Michiganders

Our trip back "home" to Michigan at the end of January was a total success.  We drove all over the state and were able to spend quality time with both sides of our family.  We also met baby Esther, the four week old daughter of our good friends Jason and Erica.  Isn't she sweet?  It won't be long until we have our own to hold.

The weather in Michigan was FREEZING.  WAY too cold for our warm Western blood!  But the snowcovered beach of Lake Michigan was kind of pretty.

We made it back to Seattle and have been in major nesting mode, with lots of projects, shopping, and nursery renovations keeping us busy.  More details on all of that soon!

This big red blob is me on Valentine's Day at 24 weeks pregnant.  The bump is sure growing fast!

Winter in Seattle this year has been super mild and quite lovely.  There have been many 55-60 degree sunny days!  Look, the trees have started to bud in February!  My Mom and Dad are here visiting this week and Dad took these pictures on our walk down the Cedar River Trail to Lake Washington.

Whoa!  Pregnant Nicole!

Monday brought gorgeous weather too, so we visited the boat locks in Ballard and had a yummy seafood lunch at Ray's Cafe.

Grandma can't get enough of babies, and attended a baby shower for a co-worker with me on Tuesday night and then helped us entertain Addi, while Gretchen and Ryan had band practice on Thursday night.

Grandma and Grandpa were also a HUGE help with the pets. Our puppy has come a long way since they first met her last spring and they really do adore and spoil her just as good grandparents should!  Alley and Oscar are going to be VERY sad when they leave tomorrow.

Ted and Terrie head back to Michigan tomorrow, but I'll be heading back in just two weeks for my first baby shower, so we won't be apart for long.  I will post again soon with baby project pictures!

The Mass

Today is a hard day.  I was scheduled to have a second MRI and exam and consultation with an oncologist today, but we decided to decline and cancel the appointments.  Our decision to go against the doctors recommendations were not reached in haste or without a lot of tears and passionate discussion.

"Isn't an oncologist a cancer doctor?  I thought she was pregnant not sick!"  If you're saying something similiar to yourself, I'll back up a bit for you.  From what I've heard, almost no pregnancy goes without its own difficulty and complication, mine happens to be the mysterious mass that has been discovered in my pelivs.

At nine weeks pregnant, I had my first appointment with my OB/GYN, Dr. Miller.  Through ultrasound, he discovered...1.Yes, I was in fact pregnant and 2. There was a large (5 cm) funky looking mass there too!  After two more specialized ultrasounds and radioligist consults, it was deemed that the mass had consumed my right ovary and needed to be surgically removed to prevent complications.  SURGERY WHILE PREGNANT!??!?  Yep, that's what I thought and felt and said too...but at the "sweet spot" of 15 weeks I went through with it only to find out after I awoke from anesthesia that my right ovary is in place and perfectly fine and the mass is off floating somewhere else and could not be touched.

At this point, Dr. Miller and his cronies were pretty sure that "the mass" was nothing to worry about...but not sure enough, because after a few days of pondering, it was recommended that I see an oncologist, who insisted we do an MRI, which caused me to have to sign a scary waver that said, "We are pretty sure this won't hurt your baby, but we can't make any promises."  The MRI did not return diffinitive results and Dr. Drescher, the oncologist, recommended we "keep an eye on it" with another MRI and follow up appointment in 4 weeks.

This is pretty much where I said enough is enough.  Not only have I put my baby in jeopardy with surgery and an MRI, but now you are asking me to continue to go down that road, and it's getting us NOWHERE!  Not to mention, even if they did discover "something" with this testing, the next step would be to explore options like terminating pregnancy or forcing a super early delivery of the baby, both of which suggestions make me want to hurl and in my mind are not an option.  So, it might be better just not to know, ya know?

Dr. Miller was supportive when we spoke with him about not wanting an MRI, but after he consulted with Dr. Drescher, called to say he could not in good faith tell me it was ok just to ignore things and not do the MRI.

