13 Weeks +

Cheers to 13 weeks and Christopher's 32nd birthday!  We are so happy to finally be over the major margin of worry and happy to finally not have to keep everything a big secret. Speaking of big secret....we (aka Ashlee) are 98% we are going to find out the sex of the baby. For weeks I would change my mind daily and although I love many of the reasons why couples don't find out, I didn't feel a strong connection to any of those reasons. So, in the mean time check out the poll on the side of the blog and let us know what you think! There are two votes there already...Mom and Dad-to-be. I've been leaning towards it being a boy while Chris thinks it's a girl. You decide!

                                                 Here I am at 13 weeks

I'm still feeling great, although I've had a few rough days after a couple Saturdays of going, going, going.  That will teach me to over do it...

...but it was so fun! Chris' parents came to visit and we hit the local farmers market in the morning to check out all the fresh grub, cuties in costumes, and get a few snacks like Deep Fried Oreo's, you heard me right, and hot yummy egg rolls! This is was happens when you eat powder covered deep fried goodness while waiting in line for egg rolls in a black jacket.

Mike buys and sells coins and money and while waiting in line for egg rolls he got a good tip for a spot downtown that sells money notes. He ended up buying quite a few and I have a feeling this is going to become a regular stop for him while in town.  After the market we stopped in a cafe for lunch and they had Internet access, we joked that Mikey was going to load and sell all the money before they left Appleton the next day. We didn't realize how serious our joking could be.

                               Can you spot the avid coin and note seller?

Then after some shopping, we got a little surprise visit from family friends Tom and Nancy who were passing through on their way home Door County. We talked them into joining us for a drink at dinner. What no one but Chris and I knew is that we were not going to just one spot for dinner but instead four! Drinks, appetizers, dinner and dessert. Chris and I love the restaurants of Appleton and always have had a hard time picking just one for a night out on the town so we often go to many! We thought as long as the weather was still decent that we would share that experience with his family. It turned out great and was lots of fun...even though we were too full to make it dessert!

                                                     Il Angolo Resto-Bar

                                                    
                                                      Cena of Appleton

                                                
                                                   Lombardi's Steakhouse

We're Having a Baby!!

Chris and I are happy to announce we are growing our family! We're expecting and 12 weeks along! We couldn't be scared and thrilled at the same time. We would like to continue using this blog as a way to keep all of our family and friends up to date with the happenings of our lives. This is an extremely exciting time for us and we want to share it with you all!


It's been so hard keeping this all a secret and I've been writing blog posts over the last few months but not posting them. We didn't want to forget a minute of this. I've finally released them all! I hope you enjoy reading about this time in our lives as much as we love living it!

Love you all,
Ashlee & Chris

Before the News

BTN March

BTN April

BTN May

BTN June

BTN July

BTN August

WE DID IT!!

8 Weeks +

9 Weeks +

10 Weeks +

11 Weeks +

12 Weeks +

12 Weeks +

Still rocking and rolling. I had another doctors appointment this past week. Our little love is no longer a smudge but is now actually starting to look like a little human. I also got to see baby moving around in there, even though I can't feel anything yet. Hopefully in a couple more weeks!


                                      Still no bump, but it won't be long!

11 Weeks +

Our second nephew was born this week, Thursday, October 13th Mr. Keegan Joseph Casey joined the world! Happy Day! One more week and our first neice Ella Leigh Wendorf is joining us as well! Babies, babies, babies!

Speaking of...here's our not so visable baby at 11 weeks! Bloated... Yes... Bump... Not yet, but soon!

10 Weeks +

Not much of anything new to say this week. I'm still feeling really good, forgetting some days that I'm even prego.  Sleeping at night has continued to get harder and Lo-Bear is not loving it. She would usually be right at my side and now I catch her there ever so often but otherwise she sleeps by Chris, under the bed or by my feet. Not sure yet if she is starting to realize something is going on or if I'm just moving around too much for her taste. So high maintenance.

Other than that just some general sluggishness (<-- is that even a word?) and fatigue... oh the fun!

