for Sophia's first birthday and it was fun to see how much she has grown since then! She knew who "Aunt April" and "Uncle James" were and called us by those names. It was so cute to hear her little voice as she talked to us and boy, does she talk! She has a great vocabulary and is a very smart little girl.

Isabelle has grown a lot as well and seems to be more mature than her eight years! She is such a bright girl who loves joke around with her Uncle James.

They both built a mini replica of the Sears Tower out of blocks since Isabelle was able to go to the top of the Sears on her trip here.

We had dinner with them on Saturday night at my in-laws house and spent Sunday with them as well. It was a nice relaxing weekend spent with dear family.

Then on Monday, I went downtown with Danielle and her girls and a few other friends with their kids to the Field Museum. We had 5 kids between 4 adults but it was still a hectic time! The Field had free admission that day to all their exhibits and there was a good many people there taking advantage of it. It was fun but exhausting.

On Tuesday James had the day off so we just took the day to do nothing! It had been so long since we had just hung out with no plans so we had a Clint Eastwood movie extravaganza. It was so nice to just chill out with just the two of us and enjoy each other's company. I did have a doctor's appointment that morning but it was a very quick visit. Everything is going well with Blake and in the next couple of weeks I have to do the glucose test. Not something I am looking forward to but its exciting how fast things are coming along!

Road trip to Galena

A couple Saturdays ago, James decided to take the day off from work so we could take a drive to the countryside and see the last remnants of the fall foliage before it was gone. We drove to the far northwest corner of Illinois to a little town called Galena. We had heard of how nice it is up in Galena with its old time shops lining Main Street and that the landscape is completely different from what you would find in the rest of Illinois. We pretty much have flat lands with corn over where we live. But we had heard reports of rolling hills in Galena, and not just small hills but big ones where you feel like you are in another part of the country. Illinois with rolling hills? Now this we have to see!


Road tripping buddies


Pretty farmland (can you see the rolls?) :)



The countryside



It was a 2 1/2 hour drive up to Galena and although you can't really tell from the pictures (taking them while in a moving car: not so great) there were actually major hills! At some points we felt like we were in Pennsylvania with its lush greenery and winding roads as you drove along the hills. We were on some really high points where you could look down and basically see a gorgeous valley of hills as far as your eye could see. It was incredible. Growing up on the east coast, I really miss the hills, so it was nice to get a small glimpse of that right here in Illinois.

Once we arrived in Galena it was absolutely picturesque with the big old mansions dotting the hills. You could see a bunch of white steeples that towered above the houses all the way up the hill. A very quaint old town that was absolutely packed with people! I was shocked at how many tourists were there. We absolutely could not find a single parking space that was available. Then by perfect timing we found a spot that the local boys scouts were charging $5 for and paid the man.

The weather was pretty brisk with high winds but the sun was out so that made it a little more bearable. We decided to just walk around the little downtown area and then find a place for lunch. The cobblestone sidewalks were full of people walking in and out of all the stores that lined the way. Old couples walked along with the wives pulling their husbands into yet another store as the husbands rolled their eyes. I am not a big "specialty shop" person so there was nothing that I really wanted to go into and spend money on. We just walked along enjoying the old architecture and imagining what the town must have been like back in the 1800s.

After working up an appetite we decided to look for a pub-like place where we could enjoy hot food and some tasty beer (lucky James).

Our lunch at Benjamin's



For an appetizer they had peanut butter and jelly stuffed jalapenos. We love spicy food and thought this was the strangest combination so we just had to try it. It didn't taste much like anything expect for fried peanut butter. ;-(



James enjoying a second beer and a nice hot reuben sandwich.


Grilled cheese please.

After lunch we strolled around and saw President Grant's old mansion and stopped at the Kandy Kitchen to buy homemade carmel apples and some gourmet candy corn. We didn't plan on staying for too long and decided to head back home before it got too dark.

The oldest house in Galena built in 1826


James enjoying his carmel apple

It was a nice break from the daily grind and although we didn't see too much fall foliage, it was a great time spent with my hubby. I'll take one of these days anytime!

It's over

The day that I thought would never come has long come and gone. My bosses responded very well to my decision on leaving the workplace and were very generous in their support, which I was grateful for. It makes leaving a whole lot easier if you know people have your back! My last day was Oct 30th and I was ecstatic to be done with that place. As I drove up to the building in the morning, I thought to myself, this is the last time I will be driving up to work. Then, this is the last time I will be parking here for work, this is the last time I'll use the elevators, etc. Everything was "the last time" and I had a giddy feeling just thinking about it being the last time!



This is my former place of employment. I worked on the 23rd floor. It had awesome views of the Chicago skyline. But I won't be missing it too much.

My boss decided to announce to my co-workers that I was leaving by writing a message on a white board that everyone would see. I was happy about that because I really didn't feel like telling people individually that I was leaving. I wasn't especially close to anyone that I worked with so it wasn't hard at all to say good-bye. There were a few hugs and well wishes as I was preparing to leave and then I was out the door! When I got in the elevator I was so stoked that I pumped my fist in the air and started singing "I'm freeeeeeee...freeeee falling!" That was the song that popped in my mind just because of the words "I'm free." I was hoping that there were no security cameras in the elevator that captured my performance.

It is definitely a little bit strange to not have to go to work. Ever since I have been out of high school, I have always been working. Always following the demands and responsibilities for someone else's schedule and expectations of me. Its weird to not have that anymore. Although it won't be for very long because soon I will have another little boss who is probably going to be the most demanding person I have ever worked for but I can't wait!

24 weeks