25 week Dr Appointment and Update

This morning I went to my 25 week appointment. Everything is going well and the Dr. commented that everything has been perfect thus far! All measurements are on and the heart rate is great (again, he didn't tell me what it was and I forgot to ask- I am already a crappy mom! *wink!) so he says we are right on track.

I did the glucose test today too. It wasn't as horrible as I was envisioning but I am not a fan of the orange flavored drink. I just have to wait and see what the results are and we should be good to go. After the next appointment in 4 weeks we start going every 2 weeks- CRAZY! I also signed us up for our baby classes in August too so this should be fun! :)

So how are things at 25 weeks....

• Peanut is moving like crazy and I am now noticing my clothes move a long with it. Justin finally felt it move over the weekend so that was exciting! My mom and Nadine felt it too so I am sure I won't hear the end of that from my sisters!
• I am hungry a lot
• Still have lots of energy (compared to 2 months ago!)
• No crazy cravings but if I see something that looks good I have to have it, NOW!
• Feeling great most days!

It is all becoming very real. I am now finally realizing that in 3 months I will have a baby to take care of. I think this has become very obvious to me in the past few days which has led to a few mini panic attacks. I guess you aren't really prepared until the baby actually gets here but the reality is slowly kicking in! Only 102 days left till D-Day! (OMG mini panic attack!)

Ernster Wedding

Yesterday, Tabetha Anderson and Matt Ernster got married. My sisters (and Trent!) were both home from DC so I did get to hang out with them a little bit. It was kind of like old home weekend 'cuz Nadine, our foreign exchange student from '07 was here too! We got all dolled up and enjoyed a day of wedded bliss. The weather cooperated and the bride was BEAUTIFUL as she should be! I don't think Tab and Matt could have asked for a more beautiful day!

Ali and Trent after the wedding! So cute!!

Nadine came back from Germany for a visit!

All 4 of us together again

Hills Bills and I posing for a picture

Me and my hubby!

And I am back....

We got home from California around 12:30 Saturday morning. The trip went well and we saw quite a few things. Our first day out there we hit up Disneyland's California Adventure where we took in a few shows and the group rode some rides. Day 2 was an LA tour (including Hollywood) and then off to Universal Studios. (Funny enough I was trying to get a picture of the Michael Jackson's star in front of the Chinese Theatre but couldn't weave through the crowd to get to it. He died the next day). On our final day we went back to Disneyland to see what it had to offer. I have one word to describe the experience- CROWDED!! I am a huge Disney fan but I would choose Disney World over Disneyland any day. There isn't much to do at Disneyland but there are sure lots of people!

I think my favorite part of the trip was the Back lot Tour at Universal Studios. We went down "Wisteria Lane" so to me that was pretty cool ( I am a Desperate Housewives lover!). Last time I was there was 4-5 years ago when they were just beginning filming for the show so we didn't have the access we had this time around. I think I will always remember where I was when I heard that both Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson had died. The buzz around the Disneyland park was CRAZY! Half of the crowd was in disbelief trying to find out anything they could and the other half was totally grief stricken.... it was all very surreal. How crappy for Farrah though, huh? Here she has lost the fight of her life only to have it overshadowed by they King of Pop's death! I told the group we should have stayed home 'cuz too many people died in LA last week.... they all thought I was silly so I guess that is a good thing!

Here are a few pictures from the trip

LA skyline at Sunset

The whole group in front of the Simpson's Ride at Universal Studios

Gabby's House off of Desperate Housewives

Ahh, Sunset Blvd. Where all the stars go to party

Ever famous "Hollywood" sign

California Bound- Take 1

Tomorrow I head off to sunny California. This will be my 1st of 2 trips out there with LEEP this summer. We are hitting up Disneyland, Universal Studios, Hollywood, and California Adventure Park. Should be pretty fun trip but I am going to have a hard time not riding any of my favorite Disney rides.... I am SO not looking forward to suffering through It's a Small World yet again for the 1000 time! I am excited about the rest of the trip though, should be a fun time! I hope everything goes smoothly! Wish me luck!!!

24 weeks

Well, I may have just had a heart attack. I looked back to my 20 week pictures only 4weeks ago and WOW is there a difference.

