I caved.. and made it FB official.

Well.. I changed my mind and decided to make a Facebook post about the baby after all. I was nervous because I had already told a bunch of people that I would not be doing that. However, I am starting to have a hard time keeping all this to myself, especially with people at work. I just want some people to be excited with! Is that so bad? Also, I have a friend who is due with her baby any day, and I really wanted to get this out of the way before her baby arrived so that it didn't steal any thunder from that announcement. Anyway, this is how I did it...

In other news, we are all getting really excited for new years and 2012 in general. I'm still really happy that there is no snow on the ground, even though I know it won't hold off forever. It just kind of feels like we get a shortened winter this year, which is awesome!! We've got a lot going on the next two weeks and then hopefully we will have some downtime.

Happy New Years everyone!!
Catherine

Merry Christmas!

Merry (belated) Christmas! This Christmas was definitely a different one for our family. None of our usual traditions were followed. In the end, we were still very grateful for the much-needed time off and a chance to relax. We even got to see Beth and John for a short time on Friday night, which is always a pleasant surprise.

Matt surprised me with a Sony Bloggie, which is a camcorder that happens to take pretty awesome pictures as well. It will convert the video into whatever format you want (Facebook, YouTube etc.) so hopefully I will be getting more media up on the blog in the near future.

On that note... less than two weeks till the gender ultrasound, woohoo!!

Lovies,
Catherine

Goodbye

This morning when we got to Brianna's daycare and I was getting her out of the car seat, she looked up at me with the saddest look on her face and quietly said .."bye".

She just started saying the word bye, but the way she said it soo sweet and so sad I got choked up. She knew that I was leaving and was sad to see me go! I will never forget that moment for the rest of my life.

Baby?

BABY!!!! Yep, that's right. We're expecting #2 on June 23rd, and now that I have finally told my boss.. I feel okay about you guys knowing as well. I still have to let my Grandparents know, before they hear it from someone else. We ARE super excited and are happy that our kids will only be about 21 weeks a part.

I have been blogging all along and saving them as drafts, so anyone who wants to know the nitty gritty details of the last twelve weeks, feel free to read back. We are going for an early gender ultrasound to Bella's Angels the first couple weeks of January, so we will finally know if we are team Pink or Blue at that time.

Lovies,
Catherine

Nervous

My new boss is out this week, but as soon as she returns I have to tell her about the baby. I am officially at the end of my first trimester as of next Saturday, which also marks the end of my "excuse window" for not telling her. I am super nervous, and even more nervous for it to get out to the floor. Fortunately I am on a level below the call center now, so hopefully that will deter people from touching me. LOL. I know I am a huge dork about that, but I reeeally don't like the attention.

Matt and I are starting to talk about names again. We both have ideas that we like for boys, not as many for girls yet. We are both fairly traditional with our preferences though, so that helps.

This week I am feeling mostly good. The nausea has hit for short periods of time in the morning and at night, but subsides for most of the day so I can work. I am starting to get pretty sore in this god-awful chair at work, but other than that I don't really have any complaints. I am pretty sure I have already felt the baby move a few times too. I am hesitant to say that so early, but it feels exactly like it did last time around.

Time to get back to work! I'll update again once I actually spill the beans to my boss, then I will most likely be sharing all of these posts with all of you!

Lovies,
Catherine

11 Weeks Today!

The last week I have felt so good I thought for sure  my morning sickness was starting to go away. This morning has been pretty rough though, so I don't think I am over the hump quite yet. However, I am confidant that it will be over soon.

I haven't had a chance to update you about my appointment on Wednesday. I got in with my favorite doctor, Dr. Green, who started the the appointment off by saying "here we go again!". LOL. She was the one who delivered Bri and she did an amazing job. I told her I wish she could be the one to deliver this baby as well and she said that all I have to do is ask and she will do whatever she can to be there, providing it isn't the middle of the night. So fingers crossed! Otherwise it will end up being whichever doctor happens to be on call at that point of the day or night.

When she went to look for the heartbeat, she found it right away- 172! I jokingly groaned "oh no, not another girl!" and smiled. She said that that didn't indicate anything, contrary to popular opinion. She also said I was easily measuring 10 weeks and even ordered another ultrasound so that we could double check the due date.

The ultrasound was Thursday morning. My mom came along to watch Bri, who was feeling pretty sick and lethargic, poor thing! She ended up having a fever all of Thursday and all of Thursday night and some of Friday morning. I took her to the doctor and they said she had something viral, and it just had to run its course. Well lo and behold as soon as we left the doctor she seemed to feel better almost immediately and her fever was gone. Go figure!

Here is a picture I took with my phone of the ultrasound. I will try to get a better picture up later. They said I was measuring 11 wks 1 day, which would put my due date at June 20th. However, because it isn't different enough, they will still go by my original due date of June 23rd. Oh well, the baby will come when it does. I just wanted to make sure that everything was growing properly, which it is!

8 weeks 6 days

Today was the sickest I have been the entire pregnancy so far. I took my half a Unisom sleeping pill last night before bed per my doctor's suggestion, woke up and took my b6 vitamin, ate some strawberries through the nausea thinking it would help. Then I drove to Brianna's daycare and promptly threw-up. Poor thing must have been traumatized watching me. I must have looked like a wreck when I got inside, but thank God Gracia was nice enough not to comment. Most of the rest of the day has been like this too. I did start feeling better around two this afternoon, thank goodness. My boss has already given me clearance to work from home tomorrow. Yessss!!!

