A Photo Challenge

Oh my goodness, here I am again. And so quickly since the last time! I thought I would hop on now before I lost track of time/got too tired to blog. I was just on my friend Jenny's blog and she is doing a 30-day photo challenge. She asked if others would like to join her. I thought this would be a good way to get me in the habit of blogging more often...or it will be an epic failure on my part! Stay tuned!

Day 1: Your Facebook Profile Picture

Eh, I'm not in love with this picture. I just so rarely think to change it. This was taken before I headed out to a wedding. I had used my newly purchased straightener for the first time and was happy with the flatness of my hair (since it has a tendency to poof). Now you know.

A Clever Title Encompassing Many Topics

Welp, here I am again. I'm a bit sleepy right now, so I think the witty banter might be at a minimum tonight. I know I usually have you in stitches. My apologies.

Last weekend was, of course, Halloween. My sister, Carey, and her husband Greg hosted their annual Halloween party. I stole this picture of us from her blog! Thanks, Carey!

Gerrit was a creepy dude that he called "Death." I did not approve because I don't like ANYTHING scary. He was/is sooooooooooo proud of this mask. Apparently it has been a dream of his to be something scary for a Halloween. The mask is now hanging and staring at me in the very room in which I am typing. I'm not thrilled about this. I was a butterfly. I have not always wanted to be a butterfly, but I really like the purple, feathered, sequined mask....cause, who wouldn't?

In other news, I came home from work a couple days ago to find these waiting for me:
It made me sing, "What a man, what a man, what a man, what a mighty good man...." The note reads:

For My Precious & Loving Wife,
Whom I Love So Dearly
And For Our Beloved Growing Child,
Whom We Are So Anxiously Waiting to Meet.
Love Always,
Gerrit

I could just blush. He's the sweetest. I really don't brag enough about him, but he's pretty awesome. I'd like to keep him.

And in Pregnancy News, this is a picture of me at about 12 weeks on the day we heard the heartbeat for the first time! Now, it may appear to you that I am "showing," but before you make comments about my growing belly, I think this is just the stuff I can't suck in anymore. Proceed with caution! :)

Like I said, that day we got to hear the heartbeat. I was a little worried that maybe I'd just been experiencing a pregnancy-like tumor this whole time. The Midwife got out the doppler tool to hear the heartbeat. It actually took longer to find than I thought it would. She could hear it because she knew what she was listening for. But since Gerrit and I weren't hearing anything, she went to get a more sensitive doppler. And lo and behold, a quick little thumpthumpthumpthump could be heard! The Bean is really in there! It was a pretty surreal experience that I can't quite pin an emotion on. Something like excitement/relief/oh-my-gosh-there's-a-human-in-there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today, I am 14 weeks along. I am officially in my 2nd Trimester (crazy). I am feeling better for the most part. It's really strange how symptoms can be so prominent one day/week and then nearly disappear the next. The symptoms, though very uncomfortable, were at least some kind of confirmation that I am pregnant. So, now that many of them are fading, I'll be anxious to go to our next appointment to make sure it's not a tumor again! :)

I'm Hungry All the Time!

Look out, World! I might eat you. It doesn't matter what I eat or what I do, I'm just hungry. At all hours. At any place. But NOTHING seems good enough to eat. Some foods seem tolerable...others seem disgusting. Nothing seems delicious. How very sad.....I hope I will one day (soon) enjoy food again.

On the other hand, even though I'm not eating more yet, I can feel that my body is starting the growing process. Confession: I'm a sucker-inner. Meaning, in my everyday life, I suck my stomach in most of the day. These days, it's getting much harder to do that. I've kind of given up on it. I suppose it's time to let go....exhale...give in to the gut. Yes, it looks like a gut...not a pregnant belly. But I don't think I'm doing myself or The Bean any good by sucking in my stomach anymore. Embrace the gut. Embrace the gut.

I'M PREGNANT!

I can finally share the news! Today is 10/10/10 and I am precisely 10 weeks pregnant! Gerrit and I are very excited, nervous, and everything in-between. Now, I will answer some commonly asked questions....

Q. When did we find out?/When am I due?
A. We found out on Labor Day (funny). I am due on Mothers' Day (precious), May 8. Okay, so my initial reaction was not at all what I thought it would be. I always imagined I would find out, scream and cry, and run into my husband's arms as we jumped up and down in glee. That's not exactly how it went. I took the test and suddenly 2 lines started appearing in the screen. I called Gerrit into the bathroom saying, "I think you need to come in here." I pointed to the screen and said, "What is that?" Gerrit replied, "I think that's a positive, babe." I said, "What do we do with this?" over and over again. Then we took these pictures. Now, don't be confused. We MEANT to do this! I just couldn't believe it actually happened. We've tried for quite some time (a year and 2 months, if you must know). It was quite the emotional rollercoaster. And wouldn't you know....it still is! :) I know God had a reason for making us wait; and I think all the waiting has really made us all the more appreciative that it's finally happening....even if we are scared out of our minds!


