20 week ultrasound

Well, on Friday we had our 20 week ultrasound--what an AMAZING experience!! We got to see all four chambers of the heart, the spine, the brain, the femur and humerus bones, the little arms and legs moving. For most of the ultrasound our little one was all curled up in a ball with legs firmly crossed over the genitals. The ultrasound tech had me change positions several times to try and get the baby to move and show us the goods, but no luck--this kid's stubborn already!! Finally she had me go and empty my bladder so there would be more room for the baby to move around. Luckily this did the trick, and we were able to learn that we are having a healthy baby BOY!!!! Both of us were surprised, as we'd had a pretty strong suspicion that it was a girl, but we are absolutely thrilled! I have always had a real soft spot for little boys, and the thought of having a son is pretty incredible. Todd and I couldn't stop grinning for the rest of the day!!

Our little guy's measurements were all totally normal (HUGE relief) and he currently weighs 12 oz, or, as my midwife said, as much as three sticks of butter! It's amazing how much more real it seems that we're having a baby now that we've seen him and know that it's a him! During the ultrasound his heartrate was 144 bpm, and then when we heard it on the doppler during our appointment with the midwife, it was up to 160 bpm, so he must have been caught up in our excitement too! I've posted some pictures, below, from the ultrasound.

A profile shot (head on the right, spine on the bottom, legs impossibly squished on top!)

He'll be so thrilled one day to know that a picture of his boy parts was posted on the internet!!

The bottom of his foot!

The front of his face, turned toward the camera for a photo op!

19 weeks

I am 19 weeks pregnant today! The baby weighs about 8 1/2 oz, and is the size of a large heirloom tomato. I've been feeling lots of little flutters, so we've got an active one in there!! This week my appetite has been increasing, and I've been napping and going to bed pretty early, so I think that the baby is undergoing a growth spurt. Fig Newtons are now a staple in the pantry--I've always liked them, but I don't think I've bought a package of them since I moved out of mom and dad's house. That has certainly changed in the last two weeks! I've also been able to find lots of reasons to "need" some funny tacos from Taco Bobs!

Here is an updated picture of my growing belly:

Slumber party!

Todd and I had fun on Friday night, having Gavin Lepley over for a slumber party! Suzanne and Bryan needed some help with childcare, and Todd and I needed some practice with a baby, so it worked out perfectly! Gavin's a really laid back, smiley baby, so it was a pretty easy night. We had a lot of fun with him, Deuce was really well behaved (whew!), and we got a kick out of thinking that this time next year, our own baby will be the same age Gavin is now. It's crazy to think that it will seem totally normal to have a baby in the house!

Gavin playing with his toys in his super cool seat.

Deuce hanging out with Gavin--you can't tell from the picture, but Deuce was in my lap, perhaps to make sure he was getting more attention than the baby?? :)

Gavin and Uncle Todd getting in some quality play time before bed.

August 14

Well, today is August 14. This was our due date with little Magnus. It's kind of crazy to think that if we hadn't lost him, that we'd have a baby right now, rather than just approaching the halfway mark in pregnancy. Maybe it's because we are lucky enough to be pregnant again, but it really seems like it was not meant to be to give birth right now. Things in our life are so up in the air that it's hard to imagine not having a few more months of time to prepare for a baby.

All morning, our little Nugget has been wiggling around like crazy in my belly, which is a thrilling feeling and a great reassurance that there's an active little life in there!

Well hello there!

The other exciting event from the weekend gets its own post! :) Yesterday evening I felt the baby move for the first time!!! It is a really funny, fluttery feeling, kind of like getting tickled from the inside. So amazing, and it's really wonderful to have a signal from this little creature growing inside of me. I really can't wait until Todd can feel the kicks too.

Fun-filled Weekend

This weekend was so busy, and so much fun! Friday night Todd and I met Joey and Toby for dinner at La Pinata for a big pile of delicious Mexican food. After that I tried to stay up and watch the Olympics opening ceremony, but with all that food to digest, I just couldn't do it! On Saturday Todd must have been feeling angelic, because he decided to clean out my car!! If you do not already know this, I am notorious for never, ever cleaning my car, so this was quite the undertaking for him! While Todd and Lola the Corolla were spending quality time together, I took the standard transmission Subaru out to run errands all over Portage. I only stalled out a few times, and no one honked at me, so it went pretty well. :) Saturday evening we gathered up a bunch of friends and had dinner at Ribfest, followed by an evening of Enduro racing at the Kalamazoo Speedway. In case you are feeling as if you are too sophisticated and classy to enjoy an evening like this, then it's your loss entirely--it was a blast!! I posted some pics below.

Sunday morning a group of us went to brunch at Jared's new restaurant, A Food Affair, which was absolutely delicious! Jared has worked incredibly hard to create a nice atmosphere, and met with great success--and the food is out of this world. It was well worth the drive to Augusta. Todd and Jordan spent the afternoon installing a new axle in the old BMW, and I hunkered down for an afternoon of quilting and watching the Olympics. It's probably a good thing that the Olympics only happen every two years, because I may have an addiction to them! We took the dog for a walk in the evening, and then it was right back to the tv for me! :)


Todd, Joey and Jordan, waiting for the race to begin


Jenn, Jen, Jenny (crazy, I know!!) and I in the stands


All of the crazy cars lined up on the 3/8 mile track, ready to go

2 weeks from today!

We go in for our big ultrasound on 8/22, so if all goes to plan, two weeks from today we will know if we're having a boy or a girl!!!

Belly pictures

So I'm finally writing a post while on the home computer, where my belly pictures reside. I can definitely tell that I'm getting a belly, but I'm still not to the point where someone who doesn't know me would notice anything. I feel like I'm getting bigger by the day though, so I'll have to take an updated picture soon!


7 weeks



10 weeks




13 weeks




16 weeks

Weekend in the sun

Last weekend Todd, Deuce and I headed up to Northport for a fantastic summer weekend! We left early from work, and were able to get to the cottage by about 7:30 (with many more bathroom stops than usual--pregnancy is turning me into a questionable roadtrip companion!). We spent a relaxing Friday evening catching up with grandma and grandpa.

Saturday morning we got up, wished grandpa a happy birthday, and headed off to Lake Leelanau. We put the boat in, took it to our favorite sandbar and soaked in some sunshine (still a bit to chilly that morning to swim). When we got hungry, we went in to Leland for our favorite sandwiches from the Cheese Shop in the fishing village (yum--pretzel bread!). After eating our fill (and making TWO stops at the bathroom!) we took the boat back out into the lake and picked up Dan, Nancy and Zeke from the boat launch, headed back to the sandbar and spent the afternoon swimming and laying in the sun. We went back to the cottage in time for a delicious dinner that celebrated Dan and Basil's birthdays. Larry and John came over for dinner after spending a very long day helping to harvest cherries on a local farm.

Sunday morning we left the dogs with grandma and grandpa at the cottage, and Dan, Nancy, Todd and I all put the boat in at Suttons Bay, and boated across Grand Traverse Bay to join up with the Bierlein clan at the cottage they are renting in Elk Rapids. We spent the day lounging on the beach, eating yummy food and catching up with great friends.

All in all it was an excellent weekend!