I love my Harley girl. She is just the most adorable dog ever and I am so lucky that we picked her out. Well, it was hard not to choose her since she was the last one left in her litter. I think we got the 'runt' too because she is fairly small for a lab (which is fine with us) and when we got her, she had a little growth on her head which may have detered some people from picking her. Not us! We happily said "we'll take her"! She has so many interesting little quirks too....to name a few:
*We think she has separation anxiety: she HAS to be by us at all times. If we are watching TV, she's laying at our feet. If you take a shower, she lays in between the two curtains just to make sure she's not missing anything. If we're driving in the car, she's got her head on the consol in between us. If we invite her on the bed, she's in between us.
*She likes to sleep on her back, totally open and exposed for the world to see and has no shame whatsoever
*She LOVES the water - a true lab. She loves the water so much that if you go to start the bathtub she rushes from wherever she is in the house and sits patiently waiting to go in. And if you take a bath, you better believe she's laying down right next to the tub in hopes that she might be invited in (don't think so!). She enjoys getting hosed down outside and having a bath. She loves mud puddles at the farm and will just lay down in a puddle of water whenever she can find it. She loves the creek at my parents house which runs through their backyard and can't be trusted alone outside without supervision or she will take off running up and down the creek only to finish off her run by laying down in it.
*She is very routined: Harley knows when it's time to eat. Apparently she thinks that 6am is a good time everyday! She wakes up, goes to Justin's side of the bed, puts her paws up on it, and whines. then one of us has to get up, let her out, feed her, and finally head back to bed. She will sleep until one of us gets up aftewards, but she MUST eat at 6 apparently. She also knows when it's time for dinner each night. Around 5:45/6:00 she's whiny and very clingy. Once she's fed, she's fine. Weirdo.
*Her newest quirk is that she is facinated with the hair dryer. She used to be afraid of it until one day when we gave her a bath and decided to let her "air dry" a little more in the house. I notice she was curled up in a little ball on her pillow shaking. Poor baby...I got out the blow drying and started drying her off. She rolled on her back and LOVED having her belly dried. Unfortuntately this started a new habbit of whenever she hears the hairdryer going she has to come into the bathroom, lay down, and wait for 'her turn'.
My dog is a little weirdo...but I wouldn't trade her for anything. Now if I can only figure out how to post pictures - this post could be a little more interesting.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
And so it goes...
Well...it's Monday, June 28 and still no baby. I can't believe that he isn't here yet. Talk about a lesson in patience and trust. I hope he decides to show up before July. It's been sort of a sad day today. My wonderful Grandmom (who has been in town since June 10) is leaving tomorrow to go back home to Maryland. We were hoping that having her here for close to 3 weeks would allow her to spend some time with her first great grandson - looks like that isn't going to happen. We will go and visit her sometime this summer thought - so she will be able to see the baby when he is still so little. And again in September at my cousins wedding. Also, my wonderful sister-in-law had to head back home today to get back to her routine with our nieces and spend some time with her husband too. She was here for 2 weeks waiting with us on the arrival of our little one. Guess he had other plans. We were so looking forward to having her be a part of the birth, but I know that Justin will do a fine job on his own! So now we continue to wait. Another appointment on Tuesday to make sure baby is still doing fine and then we keep on waiting. Of course, I'll keep posting!
Friday, June 25, 2010
Timing...
No baby yet! Just got back from our appointment with our midwife and all is healthy with baby Wendzel and mama - YAY! So we're still going to wait. While this may seem crazy to a lot of people, we know our options, and research shows that most first time moms go 41-42 weeks with their first babies. We will have to do something to get him out at 42 weeks, but we think that he will decide to join us in the next 7 days so that we don't have to intervene to get him out. So right now, we are going to let this little guy decide when he wants to join the world. I believe strongly in God's perfect timing. Justin and I would not be where we are today without God using his perfect timing to bring us together when he did and I believe that He has picked this little one's arrival date way before we even knew we were expecting him. So we will be patient (and sometimes anxious) and wait. In the meantime, I've been trying to keep busy...but I'm to the point of making up projects for myself just to stay busy. Maybe if I stop and do nothing he will come...
Monday, June 21, 2010
Still waiting....