Oh yeah! I almost forget (not hard to do these days)! I started taking some bump pictures! I had to dig out our old camera as we are still dealing with the situation of the other one, so the quality is not the best, but it will do!  I'm not showing yet, or at least not anything anyone would speculate about. I can see and feel the difference in the way clothes fit. I'll explain the story behind the background another time. Enjoy!

                                                     10 weeks + 1 Day

9 Weeks +

Ekkk...we're not sure how much longer we can keep this secret in. Most of our family and friends know by this point but we're not sharing anything with the worldwide web until we've told work. Lord knows things can spread like wildfire!

On another note, I've still been feeling pretty good. Nausea is at a low and hopefully on it's way out all together. Mostly though I'm having trouble sleeping....I go by the name of Goldilocks...too hot, too cold, too many pillows, no enough pillows, no pillows....move it over Chris...out of my way Lola! Speaking of Lola, I launched our poor baby off the bed while she was in a dead sleep! Straight kicked her out while I was asleep!  I felt so bad! She didn't yelp or cry so I assumed nothing is wrong, but she refused to come back up on the bed the rest of the night. She has since stayed pretty far away from my feet and has even taken to sleeping between Chris and I now instead of on my side.

My bad!

8 Weeks +

I'm currently in my 9th week and beginning to feel more confident about this pregnancy. I've been a bit nervous for the last couple weeks because things have been going great, almost too great. I have only a couple pregnancy symptoms and thankfully being nauseous hasn't been one of them.  If I continue to eat small meals throughout the day I feel fine, it's when I run out of time to eat or get caught up in something at work and it slips my mind, then my body reminds me. Mostly though, I use the bathroom a whole lot and night time has been pretty restless with at least 3 trips on average back to the bathroom.  I am starting to feel more exhausted during the day and when I get home from work I pretty much want to go straight to bed.
All in all I've had many friends that have had it a lot worse in the first trimester so I'm trying my best to sit back and enjoy this mysterious little nugget growing inside. Can't wait for Friday to see the little bugger and fingers crossed, perhaps hear a heartbeat!

September 23rd, 2011
Oh my word! There are no words!  We had our first doctor appointment and no need for worries, there is indeed a baby in there! We are so happy that everything is going great, Baby C is healthy and has a strong heartbeat (167) and I'm healthy and still have no nausea! We've learned that our due date is May 5th, 2012, just two days after my birthday! That makes me eight weeks tomorrow! I'm much more confident about the pregnancy now and have given the family the okay to tell extended family as well. The most exciting part of this all was hearing the heartbeat! It has made everything all so real, there is a baby growing in there!! Still so weird, but such an amazing gift as Chris and I celebrate our two year anniversary in the next few days.

Here is our little smudge, as Auntie J affectionately called it, at 7 weeks 6 days. The head is in the upper left.

This is one of those creepy 3D ultrasounds. You can see the little nuggets head, an arm, a leg and the umbilical cord on the left.

WE DID IT!!!!

August 26th, 2011


We have never been more excited and more scared in our entire lives! We tested this morning, Friday, August 26th and got a positive result! We are going to test again tomorrow just to be sure.

Chris snapped the following picture with his phone just before I left for work, he wanted one of the day we found out our lives would be forever changed! It's his new favorite picture of me! Happy Happy Day!




August 27th, 2011
We told Grandma and Grandpa Wendorf this weekend with some Manderfields frosted cookies and a picture of the PG test. It was great because Mom's eye sight hasn't been the best and she couldn't read what the picture said at first, then she screamed "ARE YOU PREGNANT!?!" They are very excited to say the least!

Next weekend we are making our way to Stevens Point for our nephew Kellan's 2nd birthday and plan on telling that side of the family in person then!

September 4th, 2011
Today we let Grandma and Grandpa Casey in on our little secret. We used the Manderfield cookies again and worked like a charm. Barb opened the bag to look inside, screamed and started jumping...literally!  We later told Tim and Sarah who were also screaming and jumping (apparently it's a Casey thing!) and when Auntie J showed up later she didn't seem to believe us at first!

It was a great day for all, including Mr. Kellan who got lots of new toys for his 2nd birthday!

September 6th, 2011
I'm 6 weeks-ish. We find out for sure exactly how far along I am and a more concrete due date at our first doctor appointment September 23rd!

BTN: August

August 17th, 2011
Mini update on my sisters-in-law...

