Spring Break

As always, we have been very busy! Though everything has been going well, we did have some unfortunate news in our family. My Uncle Mark had been battling cancer and passed away on March 8th. Since the funeral wasn't scheduled until the following Wednesday, my brother and his FIANCE Bailey were still able to make the trip down here to Missouri to visit us. They got here early that Friday morning and then slept all day while Mason and I were at school. Since it was so nice that Saturday we decided to take a trip to Elephant Rock and Johnson Shut-ins, which are two very beautiful state parks. We packed a lunch and enjoyed spending time hiking around in the great outdoors. Because my sciatic nerve has been bothering me I didn't do as much hiking as I had hoped, but we still had a great time! Sunday we had a chill day and just stayed home which worked out well since it rained pretty much all day. We had an intense battle playing the Farming Game. I'm still pretty sure the only reason JJ won was because he was banker and was padding his money stash with everything the rest of us had to pay in! ; ) On Monday we made the trek to St. Louis and did some shopping. Mason got himself some new Reebok Zigs so he was a happy camper! 

Tuesday morning came and ended JJ and Bailey's vacation, but not before coming to my doctor's appointment. They were very excited to hear their new nephew/niece's heartbeat. Though I was shocked to hear that I had gained 6 pounds in one month, everything else looked and sounded good!

Once in Iowa we got to spend some time with family and friends, even though it was under no-so-good circumstances. I also got to see some family that I had not seen in years, which was wonderful. Uncle Mark had a beautiful service and it was definitely hard to say goodbye. But at least he's not suffering anymore and he's in a better place.

On Thursday Mason and I came back to Missouri and had a little down time. Friday my Grandma Steffen and Aunt Kathy came by to see our new house on their way back to Iowa. We had a quick lunch at McDonalds and chatted for a bit before they had to head out. It was definitely great to see them and have them over, even though it was just for a little bit!

That brings us to Saturday. Saturday was St. Patrick's Day and so we ventured to downtown Rolla for the parade. It was pretty good, but we actually left a little early to beat the rain. After such a full spring break we decided to relax Saturday and Sunday, which was definitely needed!

Oh Happy Day!!

I am so very happy for two special people that I had to write a quick blog about it! My brother, JJ, has been dating Bailey for roughly 5 and a half years, and yesterday they got ENGAGED.....finally!! The poor girl thought she would never get married.

I was one of the fortunate people who knew right when JJ bought the ring. Of course he swore me to secrecy, which I was more than happy to do! Bailey could obviously tell this story much better, but long story short, my brother went to visit her last night since he works in Waterloo and she lives in Iowa City while she finishes grad school. In the 5 and a half years of dating the man had not bought her a single flower. Seriously, JJ? I mean I love ya, but for goodness sake, splurge on some flowers occasionally! ; ) Bailey, of course, was so blown away by the unexpected flowers that she really about died when he pulled out that gorgeous ring! She was also shocked at the number of people who already knew the news, including some of our family, her family, as well as friends of the family. Obviously, she said yes, or in JJ's words, "Yep, turns out she wants to marry me too," per the text message I received at about 10:30 last night. He also informed me that after they got engaged he was going to see if she'd give him a haircut since he was giving up his bachelorhood. That brother of mine is quite the charmer! ; )

We are definitely very excited to add another sister to our family! It's weird that my "baby brother" is going to be married sometime in the relatively near future, but we are so happy for them! Now we just can't wait till they come down to visit so we can celebrate. Wedding shopping, anyone?! I think so!! Congratulations, JJ and Bailey!!

Busy, Busy..

