Turning Thirty, Five Years Of Wedded Bliss And An Almost Finished Baby's Room

January is always a huge month for us. Not only are we trying to recover from the holidays, but just as we finish getting the last of the holiday decorations put away, we have three more celebrations…my birthday, Mike’s birthday and our wedding anniversary. I know, we really piled it on in one month. At least the arrival of our newest addition will come in springtime, which is always a time we look forward to.

This year’s January was one of milestones. Mike and I turned 30. Then, this last weekend, we celebrated our 5-year wedding anniversary. Typically, by the time we get to our anniversary, we look at each other and know that we’ll both be just fine with going to dinner to quietly celebrate the occasion. That said, the 30th birthdays were pretty exciting for both of us. Here’s a rundown:

My birthday was first up, on Sunday, the 11th. On the Friday before, the plans (to my knowledge) were that my mom, Keith and my sister were headed to our place with the baby’s furniture. And a quiet dinner would fall somewhere in there. On Friday night, after getting home from work, I was folding laundry (glamorous, I know), and around 7:45pm, the doorbell rang. I scurried to the front door (as much as a 6-month pregnant woman can scurry), thinking it was FedEx. I opened the door and my dad was standing on our doorstep. He had flown in from Florida to surprise me for my birthday. And, he brought with him full dinner plans for Saturday night (my dad is a WONDERFUL cook). It was honestly a perfect weekend.

Next up was Mike’s birthday. A much more low-key affair. I admittedly told him that I didn’t have family coming in for a surprise. But I did manage to score his gift that weekend…something evidently so coveted that people pay 1-1/2 to 2 times its value…a Nintendo Wii and a Wii Fit. I have to say that we’ve both gotten kind of addicted to it. J

Then came the anniversary. Very low-key. Dinner out and finishing the baby’s room. But it was very us.

So, that’s our January. We’ve included some pics of the baby’s room, which is basically finished. There are of course pics to hang and the rocker to finish (we’re refinishing my grandfather’s rocking chair), but we’re happy with it.

Baby Update: Our little guy is doing wonderfully well…he’s growing on target and he’s pretty active all day long! No names yet…and actually, we will likely not settle on a name until we actually see our little man.

Much love to all!
Mike, Ash, E! & Baby Murcia

Heartburn That Radiates To My Kneecaps And More....

So, I made a promise to myself that by coming back and posting more often, that each and every post wouldn't necessarily center completely around our pregnancy and other fun baby stuff. And, I still promise this, but of course, with each post, there are a few things that I have to share...

For one, I have never experienced heartburn in my entire life the way I am experiencing it now. Oh my gosh. My mom always told me the story of the heartburn she experienced when she was pregnant with my sister, and the fact that she lived only on Wendy's Baked Potatoes for 9 months. We always joked that my sister was just preparing my mom for her arrival and the next 18 years. :) (I love you Lyssie!) I always just sort of said, "oh yeah, I've had heartburn. I can handle whatever symptoms I am blessed with." But, oh my gosh. This is heartburn that wakes me up at night, that causes me to sleep sitting up, that makes me swear that at any moment, I am going to begin breathing fire. In the movie "Juno," when Ellen Page tells her parents that she has "heartburn radiating to her kneecaps," she wasn't joking. And, by the way, I've tried Baked Potatoes. I've tried staying away from acidic foods. Nothing helps. I drink water and I get heartburn. The only thing that takes the edge off are my good friends, Tums. So, at least I know I'm getting my calcium. :)

As for other non-pregnancy news, we are literally 8 square feet away from finishing our patio. Mike has been working his fingers to the bone to get it finished, and we're even thinking that he might be working with a broken finger. (Hopefully not!) One more weekend and it'll be finished. And, then we'll have 600 square feet of outdoor space that we'll be able to enjoy fully next spring and summer!

So, that's all for now. As soon as the patio is finished, we'll post pictures to celebrate. It's been many months in the making!

