Sneak Peak

It has sure been a crazy few weeks, but 2 weeks ago we had our growth ultrasound (and what we thought would be final look).  our littler baby obviously had different plans, but we were pretty pleased with the photo shoot.

28 Week 6 Day Images:

Standard Profile Shot

an even better profile view

her precious little face

Big Yawn!

5 toes accounted for...

it's amazing how we can see her little face, just wondering how similar she will look to these when she comes out.   so far we have decided she has my checks and marks toes!  they estimated her weight at 3 lbs 3 oz here, which puts her in the 65% for size.

27 Weeks

so i realize it's been a little while since there was a proper bumpdate, but needless to say, the bump has definitely grown.  let's get to the good stuff:

how far: 27 weeks and less than 3 months.  eeks!  time has sure gone fast

gender: still a girl, although not apparently according to how i am carrying.  i have had multiple women at work argue that it must be a boy, that would sure be a shock at this point.

size of mom: +15 lbs and out of room for her stomach

belly button: out-ish, it is right on the cusp, some days a little more out than others, we are on thin ice for the full inversion to occur.  also it is time to mention that this stat has caused me massive anxiety for the last 8 weeks, i was truly unhappy about the fact that my belly button was going to pop out like a turkey timer.

best of the week: there are a lot of good ones over the past few weeks, having my aunt vicki and dale in town was really a great time.  of the technical last week, i would have to say a sunday afternoon date with the hubby, including a 4 mile bike ride to joyride taco shop, a nice leisurely and delicious lunch (complete with a $5 happy hour pitcher of beer for him) and the ride home to settle the tummy.  plus the fact that i can still ride 8 miles.

worst of the week: having to work on saturday.  bad timing for the office to be extremely busy at the time energy is starting to wane.

we also started work on the nursery the last few weeks.  first step was cleaning it out.  it is amazing what gets stored in a room that you really didn't need.  we also got all the painting done, ironically we changed it from the existing butter yellow color (probably perfectly suited for a nursery) to a greige color.  the closet doors also got replaced, removing the gold trimmed mirrored doors with the white trimmed mirror doors from our master (we are then adding some nice closet doors in the master, exact style tbd). carpet has been selected and is being ordered this week.  i also finally ordered the rest of the nursery furniture so we should have a close to finished project within a few weeks time.

i think the 'nesting' bug has hit both mark and i, so as we wait for our carpet install to keep moving on the nursery, we have also started to upgrade the spare bathroom.  before and after pictures to come.

week 28 is an exciting one (since we are halfway through at this point)... with the dreaded oral glucose test at this weeks appointment.  on a positive note, we do get our last scheduled ultrasound and look at the little before she is born.

cheers!
A

Babymoon: complete with Beignets and Parades

mark and i have had a busy month, with the definite highlight being the long weekend we spent in the BIG EASY.  it was a little extra b-day celebrating for me, plus a nice last adult getaway before our little arrives.  

upon arrival in new orleans, we were pleased to learn it was Mardi Gras time.  confused, but pleased.  the confusion was due to me looking up when Mardi Gras (the specific day was to ensure we skipped that craziness) but not realizing that the city celebrates the Mardi Gras season for weeks before the specific day.  which meant that we got to watch lots of parades, and catch lots of beads.  contrary to popular belief, they just throw the beads in the parade, no flashing required.  what happens on bourbon street in the wee hours of the night is still a mystery as this preggo and hubby were in bed by then.  our favorite parade was the dog parade, or barkus.  unfortunately for the little pups, it poured a few times throughout the parade.  

NOLA is a good place to be when pregnant from a food perspective, and indulging in the local cuisine was a definite part of the trip.  some favorites were the fried chicken dinner (andrea) at little gem, this cool jazz club where we caught a dinner show, shrimp and grits at cafe amelie (mark), charbroiled oysters from acme oyster house (both).  seriously the food was so good, i am salivating as i reminisce.  

we had a cruiser bike tour of the city scheduled, which started out great.  our guide was a native new orlinean (sp?) and had great knowledge of the cities salacious history with great delivery.  the tour was cut short due to severe down pouring, but we did get to see/learn some before getting caught in this building, in a local cemetery.  luckily the rain let up and we were able to ride back to the bike shop, were not asked to pay and received some great restaurant recommendations before heading on our way.  all in all it was a wonderful weekend, and i think we both wished we had a little longer to escape the daily grind.  I'll wrap it up with a few more photos from our trip (also please excuse my insane expressions in the photos, i was apparently determined to not take a decent photo the entire trip). 

view of the superdome from our hotel

i wasn't in pain, i promise

commander's palace, garden district

beignets and cafe' au lait (decaf)

along the mighty mississippi

Marie Laveau's Grave

20 Weeks- Halfway There!

it is almost impossible to believe that we are past the halfway point (as I am again slow to post, but i was 20 weeks in the photo! we just hit 22 weeks today)...it has been an exciting few weeks.  we had our 'anatomy ultrasound' and got to see the little one moving around, always my favorite.  it was also comforting to hear that all the organs are as expected and we are still measuring right on track with our expected due date.

