New Anticipation - Thoughts

I had no idea that the sonogram would give me such anticipation. Now that I know we are having a little girl, and I have caught a glimpse of her, I just want her to come out. Of course, for health purposes, I want her to last until full term. So for now, I am just wishing I was a kangaroo and could peek in my pouch!

And Her Name Is...

Emma Lu

(formal)

Emmy or Emmy Lu

(nickname)

We will call her all of the above names, but not "Emma"

It's A Girl!

We went for our 20 wk (5 month) ultrasound today. Of course, the big question was whether we were having a boy or a girl. It's a girl! Now, I have to say that I was really impressed with the guy doing the sonogram. At first I thought I wasn't going to like him, but it was amazing what a thorough job he did. It was neat to see him doing measurements of the brain, 4 chambers of the heart, kidneys and the rest. He had to skip gender until the end. She wasn't cooperating...but in the end, he was pretty confident that it's a girl.

In the first picture you can see her laying on her back. The second picture you can clearly see the rib cage and the picture of her face (head on), the third picture is the 3D image of her leg (in the middle of all the stuff you can clearly see an upper thigh, calf and then her foot), and finally the 3D image of her face (her ear is all the way to the left, follow to the right and see her eye, her nose is in the middle and then you can see the formation of her lips and chin). Her face wouldn't come out very clear because she kept moving her hands/arms over her face when he was trying to capture the image. What a cutie though...even in the 3D scary pictures!

Now on to choosing the name...

Did You Eat Your Wedding Cake?

I have been asked several times if James and I ate the top of our wedding cake. The answer is...yes! It was put in the freezer as soon as possible after the wedding and I wrapped a ton of protection around it. Actually, it was pretty good and we ate alot of it!

Cutest Dogs!

Here are some pictures of the dogs, but we were in Laredo when they were taken.

Time to Slow Down

Well, our summer quieted calmost caught up from the summer. Our camera went missing, so we are calling the blog good and caught up. We had a few couples showers (Robert & Julie, Michael & Christine), a weekend at the Sheppard's house to celebrate Rob's birthday and Michael and Christine's wedding that we traveled to and we didn't have a camera. I would love to share the pictures though.

So, now, on Monday, I will be able to post a picture of Baby D...and if all body parts cooperate we will know the sex (Sharen was delayed a month because the umbilical cord was in the way). Oh yea, and I found the camera. So maybe I will take a few shots of Daisy and Disney because they are so cute!!

Seeing Courtney's New Place

Oops, a little out of order...

In late July we went to New Jersey to visit Courtney and Clay. We were able to see their condo, check on the dogs, enjoy Jersey, and James visited NYC. I was unable to go to the city because I had a meeting in PA. We had a great time as everyone was completing their copy of Harry Potter. Courtney and I also got to go out and shop a little. The time went by quickly!! So quickly that I had my first "dumb pregnant girl" moments. I made us completely miss our plane. I was saying that we were leaving Tuesday, turns out our tickets were on Monday. Luckily American Airlines was able to put us on the same flight, same seats on Tuesday.

Maggie's trip to Kelly and James'

Maggie made her 3rd annual summer trip to Kelly and James' house. We met Katie in Schulenburg to pick her up on Monday and then Katie and Rob came for the weekend on Friday. So we really only had a good 3 days with just Maggie time. We played, went to the pools, went fishing (James and Maggie), and we couldn't miss our trip to Sea World.

Another Doctor Appointment

We had another Doctors appointment after we returned from Hawaii. It was really my "initial" visit where they draw blood, etc. They split the visit into two since we were going to be traveling. It definitley gave me peace of mind after all of the flights and the kayaking trip. The heart beat was perfectly fine!

The Big Island

Our first night on the Big Island was an adventure. I think the black lava rock made us feel like we were on the moon. We arrived after dark which made it even more a mystery to us. Actually, regarding our adventure, we just made a little directional mistake, but we were trying to find food. Basically, we should have turned right out of the airport away from our hotel, but we went in the direction of our hotel. We searched a good 45 minutes for food, but the only thing we could find was a convenience shop. James wanted beer and I wanted food. I think I ended up with a Lunchable but we were able to pick up some pop tarts for in the morning.

We got checked into the hotel and it was time to call it a night. In the morning we realized the magnitude of the resort we were on (the Hilton). They had their own dolphin adventures on the property. The neatest thing was the lagoon that was fed by the ocean water and also housed natural animals. We declared day 1 a day of rest. We got ourselves a cabana and James tied it up so I wouldn't get burned. We even had our lunch delivered to us at the cabana! During lunch, James did go on a hike for a 6 pack. He came back and got in the lagoon. I finally fell asleep, and get woken up by a little boy shaking me. He said, "you wouldn't believe it. I just touched a 300 lb. sea turtle." Yes, this boy was James, but he was so excited it was boy like! And cute. I was wiped out enough to go back to sleep. He kept playing.

