Alex's First Birthday Party

Yesterday i got to take a visit to Jefferson County to see little Mr. Alex for his first birthday. So hard to believe its been a year already. So that was a good time cause we got to visit with Kel and Court and Alex and Tay. Good times. Just a couple pictures of us from yesterday...

17 Weeks

It's Christmas week! Our Last sane, quiet, Christmas alone...and it was a great one. we got to see all the family and had a great time at all our visits...lots of fun and just a really nice Christmas over all. I'm attaching the 17 week pic along with a couple from Christmas time. Hope everyone had as merry of one as we did! Todd got me this really cute ornament too that i'll attach...it was called 'Living on Baby Time' from the Keepsake collection at Hallmark. He has his moments :D

16 Weeks

4 MONTHS ON THE DOT! lovin it :D so far so good and no serious issues, so i can't complain. the belly didnt seem to grow too much from last week but its been a big week of changes for me anyway. i can definitely feel something going on just as far as growing inside...just the little growing pains here and there, the bigger awareness of actually having a belly there, and most importantly the appetite coming back! The energy came back about a week ago...and then just yesterday i was sitting at home and started eating everything in sight. it was insane.

Today i went out hall shopping with Mum S. for the baby shower and we ended up finding a great place, but now may have to reconsider based on size (surprisingly the room requires more than we may have!!! never thought we'd have that issue). Regardless, i think we're sticking with the 25th for the date for the Seitz side of the family...my side is still yet to be determined. One big thing that happened today was at lunch. While sitting at eat n park with my dear MIL i ordered a burger with fries and the salad bar and ATE IT ALL. That hasn't happened to me in EVER. So yes the appetite is here...hopefully to stay for a little at least...

Some other fun happenings of week 15-16 were Tara's baby shower and my visit to Johnstown to see one of my other preggo buddies Kells Bells. I'm attaching a few pictures, one of Tara (31 weeks)and I, then one of me and Kel (13 weeks) from the same day, then my official week 16 pic. Enjoy!

15 Weeks

Week 15 has brought some energy back...which has been pretty nice. no more falling asleep during the first period of the Pens games. dont get me wrong still get those random nights where i pass out around 7, but they're not a given every night like before. still not really having any big appetite at dinner time but at least able to eat some now...so thats good...everyone says the second trimester is the honeymoon period...so i'm excited about it. i love that i'm actually showing a real belly now instead of just gut. makes it more fun to wear the tighter clothes to work...also very excited to be pregnant during the holidays, just makes it all that much more exciting!

14 Weeks

ok so I suck...its been over 2 weeks since i posted last so i wont even waste your time talking and just post the pictures. i will say...its been a busy two weeks. work has been very trying lately and during week 13 i had a little scare involing some cramping and bleeding that pushed me enough to make me go to the doctor. I got to get some updated sonograms which was awesome...got to see the little stinker...also got to make sure everything was ok so that was great. Here's the little guy (no not definite on sex and WONT BE FINDING OUT so give it up all you family out there!)

Look how cute his little butt is...his arm is on the bottom...i just love him...so adorable...

Here's the belly shot from week 14...definitely gettin a little bigger...

3rd appt.

we had our third doc appt today...all is well...quickest one we've had yet. in and out in no time. its getting easier and easier to find the heartbeat so thats fun. I cant wait til i can start to feel the little stinker. I've gained 3 lbs since my last visit...only 2 lbs over all...but i'm right on track. he said i'm growing perfectly and right where i should be! Next appt is January 6th, then very shortly after we'll have our 18 week sonogram!

13 weeks

We had our 10 year reunion this past Saturday...that mixed with the holiday is why i'm so late in posting so i apologize! The reunion was so so and honestly kind of lame...but i attached a picture of Todd and i before hand anyway...no pictures from the real event. So as far as this week goes...its been an ok one. Nothing too big to report, a few little things here or there but nothing to get into details about here. The belly is actually starting to look like a belly as opposed to a beer gut so that's fun. I definitely look bigger than i actually am in this picture i think cause of the way the shirt is (haha...totally making excuses). Here you go...

