Milestone

Today I am 26 weeks and one day pregnant.  I realize that is not a milestone to most pregnant women, but to Mike and I, it marks a significant anniversary.  I was 26 weeks and one day pregnant with the boys when we found out they were gone.  The last few mornings, while I lie in bed, I roll over on my back and turn this little girls world upside down.  It seems to work - she gets all disoriented and flops around inside me.  She may be uncomfortable but Mike and I just smile at each other knowing she's doing alright in there. 

There are so many differences between these two pregnancies.   We thought today would be a good day to reflect back a little and point out the positives of this pregnancy:

• I eat and drink like a normal person!  I'm not bound to drinking a gallon of water a day and adding protein powder to EVERYTHING.
• I have normal Courtney energy so far - I workout at home or at the gym with Mike everyday, work is great, and I sill have energy to go out occasionally too.
• I can still put my own shoes and socks on! (But I appreciate that spring is on it's way and I can wear sandals soon!)
• My body and face still look like me - I'm not all puffy from the added protein and fluid.
• We aren't visiting the doctor every week (although it would be fun to see her more often!)

Some of you know this already, but Mike and I have decided on a name for this little girl.  We've been calling her Lillian from the get-go and it's stuck.  We both can't think of her as anything other than Lily.  So, rather than waiting until she's born to make this BIG announcement, we're telling you now because I can't refer to her as "little girl" anymore!  We talk to Lillian all the time and it's become very difficult not to type her name in this blog! 

****Father's Note:  We are still accepting bids for the middle naming rights! Whoever pledges the biggest 529 contribution gets the name! (just kidding)  Stay tuned for middle name possibilities coming soon.****

Finally pictures to go with last weeks post!

Thank goodness Cathy is a good mom armed with a camera!  She sent these along for us to post!

Happy Birthday Mike!

Today is my honey's 40th birthday!  We just finished the nicest long weekend in Summit County with Mike's brother and sister (and our adorable nephew Johnny!).  It meant so much to Mike that they came out to celebrate with him.  Mike, John and Cathy got to ski Friday and Saturday and they really enjoyed being together, just siblings.  Meanwhile, Johnny and I shared some quality time!  Well, I thought it was quality time, he thought I was standing in the way of him being with mommy! 
Johnny got to try skiing too!  Kim and Ian let us borrow Holden's skis and they fit Johnny perfectly.  Except for being bright pink, they were perfect!  Friday morning we let him test them out at Copper Mountain.  He got to ride the magic carpet and did pretty well skiing down between Mike, John or Cathy's skis.  But we noticed, he let them hold him up and on some "runs" he didn't even have both legs on the ground!  So when we took him out Saturday morning again, Mike insisted we let him go on his own.  Uncle Mike stood at the top (the top of a very short hill!!!) and taught Johnny to bend his legs and keep his head up - Uncle John stood at the bottom ready to catch Johnny (or pick up the pieces!) and Mommy caught the whole thing on video!  He did great, made it down in one piece and immediately said "Again, Again!" 
I wish I had pictures to share with you - but I am the WORST picture taker!  I really have to work on this!  I have only four months until Baby Girl Kerschen arrives - I'll have the camera and flip video in my purse at all times then.  In the meantime, I would post more blogs if I had pictures to go with our stories.  I'm a slacker!  Last weekend it snowed 6 inches or so here in Denver and Mike and I walked over to the park and went cross country skiing.  It was so much fun!  I'm sure I looked slightly ridiculous with my ski jacket getting a bit snug but it was a great workout!  As soon as we arrived at the park, I was cursing myself for forgetting our camera! 
My 2nd trimester is awesome.  So different from the couch lying I was told to do during my 2nd trimester with the boys.  I feel awesome, I ride the exercise bike here at home everyday if I can find the time.  And Mike and I joined the Rec Center up the street (a Christmas gift from Dad Kerschen!!!).  We've been swimming and weight lifting a few nights a week.  It's so much fun! 
Aside from this surge in energy we've reached another huge milestone in our pregnancy!  I have been enjoying Baby girl fluttering inside me for 7 weeks now. Every week she gets stronger and stronger.  Her little knocks coming from inside are so comforting.  Last week, I told Mike I'm pretty sure her kicks are strong enough for him to feel.  Mike said, he wanted to wait until his birthday to feel her move, it is her gift to him.  So he waited!  I can't believe he was so patient.  She kicks after every meal, when I lye down, when I first wake up in the morning (and sometimes before I'm ready to wake up!!!) and lately I even feel her just moving around for no apparent reason!  So last Thursday morning, I told Mike that since his family was flying in that day - technically it was the start of his birthday weekend!  She was really active that morning and Mike agreed he'd waited long enough.  It took a couple of seconds, and little girl told him Happy Birthday 6 times!  What a sweetheart, she made her daddy's 40th really special!