Jax is doing very well, she feels great, heart beat is strong, and Miss Ella is kicking and dancing up a storm. That's her name by the way, I suppose I haven't written anything about my sisters since finding out what they are having. Tony and Jax are obviously having a little girl, to be named Ella Leigh Wendorf. Tony is in so much trouble!

Tim and Sarah are having their second boy, they have picked out a name but are keeping it a secret until he's born. I do believe they said the middle name will be Joseph after Sarah's dad. Kellan's middle name is Michael, after Chris' dad. Sarah has been doing fairly well this time around. Although just last week she took her glucose test and failed, which means she needed to take the 3 hour test. She failed that one as well and was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Her due date has been moved up a week to roughly Oct 15th to help prevent the baby from getting to big. We are all hoping her blood pressure stays down this time around and she has a safe finish to the pregnancy.

As for me, I'm just trying to take it easy and keep my stress level low. I had acupuncture done on Monday to hopefully help. Chris and I bought a coupon for a 50 minute massage and an acupuncture session. Not sure if it will be something I'll continue but it was sure fun to try something new. Very interesting and different all in one!


August 22nd, 2011
A few weeks back I did a detox cleanse. A very attainable one, hardly any restrictions and defiantly no nasty drinks or pills to take. I did it to help with the groggy feeling I have every morning and carry with me throughout the day. I focused on this cleanse during the two weeks I could guarantee I was not PG. Now that I've been off of the cleanse I've been losing nearly a pound every day. Typically I would be jumping for joy over the weight lose but honestly, I haven't a clue what's going on! I've been eating ribs, burgers, pizza...you name it. All in much smaller portions but still. I thought maybe this was a hopeful sign that I've got something special growing inside that's eating everything up as fast as I can shove it in! Not likely, but a thought.

August 24th, 2011
Major aversion to the smell of permanent markers today, major! I just thought my sales rep used a strong marker but another co-worker, Elizabeth, came over to my desk and I asked her if the sheet smelled strong or if it was just me! Her reply with no delay what-so-ever, "ARE YOU PREGNANT!?! I have very strong sense of smell and this does not smell that bad! I went out to dinner with a friend of mine who exclaimed the hand sanitizer in the bathroom was the strongest smelling stuff ever, and the next day she took a PG test and it was positive!" Wow, what could I say to that....I lied....I'm a liar! I quickly responded with "Not a chance" while in my head I was thinking...oooooo maybe! 2 days until we test!

BTN: July

July 2011
Well July is half way over. I haven't had much of anything fun to say. It's getting harder and harder on us month to month, but we know the payoff in the end will be worth it all. Chris had a trip to Indiana this past week and in order for me to relax and for us to be together for when it counts I went along with him. It was a great trip and just the stress free week I needed away from work.

We ended the week golfing in an annual outing with the Casey family. Tim and Sarah are the only ones that know we are trying. The Casey men form one foursome and the Casey women form another. The bloody mary's, screw drivers and vodka lemonades are usually flowing hard during this outing. Thankfully with Sarah being pregnant is wasn't going to be weird to order a non-alcoholic drink.....or so I thought. The plan was I would get the first round of drinks and while Sarah distracted Barb and Jenny I would order two NA Bloody's and Sarah would get the second round. Hopefully after two rounds BBQ and J would be none the wiser.

That's how it was suppose to work. Instead the Beverage Girl turned and said here is the alcoholic bloody and here is the two NA bloody's. There was utter shock on Barb and Jenny's faces and horror on mine and Sarah's. It was all good in the end. I blamed it on the "Stupid Bev Girl" for not hearing me right and since I still feel okay drinking red wine before finding out if I'm PG or not I had some later in the evening to throw them off. I still think they are on to me though.

July 25th, 2011
Took a test this morning and it came back negative. I'm still waiting for mother nature to kick in though. If there's nothing in 2 days I'll test again, but it's looking like I won't come to that. I feel like I'm going through stages of grieve. I was in denial the first few times that things weren't working out, then I was depressed about it, now I'm just plain pissed off! Chris likes to go look at the result of the test before me and his face is never hard to read, so I always know the answer before he comes back. Today he says "When this actually works out for us I'm not sure if the disbelief is going to be from thinking oh my god I'm going to be dad or if I'm going to think the test must be wrong you'll have to take another." Long story short...It's getting old....real old!

