Our baby!

We had our ultrasound appointment today for the halfway mark. It was seriously the coolest thing we have ever experienced. Seeing that baby was amazing. We got to literally see every organ, each hand and foot. The heart beating, the brain. It was awesome. We attached some pictures for you all to see. The first one is a profile shot and the second is a picture of the spine which is really neat. The baby helped us out, when we told the tech that we didn't want to know if it was a boy or a girl she told us that was a good thing because there was no way that she could have told us, those legs were closed up tight! The tech said that everything is measuring exactly perfect, everything that needs to be there is there and the baby looks just like it should. It is just an amazing relief hearing that.

Lake Geneva

This past weekend we went to Lake Geneva with my dad and step mom and sister. It was a nice relaxing trip. We took a boat tour, read, ate and relaxed. It was really nice. I meant to post some pictures, but since I left our camera at home, I have none to post!!! Other than that, not too much is new. Bean moves at some point every day and I look so forward to that each time. It is definately the best part of the pregnancy. It is just beyond words how cool it is to feel the baby moving. On our way home from Lake Geneva on Sunday we stopped at Babies R Us to begin the process of picking out a crib. We were totally overwhelmed. There are so many! We decided to think some more about it and revisit that topic another day. The most exciting part of that trip was that we found a stroller that has an adjustable handle that is super high! Finally, they make something that will fit me! I was really worried about the fact that all of the strollers are too low for me, but this one is perfect. It took all the decision making out of it, there is only one that does it and it is in one color. Decision made! Next week we have our ultrasound, we can't wait to see the little one!!!

Bean kicked!

Okay, so I am sitting at my desk right now, dealing with a hundred different job related issues and all of the sudden I feel this unmistakable, fleeting movement in my stomach. I can't believe it, I think the baby just kicked me for the first time that I could feel. It was the coolest feeling ever. Although it went quickly and of course now I feel nothing even though I keep staring at my stomach hoping for more! (: Anyway, just had to share that!!!!

16 Weeks!

Okay, although I am not so fond of the pictures of myself staring at the camera, it really is much more fun to have a visual! So, here we are, me and bean, at 16 weeks and 4 days! I just got home from the doctor, it was a good visit. I got to hear the heartbeat beating strong. It was so different from the last visit 4 weeks ago. At that visit it felt like it took her forever to find the heartbeat and then once she did we only got to hear it for a short time before she lost it. This time, the minute she put the little doppler thing on my stomach we heard it beating strong. It was awesome. She said that it sounds perfect. She showed me on my stomach right where the baby is and that was cool too. Other than that, not too much exciting happened. I got to schedule our ultrasound, that will be in three weeks. We can't wait for that! Outside of that she said that everything looks great! We can't believe that we are over 4 months along already, time just flies!!!

29 Years...

The picture is of the gorgeous flowers that my wonderful husband gave me for my birthday on Monday. They were very sweet and it was a great birthday. We went out to dinner on Sunday night and Monday night I went out to dinner with some girlfriends and Lindsay, my sister. My favorite part was the card that Mike gave me from the baby with the cutest note inside, from the baby of course. I started crying, of course. (: It is so crazy to think next year on my birthday I'll be a mom!

The Bean

So, I have this little calendar on my desk that is essentially a calendar of this pregnancy. It is a message from the baby everyday of what is going on with him/her. Some of the posts are just so amazing to me. Here is today's, "If you could touch my lips, I would begin to suck your finger." I just can't believe what is happening in my stomach, it never ceases to amaze me everyday. It's so crazy to think that the baby would begin to suck my finger if I touched its lips, how cool is that. I just can't wait to meet this little one...

Up North...

So, we just got back yesterday from some time up north. It was really fun. We had lots of relaxation and got to spend some time with good friends. Mike's best man from our wedding, also Mike, was in town with his wife, Jen, visiting family. We headed up to meet them for a few days and got to catch up. The boys enjoyed one of their favorite things to do together, water skiing and I read an entire book, one of my favorite things to do! We had good food, good conversation and an all around good time. Below are a bunch of pictures of our time "up north".

The boys

Okay, so I am so new at this, I don't know how to make this picture the right side up, sorry! Here's Mike getting ready to ski!

Mike doing one of his favorite things.

Here's another picture of Mike skiing, check out that spray!

Here's a picture of Mike fishing, he caught one 14" Northern while we were there!

12 Weeks!!!

We had our 12 week doctor appointment today, we are actually quite close to 13 weeks already, but that is just how our doctor appointments fall. We got to hear the heartbeat, it was so exciting!!! It is just amazing how it feels to feel some tangible connection to the baby like that. You know that you are pregnant, but at this stage before you are really showing and before you can feel the baby move, things like hearing the heartbeat just gives you this amazing sense of relief, like everything is okay in there! The doctor said that it sounds great so we were really excited. Other than that, not too much exciting to report in beans world! We can't believe that we are into the third month, we have so much to do before bean arrives into the world! Last night we bought a ceiling fan for the nursery, that was exciting. Now Mike just has to start painting and then we will have to have new carpet put into the room. We can't wait to do some of the fun stuff like look for bedding for the crib and pick out the furniture, that will be so fun!!! Well, that's all for now, love to all from the Schwenzen family!

Happy Birthday Mike!!!

Last night I had a surprise party for Mike. Although he pretty much figured out the surprise, he had no clue that his good friend Mike was flying in from New Jersey and his other good friend Matt was driving many hours to surprise him. That really surprised him! Everyone seemed to have a great time, especially Mike. He was so excited to have spent such a great time with all his friends. Thanks to all who made it!!!