I am actually starting to look forward to Thanksgiving. There is quite a bit of drama happening on my side of the family, with my Grandpa and his stroke situation, so I am pretty thankful to be with my in-laws this year. I was also planning on being on a heavy duty diet, which obviously isn't happening at the moment, so I can actually enjoy Thanksgiving dinner this year after all. I am most looking forward to sweet potatos and leftover turkey sandwiches...mmmm..

My first interview for the Communications and Incentives Coordinator position is on Monday. I am pretty stoked about it, but also really nervious. I know I have the background and experience to back it, I just suck at interviewing. I will definitely be preparing pretty hardcore this weekend. Wish me luck!!

Lovies,
Catherine

Okay... June 23rd, 2012 it is.

For the time being I am accepting my due date as June 23rd, 2012. This is exactly 21 months apart from Brianna's due date back in 2010. If this one is born a day early, s/he will be exactly 20 months apart from Bri. That's pretty cool right?! This also means that I am exactly 8 weeks along today. Feeling pretty good except for being exhorbantly exhausted. I'm looking forward to a month left in the first trimester, woo hoo! We havent made any more progress on names, which is ok. We will probably decide as soon as we find out if it is a boy a girl.

In the meantime, I am applying for a job at work and definitely don't want the "word" to get out before I hear back about it. I can see all sorts of problems stemming from that. Matt says that people don't care as much as I think and my new boss will be happy for me whether she knows now or later. I just don't think I'll risk it. I figure around Christmas is a good time to let the cat out of the bag... we'll see.

Now for some fun dates!

Baby's First Heartbeat - October 29th, 2011
2nd Trimester Begins -   December 17th, 2011
Gender Ultrasound-       Around January 21st, 2012
Viability -                       March 3rd, 2012

3rd Trimester Begins -   March 24th, 2012
Due Date -                    June 23rd, 2012

Lovies <3 Catherine

Oooh.. thats right.

I was trying to figure out how I lost weight while I was pregnant with Brianna, I now remember. All day I am literally in a state of mild-severe nausea mixed with zero appetite. I can't say I am complaining about my current state, however. I have been so worried every since the ultrasound about the baby growing slowly, that any symptoms I welcome. I am pretty sure that if I was going to miscarry, that I would not be feeling like this, my hair would not be falling out, and I would not be crying at text messages. LOL.

Today I am at work while Matt is with Brianna at my mom's house, doing some fix-it things. What a sweet guy huh? He sent me a message earlier while on her roof doing God knows what. I love that he is spending some of his day doing this for her. My mom has learned a lot, but has had a hard time with some of the handy-man things around the house since my Dad died three years ago.

After work we are going to my niece, Anna's 9th birthday party. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone, watching the birthday girl open her gifts and maybe even eating some sloppy joes.

Lovies,
Catherine

Ultrasound #1

Matt, Brianna and myself all went to the doctor this morning for my first ultrasound. There was good news and bad news. The good news is that there was definitely a baby, and we got to see the heartbeat, and the bad news was that it's measuring really small, about five weeks, five days. Based on my calculations I cannot see how this can be right. I am thinking it must be at least a few days behind. I emailed my doctor to discuss it, so hopefully I will hear something back soon.

Morning sickness has hit pretty hard this week. I even had to stay home from work one day because it was constant. So if I really am five weeks, I have a long long time left to deal with this. I am really tired too, which makes working all day and then coming home to take care of a baby seem impossible. I know people do it all the time though, so I will make it through somehow.

Catherine

Intake OB Appt.

My first OB appointment was on Thursday. I went to a different Allina clinic because Fridley was too busy (as per usual). The Blaine facility was really new looking and everyone was very nice, so my apprehension was for naught. When I arrived they got me right in and made me do a UA to confim the pregnancy. I was happy to hear that nothing had changed since my last HPT. Then the OB educator took me into her office to go over the basics, make sure I didn't have any questions, do a full medical history and let me know that no, I should not be eating bleu cheese (sad face) and yes, I can continue to be on Weight Watchers as long as it is only used to monitor my healthy eating and maintain my weight, not lose it. I am ok with this....

Next they drew a bunch of vials of blood for this, that and the other reason and sent me back to scheduling to make an appointment for my early ultrasound, so I can finally find out my due date. Hooray! It is scheduled for next Thursday,  10/27 at 9:20am. Matt is taking off the first half of the day to come. I know we won't be able to see much but a little blob and hopefully a beating heart, but I am still really excited! I think we will have Brianna with us too. Even though she won't have any idea what is going on, we can tell her later that she got to see her little brother or sister before anyone else. :-)

I am still feeling pretty great. Only minor bouts of nausea and some headaches. Fingers crossed that it stays that way for awhile!

Surveys Are Fun

Today I am five weeks along.. or four.. or six. I really have no idea. Hopefully I will have a better idea soon! No real morning (or all day) sickness yet. My only symptoms are weird: tons of hair falling out, woozy, fatigue, and headaches. Brianna is also driving me crazy lately. I am always careful not to snap on her, although I have asked her nicely to be quiet several times. I realize she doesn't really understand yet, but I can try!

I told my friend Stephanie about our June bug, today at work. Other than her and my boss, I am not planning on telling anyone else for quite awhile. I don't want it to turn into a big deal, and there really is no other reason for people at work to know until the rest of the world does. I do have a couple of work friends that will likely be upset about this, but I hope they can understand and respect my decision.

I stole this fun survey from my blogger friend Kellie. Thanks Kellie!

Baby Survey!