Day 2 we went on the search for a black sand beach. We found lots of beautiful cliffs made of black lava rock, but it would be many many years before they were a "beach!" It was still out of the ordinary driving along the ocean wall, finding back roads and Kelly drove through the Pacific Ocean! Tide came in and it was the only way through, thank goodness for the Jeep! Now we were on our way to see the volcanoes! Instead of going to the National Park, James wanted to try the "Ocean View." (He wanted to see the hot lava flowing and steaming into the ocean.) Well we got a mile or so away from this supposed point, but there were huge do not enter signs. He wanted me to go, but I refused. It was a long drive home because the rain and fog got really heavy.

Day 3 we were going to kayak (yes, we were going to do it again) in Captain Cook's Cove. We got off the resort and it was raining everywhere. Finally after lunch, we headed back. For some reason, the resort was the only place on the island where it wasn't raining. We ended up playing at the pool on the water slide and hanging out by the lagoon. This is where I saw my first sea turtle.

Day 4 we woke up early to get in the lagoon before all the kids. We had noticed that the water got cloudier throughout the day. As it turned out we learned that the water temperature clouded the water. We had a lot of time with the turtles. We will see if the underwater pictures turned out if we ever take the camera to the developer!! Good old traditional film. We had a few more hours before we had to check out and we made every last minute of it. We were packing with the door open after checking out to conserve time.

Luckily our flights were pretty constant between Kona, Honolulu, LA and DFW.

Hawaii Pictures are Limited

Before we move on to our final island, Hawaii aka the Big Island, I have to tell you that our Hawaii pictures are limited. We misplaced our camera battery and took pictures conservatively!

Back to Honolulu

We spent the next 5 days in Honolulu. I went to Honolulu in 1999 and the change has been significant. There has been a lot of construction around Waikiki, including a sea wall, cutting the beach space. This was the work part of my trip, so I spent most of my time at the conference and sleeping. Each day James went on an adventure: Pearl Harbor, Tantalis, more hiking, and more hiking. He truly enjoyed himself, and found one of his top 5 beaches. It was away from the tourism, of course. Together, we tried to climb Diamond Head. We made it into the crater but we were too late to go to the highest point. What we thought was going to be 3-4 miles round trip ended up being about 8 miles. We were pretty miserable - only because we weren't prepared for it!

A one-day guided sea kayak adventure along the Na Pali Coast, the Everest of sea kayaking!

Our kayaking trip is quite unexplainable. James had been planning this kayaking trip well before we knew we were pregnant. He made me promise that I wouldn't be a wimp and back out because of the pregnancy. I didn't. So this trip (and my efforts) were his birthday present. All of the websites and the magazines warned about this trip. I didn't believe it until I experienced it.

First, for paddling speed, "ease," "comfort," and safety, the company used "sit-on-top" two person plastic sea kayaks with foot controlled rudders and equipped with comfortable and ample back rests that offers good back support. Thank goodness for the back rests and wait till you hear about the rudder!

It was a long, impressive day of coastal paddling and caving along the monumental Na Pali Coast with our island guide(s). The morning started with an early rise and meeting the group at the shop. We were, of course, scoping out the rest of our company. We were probably in the best physical shape, with the exception of the teenage boys. Everyone was about average and one couple had beer bellies. Then they drove us in a van to the launching beach. Turns out this was the most popular camping beach on Kauai.

We prepared ourselves and packed up our Kayaks. We received our mini kayak lesson. One last "dry" bathroom break and we were on our way. 10-20 minutes into the kayak, guess who is the first kayak to flip. Yes, it was us! Not only did we flip, but James pulled the rudder off the boat! We spent the next 20-30 minutes sitting in the kayak, in the waves, while the guide repaired the rudder. We were off to catch up with the rest of the group. We flipped another 20-30 minutes later. I was not thrilled and really ready to turn around! Nope, they kept us going. On our third flip, the other guide was watching us and told us what our mechanical difficulties were. I don't quite remember, but I think we were pulling ourselves over with our paddles. The good thing was, this was our last flip...so he was "right on, dude." As the morning went on, I thought it would be a good time to take more motion sickness medicine. Do you remember all the flipping we did? Well in the process, I lost two things: the medicine and our waterproof camera. Bummer to both. I hope I make it to the end without getting sick. The camera wasn't so bad because we know the pictures wouldn't do the trip justice.

When we finally got a hang of things, one of the guides asked us how we were doing. Naive to what was coming, we of course said we were doing good...we had our confidence back up.

Then we started the sea cave portion of our trip. Getting in and out of the caves was nerve racking because the way the waves caught the walls, I knew we were going to flip and then get slapped up against the walls. Nope, we were good. We went through at least 3 caves that were amazing. The last one was in an area called the washing machine. I am not sure if because the cave was circular and the current moved around the cave or if the water outside the cave was so rough. The swells were 7 ft. high. Even though we were kayaking with 7 other boats, the swells were high enough we felt solo!