Well, it's been over a month since I last posted with our exciting news, and everything is continuing to go well with Baby Heavin. I had another doctor appointment on the 13th and Mason and I got to hear the baby's heartbeat again, which was fabulous! Luckily, Mason was able to come again because of the snow days we got Monday and Tuesday of last week. I have to say, having two additional days off was amazing! My next appointment is March 13th and the next ultrasound is March 20th, which we are really looking forward to! I'm 17 weeks today and I honestly can't believe how quickly it's going already! I'm definitely starting to get a little bit of a belly as well. I've posted a couple of belly pictures per Tabitha's request (Mason's sister). I'm not a huge fan of these ones but they were taken this morning so they are as up-to-date as they can be!

Since last weekend was a long weekend because of President's Day, I decided to take a trip to Ft. Campbell, Kentucky to see my dear friend Cara since it's only about a six hour drive. We had not seen each other in over a year and I was very eager to make a visit especially since I had not yet met her twin boys Caden and Jaxson. They were born on August 2nd so it's possible our babies could all share birthdays since that's the day I'm due! I had a blast while there. We had a pretty relaxing weekend and did a little shopping and just hung out. I bought a couple of things for the baby, and really had to restrain myself from buying more! Also, I have to say, parents of multiples are amazing and I'm not sure how they do it! Caden and Jaxson are definitely good babies and so much fun to play with, but they certainly keep Cara and Joey (her husband) busy! It was good practice! I came home Monday and spent the rest of the day relaxing and hanging out with Mason.

Speaking of Mason, I decided to give him his birthday present early (really early as his birthday isn't until April 10th). I had been saving up for 7-8 months so that he could buy the gun safe he so desperately wanted. I really was going to wait to give him his gift, but he happened to text me one morning once he got to school and said that Dick's Sporting Goods had a deal going on gun safes that hold 32 guns. Once he told me how much they were going for it was kind of hard to pass up so I asked if he wanted his birthday gift early. Of course he said yes because I had been taunting him for about as long as I had been saving, telling him I knew what his birthday gift was going to  be and that it would fit in a shoebox. I planned to put the money I saved in the box, along with a picture of a gun safe. So he didn't even get suspicious or think it had anything to do with a gun safe! : ) Here are a few pictures of his reaction!

He was pretty excited, and it was fun to see his reaction. I had to reiterate that this gift counted for Valentine's Day, his birthday, Father's Day, and our anniversary and he seemed to be perfectly content with that so that's good! Aside from that, he is just staying busy with school and work.

The house is still coming along nicely. Don't get me wrong, we still have A LOT we need/want to do, but it is looking great! We've gotten a couple new pieces of furniture compliments of an antique store and Eric (Mason's step-dad). He made us an entry table for our entryway and he did an excellent job on it! Now I just need to find something to put on it. I also need to figure out where I want to hang all the picture frames we have. I may wait until JJ and Bailey come down for a visit since they still have a couple of things we got from Christmas that didn't fit in our car. Speaking of which, they are coming down in T-2 weeks and Mason and I are so very excited! They've been coming down to visit for the past 4 years and we have so much fun each time. Depending on the weather and how we feel we may either take a trip to Elephant Rock or wander down to Silver Dollar City. Either way it will be a blast! After my brother and Bailey leave, my Grandma Steffen and my Aunt Kathy may swing through for a quick visit. It would be wonderful to see them as well so hopefully it'll work out!

Anyways, I think that's all for the time being and I hope everyone is doing well!! I'm off to spend some quality time with my bed!! : )

August 2, 2012

What is the significance of August 2, 2012, you ask? Well, that is the tentative due date of our first child! That's right, folks, we are expecting and could not be more thrilled about it! I had a hunch I was pregnant at Thanksgiving, and actually found out two days later via pregnancy test that I was in fact pregnant. I didn't take just one test. Nope. This chick took three, you know, just in case the first and second one lied to me. And each of them came back positive within about 20 seconds.