Is this your first pregnancy? No, I have a 12 month old daughter, Brianna.
When did you find out you were pregnant? Saturday, October 8th, 2011.
Was it planned? Yes, although we didn't expect it would happen quite this fast!
What was your first reaction? I was excited, and immediately started thinking about how I was going to tell Matt.
Who was with you when you found out? Nobody this time around!
Who was the first person you told? Matt; then my SIL, Amy.
How did your parents react? My mom was really excited for me. She knew we were trying, so she had been praying for us. My MIL and FIL were both excited too. FIL just said right away that he was hoping for a boy.
How far along are you? 4, 5, or 6 weeks. Not really sure...
What was your first symptom? fatigue
What is your due date? Sometime in the middle of June
Do you know the sex of the baby? Nope, not for another 15 weeks!
If so, what is it? Don't know, but I have a feeling it's a boy.
Have you picked out names? We have thrown some ideas around, but nothing set in stone.
If so, what are they? Shh.. not telling yet
How much weight have you gained? None yet
Do you have stretch marks? Unfortunately.. from Bri
Have you felt the baby move? Nope. He/She is the size of an orange seed
Have you heard the heartbeat? No, but I can't wait to!
Home or hospital birth? hospital. I had such a great experience at the hospital we went to with Bri, we will definitely go there again.
Natural or medicated birth? I had an epi last time, and actually got to enjoy the birth, so I will likely do that again. Who knows though! The situation may not allow it.
Who will be in the delivery room with you? Matt
Will you breastfeed? Yes
Do you think you'll need a c-section? let's hope not!
Will you cry when you hold the baby for the first time? I doubt it...lol
What's the first thing you might say to him/her? Hopefully this time I won't make some weird comment about his/her eyes being too far apart.
Would you let someone videotape the birth? Probably not, but still pictures would be ok.
Are you excited about the birth, or scared? excited.
Will you have godparents? Yes, we already have a Godmother and Godfather in mind :-)
My first OB is on Thursday. This is the one where they will spend an hour telling me what I can and can't eat, what I can and can't do, and determine if I am high risk (I'm not). They will also schedule the early ultrasound to determine my due date (finally!) so I'm pretty excited. The actual ultrasound will probably not happen until the following Thursday.
Lovies,
Catherine

Cant..Stop...Eating

So I have this problem... I can't stop eating. I am seriously constantly hungry. Today alone I have eaten yogurt, triscuits, fruit snacks, pretzels, a ham salad sandwich, a bag of sweet peppers, a string cheese stick and an apple. It's only 2 o'clock! At this rate I will have gained all forty pounds back by the end of my first trimester. I am definitely freaking out about this.

So onto other things in our lives (lol). Brianna is getting more and more personality every day. When we are in public, she walks everywhere and refuses to be carried if she can help it.

The only exception to this is if we are at home, where she decides that she has to be carried everywhere Or must have food in her mouth or she is screaming. *Sigh* I can't win. When she is not screaming though, she is a TON of fun! Laughs all the time, plays with her toys in new ways and loves reading her books. I am definitely loving having a one year old.

Sharing The News

This week we are telling our parents about Baby #2 ( I have got to come up with a better nickname!) I told my mom we were seriously considering having another, so she had been praying for us and I already knew she had been excited. I have already been in contact with my doctors at Allina, who are psyched as well. I know I am a huge dork, but I can't wait to see them. I am scheduling my first appointment and maybe ultrasound the week after next. I want to wait till after six weeks so we can see the heartbeat.

Matt is so cute, he is thinking about totally random things like if Lands End will carry our style of personalized stockings at Christmas. In the middle of our bike ride the other day, he made us stop and go through the entire list of 100 top boys baby names. We have a couple that we like, but still none that we love. No ideas for girl names yet. One thing I know for sure is I do not want to commit to a name 20 weeks early like we did last time.

Check In- Week 4ish

Until I have an official due date, I can only guestimate how far along I am based off internet calculators. According to TheBump.com, baby is now the size of a poppyseed. Definitely does not resemble anything human yet.

Pregnancy Symptoms at 4 weeks 5 days

1. Sensitive to smells.
2. Stomachache whenever I eat cheese (not again! ugghhh)
3. Some fatigue..not bad
4. Increased appetite
5. Achey everywhere
6. Irritable (my poor neighbor got the brunt of this yesterday, oops. Sorry Dan!)

Our Own Little Chenoweth #2 Coming June 2012

Yesterday we found out that we were expecting Our Own Little Chenoweth #2! It was actually a complete shock because I hadn't been charting or doing anything special like with Brianna. We just kind of figured, if it happens.. it happens; and it happened! I had been testing for a few days already because I was pretty sure I was late, although my body is pretty wonky so I couldn't say for sure.

Finally yesterday morning I tested, completely expecting to get a negative and I got the faintest line possible. It was barely perceptible to the naked eye. I figured I was just seeing things. So I drove to work, stopping at Wal-Mart on the way to get some better tests, because something kept nagging at me. When I got to work I went straight to the fourth floor where there were no people yet, and took out the test. Taking a deep breath I looked at the results window. BAM two pink lines. One much lighter than the other, but definitely there. I immediately started doing a happy dance whispering "oh my gosh, oh my gosh" over and over. When I calmed down I went to my desk and managed to keep a straight face all day and not spill the beans to anyone.
After work I went and hung out with my friend Amber. It was supposed to be our wild "girl night". I told her I wasn't drinking because of the whole possibly being late thing and i wanted to be safer than sorry. We went to Bennigans and took a walk and picked up some non-alcoholic beer (which was disgusting!) and hung out with her neighbor Katie. It was really fun, but after awhile the exhaustion and cigarette smoke started getting to me and I had to bail. I felt really awful not telling her the whole truth, but I hadn't even told Matt yet! It couldn't be avoided :-( Sorry Amber!

