WOO HOO! We did it!! Baby number #1 is due July 5, 2010!!
Sorry we've not updated the blog for some time, but we've not done much with the house or had much to say. However, with the new addition coming, there will surely be some renovation and lots to talk about!!
But first, about the baby!! As many of you know, we've been hoping to start a family for some time. So we are quite excited about this news.
Here is baby at our last ultrasound at 13-1/2 weeks:
This ultrasound was SOOO cool. Baby was jumping around so we will likely have an active kid on our hands come summer. We saw baby's nose, mouth, arms, legs, hands and feet. We even saw the some of the internal organs like the brain, stomach and heart. Baby's heart is beating strong too. It is so exciting. Unfortunately, it was too early to find out the sex -- but we plan to find out in mid-February at the 20 week ultrasound. Must to know how to shop appropriately!!
Everyone who's been "in the know" before today is thrilled. This is the first grandchild on Adam's side of the family, so his parents are over the moon.
Here they are. They want to be called "Gram" and "Pop" so we got them a little gift to announce baby (click photo to see bigger):
On my side, my family was excited as well. However, this will be grandchild #15!! Here are all the Masse grandkids to date at our annual Christmas celebration:
We didn't get to capture the moment when we told my parents because we were too busy hugging, but I've created this reenactment:
Memere and Pepere are very excited too!
So what does this mean for the house? Well of course we'll have to make baby a room. One of the top questions I've received is "Will Adam have to give up the comic room?". The answer is no. We have a large bedroom on the second floor which we'll use as a combo baby/guest room. So the comic room stays put for now.
Here is how the guest room looks today:
The west end:
The east end: We don't plan on doing a theme for this room, but we have no definite plans yets. I have bought a few pieces of art over the last year:
This one says "Life began when I saw your face" with a baby bunny and parent bunny. So sweet.
So stay tuned for developments with baby's room!
We are also making some changes to my office that will be helpful when baby arrives. We plan to post an update very soon to show these changes.
With this news, we had a wonderful Christmas. Everything we do now, we think "next year, baby will be here with us!". It is so fun.
We went minimal with our tree this year. Adam's parents let us borrow their extra prelit artifical. We hung glass ornaments only:
Tree from afar:
And lit up:
Oh, we did hang one non-glass ornament, in honor of baby:
As you know, Adam is a comic enthusiast. So I've picked up some baby items that will make daddy happy too. Here is a little hat I bought for baby, modeled by one of my creepy childhood dolls:
(Note the outfit. Sorry Pepere. Adam says no Cubs gear within 25 feet of baby!)
And here are a few items we received for baby for Christmas. A cute rattle from Adam's Uncle Frank and Aunt Karen. And tiny baby shoes *awwww* from baby's Uncle Joey (Adam's brother) and Aunt Katie.
We're so happy to finally share this news with everyone! Thank you for your support!! We look forward to sharing updates on this "life renovation" with you, along with updates on the house.
Happy New Year!! C + A
PS: A disclaimer -- we will NOT be painting the nursery "Little Boy Blue" or "Princess Pink". :)
Yes, I know... I am a slacker. BUT, in my defense, I did say we'd be MIA for a little while.
Not much has happened since September. But here is a little somethin' somethin'.
In chronological order:
AUGUST:
Adam got me *new* Crate & Barrel coffee table (*new* to us from Craigslist!) for my birthday:
(Thank you Joann for the bee-yoo-ti-ful birthday flowers!)
SEPTEMBER:
Our less-than-one-week-old-super-expensive fence mysteriously gets a hole in it (?!?!). Thank heavens for warranties.
We finally mowed our lawn. See how pretty the new fence is?
OCTOBER:
Fall came. Barry changed color. Pretty.
Our fence gets ANOTHER hole in it. Good golly miss molly. Again: bless you warranty. (Is any one suspicious of the hoodlums? I am.)
NOVEMBER:
Our front door -- which we purchased in the summer of 2006 -- is finally installed! Praise the Lord! And Adam's dad too! (BTW, have no idea if this happened in November. Just trying to follow the pattern here).
Here it is, though unpainted (I picked an olive green paint for it. Just waiting for a warm day to paint.)
Adam's dad passed down to Adam his prized Christmas train. Here the proud men are with their handy work:
While trimming the tree, I dropped Spider-man on the ground and broke off his feet. :( It's okay though, he'll hitch a ride in the train. (And, Adam's got about 23 other Spider-man ornaments).
I know you are jealous of my snazzy Las Vegas sweatshirt. AHHHHH YEAH!
DECEMBER:
For one of Adam's Christmas gifts, I decided to commission an artist off Etsy to create a portrait of him as a boy.
The story: . When Adam was small, he liked to chase birds. . Adam's mom would require him to wear mittens when trying to catch said birds -- so as to not catch a bird disease, of course. . So, it would be summer -- Adam in his shorts and all -- walking around the backyard, trying to catch birds with his mittens on. . Said mittens have been displayed in our house, unceremoniously, until now:
In terms of gifts, a close second was the Spider-man alarm clock I got Adam as my yearly contribution to the comic room. Spidey's head projects the time on the ceiling (so you can tell time, in the dark, without getting up). Here he is setting up Spidey:
And testing out Spidey (this is just after he ripped off the wrapping paper):
Adam got another snowman item for the house. Thanks Aunt Karen and Uncle Frank. He loves it so!
Here it is, blocking the draft in our bedroom that comes out of Adam's closet (old house, little to no insullation). They look so happy and now Adam's feet do not freeze when he gets out of bed!
Adam and his bro Joey put up some lights. Adam fell off a ladder while doing this. I had just pulled in the drive and screamed really loud. He was okay, thankfully :)
On Christmas, we saw reindeer at Adam's parents, in the front yard!
And lastly, Adam and his mom Sue enjoyed a Christmas sword fight (WARNING: wrapping paper tubes can cause big paper cuts. Try at home, but with caution!):
I know. I know. Not too exciting.
What can I say. It is cold in Chicago, so we are not doing much around the house except for making "heat tents" (blanket. heat vent. bliss.) and watching TV.
We are managing to escape for a long weekend in Cabo next week. So we'll post some pics of that soon after. As for the house, we are saving, dreaming of how we might spend our tax return, and sketching our basement renovation plans out on a napkin while out for pancakes (don't get too excited. That project is YEARS away. A girl can dream, right?).
Until next time. Aruba, Jamaica, ooo I wanna take you to... Oh wait. That is the Carribean. Uhhh... Mexico... Mexico... oh yeah!
