The Pictures You All Have Been Waiting For....

I have finally taken some side shots of my growing belly. It does take some time to get used to the fact that I am gaining weight. This is the heaviest I have ever been. Of course I have only gained 7 pounds, but it still takes some getting used to. Too bad the baby doesn't weight 7 lbs right now. (Reality - the baby ways around 12 oz.) Ugh!!! Maybe it is in my boobs. :) (For those who care... Yes my boobs have gotten bigger.) FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!! Too bad they go back to normal after the baby is born.

So here it is...

The next picture won't surprise you if you know Nate. Saturday night I walked into the babies room to find the following...

I am not sure if this is Nate's way of telling me that he wants to name our little girl "Gunnarette", but for now this is our new baby girl. As you can see Thomas is also enjoying the new furniture in the babies room. Nate found this crib and a matching dresser/changing table at a garage sale. It is perfect.

A Montage of Events

I thought I would combine several different events and pictures of things that have gone on these past few weeks. So, sit back and enjoy...

A few weeks ago Nate and I became Godparents to Darren (Nate's sisters son.) He was a good boy until we put him in-front of everyone. Nate did a good job trying to keep him occupied while he cried and spit up all over Nate's shoe and the floor. I think he just wanted to be heard. He looked so handsome in his white tux.

This past Saturday I had several of my friends over for my annual Birthday BBQ Bonfire Bash. Unfortunately we weren't able to have a bonfire because of the wind, but we stayed inside and made our own fun. We were also able to watch the Supercross race that was live from Vegas.

Here is a picture of my good friend Heidi that came to my party on Saturday. I hadn't seen her for over 2 years. We pulled out the old pictures and laughed at ourselves. Maybe one day I will post a few old pictures of myself for your viewing pleasure.

By the end of the night Cody was exhausted and so was my friend Jessa. So they found a comfy spot on the floor to rest.

It's a Girl

The news is out... We are having a little girl. The ultrasound showed that everything was normal.

A Taste for Cravings...

I thought all of you would like to know that I had my first real taste of a craving I couldn't resist or ignore. On my way home from work I started craving a cheeseburger on the grill. By the time I got home Nate called to tell me he would be later than he thought. This frustrated me because I really wanted that cheeseburger. I wasn't going to cook 3 burgers to only eat one. So, I only had one option. (The one drawback about living in Mayer is you have to drive at least 15 minutes to any fast food restaurant.) When your pregnant your cravings don't have patience. So, I got back in my car and drove to Dairy Queen for a cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate dipped strawberry blizzard. All I can say is that it was exactly what I wanted and needed.

Happy Birthday

Of course my birthday was a few days ago, but I thought I would post a few pictures from our dinner. Nate and I met several of our friends at Benihana's (my new favorite restaurant) for dinner Tuesday night. We had a great time. Don't forget that the big party is next Saturday, May 5th at our house. The festivities start around 7pm. (I am hoping that I don't have to take any trips to Waconia before the party. - Last year Nate needed a few stitches.) My sister and her boyfriend Randy, Kristin and her husband Nathan, and Jessa came to celebrate with me.
I am hoping that I can get some sun this weekend. Good thing my camera has this skin darkening feature that doesn't make me look so washed out.

Doctor's Appointment

Monday Nate came with me to our 4 month appointment. Only 6 more months to go. That seems like so far away. This doctor's visit wasn't as eventful as my last one, but Nate did get to hear the heartbeat for the first time. Nate thinks we are having a boy and I think we are having a girl. We will find out on April 30th who is right.

Now it is your time to put in your guess. Here are a few facts to help you make your decision. 1. The last heart beat measurement was 150 beats/minute. 2. I have not had morning sickness. I hope those help you make an informed decision. So, all you have to do is post a comment and make sure to write your name, so I can keep tally. Good Luck!!

A Quick Trip

Most of you know that last Friday I flew down to Dallas to meet Nate. He picked me up at the airport and we spent the day site seeing. It was so nice to actually be next to him instead of talking to him on the phone. Friday it rained, but when we woke up on Saturday it was sunny and 70 degrees out.

Saturday we went to the Supercross race at the Texas Stadium. We met up with our friend Jason. After the race we started driving home. It took us 14 and a half hours to drive from Dallas to Minneapolis. Of course I slept for most of the drive. I did let Nate sleep for a few hours, so I drove from Kansas City to Des Moines.

All I can say is that it is so nice to have Nate home. FYI: He loves how the house looks with the walls painted.

Final Painting Pictures

Here are the pictures I took the next day. I am so excited for Nate to come home and see what it looks like in person. Now, I just love to sit in the living room and look at the walls. The upstairs has a whole new feel. I am very happy with the results. I hope you enjoy it too.