When I got home I gave Matt this great card I had made. When he opened it, he got the biggest smile on his face and asked "Are you pregnant?" I just said "Yep!". He is so excited, which makes me excited! I didn't get to 'tell him' with Brianna, since he was there when I found out, so this was fun. We told Brianna this morning, but she just said "da?" and proceeded to play with her cup. I think it's gonna be awhile till she understands, haha.

I GOT THE JOB! Wooo!!

This morning I was totally bewildered when I heard. I did not expect it after how my last two interviews went (I had three total). I start with my new hours right away tomorrow, 7:30am to 4:00 pm Monday through Friday!! No more Saturdays for me.. woo hoo! I called my amazing daycare lady first who is being very cool about having to wake up an hour and a half earlier than usual.

Now to celebrate! I am thinking Olive Garden... mmmm

Lovies!
Catherine

Interview Update

Soo... the interview went... okay. It was grueling! Over an hour long, and full of questions I did not expect. I felt that I prepared as well as I possibly could have for this one though. I even spent quite a bit of time finding out what the interviewer is like and what kind of questions she asks. I got a lot of "she's a hard interviewer" answers, which I found out was 100% accurate. It was probably the hardest interview I have ever been to, and I was definitely prepared. That being said, I did my best and do not have any regrets. I should find out more next week!!

Thanksgiving last night went really well. I loved our small little group. It was just Amy, Mike, Matt, Shirley, Bernie, me & the kids. We did dinner potluck style and just vegged out afterwards. Bri seemed to enjoy the stuffing and the turkey the best.

Catherine

Job Interview

I have an interview today at 2pm! It's for a Communications and Incentives Coordinator here at my work. The job will consist of writing and sending communications to the customer service floor about changes in policy, learning opportunities, company events etc. The person will also be in charge of incentive and motivational activities for the entire customer service department. I am pretty excited because it requires a degree in communications and sounds like so much fun! For anyone who reads this in time, please pray for me at 2pm! I will update you all as soon as I know anything.

Also, Thanksgiving is tomorrow! Happy Thanksgiving all :)

Catherine

Date Night

Last night Matt and I went on a date for the first time in forever! We went to Bennigans for dinner and then went to see "In Time" with Justin Timberlake. It was a lot of fun! We got home around 10 o'clock and I amazingly still had energy, that is until my head hit the pillow ;-). I was totally planning on ordering a large popcorn with lots of butter, but I was so full from my veggie burger that I didn't end up getting any.

Tomorrow is my brother's birthday. He is turning 20! I cannot believe it. We are having a dinner for him at my mom's that I am pretty excited about.

Today I am working, like every Saturday. Matt and Brianna are at Amy's house hanging with the boys and Shirley. I wish I was with them!!

Lovies,
Catherine

November Update

I am really enjoying our little family these days. Bri is growing up so fast! She can say up (hup) down (dooww), dog (daugh), dad (da), sit, etc. She also understands many words, like naptime, chair, breakfast, food, milk, bathtime, ducky, book. She is so busy all the time. When I say we have to go let the dogs outside, she runs to the door. When I say its time to eat, she climbs up in her high chair. A few days ago she threw a fit because she didn't like what I made her for breakfast. I couldn't believe it!

Matt and I are both experiencing a lot of changes in the work environment around us, which have been stressful at times, but we are both doing pretty well. Healthwise, everyone is still getting over seasonal change colds. I brought Bri to the doctor last Thursday and she was actually diagnosed with allergies, which I thought was bizarre.

This Sunday, Bri, Kelly (my sister) and I are driving up to Duluth to meet my bestie Beth. We are looking forward to maybe swimming, shopping and most of all getting to spend some time with Beth. I can't wait! The fall colors should be absolutely beautiful right now too.

Lovies,
Catherine

Family Time

Last night I got off work early and was able to spend a good chunk of time with my family. Matt made steaks from VonHansens and I made salad with peppers and cheese. This is a family favorite of ours "Steak salad" along with several other dishes including Matt's lasagna, Matt's Spaghetti, pizza soup, "The Chenoweth" burger, which consists of a burger on a kaiser roll with pulled pork, bacon, and cheese on it. I also like bleu cheese on mine.

Anyway, after dinner I gave Bri a bath and we hung out with the Messbargers at the fire for a bit. It was really great getting to see them, as we havent seen them as much as I'd like since the first fall we moved in. Then we put Bri to bed and went to sleep ourselves. It was just really nice and didn't feel rushed at all.

Tonight my brother is coming over for dinner and we are having turkey burgers and brat patties, delicious! Tomorrow we are meeting some friends for lunch, and hopefully making it to church as well. It's shaping up to be a really nice weekend :)

Also, Bri is 13 months old today, and walking like a champ!

Happy 1st Birthday Bri!

Here are pictures of Brianna's 1st birthday party as promised. It was a great little event with a few close friends and family. We had it at a pavillion at Aquatore park in Blaine. Everyone brought a side dish and we had sandwiches and cheese dip. There was even a great park there where the kids got to play.

Brianna had a blast running (crawling) around greeting people, getting dirty and eating her super special birthday cake. We tried to get her to open her birthday presents, but she didn't care about that at all. Her friend Hayley was more interested in the process, and had fun playing with the wrapping paper. She got some great presents. A few great books, some nifty toys, a bunch of much needed (adorable!) clothing and even a sweet Cozy Coupe. When we got home she crashed after all that excitement and sugar and slept very well.