Well, as you already know if you read the first paragraph of this post, that is precisely what we decided to do.  It sucks to have to go against medical recommendation, but at the same time my heart is very strongly leading me not to spend any more time, money, stress, or chance at jeapordizing this otherwise extremely healthy pregnancy at the moment.  The mass can be monitored (although not with as much detail) by ultrasound and if any concerning symptoms appeared we would definitely investigate more at that point, but so far, that's not the case.  After the baby is delivered, Jon and I are quite open to testing, procedures, evaluation...have at it!   ...as long as it isn't at the expense of this baby.  I believe God put this baby in my body (and without wasting any time I might add!) for a reason, so although  my doctor doesn't agree, I have to have faith that both baby and me will be okay in the end, even if it means prolonging discovering the mystery behind this mass for four or five more months.

Today will most certainly end brighter than it began.  Jon and I are finally traveling "home" to Michigan to visit our families and some friends and hold the "holiday" celebrations that were made impossible due to the surgery, recovery, and endless days in the doctor's office in December.  I'll be blogging about our trip when I get back next week.

It's a...

BOY!!!!!

Most of you have already heard the big news.  Thank you for being SO excited for us.  We're excited too, mostly to know that the baby seems happy and healthy and to be growing right on schedule.

The best part was the look on the ultrasound tech's face.  She was showing us the heart, and lungs, and bladder, and hands, etc. and then all of a sudden she just cocks her head and gives us this look like...you know what THAT is!  I said, "It's a boy?" and I was right!

Here are some pictures to share!  No wee wee's in these shots, just the most adorable little feet and a side profile shot of the head.  We're SO happy!

The Bump

I talked to my Mom last night and told her I am finally looking pregnant and she insisted on seeing a picture, so here I am in all my glory.  These shots were taken last night on January 11, 2010 and I am 19 weeks and 3 days along at this point!

The slippers are especially awesome, huh?  I had on cute red flats earlier in the day; use your imagination!

This Friday, we have our big 20 week ultrasound where they do a full anatomy scan of the baby.  If we're lucky, we'll know boy or girl then!  Hopefully, we'll share the big pink or blue news with you very soon!

Happy New Year!

Here we are on New Year's Eve!
My resolution is to keep this Blog CURRANT! Aren't you excited??? It's embarrasing that I last updated in September. My excuses included life changes that I wasn't quite ready to put on the internet (We're pregnant!) followed by surgery and a mysterious mass in my body that has made me worry endlessly, as well as caused us to live at the doctor's office.


Anywho...it's all out in the open now, and I'm back! I have big plans to do a little review (like share the photos from our Labor Day trip to Orcas Island that I have already uploaded) as well as look forward; I'm SO excited about my big plans for our nursery decor! Stay tuned...I promise there will be something to see this time!

Miss McKenna Seattle Style

Our favorite little sister, McKenna, traveled to Seattle all on her own to spend an entire week with us! It was exhausting, yet totally awesome! We did so much, including tons of shopping (McKenna is TOTALLY my thrift store buddy and she splurged on the COOLEST PURSE EVER at Nordstrom Rack. She said if she dies I can have it. :) and eating, with a tour of our favorite ethnic places including pizza, mexican, chinese, and indian food! The biggest adventure (and only thing we photographed) was an overnight camping trip to Mt. Rainier. Camping was FREEZING! But the next day was PERFECTLY gorgeous and sunny. Here we are having breakfast. Flat Annie came along too! We stopped to check out this waterfall...

How could you NOT want to live in the Pacific Northwest? It still takes my breath away...

Alley and Oscar ADORE McKenna and all the attention she gives them. She actually succeeded at tiring out Al, a miracle in itself. Al and Osc REALLY miss McKenna and hopes she comes back to see them really soon!

Thanks for visiting McKenna! We had a great time and hope you did too! You are welcome ANY time!

Prom!

On August 15, we attended the Jensen High Prom! Our good friends, Colleen and Justin throw some mean theme parties. We've attending several other shindigs at their place including, the ugly Christmas sweater and Halloween parties. With a disco ball, DJ, and lighted punch bowl fountain, they didn't dissapoint and we went all out to join in the fun! I even asked my friend Joan at work who is a florist to make a corsage and boutonniere for us! Pretty fancy, huh?

I purchased this lovely frock for the occasion at Value Village for $13 the day before the party. It's covered in glitter and left a trail all over Jon's car and Colleen's house! Whoops!Jon even treated me to a fancy steak dinner at the Melrose Grill before the party! We got LOTS of good stares at the restaurant.

This is Justin and Colleen's baby, Helen! Isn't her flapper outfit awesome!??

Just another day along the journey of Jon and Nicole!