First Belly Post

Ok so I haven't posted any belly pictures because we didn't have any point of reference.  We took our first picture at 6 weeks and our second at 11 weeks.  I apologize for my hair in the second picture, we had some crazy wind that day!  Not sure if you can tell a difference, but I sure can!!

 

          6 Weeks                                                                             11 Weeks

Baby Showers and Friends

This weekend I hosted a baby shower for my good friend Lauren Budreau with 3 of our closest friends.  It was an intimate 8 person shower where we made the most delicious brunch and played some really fun games.  Most of all, we got to spend time with good friends that we don't see very often!  I hadn't told any of my friends that I was pregnant with the exception of Lauren (she was pregnant too and since my family didn't know I had to be able to talk to SOMEONE).  Before our guests arrived Lauren encouraged me to tell our closest friends so I unleashed the news and of course everyone was absolutely thrilled.  The best part was that we weren't telling anyone else just yet and at the shower they were asking about "who's next" in terms of babies...little do they know!

First Appointment

As I said before, we woke up Sunday to a bit of a scare and ended up in the ER for about 4 hours.  I joked with Amanda that I just couldn't allow her wedding weekend to be ENTIRELY about her :)  After being stuck a few times with needles and a few tests they determined that everything was fine and we were definitely pregnant.  They pulled the ultrasound machine into the room which was exciting except it was such a small screen only Dane and my Mom could see what was going on.  There is definitely a baby in there and they could see the heart beating which was a HUGE sigh of relief. 

You would think that was enough excitement for one week, but we had our first 10 week OB appointment today which was very exciting.  Even though we already knew it was in there, this time when they did the ultrasound I was able to see everything!  It was overwhelming to see the little guy in there moving all around and watching the tiny heart flutter.  We go back in 2 weeks so I'm hoping that we will get to see the little one again :) 

Telling the Family & Amanda's Wedding

The weekend of March 12th Dane and I headed up to Chicago for my sister Amanda's wedding.  My mom and I planned a quick and small wedding ceremony/reception at the Lincoln Park Conservatory that was absolutely beautiful.  With the stress of keeping Amanda's pregnancy a secret as well as planning the wedding, Dane and I didn't want to add to everything by telling everyone early that we were pregnant as well so we kept it for a secret for almost a month!

Dane and I arrived on Friday the 11th and we met my sister at her apartment.  Her husband's brother and sister in law were at the house so we called both Amanda and Ryan into their bedroom to have them open their first wedding gift of the weekend.  I created a cute little onsie that said "I HEART my aunt Da".  After looking at it for awhile, the two of them weren't really getting it and then when she looked at my face she finally realized what was going on and tackled me (just like I did to her when I found out she was pregnant).  Needless to say there were tears on both our parts and everyone was very excited.

We took Amanda to get her nails done, relaxed at the hotel, and before we went to the restaurant Dane and I went into my parents room to give them a gift.  I put together a box with a pair of booties and a note that said "There won't just be ONE set of booties at Christmas this year"...My Mom immediately knew what was going on and it took a second for my Dad to get it.  Once my dad understood his response was "you've got to be shitting me!" HA. (picture below without the note)

At dinner we told my other sisters and two of my cousins and everyone was just as excited.  After all the excitement I was absolutely exhausted and we had an even MORE eventful day on Saturday!

Saturday was not as overwhelming as I thought it would be, we started with a nice breakfast, ran errands, got ready, and hung out in Amanda's suite.  My sister Sarah created Amanda's bouquet and my mom did her hair, and after pictures at the hotel we all piled into cabs to headed over to the Conservatory.  No decorations or flowers were needed because we were in a jungle of exotic plants and the most vibrant flowers you could imagine!  There was a short ceremony, and then came an announcement form the bride and groom:

THEY ARE HAVING A GIRL!! :)

After good food, great company, and a few tears we headed to a bar afterward (despite being exhausted) and continued our good time until about midnight :)  We woke up the next morning to a little scare (will save that for another post) that ended up with us in the ER for about 4 hours and missed getting to say good bye to my sisters and brother.  Despite our little hospital visit it was a great weekend and I'm soooo glad I got to see my ENTIRE family (doesn't happen very often) and help Amanda and Ryan celebrate their nuptuals.