First Birthday Bash

Pics and comments about Brianna's 1st birthday party coming soon! Just waiting for the pics to come in from our photographer :-)

Sea Life & The Mall of America

On Brianna's birthday she went to the doctor for her 12 month check up ,(21 pounds, 31 inches) had a lovely morning nap, then we took a trip to Mall of America and Sea Life. We had so much fun! It was really cool seeing the sharks and seahorses and jellyfish. Brianna liked the stingray tank the best, I liked these fish that were really thin and swam with their heads down, and Matt liked everything! Bri clung to me pretty tight when we hit the sharks though, so I think she could have done without that tank. Afterwards we walked all over MOA and then went home and had spaghetti for dinner, which Bri had a blast making a mess of.

Almost A Year!

Brianna has turned into a toddler, seemingly overnight. She is constantly pulling up, crawling up, standing, doing the splits, bounding and reaching. I can see her learning something every second and it is so cool! Her new brain development has also come with a bigger personality. She is opinionated about everything from who is talking to her, to what she eats for dinner, to what stuffed animal is in the crib with her at night. She is also teething, and letting us know about it! We are definitely close to walking as well. She takes only 2-3 steps at a time, but is getting sturdier and sturdier every day. She can stand up from the sitting position without supporting herself with anything. I can't even do that!

Brianna's favorite food continues to be fruit, although now instead of acceping chopped up bananas and peaches, she has been known to grab the entire piece of fruit off the counter, and start knawing on it. Her fruit of choice is nectarine. She also likes bread and cheese.

Bri is becoming more dependent in other ways too. She insists on feeding herself when I am trying to feed her with a spoon. Often times she flips it over and it goes everywhere, but she is trying! She also likes to brush her own teeth after I have finished. When playing with her toys, she will actually dance the little animals around the farm and if she is playing with a car or boat she will zoom it around the floor and make vrooming noises.

As far as speech goes. Brianna has now said: Sit, Ali, Zoe, Da, Dog, and Bri (Breeeeee). She is also pointing at things and attempting to sound them out. I can't wait until  she points at me when someone says "Mama" or can say my name.

I am looking forward to the cooler weather. In addition to adorable fall clothing, I can't wait to play in the leaves, go trick or treating and of course, celebrate our little one's birthday in 9 days! We did get some professional pictures done. Unfortunately Bri was getting over the flu, so she doesnt look thrilled in most of them. I will post them when I get a chance.

Party Planning

We are working on planning Bri's birthday party. We decided on a smallish gathering of family and friends. We have reserved the Aquatore Park in Blaine. It will be at an outside pavillion, so I am crossing my fingers for good weather. We are going to cater in Costco, and ask a few people to bring a side dish so that we have enough food for everyone. My grandma is even making the cake! I am thrilled about this because she said that our wedding cake was her "last" cake, and now she is going to do one more.

My predicament is the decorations. Initially, I was going to go with a "themed" birthday party with matching plates, cups, napkins, banners, etc. However I did not realize that there is an actual market for First Birthday items, and they are all expensive! Sooo... dollar store, here I come! At least I can get everything in pink and purple, or whatever color we choose. I am, however, going to order some balloons at Party City and I will make some sort of banner. I've gotta get moving on this stuff!

I can't believe our baby is almost 1 year old! Three weeks to go!

We have been working on cutting down bottles/formula and she is down to about 10 ounces a day. I honestly dont know if we will be done done in three weeks though. She gets soooo crabby when she doesn't get her bottle every 5 hours and before naps/bedtime. She is getting plenty of solids, so I know it isn't because she is hungry. Any ideas, seasoned mamas??

Lovies,
Catherine

Flatbread!

Yesterday Matt, Bri and I went for a bike ride. Matt and I on our bikes and Bri in the bike trailor. We decided to go to Riverdale. We ended up tooling all over the place looking for cool "1st birthday" invitations for Bri's birthday party. Our search was futile, but we got a great workout. It was soo much fun! We even stopped at Subway on the way home to grab dinner. I got a turkey flatbread (which still ended up being 22 points, ohmygawz!)

Tonight we are going to a fire at the neighbors armed with bug spray and (light) beer. Fun weekend!

Lovies,
Catherine

Garage Sales!

July has been full of fun, and hot weather. I am bored on my lunch break at work so here I am blogging about whatever comes to my mind, with pictures of course! I had to share a couple of awesome garage sale finds from last Thursday. The first one is a Little People Nativity, which was $5. Can you say adorable!! The second is a set of lawn chairs for $5. Matt and I were going to pick up two of these for $40 at Cub, so this was definitely a steal. At the same garage sale I also picked up a set of colored stacking cups, a small purple fish tank that we are using as part of Brianna's birthday present, and this great little cardboard children's book called "Goodnight Minnesota," which features lots of great things about Minnesota including the Minnesota State Fair, Canal Park in Duluth and the giant spoon at the art museum.

The second part of my random post is about the wedding shower Brianna and I attended last Sunday. It was for my cousin Sarah and her fiance, Kevin. Held at a very nice park in Eagan, It was a beautiful day. The first thing we did when we arrived was check out the adjourning pond. I know the picture is kind of dark, but here is Brianna's first time in anything other than a pool. I stripped her down to her diaper and let her sit in the dirt. At first she didn't seem to mind it, although it was clear that she was unsure of her surroundings. When a tiny fish came up and nibbled her toe I freaked out and picked her up. Emulating my panic she started screaming and couldn't be calmed down until my sister, Kelly, distracted her by swinging her around and "swimming" with her. Needless to say, the whole experience didn't last very long. By that time everyone had arrived and we ate sandwiches and fruit and baked beans (Sarah's favorite!) Then we watched the happy couple open presents and called it a day. We are all very excited to attend the actual wedding this coming Friday. I will definitely be posting pictures since Matt, Brianna and I will all be matching in red. <3

Just wanted to say...

Happy 10 months Brianna!

You are Mommy & Daddy's sunshine.

