35+ weeks!!!

Well hello there!

I can't believe I'm writing that I'm over 35 weeks!! There's been a lot activity at the Porter house in the last month or so and I apologize for not updating sooner. Ryan went through a nasty bout of swine flu exactly 1 week after I got my H1N1 vaccine... PTL.. My dr said that was an incredibly close call. We have the nursery 90% ready and I've even put the sheets on the the baby crib. Clothes are washed and put away and I've even started packing the diaper bag :) I had my 1st official contraction yesterday, that I didn't know was a contraction. But I went to the dr later in the morning and she said it was most likely a contraction and not just a cramp.

I've had 3 amazing showers thanks to friends and family and we feel so blessed to have all of you in our lives. We have so many fun clothes, toys and practical things!! (breast milk storage etc) Now we just can't wait to see what she looks like!!! I'm placing bets on her having strawberry blond hair :)

So at my dr's appt yesterday my dr said that everything was A-okay. She kept saying that I "really dodged a bullet" in getting my swine flu shot before Ryan actually got sick. We are thankful for that. She also confirmed that LBP is head down and facing the right way! Yay!! I've been asking her to cooperate :) She measured me and said I'm "right-on" for my due date of Jan 3rd! Aside from the acid reflux, things are going sooooooooo well!! Here are a few pix we've taken in the past few weeks.

Pumpkin Patch

Ryan and I ventured out to Remlinger Farms on Saturday morning to find some good pumpkins for carving! As you can see we had our pick. I'm not so sure whether it was because we came so early in the season or we got there just as the farm opened. (probably both) We're early birds, what can I say. It was so much fun and we can't wait until next year when we can bring LBP!!

We also have been busy getting the nursery ready for our little girl! Ryan has been such a good daddy already and started painting. As you can see, she's going to LOVE pink! This is just the begining! As we do more, we'll post more pictures!

27 Weeks!

First of all, I must apologize for not updating in almost 5 weeks! I'm so sorry. We've been a little busy :) Lots of family events have taken place. And as you can tell.. I'm getting large....... much larger! As of today, LBP is a about 2lbs! She's kicking like crazy and it's been amazing to feel and see her dancing around in my belly!

Almost 2 weeks ago, we got an addition to our family! My sister Bridget had a little baby boy, Eric Badger Frolich. He was born at a healthy 9lbs 5oz and is doing great!I've posted a picture of Bridget holding him and also one of Ryan holding him. I'm so excited for our little girl to have a cousin so close in age. I was fortunate enough to be with my sister during part of her labor and it was a great insight into what I'm in for. She did amazing and I'm so proud of her!!

So far Ryan and I feel like we're well on our way to being ready for this baby. Our friends and family have already been so amazing by passing along many useful baby items. We feel really blessed to have people in our lives who are willing to share! We ordered our crib and changing table a few weeks ago and got the crib a short while later. Ryan immediately put the crib together and as I type this, is taping in the nursery as we get ready to paint! Hopefully in the next post, I'll be able to show some pix of that!

22 Weeks and camping....

This last weekend Ryan and I decided it would be a good idea to go camping for one last time before the summer is over. Truth be told it was our only camping trip this summer, but at least we got out there right! We joined our good friends Kim and Dave Hanson at a great spot near Salmon Le sac right on the river. We even had Tula with us for the weekend! LBP did very well and she even let me sleep through the night

It's a Girl !!!!

I'm almost 20week along so thought I should post some new pix of the belly!

Also I neglected to write in my last post that Ryan and I found out that LBP (little baby Porter) is a GIRL!! We were completely surprised and so excited! Ryan, along with many family, friends and coworkers were convinced it was a boy. I felt, deep down that it might have been a girl but everyone had been saying boy, so I started to believe it. When the U/S tech told us lbp was a little baby girl, we were both surprised and I must admit, even though I didn't have a preference, I'm SO happy!

During the U/S she was quite the little show-off, kicking her legs, sucking her thumb and moving all over the place! I think that means she's going to be a super active kid and perhaps and Olympian?.... We'll have to wait and see. If I can figure out how to do it, I'll post the video we have of her ultrasound. It's pretty exciting stuff, for us at least:)

Parenthood here we come!!

Hello Friends and Family!

So due to the prompting of some friends and family, we've decided to start a blog to share our journey into parenthood! So how did this journey begin....

On May 2nd, Ryan and I flew into Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris. I was feeling pretty good, but I knew we should probably get to a pharmacy and get a pregnancy test... Just a little feeling I had. This may seem terrible but I told Ryan we needed to have lunch first so I, (Mama) could have one last glass of wine.... (sorry Mom :) Anyhow, after lunch we made the trek to a pharmacie and asked en francais for a pregnancy test. After the 2 minutes... we had 2 PINK LINES!! Ryan and I were elated! It was such an amazing feeling and we were in the most romantic city in the world!
A few days later we took another test and it too was positive. We decided it was time to tell the Grandparents! We couldn't get our cell phone to work so we ended up sending an email, which we like to think was met with much celebration! Rick (Ryan's dad) let us know that to commemorate the birth, he purchased a bottle of Leonetti for the family to enjoy after the birth! That is exciting news for us wine drinkers, and something I'll be looking forward too! My mom is a wizz in the sewing/knitting dept and said she would start knitting immediately. Which we're also looking forward too!

After we got home from France, I went to the dr and confirmed the pregnancy. The doctor confirmed that I was about 5 1/2 weeks along. I was still feeling incredibly good, so thought I was in the clear as far as morning sickness goes. About 2 weeks later I was proven very, very wrong. Ryan and I had been training for a 1/2 marathon and I got up early one Saturday morning to run with some ladies in my neighborhood. After a nice 8.5 mile run I got home and knew I wasn't feeling well. That's when it all began.... I don't need to put in much detail here. If you've been through it, I'm sorry and I sympathize!

At week 13 or 14 I started feeling much better! The photos I posted are from week 16 and currently I'm at 19+ weeks so I think I look a little bit bigger. I'll try and be better about posting and getting pix up for those of you who have been asking! I'll also try and get "better" with learning the ins and outs of blogging so I can hopefully make the page more interesting!