Happy 46th, Mom

Today would have been Mom's 46th birthday. These milestone days are the hardest for me, even 7 years after Mom died. It seems like the gravity of life events really does not hit me until we come to these milestone days. Things like my little brother getting married and Michelle and I having a baby--these are the days when I start to wonder what Mom would have said had she been there to witness these special events. Oh, to see her face when she found out she was to be a Grandma....I can't help but think that she's with us every step of the way.

Our next appointment is on Friday....and you better believe that when I hear the baby's heartbeat, I know that somewhere Mom is smiling.

Every year on those special days when I think about Mom a lot, I take myself back to her bedside on the night of January 19, 2000. As we stood around and said our goodbyes, Josh sung to her. And he sung the most beautiful rendition of this song that I've ever heard. It will forever remind me of Mom and her undying devotion to her family. Happy Birthday Mom from all of us!

Looking back on the memory of
The dance we shared beneath the stars above
For a moment all the world was right
How could I have known you'd ever say goodbye
And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance I could have missed the pain
But I'd have had to miss the dance
Holding you I held everything
For a moment wasn't I the king
But if I'd only known how the king would fall
Hey who's to say you know I might have changed it all
And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance I could have missed the pain
But I'd have had to miss the dance
Yes my life is better left to chance
I could have missed the pain but I'd have had to miss the dance

Under 17 weeks to go....

I started thinking today about how close the actual due date is...only 16 weeks and 6 days to go; effectively 17 weeks. Sometimes I try to put the remaining days and weeks into perspective. For example, 17 weeks ago, we told my folks about the baby's birth. It seems like that was just yesterday, which makes me wonder how quickly things will happen once the baby is born.

Michelle is doing very well. She is starting to get a bit uncomfortable and sleeping has become more difficult, but overall things are going better than either of us could have hoped. At 23 weeks, www.babycenter.com tells us that the baby can now hear loud sounds.

We have been talking more and more about names as the date gets closer. We both think that we'll end up with a list of names for both boys and girls. When the baby is born, I think we'll decide whether the name fits or not.

Here's a 3-D sonogram picture of a fetus at 23 weeks. Technology is an amazing thing....

4 chambers

The sonogram went exceptionally well yesterday afternoon. The sonographer said that it was very evident that all 4 chambers of the heart were there. The heartbeat was only at 112 beats per minute (as opposed to the mid 140's previously). I'm pretty sure if my heart's beating at 112 beats per minute, you should call an ambulance. :)

We also found out that the baby weighs 1 lb. 6 oz. right now. Don't ask me how they know!! There were some pretty good pictures taken again. I'll scan them into the computer tonight and post them tonight or tomorrow for all to see.

Right before we left the appointment yesterday, the sonographer asked us to wait while she consulted with the radiologist. When she came back, she explained that she had noticed Michelle was having mini-contractions and wanted to make sure that it would be okay to send her home. The radiologist concluded they were nothing to be concerned about. I didn't realize she could have contractions already...but from what I understand, they're fairly normal and called Braxton-Hicks contractions.

Happy day-after day after St. Patrick's Day

We had a great weekend catching up with old friends, and as a result I wasn't able to do much blogging. No worries, as I am back on track now!

First off, I wanted to clear up the sonogram nonsense that I was spewing a few posts ago. I totally had the wrong date listed for the sonogram. I had listed LAST Monday as the date, when in all actuality, we get to see the little tyke TODAY. OOps! Sorry about that. The appointment is this afternoon at 3:15, so I'll be meeting Michelle at Menorah Medical Center in just a few hours.

I looked this morning at some of the things happening with the baby this week. Here are a few highlights: the baby is now right around 11 inches long and weighs over a pound. The baby now has the ability to swallow as well. Guess we'll get to see the mini-person this afternoon! If they give us the hard-copy pictures, I'll share those via the blog as soon as I can.

I promised pictures of the pea-green nursery, and I've come through. You can find them on our Picasa site (located here), or I've embedded one so you can get an idea. If you go to the picture site, you'll also see the color of the walls now that they have been redone. In addition to wall color, the crib and dresser/shelving unit are assembled. We purchased the decor for the nursery last weekend, and got all of the furniture put together over the course of the last week. And to top off last week, our neighbor gave us a crib mattress that had very little wear. We disinfected it, dropped it into the crib, and we have a functional nursery. The only thing we are missing is a baby!

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" hits KC

The hit show on ABC has come to Kansas City for the second time. The article that I've linked to shows how deserving this family is of a new house. Extreme Makeover typically airs on Sunday at 6 or 7. If you haven't seen the show, it's well worth your time. It is incredibly humbling and always makes me thankful for everything with which I have been blessed.

