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Monday, August 22, 2011

It's a GIRL!!!!! We think!



We are now into week 22 of our pregnancy and I think that after 21 weeks of sickness, I may finally be moving past that point. Just in time for the waddling and body aches and pains to really kick in. Work has really been hard on my body. It is amazing how much pressure a 9 pound baby bump can have on your back and legs. Add my boobs to the mix and I am ready to fall flat on my face. I'm grateful that I have only gained 9 pounds, but it sure feels like I am carrying around a whole lot more. Not to mention my baby bump looks like a extra large watermelon. I enjoy my baby bump, but I am not enjoying the looks of my feet. I figure since my feet are so long that I will be able to see them throughout the duration of my pregnancy, but I would rather not be able to see them at this point. 


We had a very exciting week last week. My mom came to town for our ultrasound. We kept real busy on Monday and all day Tuesday to make the time fly until our 4pm appointment. Patrick, my mom and I piled into the tiny ultrasound room with my fantastic ultrasound tech. I was so afraid that the baby was not going to be in a position that we could tell if she is a boy or a girl, and I was right. What I didn't know was the entertainment that she was going to be providing for us. I had been feeling her movements for about 3 weeks now, and the week before our ultrasound they were getting much more intense. As soon as she came up on the screen, we could see her entire body sprawled out, with her legs completely crossed and her hands resting behind her head. Ummmm is she sunbathing. She certainly looks comfortable. Oh and she has found herself a nice comfy pillow on my bladder which is a whole lot of fun for me. She was awake, and she was having a whole lot of fun with us. 


She would tease us and open her legs just the slightest and then slam them shut again. I have to say, she has great legs. The tech had to keep jabbing me with the ultrasound wand which really hurt, and made me super nervous. I had to stand up, bounce around, do some stretches, empty my bladder and roll from side to side. While waiting for her to find a new pose, we had a great tour of her entire anatomy. I was amazed at everything you can see during an ultrasound like the four chambers of the heart and the sections of the brain. About 30 minuets in, our tech said "I just cant even give you a guess". Then the baby gave her a quick glimpse and she said, I'm thinking it's a girl. Patrick replies "Maybe its a boy and he's a grower not a shower" He will say anything to embarrass me. We were approaching an hour, which was making me nervous to have the machine on me and the baby for so long, and the tech said "She has those legs shut so tight" Patrick replies "and they will stay that way until she is 35". For the grand finale, she did a complete somersault and put her hand over her face as though she had enough and wanted to be left alone. 




The ultrasound tech felt 90% confident that we are having a baby GIRL!!!!!! I have felt since day one that our baby is a girl so 90% is enough for me. She has such a personality already, I'm sure that we are going to have our hands full. 

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

One night can change your life!



Three years ago on a very special day, Molly & Johnny's Wedding Day, I met my husband! I think that it is a pretty great story, and definitely a night that I will never forget. Not just because it was the night that Patrick & I met, but it was also a very beautiful day. Over the past 3 years, we met, we moved in together, we got engaged, we adopted Ellie-Mae, we got married and now we are expecting our 1st baby on December 31st. These past 3 years have been incredible! 


Me & Molly

At the time of Molly & Johnny's wedding I was single. I had never attended a wedding without a date, and I was not thrilled about the idea. A few weeks before the wedding when I had to make the decision to go alone or with a +1, Molly said "come alone, you can dance with the Best Man." 

Finding out that the Best Man was 6'7 and knowing that I would definitely be wearing 4 inch heals, that didn't sound like such a bad idea. So the decision was made, I would go solo. 

Johnny & Patrick

At the wedding ceremony, I got to get a good look at this Best Man.  I really wasn't trying to check him out, well maybe just a little, but he's kinda hard to miss. During the ceremony Molly started to feel a little faint, and the Best Man rushed to find her a glass of water. Guess who just won his first dance. 

Patrick giving his Best Man Speech


Dance #2 was easily won during Patrick's Best Man speech. It was the best speech given by a Best Man that I have ever heard. He was very funny, very charming and most importantly, very sincere. You could definitely tell how much he loved Molly & Johnny. 


Very quickly after dinner, Patrick found his way over to me. He asked me to dance and I suddenly was terrified. I told him that I needed to have a drink first, and he was quick to head over to the bar to get me one even though I had one in my hand already, and anyone who knows me well knows that one drink will last me an entire night. 


Now I found myself with two drinks and a very charming and persistent boy who was trying to pull me onto the dance floor. Somehow he got me out onto the floor and kept me there all night. I should tell you that I have absolutely no skills in dancing at weddings. I can get by during a slow song, but speed things up and I don't know what to do with myself other than 1 or 2 moves that have been my go to moves my entire life. Let's also throw in the fact that Patrick was a stranger, and something about him was making me very nervous. Oh and he's an AMAZING dancer. So what was I to do, I stood in the middle of the dance floor and laughed hysterically while Patrick danced around me and spun me around in circles. I would have rethought the 4 inch heals if I would have know the extreme dancing the night was going to bring me. 

2 months after we met, dancing at a bar after another wedding.
The final song was playing and the night was coming to an end. After our last dance we separated and I grabbed my purse. Patrick came running over and said "are you leaving" I told him that I was. I rode with a group of friends and we were on our way out. Then Patrick offered to give me a ride home which made no sense at all since the wedding was in Lemont, Patrick lived in Orland Park, my car was in Palos Park and I was lived in LaGrange. What I found out later was that Patrick loved that it didn't make any sense. His plan was to take me to Orland, which did not happen. He did however manage to get my phone number and a very innocent goodnight kiss. 


I had no idea at the time that my life had just been blessed and changed forever. 

Patrick & I grew up in the same town 1 mile apart. We attended the same schools although at different times due to a 5 year age gap. Patrick & my brother graduated Jr. High and High School together. Patrick used to ride his bike over to our house to hang out with my brother when I was younger. We even have videos from 20 years ago of Chris and Pat at our house. We both swam for POSA throughout our childhood years. Patrick worked at The Plush horse and I'm certain that he served me ice cream more than once. As adults we both frequented the same bar, with many of the same crowds, but somehow our paths didn't really collide until my childhood best friend and his best friend married. I truly believe that our paths didn't truly cross until then because we just went ready for each other until the day we danced. 

The last dance at our wedding

Happy Dating anniversary Patrick!
I Love you!

Happy Anniversary Molly & Johnny!
We love you very much, and we will be forever grateful to you both for bringing us together.