F-I-N-A-L-L-Y!!!!!

As of 2:30 today we have FINALLY found our daycare provider! I feel so stress free right now, you have NOOOO idea! Sooo...after scheduling 8 meetings total, and only actually attending 3 of them, I am DONE!

It has been such an interesting journey for us. We actually got stood up again this week! Seriously :) Aaron's been super busy working on the basement so I told him that I'd go to the interview on my own this past Wednesday, and if I really liked her, than we could set up a time for them to meet...well I drive up to the house and it was the exact same situation as the last time - pitch black house...no one answering...etc. I was like you've got to be KIDDING me! After calling Aaron and leaving a message, I called my sister Shannon and VENTED. There may have been a few nasty words flying out of my mouth because I was so frustrated. After being stood up twice, having 3 others cancel on us, I just was done keeping my cool!

Anyway, it's done! I'm very happy with who we found. Her name is Jessica & I could just tell as we were talking and going through everything that this was the place for Lil P! Aaron felt the same way! I wasn't sure if he did so I told her that we'd talk about it over the weekend and I would be in touch on Monday...but then Aaron sorta looked at me and smiled & said that we can do that, but he pretty much knows how the conversation will go. So right then and there, we told her that we wanted to go with her. Weight is lifted off my shoulders!

So - our Friday the 13th was not so jinxed, but everything leading up to it, daycare wise, was REALLY jinxed. THANK GOODNESS THAT'S DONE!

Aaron has been SO busy working on the basement. After a few late nights this week, Aaron got the plumbing, heating, electrical & framing inspections all passed this week and we have a crew over here tomorrow to sheet rock. My dad, Chad (bro-in-law), Paul (Aaron's step-dad) & a guy that Aaron works with. I just finished making their lunch for tomorrow and have confirmed with Aaron that we have enough beer for the crew! I know that beer will be essential to pay them back for the help they are giving us this weekend!

I'll have to take some pictures of the basement for you all to see :)

Happy Friday the 13th & Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Then & Now...

All right folks! THE BUMP!!

Then: 11 weeks

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Now: 24 weeks

Wow! I didn't realize that I was showing in my face until that picture. I purposely put on the same outfit tonight as I did for my first bump pic. The sweater and pants are maternity clothes, but I don't think I'll be able to wear the sweater through the entire pregnancy, it's barely making it around my bump now and I'm not done growing!! Do you think it'll stretch? Ha ha!

And...just because newborns are just so cute -n- cuddly and I just love holding them - here's a picture of me and Hunter at our niece Brooklynn's birthday party a few weeks back. I think he was just a few days over a week old here :) I miss him 'cause I haven't seen him since then!

24 Week Update :)

Well, tomorrow marks 24 weeks. Some days I think it is going fast and other days I think..."only 24 weeks"...

Sorry - was hoping to post a belly picture tonight, but it seems that'll have to wait. Hopefully I can get that taken tomorrow night and post it!!

I had an appointment today, and everything went well! My doctor measured my belly, and right now I am right on for the size of my belly for 24 weeks. Also today in the appt., I finally got to hear the baby's heart beat! She said that the heart beat was varying between 150-160 beats per minute. When she actually showed me the Doppler, it was 153 beats/minute. So, as far as any of the myths on heart rate go...I don't really fall into the low or high category! Supposedly, if the baby's heart rate is fast - it's a girl.

A friend of mine at work found a website that you could answer certain questions in regards to your pregnancy, and depending on how you answer, it will tell you if you are having a boy or a girl. When she did it for me based on what she knew about my pregnancy, the results came out 50% chance girl, 50% chance boy. When I went and did it answering a few more questions, the results came out 60% chance girl, 40% chance boy...so - WHO KNOWS!

I have started to feel Little Poppy moving more and more, and I LOVE it! It is the best natural high ever. I have even been able to see my tummy move a few times when I happen to be staring at it when the baby moves. Definitely not anything that is obvious to others...Aaron hasn't been able to see it yet. Yesterday I was in a meeting at work and happened to see my tummy quickly move and had to hide a smile :)

The daycare issues haven't gotten any better yet. So far we were supposed to have 5 appointments with different daycare providers - and only 1...yep ONE has actually occurred. As I mentioned on an earlier post, the first one forgot about our appointment...I've had 2 cancel because their positions have become filled and we were supposed to have another appointment tomorrow night, but it turns out her and her husband are sick, so they are rescheduling. Ugh! The one person that we did meet with was very nice, but I definitely am not ready to say "she's the one" - so, the saga continues!

We continue to be busy working on finishing our basement - Aaron's definitely stressed about that! He keeps being reminded of different things that need to get taken care of before he can start sheetrocking. Always something...

So, that about sums up everything for today :)

I LOOOOVE my Sisters!!!

Who doesn't love their sisters??? They are the best! My sister Angela (who just had Hunter earlier this month) gave me ALL of her maternity clothes that she had. With her clothes also were all of my sister Shannon's maternity clothes!