Well....no baby yet. It's okay, I'm learning how to practice patience because of it. LOTS of patience. I'm such a planner and organizer that I was hoping this little guy would decide to be very punctual and show up on his due date or on Father's Day. Not so much. I guess he's just made himself nice and comfy inside of me...however, it feels as though he is getting a little squished with all the big kicks I have been receiving lately. I know that is one thing that I will definitely miss when he does decide to join this world. Feeling this little guy move inside me is so amazing. A true miracle for sure. I'm also hoping he will show up so that he can meet his daddy, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and his mommy and daddy's friends who have been anxiously awaiting a phone call or text from us too. I am a people pleaser too, so the fact that he isn't here yet is hard for me to deal with too because I want everyone to meet him just as much as I do (okay, I probably want to meet him a little more than them). So I might as well blab on about a few random topics associated with this pregnancy...maybe a little highlight of all that has gone on the past 40 weeks and 2 days...
We found out we were pregnant at the beginning of October. Much to our surprise (because we didn't expect it to happen so soon), we get pregnant on our first month of trying. I remember taking the test early one morning before work...then telling Justin as I'm getting ready (he's sleeping) "Babe, I took a pregnancy test"....and he said "yeah?"...and I said "what do you think it said?"....he said "I don't think we're pregnant"...I said, "you're wrong"....he said "really?" at that point, I think he woke up a bit =). Just to be sure, I ended up taking 4 more tests because I myself couldn't believe it either and I was feeling totally fine so I just had to be sure.
We told our immediate families right before our first appointment at 6 weeks. They were all thrilled and excited. For Justin's family, it will be his parents first grandson, which is really neat. We already have two wonderful nieces from Justin's older brother and his wife. For my parents, it will be their first grandchild. Very Cool! Also, for my grandmom (moms mom) it will be her first great grandchild which is very exciting too. She has been here in Michigan since June 10 to be here for the arrival of this little one (so you can understand why I am so anxious for him to arrive) and is leaving on the 28th. Other friends and family found out we were expecting when we were 13/14 weeks pregnant. On January 28th, we found out we were having a boy! I didn't really have any sort of feeling what we would be having. I had dreams of both a girl and a boy so it was an exciting moment when the ultrasound tech said "there's his legs and here's something in the middle". She pointed to it and Justin and I looked at each other and smiled, then started giggling. We were excited to have a boy for our first child. Something about having a son to carry on the family name and to be the "big brother" is very exciting.
Throughout this pregnancy I have felt for the most part, great! I was VERY tired in the beginning and would go to be very early, but never got sick (just nauseous sometimes at night). I'm thankful for that as I know many other people get very sick and have a hard time functioning with daily tasks. I have only had one probably true craving the whole time and that was for fresh fruit. This was very hard in the winter because it just didn't taste as good as when it's actually in season.
The name we have chosen was thought of by me! Justin and I have and agreement that we both have unlimited Veto power (like in the Friends episode). So we could share a name with each other and then the other had the power of Veto. His name is uncommon, but not weird. We have decided to keep it a secret because we have already shared with everyone that we are having a boy, and want to have something exciting to share when he arrives. Also because there are so many opinions when it comes to names that we just wanted to keep it to ourselves because we love it so much.
Justin and I have also taken a birth class to prepare for the arrival of our little one. This class was a natural childbirth class to help us prepare ourselves to deliver this baby naturally. This means without any kind of medication. Why natural birth for us? Well, we think it is the best thing for both me and the baby. We talked about natural birth a little bit as well as having medication during the birth and then I found a natural childbirth class and we signed up for it. This class solidified for us that we wanted to try for an all natural labor. We are very excited about it as well and hope that all goes as we would like, but we know that it is possible for things to change and are prepared for that as well. We are also excited to have our sister-in-law, Corie, here to be a part of the labor and delivery process with us too! I am excited to have someone there who knows what I will be going through and to also have extra support for Justin. We couldn't be happier and appreciate that she has been away from her home for a week now so that she is closer to us when we go into labor (another reason I'm wanting this little guy to make his appearance).
So that is probably enough for now....hopefully next time I'll have our birth story of how everything went and the name of our son!
We found out we were pregnant at the beginning of October. Much to our surprise (because we didn't expect it to happen so soon), we get pregnant on our first month of trying. I remember taking the test early one morning before work...then telling Justin as I'm getting ready (he's sleeping) "Babe, I took a pregnancy test"....and he said "yeah?"...and I said "what do you think it said?"....he said "I don't think we're pregnant"...I said, "you're wrong"....he said "really?" at that point, I think he woke up a bit =). Just to be sure, I ended up taking 4 more tests because I myself couldn't believe it either and I was feeling totally fine so I just had to be sure.