BTN: June

June, 2011
I went to the doctor on Thursday for a scheduled appointment. I brought up some questions I had about trying to conceive and told her we have been trying now for 7 months with at least 4 well timed months in there. You know what her response was.... "Well at your age I wouldn't be concerned if you went an entire year". AT MY AGE?!?! WTF! I just turned 26!?! What, just because I'm not an 18yr old fertile mertile....really? Who gets PG at 18 anymore, except for those cracked up kids on MTV shows like 16 and Pregnant? I'd like to point out to my future children, if you get PG or get a girl PG at 18yrs old you're not going to want to answer to your mother, I'm just saying. Who knows, maybe times will change... just as they always do.

So I had a chat with some friends last night and one asked if I had used any ovulation prediction kits(OPK) yet. My answer is no, I've kind of been against using them. I wanted to keep this whole process simple, relaxed and natural. Although, I have been recording my temperature every day in order to predict ovulation so isn't that already a little bit of a cheat? So from our conversation I more or less realized that we now have all these great resources to aid in this process and not make it so stressful, so why am I not using them. Why am I not doing everything we can to achieve our goal?

June 23rd, 2011
Longest...Month...Ever...and still no dice...next month I guess.

BTN: May

May - 2011
Not much to say for May. I've been extremely busy at work which has turned into far too many "high stress" days than I'd like. After telling a close friend the other day that I needed to head into work on Sunday he looked me in the eye and said "You know that's no way to live"....yeah I most certainly do, but right now, there's no other option.

On the baby front, nothing new to report quite yet. Just hiding our plans more and more from friends and family. Went to a wedding last night, I was the "designated driver". I've been breaking out a lot more since having to get off of my acne medication. I have some new stuff that is safe during pregnancy but it's just not quite strong enough. My mom noticed the other day and proceed to ask me if that stuff was safe to use when pregnant or would I have to get off of that? Geez Mom! You're making me think you know something is up!

Our family has stopped by to visit a lot lately and I usually just need to hide anything baby related in a drawer, but my parents stopped by the other day while Chris and I were gone...I hid everything in the folded towels in our master bath closet. Not that my parents would snoop, but just to be safe. What if they got to the house and both really had to use the restroom? One of them would go use the master and more than likely see the basal thermometer by the bedside....and I just think it's fun to write down all the stuff I think I'm being sneaky about it, so we can look back on it later!



May 19th - 2011
No dice, finding out this time was especially hard. I stayed home this weekend missing, for the first time in years, the Port Edwards All Town Rummage Sale. I just really needed some "me" time and time to relax. Next month...

BTN: April

April 2011 - Closed for Construction!
So Chris and I were on our way to a party when I thought I left my phone back at the house. I searched the car high and low with no luck. So Chris gave me a ring to see if the phone was even in the car.....as it turns out, I set the phone on my lap and was quite alarmed, to say the least, when it began to vibrate. Having the sometimes vulgar humor we do the following conversation ensued....

Ashlee: Ha! Well it wouldn't be the first thing to get lost down there!

....with a very quick response....

Chris: Yeah, apparently my guys can't find their way down there. I mean there are two off ramps! You need to shut one of those down! Closed for Construction!

Ashlee: WHAT!?! They've got at least three days in there. Can't they turn around and try again!

Chris: Ummm, they are like smaller than a spec! That's like driving to Florida and realizing you're not in Vegas!!

Yup, that's what we talk about. It's a wonder we aren't pregnant yet, right?! What a wealth of knowledge! :)


April 2011- Whoops!
Chris almost spilled the beans. We were out to dinner with my family the night before our race talking about the cruise my parents just got back from and about the cruise we were planning to take with my brother and Jax.

Jax and I had talked about what would happen or what we would do if we were pregnant or just had the baby and if we would be ready to leave them. One day my friend Steph was over and we were joking around about the cruise and all and we decided it wouldn't be (note the sarcasim) weird if Chris took my best friend on the cruise if we couldn't refund the trip.

So long story short....he almost told the story of Steph going on the cruise with him because I wouldn't be able to leave the baby.