12 Weeks

3 MONTHS!!!! Well actually who knows...all this pregnancy counting i have no idea what weeks really represent to be honest with you...but yeah...12 weeks i'm counting as 3 months so THERE! The bump is DEFINITELY there now. Still not super noticeable to others depending on what i'm wearing to work, but this past week in particular i definitley got a few comments on a couple of the shirts i had on because they were a little snug. I'm starting to get my appetite back so thats great. Still falling asleep at 8 every night, but I'm ok with that too. I realize that will be a distant memory in about 7 months or so...so I'll take it while i can. I'm just happy to be hungry a little again. I have also noticed i've gained about 3 lbs (Obviously not the official weigh that the doc does, but just using our scale) since our last visit...which i guess means about 4 lbs from the beginning since at the last appt i had actually lost a lb. Anyway...here you go. Enjoy!

Visit to Md and Va..

Well we finally made it to the weekend where we were telling the rest of the family, all of my family basically! So I got to kick off the festivities on Friday by telling Mom. I had been holding off til i could tell her in person and it seemed like it was taking forever! So i met her at Aunt Pat's to pick up the kids cause we were taking them to Md with us. I stole her outside for a few minutes and finally got to let her in on our secret. She's of course THRILLED for us and cant wait for next summer. I felt so much better once i finally got to tell her...been a long time coming.
Then it was on to the long road trip to Maryland to tell Dad, the Curry gang, Grandma Curry, Dina and Grandma Curran.

We arrive to Dad's around 7, hang out for a little, then decide its time to do gifts and birthday cake. We all gather around him at the table and he opens his presents. Worked out that he ended up opening ours last. The card read "Happy Birthday Grandpa - love Todd, Aimee and Baby ?" Of course Dad goes on the first thought thinking i'm making fun of his age so he reads the card outloud as "Happy Birthday Old Fart". Lovely. so then he gets to where i signed it and it finally catches on. Then everyone got it and everyone was happy and started asking all the questions. One big sigh of relief. Off to bed to get up for our big group shot in the morning with all the kids that i've been waiting for for years. Here's how that one turned out btw...

Saturday after the pictures we were off to Virginia to visit the rest of the fam. We show up around 3 or so. Get settled then i start to tell Grandma and Dina about the last time we were at Kel's and how she sent Justin in to change Taylor and she came out with a little shirt on that said I'm the big sister! so they both of course got real excited for her and asked when she was due. I said "a couple weeks after me" and i turned around to get something out of my purse. Grandma says 'what do you mean after you?' and Dina says 'after her birthday'. So then i just start laughing to myself thinking NO ONE GETS IT THIS WEEKEND and its just pretty funny. So then Grandma says 'oh let me show you this plaque i just bought for my kitchen' and Dina is in the background freaking out going 'wait wait...so are you being serious or no??' I said Yes...I am being serious, I am due 2 weeks before Kelly. She continues to say "No you're not" for about 3 minutes straight. I asked if i needed to get the sonogram to prove it to her and of course she said yes. So i had to run out to the car, get the sonogram and show it to her. Cracked me up. So again of course they were both very thrilled and spent the next few hours asking questions and going over ideas and thoughts and all that fun stuff...here is a picture from that night:

All in all a great weekend of course. We got back home Sunday night just in time for half time, went to visit Aunt Pat and Uncle Vince on Monday night to complete the end of our cycle of people we were telling in person so all is done and now its time to relax and just let the word spread!

11 Weeks

It's getting there! The belly is starting to actually harden a little which is the weirdest thing. It's starting to actually form somewhat of a rounder bump too as opposed to the little gut at the bottom...so that's always nice to get closer to ending the 'bloated' stage and approach the 'pregnant' stage. So here you go...and at my sweet Mother In Law's request I have been asked (aka slightly threatened) to start including my face in pictures...so against my will here you go!

