Doggy Daycare

Our little Hilo has been growing fast... He can sit, lay down, shake, leave it, and kennel up. All are extremely important commands! Since September, he has been battling Kennel Cough. I think we are finally getting it out of his system but it has taken forever. And because he was sick, he couldn't go to "Doggy Daycare".


For those that are not pet owners, this is a place where you can take your dog for the day and he will be cared for amongst 20 other dogs. We started taking Hilo when he was 4 months old and it was unbelievable how tired and exhausted he would get. Which is good for both him and us. It gets him around other animals and people, tons of exercise, and helps him burn much needed energy. It allows Jim and I to work during the day and run errands later that night. Otherwise he would be kenneled all day and need lots of running/play time in the evening. It is relatively cheap too... $15/day. Which let me tell you is definitely worth 1 day/week because Hilo generally will sleep for the next 2 days! The other crazy thing with the doggy daycare we use is they have cameras that stream live video over the internet. So at work... I can go to the website and watch Hilo play with the other dogs... or should I say annoy the other dogs...


So we are really hoping he officially is over the kennel cough this year and we can start bringing him back in the new year. That way he can start playing with his friends again and getting much over due exercise!

Felt the BABY!

So I am officially 18 weeks pregnant and had not felt the baby move. After reading a bunch of information and talking to other new moms, I was ready for anything from butterflies to muscle spasm type feelings. Then it happened!

On the drive home from work, I was at a stoplight. The radio was off and I was just sitting there in the peace and quiet waiting for the green light. All of a sudden it felt like I had been going over the highest peak of a rollercoaster 4-5 times in a row really quickly. I immediately thought I was getting sick but then it ended. I wasn't sure what to think. Then is started again although this time it hit me... that is the baby! I was so ridiculously excited I started to cry!

I can't WAIT for the ultrasound January 3rd... And for the first real hard kick... to hear the heartbeat...

Goodbye Nausea!

So it has been at least 4 weeks now without the all day nausea! Although chicken and turkey are still not working out. I have the same reaction to these to old favorites as I do to fish... instant gag!

As for cravings, salty... no more needing sweets after every meal. Actually chocolate is almost repulsive like the chicken and turkey. Okay, not really. But definitely don't have a problem passing up the holiday cookies at the office these days... something I wouldn't even consider passing on before being pregnant!

Heart Beat is 170 bpm

Today we had our first appointment with the new OB doctor. Her name is Dr. Marley Kercher and was highly recommended by many of my coworkers. I had previously been going to my family practitioner for the checkups. So we had a lot of information to go over and there were lots of health history questions for Jim and I. Once that was over it was time to hear the heartbeat.

She put the wand on my belly and moved it around until you could hear this definite "Whoosh, Whoosh, Whoosh," sound and she began counting... 150, 160, 170 bpm! We listened for about a minute and just grinned... To us it sounded like a washing machine.

Telling the Kirkwood Family

The very next weekend we went to the Ann Arbor, MI area for Abby and Aaron's well over due wedding celebration. Abby (Jim's older sister) had just found out she was pregnant and due May 15th... exactly 4 days before me! So to tell the Kirkwoods we brought cards for the soon to be "Grandma and Grandpa". They were completely shocked! To find out in the same week that they were going to be having not one, but TWO grandkids arrive in May 2007. How exciting! The next day we surprised Abby and Aaron with two onesies... one said Elowsky... the other said Kirkwood. Although we thought this would be a dead give away... They thought we were giving Abby a hard time cause she hadn't changed her name yet to Elowsky. So Jim quickly stepped in and let them know that we were expecting a baby too. Then came the tears and laughter... Grandma Connie was crying and crying cause she was so excited to be having TWO great grandchildren... Grandma Ruth was definitely shocked too but also excited to have two new additions coming to the family!

Telling the Walsh Family

My sister Shannon's wedding was later that week and Jim and I spent all week trying to figure out ways to keep it a secret. I remember having 2-3 phone calls a day with my sister and mom that week and having to remind myself that I couldn't tell them yet. SO difficult.

The biggest give away was alcohol. How to make it look like I was drinking... so we agreed that my favorite drink, Vodka Tonic, could be substituted for 7up or Sprite with a lime and no one would notice. As for the toast, I hate champagne would work.

