The Totman's

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Baby bump update

I was looking back at some of my baby bump pictures from a few months ago and then from today at 22 weeks and its a pretty big difference!

Here is 10 weeks when the baby was the size of a prune:

Now, today at almost 22 weeks our baby is about a pound in weight and 11 inches long (about the size of a spaghetti squash)

It was fun to be able to play softball throughout the entire season this summer and since I've been feeling so great I'll keep up jogging at the gym (this is where I was headed hence the workout attire). I keep thinking I'll have to give some of this up, but my Dr. is totally fine as long as I keep my heart rate down. It is fun when she kicks, especially after eating when I lay down for awhile. Dan likes feeling her kicks too. We've been able to see it on the outside now, and I'm sure it will become even more noticeable the further along we go. I can't wait to see how big my stomach will get in 4 more months! Then it will be really interesting to compare it to the first one :)

We're back at some of the house projects including the railing and then the carpet is scheduled to be installed on the 31st. Dan's really making use of his summer hours on Friday's to get things done - good job Dan :)

4th of July photos

Here are some random photos from the 4th of July weekend. I was going through my pictures from my camera and hadn't put them up yet! It was fun to go to several fireworks displays, see the Apple Valley parade with my family, go to Tom and Kara's for a BBQ, and then spend some time at the lake with our new boat. Ahh, a perfect summer holiday weekend!

This is a picture of me and Amber wearing face masks on our boat because Dan read that when starting any speed boat the emissions may be harmful to unborn babies, so Amber wore one with me.

After Tom's wonderful brisket we went to the St. Louis Park fireworks where the guys had some fun with sparklers.

Jeff and Carter had fun with sparklers too

Fireworks

Dan trying his best to get Brent off the tube.

At the Apple Valley parade they had a pee cup which we thought was hilarious so we got a picture with Amber and it.

Alyce had some sound-reducing head phones for the fireworks.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Half-way there!

We had our 20 week ultrasound on Monday and found out we are having a girl! It was so fun to see her moving around and at the end cuddling up into a little ball and crossing her legs at the ankles. I'm so happy she is healthy and its amazing we were able to see all of her organs and fingers and toes developing properly. She is still measuring tiny so Dan was happy it was a girl - apparently tiny girls are better to him than tiny boys. And, for the record she was still within normal ranges, just on the small side which is ok with me since I have to carry her :)

We saw her moving her mouth a lot and swallowing. You can see her mouth is open in this picture.

She had her hands near her face a lot and one time was cuddling them under her chin

The ultrasound machine broke half-way through the appointment so we had to do it again and so the technician was rushed for time to get lots of fun pictures. But, we did get a lot of good profile ones.

I think the hardest part of finding out the gender is that now we have to wait to actually hold her! It is fun knowing that it is a girl so we can start picking out names and getting to know her kicks, but it is sad to think we still have a ways to go before we meet her face to face :) This weekend Dan has a basketball tournament so I might be able to get in to order our baby furniture. It may take 4-6 weeks so that would be nice to get soon so we can put everything together and have the baby room ready later this summer.

It was fun hearing everyones gender predictions - most people thought it was a boy, but we are very sure it is a girl!

Monday, June 29, 2009

Happy 7 year anniversary!

I can't believe its been 7-years.... I remember our wedding day being hot and humid and a flurry of activity. Dan had just started his job at Best Buy right before graduating from Bethel, we closed on our house in Minnetonka (including painting and moving in our stuff), I started my internship at Wells Fargo and we were finishing the plans for the wedding.

I had prayed for no rain, but forgot to specify 80's would have been more comfortable than 90's for our packed ceremony and outdoor reception. There was air conditioning in the church, but since it was 98+ and HUMID it wasn't keeping up and everyone was very warm. I don't think I noticed though as I had been anxiously awaiting this day for a long time. When I finally walked down the aisle and saw Dan waiting for me, everything else went away.