2nd appt

We had our second appointment today and all went well. Not too much to report. I actually lost a pound because of my lack of appetite. Blood pressure is good though at 112/60 and baby's heart rate is about 167 bpm, so all was well. We got to hear the little heart beat, and then i laughed so we lost it again...but it was good for the short time it lasted, haha. That was about it...our next appt is December 9th and we'll be in our SECOND TRIMESTER ALREADY! crazy. Our next sonogram won't be til week 18, so I'm hoping at that point we have a little more than a slim jim in there !

10 Weeks

Well it's here...I'm finally in the double digits...and believe it or not there actually IS a little bump there now! Nothin really too new...still falling asleep at any given point in the day, still fighting a bad appetite, but all in all so far its been a smooth ride. We bought paint for the nursery today (something Todd's been dying to do since months before we even got pregnant) so that will be his little project here in the near future. Gotta admit he's been a trooper so far...I always knew he'd be good with this whole process and it did take him a couple weeks to get adjusted but he's got his game face on now. He's successfully made it through a few uncontrollable tears, has accepted the fate of carrying every thing in, out, and around the house, and has finally started to understand that no matter how hungry I am for something right now I can't guarantee I won't turn green at the sight of it by the time I actually get to eat it.

I think my biggest adjustment has really been the lack of energy. I've never really had a big appetite ever and have already spent the last 10 years giving Todd the left overs on my plates because I NEVER finish a meal...but never in my life have I been short of breath walking up a flight of stairs, or been exhausted after a visit to one store, or wanted nothing more than to just put pj's on and lay on the couch with my blanket and remote waiting to just fade off for a few minutes here and there. It's definitely been a huge change and something I'm still not completely adjusted to.

I think this is the first week that you can actually see a little bump in the picture...very little at that, but there...and Todd and I were also kind of entertained earlier at the fact that parts of my belly are a little firm...not entirely, but definitely not the mush it was a few months ago! Hopefully that means that the physical changes will be coming soon so I can start associating all these internal changes with something I can see in the mirror!

2nd prenatal appt is on Monday so we'll have another update then!

9 weeks

Not much of a change here. It kills me when i take these pictures because people have to think i'm nuts when i'm saying i definitely feel like i have a little belly now...TOdd and I notice...but then i look at the pictures I take and NUTHIN. I know it's mostly cause of the tight pants and what not...but hopefully something will actually start to be noticeable so i dont feel like i'm losing my mind.

Nothing too exciting this week. Pretty crappy week at work and lots going on so the next two weeks are going to be pretty stressful, i'll just have to make sure i keep my head on straight and take one day at a time. We met up with April and Mike this week and told them the exciting news and discussed her wedding next June...2.5 weeks after our due date. That should be a fun little challenge. We also stopped by to see Grandma Seitz and tell her...Todd called/emailed the Ohio fam so pretty much where we stand all of Todd's family knows, most of our friends know, and NONE of my family knows. Its the flippin long distance that kills it. Just not something I want to share with them over the phone so i have to wait til we make our trip down to Maryland in a couple weeks (Nov 14th)...it cant come soon enough!

8 Weeks

The first belly shot...actually found out we were pregnant around 4.5 weeks or so but it took some time for the excitement to set in and get to the first couple doc appts to make sure things were ok, so week 8 is where we'll begin...

To the naked eye does not look like much, trust me very aware of that...but believe me, the tight pants, pulling shirts and baggy sweaters i've been wearing lately tell me otherwise. I know my body better than anybody and i know its changing...it will be nice once others start to notice too and it's not just me thinking i'm going crazy!

