Happy Birthday, Jesus!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! We did, and are very thankful for Jesus's birth, His incredible sacrifice, and His resurrection. And we are thankful for our health, our freedom, family, friends, and many other blessings. As we reflect and enjoy this Christmas, we can't help but think about what next year will be like. We are cherishing our last Christmas with just the two of us, yet at the same time are looking forward to experiencing Christmas with our little guy next year. Here are a few photos from our Christmas 2008.

Here are a couple photos from The Nutcracker ballet that we all went to. The girls loved it!

26 Weeks...

Here are a couple updated pictures of me and my little growing sweet baby boy. We are now at 26 weeks with no more than 14 weeks to go! I can't believe it! Where has the time gone?! I love being pregnant and feeling him move and kick. One night last week, I watched my belly for about 20 minutes just watching him move around. The miracle of life is so amazing and we thank God everyday for His precious gift He is giving us. I am so thankful for a smooth pregnancy and praying it continues through the delivery. The most difficult aspect so far has been picking out nursery furniture & bedding. Decisions, decisions.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone! We have had our tree up for a week, but I am just now getting around to posting on here. Sorry, it's not that great of a picture. I downloaded this particular one at home last night so I could write and post today at work. So, I don't have access to my other pictures so we'll just go with it. Maybe I'll post another one later this month. We always have so much fun putting it together, even though it is quite a task. We both put all the branches together, then Matt strings all the lights (nice job, babe!), and then I put all the ornaments on. Teamwork at it's finest! :)

This past weekend we went to the Cincinnati Zoo's Festival of Lights. It was very, very cold but we had fun anyway. Here's a picture of us ready to go home and thaw out! When we go again, it will definitely have to be a warmer day - I'm a wimp when it comes to cold weather. Put me by the fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate and I'm set!

Happy Birthday to Madeline & Camille!

My precious nieces had their birthday party a couple weeks ago. They are now 9 and 5 and I CANNOT believe how fast they are growing up! Madeline is in 3rd grade and is our little artist. She is so crafty and artsy...and talks like she's a teenager sometimes. Camille is in preschool and is a ball of fire! She's pretty competitive and loves to play games and of course win. The boys are already chasing her on the playground and she giggles when she talks about it. :) It's so cute. They're starting awfully young these days, aren't they?

They are both overjoyed with the upcoming addition to our family. As Camille would say, "has your baby hatched yet?"

IT'S A BOY!

We are going to have a baby boy! Yes, a little Matthew running around! Our baby looks perfect and we are so thankful and blessed for a healthy baby. He is definitely a mover...the nurse commented on how much he moved around. I can definitely feel him pretty often. It's the greatest feeling to be able to feel him grow and move around. He weighs 12 ounces and his heartbeat is 141 bpm. And the name is...well that will remain a secret until he is born. Sorry, but we've gotta leave some sort of a surprise, right?!

Here are a couple recent pics...

Daddy & Mommy

20 Weeks Prego

Our Baby's 1st Outfit!

Here is our little one's first outfit...a Notre Dame onesie! We visited our dear friends, the Bontragers, a couple weeks ago and they surprised us with this special gift. Matt & Tim went to a Notre Dame game and Sondra & I enjoyed our day together at home catching up and relaxing.

Thank you Tim & Sondra - we can't wait to see our little girl or guy in his/her first outfit! We love it!

Here's our hottie hubbys - us girls must have been camera shy since we forgot to get any pictures of the two of us...

Our 16 Week Doctor's Visit

We had our 16 week checkup yesterday and everything is great! We heard the heartbeat for the first time - we had seen it before but had never been able to actually hear it with the doppler until yesterday. Pretty neat. I gained 7 lbs in 4 weeks! YIKES! My midwife said that that was great for me, so I guess that's okay. (She actually gave Matt a high five on that!) :) Matt keeps telling me, "we better have a chubby baby!" If it has anything to do with my appetite and weight gain, that won't be a problem! We have an official date for our ultrasound to find out the baby's gender - November 3rd! Can't wait!

Just Getting Started...

I'm finally posting my first message! Well, as most of you know who will be reading this, Matt & I are expecting our first child in March. I can't think of a better way to share with our family & friends the important milestones of this amazing journey we have already begun than through blogging. I'm getting a bit of a late start, since I am already 16 weeks along, but I can catch you up on that as I go along. We can't believe we are one month away from being half way through. It has gone so fast already. I have been feeling so much better lately - more energy, no more nausea, and my appetite is less than it was believe it or not. I was incredibly famished for the first trimester and still am sometimes. But, I am feeling so much better now. I am trying to savor every moment of this pregnancy, since I hear so many friends tell me how quickly this precious time goes. I'm anxious to meet our little angel, but I also want to enjoy the moment.

Here are a couple pregnancy pictures for your enjoyment!

This was at 11 weeks...

This one is the most recent, taken this past Sunday, at 16 weeks...