Our bean is lucky

So, I found these pictures today when I was looking through our camera at old pictures. They are pictures of Mike with our friends, Eric and Anna's, son Gabe. We went camping with them in June. How lucky is our baby to have Mike as a daddy, when you look at these pictures you can just see how good he is going to be.

war

So, I am going to attempt to write this post without getting political at all. My purpose is for one reason. Last night I got a phone call from my friend Jyl who was so saddened. I didn't realize it, but the Cedarburg soldier that was killed in Iraq on Monday was one of her husband's good friends. They had just spend the 4th of July with him, 10 days before he was being sent to Iraq. He had only been in Iraq for three days and was on his first mission when he was killed. This is the first time this war has hit so close to home. I have always been incredibly saddened in hearing that one of our soldiers had lost his life fighting for us, but I had never really known anyone that had been killed. My mom called me yesterday morning to tell me that this had happened and told me that I had gone to daycare with this soldier long ago. I certainly don't remember him, but it was weird to think that at one point in my life I knew this person who had just died fighting for us. He was his parents only child. My heart hurts for my friends Jyl and Jeff who are grieving the loss of their friend and for everyone else that knew this man. Whether or not we agree with the war, our people are dying everyday so we can live the lives we live. I am going to do my best to never forget that and be thankful to them each and every day for the sacrifices they are making. I just hope they can all come home soon and safely.

friendship

So, I am straying from the typical post of what is going on with the baby today. I am going to attempt a post a little more "deep". Most of you reading this know the story of the couple we met on our honeymoon, Josh and Anna. If not, ask us sometime, it is an amazing story. Mike and I have been blessed in our lives to have amazing friends. There is no question about it, we would both tell you, our friends are the best you can ask for. We have always felt that way and always will. We thank God everyday for the amazing people that we have in our lives.

So, when we left for our honeymoon we never would have thought that we would add two more to the list of simply amazing people we have been blessed to cross paths with. We left for our honeymoon with the simple expectation of relaxation and some fun times together. Never would we have guessed that we would meet a couple that would change our lives. We ended up meeting Josh and Anna and spending most of our week with them. With them we had some amazing conversations about life, God, and spirituality. You see, we had no idea, but they were struggling with their life at home, in their community. They were trying to figure out how to be themselves and still fit into the expectation their community had for them. We talked frank, we told them our story of being essentially thrown out of the churches we had grown up in for one decision we had made. We talked of the pain that caused us and the faith we had always had that was in an instant questioned.

Then we told them the story of Janis, our pastor. We told them about how our tears were instantly erased when we met him and started attending his church. We never realized that we would feel so at home and welcome at a church. We had no idea that we would be able to have in depth conversations with our pastor and that he would listen and encourage us to keep digging. Neither of us would have guessed that we would miss church when we couldn't attend a Sunday, we had never experienced that feeling. We have never felt so at home in a church in all of our lives.

I digress though, when we returned from our honeymoon, we kept in touch with our newfound friends. We were introuduced by them to the blogging world. Their blogs told their story, their story of what they were going through and the journey that they were on and how much our friendship had impacted them. Josh has actually been blogging the last two days about this and you can check it out here: http://www.iamjoshbrown.com/blog/ His posts are extremely thought provoking, I would encourage anyone to read them.

So, to Josh and Anna, know that you two have affected us also. We are inspired by your story and your journey. You have allowed us to have many conversations with each other that have made us grow as a couple. We thank God for your friendship and look forward to many years of trips to each other's "worlds".

And to all of our other friends reading, those who have been with us for the long term, we love you with our whole hearts and thank God we have you. Thank you for defining who we are as people.

Week 10

We can't believe that we are almost done with the 3rd month of pregnancy. This move towards the second trimester is being met happily by myself as I am beginning to finally not feel like I am going to die everyday all day long from sickness! (: I have started to feel exceptionally better, not perfect, but the change is amazing! Just the ability to eat a little healthier, not have to eat every single hour and to not have to spend all of my precious free time on the couch or in bed feeling sick is wonderful. I am still having an aversion to chicken most days, but I have been able to stomach it a few times! We continue to attempt to think of a boys name that we both agree on, but the girls name is set. Neither name will be shared with anyone, just to add to the surprise! Other than that, not much is new in Bean's world. Outside of becoming a little person each and every day that is!

Babies, babies, babies...

So, we had our good friends Joe and Melissa over for dinner last night, as usual we had a great time together. They also are having a baby due October 1st. We are both holding out the dream that our kids will fall in love and get married of course! (: It was a great night with great food and great company. Here's a picture of Joe and Melissa that we took last night!

Our friend from Atlanta's brother's big dream....

So our friend Josh from Atlanta's brother needs our help! I don't know who reads my blog but if you happen to come across this please vote. I'm copying and pasting s an e-mail from this morning. It explains it better than I could. It only takes a minute at the most!

Hello, my faithful friends. Josh's little brother Blake has been involved in a contest over the past few weeks to become the new morning co-host of an Alabama country radio station, Kicks 104.1. The competition is called the sidekick search and he was on the radio a week ago today. Voting is American Idol-style, with the most popular contestants staying in the competition. Voting is online and I beg and plead for you to vote for him, it would help him out so much. Here's the link ... http://kicks1041.com/side_kick_search.shtml.


Scroll down to the bottom of the page, click to vote, and select Blake Brown, then press vote. I appreciate all of your help so much. This is the kind of opportunity he's always dreamed of.