Showered with love

Wow, time is just flying by. The last few weeks have been a little hectic, so I can't tell you how wonderful it was that my sister-in-law Genell (Rieck) and my Auntie Kelly (Rieck) gave Joe and I a baby shower on the 17th of April. We had such a wonderful turn of of family and friends. We are so grateful to them for doing this for us since it is our first child together, and well...Cody is going to be 14 in a month so we are definately starting brand new. The cake was so adorable and given as a gift from Aggie at Aggie's bakery in Milwaukee. There was a great spread of food and the best baby shower punch ever according to Kathy (or google), who was so right! We received all the baby necessities like bath supplies, bottles, diapers, onzies, clothes and so much more to some of the bigger items like the bouncy chair, baby monitor, high chair, bassanet, car seat, and stroller. We got so much more than that to help get ready and the baby's room is just about set. We've had the crib, bedding, and furniture set up and now we're just putting things away and getting organized. Joe has been busy putting things together!

Only six more weeks until June 4th, the big day! As soon as I hit my 8th month I instantly became really uncomfortable and have been just watching my belly grow by the second. I've been having braxton hicks contractions and am having major pelvic pain. The baby is turned and is head down kicking the crap out of my ribs. All of you who kept telling me I was so small...well now, not so much! I get short of breath pretty quickly, but not in the pool, so I am still swimming and it is the one thing that really eases any pain and discomfort. I am starting to retain water and swell somewhat now too. My blood pressure is great, labs are good, and weight is good. No complaints, this experience has just been so wonderful and honestly one of the best parts is that we get to share it with the family and friends that are very special to us.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! We love you all!

Our little Princess

Oh my gosh, our last few weeks have been crazy!! As if keeping up with homework, work, and family doesn't keep us busy enough, our doggie Lola felt that she needed to make things more exciting for us. Lola is a shepard/collie mix and is our little protector. We know how some of you like to call her Kujo, but that's just her front. Although, when it comes to the mailman, she does get a bit overzealous! When he pulled into our driveway to deliver the mail about 3 wks ago, Lola went to the side window to hollar at him and managed to put her paw through the window and shatter it. She cut herself pretty good and so I called the vet and they were able to see her that day. I called Joe and asked him to meet me at the vet just in case I needed a hand with her and then me and Lola headed to West Allis to see Dr. Troy. I was only 4 blocks away from the vet when someone pulled out in front of me at an intersection. I grabbed Lola so she didn't fly through the windshield and slammed on my breaks. Unfortunately I could not stop in time and ended up in an accident. Thankfully it was not serious at all, minor damage and no injuries. After calling the police, I called Joe who was waiting at the vet and he came to get Lola so she could still be seen at the vet. I stayed to handle the accident, but because I am pregnant and was jarred a little by the seatbelt, I had to go to St. Francis to be checked out. It turned out that Lola needed surgery on her paw and had to stay overnight. Joe and I went to the ER and they put me on the baby monitor for 4 hours to make sure I didn't start having contractions. Everything was just fine, but it was better to be safe than sorry. We didn't get home until after midnight, so I was glad Lola was overnight at the vet.

We picked Lola up the next day and she had her bandage off a few days later and two days later her stitches were supposed to come out and she must have known this because she decided to lick her paw so much that she pulled them out herself. I'm guessing they weren't ready to come out because her wound opened right back up. So we took her back in to see Dr. Troy and a week after the first surgery, she had to have it all done a second time, which all went well, her bandage is off, stitches are out and she's doing great. My jeep will be fixed soon and we're working on getting the window in the living room fixed too! It was not the kind of excitement we wanted, but...for us, that's par for the course!