 

Love you Beautiful xoxo

My 25th Birthday (Catherine)

Here we are in the dog days of summer. This morning the radio said that the temperature could reach 100 degrees by Monday and could "feel like" 116. All I can say is, thank GOD we have wonderful neighbors who are lending us their portable air conditioner. I have a feeling that all three of us, (five with the dogs) will be camping out in the living room the next few days.

Last weekend was my birthday. I had such a fun day. Matt took me to Crystal Cave in Wisconsin and Stillwater where we went to Brine's for lunch. Crystal Cave was really cool, (literally! It was 45 degrees down there, haha) it went way underground with lots of nooks and crannies and rooms. Unfortunately we forgot the camera in the car, so we didn't get any pictures inside the cave. We saw stalactites, stalagmites, formations and even a bat! Bri rode in a carrier in front of me and seemed to enjoy the tour too, until she got hungry. Then she just got really loud and people were having a hard time hearing the tour guide. Fortunately we brought a bottle with that we gave her, even though we werent supposed to bring anything but a camera into the cave.

Stillwater was great too, but it was bloody hot! We got some great exercise but don't wish to share any pictures since we all felt pretty gross. Lunch at Brines we enjoyed a salad bar and their signature beer cheese soup. Nummy!

For dinner my mom had my Byland grandparents and us over for Shish Kebabs. For the most part it was a decent time, and it was great to see my Grandparents and Aunt Karen.

I did get to celebrate my birthday with my favorite in-laws as well. We went to Perkins with Shirley, Bernie, Amy, Mikey & all four kids (Eli, Owen, Anna & Brianna) The service was actually pretty terrible, but the food was tasty! It was really nice getting to see everyone.

Toodles!
Catherine

Family Vacation to Wisconsin

For the fourth of July weekend we drove up to Greenfield (Milwaukee) Wisconsin to visit my Aunt Judy, Uncle Bill, and my cousins Chris & Laura. On our way up we stopped at Best Western in Black River Falls, where we walked around the historic downtown, sat by the water and swam. We got the big pool and hot tub all to ourselves! The moose Matt is posing next to in the picture is their mascot, and is everywhere in and around the hotel. I believe it has something to do with their brand of beer.

The next day we drove the rest of the way to Greenfield and spent the night unpacking and relaxing. Saturday Judy and Bill took us to the Milwaukee Natural History Museum, which was very cool. Matt was especially interested because he loves learning about history. We saw exhibits from Europe, South America and North America. We even saw a cool little town that was called "The Streets of Milwaukee" and featured actual stores and brands that exist or existed in Milwaukee years ago. My favorite exhibit was a representation of a Native American grave site. There were real mummies! I also loved the dinasour bones. Matt really liked all of the snakes and historical animal exhibits. Bri loved the butterfly house, where butterflies of all shapes and sizes flew around our heads. She wasnt scared at all!

Sunday night Judy and Bill watched Bri so Matt and I could get out for a date. We decided to go to the Cheesecake Factory, where we had never been and tried a piece of Snicker cheesecake. Afterwards we drove to the mall where we attempted to walk it off :-)

Sunday we took a trip to the Milwaukee Zoo, which was so cool! I love Como Zoo, but this place was a zillion times better. They had elephants and kangaroos and rhinos and jellyfish. There was so much to see and lots of great paths for walking. Bri and I even got to go on a camel ride! We enjoyed a nice picnic lunch and even got to go on a train ride. Bri got to see tons of animals she had never seen before and especially liked the gorillas. She kept pointing at them and looking up at us.

Finally it was time to leave. All dressed up in our Independence Day gear, we hit the road. On the way home we stopped at the Tanger outlet mall in Wisconsin Dells, which was great. We also had to stop for some cheese and beef jerky at a tourist trap (of course!) The trip went too fast, but I can't wait for our next adventure!

Love,

Catherine (& Matt & Bri)

Happy 9 Months Bri!

Wow! It's been awhile since we've posted. Brianna is 9 months old now! She is such a happy little girl! The doctor says she is 19 pounds, 6 ounces. She is 28.4 inches long and is healthy as a horse (I never understood that expression). She is crawling on all fours very fast now. She can get from one room to another almost as fast as us. Whenever she arrives at furniture she pulls up to standing and is just starting to move from one piece of furniture to another. She has even pulled herself up to her push toy a few times and used it to walk across the room.

Her favorite things:
1. Eating table food
2. Standing
3. Her bath toys
4. Her pink giraffe  blanket
5. Dumping over the dogs water bowl

Her least favorite things

1. Getting her diaper changed/clothes on

2. Getting her face wiped

3. Being in her carseat for an extended time.

Speaking of that, we get to go on vacation next weekend. We are driving to Greenfield (Milwaukee) Wisconsin to visit my Godmother Judy and Uncle Bill. We are hoping to see Chicago and some other fun stuff. After that for my birthday we will be driving up to Stillwater. Lots of roadtrips and carseat time in our future, so hopefully she will get over it.

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

Happy Father's Day Daddy! I worked really hard to paint you something pretty. Mommy gave me red, blue, yellow and green paint and I mixed it into my own special colors. I tried to paint Ali too, but she wasn't very excited about that. Afterwards Mommy gave me a bath, and the tub turned all sorts of fun colors!

On Father's Day morning Mommy and I woke up early and made you breakfast. We made huge pancakes, eggs and orange juice, and then brought it to you in bed. You were very surprised! You even shared some with me. Yummy! Afterwards you opened your card that said "Happy 1st Father's Day!" and then came time to open your present, the one that I made.

You LOVED them! You even put them up at your desk at work so you could look at them every day and think of me. I can't wait till next Fathers Day!

