She's So Cute!!

A couple of weeks ago, Matt and I went to see our sweet baby Siena at the doctor for the next big measurement sonogram. We are always so excited to see her - the anticipation is almost too much to bear! We were curious to see what they said about her - how much she weighed, how long she was, what position she was curled up in...if nothing else, just to see her pretty little face. It's amazing what you can see in your child on a little screen! We have, and I quote, "a perfectly symmetrical baby". What that means is everything they measured (her head, her arm, her leg, her tummy, etc.) is all measuring within a day of each other. So, she doesn't have freakishly long feet (which may come with age if she gets her mother's genes in that category) or anything that is much bigger or smaller than anything else on her tiny little body. We have always called her perfect, but having an unbiased doctor say the same thing put a smile on our faces! The doctor also showed us what we all know is sure to be the case when she comes out...her hair! That's right, we could already (at 32 weeks) see the hair coming out of her head! That would definitely explain the old wives tale of my unfailing heartburn. :) I think with her mommy and daddy's genes, she's sure to come out with some serious hair on her head - and the ultrasound showed us that already!! Everything else checked out great at the doctor's appointment - still a healthy little munchkin growing away! Doesn't she look like she is glowing? Her mommy and daddy sure are!!!



I have been told now by numerous friends that I need to get some pictures of me up here! I must apologize...again...for my lack of dedication to the blog and my follow-ups. This in no way indicates my excitement for this little one - just my laziness, procrastination, lack of "cool points" and whatever other excuses I can come up with that has prevented me from being on top of my game. I'm so sorry...Here is my latest picture of the tummy. I am 34 weeks along and going strong! I have felt really good and the heat has not knocked me out...yet! I'm not sure why you guys want to see these crazy looking pictures...but here you go! :)



Oh, and here's a picture of my "summer job" - tending to the in-law's pool. It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it...

First Mother's Day

As Mother's Day was approaching, I wondered if it was something I could "officially" celebrate yet. As I thought about it, it was made very clear - of course I can! I am carrying the most beautiful little angel with a real heartbeat, a real personality (already), and I have a real love for her as my very own daughter. I started getting really excited about that day. And what a wonderful day it was...
On Sunday morning, I was woken up with a sweet little tap on my shoulder...and breakfast in bed! Matt made me eggs, toast, cereal, and orange juice! Man, he knows the way to my heart - with food! And these days, I don't miss a breakfast, so it was wonderful to get food before I even got out of bed! What a treat. I took my time getting ready for church, and all the while, I had little butterflies in my stomach - I actually get to celebrate this day now!!
While I was getting ready, Matt told me he had another little surprise for me...ooh, I love surprises! I had to go into Siena's room to find the surprise. I searched around a little, and to my surprise, I found a little box underneath our fluffy little friend Franklin (the huge furry duck) laying in Siena's crib. I got a little excited at the sight of a "little box" - as we women do - but I wasn't sure what to expect. I opened it up...and well, here's what I saw:


It is HOPEFULLY our little Siena's birthstone! What a precious gift - I was so excited! A beautiful peridot stone - August's birthstone. When Matt bought it, he knew it was a little bit of a risk, because really she could be born in July, but with an August 10 due date, we're just going to hope that the 2 week cushion will be enough to keep the stone! :) And, if she decides to arrive a little early, then I'll just show my love for my husband - he for sure was born in August!! :) Either way, the thought was what really mattered, and I wear that necklace with pride - for my little one and for my family!
At church, we were given a Mother's Prayer. It now hangs on my mirror and I read it every day. The line that really hits me right now is, "...thank you for entrusting this child into my care..." I think about that line a lot. I think about Siena all the time and I am constantly aware of her and wanting to make sure she is okay, healthy, and happy. God has given Matt and I this little angel to care for - and I am so blessed to be able to care for her. God help us as we continue on the journey!
I have not ever thought of Mother's Day like I did this past Mother's Day. What a special day it is - a tribute, really, to all the mothers and the love shared between family. It's an honor to be a part of this "group" now and to be able to celebrate being a mom. I am one happy, blessed mama. :)