how far along: 20 weeks
gender: GIRL!
size of baby: a banana
size of mom: +7 pounds and transitioning to loving leggings
best of the week: getting to see her ( and confirming she is still a she)... i may be that freak who wants to have an at home ultrasound machine
worst of the week:  a broken washing machine.  thanks to heather for letting me get my stuff clean while we waited for the part.  washers don't break when your clothes is clean.  also a huge thanks to the hubby who got us all up and running as soon as the part arrived.
belly button: still in... holding on for a short while i think
cravings: anything sweet.  mark brought home girl scout cookies this week, their lemon ones, 'savannah smiles' for anyone looking for recommendations have been a favorite, and new to me this year.  they might be giving samosas a run for their money in favorite girl scout cookie spot.

as i mentioned, we had our 20 week appointment where we found out our doctor is pregnant, with twins, and will be 36 weeks when we are due.  eek.  we are meeting another doctor in the practice as a backup plan since my doc may or may not still be at work (and able for c-section) at that point.  it also put us at ease to know that everything looks good from a developmental perspective.  here are a few of our favorites from her little photo shoot:

heartbeat 158, nice and strong

love her little lips

she loves flashing her long legs

maybe the funniest of the session, she is either 1: jamming to music or 2: screaming like she is in a horror movie

19 Weeks (a little late)

so the thing about pregnancy is, there is a lot of to do's... which means even the best of intentions leads to a slow blog post.  last week, we were 19 weeks pregnant, and wrapping up the 4th month of pregnancy, man how the time has flown.

size of baby: depending on which website you check, you there are a     variety of fruits/vegetables to compare the baby too, but i thought a mango was the best fit (and also matched this weeks color scheme)

size of mom: up 7 pounds mostly in the belly, and mostly in maternity bottoms as the normal pants (save for a few holdouts) are just no longer comfortable.

best of the week: starting the feel the baby move, which is very light and fits the "flutters" books/blogs will reference and felt mostly when i am trying to sleep.

worst of the week: heartburn has made an introduction into the stukel home.  it's manageable as long as mom remembers to eat small meals in the evening when it seems the worst.

sleep quality: pretty good, thanks to my handy dandy pregnancy pillow. this thing is awesome, and i strongly recommend it stat for any one who is or knows an expectant momma who is struggling to get comfortable.
http://bumpnest.com/


week 19 started with a great hike for mom/baby with our friend kim, which mark was out mountain biking with some friends getting ready for his race.

as an update, mark and a team of friends signed up for a 24 hour mountain bike race in the middle of the desert.  more info here: http://www.epicrides.com/index.php?contentCat=5
he has been loving getting out on his bike, almost to the point of new obsession so i have been trying to take advantage of that time to get some hiking in before my belly is too big and i lose confidence in my balance.

we decided to hike picacho peak , which was one of the most fun hikes i have done to date in AZ.  although only a 2.1 mile hike (well then the 2.1 back to the car) it is a pretty step assent to the summit, with lots of cable assists on the step parts.

Visitors, 15 weeks, and Christmas Time...

wow!  it has been a busy december, one with not enough blog updates to be precise.  mark and i chose to spend our last christmas as a twosome tucked in to our little home in arizona.  while i can say we definitely missed our family in wisconsin, we did not miss the winter weather.  it was sunny and in the 70s all week which translated to a few great bike rides, lots of walks with the dogs and a nice relaxing holiday.  x even got into the spirit

just prior to the holidays, mark's mom came for a great visit.  highlights of the trip included the desert botanical garden for noche de las luminarias with a cool art glass installation, and a few days in sedona, as well as getting to celebrate mark's 39th bday. Some favorite pictures are below...

enjoying the red rocks!

pebbles photo-bombing a nice sedona landscape

last but not least is the 15 weeks photo (a little late)... and the commitment to more frequent blogging in 2014!  we hope everyone had a very wonderful holiday season!!!

12 Weeks

it's hard to believe we are at 12 weeks and almost the end of the first trimester.  luckily for me it has been much more pleasant than many of my friends, a few days with nausea and lots and lots of naps.

size of baby: a lime, or in other more technical terms 6.75 cm at 12 wk 6 days.  also it looks like it is in the 62.5% percentile

weight gain: 1.9 lb, pretty good so far, with a bump that is starting to show, new bump photo for next week

gender: confirmed at 20 weeks, but they gave us a best guess at our appointment, looks like little baby stukel will be a girl!!!

cravings: anything spicy

aversions: nothing specific yet but mostly based on smell

best moment of the week: getting to see our little one on ultrasound, moving and kicking, and looking like an actual baby

worst of the week: the drive home at midnight from the airport wednesday after and in/out business trip to San Fransisco, sooo tired

check out those long legs, taking after dad on that trait for sure and 5 little fingers as well....

4D image was pretty neat, it was mostly awesome to watch her move, she was a little shy here

and my favorite image, grabbing her little foot, i think she is practicing her dance moves ;)

cheers!
A