We still need to put on a few more coats on the red wall, but it will do for a few more months. Now, all I have to do is put up all my pictures. I am hoping that Nate and I can do that in a few weeks.

The red wraps into the kitchen above the cabinets. I still have to get used to how much warmer the rooms look in the evening. I feel more at home now that we don't have hospital walls.

We still need to replace the light in the entryway. I found one that I like, so I am hoping Nate will like it too!
Here is a picture of the bathroom. It was hard to take a nice picture, so you will just have to come over and see it in person. All I have to find is a new shower curtain.

Painting Party

First I would like to thank everyone that helped this past weekend. Kristin, Diane, Nathan, Jessa, Lindsey, Katie, Lee, and of course my Papa. Without these people I would still be painting. Here are some pictures. They say a picture is worth 1,000 words.

Here is Lee, Nathan, and the top of my dad's head painting the highest part of the entry way. I am so thankful we had these guys to do the tricky high parts.

Kristin and Jessa braved the hot bathroom. Kristin helped me pick out all the colors for this big painting adventure.
Katie and Diane spent most of the day painting all the beige. They wouldn't let me do too much work, so I helped with the trim and pointed out spots they missed.

My dad used his new "Little Giant" ladder that really helped in the hard to reach places. Diane did a great job holding the ladder and making sure he didn't fall.

Silly Kitty

This past weekend I undertook a big project. I decided to paint the entire upstairs before Nate comes home. Of course I had my family and friends to help. I will blog about that experience later and add some pictures. Saturday morning I started taking off all the light switch covers and air vents so we could start painting once everyone arrived. In our hallway we have a cold air exchange vent that is pretty large. As I was taking it off Thomas was very interested in this new dark tunnel. I told him to stay out while I went to look for something to put over the hole. As I went into the kitchen I started to hear this weird thumping noise. My first thought was Thomas. So, I started calling him and looking at the vent hole in the wall. Sure enough, Thomas pokes his head out and looks at me. I told him to get out, so he slowly crawled out of the hole. I was scared, upset, and happy that he didn't get stuck in the venting under the floor. I quickly found something to block the hole and locked Thomas downstairs for the rest of the day.

A Little Surprise

I thought I would let everyone know that we had a little scare a few nights ago. I started bleeding 2 nights ago, so the doctor recommended that I have an ultrasound. Yesterday I went in for a ultra sound and the good news is that everything looks good. We are not sure where the bleeding came from, but we have ruled out the bleeding is coming from the baby. I want to thank everyone who has been praying for us these past few days. It has been scary, but I am doing well today after a good nights sleep. The good news is that we have our first pictures of our baby earlier than we thought.

The baby is exactly measuring at 12 1/2 weeks and everything looks wonderful. It was really amazing to watch our baby moving and kicking around on the monitor.

I will try to post the pictures this weekend.

Music To My Ears

Today was my 12 week appointment. (That is 3 months in none pregnant terms.) I finally understand why everyone who is pregnant or with a pregnant person relates to how far they are in weeks. I hated that because I wanted to know months. How close are you to 9 months? That made more sense to me. Now, I understand that every week is almost like a victory to us pregnant women. I can't wait until I am 13 weeks or 20 weeks, etc...

I hope that you find my blog from here on out a place that you can find out what is happening in my life. I promise I won't talk about my pregnancy the whole time, but at least know that here is where you can find out what is going on. After the baby is born you will be able to find fun stories and pictures.

Okay - back to my original blog topic. (Music to my ears.) First and foremost sometimes I wish I was a guy. Why? Try peeing into a cup and not getting it on your fingers. Guys - they just aim and they are done. No wet hands and a full cup. Me on the other hand. I just pray that I have enough pee that will end up in the cup. Before I had to pee in a cup once a year. Now, it is every appointment. I hope I am a pro at the end of this pregnancy. I was going to leave out this part of the story, but my co-worker thought it would be good to put it in. So, here is the details of my peeing in a cup experience. I started the procedure and had to stop to check to make sure that the pee was actually going in the cup. (It was!!!) So, I guessed what would be a good amount, but not too much to give as a sample. When I was done I noticed that a piece of Cody's hair got into the sample. I have two options. 1. Leave the dog hair for the nurse and see her reaction. (She might think I am giving birth to a dog.) 2. Try to fish the hair out of the sample with my fingers. Of course I chose option 2.

