Just Hilo and I this week...

Jim left for Beech Island, SC for work on Feb 17th and isn't coming back until March 3rd. So it is just Hilo and I. I have been pretty nice to him though, brought him to daycare 2 times last week and then once this week. He was pretty darn worn out!

He has been my cuddle buddy though. And I don't mind. He has definitely been looking for Jim though. It is quite cute - anytime he hears a noise he runs to the back door. I know I am not that good at playing rough with him, but I do try. And usually he will go along with it for a while... but it doesn' t take long for him to get bored with me and wander off.

His new thing since Jim has left is coming upstairs. He really likes the new sense of freedom - which is basically the stairs, the hallway, and our bedroom. All the other doors are shut - and for good reason. He has found a pair of panty hose (still not sure where they were) and then carried around one of my bras. Nice.

And thankfully he has not run off on me... because chasing him around the neighborhood is the last thing I want to do with all this snow. Which reminds me - when people say you are pregnant and you shouldn't shovel... listen to them. I am now. After the first attempt - I quickly went to the neighbors and asked if they'd be willing to snowblow the driveway for the remainder of the snow storm. They of course said yes and then began to yell at me for even attempting to shovel. The rest of that day I was on the couch with some good old tylenol and a heat pad. All was fine the next day. Can't wait till Jim is home again!

The Pregnant Mamas

So I have often mentioned my girlfriend Mandy from work who is pregnant with her second baby, Baby Willa. She is ready to go any day as Baby Willa is breech. She is scheduled for a "baby flipping" (highly technical term) procedure tomorrow which has the chance of starting labor. If it is successful and she doesn't go into labor, she will be able to have a natural delivery. If not, she is scheduled for a c-section on Tuesday, Feb 27th. So before we could risk her going into have the baby... we had to get a picture together. So she is 37 weeks along in the picture and I am 27 weeks along. We are looking forward to possibly having some overlap on our maternity leave, but more importantly to our little ones becoming good pals!

And of course it is time to update the belly progress... I am measuring 38 inches still and weight is up 14 lbs. I think I might have had a slower growth spurt since last time... which I am okay with. Baby continues to kick and poke at me and I am of course enjoying every minute...

The hiccups and baby dreams...

So today at work, I was very tired. After the long busy weekend, I just wanted to sleep. But of course work is a part of life. So thankfully baby realized I would be having a hard time staying alert and focused and attempted to help me out. After a few pretty big kicks... I felt this very quick patter. I thought it was just the baby kicking that fast, however my friend Mandy put her hand on my belly and confirmed that in fact the baby had the hiccups! They didn't last very long, but happened 2 more times in the afternoon. I couldn't help but laugh outloud. And of course, as any mom would, I spent some time pushing back at the kicks and getting the baby to kick even more. Such a nice mom... don't worry, the baby will get me back.

Another topic, dreams. So at the shower my cousin Amber was asking what types of dreams I have been having to try and figure out if it was a girl or boy. I explained that my dreams have been more vivid and on occasion involve the baby coming out in some way. One dream being that the baby stuck his hand out of my belly button and waved for a minute and then pulled it back inside. Another was when the baby came on out, danced around a bit, and then went back in. And this was apparently not odd to me or anyone else around. Amber of course asked, well what sex was the baby... and unfortunately all I could say was it was a baby - no sex specified! So last night I had yet another baby dream. This one was that I could feel the baby's butt and then follow the little legs and tickle the feet... then it occurred to me that wait - if I can tell exactly where the knees, feet, and toes are... I should be able to tell if we are having a girl or a boy. And once again, my dreams confirm it is a girl! This upset Jim and he immediately felt the baby and said, nope this part means it is a boy... at which point I quickly reminded him the baby is less than two pounds and that is most definitely the leg. :)

Cute Pics

Just a few random cute pictures of Hilo... Our little spoiled boxer... for the time being! The first one is of him and my sister... he is a big cuddler and loves going to visit family because they seem to give him a bit more attention...

And then of course him cuddling with G'ma Connie... I think he realized that they were going to be heading back to MI soon... because he wouldn't leave Cindy or Connie!

Baby Shower in Minnesota

This weekend marked the first baby shower for us. My sister and mom hosted the shower at my parents house in Mahtomedi. Both my mom and dad's side were invited as well as a few friends. My mother in law Cindy and g'ma in law Connie made the trek from MI to join in the baby fun. We played some fun new games that involved baby names and baby food. We had a fantastic brunch - egg bake and caramel rolls! And of course presents! We got lots of good stuff in preparation for baby... from high chairs to bouncy chairs, bottles to nooks, and onesies to bath towels... lots of good stuff!

The weekend also involved a b-day celebration for my mom - the soon to be GRANDMA! We ordered in Chinese and had plenty of pie. We also cheered on my little brother Jack at his Hill Murray Hockey game versus St. Thomas. I am pretty sure the entire section was filled with Jack's family... And he did outstanding! After the game the family all met at Savoy's pizzeria in St. Paul for dinner. After that, Jim and I stopped by my sister Shannon's to hang out and see the remodeling they had accomplished. Their basement has a very comfy TV room now!

All in all a very very nice weekend. Good food, good company, and lots of family!

A phone call from Daycare...

Today we received our first phone call from Daycare. Jim got the call at work. Hilo was rough housing with another boxer at Doggy Daycare today and had gotten himself a bloody nose. It wasn't serious, but it was quite interesting getting the phone call. We had to call the vet who said as long as the bleeding stopped everything should be fine. Jim went to pick him up and the day care had given him a bath and cleaned him all up. There was a tiny scratch above his nose and then one on the side of his cheek. He seemed not to care about it and was bummed he had to leave earlier than usual! I am sure when it is our baby/child at the daycare we will be much more concerned if they call to say our kid was mauled by another baby, but being it is our dog and that is all dogs do... it was more humorous.

Grandma and Grandpa Rausch Visit

This weekend, Grandma Donna and Grandpa Roger made the trip to visit us in Neenah. They arrived on Thursday night and stayed until Sunday. It was a quick weekend, but we sure did accomplish a lot. We had dinner at a place called HuHot which is a mongolian bbq... Grandpa Roger successfully talked the waitress into bringing him some shrimp even though they don't serve it on Thursdays. And we ended with my favorite - Cheesecake Rangoons. YUM!

Friday, Jim and I worked and when we returned we found Grandpa had fixed our vacuum and Grandma had made the lasagna for dinner. We had dinner and then Grandpa and Jim went around the house fixing and cleaning the bathroom fans and other loose fixtures. Grandma and I went to the fabric store to get ideas for decorating the baby room. After unsuccessfully explaining what I was looking for at several of the stores, we were off in search of nursery bedding for ideas. We ended at Baby Depot where I showed Grandma the Snoopy set Jim and I had liked. And she loved it! So we agreed that to make it ourselves would be silly... So that was added to the registry at Babies R Us. And it is over $30 cheaper there than at Baby Depot.

Saturday we all agreed the wallpaper in the front hallway and bathroom could come down. Although Jim and I were excited to see if finally go, we had no solid plans on what color to paint or how to finish them off. But that didn't stop us. It took us just about all day to pull that down. We ordered in pizza for dinner and then relaxed by watching a movie that night.

Sunday we went to church and then to our favorite breakfast place. All in all it was a great visit with them. Jim started working on his appetizers for the superbowl party and I lounged with Hilo on the couch. We headed to our friends for the game around 4pm. It was a fun time. There were 3 pregnant ladies at the party so we spent a lot of time swapping stories... Jennifer is due March 17, Jamie is due April 15, and then I am due May 19th... so we are all about a month apart.