Wedding, Shower, and Birthday Weekend

We had a busy few days full of love and happiness this weekend! On Friday, our very good friends Shana and Dave got married (congrats again, Shave! We love you and are so incredibly excited for your life together)! At the [gorgeous] reception, Mike had the chance to tickle our funny bones, along with Adrian and Matt, as they all introduced the wedding party a la Will Ferrell announcing the Bulls. Props, boys, Dwandy gives you a big thumbs-up - you had everyone rolling! When the dancing began, we were all on the dance floor, and Dwandy even got the chance to share a song with a partner, thanks to our friend Laura. :)

Dwandy's first dance - Baby A really loved Laura's attention and groovy moves!
<3

On Saturday, we celebrated my nephew, Liam's, third birthday. I don't get to see him often (a statement that will soon be even more true after this KC move, sadly), so I gobbled EVERY moment I could steal with him. Luckily, he seemed to like me a bit, so we had several moments. :) Here's one in my car (which he wanted to stay in and drive to cousin Livvy's house).

Liam and "ZZ" - both wearing ZZ's glasses while in ZZ's car. :)

When I first saw Liam, he came up to me and requested to see my baby. I knelt down and pointed to my stomach. Then, he instructed me to lift my shirt a little so he could see my belly. I obediently followed his instruction... Not yet satisfied, he asked, "Can you open it?" HAHAHAHA I calmly explained that the baby was still growing and that we couldn't open my belly to see the baby until Christmas - like a present. Poor kid's now obsessed with the snow coming!

Liam will also apparently be teaching my future child to chop down trees (Liam the Lumberjack has a nice ring..).

When Liam was having quiet time before bed that evening, he was laying between my dad and me. He got up and decided he wanted to talk to the baby. After each of his "Hi!"s, I playfully pushed my stomach up and said, "Hi!" Despite my efforts, each time, he said, "I can't hear it!" So, he rolled over to my dad (who looks very in shape, by the way) and said, "Let me see your baby," looking expectantly at his stomach. Too funny!

Okay, last cute Liam story.. I promise! Same evening, during quiet time... sweet little Liam decides to show his affection by rubbing "my baby" in circles and then patting "my baby." Unfortunately.... his aim was a little off and his love ended up happening at a higher 'bump' on my body...one of two higher bumps... oops! It's the thought that counts, right??

On Sunday, I got to share in the happiness of my cousin's baby-to-be. She is due 5 months before me...which means she's due July 5! Morgan is a beaming and beautiful pregnant woman...radiant would probably be the best description. The company was great, the food was scrumptious, and I must admit that Dwandy and I got some excellent ideas for our own baby registry! ;) (Hey, at least I'm honest!)

16 Weeks!

On Wednesday (June 20), I was officially 16 weeks pregnant! Here's a picture of the day. :) The background definitely speaks to our family's experience right now, with the boxes as we prepare to move to Kansas City. 

In the next month, I am supposed to begin feeling the baby move (which I have already lied VERY still and tried to coax my body into noticing)...and we find out if it is a boy or girl on the 20th of July!! I can't wait! 

The baby is also supposed to double in size soon (we've currently got an avocado in there), so I expect to "pop" in the near future... all the more reason to keep taking pictures weekly to show you the expansion of my belly! *Note: I am totally down with the bare belly photos as of now, but if things get scary (i.e. stretch marks galore), you'll be seeing the ol' tank or tee! Dare I even wish to be so lucky as to bare it all, a la Heidi Klum? I mean, she and I have SO much in common already................. ;)

What's in a [Nick]name?

When Mike and I first found out we were pregnant, we were of course super excited and downright giddy. :) BUT - we couldn't tell anyone or let on that we were expecting! This becomes even more difficult when you have a roommate that is not only a friend but also a step-cousin of sorts... to solve the problem of wanting to talk about the baby and constantly express our excitement while also in the company of others, we referred to Baby A as "sweet sweet baby squirrel." (..which, yes, came from a youtube video we had seen and fallen in love with just days after finding out about our sweet sweet baby...we chose to focus on the cuteness of the little girl, rather than the insanity of her affectionately holding a dead baby squirrel...don't judge!)

Saying "Sweet sweet baby squirrel" was a fun and, to me, endearing way of referring to our little human... soon, however, another nickname found its way into our circle...enter: Dwandy Anderson.