The Latest Pic and Our Little Lemon

15 Weeks, 1 Day

Our little one is continuing to grow and thrive! We are at 16 weeks and he/she is growing (which is incidently, causing me to grow….see picture). My growth means maternity clothes, which are a whole new world for me. But I have to say that having clothes that allow me to breathe are a wonderful thing!

We also got some great news this past week! Our dear friends Culleen and Dan welcomed their first baby, a girl, Sophia. Culleen and Sophia are home, healthy and happy which is the most wonderful news! We can’t wait to meet Miss Sophia!

Mike has had a big week too, overseeing his first research trial outside of Atlanta. I’ll brag about him a bit since this is his first trial and he’s worked so hard to get here. All is going well and he’ll be heading back to finish the trial in a couple of weeks.

Tomorrow is Halloween which means dressing up in costume for work, Mike gets home and we get to see if we have more than 2 trick-or-treaters this year. More pictures to come after Halloween tomorrow!!

Love to all,
Ash

The Last 13 Weeks

12 Weeks, 1 Day

Thirteen. For some, it’s a lucky number. For me, it’s been a number that I’ve been yearning for since August 6th. August 6th – the day we found out that we’re going to be blessed with a beautiful baby. The day that everything changed.

Today, we’re 13 weeks pregnant and I am a happy, happy girl. We’re a happy, happy family. With each passing day and week, the reality that we’re having a baby is becoming more and more real. And when you have the symptoms I’ve had, the reality of having a baby sets in pretty quickly.

For a quick recap of the last 9 weeks, here goes (since there are always lots of questions and I’ve started to see just how much valuable advice there is out there from moms who have come before me):

- Morning sickness? Yes or no? Yes. Yes. And Yes. I had morning sickness. For about 5 weeks, which I am blessed. Each morning that I was dealing with it, I just kept saying the same mantra: “This is the best worst feeling I have ever had.” And, then one day, I woke up and was great.

- Total Lack Of Energy? Yes. It took just about everything I had in me to get through the work day and make the drive home from work. Falling asleep at 7:45 on the couch became a pretty regular occurrence. Poor Mike.

- Cravings? Not so much in those first weeks. Now, kinda.

- Food Aversions? Bring ‘em on. No milk or dairy. Couldn’t stand the sight of it. All I wanted was ice, Sprite, popsicles, fruit and sherbet. Oh yeah, and for those of you that really know me, anything breaded or fried has never been up for grabs. Not so now. Grilled chicken – no way. Breaded/fried chicken – bring it on. One of Mike’s favorite stories so far was one of my grocery trips. I actually came home with kids chicken nuggets in the shape of dinosaurs.

So, as of today, I feel pretty good. I’m still tired. Really tired. But, again, this is the best tired feeling I’ve ever had. And, the great news is that with each doctor’s visit we’ve had, the news has been wonderful. At 8 weeks, we got to see our little one and heard its heartbeat. We were even amazed to see that our little one was kicking its legs and moving its arms around. 12 weeks continued to give us great news as we saw the little one moving again and seeing how big it is becoming. It’s truly, truly an amazing gift.

My plan is to keep this updated now. Especially since there will be lots to report on! And, for those of who wondering, we are going to find out if we’re having a boy or a girl – just wait until Thanksgiving!!

Love to all,
Ash

It’s Been Way Too Long….

Since we’ve last posted any news on us. Seriously. I do have an excuse though. A happy one. What’s been going on in our lives since our last post? We’ll give you the rundown:

- The patio is still a work in progress. We’re about 60% of the way through all of the bricks and Mike is working his little heart out each weekend to get it finished before it snows. Yes, before it snows.

- My sister is gainfully employed and officially living near us! After her summer-long internship at a PR firm in downtown Chicago, they offered her a job, which we are all unbelievably happy about! She’s loving the city, enjoying being in the real world and we love having her so close!