The guides decide to take a break and let everyone catch up with each other. This is when Kelly really wishes she had the motion eaze. I became nauseated. I was OK if I was moving so I told James we had to go on regardless of what the group was doing. I felt this way until lunch!

We pulled ashore at a state beach for lunch. I was worried I couldn't eat but it was actually a yummy sandwich and they had some fantastic pineapple. They gave us time to rest and explore (although I just rested) before we were back in the water. I was dreading getting back in the boat.

The rest of our trip was pleasant and amazing. We were able to see Sea Turtles as we approached our final destination. The whole trip was amazing with the caves, waterfalls, valleys and beaches. It was definitely more gruelling than any of the marathons I have ran. But the beauty, adventure and accomplishment are once in a lifetime!

Kauai

Our first island to visit was Kauai. We were supposed to be there with Auntie Sue Sue and Emil but the tickets out of Chicago were outrageous. We definitely missed them!

Our first day was spend sight seeing in the mountains. We also had a yummy lunch and "shave" ice (yes, they called it shave, and it was basically a good snow cone). We called it an early night because the next day we had to rise very early for our kayak trip. The kayak trip will get a post of its own. We wrapped up the trip on a secluded little beach that was beautiful and a "fancy" dinner in Hannaleigh.

I will have to post pictures later...James removed them from the camera. I promise I will edit!!

Hawaii Here We Come

After the wedding, after the sonogram, we headed up to DFW. Daisy and Disney stayed with the Grandparents and the Grandparents found out they were going to be Grandparents.

We celebrated 4th of July with the crew: Kelly, James, Jammie, Shane, Becky, Daddy and Our Mother. Matt had to work.

On the 5th we left for Hawaii!! Unfortunately, our layover in LA was longer than planned, but in the end, we arrived in Honolulu, to sleep for a few hours and then we were off to Kauai!!

First Sonogram - 6 wks

I am not sure if Disney knows how different things are going to be come February!

This is a picture from our first sonogram appointment. Everything was good and we got to hear (and see) the heartbeat. We won't have another one until 20 weeks! I am not going to post the sonogram picture because it doesn't show alot and it is hard to see. Maybe I will do a comparison at the 20th week!

Mr. and Mrs. Fischer

Everything went wonderfully with Courtney and Clay's wedding. It was of course a busy day with the girls getting their hair done and all the running around. But the evening ended with a fun reception and the happy couple enjoyed themselves.

The Rehearsal Dinner

Courtney and Clay chose to have their rehearsal dinner at a nice Mexican restaurant in Laredo-Los Ajos. Originally, they were trying to stay away from everything Mexican, but in the end it was the ideal setting for them. Everyone had an enjoyable time eating & visiting. At this time, they of course shared gifts with the wedding party and others. Courtney gave me a Cricut, which is a scrapbook cutting machine. Roni has one and has let me borrow it several times, and I truly enjoyed the machine—now I have my own!

A Little Pampering

After we got back from Padre the month of June was pretty quiet. I did go to Kansas City for a meeting, but it was uneventful. We headed down to Laredo the week before the wedding. In late June we spent a week in Laredo for Courtney’s wedding. We arrived the Saturday before, but turned around and headed back to San Antonio on Sunday night for the TSHA board meeting. We went down early to drop of the dogs, and then we came straight back to Laredo from San Antonio on Monday.

On Monday, Gram and Pa drove in from Savannah, GA. Courtney and Clay came in from New Jersey (for Clay) and Waco where they had two showers that weekend. We spent a lot of time putting together the last minute wedding preparations and eating (and I had to squeeze into the bridesmaid dress!). The rest of the family arrived throughout the week for the big event.

Lucky for me, Mary arranged for me to have a facial and a pedicure the week of the wedding. I used these appointments as time to relax. No one knew about the baby (except James), so I had to keep going as normal, regardless of tiredness and morning sickness!! Hey, it was a good distraction. Honestly, we were trying to keep a decent rest schedule so we didn’t look worn out in the wedding pictures, so I was OK.

Our Only Toobing Trip this Summer

I forgot to include our only toobing trip from this summer. Yes, the baby has been toobing on the Comal!! Jammie and Shane and Robert and Julie came down to toob on the Friday before we left for Padre (yes, blogging out of order). Gina, of course, joined us and some of Jammie's friends came too. Luckily, it was pretty unproductive...except for all the inquiries about why Kelly was just drinking Powerade and not the normal rum and Diet Sprite. So, James proceeded to tell (and confuse) everyone by saying we passed (or failed) the pregnancy test.

It was actually a really nice float as we had not had a lot of rain, yet. Rather than our usual yummy sandwiches, James threw the grill in the back of his truck and grilled us some hot dogs. Still a yummy river lunch!

Because of our busy schedule and the extremely rainy summer, we didn't get a chance to float again this summer :( Next summer we will have to get a babysitter for a few river floats!