How 'bout some paint?

We found the perfect color for the nursery. It was a shade of green that could be called a light green with a twist of lime, pea, and mint. As a matter of fact, it matched one of the colors in the decor (bumper, valance, crib skirt, etc.) that we picked. As such, we bought a gallon of the green paint and set to work.

Initially we painted one wall in the nursery. The color was a bit strong, but we thought for sure once we get the rest of the walls painted it will really balance it out. On Friday night, we painted one more wall. We went to bed thinking it still looked a little strong, but we held out hope that those last 2 walls would really make it come together. Saturday morning came and we got up early and painted the remaining two walls. Wow. The walls are GREEN--I mean really, really GREEN. That's when we thought maybe we should try to tack up the valance to offset the greenness. Still didn't help. That's when we had to make the executive decision that we need to chalk that one up to experience. Off to Wal-Mart we go....

We bought some KILZ, found a yellow paint that works with the decor and headed back home. We got the KILZ up and managed to watch a little basketball as well. We put up a coat of yellow late Saturday night, and finally finished painting for the night around 1 (post time-change).

After getting up on Sunday morning and seeing the paint job in the light, we decided that one more coat of the yellow would do. Trouble was, neither one of us felt like painting....finally, last night around 6, both of us got a nice second-wind. The final coat is on, and the walls just need a few touch-up spots now.

All that said, we had some other excitement this weekend. While Michelle and I were watching basketball on Sunday afternoon, she felt the baby kicking. When she looked down, she could see the baby pushing on her stomach. I happened to glance over and saw it too. That was pretty unreal. I didn't realize that I would be able to see it too. There is some pretty amazing stuff going on right now, as we are getting closer to 22 weeks!

And for anyone interested, I have created a march madness pick 'em.

You can access it by typing http://fantasysports.yahoo.com
(If you do not have a yahoo ID, you will need one)
Group ID: 102931
Password: basketball

Sonogram scheduled

Our weekend started wonderfully as we again got to hear our little one's heartbeat. I had ordered an mp3 player/voice recorder from Amazon on the Sunday prior to the appointment, in hopes that it would be on my doorstep in time for the appointment on Friday (I even paid the ridiculously high $10 price tag for 2-day shipping). No dice. The mp3 player showed up sometime Friday afternoon. My ambition was to record the baby's heartbeat and post it out here, but that will have to wait another few weeks.

Everything is going very well with the pregnancy. Michelle is doing a great job taking care of herself and the baby. The kicks are becoming more frequent as the baby is really starting to hit it's major growth spurt.

We had a great visit with all of my immediate family this weekend as soon-to-be Grandma and Grandpa Madison were in town. Josh and Abby were finally able to make it outside the state of South Dakota after a ginormous snowstorm closed I-29 for 2 days. They had planned on leaving on Thursday afternoon, but instead left Saturday afternoon. Mother Nature is absolutely nuts sometimes.

We have the 2nd sonogram scheduled for next Monday. We can't wait to see our baby again! Here's to a big, strong, healthy heart!

One last thing I wanted to mention. I heard this on the radio this morning and thought that it was worth repeating. Operation Quiet Comfort is a not-for-profit organization that puts care packages together for wounded soldiers at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC) in Germany among other places. Often times the troops that are wounded while serving arrive at these medical bases with nothing more than the clothes on their back. Operation Quiet Comfort helps to ease the emotional pain and suffering by showing these brave men and women that people are thinking and praying for them. Thank you for defending our freedom.

20 weeks yesterday

We have officially hit the halfway point of the pregnancy. The baby is kicking very regularly, especially after a good meal. The baby already knows that Mommy is an awesome cook. My belly agrees, as many of you can attest.

Our next doctor visit is tomorrow afternoon at 4 pm. We'll find out more about when the next sonogram will be, among other things. I know there's a lot more they check for, but I can never remember between appointments what the next appointment will be about. Guess we'll wait and see!!

This week, we've started painting the nursery. We can't wait to get it done, so we can put together the furniture! Matt's brother Josh and his wife, Abby will be visiting this weekend. They are moving to KC in the spring and are looking for a place to call their home. We're so excited for them to move here!

Josh and I will be purchasing our Royals Opening Day tickets on Saturday. Let me know if you'll be out there, we'll try to meet up with you...

Matt's folks will also be in town this weekend as they are going to the George Strait concert, and we'll be taking care of Austin. Sounds like the recipe for lots of XBOX and late nights to me :)