Terrific Weekend

With a baby on the way, a 2 bedroom home and little storage space we had to do some moving back home to Green Bay. We took down our guest bed to set-up the nursery and headed out Friday evening after wrapping up the mattresses. Side note: isn't it just your luck that the one time you don't need it to rain, it starts to rain?

We got home just before 11:30 PM and got a bit of sleep - OK, we overslept on Saturday morning. We planned to visit Grandpa Dick (on my dad's side) "up nort" in Lakewood. Man, it was great to see the old cabin and the old man. Still makes me laugh how grumpy he gets. Mom, Melissa and I visited with Grandpa and Joyce for a few hours. See picture below... I can't express how cool it was to just be there with them. Mom and I played a racing game where I smoked her!

I've been to the cabin a few times over the last couple years and every time I head up there, the memories come back. The first time I fished, shooting fireworks off the dock, swimming in the lake, deer camp. Gosh, you forget how much you miss those times until you are reminded of them. After a nice visit, we went home for some BBQ. Melissa, Duncan and I got to explore mom's house - it looks AWESOME! It will look sweet when it's done.

To top off the weekend, the mom's got to feel the baby kick - and KICK. I even got kicked in the face. It seems that talking to the baby works well! Before we left for Minneapolis, we had dinner with my sister, Diana, her hubby "The Chad" and the girls. They are getting so big! Crazy! Spooky... are we really getting that old? Don't answer that...

Much love - Adam, Melissa, Duncan and baby (vote to the right about the sex of the baby!)

First Baby Picture!

YAY! We finally got the ultrasound! We got to see the baby and all it's features, that is, the ones that we want to see and the ones we don't want to see! Everything is going great. I am now at 22 weeks and the baby is about 1.3 pounds and about the size of an ear of corn. The baby was very active during the ultrasound and at one point the technician held the camera still and we got to see it move! That was so cool. We do, however, have some discrepancies with the due date. We originally got October 9th as the date and now we are told the 20th. I figure if we shoot for the middle (October 15th), we should be good to go!!

We finally got the headboard for the crib. We haven't opened it yet, but hopefully it will be in one piece. We are headed back to GB this weekend to see Adam's Grandpa and bring the extra bed to my mom's so we can store it in her basement. Thanks Mom! Hopefully we will get the crib together soon and have pictures of the room.

We had some visitors tonight. Our good friends Jon and Elizabeth were in town. We haven't seen them in about 2 years since the marathon that they all ran together. It was very great to see them again. We are happy they are doing well. We had the pleasure of introducing them to our friends Joe and Lisa... we all had dessert together and chatted. It was so cool to hang out together. All is going great!

Hope you all enjoy the picture!!

Love and Smiles! :)

Flutters?

The coolest thing happened to me this week at work. I got the following email from Melissa, "I felt a flutter!" Little did I know this meant the baby was kicking! A flutter, a kick - very similar. This made me light up like the sun.

Baby's kicks eluded me until after my softball game Wed. night. Melissa and I were laying down when she yanked my arm over by her. There wasn't a person near me at work, softball or on the train that hasn't heard my joy about the babies kicks. Baby is kicking Melissa a bit more and it has been amazing.

Kick on my friend, kick on...

We are 22 weeks along, over half way! We had a Dr. appointment on Friday to have an ultrasound and check-up. Have you ever been so excited for something to come that you couldn't focus? Should have seen me Friday morning... until...

Melissa called to let me know the office called, the technician was out ill and we couldn't have out ultrasound. What? One technician in the entire office? Bogus! Nonetheless, we went to see the Dr who scheduled an ultrasound in a little more timely fashion than the office would. Next step - ultrasound, 6/17

WHAT?

Quick well wishes to Grandma Karen and Jack in Green Bay, I just heard that the home remodeling project took an interesting twist today - RAIN.

