It's a Boy!

Today was one of the most exciting days of my life!

It was like Christmas.

I hardly slept all night last night.

I was out of bed at about 5:20 this morning and pacing restless around the apartment, trying to find something to keep me occupied. 

Today we had our 20 week ultrasound.

And it wasn't just the fact that we were going to be finding out if it was a "Phoebe" or "Phoebo" in there...

It was the fact that we were going to be seeing our baby at all.

I was so anxious to see that our little peanut had grown into a little human!

The morning dragged on, but eventually the time came head over to the clinic!

The technician asked us before she even had the gel on my belly: "Do you want to know the sex???"

Of course we did.

But we had to wait...

First, she did all of her measurements and medical pictures.

It was amazing.

So incredibly amazing.

THERE'S A PERSON INSIDE ME!

Skeleton and organs and all!!

Our little baby was moving like crazy, as always!

Such a little wiggle worm...

He even "talked to us" opening and closing his mouth, and waving his hands at us!

But for me, the most incredible thing was not the baby's head or face, but his feet.

His tiny, adorable feet, with each individual toe easily seen and wiggling away.

My heart melted. 

Needless to say, the tears were freely falling at this point...

(For Thomas, no tears at the ultrasound. It was once we were shopping, and he found the first outfit that said "My daddy really loves me" that he teared up.)

And then she adjusted the camera and asked us if we noticed anything...

...and there it was. Plain as day. Our little boy is not shy!

His little "tinky-winky!"

Teehee...it makes me giggle. 

There's no mistaking it, no surprise on delivery day.

We're going to be welcoming our little Benjamin Thomas into the world this fall!

We are so excited! I thought for SURE it was a girl, with all the sweets I've been craving! But boy it is! We are so happy - we've always wanted a boy first, to protect the little siblings, ya know?

It was such a fun day! 

After our appointments, we went shopping and starting building our baby registry.

We went out to dinner with our families, and shared the news with them: we wrapped outfits and had them open them at dinner.

They are ecstatic too!

It is such a fun time!

I am so high on life right now!

I have everything I've ever wanted in life:
I am married to my best friend, the love of my life, and we are starting our family.

Life is beautiful! 

Interested???

So here's the deal:

We are half way through growing our little baby in my belly, so we've been trying to get a few things in order. 

One of these things being our living situation. 

Currently, we are living in a one-bedroom apartment in Plymouth, MN on the corner of Vicksburg and Rockford Road. 

We've been thinking of upgrading to a two-bedroom apartment, but upon further research, we've discovered that we can rent a two-bedroom townhouse for less than the cost of a two-bedroom apartment in this complex. 

So, we'd like to get out of our leasing contract and into a townhouse. 

Here's the issue: To end our contract, we are responsible for still paying for the rest of the months' rent on our contract. 

So, say we didn't move until the end of September when the baby is due, we'd still have to pay a little over $2,000 to cover the rest of our lease (which ends December 15). 

There's a catch!

We can pass our lease onto someone else, instead of terminating it.

So, why am I sharing all this?
Because Thomas and I are on the hunt to find someone to move into our apartment so we can move into a townhouse. 

Here's a little bit about our current place:

We live on the first floor (easy move-in!).

We have a patio.

It's a handicap apartment, so our bathroom is HUGE.

The bedroom has a walk-in closet.

There is a bar/countertop seating area in the kitchen.

A washer and dryer is included in the apartment, hidden in a nice little closet by the door.

We have a full-size fridge, garbage disposal, brand new dishwasher (literally, like two weeks old), microwave, stove and oven. 

Heating and air is controlled in each individual apartment. 

Elevators throughout building.

Grocery carts in the garage to load your groceries than take to your room through the elevator - soooo nice!!!

Heated underground parking spot (attached below the building, never have to go outside!) included in rent.

We pay $985 a month for rent.

Here's a little bit about the complex:

Indoor and outdoor pools.

Club house open 24 hours, complete with the following amenities:

Pools, workout center, party room, guest rooms (for out of town visitors), package services, raquetball court, lounge area.

Walking/Biking trails through the woods around the complex.

PRIME (and I mean, PRIME) location to TONS of restaurants, stores, and other facilities. You can walk or bike to everywhere you need to go. Literally.

Maintenance has been responsive, fast, and very helpful.

The management is extremely friendly and pleasant. 

Here is a link to Vicksburg Village, our complex:

http://www.pinnacleams.com/vicksburgvillage/

If you go to my facebook page, I also have a video tour of our apartment. :) 

Here is the link:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152420635105344&set=vb.860920343&type=3&theater 

So please help us!

Spread the word!

If you know anyone looking for an apartment, tell them about ours!

Share this post.

Pretty please! :)

Spring Fever

I love spring and summer time. 

You know why?
Because the whole world comes alive again.