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My "maternity wardrobe" just TRIPLED!! What girl doesn't love increasing their wardrobe????!!! I was going through all their clothes this weekend while Aaron was down working on the basement. He came upstairs and I told him I was in heaven...he didn't quite understand and thought I may have been just a BIT dramatic...but really, I was just very happy & excited.

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TRUST me - Aaron is sooo happy/thankful that I get to borrow some clothes because I'd be out buying a new shirt every day of the week during my pregnancy :)

I remember a time in our lives when our most common arguments were about borrowing each other clothes. We'd be SO mad at each other, yelling about who borrowed something without asking. It drove my dad CRAZY! I wonder if Aaron will have a few girls of his own to drive him crazy with their silly arguments over clothes...I can just imagine his reaction...ha ha!

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Thanks Shan & Ang for borrowing me the clothes!

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Also a huge thanks to Andrea (Aaron's step-sis) for also borrowing me clothes - between the three of you, I'm set!!!

...Busy...Busy...Busy...

Wow - lots going on these days! Sorry, this may be a long post! Now that the holidays are over, it is "down to work" for Little Poppy's arrival. Aaron's starting to get very busy working more often on finishing our basement. The next few weeks it's electrical and plumbing work - than on to sheetrocking! Oh what fun :) I've been making lots of phone calls for day care, finalizing what I want to do for Lil P's room...and - ugh - I can feel the stress! Here's our life in a nutshell for the last few weeks:

A couple of weekends ago Aaron and I went to Babies R Us in the twin cities and purchased our crib and dresser. I'm excited! We chose an "espresso" colored crib, which will go awesome with the theme I'm planning on doing for the room (which is for another post). The crib can eventually be transformed into a toddler bed, and a head board for a full-size bed as well, so that'll be nice. The dresser has a changing table on top, but the rails of that are removeable, so when that is no longer needed - it'll just be a dresser! They won't be assembled 'til probably early/mid April once the stuff that is in our current spare bedroom - future room of Little P - can go downstairs!

This past weekend we had our final Christmas with Aaron's mom, Paul, and his step-siblings! It was nice to have a weekend away from home where we could relax and not think about what needs to be done! Unfortunately, Tina and Tammy couldn't make it - they were missed! Lil P even got some gifts! He/She got the cutest onesie ever, and a saying to go on the wall of the nursery: "Every child is a story yet to be told" - very cute!

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Just posing for a pic w/ the onesie

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Up close! It's a little lemon, and says "Squeeze Me" - seriously, adorable!

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Aaron - always up for a good time, was not happy that people seemed "tired" around 7. So he made a trip to Walmart to get everyone "energy shots" - here's him w/ his step-siblings and their significant others before they took the drinks. Thank goodness it said on the bottle that it wasn't recommended for pregnant women, or I know he'd have made me take that. I was happy taking the picture of the group instead!

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Daycare - all I can say about this is "ugh"!! I've been on the phone with about 10-15 different providers in the area, and we have meetings with 4 of them. 2 of which I am excited about, 2 of which I'm not so sure about. We were hoping to find a daycare provider in Stewartville (the town I work in, about 20 minutes from Rochester) since we think we might end up moving there eventually (in like 5-10 years) and having our kids go to school there (again another post, but in a nutshell, we both grew up and went to school in smaller towns, and have decided we'd like that for our kids). Anyway, what a headache! But, the thing that has been most frustrating is our experience on Monday:

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We had an appt. to meet w/ someone at 6:00. We pulled up, and the house looked pitch black, but we went to the door anyway...no answer. So we got in the car and I called the house on my phone...no answer. I left a message requesting a call back to reschedule and to find out what had happened...Never heard anything. So today I thought I'd give her a call and see what was going on. I was thinking there may have been an emergency or something. Well, the conversation was basically a "oh I've been meaning to call you, I'm so sorry, it completely slipped my mind. I was at gymnastics with my daughter". I understand being busy and having it completely slip your mind - but when I got home and heard the message, I think I would've been on that phone calling! Like I said, one word to sum up my daycare experience so far: ugh.

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Amsterdam! Yep...Amsterdam! One of my best friends from college, Amy, and her husband Adam are moving to Amsterdam on Friday. I'm so excited for them, but so sad for us that they will be so far away. Last night we went and had dinner with them and our other good friends, Jeff & Rachel to say our goodbyes. It really doesn't seem real! One good thing - they are just about an hour or so train ride away from PARIS FRANCE. For those of you who have been to my house, it doesn't take a genious to know that I'm all about Paris! Sooo - my goal is to visit them and go on a day excursion to Paris. Do you think it will happen??? They are going to be there for 2-3 years...maybe, just maybe it'll happen :)

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Rachel, Jeff, Adam, Amy, me & Aaron saying good by to the White's - we'll miss you guys!!

