I am getting bigger!

I can't believe how big I have gotten! It is fun to feel more "pregnant", but it is a little strange as well. Sometimes I forget that I have a belly and I bump into things. I thought it would be fun to put a little progression of belly photos up on here. I put some pictures up on facebook but I figured I should put some up on here as well. I have been slowly but surely feeling better! Thank goodness! Christmas has been wonderful. It has been great hanging out with family, eating good food, and enjoying our life in general. That 20 week ultrasound is coming closer and closer and we couldn't be more excited! Here are the photos!

9 weeks

11 weeks

12 weeks

13 weeks

14 weeks

15 weeks

16 weeks

17 weeks

The Waiting Game

I would just like to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who has wished me well and given me advice on this pregnancy! You have no idea how wonderful it is to feel like kind of support from everyone. It is very comforting! Ashley I have tried some of your tips and it is working! I am finally starting to feel a little better. So THANK YOU! At this point I feel like we are playing the waiting game. I am waiting to finally feel this little one. Which will be wonderful!! Of course, we are also waiting for our ultrasound!! I think that it will be on January 15, but I will probably get more info at my next appointment - next Thursday!!! We will finally know if we are having a boy or a girl!! I can't wait. I am also sooo very excited for Christmas! The house is decorated and I plan on wrapping presents tom. during the packer game. Merry Christmas!!

Life moves on...

I haven't written for a while because I didn't want to write complaints about how I am feeling. However, since that is what is going on right now I might as well blog about it. I will warn you ahead of time that I will be writing about not so pleasant things. At about 11 or 12 weeks I started throwing up - first every other morning, then every morning, and then all day long. I am currently still in the "throwing up all day long" phase and I am getting a bit sick of it. I have to say that I know that it will all be worth it in the end, but it just kind of stinks. I also am having a hard time sleeping but I hope I found a solution! Tonight I ordered a pregnancy pillow and I am hoping that it will give me some relief! We will see!

This weekend I am planning on finding some more energy somewhere and decorating for Christmas. We will see how that goes... My wonderful mom bought me some "preggie" pops to suck on to alleviate my nausea. The wonderful thing is that when I am sucking on them they work! However, when they are gone the nausea comes back. Oh well! I love her for thinking about me and trying to help when she can. She is the best mom in the world!! Also my husband is taking me on date tom. night and I am very excited! We haven't gone on a date in a while due to his job. Being a tow truck operator/manager keeps him very busy and many, many nights and weekends he is on call. So needless to say I treasure special events like dates in Eau Claire. So that is the update for now. I am excited to feel the baby move! Hopefully that will happen soon! Right now I just feel large, but I think once I feel the baby move I will feel pregnant. So that is what is to come. My next dr. appointment is on the 18th and I will get to hear the baby's heartbeat again!! I am very excited!

The heartbeat...

Yesterday we got to hear the most amazing sound in the world. Obviously I have known for quite a while that I was pregnant. That means that I have known that there is a little baby growing inside of me. But yesterday was the first time that I had proof of it being real. We were able to actually hear our baby and it was wonderful! I can't wait for my next appointment so that I can hear that little heartbeat again. I finally received some information to confirm that I am indeed pregnant and that everything is progressing as it should. It seems like I wouldn't need that reassurance, but I think I did. Obviously, the positive home pregnancy test, the absence of my period, and my pregnancy symptoms all gave us hints that we were indeed pregnant. But until now there was no way for us to know if everything was alright - if there really was a baby in there. Now we know that there is! I have been dreaming of becoming pregnant and having a baby since I was a very little girl. So, I literally feel like I am living my dream. We have a son or daughter and each day they are going to grow stronger and stronger until the day that we finally get to meet him or her!! I definately enjoyed my appointment yesterday and I am going to continue to enjoy this journey with every new milestone!! Also, I think I am starting to get a little belly so I thought I would show you some pictures.

12 Weeks!

I have been so lucky because I have felt pretty good in the last three months. I have heard horror stories about the first three months of pregnancy and while I didn't feel "up to par", it really hasn't been that bad. That being said, I am very very excited for what is to come. I am excited to not feel sick at various times during the day and most importantly to have my energy back!! I can't say I am there yet but I know in the next few weeks it will get better. I am also excited for second trimester because of all the wonderful things that happen - we will get to hear the heartbeat, I will finally get a little belly, I will start to feel him or her move, and we will get to see a picture/movie of our baby on the ultrasound. And lastly, we will get to find out if we are having a boy or a girl. So, while the first three months have held some excitement (finding out your pregnant, telling people, etc.) I can honestly say I am more excited for the next few! Thank you to everyone who has congratulated us!! We are very excited and I promise I will work on updating this blog more regularly! I finally have something to write about!
Thanks again!

Baby Blog

This Blog is officially becoming a baby blog! I am so excited to finally be able to talk about my pregnancy! We have been sooo lucky the past couple of months and have been blessed with the most wonderful gift in the world! It still seems a bit surreal that I have a life growing inside of me. I can't wait to feel him or her move and to start showing!! Maybe then it will start to feel more real. Our baby is due on May 30th, 2009, which is the perfect time! My mom will have the whole summer off to offer her help and my sister will be home for the summer as well! We are very, very fortunate.

We are also lucky because my brother and his wife, Mandy are also expecting! They are due April 15, 2009, so the babies will only be 6 weeks apart! I am very close with my cousins who are near the same age as me and I am excited that our child will get to experience that as well! So far I am feeling really well and hopefully that will continue! Our next appointment is on November 24 and we will get to hear the heartbeat! I can't wait!

Italy

Norway was amazing, but we were still very excited to get in a plane and head to Italy.

We didn't really know what to expect but we were excited to exprience Italy. It was very warm and the gelato and italian lemon ice tasted amazing on those hot afternoons. The pasta was really wonderful at times and really not so wonderful other times. The history that has been preserved in this country is absolutely breathtaking and I felt very fortunate to have the opportunity to experience it. Milan, Italy

Venice, Italy

This is a picture of us in the front of our hotel right on the canal..it was pretty neat!

Ahh...Venice was so beautiful and it was exactly how you would picture it to be. It was awesome.

And then there is Rome, our favorite city in Italy!
Each time you walked up to another beautiful historical monument an indescribable feeling kind of washes over you.

Here is a picture of Britt and I in front of the Trevi Fountain.

Italy was wonderful and the vacation was a blast. However, I did miss my husband so I was very glad to come home!!

Europe!!

The first two weeks in August my sister, mother, and I went to Norway and Italy! It was an amazing trip and these are some photos from the trip!

This was one of the beautiful landscapes that we were able to see in Norway.

We also were able to see the very unique Sculpture Park in Oslo, Norway.

We also got to see one of the most famous fjords in Norway.

Probably the coolest thing that we were able to see in Norway was the land where my great grandfather grew up on as well as the farm that he took our name from. The Torud Farm...

It has been a while

I don't know if I should really have a blog, since I am not really very good at keeping it updated but I am going to really work on it. For some reason it is hard for me to figure out how to work this whole blogger program so if anyone has some good tips please let me know. My next goal will be to change my template and to put pictures up in my blog. Wish me luck..