The endeavor proved to be more difficult than originally thought. We spent all day Thursday at the nail salon... and had mamosa's (champagne and orange juice)... I opted to be the bartender and made mine mostly orange juice... worked. Then onto the rehearsal dinner... most of the bridesmaids were going for water... so I agreed that a hangover the day of the wedding would be the worst thing imagineable and went along with water... so far so good. Although my sisters now Father in-law Greg wasn't letting it go so easily. Him and Brad Olmschenk continued to ask what they could make me and finally I agreed to a Vodka Tonic... and with each sip added more tonic until finally I was able to pass it to Jim. Phew...

Now the day of the Wedding... Surprisingly this was much easier than I thought. Jim and I rode with Steve and Shannon as well as Jason (bestman) and Monica in a limo to the reception... Champagne was served and I sipped the one glass as slow as possible and came up with the, I am not about to be drunk for the toast... I was too nervous. Jason started to believe it which was the most important thing. Then the stop at BW3's. Shots. Thankfully Jim weaseled up to the bar and had his credit card out before Jason and was able to get 5 Lemon Drop shots and one water shot that looked like a lemon drop. So relieved once again, although gave a quick shutter after drinking the water to agree with the gals that it was horrible. :)

The reception was the easiest... so so so many people all interested in Shannon and Steve as it should be. I did as planned and drank 3-4 sprites and no one questioned it. Until the ride home when I said I could drive. After dropping Jack and Mom off at home, I drove my dad and Jim to Wendy's. My dad said, "I can't figure it out, there is only one reason I could think of that would have you driving home from your sister's wedding..." I just grinned. He couldn't believe it but was so excited at the same time. The entire drive it was, "No way, that is so cool, you have to tell mom now, I can't sleep next to her all night with this news...". So when we got home we handed mom the card that said they were going to be grandparents. Very overwhelming I think after a very long week marrying off her daughter Shannon!

The next day we waited till almost everyone left the gift opening to give Shannon and Steve the card saying they were going to be an Aunt and Uncle. They were just as suprised and all the women including me were crying in excitement. Then came the questions about me drinking all week at the wedding... So sorry Jason, but it really was a water shot... and no I wasn't nervous about the speech at all!

We're Expecting!

I woke up at 4 am Monday morning after having 3 distinct dreams about me being pregnant. I started thinking about it more and more and convinced myself that I need to take a test. Being that it was 4:30 am I decided to put on my mill uniform so that Jim didn't suspect anything... when I go to the mill I usually leave around 5:30 am. So I go to Walmart and spend about 20 minutes reading up on all the tests... then another 30 minutes wondering if I should buy booties or something to surprise Jim if I am pregnant... I decided that might jinx it and opted for just the test.

I pulled into the driveway to find Jim on the front step half asleep and Hilo in the yard. I had to think of something quick as to why I was home and so I blurted out, "I forgot my pager and don't have to be in until 7am." So Jim, believing every word, said "great you can feed the dog while I go get ready for work". I grabbed the test and went inside. After reading the directions I decided that I would take the test and then feed the dog, let him back out, and then see the results so I would have to just sit and stare at it... but after taking the test is was screaming, "PREGNANT" before I even got a chance to think about anything else. After pacing around the kitchen island 4-5 times and driving the dog nuts... I decided I couldn't stand it and needed to tell Jim.

So I bolted upstairs to the bedroom and stuck my arm through the door holding the test. I said, "Hey honey can you look at this for me?". He grabbed it and said, "What? How did you pull this off?". Then quickly responded, "SWEET! That is AWESOME!". I think the rest of the day I was in a daze... just so surprised but then at the same time so so so excited. I am pretty sure I didn't do an ounce of work that day at the plant. Just grinned from ear to ear.

Oh tiny Hilo! (hee-low)

We brought home our very first puppy on our trip back from the wedding and honeymoon. Hilo was so darn tiny - his belly didn't even clear the grass in the yard. He was 6 lbs then and as you can tell from the picture, mainly head and paws! He is very cuddly and will do whatever it takes to get you to snuggle with him.