Visit to the Nagle's

This weekend we took a drive out to Johnstown to visit the Nagles and help Kel with her Tastefully Simple Open House. We of course had a great time and got to take the first pictures of the new little 'cousins'. Yes, we'll be showing this at their weddings in 30 years. We also got to find out some exciting news (well depending on who you ask) that the Nagles are actually expecting TWINS! Kel's still adjusting to and dealing with the shock, but we're all very excited for her and i'm sure once it sets in over time she'll be excited too! Going from one to TWO is a VERY big adjustment and so far she's handling it like a trooper...
Here's the first pictures of the kiddos...more to follow in about 7 months or so...

The Baby Nagles are on the left as you can see in the little left top corner it says "Baby's" - and Baby Seitz is on the right. Why my uterus looks like a drumstick i have no idea.

Our first picture...

Well....today was the day!! We got to hear our little blueberry's heartbeat...it was amazing! Todd went with me of course and we sat in the room while the technician found our little peanut in there...then i just looked at it and started laughing because i thought it looked like a slim jim attached to a balloon! We dont start developing little nubs til this week coming up so we literally saw him as early as possible, but we got to see a little heart beat going STRONG. Then Lisa, our technician, focused on the little grain of rice lookin heart and turned on the volume...and MAN that was the craziest thing i had ever heard. It was beating so fast and so happy and we just didn't know what to do with ourselves. It's just so amazing that so much is going on inside and I have NO idea!

I do have to say that during the heart beat Todd and I did NOT cry...that seems to be the big question...BUT let me tell you why. Just to set the picture up, I'm lying on the table obviously, he's standing to my left in about a 4 inch space. Lisa is sitting at the computer on my right. The whole time Lisa is talking and explaining what we're seeing Todd is leaning over me on the table with his face in the monitor like he's studying for a quiz. So as Lisa's explaining 'here's her uterus, here's the ovaries...' I can see TOdd's brain just working. I knew as soon as she took a breath he'd be firing off questions. Just as expected, and not to let me down, she went to switch scenes and he starts firing them off...just asking what was going on in the uterus and where the ovaries were again and what they were all doing and blah blah blah. I start cracking up and just look at him like 'I'm going to kill you if you don't stop'. So i ever so lovingly grab his arm with my left arm, and give it a gentle love squeeze, and that ladies in gentlemen is why there was no room for tears...

And low and behold...here's the first picture of our little zig...

Gifts

Here is just a listing of the awesome wonderful gifts we've received from generous friends and family...

From Beth, Mike and Josh Endler - a little sleeper sack:

From Troy and Tracey - a Mommy, Daddy and Me frame:

From Mum and Dad - some books that she had been hilariously collecting for a while now - ha

From Christy at work - adorable little robe and matching bath towel:

From the Nagles - little orange and white onesie with flippin cute little striped pants, a frame i can take to work and a maternity shirt...so sweet...

From Maria - little sleeper sacks, cloth diapers and fun little toys to hang from the carriers, or Todd's rear view mirror if he finds them first...

From Mum - the cutest bibs I've ever seen...i just love the colorful bubble letters...so cute...

From Grandma Curran - a frame that I'm pretty sure she's had stashed for years now

From Aunt Dina - Our first little PENGUINS OUTFIT!!!!!

Rough Week...

Well it's Saturday...and I've spent the entire week sick as a dog. I was actually home from work on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday because I hadn't had any sleep and I was barely getting food down. I had only thrown up once on Monday morning, but NOTHING sounded good to me as far as food went. I knew i had to keep eating regardless and eating healthy at that, but MAN was it hard. So yeah my little cold that I picked up from Alex at Ligonier days pretty much took me out of commission all week long. Needless to say I have been a nervous wreck all week and really really anxious to get to my appt on Monday to make sure things are ok. I am just so worried that my cold is getting to the little blueberry and I've just been hurting him with all the coughing and stuff. I've been trying to eat good, but I know i havent been the best...so yeah...Monday cant come soon enough. I do feel a lot better today than I did Monday so i really do think its working its way out of my system, but as the doctor said i cant take anything in the first trimester and she swore it'd just work itself out...so i'm trying to be patient....next update (and hopefully pictures) on Monday!