"Moving" Right Along

Well, it's official...we have made it into the 3rd trimester! I can't believe how quickly this has all gone! It's amazing to think that it was over 6 months ago that we found out we were pregnant...oh, how things have changed in just those 6 months. For some reason, I don't think the changes are going to stop any time soon. :)
Siena is a free spirit, I can tell that already. She LOVES to make herself known...and I love it! Ever since mid-March, I've been able to experience one of the most amazing things I have ever felt...our little angel move! I came home from Michigan on March 14, and from then on, it was official...it wasn't just gas...it was really her. :) It truly is one of the best feelings in the world. To feel her move and wiggle each day is one of the biggest blessings for me right now - it's reassurance that she's doing alright and content to just "play around" inside. At first they were little and I had to question each time whether or not it was her. Now, not only can Matt feel her kicks, we can SEE them poking around in my tummy! I wouldn't mind if she did it constantly all day long - I love it so much. One of my most favorite times right now is when Matt and I are curled up in bed and he will wrap his arm around me and put his hand on my tummy. It's a morning and night ritual. She likes to wake up with us in the morning and she'll say her "good nights" to us at night before we fall asleep. It's quite a neat bonding experience for me (and Matt too). I know it means a great deal to him because he can finally "feel" her. He isn't lucky enough to have an itchy stomach or heartburn (thank God for Tums!) or this weird growing "baby bump" coming off his stomach to remind him she's here! HA! :)
Little Siena also likes to play games. For about a week, she was MUCH quieter than she had been in the past. I was used to her moving at certain times - in the morning, during my plan time, after lunch, after dinner, and at night before bed. She was super active. Apparently, she wanted to take a little time off and scare the mess out of her parents. I called the doctor to reassure myself that everything was okay. That lasted a couple of days and when she still wasn't back to "normal", I couldn't take it any more. My emotions and hormones were both completely at their peak, and I couldn't keep it together. I was so worried about her and all I could think about was her and the fact that she wasn't moving like she normally was. So, I called the doctor again, in tears, because I was petrified that our little one wasn't okay. They were wonderful enough to allow Matt and I to go down and see her - to make sure all was okay. So, when we were able to physically see her little heart beating away and her little limbs kicking away, our minds and hearts were truly put to rest.
Since then, she's been making up for lost time. She apparently realized she scared us so she's making herself very known - and I am so thankful!! She has been a moving machine lately! At the movies this past weekend, she was out of control! She loves the loud music and sounds, I guess. I thought she was going to break through my stomach and have a seat on my lap she was moving around so much! She also loves the cowbells at church - she wiggles around every time someone shakes them. (Yes, we have a church that uses cowbells to show their "approval" of things! I guess you have to be there and know Joey???) At school, I find myself in the middle of teaching, with my hand on my tummy, feeling her kick away. The kids also love to put their hands on my tummy and say "hello" to her. I can't get enough of it! In fact, I might miss it once she arrives...

Pregnant Thoughts...

Friends, I'm turning over a new leaf...I'm writing 2 times in the same month! Aren't you proud of me?! HA! Anyways...a couple things that I just thought I would share...
CRAVINGS:
I'm so bummed out...I haven't had any fun cravings! All my life I have always wanted to like pickles. I always thought that God would bless me with the craving of liking pickles when I got pregnant. No such luck! They're still disgusting. I also haven't had any "I need..." moments. I thought it would be fun to just once send Matt out on a late night run to get something that I just had to have. But I haven't been able to be that either! Sure, bread/toast has tasted delicious (especially early on) and breakfast foods were wonderful, but that's not fun. I always love that! I will say that for a few weeks, Toaster Strudels had a special place in my heart. But hey, what can I say...I've always loved food...and that just hasn't changed a bit! Maybe I'll get my pickle craving before little Siena graces the world...
BABY BRAIN:
Okay, we've all heard it - your head goes to the clouds when you get pregnant and your baby sucks out all the brain juice during pregnancy. But, shoot, it's so true! I have done the dumbest things lately! It's amazing - and yes, I'm going to blame them on the pregnancy...because at least now I have a decent excuse!! :) For my fellow teachers, you'll appreciate this: I scheduled spring parent-teacher conferences during MAP testing...literally right when the kids would be testing. I had to call all those parents and explain to them that I lost my mind and they couldn't come to the classroom at the scheduled time because their child is taking the biggest test of the year! Needless to say, that caused some questions.
How about this one...I signed my name as my maiden name...pretty sure I haven't been a Tromp for almost 5 years now. No comment there. :)
So, there you have it...some funny and very interesting (to me) things that have been going on lately. I just love it! I can't wait to share these stories with Siena one day...she's going to laugh at her mama...and I'll be laughing along with her!
BALANCE:
This was a new one for me! I had never heard that pregnant women can lose their balance more easily! I had been noticing that I would be walking normally and then all of a sudden feel like I was going to fall over! Or I would be standing and talking to someone and about fall into them! The strangest thing! It was happening enough to notice it, so I asked some "doctor friends" of mine, and sure enough...your center of gravity goes out the window when you have a bun in the oven! How funny!! I will say it did make me feel quite a bit better to know that it was normal to "look a little tipsy" when you're pregnant! HA!

