Annual Christmas Tree Hunt

After a long day of holiday shopping at the outlets with Kristy and Karen, the Onders decided to meet for our annual christmas tree hunt! Henrik did GREAT and really enjoyed being out in the woods. We had a wonderful time and ended the evening with a pizza dinner back at our house - a special night. 

I'll post some pictures of our tree once we decorate it :) 

 

Our Sweet/Shy Baby

Little baby Zimmerman made the decision for us this time – he/she hid the goods from us so we don’t know if we’re having a little boy or girl. But what we do know is that our little one is growing right on track and everything measured perfectly for 20 weeks. Dr. Wolfgram even said that he rarely sees babies that are this symmetrical at this stage. We are very proud!

This would have been our last sonogram but since the baby was breech (which means nothing at this phase) they couldn’t measure the entire spine and we have to go back for one more sonogram. So the drama continues – will we find out the gender or not!?

The heartbeat was 144 which is pretty consistent for our little one. There is an old wives’ tale that girls have higher heartbeats (180s) and boys have lower (130s) so if you go by that this seems like boy behavior. And I will say that the baby looked like a boy today. I might regret saying that if this is a girl but oh-well. It looked to have big feet and a big head – sound like anyone you know (cough cough, Adam).

Here’s a little profile picture. I think it’s so cute that his/her mouth is open – so sweet! Cannot wait to hear the first cry come out!

So in love already.  

Excited for Today’s Sonogram!

It’s been 5 weeks since our last doctor’s appointment and I am very anxious to get a checkup. When I first learned we had to schedule appointments once a month I thought it was going to be overwhelming. Now I realize just how many questions can compile over 4 weeks (along with some anxiety) and now I look forward to our visits.

An extra bonus tomorrow is our 20 week sonogram. We are 21 weeks now but the office was closed most of last week for Thanksgiving. We haven’t “seen” our little guy/girl in over 2 months so I am REALLY looking forward to seeing a big change in her/his appearance. I am a little nervous and hopeful for healthy report but I am not going to worry until there is something to worry about.

Adam and I are STILL going back and forth on the decision to find out the sex. I was the one who originally pushed waiting until the big delivery but now I am dying to know! I’m not really sure why – I don’t feel the need to paint the room pink/blue or even buy a bunch of girly/boyish things…guess it’s just pure curiosity. At the moment I am leaning towards finding out but ask me in the morning and I might be singing a different tune.

Last night I had a dream it was a boy for the first time! All my other dreams have featured cute little girls. After my middle of the night bathroom trip I had another dream that Dr. Wolfgram wouldn’t let us get a sonogram saying we didn’t need one and this was just a regular visit – I was very upset. Haha.

Note about Thanksgiving – Adam and I had a wonderful time at Nick and Cindy’s this year. Adrienne came over to our place in the morning and we cooked for about 4 hours. We made most of the sides and Cindy and her mom knocked out the turkey (all 25 pounds of it) the stuffing and some other yummy starters. It was a good division of labor, nobody felt too overworked.

At the table were two very special guests – Will and Phil Putnam. What a treat it was sharing the holidays with them. They jumped right in and played with the girls, talked with the ladies while we finished cooking, indulged Nick by riding in his fancy car, and even joined us in a Wii dance competition after dinner. The night ended by Karen and Frank coming by to share some dessert and catch up with everyone. Adam and I were home by 8:30 p.m. and passed out (editor’s note: this is no different than any other night).

Saturday morning Nick planned an impromptu trip to Hershey Park where we stayed the night. They treated everyone as they did last year to thank us for helping them throughout the year. We all assured them that the kisses and hugs from the girls is adequate payment but they enjoy doing this – thank you again! We arrived at noon and went to a fancy “Lunch with Santa” party. In the evening we had dinner and ice skated – what fun! We had breakfast the next morning, left at 11:00 a.m. and were home by 1:00 p.m.  – a perfect little getaway.

Happy holidays! 