It was a close one....


April 2011 - Dress Shopping
I am standing up in two weddings this year. Both girls (Gini and Vicky) know there is the possibility I may be with child for their weddings. Gini's bridesmaid dress was a no worry. It's an empire waist that then flows away from the body. I actually attended a wedding last year where they wore the same dress. One of the B-Maids was 16 weeks PG and you couldn't even tell. I would be 17 weeks at the most possible for Gini's.
Vic's wedding on the other hand is September 24th, I could potentially be 27 weeks at the most for hers. I had the pleasure this Sunday of going to try on her dress selection...with a PG pillow underneath.....

....laugh it up people! It's looks more like I'm trying to steal something! The waist will need to be altered and I'm ordering the dress two sizes larger...hopefully I won't be regretting that decision later on! I thought the picture above was too funny not to share though!


April 2011 - Truth Be Told
Things did not work out this month. Usually my first thought and the first thing that wants to roll off my tongue is "We failed again", but I'm having a very hard time actually coming to say we failed. I don't like the sound of it and it doesn't fit the situation. I just don't know what else to think or say. We'll just keep trying I guess.

If not apparent by my tone, I've been a bit down lately. It's no secret Chris travels a lot for work and I don't think many people think much of it. I'm sure they don't think about the long stretches of time I'm alone with me, myself and LoBear. Seeing as I can't exactly help myself our window of opportunity is smaller than the norm. It seems every month Chris is out of town during the most opportune time and sometimes we luck out and everything is perfectly timed and still no dice. Usually I could cope just fine but it seems everyone, EVERYONE, seriously it feels like everyone around me is announcing their pregnancies. Firsts, Seconds, Thirds....you name it, they are coming out of the woodwork. I pretty much want to cry every time I hear about someone new, it takes everything I have to smile and not break down in tears.

Thanks for listening, I just needed to get that off my chest.

BTN: March

March 2011 - Stress!?!&@!
If someone would have told me someday I was going to give a pretty big darn about having a baby and that it would mean I needed to relax and not be so stressed all the time...

I would not have become an Interior Designer! I mean seriously...even on a calm day I'm stressed!

It seems there is a wonderful trend starting... headaches... every month on cue. Not sure if it's because I'm stressed or if it has something to do with no longer being on the pill. That's how often I'm stressed...and five months later I still can't tell the difference!

Maybe it's just today, lots going on at work, it's snowing another 4-6", and once again Chris is out of town....and if that snow plow blocks up the end of my driveway one more time I'm going to lose it!

Grr...


March 2011 - Running Hard...or not...
Tried going for a run last night since I need to keep training for the 5K's in April. The first set felt great, then everything hit me like a brick wall, my stomach was not having it. I cut the run short and walked the rest of the way home with no will power to run again.

I still have a couple days or so until we can test to see if we are pregnant and I'm not sure if you can feel like crud this soon, but if so, I'm feeling it...or I'm feeling my usual monthly suffering....who knows!?


March 20th, 2011
Just good old fashion monthly suffering....

"Every day is a new beginning, stay away from what might have been and look at what can be" ~Unknown

Before the News

March 2011
Well....what to say!? Chris and I have been trying to conceive for a couple months now. It's a very exciting, scary, confusing and stressful time in our lives! So much to do, so much to prepare, so much to learn, and even though they say you are not suppose to...so much to worry about. That's why I'm writing these "Before the News"(BTN) Chronicles...I have to tell somebody! I've had some help with venting the stress and worry to my amazing friend Steph, you have been the world to me, and to my sister-in-law Jacki who has also been trying to conceive... Yes Mother, we got your message loud and clear, and yes we've been lying to you for some time now about when we were going to have children! Sorry about that, I'm sure you'll forgive us!

Two weeks ago we found out the amazing news that Tony and Jacki are expecting! She is due October 20th and our family could not be more elated... especially Mom! ;) Jax, it has been so great to have someone to talk to that I can trust with our little secret. You've been so supportive and informative through all my questions and truly helped us along this crazy journey! I can't wait to meet our niece/nephew and see the joy they will bring to the two of you. Steph, word's can't describe what it means to me to have you to talk with. You are with out a doubt my sane mind that talks me out of my insane mind and I love the trust we have in each other. If I don't say it out loud enough, THANK YOU! You're amazing!

