Mini breakdown... OUR house.

I was walking around the house taking pictures of Christmas last night... a little sad that next year our mantel and tree won't look the same. I explained to Mike what I was doing and he said "You're right, we won't be in this house next year"...To which I promptly burst into tears. Call it hormones, or being sentimental... I'm going to miss this place. Christmas in this house is a huge part of our memories here.

Mike and I bought our home December 10th, 2004... and had our first Clifton Christmas Party on December 17th (thanks to our friends who helped get us ready!) It was a Christmas Tree Decorating Party and everyone brought an ornament to put on our tree. Christmas Tree decorating is an event in our family and each year when we pull out the boxes of ornaments, we remember every person and every ornament they gave us.

Mike, Keith and David J put the lights on our house and tree that year, while the Beach Girls and I shoved things in closets and frantically baked goodies before our guests arrived. It was absolutely perfect.

Every year since then, Mike and I enjoy opening up our home to our friends and family for this annual celebration. It hit me last night that this year's would be the last in this house.

Then I started re-living all of the other amazing memories we've made.

• Mike proposed to me right here in the living room where I sit now. I'll never forget that day and I'm so thankful for the picture that I will carry with me in my mind and heart. That day was absolutely perfect.

• My family came down and built the fence in this back yard the week we adopted LuLu Belle Clifton. It is certainly the most well built fence in the neighborhood (even Time Warner agrees, as their cable is now buried 3 feet deep in concrete (oops)).

• Mike and I installed hardwood floors in the dining room, living room and hallways and tile in the kitchen and foyer. It wasn't easy, but we are so proud of the time and work we put into it. (And thankful for the help of our friends).

• Sarah and I painted one weekend while Mike was white water rafting. If you've ever seen me paint, you now know that Sarah is a saint and should certainly receive a medal of some sort. The walls are beautiful... and it made the house "homier".

The pictures on the walls document the 5 amazing years that we've shared in this house... and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Mike held me while I cried last night and made me a fire in our fireplace (my favorite) for us to enjoy. In his words "our next house will be our home, with our baby". So while I'm sad to leave these memories behind, I'm getting more excited each day about this incredible journey that we've begun.

What's up with the Momma...

Wow, I'm going to be a Mom. That still isn't real to me! Thought I'd blog about what is going on with me, for posterity sake... and for my girlfriends who have yet to undergo this amazing journey. I'm feeling pretty good/well... well good... the main challenges right now are:

- Peanut makes me feel a little queasy from time to time. Nothing terrible yet- more just a nauseous feeling that lasts all day. "Morning sickness" is just a term... I feel more like "Middle of the Day" sickness.
      For Christmas dinner, Mom made me Salmon. When I sat down at the table and smelled the salmon, I almost tossed my Christmas Cookies. Bummer. Not the way I'd intended to spend my special Christmas meal. (Sorry Mom!)

- I'm supposed to drink 100 ounces of water a day. Yes, nearly a gallon. So all the water, plus the hcg hormone and little peanut laying on my bladder (this one is still hard to believe... I think it has more to do with the amount consumed... ). I make frequent trips to the restroom. Stock up on the Charmin folks.

- Eating 6-8 servings of fruits and veggies per day. I eat a banana in the morning. And take my prenatal vitamin with some OJ (Mike's book says it helps me absorb the iron). In addition, I'm cramming down salad as much as I can... and just started drinking V8 V Fusion (1 serving of fruits and veggies in an 8oz glass)!

-Calcium- 1200mg/day. Picked up some Viactiv chews to help make sure I get enough. -

All in all, I'm feeling great and I'm excited for the rest of our pregnancy.



Next milestone: February 4th- 2nd trimester begins... and we get to share our good news with the world!

Peanut is the size of a blueberry!

Peanut's brain -- both hemispheres! -- is growing fast, generating about 100 new cells every minute. Arms and legs are emerging as joints start to form, and a permanent set of kidneys (baby's third!) is now in place.

And the journey begins...

We went to the doctor on Monday and its confirmed... we are having a baby! We got to see and hear the heartbeat... absolutely unreal.

Our baby is 1cm- the size of a blueberry! The heartbeat was 148 beats per minute and it was honestly hard to believe that there is a little baby in my belly.

Our due date is set for August 18th, 2010. We are thrilled to begin the journey of becoming parents... and adding one more to the Clifton Crew.

This is baby Peanut.

The white circle to the top left is the yolk sac, which filters nutrients to peanut until the placenta is formed.

The "bubble" just underneath that is Peanut.

The dark spot is the baby's brain and the brighter white spot is the heart.

Hard to believe 9 months from now this will be a living, breathing baby! OUR baby! :)