              XoXo  Bri

Andover Garage Sales



She loves her La-Z-boy!



Bri and I spent five hours garage sale-ing yesterday. Andover had their city wide garage sales. Andover is chock full of wealthy people and beautiful houses. Anyone who is an avid garage saler knows that garage sales in wealthy neighborhoods equal one of two things; really nice items for cheap or really nice items that are way overpriced. The junk is usually kept to a minimum. Also, there are lots of stay at home mommies with lots of little kids, which is Garage Sale Gold for me! 

It Reclines Too!



Yeah.. it's a fake :-)





The biggest difficulty came with having to drag Bri in and out of the car seat at every sale, since they were so spread apart. Load her in and out of the stroller and repeat. Poor girl got sick of it really fast. We ended up skipping a lot of sales that didn't meet my criteria of: Newish looking childrens toys and tables full of pink clothing. So I know I missed quite a bit, but we still ended up going to about 30-35 sales.



COACH purse

I brought $59 with me and ended up spending a total of $14.50 on four items. I also got a little sun, which was a perk. I got an adorable miniature "La-Z-Boy recliner for our living room, which retails and several hundred dollars so $10 was a steal! I also got the baby blanket resting on the arm in the picture for $1 and this adorable faux Coach purse for $3, which I actually thought was real for a couple hours until I went home and read about how to "spot a fake". In any case, it's a very realistic replica. All in all I feel it was a very successful day.



Random Video Dump

Just a quick update with some video's of Brianna. She sure is growing up fast. Too fast if I say so myself.



George has wanted to give Brianna some lemon ever since she was born. Well the Carlson's were over for dinner the other night. I just so happened to have a lemon at the house. One thing led to another and you will see the video. Its very funny, but I promise its not child abuse. She really likes fruit.



She is such a cute little girl. Catherine and I are truly blessed.

Hooray For Spring!

 

Hooray for spring! I am so excited that it is finally warm out. I am so looking forward to trips to the zoo, to Duluth, to the dog park. Long walks in the neighborhood, and playing in the grass. A few days ago Matt was working in the back yard, installing the base for our shed and I brought Bri out to see grass for the first time since she was born. As soon as I touched her feet to it she freaked out. I have never seen her scared of anything but the vaccuum cleaner before, so this was pretty funny. She would only tolerate being close to it if she was on a blanket. She was also not feeling good, so that may have had something to do with it. I hope she learns to love it! There is nothing better than soft grass between your toes in the summer! We are planning on getting her a kiddie pool to splash around in too (in a few months). There are so many fun new things for her to experience, and I can't wait to be there for every single one.

Brianna's 6-Month Check-in

Brianna's six month doctor's appointment was Thursday afternoon. She is now 16 pounds 4 ounces (72nd percentile) and  26.5 inches long (57th percentile). The doctor says she is very social, well adjusted and clearly very confidant. Matt and I were proud of that! She said she is very strong and right on track for her age.

At this visit Bri got three shots and the oral rotavirus vaccine. We did chose to vaccinate her with a flu shot as well. She didn't even cry for the first two! I was so impressed!

She was not, however, pleased with Brianna's sleeping habits (durr..) and said I am not to be feeding her in the middle of the night anymore, especially since she has two teeth and is now susceptible to tooth decay. She strongly suggested we sleep train her. I did not expect this, and frankly was less than thrilled with it. For anyone who doesnt know what sleep training is, it basically means we have to let her cry it out at night when she goes to bed, and can only go in after 10-15 minutes, pat her back to reassure her and leave the room. Since she has been getting up from 2-5 times every night to eat, you can imagine how difficult I expect this to be.

The first night, Bri slept from 9pm to 7am, making a liar out of me (lol). Turns out she had a fever from the shots and was pretty much out of it until 2pm the next day. The second night (last night) She screamed for an hour and 15 minutes. She kept gasping for breath, and I felt sooo bad! I ended up going in there every five minutes for the first hour. I picked her up, burped her each time (she had swallowed a lot of air with all that screaming) and put her back down. This was clearly not working, so I did not go in again, and she finally fell asleep after the next 15. I did not even attempt to go to bed until after she was very asleep. I am hoping tonight will go easier.

Milestones accomplished at 6 months:
1. Can sit on her own on a hard surface (like a high chair)
2. Can hold a toy in each hand & exert preferences over her toys

3. Can roll from back to front & front to back

4. Can scoot in a circle

5. Can feed herself a (melting) cracker

6. Can hold her old bottle for at least 30 seconds

7. Gets upset if a toy is taken away from her.

Next Up:

-Sitting on her own on a soft surface

-Crawling!
Love,

Catherine, Matthew, Bri & the doggies

Weekend and hanging out with daddy

Crabby babies are no fun. We took Bri around to see a lot of family today, that and day light savings didn't equal a lot of napping time for her. That brings us to now, she cried all the at home then after her bath- cried more. Then cried because she couldnt keep her pacifer in her mouth. It's been rough today, but on the bright side that's not normal for her. Hopefully she will get bed soon.

Yesterday was fun. While Catherine was working I took Bri to the auto show. We meet Clay and his dad there. It was a great time and she enjoyed all the shiny new cars. In other news she has cut her first tooth and has another one on the way. She rolls from back to front very regularly. She sorta scoots around in a circle and has not crawled or even gotten up on all fours yet. Shouldn't been too much longer.

Pictures to follow, not sure how to load them from my phone :)

-Matt

Slow Down My Love!