Mom, I want you to know the hardest part of this all is not telling you. I'm dying to tell you, but of course want it to be a surprise and to see your face when we share the big news. I was thrilled when you told me you never noticed Jacki was not drinking at her birthday party because that meant you didn't see that I was not drinking as well, I was a bit nervous about that. Also, you are coming up this weekend while Chris is out of town and I'm hoping and praying you don't want to have some wine while we're making dinner. I don't want to have to pour my NA wine into a carafe and let you think it's real wine. That's just mean! I'm thinking we'll make Sun Dried Tomato, Chicken & Broccoli Risotto, can't go wrong with that one! And by the way, it's getting harder and harder every time I talk to you on the phone. I want to blurt it all out and spill the beans, especially now that babies come up in every conversation since you are so excited about Jax. I understand, but you're killing me here! ;)

To top off this post I'll end with saying we got some wonderful news just this past weekend as well. My other sister-in-law, Sarah, is pregnant with their second child....also due the end of October....more exact the 22nd...let me tell you about the madness October will bring each year! The funniest part of it all was that last month I was late and thought I could be pregnant as well....my due date would have been October 25th! When it rains it pours, but as you can tell from this post, I'm not pregnant yet and am doing my best to patiently await our turn.

Growing Fast

Babies all around! October 13th this cutie joined the Casey family....

                                             Keegan Joseph Casey


...and October 20th this lovely lady joined the Wendorf Family!

                                               Ella Leigh Wendorf


We couldn't be happier to be an Aunt and Uncle again, both families seem to be growing like wild fire! This past weekend we had the opportunity to visit and meet both our new niece and nephew. Here are some favorites from our trip....

 

New Camera!!

Chris and I bit the bullet and got a digital SLR!! The Canon Rebel T3, we are very excited about it!

Side note: If we could recommend one thing it would be to get a credit card that gives good reward points. Forget cash back cards, you'll never spend it on something fun or something you want. We have cashed in our reward points and got many great things for practically nothing and as you may have guessed by now that includes our new camera. This new camera was essentially free and all we paid for was the protection plan. Rewards points... find one... awesome!

Now, back to the camera, of course we had to test it out on, the only sensible thing to test it out on, our baby LoBear! We are loving the quality and although these pics aren't great we're excited to learn more and really see what this camera can do! Enjoy!


                                                      Hi Lola Bear!

                                         Where is Dragon, Pretty Girl!?

                                                What dragon Mama!?

                                                 Oh! This dragon?

                                           My bad Mama.....my bad...

Time for Everything!

This weekend Chris and I stayed home in Appleton... I know, it's a shocker....you can pick your jaw up off the floor now! Actually we were home this weekend but didn't really stay here the whole time.
Caught a flick Friday night, and played with the pup.  LoBear, if you remember this, got a toy from Grandma and Grandpa Casey for Christmas and loved the crud out of it... literally, the stuffing was coming out of it. Time for a new one and I'll have you all know I did not purchase this pretty pink dragon, it was all her softy of a father!

She pretty much brings it everywhere with her, including bed and nap time.

Anyway, Saturday Chris and I planned a road trip to Prairie Du Sac, WI. There is a restaurant/cafe there that Chris frequents often when traveling through the area for work. Two years ago I had gone with him and there food is so good and they have gelato! Major weakness of mine! We called Chris' sister Jenny and her new squeeze Casey to see if they wanted to meet us there for lunch, as it turns out there were already planning a trip to pumpkin pick with Casey's family in Prairie Du Sac! Turned out perfect. Here's a pic of the new love birds after lunch at The Blue Spoon.

If you are ever passing through the area or visiting the Wollersheim Winery we highly recommend you make a stop across the river to The Blue Spoon Cafe.


Lastly, Sunday was our day to relax and enjoy a little anniversary treat together. Went to church, picked up some hot ham sandwiches for brunch then went to the spa where I got a really nice facial and Chris got a massage, ice cream afterward (yes, two days in a row, don't judge), and finishing today with the Brewers game this afternoon and Packers game tonight....I love the fall!