I am pretty sure every woman worries about their unborn baby. I was kind of nervous right before my appointment. (The nurse had to tell me to relax because my blood pressure was 150/?, but than I relaxed it was 120/78.) It didn't help that I had a dream we couldn't find the heartbeat. So, it was time to find it. After what seemed like forever we found the heartbeat. Strongly beating away at about 160 beats/minute. (Now some may argue that a girl has a faster heart beat. We will just have to wait and see.)

Snowed In!!!

Round two of our big snow started early on Thursday. Roads were fine on the way to work, but got considerably worse as the day went on. Luckily my work closed at noon so I was able to make it home before the big stuff hit. After a few hours of constant snow (approx. 1/2 inch per hour) I decided to snow blow the driveway. I knew I had to stay on top of this snow or it would be impossible for me to after the snow had stopped. Let's just say that my snow blowing experience Thursday night was very upsetting. I ended up coming inside in tears and calling Nate. I pretty much told him that he is never leaving in the winter again. (He of course gave me some emotional support and after a few minutes I was better.)

Friday morning at about 6am. I look out the window just as the snow plow is pushing 4 feet of snow into my driveway to clear the road. At this point all the news channels are urging people to stay home if they can. After some careful consideration and a few conversations with my co-workers. I decide it is not worth it to go to work. At the same time I am thinking I do not want to snow blow the driveway after last nights experience. So, I call Nate. He calls a few people, but no one is able to come out and help. (Figures!?!) Of course I don't like asking for help, so I call my dad. He of course says "Yes" and comes over after he is done working. Let's just say that it took us 2 hours to clear the driveway and sidewalk. Meanwhile Cody is loving all the snow and keeps wanting me to throw this stick he found buried in the snow. I think the snow stopped coming down around 7 pm on Friday.

Saturday was my first day out of the house. It was nice to see the sun and admire the mounds of snow that encompass the house.


Here is a picture of where my dad snow blowed. He had to stop where the plow had pushed the snow in our driveway. We had to take a different approach on the end of the driveway.

Here is a picture of Cody sitting on top of one of snow mounds at the end of our driveway. Just so you know I am standing on the driveway and Cody is as at eye level. That is how high the snow pile is.

Here is a picture of our house with big pile of snow in front of it. I think of it as our own natural fence or barrier from intruders. Just a note - Our house does sit a little lower than the street, but you get the point.

Thank Goodness for Snow Blowers

My weekend started out on Friday with a trip to the Grocery Store. I wanted to stock up just in case I decided to spend the weekend at home. A pregnant woman can never be too prepared. I woke up on Saturday morning with iced up windows, but no snow! As the day continued the snow came and stayed until Sunday morning. Good thing my dad came out to start getting the walls ready to paint and he took me out for dinner. Otherwise, I would have stayed in the house all weekend. Here are some pictures of what I found when I opened the garage door this morning.

I am so thankful that my dad donated his old snow blower to Nate and I. I don't know what I would have done if we did not have the snow blower. Cody spent most of the morning running around in the snow. He had so much fun it was hard to get him back in the house.

After I got done with the entire driveway the snowplow came through again. (Which I knew would happen.) So, after a quick nap. (Okay 2 hours) I went out and cleaned up the end of the driveway and the mail boxes.

This picture was taken the first time I did the driveway. It took awhile to get the end of the driveway cleared from the snowplow.

A Friendly Officer (Deputy)

Most of you know that Nate and I our expecting our first baby in September. We found out about this miracle and now are looking forward to our growing family. Yes, this was surprising news, but we know that it is in God's hands. Thank you everyone who has supported us through this miracle.

This past Friday I went to Mora to visit Nate's family for the weekend. On my way up North I got pulled over. Here is the dialog between myself and the officer.

As I am handing the deputy my drivers license and insurance....
"This is my first time being pulled over." - Nikki
"Do you know why I pulled you over?" - Deputy
"Probably speeding..."
"Do you know how fast you were going?"
"I have no idea..." - Which was a true statement.
"You were going 51 mph. - Do you know what the speed limit is here?"
"30-35 mph??"
"35 mph"
*I am thinking crap. That is 16 over!!!
"Where are going?"
"Mora, to my boyfriends parents house. We just found out we are pregnant."
"I will be right back..."
*Another thing to note is that Cody is in the back seat growling at the deputy.
* I kept thinking... I hope he gives me a break on the ticket because this is the first time I have ever been pulled in the 12 years I have been driving.
*After about 5 minutes he comes back to the car. (Nothing in his hand except my license.)
"So, you just found out your pregnant?"
"Yes!"
"Now you have the 2 of you to think about. Make sure you pay attention and watch your speed and tell everyone you know that we are sitting her clocking people."
"Thank you!"