Mia Anna Zimmerman - What a Sweet Little Girl

Oh my - Eric and Luci have done it again. They have produced a beautiful bundle of joy. Mia Anna Zimmerman is one word – perfect! 6 little pounds of perfection. Head to toe adorable! My favorite part of her little face is her almond eyes. Open or shut they add a very unique look to such a tiny little baby. Her eyes along with her jet-black hair make her look like a little china doll.  You just cannot stop looking at her once you start.

I think I heard Mia cry four times they entire 4 days we were there – twice when she was getting changed, once when she first got into the bath and once when she had the hiccups and wanted to switch positions.  I still cannot believe how content she is.  I PRAY our baby was watching and taking notes.

Luci and Eric, along with their personal nurse Lauri, are doing great. They make bringing home a new baby look so easy.  Lauri of course comes highly recommended so we have reserved her services and love for April. Even Matty seems to love the new addition. I think he could do without sharing his mama but he’s handling it well. At least once a day he asks to hold her and gives very sweet little kisses. They look particularly cute when they are together.

The weekend was filled with great meals, baby bonding, trips to the store/park, and lots of laughs.  We got in as much quality time as humanly possible in 4 days and it was all so much fun. Thank you Eric and Luci for letting share in this very special time <3

Mia is a fantastic new addition to the Zimmerman family. We all love her so much already. 

Enjoy the adorable pictures below:

The first little kick! November 1, 2011

I guess I cannot be 100% sure because I’ve never experienced it before, but I believe I just felt the first little flutters of baby zim. The first little “bubble pop” caught my attention and I thought huh – that felt like how all the books describe as the first baby movements. Right after that I felt a stronger and more distinctive POP.  I felt it in my belly and very close to the surface. I feel pretty confident that this was a little hello from our sweet babe. Pretty exciting!

Our last doctor’s appointment on October 25^th went very well. Our little guy/girl’s heartbeat was at 135, I gained 7 pounds and after a little belly exam my doctor was happy with everything he saw. Below is a picture of our new 7 pounds; it’s not much but it’s our little baby bump! We also got all the test results back from the genetic screening – all is clear!

Our next appointment and ultrasound is scheduled for November 29^th. By then we’ll be 21 weeks which means we can find out the sex if we want (unless the baby is being shy). Although most of you know that Adam and I keep going back and forth on if we want to find out or not, we are pretty sure now that we don’t want to know. We would like to experience both knowing and not knowing and since we plan on having two little munchkins we can find out the second time around.

I finally broke down this past weekend and got some maternity clothing.  My shirts of course still fit fine but my jeans were becoming very uncomfortable. What started as a quick trip to Target ended with a visit to the awesome maternity store in Montgomery Mall with Adrienne. We had so much fun stocking up on pants, sweaters, etc…Mom and Dad Zimmerman got me a gift card to the maternity store once we hit the second trimester (thank you again!) so we decided just get a bunch of essentials. I cannot tell you how comfortable I am today in my work pants. Maybe that’s why baby zim said hello – he/she approves of this new comfort!

In other news, Luci’s baby shower was on October 23^rd and thankfully Mia decided NOT to crash the party, although she had us all on the edge of our seats. To be honest, we still are! I think we all sense her little presence and cannot wait to get that call from Olde Sporte. Adam is going to NYC this Thursday for a business trip so he might even get the good fortune of being there when all the action starts.  But hopefully not – we would all love for her to stay cozy for a little longer.

Luci’s shower was SO MUCH fun. She has an amazing group of super sweet girl friends who made the day very special for her along with a great show from the family – Ali, Elle, Randi, Amanda (with Rylie), mom and me.  Everyone made amazing dishes so after we ate like queens we enjoyed watching Luci open gift after gift of pink girly goodness! I forgot my camera at home (ugh) but I have one picture below which I think depicts the day perfectly – a glowing mommy surrounded by her gifts!

