T-Minus 3 weeks & 2 days

Not that I'm actually counting down...  but really, it's getting close!  I went to our midwife today and she is guessing baby girl to be in the 9-10 lb range at birth.  According to her, "Not enormous, but probably big."

Caleb is getting very excited to have a baby sister.  He regularly comes up to me and pats my belly, says "Baby!" and tells me that she is going to come out and sleep in the crib in his room.

We are getting ready for baby girl, as much as we can be, and are excited for this new transition in our family.  Besides adding another member to our family, we also made the decision a few months ago that I would be staying home with our children after this baby comes and General Mills has been very supportive of that decision.  I have 6 more days at work - two weeks on my part-time schedule.  My last day will be June 14th.

It's been a very busy several months between Eric's classes & work, my work, and family events - in March we traveled to Chicago to visit my Grandma and Grandpa (who has Alzheimers) and Eric presented for his research project at the Structures Congress in downtown Chicago, in April my Grandma on the other side passed away and my cousin got married, and in May we visited Eric's family and Grandma!  All this in the midst of 3 major project startups between March - May for my job as well as wrapping up everything I've been working on for 3 1/2 years at the plant.  Whew!

We are getting ready to close this chapter and see what this new season of our lives will bring.  Two children and one career + school is significantly different than 1 child and 2 careers + school!  We have no delusions of the ease of being a stay-at-home mom or balancing finances on 1 income, but we are definitely excited about the possibilities of the additional home time that we will gain with the change.

Here are some pictures from our family photo shoot a few weeks ago.

Maternity 5-2012 Photo Shoot

We'll keep updating here over the next few weeks through when the baby comes!

And in other news, Amanda & Spencer had their baby last night!  Whoohoo another baby boy in the family - grandbaby #9 for my parents.  And the oldest one isn't even 4 years old yet.  Wow.   :)

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Holidays!

What a great holiday season this is. It's so nice to have some time off after a crazy year.

Christmas for Caleb started early this year, with early gift exchanges with Auntie Sarah and Uncle Mark before they left on their big trip to the Phillipines. Caleb has definitely been having cousin withdrawal... every time he sees a picture of one of them he goes nuts.

Caleb and I met Aunt Amanda, Uncle Spencer, and Cousin Will in Ames to do a trade-off with Grandma Cindy before Christmas. It's always fun to see Will and watch the two of them interact. It's too bad we aren't closer, but they really do love playing together. Caleb did great on his 4-day adventure with Grandma and Grandpa, although he was really excited to see us when we picked him up. Skype and Apple's Facetime are both great for visiting with family when visiting isn't an option. We're so thankful for the technology advances that make the world a little smaller.

We spent the Christmas holiday up in the Quad Cities with Eric's family, which was great! It was so wonderful to see Great-Grandma Sally and the rest of the family. Grant made it back from Japan and we enjoyed seeing him. It was a restful visit - which isn't always the case with a lot of people under one roof (as I'm sure you all know) - and for that we were thankful!

It's fun looking back at pictures from the last year and to see how much Caleb has changed. From 5 months old to 17 months old, he seems like a completely different little boy. And to think that this time next year Caleb will not only be 2 1/2, but will also be a big brother! It's hard to think of Caleb as the big anything, but we have no doubt that he will enjoy the role of oldest child and seasoned veteran.

Family Photo Shoot Pictures:

https://plus.google.com/photos/116317704957344582919/albums/5663797886524058337

Here's some more pictures from this fall. Enjoy!

https://plus.google.com/photos/106477809142921264380/albums/5692024390168109009?authkey=CPTRmrPby4mCbQ

We hope your holidays continue to be enjoyable and that you all here in the midwest continue to enjoy this ridiculously mild weather!

All our love,

Stephanie, Eric, and Caleb

1 Year Old

We are happy to announce... about two weeks late... that Caleb, Eric, and I all survived our first year as parents and child! It's been a good year. To think back that this time last year, we were just figuring out what it meant to take care of a baby, to live on less sleep, and to shoulder the responsibility of having a child totally dependent on us. It's amazing.

I think back on my transition to motherhood, and it is a pretty unbelievable change. On July 16th, I started maternity leave with no real concept of what that meant. Sure, as all first-time moms do, I had an idea. Diapers and crib set up in the new room, carseat in the backseat of my car, 9 month maternity clothes prepared to give way for nursing tank tops and 6 month maternity clothes while my body would make the slow transition back to normal. Sleepless nights because of discomfort would give way for sleepless nights with a hungry baby. And of course the childbirthing classes to prepare me for the average 12 hours of labor that on average happen 3 days after the due date for first-time moms.

These things were true, absolutely. But I definitely wasn't prepared for the disconnectedness of seeing Caleb for the first time, the disbelief that Eric and I were responsible for this new life. And then only a week later, laying on the couch never wanting to let go and let this little boy grow up.

The changes in me I didn't forsee... Starting with being terrified I was going to forget him asleep in the car in the 100F heat of late July while on an errand I was used to doing by myself; then my heart skipping a beat when I walk away from the grocery cart for a second and realizing he's with dad for the afternoon. Starting with worrying I'm not going to wake up when he needs me; now leaving on fans and no baby monitor, because my mind can sift through his nighttime noises without ever really waking up. How being away from Caleb for a day at work is just enough to make me want to hold him and play all evening and ignore all other activities. How leaving him for my first day back to work from maternity leave was so hard I wanted to quit and never go back.

I wasn't prepared for the change in Eric and my relationship, how having children makes you look at each other differently, how you spend more time looking at your baby than at each other. I wasn't prepared for my body changes, the toll that pregnancy takes and the continued toll of nursing for 11 months. I wasn't prepared for the stress of working, even part-time, and juggling daycare, church activities, Eric's activities, grocery shopping, food, laundry, cleaning (that one took a huge backseat), and trying to maintain healthy relationships - with both old friends who don't have children and new friends who do.

All of these things are the transitions of parenthood. I am so thankful for those who have made this past year easier, who have been understanding, supportive (with meals, childcare, love, emotional support, smiles, grace, understanding, and advice). Mark & Sarah, all of our corpus group, Jeff & Maria, Leslie T, Charity M, Kelli A, Sara G, both sets of Grandparents, Amanda Fontana, Aunt Nancy, Juli H, Joe & Michelle, Nathan & Jenilee, just to name a few. You have all made the past year easier in some way or another, and we are grateful to you and your friendship.

Here are some pics from Caleb's first year birthday party to celebrate the year. Here's to moving forward - older, wiser, and seeing more and more how blessed we are!

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100226088369060.2543411.16903682&l=78173b0ce7&type=1