Easter 2011

I was lucky enough to get out of the wet, dreary Ohio weather and head to Atlanta to the lakehouse first with Andrea, then with Shelley & family over their Spring Break.  It was so great to see them and to finally meet Ms. Dylan!  We had a great time out on the lake, getting some sun, and decorating Easter eggs.    I miss them so much, so a week with them was much needed and much enjoyed.  Here is Shelley & I's creation when dying Easter eggs:

Here are 4 of my most favorite little people in the whole world:

Once back in dreary, wet Ohio, Rudi & I spent Easter (which was actually a nice day outside) at my parents house with Ashley.  It was a great day, great food, and great company.  Here are a few fun photos from that day!

The infamous plate decorated by Dad:

Me and my adorable Rudi showing you a side-shot to try and see the bump:

Hope everyone had a great Easter!

3rd & 4th Month

This pregnancy has really been a breeze.  I was a little nauseous during the first trimester, but never got morning sickness!  I was definitely tired, but considered myself VERY lucky.  Once I hit about week 13, all of that went away.  I got some energy back, the nauseousness went away, and I was a brand new woman!  It was nice to have that extra energy as I think Rudi was having enough of me not wanting to do ANYTHING and going to bed by 7:30PM.  LOL.


Okay, you know I really love you guys if I can share these photos with you.  I decided I will take a picture of my belly every month, starting at month 3.  


12 Weeks:

16 Weeks:

More to come each month...

Our First Doctors Appointment - February 28, 2011

We went to our first doctor's appointment on February 28, 2011.  It was a very overwhelming experience as they tell you 1,000 things and give you a huge packet of information about just about anything you could imagine.  I went through all the normal tests, peeing in a cup, getting weighed, etc.  We saw our doctor, Dr. Stephanie Vanek, and she continued the questioning and then we finally got to see our little BABY BEAN!  She confirmed the pregnancy, said we were a little over 8 weeks along and were due on October 8th!

We were relieved she found the little bean & so thrilled to finally see it!  It made it SO REAL to see this little life that was growing inside of me!  What an awesome experience.  Here are some 8 week photos:

Who We Told & When

First to Know:

Carmen and I had been attending Weight Watchers for about 1-2 months when I found out I was pregnant. I kept up the secret for a while, but couldn't imagine continuing the charade much longer.  I had to tell her 1) because I didn't want to keep paying the $12/week for Weight Watchers and 2) I had to tell someone!!  She and I were in her kitchen when I told her the news...she screamed and hugged me and was so excited for us!  That night we went to Babies R Us and Barnes & Noble to find a Pregnancy Journal.  It was a fun night and I was excited to share the news with someone!

Next to Know: 

Rudi & I went to dinner with my parents (Eschol & Dorothy) and Rudi's dad & fiance (Louie & Kathy) at Windward Passage on February 12th.  We had already had plans to go to dinner with them before we found out we were pregnant, so we figured it would be great to tell them while we had them all together in one place.  We went through cocktail hour and dinner and hadn't yet spread the word.  Rudi kept kicking me under the table and asking me if I was ready to tell them, but for some reason I was nervous to tell the news!  After we were done with dinner, Rudi says to the table "Well, Leigh Ann & I have some news that we would like to share with you".  I think my mom's eyes were about to pop out of her head!  He said "We are expecting!"  My mom screamed and everyone was super excited and happy for us.  We got big hugs from everyone and told them the story of how we found out, etc.  It was fun to have them all together for that moment.

Ashley called us from out of town the next day (Saturday) and we told her the news on speakerphone.  She was super excited and happy for us, as well.

Next we tried calling Shelley, Marti, Jamie, Derek, and Ella to share the exciting news.  I don't think any of them answered when we called, so we waited patiently for call backs.  I believe Marti was the first to call back, then we heard from Jaime & Derek, then we got the opportunity to Skype with Shelley & family.  It was so fun to share this news with our family and hear their reactions!  Ryleigh screamed and was super excited and it was fun to see her face over the computer.

I was lucky enough to take a short business trip to Atlanta.  I was able to get together most of the Atlanta crew and have them meet me for dinner.  It was there that I was able to tell them - Andrea, Alex, Heather Kotula, Kelley Juhasz, Devon, Barrett, Heather Anthony, & Christy.  It was great to see all my Atlanta friends and so exciting to see their reactions in person.  That dinner was definitely a change from most as we talked about birth, raising kids, changing diapers, etc.  Times are sure changing!

We waited to tell most non-family until our 12 week appointment...just to make sure all was good with the baby.  When we heard the heartbeat for the first time, it was nothing short of AMAZING.  We both made our rounds of phones calls to our friends and their responses were so fun.  This baby will definitely come into this world surrounded by love and support.  We feel so lucky to have so many wonderful friends and family in our life.  We love you all and THANK YOU for all the wishes and support!

Our Little Miracle!

Hey Everyone!

Mauri gave me the idea to start a blog so that she could stay up-to-date on my pregnancy and our baby plans, appointments, stories, etc.  I thought it was a great idea for all our friends and family to walk through this journey with us!

For those of you that don't know how and when we found out, here goes!

Julie & Jansen's Wedding Weekend in Tennessee
Rudi & I traveled to TN to see one of my good friends, Julie, get married the weekend of January 28th.  We had a FABULOUS weekend meeting back up with all my Atlanta friends and watching Julie marry Jansen!  In true ATL-style, we were not at a loss for a little partying and drinking over the weekend.  Friday night was a very fun night and I wasn't feeling so hot on Saturday.  I just figured I was getting old and I'd be fine before the wedding started.  Unfortunately, it did not wear off and I took it (somewhat) easy on Saturday night.  Rudi, however, felt great and partied it up again on Saturday night.  We had to head back to Ohio on Sunday.  I drove and Rudi recovered in the passenger seat.  I couldn't wait for the 6 hour drive to be over for more than one reason.  When I got home, I decided to go upstairs and take a pregnancy test.  Since we'd been trying, I knew that I was a day late, so why not give it a shot.  Rudi was still downstairs unpacking the car.  As I sat upstairs staring at the pregnancy test, my hands began to shake and I couldn't believe my eyes!!  The test was DEFINITELY turning to a POSITIVE!  Holy crap!  I was so excited and still shaking I ran downstairs to tell Rudi the good news.  Exhausted from the fun weekend and long drive, he was excited, but still needed a few minutes to "process" the news! I think it took a minute to sink in what I had just told him, but we were so happy, I was crying, we were hugging, and it was finally here....WE ARE HAVING A BABY!!!  Yippee!!