New Year Reviews and Baby News...

Ringing in the new year...

Happy New Year everyone!  We had a very nice celebration as we popped open some bubbly and toasted 2012 and the exciting new adventures that are waiting to greet us.  It's fitting for me that this is a "leap" year...what bigger leap than to become a mother for the first time?

Our New Year's weekend included: a movie, delicious dinner, an evening of music & dancing, and staying up way past our bedtime.  My new year resolutions can't very well include giving up anything--as I'm already giving up alcohol, caffeine, my sanity, and my body to this beautiful soul growing inside :)  So, I decided to just remain happy and hopeful and let everyone ELSE do the giving-up stuff.

Things we'll focus on early this year are: hosting family for an 80th birthday party for a very special Grandma Marie, transforming a guest bedroom into a nursery, taking a couple of classes to get educated about the birth process, and just taking turns reassuring each other that we are not crazy.  I can only speak for myself when I say, it's not always ME talking, it's the HORMONES.  Yes, I'm sticking with that. 

January 3rd...my sixteen week appointment went very well.  Kayleigh and Phil both accompanied me this visit.  We heard the heartbeat again, strongly thumping at 145 beats per minute.  Some old wives tales would suggest this means "girl," but we shall see.  The very exciting piece of news is that we now have a scheduled date of an ultrasound which will give us the answer to our most awaited question.  Is it "sugar and spice and everything nice"...or "frogs and snails and puppy-dogs' tails?" 

The date for this gender-revealing ultrasound is January 31st.  4 more weeks to go until the halfway point in this pregnancy and until we can share this great news with all of you!  I can't wait, and you'll be hearing from me!

One thing for certain, girl or boy, we love this baby so much already and will cherish the gift we have been given.   

Seger, Singing, Santa, and Sleeping...Christmas, you wore us out. :)

Christmas weekend was jam-packed--and we enjoyed every busy minute of it.  Friday night was a family concert night with Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band.  It was a great show, and though he's getting "older," he still has enough energy to entertain for 2 hours, and then come back for TWO encores!  We had a blast, and of course, Kayleigh's favorite was "Old Time Rock-N-Roll." 

Note: Phil did not actually wear this outfit; it was only a trick we played on Kayleigh to see if she would still go with us if her Daddy dressed as THIS guy.   

Saturday we rose bright and early to get ready for Hot Corner's (the sports card shop) Christmas party with auction.  I made meatballs in the crock pot, and we headed down for an afternoon busy with lots of people!  It turned out to be a great success.  After we closed up for the day, it was back home to change and get ready for Christmas Eve at Grandma Marie's house.  We feasted on smoked salmon, bagels with cream cheese, BBQ beef, cheese, spinach dip, munchkins, and all sorts of goodies.  We exchanged some gifts, and headed to church for the 10:00 pm service.  It was absolutely beautiful, complete with a candlelit serenade of Silent Night.  This was the first time I had a hard time keeping my eyes open at this particular service (normally, I'm loving the singing and instruments--must have been that concert the night before).  But we made it home and got Kayleigh off to bed.  I ended up falling asleep on the couch waiting for her to fall asleep, only to wake up at 2:30 am, discovering that I couldn't unlock the entrance to the magical portal that housed all the treasures that Santa had asked me to watch over!  OMG!!   I fumbled around for about 10 minutes when I finally got it.  Thank goodness cause THAT would have been a crisis. 

Christmas morning came so fast, but I got the best present!  A happy family, AND...a keurig! 

Yay for that!  The baby got some cute onesies and a few things to start him or her out, thanks to two very special aunts--Christy--my sister, and Michele--Phil's sister.  My family may have a slight issue with the New York Yankees stuff, but we will work it out. :) There will be some Cubs stuff in the wardrobe too--to keep it balanced and fair. 

Christmas dinner was hosted by my Aunt Mary this year and we had a wonderful day eating, talking, and relaxing.  Some were more relaxed than others...

And some really knew how to party... 

Here are some more shots from our Christmas, 2011...

And the holiday would not have been complete without someone wearing the reversible Christmas vest.  Thank you, Phil, for being THAT guy.  And thank you, Steve, for loaning it to him this year.  :)

We are looking forward to a very exciting 2012 and lots of good things to come!  The next time it's Christmas, we'll have another little angel among us.