Memorial Day weekend 2012. Sitting on a boat on White Lake (Michigan) with the fam. I'm chatting with my cousins Jackson and Alex (who don't know yet about the baby). Jackson and I are randomly having a conversation about names (can you help me remember the context, Jack?? I can't!) and he laughingly says, "Dwayne... or Randy..." and I exclaim, "Or DWANDY!" We laughed at the ridiculousness of the name (because I'm hilarious, of course!) ...

Fast forward to a few days later when we announce the baby to some of our friends.. I share this little story with them as a joke about a boy name, and it catches. Suddenly, everyone is calling my sweet, perfect little peanut of a human being... DWANDY ANDERSON. Within minutes, Dwandy's 'voice' has a lisp and within hours, he has a facebook profile page, courtesy of our friend Matt!

Dwandy Anderson's [former] Facebook Profile Picture
Courtesy of Google Images

All very funny (I admit I was having a lot of fun with the whole thing, suggesting Dwandwea as an alternative girl name)... until.........

Going to bed one night, I am affectionately rubbing my belly and tell Mike that we should say goodnight to the baby. He leans over (awww, so sweeet!), touches my belly (ohhhh he's going to be such a great daddy!!...), and says, "Goodnight Dwandy!" (What?! Our baby is precious and perfect! 'Dwandy' is not!) I explained to Mike my inner monologue and told him he may NOT refer to the baby as Dwandy - it just didn't match my vision of the baby's perfection. (If you know me, you know when I get something in my head, I will defend the vision stubbornly at all costs...wonder where I got that from(Mom)? hehe)

Sadly, Dwandy's Facebook profile has been retired. The nickname has not, and I am enjoying the excitement in our friends' voices when they talk to or about Dwandy. :) But Mike, when you speak directly to the baby........... Dwandy is off-limits. K?  ..K.

Pregnant with Emotion

I am a fairly emotional person. Surprisingly, though, I haven't been too crazy throughout the pregnancy so far. (Tomorrow is 16 weeks, so there's lots of time for crazy left!) Aside from a few episodes of me being less patient than usual, there isn't anything that stands out in my baby-carrying experience that shouts "PREGNANT!" .... well.... except maybe this one time........

Mike and I decided to go for a run on a beautiful Saturday morning. Blue skies, 70 degrees, early morning fresh air...perfection. Couldn't be happier. And then...

We get to the corner of Sheridan and Wellington and there is a mama bird leading her baby bird (which appeared to have fallen out of the nest or broken its wing or both) along the sidewalk and across Wellington. I became alarmed. I couldn't look away. To my horror, the baby bird hobbled across the street and stopped UNDER the TIRE of a car waiting for the light. As we jogged across the street, I became paralyzed with my fear for the baby bird. I fought between the urge to watch and hide in Mike's arms as the seconds crawled by. Suddenly, I erupted into deep, from-the-gut sobs. I mean, can't catch my breath, can't form words, uncontrollable sobs. Mike assured me the baby bird got across safely before the car moved, to which I choked out the words, "Are you lying to me? Because if you are, good, I can't handle it!" before falling apart again. Gingerly treading the line between consoling me and helping me to realize the ridiculous nature of my behavior, Mike asked, "Are you pregnant or something?" .... :)

Wow. Guess that's what they mean by hormones affecting you, huh?

Shhhhhhh!

Keeping a baby a secret is by far the most difficult secret we've ever experienced! We told no one outside of each other until the end of the first trimester. (This secret-keeping is the subject of the song I wrote and used to tell my dad about the baby.) Here are a few stories about keeping Baby A a secret!

The night we found out, a friend of ours was having a birthday party at AliveOne. Although there was a wristband deal at the door for the party, Mike spoke to the bouncer separately and explained that his wife wouldn't be drinking... could she just not get a wristband? It appeared to not be a problem. Well, it became a problem when the bouncer came up to Mike and our friend Kylie and said, "Is this the girl who doesn't need a wristband?" Of course, Kylie asked if I was pregnant. SO, I ended up wearing a wristband all night (courtesy of the bouncer who nearly outed us) and drinking so much Sprite my belly hurt. I have to say, I was pretty convincing, bopping around endlessly to various genres of music and belting out "Call Me Maybe" with everyone else. Mission: Accomplished.

The next weekend, we were supposed to go to a Nero concert with some friends. Beforehand, they wanted to have dinner and cucumber martinis (yum!). Luckily, Mike tended to the drinks and I drank cucumber water all evening. Unfortunately, once at the concert, I was feeling claustrophobic. By midnight, I was out. Everyone understood my excuse, no questions asked!