Here is what I looked like then:

and here I am today!

Quite a difference if I do say so myself. :)

Things are going really well these days. Peanut is moving all over the place and it never lets me forget that it is around. Justin hasn't gotten to really feel it yet but I sure have tired. It always seem to be VERY still if it even thinks JR's hand is getting close to my belly- little stinker!

I have no real cravings to speak of but I really have a love for Popsicles and ice. Strange but I guess this is something pregnant women sometimes really "crave" which I suppose is ok. The morning sickness has slowed to once a week so I will take it! Still haven't had a full week without an "episode" but I am fine with that.

Maternity shirts are quickly becoming a necessitybut so far I can still wear my regular pants. I do know this won't be happening for too much longer and I am surprised I have made it this long.

We have the next Dr appt on the 30th and that is when I get to do the awesome glucose test that everyone has told me about. I just can't wait for that!

Garage Sales ROCK!

Anyone that knows me understands that I hate crowds, digging through merchandise, and pushy people. I do however, LOVE a great deal so when a friend of mine at work asked me to head to the cities for some garage sales, I was all over it. I found so much great stuff and Justin is very annoyed at my talk about all the good deals but MAN, I lucked out! I only spent about $65 and here are just a few of the things I can remember off the top of my head that I found:

• kids collapsible picnic table
• Boppy pillow and slipcover
• LOTS of Baby Einstein toys
• a few sleepers
• Leapfrog activity table
• Rain forest remote controlled mobile- $10!!! retails for over $50
• Leapfrog learning toys

The only thing I didn't find that I was kind of looking for was an Excersaucer but I know that isn't a necessity right away. :) Have I mentioned that I absolutely love shopping for the baby? I think I am getting addicted so I had better stop soon!

I also picked out, ordered, and received the bedding/nursery stuff yesterday so it is all coming together. Now I just want to get the room painted and set up and we should be good to go. I am starting to feel like things are coming together and that maybe, just maybe we will be ready for Baby Hunecke to make it's appearance in October!

Going Home!

Ellie gets to go home today! After a few weeks in Iowa City she was moved to Covenant Hospital in Waterloo. She has been there for a little over a week but she will finally get to go home today. YAY Smiley Family! Here is to a continued quick and healthy recovery at home.

Best of luck with your trips to Iowa City over the summer. We think of you often!

House Clean Up/ Weekend Adventures

This weekend was full of organization (or lack there of) around the Hunecke house. Since this is the first weekend I have been home since we moved I had dedicated it to getting everything cleaned and put together. I am not sure Justin appreciated spending his weekend this way but I really didn't give him much of a choice. :)

There were quite a few odds and ends that just needed a home so we joined forces (willingly- HA!) to accomplish this. We got all the decorative accessories hung in the living, dining, and bed rooms. When you give my husband a screw gun, hammer, and a level he is a beast! I am thinking he just loves the power but, at times he tends to get a little overzealous with just throwing things up on the wall without really thinking about where they might actually look nice. Finally we just walked away from it and started on other projects that kept us busy.

Sunday Tommy and Hilary came up for the day so we grabbed some lunch at Mazatlan and did some shopping. The boys hit the "manly" stores (ie:Menards, Gander Mountain) while Hils and I headed to the mall for kids stores and Target. We all went to "The Hangover" together and then enjoyed a BBQ afterwards. I would say the weekend ended up pretty well, even if there was a lot of cleaning involved!

Baby Bump Update

So here we are at 22 weeks... I can't believe it has gone by so quickly! (well in some ways!) I have been doing better on the morning (all day) sickness. I still do have some rough mornings or evenings, but usually not on the same day, thank goodness!

Peanut is moving quite a bit and just like everyone says, it is a pretty awesome yet indescribable feeling! I have noticed that if I eat anything spicy or Mexican the baby is CRAZY! (makes me think of you Alicia!!) Right now I am getting really antsy about the baby's room and I want to get the crib ordered and set up, bedding picked out and ordered, and pick up some more outfits for the little bundle. I must really be hitting the "nesting" mode since I can't stop thinking about all of the things I need to get done!