After going to my first doctor's appointment, it was confirmed that I was pregnant. At that point I was only about 6 weeks so I wasn't able to hear Baby Heavin's heartbeat. Luckily at my next appointment (around 10 weeks) Mason was able to take off a half-day to come with me. Though it was a short appointment, we got to hear the heartbeat, which was so amazing, for lack of a better word! It sounded like a little choo choo train chugging along! I've heard my friends and other parents talk about how neat it is, and they definitely weren't kidding. For me, it really reaffirmed that I was actually pregnant. The reason I say that is because I have been incredibly fortunate and very grateful to not have had any morning sickness or really any symptoms whatsoever of even being pregnant. Though I've been tired, that's not even something to complain about!

Our most recent appointment was this past Monday (the 16th), which happened to be our first ultrasound. Mason bought me a camcorder for Christmas so we brought that with to the appointment so we could record the whole thing (yes, we are those people..hehe). We got to hear the heartbeat again and actually see it beating on the ultrasound-- it was 169. While the doctor was trying to take measurements he kept poking at my belly, trying to get the baby to move to a different position. Apparently, Baby Heavin got sick of it and decided to start moving all over the place, making it very difficult for the doctor to get any kind of measurement. Not only did we get some neat video, but the doctor also sent home some pictures of the baby as well. We got to see the nasal bone, the arms, legs, and at one point he/she had its little hand up by its face and the doctor pointed out the fingers. It was pretty great getting to see our little peanut! And yes, there is only one in there, which made us breath a sigh of relief! ; )

He/she was 50.9 mm long at my appointment and we are sure looking forward to seeing this little baby grow bigger and bigger! Who would have thought we could be so proud of this little picture! I am officially 12 weeks today and my next appointment is in mid-February. So, that's our big news, and like I've said, Mason and I are absolutely thrilled! Please keep us in your prayers that this pregnancy continues to go smoothly and Baby Heavin stays strong, happy, and healthy!! : )

We Survived!

Now that things have finally had the chance to calm down a bit from the holidays I thought I'd take the time to write another blog. The weekend prior to Christmas we were finally able to move from our humble abode in Edgar Springs to our new home in Rolla. Luckily, a couple of our wonderful friends, Billy and Brittany, were more than happy to come help us make the three very full trips back and forth. When I say "full" I mean full...we had two cars, two pickups and a trailer completely full for almost each trip. It's amazing how much stuff we accumulated in just two short years, especially considering we moved into that home with practically nothing (as far as material things are concerned). Even though it was an incredibly exhausting day, it was great to finally be in our house and be able to go to bed here. I've been slacking a little on the house pictures, but I will get some more taken at some point so everyone can see it with actual furniture in it!

Unfortunately, because of being on the go so much I came down with something, so I ended up staying home from school that Monday and Tuesday. Although I didn't feel very great I was able to get quite a bit of stuff done around the house which was good. Thursday, Mason and I got packed up and went up to his mom and step-dad's house for a couple of days. Tabitha, Greg, and Carson also came up and it was great to spend time with the three of them as well. Carson was adorable as ever and we both really enjoyed getting to play with him!

We had a wonderful Christmas with them, but bright and early Christmas morning we had to take off and make our way across the state of Iowa to Waterloo. We met my dad, step-mom, and siblings at the truck stop for lunch and then spent the rest of the day at my dad's house. The 26th was spent at my Grandma Steffen's house and the 27th was spent with my Grandma Olson and my mom and step-dad, so it was quite a whirlwind. The next day we had a couple of errands to run while we were still in town but then decided it would be good to head back down to Missouri. Although it was difficult to leave, it was sure nice to get back home, even though it was still a disaster!!

Mason and I spent the next couple of days trying to get everything squared away since we offered to host a New Year's Eve get-together. We didn't have a huge turn out but it seemed that everyone had a good time, and it was nice to bring in 2012 together.

That's been about it otherwise. I have to say it has been kind of nice to just relax and not do a whole lot the last week or so. It's great to see everyone and travel, but being home is always wonderful as well. Mason and I hope that everyone had a great holiday with family and friends and has an outstanding 2012!! : )