We told our immediate families right before our first appointment at 6 weeks. They were all thrilled and excited. For Justin's family, it will be his parents first grandson, which is really neat. We already have two wonderful nieces from Justin's older brother and his wife. For my parents, it will be their first grandchild. Very Cool! Also, for my grandmom (moms mom) it will be her first great grandchild which is very exciting too. She has been here in Michigan since June 10 to be here for the arrival of this little one (so you can understand why I am so anxious for him to arrive) and is leaving on the 28th. Other friends and family found out we were expecting when we were 13/14 weeks pregnant. On January 28th, we found out we were having a boy! I didn't really have any sort of feeling what we would be having. I had dreams of both a girl and a boy so it was an exciting moment when the ultrasound tech said "there's his legs and here's something in the middle". She pointed to it and Justin and I looked at each other and smiled, then started giggling. We were excited to have a boy for our first child. Something about having a son to carry on the family name and to be the "big brother" is very exciting.
Throughout this pregnancy I have felt for the most part, great! I was VERY tired in the beginning and would go to be very early, but never got sick (just nauseous sometimes at night). I'm thankful for that as I know many other people get very sick and have a hard time functioning with daily tasks. I have only had one probably true craving the whole time and that was for fresh fruit. This was very hard in the winter because it just didn't taste as good as when it's actually in season.
The name we have chosen was thought of by me! Justin and I have and agreement that we both have unlimited Veto power (like in the Friends episode). So we could share a name with each other and then the other had the power of Veto. His name is uncommon, but not weird. We have decided to keep it a secret because we have already shared with everyone that we are having a boy, and want to have something exciting to share when he arrives. Also because there are so many opinions when it comes to names that we just wanted to keep it to ourselves because we love it so much.
Justin and I have also taken a birth class to prepare for the arrival of our little one. This class was a natural childbirth class to help us prepare ourselves to deliver this baby naturally. This means without any kind of medication. Why natural birth for us? Well, we think it is the best thing for both me and the baby. We talked about natural birth a little bit as well as having medication during the birth and then I found a natural childbirth class and we signed up for it. This class solidified for us that we wanted to try for an all natural labor. We are very excited about it as well and hope that all goes as we would like, but we know that it is possible for things to change and are prepared for that as well. We are also excited to have our sister-in-law, Corie, here to be a part of the labor and delivery process with us too! I am excited to have someone there who knows what I will be going through and to also have extra support for Justin. We couldn't be happier and appreciate that she has been away from her home for a week now so that she is closer to us when we go into labor (another reason I'm wanting this little guy to make his appearance).
So that is probably enough for now....hopefully next time I'll have our birth story of how everything went and the name of our son!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Anxiously Awaiting...
I can't believe that our due date is in 2 days. We have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of our first son for almost 40 weeks (this Sunday). Since I finished work last week Friday, I have been trying to stay busy at home doing things around the house like cleaning windows, floor, bathrooms, organizing drawers and closets - you name it, I've cleaned it in hopes that it would encourage our little one to make his appearance into this world. No such luck yet. So now I'm waiting...waiting...waiting.
So I've decided to start a blog. One reason is that I'm getting a little tired of facebook, and the other is that I'd like to keep a record of the everyday things that are happening around our home as we begin our life as a family of 3 + a dog. Hopefully others will enjoy reading it and if not, at least I'll have a journal of our everyday activities and milestones that we create as a family to look back upon years from now and remember. I'm so very ready to meet my son. I know that he is going to come in his own time, but I am just so excited to hold him in my arms and touch his little nose, his feet, and snuggle with him. I am excited to see Justin with his son - he is going to be such a good dad and I know that he is eager to meet him as much as I am. Lately we have been laughing at how large my belly is. We think it is getting bigger by the day. Not sure if that is possible, but it sure feels like it.
So I'm hoping that after writing this post my little guy will decide to come and then I can post about the birth experience, post some photos, and we can finally share his name with everyone!
So I've decided to start a blog. One reason is that I'm getting a little tired of facebook, and the other is that I'd like to keep a record of the everyday things that are happening around our home as we begin our life as a family of 3 + a dog. Hopefully others will enjoy reading it and if not, at least I'll have a journal of our everyday activities and milestones that we create as a family to look back upon years from now and remember. I'm so very ready to meet my son. I know that he is going to come in his own time, but I am just so excited to hold him in my arms and touch his little nose, his feet, and snuggle with him. I am excited to see Justin with his son - he is going to be such a good dad and I know that he is eager to meet him as much as I am. Lately we have been laughing at how large my belly is. We think it is getting bigger by the day. Not sure if that is possible, but it sure feels like it.
So I'm hoping that after writing this post my little guy will decide to come and then I can post about the birth experience, post some photos, and we can finally share his name with everyone!
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