Where Is Time Going?

I honestly can't believe how long it's been since I wrote a blog post. I've personally had some of the busiest weeks of my life the past few weeks/months and I suppose that has a lot to do with it. Trying to get ready for baby #2 and preparing for a 3 month leave at work is taking most of my time. Not to mention we have been had 3 fundraisers in the past 2 months and have 2 more coming up in May among our regular programming.

Anyway, here is what we have been up to!

At the beginning of March we all headed to Kansas City to celebrate a family friend's wedding. All of us kids had grown up together so it was fun to celebrate together.

With March comes our annual trip to celebrate our niece and nephew's birthdays! We celebrated Duck Dynasty style this year complete with camo get up! Justin took it seriously and covered himself head to toe. Everyone had a blast and there were quite a few happy, happy, happy people hanging around!  

The following weekend was Easter and as with every year, LEEP is the recipient of funds raised during a 5K Bunny Run and Scramble. This is the 4th year and $2000 was raised to support LEEP programming. My sister-in-law and family came up for the weekend so she could partake in it. I

We attended church and celebrated with a  family meal at the Wow! Zone complete with some bowling. 

In April we headed back down to Iowa to help support our nephew Blake as his town put on a 5K race to help raise money for his impending kidney transplant. He's had a long road over the past 2 years with many more things to come. It was really moving to see all of the support he and his family have from their community. Jamie talks about it all the time but to witness it still gives me goose bumps. Below is a photo of the family members that made it down for the race. It was great to be able to catch up and spend time together.

On Thursday we reached our latest pregnancy milestone- 27 weeks. Hard to believe that Baby #2 will be here in less than 3 months. I am so excited to hold him in my arms but feel much more under prepared that I did with Maddox. Part of the issue is we don't know where we are going to put him. :) Our house is bursting at the seams with the 3 of us currently residing here but we still haven't found something we can transition into. I need to snap a belly picture but I keep forgetting when I am not wearing sweats and a nasty t-shirt.... Hopefully I can remember to do it this week!

And yesterday we said good bye to an old friend.... JR's truck bit the dust after 8 solid years in our family. It was hard to believe we'd had it 8 years but then I remembered we had taken that home from our wedding reception..... Funny how you can be attached to a vehicle- lots of great memories! 

Well, that's a quick highlight reel of where we've been over the past 2 months. Busy, busy, busy pretty much sums it up! I say this all the time but I am going to TRY and be better at updating this more in the future. Hopefully when Baby #2 makes his entrance I can get to it a little more often to show him off  share him with you!! 

20 Weeks

20 weeks

Figured since I did this with Maddox, I had better do it with #2. As mentioned before we lovingly call our newest addition Baby Jaguar because that is what Maddox has named it. :) Weird to some but to us it's adorable. 

How far along? 20 weeks

Babies Heart Rate: 150-160 bpm 

Total weight gain/loss: stayed the same 

How's Mommy been feeling? My mornings start out rough but I usually get through the day. Had a couple "weird" pangs of pain but I know lots of weir stuff happens when you're pregnant

Maternity clothes? Unless it is is a a sweatshirt or sweatpants I am all maternity clothing now. 

Sleep: Lovin' it- when I can get it! 

Best moment this week: Baby has been moving a lot. 

Food cravings: Can't say I have specific cravings.... I see it and I want it. :) 

What I can't stand:  can't think of anything besides the usuals- coffee, eggs. sometimes I just get a whiff of something and it sends me over the edge. 

Gender: BOY! 

Thoughts on Names: This is going to be interesting. I have a name I am set with but of course, JR won't commit. 

Belly Button in or out? No change really

Due Date: 7/18/12

What I miss: feeling organized. My thoughts/focus are everywhere....

Weekly Wisdom: Boys will be boys. JR and Maddox are THRILLED with the idea of having another boy in the house. Justin is already talking about all the fishing, hunting, and sports they will be involved in. He also mentioned to be prepared for  a pick up lined driveway. :) 

Milestones: Finding out what we are having! 