Nickname...

A quick background on how we came up with the nickname little zig...when we first found out, we kept referring to the baby as 'it' and 'the baby' and general names like that. So Todd said 'we need a name for the baby...so we start brainstorming and come up with nothing. Shortly following I am reading some things in the book to him and come across the 'zygote' which was pretty much close to where we were at in the beginning stage (for those of you not knowing the definition of a zygote i'll leave that up to you to find out). So then he starts referring to our baby as our little zygote. I'm sorry but i just had a serious problem with it and was cracking up everytime he'd say it...so we compromised and came up with baby ziggie instead...shortened to zig...so there you go...the most boring lame story of how we came up with the name.

The Appointment...

The first appt went well. Not too much to report honestly. We didnt get a sonogram or anything, no heartbeat, nothing like that. Just a lot of questions, some suggestions and a few blood tests and perscriptions to get filled. I got a perscription to have the sonogram done on Monday the 20th, so thats not too far away. I am so very excited about that. I will feel so much more relieved and happy once I can see our little blueberry's heartbeat and little peanut body. The appt's at 11 am...so I'll go into work in the morning then meet Todd for the appt and head back to work later. I have threatened Todd's life to be at the appt on time since he's never on time for anything, so we'll see on Monday if he choses to live or die.

The Morning Of...

Well it's finally here...the morning of our first prenatal appt. I have been impatiently anticipating this since i scheduled it back on Sept 29th. I am very nervous and worried and just want to make sure everythings ok. Since i had blood work done back on Sept 27th, i have had no other reassurances that things are ok so I've been looking very forward to this.

This past weekend i made a visit to Johnstown to attend our annual Fort Ligonier craft event with Court and Kel. Unfortunately poor little Alex was sick and of course i ended up getting his cold. So i pretty much spent last night miserable, didn't sleep at all and have been up since midnight doing work for lack of anything better to do. It is now 5:12 am and I'm sitting here writing because i just had my first bout of throwing up. Now needless to say I'm not sure whether its related to the cold or morning sickness...but i guess we'll find out in the next couple days. I truly don't care either way if its morning sickness, I'm perfectly ok with that, i realize its all part of the deal and as long as baby's happy doesn't matter what i have to go through...

I'll have some more updates once we return from our appt...

First little present

The day after I shared the exciting news with Todd I was at my audit dinner after work until a little past 10. He waited for me to get home then headed to bed shortly after. I followed up close behind and when I went to crawl into bed i realized i was laying on something. I rolled over to turn the light from the night stand on to find a little stuffed lion on my side of the bed. Todd said that he wanted to get the baby something on his way home so he stopped at Giant Eagle and thats what he came up with. I know the reason he bought the little lion was because he thinks its adorable that Taylor carries her little kittie around all the time, so he wanted to get something similar for our little peanut.

For anyone that doesnt know Taylor Nagle, she's pretty much Todd's long lost child that he's attached himself to since day one. He's always had a soft spot in his heart for her and she pretty much melts him everytime we're there. He adores that little girl beyond explanation, so i guess its rightfully fit that he happened to plan our little miracle so that our due date just HAPPENED to be on Taylor's birthday...things that make you go hmmmm

How I told Todd...

