the growing baby belly...

i feel as though it's a necessity to take pics of the growing belly when you're pregnant, though i know some may not love it. every day i wake up feeling "huge" already, so it's funny to look at pictures and see how little my stomach has actually grown!

9 weeks (just over 2 months)

3 months

4 months

baby's first trip to nashville & 5k race

before we found out we were pregnant, i had planned a trip to visit ashley (my daily bread partner and bff from dominica) and her husband, ryan in nashville the second week of april. the main plan for the trip, other than to catch up and relax, was to run a 5k in honor of ashley's cousin, Joe P (for more about joe & his family, check out this blog: http://prayforjoseph.blogspot.com/). i think the instant i found out i was pregnant, i started to notice symptoms - and a big one was just being plain exhausted. the day after we took the pregnancy test, i felt like i couldn't even get out of bed without wanting to collapse and take another nap...

so training for a 5k didn't sound like the most appealing thing at the time. kyle and i did the race to wrigley 5k about 2 years ago, and as we prepared for it, kyle reminded me "morgans are made for speed, not for distance running..." and it was true. running just over 3 miles felt like a half marathon to us. we're just not runners. but thankfully this time around i had a wonderful trainer - giacomo, the then 1 year old little boy i nanny. along with his jogging stroller, he encouraged me to get my behind in action. he was a tough little trainer, but i appreciated his dedication to get me and baby morgan running that 5k!

little did ashley know that i was pregnant as i did this training. and we talked on the phone on the days leading up to my visit, i so wanted to tell her about our little surprise, but thought it would be best to do it in person. thankfully, we both weren't too concerned about getting the best time and agreed walking part of the way would be just fine. baby was very happy about this agreement.

as i headed to nashville, pretty much that was the week i felt the complete worse during pregnancy to date. thankfully i never had true morning sickness, but i did feel nauseous all day long like i wanted to get sick but couldn't, and i especially felt not so great when i was hungry. but then the most amazing thing happened - i actually felt worse when i ate. oh wonderful. i was tired but couldn't sleep/nap well. basically, the best time to go on a trip...

it didn't take long for me to tell ryan & ashley that i was 6 weeks pregnant (i actually told them after dinner in the car. ashley yelled "i can't believe you're telling me you're having a baby from the backseat of our car!?!") little did they know that they would be taking care of me and the little "blueberry" (kyle & i get emailed each week with baby updates, complete with what size the baby is. that week, it was the size of a blueberry) my entire trip in nashville. and i am so blessed that they are such sweet, understanding friends. they stopped to get me peanut butter crackers and other snacks, let me sleep when i needed, and would totally change plans if i wasn't feeling well. the blueberry and i (and even kyle, who was back home) were so thankful for them!

so the day of the 5k came, and it was pretty much the coldest spring day nashville had ever had.... freezing, cloudy, raining. perfect to run a race! but we woke up ready to go that morning! ashley and i stuck together the whole race, and though we walked a bit, we ran a lot more than i thought we would. actually, during the race was pretty much the best i felt the entire trip! i forget our exact time, but i know it was under/right around 30 minutes, and i was just fine with that!

i did get to see a bit of nashville, but skipped out on some parts when i wasn't feeling so hot. what was great was being able to stay with ryan & ashley's parents in franklin and jackson. it was so fun to meet them and get to see the towns where ryan & ashley grew up. it was a wonderful first trip to nashville (even if i was half asleep or nauseous most of the time) and baby & i couldn't wait to go back. thank you pearmans - we love "y'all" !!!

you're going to be a daddy!!

as we spent the new year's eve with friends, kyle proudly announced to everyone that his new years resolution was to make a baby! flash forward 4 months later, and he was proudly writing "the day" on our calender. april 6th we found out we were pregnant... resolution accomplished, with 8 months to spare.

on "the day," it was actually pretty hectic. kyle was working an insane amount of hours. i was nannying for giacomo, who is now 14 months. i had taken pregnancy tests the months before, hoping they would pop up positive, but deep down knowing it just wasn't time for baby morgan yet. so on this particular day, i got home from work, and nonchalantly thought, hey... i could be pregnant, why not give it a try? so i very calmly took the test (ie gracefully peed on the stick), casually set it down on the counter & set a timer for 2 minutes. i occupied myself, pretending like it was no big deal that this stick could potentially change everything for kyle and i. the timer went off. into the bathroom i went. the stick said pregnant.... i was stunned and giddy and i yelled at jackie, the only one home, that we're having a baby! she wasn't too interested.

i had always talked with girlfriends about how fun it would be to tell our husbands we're pregnant. they get to surprise us with the proposal to get married, so i had always been excited to give this little gift of a surprise to kyle. the only bad thing was i found this all out 5 minutes before i was supposed to leave to pick him up from work. i had no plan on how the big reveal would go down. and i looked like a mess. oh, and right after i picked kyle up, we were supposed to head to our small group. maybe not the best time for life-changing news...

i quickly gathered supplies and made a little scavenger hunt around the house. little clues & notes for kyle to lead him into the guest bedroom, which will soon become the nursery. i set it all up (which took about 45 minutes), made myself look somewhat cute and headed to the hospital. as i pulled up, i could tell dr. kyle wasn't so happy... as he got in the car, he asked, "andrea, do you at least have an excuse for being late?" (can you tell we're commonly late to places, and 100% of the time it's my fault?) not wanting to ruin the surprise, i soberly shook my head no and apologized. i asked about his day. he sad it was horrible. i asked if at least any part was good. no way jose was his reply. i told him i would do my best to make it better. oh happy day to become a daddy!

