Surprise!

Last week, Randy and I went in for a scheduled ultrasound. This was part of my nuchal/birth defects workup. We didn't have this workup with Quinn, so we didn't know what to expect.

The ultrasound was exciting! We got to see the baby, its arms and legs, hear the heartbeat, etc. We were also granted some unexpected news.

While we knew that we would find out the baby's gender, we certainly weren't expecting to at 14 weeks! We were so excited to learn that we are having a son. Our conversations immediately turned to boy names, toys and trucks, and (this one might be just me) how to decorate the nursery. We will have another anatomy ultrasound in a few weeks.

I had a regular doctor's appointment today, and everything went well. I pretty much look the same. My tummy is slowly growing! I am hungry, hungry, hungry all the time, and the scale is definitely starting to show that! Some of my fatigue has gone away, so I don't feel like a zombie all the time. It's nice to be able to function and feel like I can make it through a full day.

Have a great week!

Wordless Wednesday

"Be truly glad.  There is wonderful joy ahead!"
                                                                  - I Peter 1:6

Beach Bum

A few weekends ago, when my whole family was in town for Quinn's birthday, we took Quinn swimming at the hotel where my family was staying! She had never been in a pool or anything before; we thought she was too little last summer, and we just haven't had the chance since then! My mom took her in the water with my sister's kids and she had a pretty good time. She wasn't sure what to think, but seemed to enjoy it. I can't wait to take her more this summer! And, like I promised, NO swimsuit pictures of you, Mom. :-) Pardon Quinn's devil eyes; the pics were taken from afar.

Drying off!

Bye, bye!

Quinn is such a good waver and waves bye-bye to everyone and everything. She was in an especially good mood right after her afternoon nap today and right before we went to church. Please excuse the toy graveyard currently in my living room. :-)

snacking on some raisins!

My mom left earlier today. She stayed with us Thursday night and Friday night! We went to Williamsburg/Coralville on Friday and shopped ALL day - literally. I got tons of cute stuff for Quinn and for me (including, yes, maternity clothes. Yuck!). Today, we ran a few more errands, had lunch, and she took back off for home! We love having her stay. Quinn is crazy about her, and I think Grandma likes getting in some snuggles, too. Thanks for a couple of fun days, Mom!

One year photos!

Good morning. I am loving spring break! Random time off is definitely a perk of being an educator.

Here are the best things about spring break, in no discernible order:
Nap(s) whenever I want
Eating meals at normal times (no lunch at 10:30, unless I really want it then)
Lunch dates with friends!
Snuggles with my little pumpkin/staying in our jammies as long as we want
Reading books (Mommy AND Quinn)

I also have an outlet mall/Coralville mall trip planned this Friday with my mama. She has time off from work, too, so I am excited to grab some deals!

I wanted to post Quinn's one year pictures! There are too many of them to upload here. I am just going to link my Facebook album, which should be public. Let me know if it doesn't work!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2101564&id=34001174&l=ad2d2549bd

First birthday!

This past Saturday,we  celebrated Quinn's first birthday! Her birthday was on a Saturday, so we were lucky enough to hold the party on her actual birthday. Both of my siblings' entire families were able to come, and two of Randy's sisters' families were in attendance. Quinn had both sets of grandparents, my grandmother, and some of our friends. Needless to say, we had a full house with LOTS of cousins.

opening presents...

 

 

hey, this is pretty good!

 

Bath time!!

Expecting!

I am sure that most of you have heard by now, but the Kasparbauer crew is about to expand into a family of four!!

Randy and I could not be more excited to welcome our new little miracle into our home and our hearts this coming fall. Our due date is September 26th, 2011! As an educator, September is always a time of new beginnings, and that will be extra true this year. Randy's birthday is September 24th, so if this baby decides to come on time, it will share a birth month with him. Quinn and I both have March birthdays, and I am looking forward to lots of joint celebrations with her. :-)

I found out I was pregnant in January, which feels like forever ago. My friend Jenni and I were out to lunch, and she convinced me to run to Walgreens to grab a pregnancy test. I "knew" that it would be negative (my inner pessimist rearing her ugly head) but Jenni, the eternal optimist, convinced me just to try. Well, I got a positive result within just a few seconds. She claimed to have known all along! Such a smartie. I told another friend right away, then kept the news secret from everyone except Randy for weeks and weeks. Eventually, we leaked the story to more and more family and friends, until everyone knew.

This past Friday, I took a day off of work (a huge deal for me!!) and went for my first OB visit. I get really nervous before anything medical, even routine things, so I was kind of a wreck. I knew that if I could hear that little heartbeat (wokka-wokka, as Randy calls it), I would feel a million times better. Sure enough, it came through loudly and clearly. Randy and I went out for lunch - McDonald's, because we're fancy like that - and I headed over to a lab to get some blood drawn. Everything is normal, and we are off to a good start!

I am feeling...okay.Very, very tired and fatigued. I find myself napping almost every day! I have come home from school to fold laundry and have found myself asleep in the middle of my towels. I have been pretty nauseated and have had awful heartburn, but I know it will go away. The only thing that makes me feel better is to keep eating! I've gained quite a few pounds already, but I am hoping that the nausea/my ravenous appetite will taper off soon. I have been eating everything in sight!

We are beginning to prepare for Baby K as well. Quinn will move to a big-girl bed sometime in the fall (not going to push her into it), and I found the perfect comforter for her. I can't wait to buy her bedroom furniture and get that organized. Once we know the baby's gender we can decide if the current nursery decor stays or goes! I have gotten some teeny-tiny diapers and will continue to stock up as I see deals. Quinn had her first year's wardrobe organized before she was even born, so I will be doing some baby duds shopping as well. I might not be able to dress Baby K for a whole year, but I do like to be ready for anything!

Thanks for all of your kind words, friends. I will share lots of updates on how I am doing, the baby's progress, and of course, my ever-growing belly.

Have a great week!

Surgery...

We are at home. Quinn is recovering from this morning's surgery and sleeping well. Everything went fine with both procedures. It was super fast for them to take the adenoids out and put in the tubes! Quinn's throat is very sore and she had a hard time waking up from the anesthesia, but other than that we will see how the rest of the day goes. Mommy gets to go  back to work, so Q will snuggle with Daddy for the rest of the day and eat some nice, cool treats to soothe her throat. We are so glad that the surgery is done and feel blessed to live just a few minutes away from so many great hospitals and surgery centers! I am glad we didn't have to travel far with a sad, tired, HUNGRY girl! We are really hoping that the tubes make a difference and that everyone can finally get some sleep. :-)

not so happy (before)

wait, what's this on my ankle?

 

 

sorry, sideways. enjoying the first drink in 12 hours! Yikes!