Q. How am I feeling? Have I been sick? Am I having other symptoms?
A. Yes, I have been sick. You know when you have a cold and you just feel "off" all day long? That's kind of how I feel. The pukey feeling likes to sneak up on me at all times of the day. I've never had such a strong gag reflex. In fact, just talking about it, makes me feel sick. My body is not my own. Even though there are no outward signs of me being pregnant, I feel like I'm living in someone else's body (when actually someone else is living in mine! ha!). I can't wait until the 2nd trimester. I have hope that I will begin to feel human again. Right now, I have to eat every hour and a half to two hours to keep from being sick. Let me tell you, I never thought I would get sick of eating, but I'm there! I feel like a cow who is constantly grazing. I've also had trouble thinking of words I want to say. The other night at House Group, I said, "Good morning!" as I came into the door without even realizing it. Whoops. I won't go into graphic detail about the other symptoms I am experiencing, but anything you've heard about pregnancy symptoms, I'm probably having. Gerrit has been taking wonderful care of me. He's a very patient man.

Q. Are we going to find out the sex of the baby? Do we have a preference?
A. Yes, we will find out! We are terrible at secrets and surprises! I can honestly say that I don't have a preference. Gerrit says he doesn't either (but I think he wants a boy). Most of all, we want a healthy child. I keep thinking of the baby as a boy, but that probably means it's a girl. We'll keep you posted!

Q. Do we have names picked out?
A. Yes, we've had names in mind for a long time. But I think we're gonna try our hardest to keep those a secret. Right now, we call the baby "Bean" since we don't know what the gender is. We love the Bean.

So, all in all, we're feeling all kinds of emotions! God is good and we're so thankful that He's allowing us to experience this. (Although, when I have my head in the toilet, that's not always my first thought. Forgive me!) We can't wait to keep you posted as the days, weeks and months go on!

Duluth with Adam and Maria!

Each summer since the G-man and I have been married, we've tried to take a trip with Adam and Maria. They're pretty great and we like them. This year we decided on Duluth. What fun!

Our first stop was to the Canal area and lighthouse. When you're there, you can watch the cargo boats go by and take pictures. Good times were had by all.

Here we are heading to the lighthouse. Adam isn't having a seizure. He's just really excited to be on vacation.

I think my favorite thing we did was tour the Glensheen mansion. It was built in the early 1900s by a wealthy guy. I'm a bit nerdy and I really enjoy guided tours, especially of mansions.

Gerrit and I outside the mansion in the rain.

A little quality Maria time. I think we were waiting for the boys to stop skipping rocks.

The men being men.

The women being women.

We took another guided tour of the William A. Irvin cargo boat (ship?). I wasn't totally fascinated by this; however, we had a hilarious guide. Our tour guide, Tom, used to work on a similar vessel. He had a very dry humor which we thoroughly enjoyed.

We couldn't visit Duluth without making a trip to Gooseberry Falls. It's beautiful anytime of year. Ignore my shiny, sweaty face.

Naturally, the boys found a cave. It never fails.
Adam enjoying the great outdoors.
Gerrit was a real stinker at the Falls. He insisted on taking detours from the path and going on "adventures." I kept reminding him to be careful. It was obvious that my "mothering" was irritating him (especially after he told me it was). But I just kept saying, "I won't apologize for loving you!"

To prove that I hadn't totally lost my sense of fun, I ventured out onto some rocks to get closer to the falls. I got stuck and panicked (which was pretty unnecessary, since the water was about 6 inches deep and very calm). I kept thinking about how miserable it would be to be wet for the rest of our time there. All I could say was, "I made a mistake! I made a mistake!" Gerrit came out to rescue me. And we made it across....safe and dry.

Oh, except that after this picture was taken, Gerrit slipped and fell on the rock. And that's why I remind him to be careful!

A Little Catching Up to Do...

Hello Hello! I'm just going to stretch my memory to tell you about my early summer experiences. I know you're all dying to hear!

Near the start of summer, I had the pleasure of seeing my freshman/sophomore college roommate dance in a recital. Tara was a shining star! No, seriously, the costumes were super shiny! The Book Club girls (Katie, Molly, and I) got to see her after the show (and after she changed out of her costume. So fun!

Me, Tara, Katie, Molly

A bit later this summer, I got to give Gerrit a buzz cut. This was my first time doing that and I was really nervous. It turned out just fine! But before the finished product, I couldn't resist giving him a little 1990's "New Kids On The Block" 'do. This hair made me want to sing, "Oh oh oh oh oh. Oh oh oh oh oh. Oh oh oh oh oh. THE RIGHT STUFF!"
Another first for Gerrit was going to Paul Bunyan's Restaurant with my family. We went in the Dells with friends, but this was a first with my family. What a treat!

Aubrey and Sophie waiting for their food.

Here's Jozie celebrating Carey's birthday. Gerrit thinks she's turning into my mini-me. I'll let you decide.

Jozie and Me: Both Age 4

In July, Gerrit had the honor of being Best Man in his friend/college roommate/former bandmate/video-game challenger/brother he never had......Dave's wedding. The weekend wedding extravaganza was in Illinios. Good times were had by all!

Since Gerrit drove down with the boys, I drove down with the men folks other halves. Emily was the wedding photographer/wife of a groomsman. Katie was the hair lady/girlfriend of a groomsman. Naturally, I was a little nervous about driving to Illinois with girls I didn't know. But I was over that in about 2.3 seconds. We bonded. I think Emily and I are pretty much the same person. It was a little creepy.

Really, the cherry on top of a great start to summer, was that I got to see a monkey ride a dog. Yes, you read that correctly. A monkey rode atop a dog! If you don't believe me, see for yourself. My life is forever changed.

That's all for now! More to come!

I'm Still Here!

I've had some trouble logging on to my blog recently, but I'm here! Hopefully I'll be updating soon! Sorry for such a long absence. I know you've been anxiously awaiting my next post. You can exhale now. :)