The title of this post really says it all. So much has happened since Brianna turned five months old (four days ago), I feel like its going by in a blur. These may seem like little things, but it really seems like a switch has gone off and our baby has all of the sudden decided that she is ready to grow up! This weekend alone, whenever she was put on her back or her belly she flopped over the other way. She has even rolled from back to belly and back again in a matter of a few seconds! This is very different from the once-in-a-blue moon rolling she was doing before.

She also decided that she was interested in eating this weekend. In the past month or so I have offered jars of stage 1 baby food, just to give her a taste. All were rejected immediately with a look of disgust. Yesterday, however, she tried the Gerber Baby prunes that her Uncle Kevin bought for her at her baby shower back in July. She LOVED them- first time I ever heard her actually swallow. She is also very interested in whatever Matt and I are eating and is starting to grab for plates and cups and our mouths (lol).

In church this morning she was so interested in what everyone was doing, she behaved so well distracted by all the music and other babies crying and people moving about. Lastly, she is been incredibly vocal, chatting away pretty much the whole time she was awake. *Whew* We are in for an exciting ride! I can't wait to be there for every minute of it. :-)

February Update

Life has been so busy, I haven't had a moment to update the blog. Bri will be five months old in four days. I am on my fifth day of work. Matt will be working the Minnesota WILD game tonight for work and we've got a busy weekend planned. After this weekend, I will be working every Saturday till further notice.

As you can see, lots of stuff going on. The biggest thing is the adjustment for Bri in daycare and myself at work, and of course missing my baby like crazy. She is at Gracia's (my friend Beth's mom) 3 days a week, at my mom's one day a week and with me one day a week. Poor kid is getting shuffled everywhere, but she is handling it really well. Not too much to report as far as milestones, except that she is trying really hard to sit up now.

On the eve of my first day of work (last Sunday night), Bri's cold, which we have all had for a couple weeks, took a turn for the worst. She was coughing really hard, wheezing and sneezing. We decided to take her to the ER, and thank God we did! They did some blood tests, took an X-ray of her chest and treated her with a nebulizer. It turns out she contracted RSV, which she most likely contracted from us. RSV is dangerous for infants, but looks like a normal cold in adults. They sent us home with a nebulizer and Albuterol. Other than the occasional productive cough, she is doing much better. Thanks to everyone who has been sending prayers our way the last few days!

More Later!
Catherine

Baby Littmann Is Here!

As a follow up to my congratulations post, Hayley Grace Littmann was born on Feb 3rd at 3:47am. She was 6 lbs 4oz and 20 inches long. Two and a half weeks early, but thriving. She is SUCH a peanut with dark eyes and dark hair like her Mommy and Daddy. Matt and I went to see her that morning and had so much fun meeting her. She had sooo many family visitors! Cassie and Peter handled it well though. They are going to make such amazing parents and I am so excited to watch little Hayley grow up.

Brianna got to meet Hayley as well. We introduced them about two and a half hours after she was born. As you can see, there is quite a size difference! In a few months though, it won't matter. I can't wait for them to play together!

Love,

Catherine, Matt & Brianna

19 Weeks Old

So it seems like every time I write about something on here, it changes. Mostly regarding Bri's sleeping or eating patterns. But, whatcha gonna do? She's a baby and babies routines are constantly changing.

I decided that it was a genius idea to nurse Bri to sleep for the last five months. Well, now it is no longer working and she is wide awake the second you lie her down in her crib and she does not have the ability to soothe herself to sleep. All the books told me not feed her to sleep, all the research said it would be a mistake, but did this newbie mom listen? No way.

As some of you know, I just landed a job with an old employer which I start on Valentines Day. Today I went in for my mandatory drug test and my mother watched her. I attempted to put her down before I left (unswaddled) to no avail. During the two hours I was gone, per my instructions, my mom repeatedly went in and out of her bedroom room shushing her and patting her back. She just screamed and screamed and screamed. It got so bad that she had to take her out and rock her a couple times. When I got home it was still going on so I tried swaddling her (which I am also trying to break so she doesnt roll on her face), got her to take her pacifier and rocked her. I finally got her to sleep after three hours. Morale of the story? This new phase in our lives is sure to be filled with sleepless nights, but hopefully it doesn't last long! Another lesson learned.

In other news, our good friends Peter and Cassie are very close to having their little love, Hayley. We are so excited to meet her and introduce Bri to her new friend.

Love,
Catherine

4 Months Old (17.5 weeks)

At exactly 17 weeks old

Bri is four months old today! If you have seen her recently you would know she is getting quite the little personality. Her favorite things to do are talk, play on the floor, jump in her Jumparoo, eat her hands (and mine), and look at things in the mirror. She can now roll to her side from her back, do "baby crunches" in attempts to sit up and this morning I caught her actually petting the dog. She has decided that she will take decent naps and sleeps ok at night (generally 4-6 hrs) but fights going to sleep pretty hard, as poor Grandma Shirley recently discovered while babysitting her. We are also training her out of having to be nursed to sleep, which is going pretty well, but has been substituted for the "bounce and sway" as Matt has coined it.

At the doctors

Bri's four month appointment was yesterday. She received two more shots. The doctor says she is growing very well. She is now 14lbs 8oz. and she is 26 inches long. We were told we could start her on solids but for now we have decided to hold off other than a taste of this or that. We did try a jar of baby bananas a few days ago which didn't go over well, but I guess you have to learn to eat just like everything else!

I have had several interviews recently so it's possible that I will be going back to work very soon. This is extremely bittersweet for me as I am looking forward to some adult time and not living quite so tightly, financially. However the fact that I must be away from Brianna for eight + hours a day truly breaks my heart. I never thought I would feel this way, but I do. I know it will be a hard transition for both of us, but it must be done- at least for now.
Love, Catherine