Snow

Maddox and I took advantage of the beautiful weather this morning and did some playing in the snow. We've been a bit stir crazy with all of the bitter temps and backyards covered in ice but after the beautiful snowfall last week we had plenty of things to do.

We played swords with icicles

Chased Bear around the yard

Jumped on swings and played till we were........ 

BLISSFULLY happy! 

Another beautiful day in Minnesota

Bathroom Woes

I find it very heartwarming that every time I need to use the restroom (which happens to be more often than not these days) Maddox feels the need to "check on me". I swear as soon as that door latches shut he's there like a lighting bolt. (this can be an advantage too if he is "missing" and I need to find him quickly!)

He has lots of  excuses like needing a drink of water, needing a hug, looking for his ______, basically whatever he can think of. Oy vey! Sweet he is but if I can't get 5 minutes of privacy while using the ladies room I may just go crazy! :)

18 weeks

Figured since I did this with Maddox, I had better do it with #2. As mentioned before we lovingly call our newest addition Baby Jaguar because that is what Maddox has named it. :) Weird to some but to us it's adorable. 

How far along? 18 weeks

Babies Heart Rate: 150-160 bpm 

Total weight gain/loss: stayed the same 

How's Mommy been feeling? My mornings start out rough but I usually get through the day. 

Maternity clothes? Unless it is is a a sweatshirt or sweatpants I am all maternity clothing now. 

Sleep: Can't seem to make it through the night with a solid sleep. Up at least a few times a night. Dreams have been wacky! 

Best moment this week: Starting to feel the baby roll around/ kick and it is AMAZING.

Food cravings: Actually, not much sounds good. I have been eating lots of fruits, cheese and crackers. 

What I can't stand:  can't think of anything besides the usuals- coffee, eggs. sometimes I just get a whiff of something and it sends me over the edge. 

Gender: Patiently waiting a few more weeks. 

Thoughts on Names: working on it!

Belly Button in or out? No change really

Due Date: 7/18/12

What I miss: feeling organized. My thoughts/focus are everywhere....

Weekly Wisdom: sleep when I can! 3 yr olds do not like naps anymore so relish in the time you can sneak one in... (apparently Madman is not like his daddy when it comes to sleep)

Milestones: Feeling the baby move. 

Polar Bear Plunge 2013

Maddox and I went out on Saturday and watched some crazy people jump into freezing water in support of Special Olympics. 

The event was held in St. Peter, MN and they raised $105,000 for Special Olympics Minnesota. Fun but chilly event! 

Baby Hunecke 16 weeks

Figured since I did this with Maddox, I had better do it with #2. As mentioned before we lovingly call our newest addition Baby Jaguar because that is what Maddox has named it. :) Weird to some but to us it's adorable. 

How far along? 16 weeks

Babies Heart Rate: 150-160 bpm 

Total weight gain/loss: stayed the same 

How's Mommy been feeling? My mornings start out rough but I usually get through the day. Evenings are getting yucky again too. 

Maternity clothes? Mixture of everything but have found maternity pants to be most comfortable.... Don't last too long in my "work" clothes after I get home for the night... 

Sleep: Can't seem to make it through the night with a solid sleep. Up a few times which sucks. Dreams have been wacky! 

Best moment this week: Seeing baby hands and feet on the ultrasound screen. Makes everything feel real. 

Food cravings: Actually, not much sounds good. I have been eating lots of fruits, cheese and crackers. 

What I can't stand: browning hamburger, coffee, 

Gender: Thought we were going to get a sneak peak today but to no avail little Baby Jaguar kept their legs tightly closed. 

Thoughts on Names: working on it!

Belly Button in or out? No change really

Due Date: 7/18/12

What I miss: feeling organized. My thoughts/focus are everywhere....