And than I continued my way to Mora. I guess being pregnant saved me several hundred dollars.

Happy Valentine's Day

First - I would like to apologize that I have not updated my blog in almost a month. Life has been busy and I just haven't had anything really exciting happen leaving me no material to work with for my blog.

Most of you know that Nate is out of town until April or so. Yesterday afternoon he calls me all upset because he has tried all day to have flowers delivered to my work on valentine's day. Each place he called was either too expensive to deliver or he couldn't get through. (I guess he had called my neighbor 6 times trying to figure it out.) After some quick discussion I told him that he didn't have to get me flowers and that his attempt was enough for me.

Later that night my doorbell rang and my neighbor had a dozen roses for me from Nate. He had called her and asked if she could pick up some flowers and bring them to me. It was a nice surprise.

A Six Hour Cruise

This past Sunday I woke up in the beautiful furnishing of the Perham Super 8 motel. After some continental breakfast Anne and I went to the country club in Perham to celebrate my Grandma's 86th Birthday. We had a nice brunch, some picture taking and visiting. After about an hour I had to make the long journey back to the cities to pick up Nate at the airport. Yes, Nate is home. Most of you know that Texas (along with several other states) has been dealing with some ice. So, Nate decided to leave before the storm to come home. It took me a little over 3 hours to make it to the airport, but his plane was delayed an hour. That being said, I spent another hour in the car at a hotel parking lot waiting for his phone call. Don't worry - I stayed occupied by talking on the phone. Good thing I have unlimited minutes on the weekends. In a nut shell - I left Perham at 1:00 in the afternoon and didn't get home until after 6:00pm.

It is so nice to have Nate home. My uncle and his girlfriend Kathy have also been staying here for a few days. I never seem to get away from a full house. I really enjoy the company. My uncle is leaving Thursday for the trip back to Florida and Nate is not sure when he will be leaving to go back to Texas. I am not looking forward to saying goodbye again.

Grandma is 86

This past weekend my sister, dad, and I made the trip to Perham, MN. We drove up on Saturday and checked into the luxurious motel. We visited for a few hours at my aunt and uncles before heading over to see Grandma. She moved to a senior home in Perham last May and she tells that she enjoys living in a small town. Sometimes it can be a little difficult to talk with her because she has dementia. Here is a picture of my grandma, Anne and I at the country club where we had a nice brunch.

I had to leave a little early from the celebration because Nate was flying into the Minneapolis later on Sunday afternoon.

A Trip to Texas

Wow, I can't believe that it is 2007 already. Last week my sister and I took a trip down south to visit my mom. I hadn't seen her for over a year, so the trip was greatly needed. I want to first mention that Nate has taught me how to pack for a trip. Granted he wasn't here when I was packing, but he would have been proud. Granted I needed another bag for the way home, but that is what happens when you go shopping after Christmas. There are sales all over the place.

I want to first thank my Auntie Marsha. She spoiled us buy treating us to many meals. I can't say that we went hungry when we were there. Anne and I decided that we needed to fast for about a week for the amount of food we ate in the 5 days we were there. I also want to thank my mom too. She was a great host and I wish she lived closer so I could see her more.

We spent most of our trip in my mom's town. The interesting thing about where she lives is that it is in a dry county. This means that only private clubs can sell alcohol. This includes bars. So, I had the privalage of joining a few clubs while we were down there. During one our evening outings my mom and aunt decided that they were going to sing karaoke. Anne and I refused to take part in this event, but we were able to get it on video.

Our last night the four of us traveled to my cousin Heather's house in south Houston. We spent the evening at the Kehma Boardwalk where we ate at Ichibon's (Japanese Steak House). It was so good, but I needed to be carried home because I ate too much.

A Hard 24 Hours

Some of you may know that Nate is a foreman for a landscaping company here in the cities. Every December he gets laid off until mid - April. Last year he stayed home and collected unemployment. It was really hard to keep him busy during those months. Nate always has to be doing something. Well, this winter he has the opportunity to make some good money. The problem is that he has to be in Dallas, Texas to make this money. Yesterday he left for Texas. I cried of course. (He will be home by April 1st.) He will be working 6 days a week driving a dump truck for a company based in his home town of Mora. Living in a townhouse with 6 other guys from MN and sleeping on a twin size mattress. That doesn't sound like too much fun.

I am so thankful for my neighbor Diane. She has really helped me and has been there for me while I cried to her on the phone. (I also want to say that Kristin and Mike too. They also got the privilege of listening to me cry.) The good thing is that Diane told me that Nate will only be gone for 12 Grey's Anatomy episodes. That sounds a lot better than 90 days.