Counting Blessings

Although I still don't have my Christmas tree up yet (no gasps, please), I've been pretty busy getting "mentally" prepared for the holidays.  By this I mean, I've made lots of lists.  Not naughty or nice lists, but to-do lists.  And slowly but surely, I am crossing things off.  I plan on getting LOTS accomplished this weekend, and I'm sure I'll feel better once I get some things wrapped, stamped, and plugged in.  I've been trying to enjoy these holiday days before they whisk by, and I am taking my time enjoying each day as I count my blessings.  We have an extremely wonderful family, amazing friends, two businesses to be proud of, and a special addition to our family in the making.
Lots to appreciate.  But then there are also those everyday LITTLE pleasures that can put a smile on my face just as well, and for those I am grateful too. 

 A beautiful rainbow after a rainy day in the car going to pick up Kayleigh from school...

  An unsuspecting kiss from a sweet husband at work...

A virgin Bloody Mary and edamame at Kona Grill...(I've really been on a salty and spicy kick with this baby)

A Chipotle burrito... (yes, that's weighing in at 1.5 lbs)

And beautiful smiles from a doll of a daughter.

And special thanks to Ben and Jerry for making a frozen yogurt version of Phish Food.  Thank you, thank you so much (no photo available, it's all gone). :)

Making the holdiays cheerful and bright... 
Missing all of you family and friends, and wishing you the best of Christmas memories. 

A Very Exciting Day...

Growing up, we always celebrated St. Nicholas Day by putting out our shoes the night of December 5th, hoping for treats and goodies to be filled inside the next morning.  Well, St. Nicholas came through once more, because today was definitely a treat. 

Phil and I headed to the doctor's office for our 9:30 appointment, and I was greeted with my first treat: I had lost a pound.  Score!  Okay, I just want to be clear--I am not TRYING to lose weight.  But with a recent bout of nausea and just trying to be as healthy as possible, I was happy not to have gained extra weight too quickly.  Somehow, I know it will catch up with me though, and as long as the baby is healthy, I am happy.  I also learned that everything came back excellent with test results, blood pressure, and all of that.  Yay.  And then came something really exciting--our little baby's heartbeat.  Found within 5 seconds, it came pounding through loud and clear.  It was breathtaking.  Then the doctor ordered an ultrasound to determine how long I've been carrying this little munchkin.  We left with instructions to come back at 1:00 that same afternoon. 

With a full bladder and lots of anticipation, we entered the ultrasound room and watched with eager eyes as the life of our little one appeared on the screen.  It was absolutely incredible--I was smiling from ear to ear.  It was so amazing to see him/her just bouncing around in there.  After measurement, the technician confirmed the later due date as being accurate.  So that means, we are due to have this baby June 24 (give or take a few days).  So now I am referring to him or her as our little "June Bug." 

It was such a great day, and though we could see the baby, it is too early to detect the gender, so we'll have to await another ultrasound in a few more weeks. 

So, please allow me to introduce to you for the very first time in photo, Baby Rinella:

(Sort of looks like Spiderman, you're right Suzy!)

I've also been busy baking to get ready for the holdiays.  I tried my Grandma Carol's delicious peanut butter cookies (thanks for the recipe, Bryan!).  And I went old school back to my girl scout days and made the Christmas wreaths.  I also tried a new recipe for oatmeal chocolate chip. 

Hope you all are enjoying your holiday season!

Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving was wonderful...food, fun, and family, but I am so glad that we are just about out of leftovers.  (I get food guilt and really don't like throwing things away). We had a lovely dinner at Phil's mom and dad's complete with turkey, stuffing, bike-riding, secret-santa drawing, and resting.  Then we followed up with a visit to Grandma Marie's where we visited with Aunt Mary, Uncle Walt, and our beautiful cousins Ally and Charlie.  We never did make it to the Muppet Movie, but we did see it last night instead!  Love those furry guys.  Here are some highlights of our day... 

From the mouths of babes...

Just something funny...

Out of all the friends and family we have seen and heard from over the past few weeks, there is one person's response that sticks out in my mind as the most memorable and humorous.  My five year old niece, Kiera got on the phone with me and said, "So, what do you have to tell me, Karen?"

Me: Kiera, I'm going to have a baby.
Kiera: Aunt Chelle's gonna have a baby?
Me: No, Kiera, I'M going to have a baby.  You're going to have another cousin.

------LONG PAUSE------

Kiera: Are you sure???

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  Now starts the countdown to Christmas.  This is the best time of year!