Overall life is wonderful and we are super happy! Upcoming posts – Henrik our wild and anxious dog and the Zimmermans finally remodel their bathrooms.

P.S. Happy Halloween! Since we can’t share pictures of our cute baby dressed up yet – here are some pictures of some other people's kids we think are cute ;)

Our baby  bump!

Luci's Shower

Be careful with that knife Nick!

Happiness is...

The Onder Girls 2011

Picture Perfect Halloweeen!

Time for candy!

The new kid on the block

One cozy little bear!

He could stay in that outfit all day!

Always better with a friend...

October 14th – A Weekend to Remember

What a fabulous weekend we just had.  Although Adam and I were apart we both got to spend some quality time with the people we love. This was the first time since we got hitched that we were apart for 4 nights but we survived J

I headed to Portland, OR for my cousin Drew’s wedding. They got married in front of a fireplace full of candles in a room surrounded by only their closest friends and family members. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. I cannot fully express how proud I am of Drew and Nicole. They have built a beautiful little family together and I look forward to experiencing all the joy their marriage will bring.

Adam stayed home and relaxed after a business trip to NJ. A fun highlight of his trip was attending a hockey game with cousin Brett. The Rangers weren’t playing but he was still thrilled to walk into a cold, hockey pumped arena full of fellow enthusiasts. There is nothing better for Adam than the start of the fall.

Adam also got to spend some time with Jonathan, Jaime and the girls (oops – I can’t say “the girls” anymore) – the kids. They went for a hike on Roosevelt Island and enjoyed the perfect fall day.

We ended the weekend by announcing on Facebook that we are prego! It was so much fun watching everyone’s reactions and reading their well wishes. Below is the picture we posted – we can’t do anything without incorporating the Rangers right now. 

Below are some pictures of our amazing weekend!

Drew and Nicole's Wedding:

 How lovely are they!

Enjoying the hike

Even baby Zack made it out!

Telling the world!

In coming news we have another doctor’s appointment on Tuesday, October 25^th. I think this is just a regular checkup – nothing special like a sonogram. I’ll post a report.  I am continuing to feel better but I am also getting a bit more tired during the day. For instance, I am writing this with my eyes half closed.

Feeling Better at 14 Weeks!

Finally, after 14 weeks we are feeling better! It happened just like all the books said – one day I woke up and just felt normal. My headaches are gone and so are most of my tummy issues.  I still get a little dizzy when I push myself too much in the morning and I need to snack all the time but I really can’t complain.

We had another doctor’s appointment last week and the heartbeat was nice and strong – 145. We have another appointment in 3 weeks. Man – I feel like we’re going all the time now! I am showing a little bit now but not enough to need new clothing yet . I’ll post belly pictures when you guys wont laugh at me J

With a new lease on life we had a really enjoyable weekend. Saturday we enjoyed a big pancake breakfast and went car shopping. My lease is up so we need a new cruiser for our bruiser. Looking at cars with baby in mind is a totally different experience. Adam and I quickly turned away from cars with less than 4 start crash rating in all the different areas. We are skipping the SUV for now but a 3-year lease will allow us to reevaluate if we need one next time.  We haven’t made any decisions yet but a top runner is the Chevy Malibu. Although I am having a hard time coming to terms with driving a Malibu, I can’t deny it – the car is a BEAST!

Saturday night we went to Jonathan and Jaime’s house for break-fast. The weather was perfect and we had a wonderful time sitting on the porch lit by candlelight enjoying great food and even some music from Uncle Glen who put real stings on Sydney’s guitar and jammed out. He also brought his amazing traveling guitar – what a talented man.  It was so nice to relax with everyone and catch up.

One of the main highlights of the night was Zack of course. He was so happy sitting outside all wrapped up and didn’t fuss all evening.  I also got to watch him get a little bath which he clearly loves! What a sweet little boy – below is a picture of the little munchkin.

Big weekend coming up – Portland for the Onder wedding! We’ll post some photos when we get back.