Baby Peanut's a looker!

Hey mom and dad!
We had to get a detailed ultrasound Friday so they could check something out (thankfully, everything looked great!). The big perk was that we got to see Peanut's face in 3-D, and we even got to see him move in 3-D too! He was kind of waving to us, it was really cute and utterly amazing.

Daddy's nose

We think he looks like Mike and totally has his nose! He's a looker just like his dad! I actually didn't really want to see his face in 3-D because I wanted there to be some element of surprise when he was born. But it's pretty cool now that I have! I was really surprised you could see this much detail so early (I guess we are a little more than halfway, but still)!

Please, no more pictures!

We thought this one was hilarious, he looks like he is trying to hide from the camera! He better get used to it, if it's one thing his mom knows how to do, it's taking lots of pictures!

Baby Peanut's Second photos

Here he is, lying flat on his back and the picture is taken above him.

I love this cute little profile pic! The ultrasound tech said that sometimes he would have his hands under his chin.

But sometimes he would have his hand on special part! I guess you can't keep a boy from playing with it! The ultrasound tech said there's no question that he's a boy!

21 week belly

Belly is starting to grow with Baby Peanut inside! I can feel him move sometimes (I have for the last month or so), but it's a little harder to feel from the outside. Mike got to feel him a little last week, he thought that was cool!

Drum roll please....

Baby Peanut is a.... BOY!!!! (click to see photo larger)

We are so excited! We thought it would be a boy, but we would have been excited for either. Now our other kids will have an older brother to look out for them! So his middle name will be David, honoring Mike's dad (we miss you!) and it also happens to be Mike's middle name as well. But the rest will stay a secret until his big BIG debut! (He's already done TV, I wonder what we are in store for with his arrival!)

Baby Peanut's TV debut (and Mommy's too)

Believe it or not, Baby Peanut has already made it on TV! We were doing a story at the hospital on Fox 59 about women's health, and my co-worker who does our media work asked if I could be the patient. It started out no big deal, she told me I wouldn't have to talk, so I imagined they would tape me and my doc talking and then do a voice over. Well, that turned into it being LIVE in studio! Then it turned into me demonstrating prenatal yoga (we offer classes at the hospital, and I've take a few)! It ended up, the day before, they requested that I instruct what I was doing and that the anchor, Angela Ganote, would do it with me. I was super nervous!


My doctor looks so cute! Mike approved of her b/c her last name has "Mazda" in it (and that's what we drive).



Pigeon pose

Crescent moon

I can't even breathe!
My yoga instructor coached me in what I could say, and I thought "Okay, I can totally do this." Well, that's before I tried doing it and talking, while pregnant! For those of you that don't know, it's hard to breathe when you are preggers (and I noticed it nearly immediately). I feel like an overweight person trying to breathe when exercising. I was getting concerned while I was practicing, because seriously, I couldn't breathe, talk and demonstrate at the same time.

I called Aimee (my co-worker) in a panic b/c my breathing (or lack there of) would make it look like even these simple, gentle exercises were hard! Aimee told me not to worry, they would have me talk the least amount possible and they could mention you are more winded in pregnancy. Whooo, I was feeling better.

Everyone, on set!
The next morning, the time had finally arrived. I was pretty nervous and Angela (the anchor) said to do some yoga stuff while she was interviewing my doctor and then she would ask me what I was doing. I was afraid I would be in the middle of a pose when she was ready and I would totally be thrown off guard, so I did some for a little bit and then just stood there to make sure I was ready when she was.

By the time they got to me, they only had had 30 seconds left!!! That was barely enough time to show them anything. I got through as much as I could (which was only about 1/6 of what I had put together). It was over in a flash! I had to wait until the next day to even see it, luckily my parents had it taped. I was really excited with how it turned out! Not bad for a yoga enthusiast.

Roll the tape...
The video is posted for the mean time, so hopefully this link will work. And remember, if you try this at home, only go as far as your body will allow, don't stretch so bad that it hurts :) I didn't have time to add that into the segment!

Look for the "pregnancy and yoga" video in the Fox 59 Morning News tab.
http://www.fox59.com/news/morningnews/

Hopefully Peanut and I won't be mobbed in the grocery store or show up in the tabloids any time soon!

Sharing the news - Ashley

It took a while to get together with Ashley, but at 19 weeks, I was able to share the news. When she came over, I told her I wanted a quick picture with our plates that we painted at Angela's baby shower, and then I spilled the beans. She couldn't believe it! She said that at least this way she doesn't have to wait as long as everyone else for the big day!

17 week belly

Now, it's really starting to look like a real preggers belly. Mike keeps asking me if I'm sticking my stomach out! It's real now!

Oh, what to wear!

By this time, Jenny and I needed to get some preggers clothes. We had heard that Motherhood had some fake bellies you could try on to see how the clothes will look. I figured it was like those fancy 'sympathy' bellies, but it was not. It was seriously a circle pillow. It was impossible to figure out where it was supposed to sit on you and I seriously hope our bellies look better than this when we get to this stage! But we had so much fun laughing and giggling trying on clothes.


This was us for real that day, and we both felt like we were 'pretty pregnant'!

Visiting friends and future buddies!

A few weeks after Angela and Daren welcomed Isaac into the world, we went to go visit. It was so crazy to know they had a real live baby now!


We had Mike 'practice' with Isaac and he looked like a natural. Anytime you give him a hard time about needing to practice baby stuff, he always says "I had enough practice with my niece and nephews!" But it's been 15 years since his side of the family has had a baby! Also notice their dog Joe, he loves Mike!