After the wedding, we had our hordeorves and wedding cake at the outdoor reception in Minnetonka and then went to Bethel to take outdoor pictures near where Dan proposed almost a year earlier. Some of my favorite pictures are from that spot where our wedding party and immediate family gathered and enjoyed a picnic dinner.

That week we honeymooned in Northern MN at a resort on a lake and biked, swam, played tennis and enjoyed the 4th of July fireworks. It was the hottest week of 2002 when we looked back at the almanac, but again I don't think we noticed all that much.

As I think back over the last 7-years, I remember job promotions, finding our church, buying our lake property, meeting new friends, building the cabin, celebrating new births and weddings, our trip to Japan and Singapore, and now (right on schedule with our 7-year plan) expecting our first baby :). Its amazing how much has happened in 7 years, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I got to spend it with my best friend, and am so excited to see what God has in store for the next 7 years and beyond.

I love you Dan!

Here is a picture of our new (used) boat we bought last week for our anniversary. We had a great time trying it out last weekend, and yes, it did fit in the boat lift! Now we are ready to speed along Lake Marie with anyone daring enough to come along.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

18 week update

Wow, I can't believe that in 2 weeks we'll be half-way to meeting our baby! Today I had my 18 week apt with my NP and everything looks good. She said the heartbeat is strong and thinks the weird feelings I've been having are definitely kicks. They don't feel like kicks, but just a strange moving sensation so I'll probably be able to identify them in the next few weeks. It is exciting that we are entering this stage though to actually feel the baby! On July 6th we have the ultrasound, so we are counting down the days to that visit.

Last weekend was my cousin Lindsay's wedding. She was beautiful! We took advantage of being dressed up and took a couple pictures too. You can definitely see the baby bump now if I wear tighter clothes. Wearing work jackets still hides it pretty well though!

I still forget all the time that I'm pregnant. I haven't had very many symptoms, and since I'm not huge yet it just slips my mind. I'm sure the 2nd half will remind me more than the 1st!

18 week photo - me and Dan

Sisters!

How cute :)

Lindsay's wedding

18 week profile shot

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Hardwood flooring and crib shopping

Last weekend was a perfect weekend to be inside working on home improvement projects. Dan decided to tackle the upstairs at our house and install hickory hardwood flooring in the kitchen, dining room, living room and hallway. Last week we spent our evenings pulling up the old flooring and carpet - it was a lot of work! He borrowed a finishing nail gun from Scott and rented a staple gun from Home Depot early Saturday a.m. and got to work. My dad came over for a few hours and my sisters husband Brent stayed all weekend.

Meanwhile, my mom and sister and I went crib shopping! Babies R Us was definitely the best, and we got a few good ideas. I may end up buying it at Direct Buy because they have the same brands but it is cheaper with their buying club. We also brought my paint sample and picked out bedding! I didn't think I'd get that done this early, but since we were at all those stores anyway we checked them out. The room is peach and I want to stay fairly neutral either way. We found a few cute monkey ones and I'm drawn to the green and brown colors. We stopped at JCPenny's last and found the cutest jungle theme with the right coloring and most importantly it does have monkey's on it.

Saturday afternoon Amber and I helped the guys a little bit and made dinner, took a nap and watched a movie. Sunday we helped a lot more and helped pull up the last of the carpet and sanded the edge pieces Dan cut for the flooring around the stairs. We took Bella to the dog park and then they headed home Sunday evening while Dan and I finished the project with the nail gun. Last night we used the finishing nailer for a few more pieces and trim and I started cleaning the floors and moving the furniture back in place. It looks great!

Tonight once I sand the last few pieces and finish cleaning I'll take some final pictures to post. We are so happy to have this project done! Thank you mom for shopping on Saturday and Dad for helping the guys! And, Amber and Brent we appreciate you giving up your whole weekend to help us, it looks great!

The next project will be the railing and closet doors for the baby room. The carpet should be coming in the next few weeks!

Ripping up the carpet!