- We got to enjoy a wonderful week in Hawaii in July for Mike’s sis’ wedding. It was such a beautiful week! Perfect weather, and a perfect ceremony with just family.

- At the beginning of September, I got to go back to Indy to celebrate the upcoming arrival of my dear friend Culleen’s baby girl and along with it, got to see so many of my wonderful friends. We had a great day and got to shower Culleen with wonderful baby gifts!

- My dad and Ashley came in and visited from Florida last month – to celebrate my dad’s birthday. It was wonderful to have them here and see how the house is coming along. We even dragged my dad to his new favorite store – IKEA.

- Oh, and one other thing – at the beginning of August, Mike and I received one of the most precious gifts ever. We found out we’re expecting our first baby in April! We are so very, very blessed and excited for this new stage in our lives. I’ll post a separate baby post after this one, complete with pictures!

We’ve had such a busy, busy summer and are relieved that with Fall is coming some calm and weekends at home. We hope all is well with you and your families and wish you a happy Fall!

Love, Mike, Ash, E! and Baby Murcia

Finally...Some New Pics

This has to be a new record for us - two posts in the same week! I finally got it together and downloaded some photos of our house, my sis' graduation weekend and other assorted events to share!! Enjoy!

Breaking ground on the new patio (with Einstein making sure to help)

Fast forward a couple of weeks - the ground is all dug up and ready for pavers

Enjoying some time at Nick's in Bloomington before graduation

Finally, a fun trip to NYC for work included a dinner at one of my favorite places, Serendipity 3. If you ever go, be sure to bring your appetite!!

Much love to all!

Mike, Ash & E!

I'm A Pathetic Blogger

It’s been entirely too long since our last post, and after reading a friend’s (who felt badly for letting a week go by without posting), I began feeling terrible about it. And, since I’m currently in a hotel room in NYC, paying $15 for 24-hours worth of Internet access, I figured, I should get my moneys worth. So, here goes….

We’ve been up to quite a bit over the last 2 months. My little sister graduated from IU, which was a wonderful event. The entire family was together (something similar to a Brady Bunch type of reunion) and it went wonderfully. There were some tears shed (since it just seemed impossible that my baby sister was old enough to graduate from college) and LOTS of laughs. Mike and I even got to make it a longer weekend, taking Friday off and heading to Indy to visit friends. I got to make a return visit to Y&L to see some dear friends, many with wonderful news to report. And, the weekend ended in the best way possible – with Mike and I headed back to Chicago with a cooler full of Chick-Fil-A sandwiches, which you cannot get in Chicago. They headed into the freezer since for some reason, you always seem to want what you can’t have (and that includes Chick-Fil-A…)

Mike and I have broken ground on our very large paver patio in our backyard. It’s been many weeks planning and talking and planning some more and talking some more and visiting Menards to make sure we really liked the pavers. After all, we were going to buy 675 of them. Finally, we just stuck the shovel in the ground and said, “let’s go for it.” So, now, we have a 600 square foot area in our backyard that is perfectly cleared (thanks to a sod cutter, which is one of the world’s best inventions), and we are slowly setting the framework. I’m keeping fingers crossed that we can have it up and ready to stomp all over by Labor Day….

Einstein is loving life, and he’s loving the freedom he gets outside since we spend most of our weekends working outside of the house. He’s been absolutely wonderful – we have gotten to the point where we can just let him outside with us without a leash (and no fence – that will be next summer’s project). He just sits right down with us and hangs out with us like it’s perfectly normal. We always remind ourselves at how lucky we got with him.

Speaking of which, for anyone who follows pop culture, there’s a movie being shot right now called “Marley & Me,” starring Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson. Not completely knowing the storyline, I bought the book and devoured it in less than a week. Much of the book is utterly enjoyable, and reminded me so much of our journey with Einstein and what he brings to our lives. I highly recommend!

I do promise to try and make a better effort at posting! Next up for us – Hawaii in July!

With love from The Big Apple,
Mike, Ash & E!