Mike's Girls Are Happy & Healthy!

YUP!  We found out today that we have a healthy, beautuful baby girl growing inside me!  Already, Mike refers to me as "his girls", saying things like "How are my girls?" and texting me that he loves his girls so much.  It's so sweet to hear!

Baby Girl Kerschen really is such a joy to watch!  Our favorite ultrasound tech is back from her own maternity leave and she gave us a video of the ultrasound to take home.  I was so grateful and couldn't wait to get home to watch it.  Then, I uploaded it and realized it's 25 minutes long!  She's not THAT exciting! And because the video is so long I'm unable to post it to the blog.  Hmmph.  Dad suggested posting it via You Tube....I'll work on that I'm not technologically that gifted :)

Love and Hugs to all of you.....It's going to be a wonderful Christmas this year!

Family

Mike & I are so blessed to have family that loves to visit us and have us visit them.  I'm 17 weeks pregnant and I've seen my parents 4 times THIS pregnancy! Yes.....they still live in Indiana!  They were out in Colorado visiting us in September before their trip to Vancouver, again in November for my Great Aunt Case's funeral, they met us in Michigan for Thanksgiving and we just celebrated an early Hanou Family Christmas last weekend!  We also hosted, Mike's mom for a week in October and got to see her at Thanksgiving in Michigan!  I hope we can keep this up when the baby comes!

All these family gatherings did allow us to update our family photos!  Here is an all Kerschen photo at Cathy's house before Thanksgiving dinner...

And an all Hanou family photo taken last weekend in our backyard.....

(Notice Droste and Oliver wrestling in the right corner?  Hilarious!)

Here is a great picture of Holden giving Grandpa (her great-grandpa) his 2011 Family Calendar.  Kim assembled a calendar for him with pictures of all his grandkids, grandkids-in-law and great grandkids.  Our birthdays and anniversaries are marked with our photos to help him keep all the dates straight, our family sure has grown!

And for those of you who were trying to see how big my belly is getting....here is a much bigger side profile for you.....

Check back next week....Mike and I will find out if we're adding a little girl or boy to our big family this coming Monday!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I borrowed these pictures from my sister-in-law Kim's blog because I love them and had to share them with you!  Holden looks so grown up in this picture! 

This picture is an exact replica of some pictures we have of us 4 kids with my dad 25 - 30 years ago.  Of course, in those pictures my dad has a kid sitting on each foot too (and a LOT less gray hair).

My parents were out last weekend for my great-aunt Case's funeral.  Bert & Case have lived in Colorado for 50 plus years.  They were married 58 wonderful years.  Her death was sudden, she had suffered with a very sore hip for 6 months, when she finally went to the hospital they discovered a 10 cm tumor in her hip.  Her cancer was stage 4 and all over her body.  She lived two weeks on hospice, said her goodbyes and helped plan her own funeral.  It was great to see some extended family and really great to learn so much about my aunts historical life. 

Mike & I are headed to Indiana/Michigan Wednesday.  Can't wait to see the family especially all our nieces and our nephew Johnny.  Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!  Mike and I are truly blessed and we hope you have lots to be thankful for this year too! .

Here it is.....

My First Belly Pic.....

12 Weeks

I know most newly pregnant women try to push their belly out to emphasize their bump, but look at my face, doesn't it look like I'm trying to suck it in?  Well, there's no sucking that in! After a very positive ultrasound and doctors appointment on Monday, I felt confident enough to announce our new arrival to work yesterday.  I wore this shirt which emphasizes the bump and taped a clipart picture of a baby to my belly.  Several residents caught on right away, some said they thought so but didn't want to ask and others just asked me for more coffee!  Already yesterday, I had two women tell me not to take the stairs, one told me to slow down when I was walking and the best "advice" I got yesterday was from a lady who truly believes I shouldn't drive a car.  She seriously suggested Mike take me to and from work.  With advice like this from so many helpful "grandmas" the next 28 weeks are going to be really fun! 

Our next ultrasound is Monday, December 13th - that's when we'll find out what we're having!  In the meantime, we encourage you to vote in our baby poll at the top left hand side of our blog.  So far the majority is predicting another boy.  A little boy would cut down on our shopping since we already were preparing for two....but I sure would love a little girl.

On a side note.....I have to mention this was my most successful summer of gardening ever!  Or should I say fall???  I took this picture Monday...

Every September since Casey and I planted my first garden 7 years ago, I have spent one cold night in September, with a headlamp on, trying to save my veggies before the 1st frost got them.  Well, believe it or not Denver hasn't had a frost yet this year.  (Now that I said that, we'll be expecting a blizzard next week!)  I was prepared to go out on Sunday afternoon and cut everything down, but Mike encouraged me to wait till Monday, so I could say "Look what I picked from my garden on November 1st!"