8 week ultrasound

We went to the doctor this morning for Kristen's 8 week ultrasound appointment. Sure enough, our little bambino has grown larger and it's heart is beating MUCH stronger at 177 beats per minute! Supposedly, the stronger the heartbeat, the more likely it's a girl. We'll see in about 12 more weeks if that old wives tale proves true. As long as it shows up in 8 months, we don't care what it is! The u/s tech said our baby is measuring "perfect" which was music to our ears. A magnificent morning for these parents-to-be. It's really, really starting to sink in!

Everytime a bell rings, an angel gets its wings.

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

I can't say enough about how much I absolutely LOVE this movie. It warms the cockles of my heart (something Bragie used to say to me as Papa handed me a bowl of his delicious chicken soup.)

It's on NBC tonight at 7 pm. For those of you that have never seen it, warm yourself up a cup of hot chocolate, curl up next to the one you love, and enjoy the Christmas wonderment of this classic. It's simply beautiful.

New reading material...

Huge thanks to Tom & Shelby! We got a little surprise from them in the mail this week. A book for Kristen (The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy) and for Johnny (My boys can swim!) You two always keep us laughing, so it's fitting you sent us books that would too. Many thanks, we're enjoying them already. xoxo

7 weeks

I'm 7 weeks today. I feel like it's such a milestone. As you can see from our rotating "Bambino" to the right of the page, our baby is actually starting to look like a real baby this week. We go for our second ultrasound next Wednesday. This time, John will be there to hold my hand and we're SO EXCITED! I will be 8 weeks by then and this is what we hope to see, along with a stronger heartbeat:




I'm happy to say I finally tossed my cookies tonite. I've told a few people this past week, that I wished I would just "get it out" already. I thought it might be cathartic after close to 3 weeks of nausea. Well, be careful what you wish for!

Happy 29th Birthday Grandma

You've never looked better...WE LOVE YOU!

The feast of St. Nicholas

Tonight, we hang our stockings on the eve of the feast of St. Nicholas. This is a tradition Kristen has been celebrating since childhood and we can't wait to continue it. We're so excited to add another stocking to the mantel.

Everything is going well over here...Kristen feels like she might toss her cookies at any moment, but we're taking that as a good sign!

To learn more about the spirit of St. Nicholas, click here.

We have been blessed...

Kristen is pregnant!!!

Our hearts are filled with joy. We found out right before Thanksgiving and could not imagine a greater blessing in our lives right now. We have prayed and prayed for this! We are so excited to share our happiness with you all. You have all been so kind and said so many prayers for us along the way. After our miscarriage in January, we are incredibly hopeful for this pregnancy. We ask for your continued prayers for a healthy bambino to join us at the end of July. Kristen went for her first ultrasound this morning and OUR BABY'S HEART IS BEATING! 101 beats per minute, which the nurse said was good for this early on. Stay tuned for updates along the journey of this 9 month miracle!

Love to you all...

Happy Anniversary Rich & Lindsay

Congratulations you two on another wonderful year of marriage!

Papa's 80th Birthday

We got together for pizza & cake at Aurelio's for Papa's 80th Birthday on Sunday night. I told him he'd make it to 95 with flying colors. He said he's shootin' for 104!

Happy Advent

Alot like Ricky Bobby in Talladega Nights, the baby Jesus is my favorite Jesus as well. Have a happy Advent as we wait for the coming of our Lord, the baby Jesus!