I got to hold Isaac for a really long time. He was so little, he fit in the crook of my arm like a little football. It was so fun! And I got to see Ang swaddle him (she's a pro from being a peds nurse) and he looked like a comfy little burrito in bed!

11 week belly

I thought I was huge at 11 weeks! I hadn't told anyone at work yet and I felt like everyone was starring at my stomach and already knew! Now looking back, it just looks like I had a big lunch!

Sharing the news - Chad & Anne

So again, I pulled the whole "Let's get a picture" and then I announced our news as Mike took the picture. Phoebe and their dog Desmund didn't miss any of it! So Phoebe will have a new friend!

Sharing the news - Grandpa Pete & Liza

 

We stopped by Grandpa Pete and Liza's to share the news before we went to a friends house. They were so excited and it was neat to see Grandpa was so touched!

Sharing the news - Laura's Family

We had to think for a while on a creative way to tell my family, but we finally figured something out. We didn't want them to catch on, so we waited until we were already planning to get together to celebrate birthdays (Mike's, mine and my nephews). For our plan to work, we had to wait until after we opened presents. Normally, it's at the end of the evening, but we were excited when my sis suggested we do it before dinner. My nephew went first, and he got a game, which the rest of the family played.

Mike and I patiently waited for our turn to open presents, knowing that really it was so we could share the news. By the time they were done with the game, it was dinner time. It was great and I had a million helpings, so I was really full. Then we had my favorite cake, which I ate, even though I was about to bust. Then everyone hung out talking at the table. It felt like a million years before we got up to go to the living room.

And then we waited some more. By this time, it was much later in the evening and I knew my sis and her family would have to leave soon to put the kids to bed. She mentioned we should finish gifts so they could get going soon.

It was finally our time! I was so nervous the entire night I felt sick (not to help that it was a little morning sickness and a ton of over eating!). Mike opened his gifts first, which I didn't think would take long. He was excited to get some nice fishing line, but he and Dan (my brother-in-law) kept talking about it and going on and on about it. I whispered out of the corner of my mouth to Mike to hurry up, I really thought I would throw up if I didn't get our news out soon!

When he was done, I opened my presents quickly and handed Mike the camera for him to catch the next part. Then, for the moment we had been waiting for. We said "Well, we actually have a present for you guys, but it's on back order until September 28th. I have pictures of it though." Then I handed my parents a small photo album with our ultrasound pics in it. My sister instantly said congratulations, but my mom didn't realize it until she looked inside the album and saw the picture. Dan was pretty confused, he kept saying "Wait, don't you mean March or April, it can't be September!" Mike said his face was priceless, but I was too busy hugging my mom. We really got him good! (I was really confused when he shared the news creatively with their first, and I didn't understand it at all either!).











It was pretty fun, but I was glad when it was over b/c I felt so sick the whole night!

Sharing the news - Angela

We went to visit Ang and Daren in Bloomington. She was a few weeks away from having her first baby and I couldn't wait to tell her. Right when we walked in, I said "Let's get a picture". We had it all planned out so that when Mike took the photo and counted to 3, I would say "I'm pregnant". I did, and pointed to my belly. Angela was very focused on taking the picture, so she remained somewhat smiley, but confused. Then she said, "Wait, why are you saying your pregnant" and then it dawned on her. She said she thought it was weird when she saw me pointing at my belly! Anyway, it was fun to share the news and we talked about it the rest of the night.

Baby Peanut's First Photos

We had our first ultrasound at 8 weeks (and a few days). My doctor's office does 3-D which was a total surprise! The first one is the traditional 2-D and I think it's a really good one. I've never seen anyone's that actually looked like a baby and not a blob! It's cool because it looks like a little plump baby on it's back. The middle one is a 3-D of the baby's profile (head at top, bottom at the bottom). The last is my favorite, you can really see the baby's spine! The baby looks like a little peanut!

 

Sharing the news - Jenny

So we weren't going to share our news for a little while, but Jenny and I went to a free yoga class the day after we found out. I knew I needed to tell the instructor that I was pregnant, and I didn't know how to keep that from Jen. When I went to pick her up, she said "Wait, I have to tell you something before we leave. I'm pregnant!" And then I said "I'm pregnant too!" We couldn't believe it, we both weren't going to say anything but then did b/c of the yoga class. So we were just days apart! It was really exciting. So this is when we told each other (taken with her iphone).

The Shu's Start

We found out we were going to have a baby (that didn't have fur) on January 23, 2009. It was exactly 4 months to the day after Mike's dad died, and the baby's due September 28, which is within a week of his passing. It was such a neat sign to get from his dad!

The Puppy Part :)

So here are our little puppies (that turned into big puppies)! Bear is on the golden one, Bella is the black one. Apparently, 3 out of 4 of our pet's names began with "B' and I have no idea why.

I call them my first babies (well, my first furry babies). The bunnies are hard to cuddle with (they won't let you pick them up) but the puppies are very cuddly.

The Bunny Beginning

Here are the first 2 furry friends in our family, Ali (the light colored one) and Billy. Ali is no longer with us, but she lived a great bunny life. Billy is 10 years old, which is really old for a rabbit. We were going to wait to get dogs until they were both gone, but we decided to go ahead and get some puppies, which is how we ended up with 4 pets for a while!

It all started with us...

This is us last summer on our 5th anniversary. Since it all started with us, I figured that we should be on here! We met back in 1999 and were married in 2003.