we got home and i let kyle know we were going to be late to small group, but i had a good reason why. he opened the door and inside, found candles lit and the first of the notes for the hunt. the stress of the day slowly started to melt with each note, which revealed little reasons why i love the man he is and am so thankful he's my husband. finally, after i was about to burst, he made it to the last last stop -"baby's room." as he walked inside, i handed him a card... and taped inside was the pregnancy test. kyle later admitted he thought i had more of a "romantic" surprise planned, so you can imagine his total shock finding the "pregnant" stick at the end of his journey. this was all to tell him our family was growing. he's a daddy. we're going to be parents. all i know is once he opened that card, he couldn't stop smiling. and i have to admit it was pretty contagious. our life had changed in one hectic day. and we were in total awe.... i told you i'd try to make your day better, kyle. hope i did :)

Welcome!

We're so excited you're to here to check in on me, Kyle & baby morgan! Little baby is already over 4 months old, so we have a lot to share you with! How we found out we were pregnant, my growing belly, and so many of "baby's firsts." Thanks for being a part of our journey!

Christmas in the Windy City

Merry Mint Christmas

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Shutterfly Holiday Cards... yes please!

It's never too early to start thinking about Christmas... really, I would have decorations up by the 4th of July if Kyle would let me. But I contain myself, and hold off until Thanksgiving. BUT I do sneak in a little holiday fun before the turkey comes around. I start thinking about Christmas cards and get them all ready to go! Because really, procrastination is my middle name, so the earlier I start planning for my cards, the better!

AND there are ways to make sending holiday cheer oh so easy. I've used Shutterfly so many times in the past - from making photo books, thank you photo cards complete with pics from our visit, ordering prints, and of course, Christmas Cards! The sites super easy, super cute designs, just super over all. You can check out their holiday cards here. They really have designs for every type of style, so you're sure to fall in love with at least one (or two or three...) of their cards.

AND even better.... if you're a blogger, you can get 50 cards for free. Yes free. Love it. And even if you don't have a blog, Shutterfly is still offering 20% off your order. Oh happy day


So contain yourself in busting out the the tree, stockings and tinsel, but I'm planing on sneaking in a little holiday cheer by designing my cards :) And if you must hold off, how about Thanksgiving cards to celebrate Turkey Day and all your thankful for? Super cute :)

November

November didn't have the best of starts...

Car Troubles...

One weekend early in the month, we walked out to our car to head to church. Well, that was until I walked to the passenger side and found the whole window broken and the stereo ripped out. There was glass everywhere, and whoever broke into the car even got in the trunk to see if we had any goodies there! (Thankfully, we didn't!)

So, the rest of our not-so-restful Sunday was spent getting the window repaired and mourning the loss of our radio in the car. Praise God we found a great & inexpensive place to get the window repaired, and it only took an hour! (Though, we didn't end up getting a new stereo system until after Christmas - Kyle was going crazy with his silent drives to work! Thanks to Kyle's dad for installing it for us!)

Trouble, oh we got trouble...With a capital T

We were also able to see Kyle's cousin, Kevin, star in his middle school's production of The Music Man. Yes, Kevin was the big star, the Music Man! Kevin did an amazing job - we couldn't believe all the lines and songs he memorized! After the play, we headed to the "after party" at the Massimilians' - with all the cast members. It was a middle schooler's dream - video games, ping pong, Guitar Hero... and of course Kyle and I were right in the middle of it all! Kyle tried to tell a few cast members what a great job they did, but all we got was a dazed and scared look in reply, we finally realized just how much older we were than middle schoolers... and they probably considered us "old." Yikes.

Turkey Bowl Time!

We spent Thanksgiving with Kyle's family in Wisconsin. His Aunt Kathy & Uncle Terry hosted, and we had a blast! Kyle has missed thanksgiving with his family the past two years, and was so excited we were able to be there this year. Most of his excitement was for the Turkey Bowl - an annual football game played before eating Thanksgiving dinner. And you know how much Kyle loves football. He had a blast playing, and left with a black eye.... from his dad! :)

Dinner was fabulous, and we even brought a new "drink" to try - Apple Pie Cider. We love it - it's a perfect drink when the weather starts getting chilly! You can see the recipe in the picture below. (Though, we did have to have someone buy the alcohol in Indiana because it's illegal to )buy in Illinois!)

A Weekend in the Windy City!

I loved spending so much time with Kyle's family - from Kevin's play to Thanksgiving - but I definitely missed my family! So, my parents hopped in a car and took a weekend vacation in Chicago! It was so great to have them here, especially when Kyle had a break from rotations. We packed the weekend full of fun & plenty of memories for my mom and Greg to take back to Ohio!

First, we checked out the Lincoln Park Zoo. I love having it right across the street, especially because they put up lights for Christmas. They provided 3-D glasses to view the lights. As you can tell from the pictures, we had fun being goofy!

We also spent some time walking around Michigan Avenue & Navy Pier. The weather warmed up a bit while they were here, which was great! While we were on Michigan Ave, Greg was even able to sneak in some Christmas shopping for my mom without her knowing!

We grabbed lunch at the Billy Goat Tavern at Navy Pier - cheezborgercheezborgercheezborger! Again, we found chances to be goofy as we strolled around the pier.

Having fun with the mirrors at Navy Pier!

Kissy Kissy Woo Woo!

We ended up playing cards, the usual when we're together. (And might I add, the girls won!!) The weekend flew by too fast, but we loved having my mom & Greg in Chicago. Can't wait for you guys to come back!