Holidays

Things have been SO busy this holiday season. I never knew how difficult it would be to balance work and family, then through in Christmas Shopping, Christmas cards, etc. I just ran out of time! We had a fun first Christmas with Molly though. Here are some pictures from December including her first snow!

Back Among the Land of the Living

You have probably figured out by now (if anyone is still reading this) that Molly Grace made her appearance into this world on September 21st at 3:45PM. She weighed 7 lbs 9 0zs and was 21.5 inches long. She had over 50 visitors during her stay in the hospital and even more after we got home. It has been a rough couple weeks for us but things are going better. Molly had Jaundice the first week of her life and had to get blood work done every day! I came home from the hospital with a spinal headache (due to the spinal block for my C-section). It finally went away a week after she was born and then the next week I developed mastisis from nursing, I had a temp of 104!! Things are looking better now though. Here are a few pictures from the hospital. I'll try to do a better job with posting but when it's a toss up between a nap or writing a blog you better believe I'm going to choose a nap!!!

Molly's Birthday!

We just found this week that Molly will arrive on September 21st through a scheduled C-Section. The surgery is planned for 2:00 and we are supposed to be at the hospital at noon. We are so excited! It's so nice to have an end in sight. We will spend these next couple of weeks finishing things around the house and spending some quality time together.

Marshall Family Shower

Today was my last Baby Shower, thrown by Josh's family. There were about 15 people there and we had a great time. Molly got lots of new clothes, bigger sizes, which is wonderful, some toys, and books too!

School has started back and has definitely taken a toll on how I feel. I went to the Doctor last week and my blood pressure was up as well as lots of swelling! I'm really hoping I can continue working until my due date. I really don't want to take anytime off before she's born.

Only five weeks to go!

Shower

These are the girls that threw the shower for me! :)

I had a big shower this weekend at my mom's house. It was so much fun! There were over 30 people there. Everything was perfect from the food to the decorations and games. I think everyone had a great time.

We got every big item on our registry! We now have our pack-n-play, travel system, and monitor! We are officially ready to welcome Molly home now!

Finished Nursery

Here are some pictures of Molly's wardrobe so far and her nursery. The only thing left we have left to do is hang pictures on the wall. Josh worked really hard and I think it turned out perfect! It's exactly what I had pictured when we found out we were having a girl! I love how simple it is.

Baby Shower on Friday

On Friday I had my first baby shower given by my girlfriends from school. It was a lot of fun and everyone was so generous. We were supposed to have it poolside, but we had to move it indoors because of the rain.

Here are some pictures from the day. Check out my cake, it was especially cute and matches Molly's bedding - CUTE!

Check back soon for pictures of Molly's FINISHED nursery.

Mobile Blog Test {JOSH}

This is such a pointless picture...but it's all I had in front of me to test out mobile blogging. :-)

I used this on my old blog that I had for the biz website, and want to get it ready for this blog! It's probably going to be the best way to send out pictures to everyone while we're at the hospital. The Hospital does have computers in each room to use just for that purpose...but I'll probably stick with using the phone instead! Plus I can post other updates while we're out and about getting ready for the day!

Glucose Test

I found out yesterday that my bloodwork for Gestational Diabetes came back OK. That was a big relief! Also, I think that Molly has moved somehow and my back is feeling so much better. THANKS GOODNESS! I'm going to the Kenny Chesney concert tomorrow and I'm really excited.

Anniversary Trip

We had a lot of fun on our anniversary trip. We left Tuesday afternoon and I had no clue where we were going. On the way there Josh gave me a packet with pictures and information about the place we were staying. It was a bed and breakfast in La Porte on a lake called South Pine. The B&B was only a few minutes away from New Buffalo, Michigan. The town was right on the water with lots of ships docked, fun outside restaurants and shops. We had fun eating dinner on the rooftop of a restaurant overlooking the water.

The next day on the way to breakfast Josh gave me another surprise packet with our next destination, I thought we were just staying in La Porte the entire time and I was perfectly fine with that, but I found that we were heading to Chicago and staying in the Conrad and watching the fireworks on the Navy Pier, FUN! We were so spoiled at the Conrad and took total advantage of it. We ordered room service and hung out in our room most of the afternoon. Then we walked to the Navy Pier ( I was pretty proud of myself - five blocks both ways!) and rode the Ferris Wheel then watched the fireworks. It was a lot of fun.

This will probably be the last trip for just Josh and I for awhile. It was nice to get some relaxing alone time together!

Happy Anniversary

Tomorrow is our 3rd anniversary! Josh has planned a surprise trip! We are leaving tomorrow and coming back on Thursday. Be sure to check back this weekend for lots of pictures! I have no clue what's in store but I'm really excited!

As far as baby stuff goes I have still been feeling pretty good. Just a little bit of back pain lately. It feels really good to be in the pool so I've been using that as an excuse to go a few times a week! Friday I have a Dr.'s appointment and they are going to do blood work to test for gestational diabetes. This is something they test for in every pregnancy so nothing to worry about.

Happy July 4th!

Happy Birthday Josh

Josh's Birthday was on Saturday. He had to photograph a wedding so we celebrated on Friday night by eating at his favorite...PF CHANGS! Then going Putt-Putt.

Happy 26th Birthday! : )

Rocky

We need to find a loving home for our beloved cat Rocky. It's going to be so hard for me to get rid of him but we have decided it is too much with a baby. If you or anyone you know is looking for a cat or knows a good place for him let us know. He is used to being an indoor cat although he lived outside for a short period of time at his previous home. He only has back claws though so we are a little apprehensive about him living outdoors.

Working on the Nursery.

Yesterday we started working on the nursery. We cleared the room out completely and cleaned the carpet. We are now waiting on our bedding to arrive so that we can paint. Josh worked hard washing the walls and cleaning carpets while I supervised. The ONE time in my life that I had permission to just sit and watch!

Maternity Pictures

Josh had been asking to take maternity pictures for awhile and I was not very excited about it. One of my girlfriends showed me her scrapbook of her pregnancy and told me that I would regret it if I didn't have any taken. So, the other night while we were grilling out I let Josh snap a few of me. They didn't turn out too bad so maybe we'll make this a monthly tradition now!

It's a Girl

On May 3rd we had our big Ultra Sound appointment to find out the sex of the baby. I was THRILLED to find out we were having a girl! We told the Ultra Sound Tech that we had heard that sometimes they were not very accurate and she said, "Honey if this baby does not come out a girl I will pay for him to go to the college of his choice." When I told my dad this he said, so now you hope it's a boy right!

We had fun that day shopping for little girl clothes and the plan was to suprise our parents at dinner with the big announcement but we (I) couldn't wait! We called them right after the appointment on 3way and told them.

Lot's of pink is coming our way!

We're Pregnant...

In January we found out we were pregnant!!! Josh was at a photo shoot taking pictures of a BABY (so ironic) and when he came home I showed him the positive pregnancy test, then we took 3 more just to be safe! We went out that night and celebrated at PF Changs, of course. We were both very excited!

We had so much fun telling our friends and family. Everyone was so suprised! We have so much to look forward to!

For Real This Time...

My poor attempt to create a blog this winter failed but after being inspired again I'm going to make a real effort this time. I'm going to include some posts from before to catch you up to date then continue on. Please make comments on my posts so I know someone out there is reading them!