Thursday September 25th, 2008 around 2:30 pm i got the long awaited call that we were, in fact, pregnant. From that point i spent about a half hour in a total fog and state of shock then realized...CRAP...i only have 2 hours to figure out a really cute way to tell Todd. I spent about an hour trying to figure something out then realized i was too excited to come up with any great plan...so i went to my default. I stopped at the store on the way home, bought a digital test and ran home to take it. Low and behold it came up PREGNANT! so i thought to myself I'll put it on Todd's bathroom sink and leave the light on in the bathroom so when he comes home from work he'll HAVE to go upstairs to the bathroom to see it laying on the sink. He takes forever to get home from work then once he does finally arrive he spends the next 40 minutes outside watering flowers and grass. He KNOWS how to get to me without even trying!!! I finally get him to come inside...he does his normal routine...goes upstairs and i patiently wait with a smile on my face for him to come back down. a few minutes later he comes back downstairs and proceeds to the kitchen for his dinner. I thought to myself 'are you KIDDING ME???'. So i run upstairs because he OBVIOUSLY didn't see the test. i grab the test, bring it back downstairs and set it on the arm of his chair so he CANT avoid it. I walk into the kitchen to get a drink while he goes out to sit down, return to the family room and see him standing over the chair just trying to figure out what's going on. He finally turns around to a happy smiling wife and just looks at me in a state of confusion. He asked me if i was serious because apparently he thinks you can type the word 'pregnant' into those little windows and thought i was just horrible enough to do so. So after he realized it was all for real we just looked at each other, sad down and didn't really say anything. we were both so happy and shocked and excited we weren't sure what to do...after a few minutes went by we got a nice little cozy picture on the chair together with our cute little pee stick, haha....and that's how i told Toddles he was going to be a daddy...

When it all began...

It all began on a Tuesday in mid September. The 16th to be exact. I spent the day at work dozing off at my desk and doing everything in my power to stay awake. I knew i was meeting Todd for dinner that night and to drop the car off to get an oil change but as soon as we got home i vowed to go to bed. I ended up almost falling asleep at Applebees and once the food came the thought of any of it touching my mouth made me sick to my stomach. We went and picked up the car, i ran home, took off upstairs and just figured I'd lay down for a little bit. That was around 7 pm. Next thing i knew it was the alarm going off. i had slept for 12 hours and felt like i could sleep for another 10 or so. I went work that day and all was well. That weekend we went to Dad's and almost the same thing happened. Around noon or so i was fighting to stay awake and figured I'd go lay down for a little. Before i knew it dinner was ready and i was exhausted. Again, another few days go by and all seemed well. The one thing that was consistent over the two weeks was my migraines. As often and horrible as they tend to be at times, i had never experienced something like this before. i was getting 2 or 3 a day...but they'd come and go by themselves. Come at work to the point I'd feel i may have to leave, then just go away in about an hour...at this point it was one week later, Tuesday, the 23rd. We had our audit dinner coming up that Friday the 26th and i thought to myself lets just be safe and see if i can get a blood pregnancy test done at the hospital so i know not to drink and just to make sure nothing else was wrong. I call the nurse that Tues and she says yeah go ahead and come in. So that Thursday the 24th i show up at the ER at 7 am when they open, give my blood and head off to work to let the long wait begin. Around noon i still haven't heard any results. I'm obviously getting antsy at this point, so i decide to call THEM. i leave a voice mail and HOPE that they call me back soon. about half hour later i get a call from the nurse so i run into a conference room to take the call. The nurse starts off by asking me when the date of my last period was. I told her about 5-6 weeks but i wasn't sure. She sounded concerned and said 'ok honey well you're going to have to find out and give me a call back because you are pregnant.' I sat in a state of shock and didn't know what to say. After a few quiet moments i just say 'ok...um...ok...' and she responds with 'ok well whenever you get the chance just give me a call with your dates and we'll go from there.' So then i said 'ok well thank you, thank you very much!' She asked if it was a good thing and i told her oh definitely for sure! and she was relieved because she said she's never sure. I run back to my desk...grab my calendar and call her back in about an hour once i composed myself. I told her it was actually 4 weeks instead of the 5-6 i had thought and she was happy about that because my numbers were so low she was afraid it was a bad pregnancy. she said i was right on track though and wanted me to go in for a second blood test that Saturday. And that is the day that i realized our lives would never be the same again...