Weekly Wisdom: sleep when I can! 3 yr olds do not like naps anymore so relish in the time you can sneak one in... (apparently Madman is not like his daddy when it comes to sleep)

Milestones: 20 week ultrasound was set and excited to find out what Baby Hunecke #2 is.... hopefully! 

Baby Hunecke- 12 weeks

Figured since I did this with Maddox, I had better do it with #2. As mentioned before we lovingly call our newest addition Baby Jaguar because that is what Maddox has named it. :) Weird to some but to us it's adorable. 

How far along? 12 weeks

Babies Heart Rate: 150-160 bpm 

Total weight gain/loss: stayed the same 

How's Mommy been feeling? My mornings start out rough but I usually get through the day. Evenings are getting yucky again too. 

What about Daddy? Today he was shocked at how active Baby J. is. S/he is moving all over the place

Maternity clothes? I can wear my reg. jeans but I have been throwing in a few maternity tops.... I just like the length. 

Sleep: I am tired quite a bit of the time. It's like I hit a wall and that's it, end of story. 

Best moment this week: Watching baby Jaguar moving around during our ultrasound along with hearing the baby's heartbeat. So magical! 

Food cravings: Juicy cheeseburgers appeal to me (though I don't eat them that often) apples or sweet things sound good too. 

What I can't stand: macaroni and cheese, coffee, 

Gender: Still unsure but plan to find out this time. I never thought I would be ok with this BUT I am really pulling for a girl and JR thinks I need to know to "prepare". I tend to agree 

Thoughts on Names: working on it!

Belly Button in or out? No change really

Due Date: 7/18/12

What I miss: having energy is probably the only thing but honestly I am happy with how it's all going. 

Weekly Wisdom: Not taking anything to granted with this pregnancy. I am thrilled to be carrying this little miracle. I really believed having another one wasn't in the cards for us so this whole experience has been a welcome surprise! I really didn't like being pregnant last time but this time I have a completely different outlook. POSITIVE THOUGHTS!

Milestones: Baby Jaguar is measuring right on track and our c-section date was "set". 

Colorado Wedding Adventure

On December 27th JR and I packed our bags and headed west for BEAUTIFUL Colorado. We had been awaiting this trip for quite some time as it was to celebrate some good friends' wedding!

We started our trip in Denver, and we spent a day and a half exploring the great city. We hit up Downtown Denver and 16th street along with our traveling buddies and saw some of the things we were excited about. Jesse wanted to hit up the Cherry Cricket which is famous from the Food Network show "Man vs. Food". (I think). The burgers were really great!

Beautiful Estes Park, Colorado

Our bedroom at our beautiful cabin at Mary's Lake Lodge

The four amigos

Rocky Mountain National Park Entrance

Rocky Mountain National Park 

JR wasn't with me when I happened upon it but thought it was a pretty cool find

While the boys are away, the girls will play.... on top of a mountain! 

Good looking bunch!

Happy Couple

Justin wrote a great speech and did a fabulous job giving it. 

The wedding was beautiful, very romantic and sentimental. We had a great evening

On Sunday before the Vikings/ Packers game we took to the streets of Estes Park to do a little exploring. We found the famous Stanley Hotel and took advantage of some photo opts.  

The Famous Stanley Hotel from "The Shining"

It was a great trip and I can't wait to go back to Colorado- SOON!

Best Christmas Present

This year we were blessed with the best gift of all!! 

In November we found out we are expecting Baby Hunecke #2 and we couldn't be more thrilled with the news!

This gift was especially wonderful as we found out right before our birthdays and after we had been referred on to Rochester/ Mayo to work with an infertility specialists and we were headed towards IVF. Our appointment was set for November 26th but we were surprised with the news on November 13, just in time to make turning 30 NOT so bad!!

We hope Christmas was as wonderful for your family as it has been for ours! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 2013 is looking like it will turn to a pretty fabulous year!