Shana's bachelorette weekend. The ULTIMATE test to my acting and conniving skills (the latter of which I honestly do not put into practice!). Friday - Sunday in Milwaukee with a bunch of girlfriends, our activities based around martinis and late-night shenanigans. Oh boy. I became VERY good buddies with the bartenders and found that soda water was much easier on the tum-tum than Sprite. I ended up being quite handy, as I was the only one who frequently noticed a certain friend's camera, cash, and debit card were on the floor throughout the night.

The real whopper of the bachelorette weekend came when we went to lunch and everyone wanted bloody marys. Never to turn one down, I knew I had to pull a fast one. I excused myself to the ladies' room, but bee-lined for the hostess (couldn't find the waitress) and explained the situation. I said, "When we order drinks, please make sure that the girl in stripes and glasses gets a virgin bloody." Feeling pretty satisfied with myself, I snuck back to the table. Lo and behold, the waitress comes a few minutes later and says, "I heard you ordered early!" OH. MY. GOD. Seriously?! This is pretty much the OPPOSITE of nonchalant! I think I turned 50 shades of pink at that moment. I thought for sure I was caught. ....to my surprise, no one questioned me, even when I made up this ridiculous story of stopping the hostess and telling her we had all wanted bloody marys when she got the chance, but she must have messed up the order and only brought one to me.... I dared to look into their eyes after my terrible lie, but their only response was, "Oh, I wasn't planning on ordering a bloody mary." Wow. Was I really this lucky?? "Oh, well, I guess it worked out then! ha.. ha..." Cue the big simultaneous gulp of my drink and relief.

To all of my friends: If you ever need someone to keep a secret, I have proof I'm a good bet! *smile*

The Joyful Discovering of the Bundle

It was the Saturday before Easter 2012. End of Spring Break. Mike and I had recently returned from a Kansas City trip where we found our apartment for our July move. I had woken up with this urge to take a pregnancy test, but brushed it off. "Silly," I thought... "Not possible."

As the morning progressed, I became more curious. I thought, "Ah, why not? I have one handy, I have to use the bathroom, what's the harm?" Oh my goodness, my heart raced as I waited for the results, not sure about how I felt about either possible sign presented by the tiny little life-changing stick. When that plus sign stared into my emotion-riddled face, my jaw dropped. "Holy moly! I'm pregnant!!" (I may have had a different exclamation, but we'll keep it G-rated ;)

Of course, my brother and his buddy (our roommie at the time) were in the living room with Mike. They had said they were going to buy Cubs t-shirts, but were DAWDLING like you wouldn't believe! I have never wanted anyone out of my house with such desperation before. I was all but leading them by the hand out the door (even Mike later commented on my relentless encouragement to their departure).

Finally, they left.

I silently ran to the bathroom, marched to Mike (who was sitting in the chair with his back to me), and put the test in his view. He jerked his head up toward mine and said, "No way!" (Again, there may have been another word inserted there... lots of changes that will have to occur before Baby A arrives!) We quickly agreed to buy two additional brands of tests at Walgreen's. Mike also threw a liter of water in the basket, only to be disappointed when it didn't instantaneously go through me.

A liter of water, 30 minutes, and 2 pregnancy tests later, we had a total of 3 positive results. It was real. We were having a baby! :) 

Big Brother

This is Shermie, our King Charles Cavalier Spaniel. 

He is the current baby in our family... and boy does he have a rude awakening coming his way around December 5th! He is the ultimate lover-not-a-fighter lapdog who must be near / touching you at all times. The consummate snuggler, he is notorious for wiggling in between Mike and me on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Of course, with this face, it's hard to say no!

I'm Growin' a Baby Over Here!

So exciting! Mike and I are officially going to be adding a munchkin to the Anderson family on December 5th, 2012.  I've begun google-ing everything from 'morning sickness' to 'baby names' to 'how to prepare your pet for baby's arrival.'  .... okay, I didn't google the last one, but the article popped up and you KNOW I read it! :) Shermie is definitely in for a rude awakening when this baby arrives ("Excuse me, mom and dad, but who is the stinky little human wiggling around in MY usual Saturday morning Snuggle Spot??").


Since I'm in the midst of my 13th week of pregnancy, I have some catching up to do! Now that I've dipped my toe into the baby blog pool, I will absolutely do my best to keep diving in at least weekly. I'm so excited to share this incredible journey with you!!


Love.