Our current struggle is trying to decide on "the name" we both like. I think we are set on a girls name but can't decide for sure on a boys name. We are definitely up for suggestions! My only stipulation is that is a little different... I am not sayin' we will end up with a different name, just hoping to have something different from all of the super popular ones right now.

Here is a picture of the baby bump... don't mind the messy hair

and very little make up, I've had a long day!

Did someone say SHOPPING?!

On our way to Frontenac on Friday I convinced JR to stop in Medford at the Outlet Mall. I have been hearing lots of commercials lately and thought it was time to get over there and check it out. We hit Carter's first and Justin was bored within the first 30 seconds, I think, but I powered on through! There were so many great deals since most things were 60-70% off! I was in baby clothes HEAVEN! Here are a few of the things we scored. I have to admit it was a struggle since we don't know what we are having (yes this is by choice!). I could have and would have picked up so many dresses or little "pimp outfits" if we did know. Good news is, we only have to wait about 17.5 more weeks to find out whether Peanut is a boy or girl ! :) EEK!

We also hit up the Nike Outlet where Justin scored a pretty sweet Hawkeye jacket, I admit I am jealous! He also found a set of 3 balls that were a "must have" for Peanut.
Here are a few of the other cute things I couldn't pass up!

I am not sure if I mentioned it or not but while out in DC my mom and sisters S-P-O-I-L-E-D me with some really great maternity clothes. I would have put some pics up online but I have warn the ones that worked already so they are in with the dirty clothes.... not so pretty and neat anymore! Anyway, I just want to say THANKS again for shopping for me, I am one very lucky lady to have all 3 of you in my corner and keeping me looking good (for a blimp!) :)

Summer Started!

Over the weekend we had our first trip of the year over to Frontenac. (if Justin has his way we will be making quite a few trips this summer!) We started the weekend with a stop in Red Wing so Bear could jump in the mighty Mississippi. He was quite pleased with himself as he swam up and down the shoreline. You never really know the essence of a happy dog until you see one gleefully jumping in and out of the water like a fish!

Here he is ready for someone- ANYONE- to throw his "toy" so he can chase it

Friday night Justin's dad showed up with his new pontoon that he had purchased up in the cities. We were hoping to get it out on the water but with the crappy weather we didn't get it to.

Saturday we did some work at Justin's grandparents rental home in Frontenac and then headed into Red Wing to do a little shopping. I was a little disappointed because we didn't make it to one of my favorite shops but I suppose this gives me a reason to get back there!! Saturday was Justin's Grandma's birthday so we had a little celebration with everyone, which was nice. Justin brought his handy grill and impressed everyone with the 12 hamburger patties he piled on all at once- quite an accomplishment!!

Sunday we got up and headed back to Mankato. We enjoyed some rest and relaxation after we got home. Now we are gearing up for another busy/ big week. We have toyed with the idea of heading to Ames/State Center for the weekend but I am not 100% sure what the final verdict will be. Anywho, off we go to another crazy week!

Washington DC Trip

So back to reality again today. The trip was a success and we got to see lots of things. The best part (for me) was getting to see my sisters and Trent. It was nice to see Ali and Trent "at home" instead of a quick swing through in Ringsted.

As a whole the LEEP group was pretty good though we did have some struggles with one participant. Lucky for my sisters and mom they got to witness some of the meltdown where I was actually bawling from embarrassment and anger. I do have a different opinion for the people of Washington DC. My mom always speaks very highly of everyone out there but I DEFINITELY got a different feeling for the culture. Yes, we did meet some wonderful people but we also ran into some really horrible people too. I left there really frustrated with people's attitudes and disregard towards people with disabilities.

Overall I think they had a good time and we heard lots of thank yous when we dropped everyone off at home last night. I just hope that they saw everything they wanted to and learned lots! We visited the Capital, Washington Memorial, White House, Jefferson Memorial, FDR Memorial, Smithsonian Museums, and the Hard Rock Cafe.

Here are a few of the pictures from the trip, Enjoy!

These last 2 photos are of the Pentagon Memorial. It was pretty cool and rather moving since I remember that day so clearly.... Scary to picture a plane crashing into a building like that....