Here are reasons why spring is awesome:

*People are happier.*

*Streets and parks are buzzing.*

*The sky turns from gray to blue.*

*Birds come back and start singing again.*

*The trees turn green over night*

*And there is no green like the green of trees.*

*Thunderstorms and rainy days.*

*Flip flops come out of the closet*

*Dresses and skirts become more than just Sunday attire.*

*The smell of grilling fills the air.*

*As does the smell of freshly cut grass.*

*It's finally time to lay out on a blanket and read under the sun.*

*Bonfires.*

*Watermelon & corn on the cob.*

*Fresh veggies*

*...Food in general...*

You get my drift.

Life is just brighter when the world is brighter.

Happy Spring...finally. 

:)

A Little Bit of Everything

Things on my mind:

The weather.

Tom's shooling.

Our apartment.

The baby.

Dinner.

"What to Expect When You're Expecting" - The movie.

Life.

Let's start with the weather. 

It's finally going to start feeling like spring.

Today was a high of 40 degrees. Tomorrow's high is 60 - and sunny.

The weekend is forecasting 70s.

Finally.

I love spring.

I love watching the world come to life again.

Animals come back out.

People come back out.

The sun comes back out.

Everything turns green and blue and pink and all sorts of beautiful.

The world comes alive. 

Thomas' schooling.

It's almost done.

Thank. Goodness.

Three weeks from tomorrow is his last day.

THREE WEEKS.

Then these weeks can be over.

No more Monday through Fridays of me home alone.

We actually get to eat dinner together every night.

We get to talk about each other's days in person instead of over texts. 

We get to SEE each other. 

I am so excited.

There are no words to describe it.

THEN! He gets to get a big-boy job too!

He gets to help me bring in the dough!

And our finances will be a little looser, and our savings will grow at a faster rate.

I'm excited for that part!

Our apartment.

We're looking to upgrade to a two bedroom.

Either that our start house shopping.

And by house shopping I mean townhouse.

We'll be looking mostly at foreclosure and short sales.

But it all depends on where Thomas ends up for work in a month or so. 

The baby.

Oh goodness, the baby.

I think about it always.

And yet, it still doesn't feel real sometimes. 

I have another appointment tomorrow, and can't wait to hear the little peanut's heartbeat again! It's been too long!

I am also aching to start feeling it move. 

I am so anxious for that day!

Three weeks from Friday we'll be finding out if it's a boy or a girl!

We both would like a boy first (to protect his little sisters) but we both think it's going to be a girl. Mostly because I can't eat enough sugar. 

Biggest cravings so far:

Strawberry milkshakes & Ice Cream

Chocolate covered raisins

Snickers

Vanilla Oreos

I'm eating dinner right now.

Yummy chicken drummies. 

While watching "What to Expect When You're Expecting" (a hilarious movie ya'll should see). And enjoying a night of relaxation.

Laundry is folded. 

Apartment vaccuumed. 

Dishwasher running.

Pots and pans soaking from dinner.

I have a night where I can relax and breathe for the first time in too many weeks (work's been crazy lately - so much, actually, that my wonderful husband surprised me with a massage at a spa last Saturday!).

And it's rather nice to relax a little.

Happy Wednesday.

A Day of Surprises!

So, if you're a little slow on things, just to get you on track: it was our seven year anniversary today. 

Ahh, what an amazing feeling! How wonderful life is!

Anywho, we'd had been trying to come up with plans for something to do on Saturday to celebrate. 

Or so I thought.

Thomas was just placating me. 

Apparently he'd had plans for a while, and just didn't want me to know.

So what did we do?

Lots of fun stuff!

First, there was the mini golf.

A favorite of ours.

Don't judge me about wearing boots mini golfing...

I had no idea what we were up to, and I wanted to look nice for the day.

Plus, I love my boots. :)  

Such a stud. :)

Thomas won, of course, but only by 3 strokes!!

He found this really cute place in Chanhassen that we'd never been to, that I recommend every venture out to once in their life: Golf Zone.

Their course was this cute woodsy thing, and they had this bar/eatery area that was really cute.

And the place was packed, like it was a local hangout.
I dunno, I just really liked the feel of it!

And we had a lot of fun!

After mini golf, we headed out to our next surprise destination:

The Mall of America.

For what you ask?? 

SEALIFE!!!! Wooot!

Talk about fun! 

Lots of cool fishes, sharks, alligators, turtles and more.

I loved it!

My favorite was the jellyfish exhibit - so cool!

After SeaLife at the Mall of America, we did our annual dinner at Benihana. 

Always a favorite.

Always delicious.

Then it was time for snuggling up on the couch, watching Life of Pi.

GREAT movie. 

And I actually stayed awake for the whole thing!
(A rare occurrence for me!)

It was a wonderful day.

We had so much fun screwing around and spending time together.

I love this man!

And this life!