The builders "forgot" to tarp it up and it started to downpour. A "little" leak sprung in their bedroom and after a bit, an unexpected ceiling drop occurred. I can't believe that! With a heavy heart, we wish you a speedy clean-up. We love you guys, have faith that things will get taken care of soon. We can't wait to come home and see all the remodeling. It will look great. Send some wacky pictures so we can look back and laugh.

Much love!
- Adam, Melissa, Duncan and Baby :)

A Lesson, A Memory...

After a little softball tonight (2 wins for the good guys!), I just wanted to post about something on the heart. First, I'd be silly for not mentioning a happy belated birthday to our great friend Joe. I just mentioned to Melissa that we have to remember Joe and Lisa's birthday's... what'd we do? Miss it... Joe and Lisa are our fantastic neighbors and friends. They have a cocker spaniel named Max who is great friends with Duncan. They also introduced us to our church and have become great friends! Happy birthday buddy!

Yesterday was a very special day for our family, my dad's birthday. If he were alive, he would be 55 years old. It's been over 10 years since his passing - but it never seems to sink in. There are some days where it is just unbearable, others where you smile and cry at the same time, but most where you just think about your family and how you grow together through adversity.

In a few months, we will be parents. I think back to childhood and really am proud of the work my parents did. I learned a tremendous amount from my father while he was here, but I continue to learn a ton after his passing. What's different? We are closer as a family. I got closer to my sister (she was a pain for so many years). I learned that I couldn't take my mother for granted. My favorite memories are of the county fair, baseball games she took me to, sporting events she watched or shopping trips we took. Even though there were the teenage times (as tough as they seemed), I wouldn't be ready for parenting without her. I wouldn't be ready to be a leader without the lessons from mom and dad. I want our children to look back someday and say they are proud, because of the lessons Melissa and I have learned... we know they will.

Words cant express how much I miss dad, but then again, if you listen closely - you can hear him whisper. You can hear that goofy laugh, see that bushy beard. I write something for him in the GB paper every chance I can. For his birthday I mentioned how it's no mistake how when you are hurting and need a friend, there is a friendly breeze or hug. How the warm sun makes you smile...

Thanks for all of the lessons and memories. Parents are amazing! Time for us to make our mark. Pretty cool!

Ketchup

BBQ season, nothing makes me (Adam) happier! Time to ketchup a little... gosh I am funny. It's been a few weeks, but we are doing very well. The weather is starting to play fair and that has made BBQ season kick into high gear. Melissa laughs because I am putting Buffalo Wild Wings sauce on everything I am cooking. It's the bomb!

Last week was a great holiday weekend. The weather got a little dicey with a tornado touching down near our old apartment. Sadly, a two year old died in the storm. The town has rallied together and we all thank God others were not hurt. While that was going on, we bought and set-up our baby furniture. That was an AWESOME experience.

We got our crib, dresser and changing table at Target to utilize our discount. We had a lot of fun together while setting stuff up. Everything was going so well until we went to unpack the crib. Booooo - a crack in the headboard. We emailed the company and its all being taken care of. What made putting furniture together so great? Hmmm...

1. No fights



2. Awesome conversation about our family to be



3. New stuff = shopping = unwrapping... just like XMAS



4. Anticipation... we are going to be parents!

Melissa is starting to show a bit more, see the photo below from the halfway point. She is still feeling great and we are anxiously awaiting a few baby kicks. This week we are heading out to see a childcare center and we have a class next weekend. It's pretty cool to learn from class, but there will be a lot of hands-on learning. In church the last few weeks we've learned what the Bible says about being a parent and raising children - that's been great!

This Friday comes the ultrasound... for real this time. Nope, not finding out the sex of the baby. Quit trying to get it out of us of the doctors grandma's. We'll be sure to scan in pictures.



Much love - Adam, Melissa, Duncan and Baby

Pictures!

Whew... take about blog neglect, we have been terrible the last few weeks. Nonetheless, tonight we will blog and let you know all about the last few weeks. Babies, birthday's, furniture, family and friends. Get excited!

Much love!


Ciara and Arianna picture below :)