The Pregnancy - I've been feeling pretty good this week, but last week and the week before, it was almost as if the morning sickness was back. On our way to get the crib, I started feeling very sick, and had a nice experience at the gas station. As Aaron pumped gas, I wasn't able to make it into the store, so I threw up right next to the pump! Wonderful. The best part is Aaron said a Truck that had pulled up next to me was just staring at me and laughing...I'm guessing since I was hunched over they couldn't see my belly...

I am definitely getting to the point where I am OBVIOUSLY pregnant! In the last few weeks, I have had strangers ask me when I'm due - so I've definitely passed the stage where if you don't know me, you just may think I had too many treats over the holidays! It's nice to be past that point!

I sent in our form to enroll in prenatal classes - so that's going to be here soon. It starts late March and goes through the end of April. Fun times ahead! We decided to do a week night class since our weekends are pretty precious trying to work on the basement and such.

Comments! Sorry, I know this is a long post, but I just wanted to say one more thing. I love seeing comments on the blog. I know a couple people have mentioned that they went to leave comments but weren't able to without signing up. I think I have changed it. If you click on the area to write comments, and select "anonymous" you should be able to write your comment without giving any information. Just be sure to leave your name in your post so we know who you are! If that doesn't work, someone please let me know!

Thanks as always for visiting our blog :)

Hunter Timothy Heydmann

We have a new nephew!!! My sister had a baby boy on Tuesday, January 13th. Hunter Timothy Heydmann was born around 5:20 p.m. 8 pounds, 1 ounce. Sooo, on the Tarara side, there were 3 granddaughters born first, but the boys are catching up! Our nephew Drew was born in March, now Hunter...and according to most people...there may be a 3rd grandson coming on May 27th! We'll see...

Hunter and Angela got to go home today. Nothing like saying "Welcome to the World...and to Minnesota" - poor little guy gets to go outside for the first time on the coldest day in 13 years!

Hunter Tomothy!

The Proud Uncle :)

The Proud Aunt!

Ha Ha, funny story! Aaron was helping out Phil with Hunter's first dirty diaper...let's just say the air must have been pretty relaxing for Hunter, because they had to go get more wipes a few times and each time Phil got Hunter cleaned up...he'd get all dirty again! It was too funny & cute not to take pictures of the dads at work!

The happy dad & dad-to-be...I'm sure Aaron is pretty excited for that part of parenthood!

20 Week Update

Happy New Years Everyone!!! Aaron and I met on new years 4 years ago. So it was sorta our anniversary! This year we hung out with my sister Angela and her husband Phil on New Years. We are both pregnant, so it was nice company to be in. We played Nintendo Wii all night :) What a difference 4 years can make! I put on a pair of sweats and a sweatshirt right before we left the house, and I thought, I wonder if Aaron thought it would come to this the day we met...just sitting around in basically pajamas and hanging out with some family on such a "going out" holiday...I love it!!

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Here is a pic of Aaron and I the first year we were together

Now on to the baby...Tomorrow marks week 20! Half way there! Aaron thinks it has gone slow, I on the other hand, can't believe we are already half way done :) We had an appointment today as well as our major ultra sound - where we COULD have found out if we are having a boy or girl - but we stuck to our plan and still don't know!! Everything seems to be going good. All of the anatomy was in the "normal" category, which my doctor was happy to see!

As for me - I'm doing well also. Most of you know that I love to run and workout. Well, I've barely seen the inside of the gym since September. I was way too tired and nauseous in the first trimester...then the holidays came...and well, you know all the excuses! But, I just bought a new prenatal workout video that has 20 minutes of cardio and 20 minutes of toning. I did it today and am pretty happy with it, so I'll continue to do that throughout the rest of the pregnancy, in the comfort of our home!

CRAVINGS!!!! People always ask me if I have had any unique or random cravings, and really I haven't for the most part. I think last Sunday may mark my first TOTALLY random food request/craving. I was waiting for Aaron to get home from the the cities, and all of a sudden, I really...REALLY...wanted Potato Oles from Taco Johns. Now, first let me say, if Aaron and I go to a fast-food Mexican restaurant, it's always Taco Bell. Soooo, the last time I've had Potato Oles is probably when I was in college...5 + years ago. None the less, they came into my head and I wanted them ASAP - so I called Aaron up and put in my request with my lovely husband and he was my hero and stopped for them on his way home! I'll chalk that up to a craving!

Here are some pictures of the ultra sound today. I was not as happy/excited about these pictures considering it was our "big" ultra sound. She took 3 "face" pictures, 2 "profile" pics and 2 "feet" pics and that was it...just not the same :) Either way, I'm so excited to see our baby when we have ultra sounds, and love to show off Lil Poppy!

Here is the "face" picture (head on the left, tummy on the right)!

Aren't feet so cute...5 little toes - so cute!

Side profile. I loooove side profile pics, this one isn't

as good as last time, but I still love it!

Annnnnd....the good old tummy pic :) These were taken on New Years day, (19 weeks, 1 day).

For the most part, I'm now in maternity clothes. BUT, I discovered that I can still wear these jeans (and button them!) so they are my new favs! Ha ha!