And Her Name Is...

Our beautiful little angel will be named... SIENA GRACE!
She has been thought about for a very long time and way back last summer, we decided together that if we were blessed with a little girl, we would name her Siena. Let me give you a little background on where her name came from.
Last July, Matt and I took a trip to Italy. We were not pregnant yet, but had been trying for quite a while at that point. We spent one of our 2 week stay in Piagaro, Umbria (a precious little town tucked in the hills of central Italy) with my dad, Joyce, and Emilie. During that week, we visited the most beautiful little city named...Siena. That city is breathtaking. While we were there, we wandered cobblestone streets, ate food you thought dropped right out of heaven, saw gorgeous sites...basically, had one of those "magical days" you know you'll never forget. While we were walking around, I turned to Matt and said, "Siena is a really pretty name for a girl...do you like it?" Instantly Matt said, "Yeah, I really do..." It was then we decided that Siena might just be "the one" for our little girl. We took a picture of the name SIENA printed on a glass wall, tucked that away, and always talked about it as a potential name. It took us about 5 minutes after we found out we were having a little girl to decide that Siena was it...we just knew it. :) The memories we have of that trip to Italy are priceless. I really am not trying to sound cheesy or corny by telling the story, it's just the truth. That's where we first heard that name and ever since then, it stuck. Now, as an added bonus...we'll just HAVE to take our little Siena to the place where she got her name - oh shucks...I suppose we'll make the sacrifice. :)

Her middle name, Grace, comes from family. Both my mom and my sister Emilie share that middle name. It originated in our family with my great-grandmother. No other middle name seemed more fitting. Aside from the true meaning of grace, to be able to give our little one a name that has some history in her family is really special. And, seeing that Emilie is Siena's one-and-only aunt, we figured Em needed a little "shout out" of importance...because that she is!!
There's the history of our baby's name. And now that we decided on her name, it makes Siena's life that much more real to us. We can call her Siena. We can plan for her arrival. We can send emails back and forth, talking about her by name. It took this whole baby-parents thing to a whole new level.

Oh, and for those that were wondering..her last name will be Marble. :)

I'm TERRIBLE!!!!!!!!!

Oh my goodness...where do I begin with the apologies?! I'm not even going to go there - I'm terrible at this "blog" thing, I knew it from the start - but I HAVE to get it together!!! I'm going to recap for you as best as I can...

We had a WONDERFUL doctor's appointment on March 6 (I know, that's a month ago...) where the doctors assured us that we have a very healthy baby GIRL growing inside!!! Yep, that's right...we're having a little girl!! She is wiggly as can be, healthy as can be, and she's definitely a "hamburger" (turtle would be the term for boy...you figure it out). We got to see the chambers in her heart, her brain, her arms, fingers, toes, legs...it was truly amazing! We even got 16 pictures to take home with us!!! Matt and I went to the appointment dressed in blue - we had told our students that we would wear the color of our baby to school after the morning appointment - simply because if we had to pick, we were thinking a boy. We had to wear something to the appointment, so we picked blue shirts. When we got the wonderful news of the little girl, we got into the van, changed from blue to pink (we both brought a change of clothes...just in case) and couldn't wipe the smile off our faces all day long! That same day, a great friend of mine from school had gone around that morning to all the teachers in the building, asking them what they thought the sex of our baby was going to be. She gave them a beaded necklace to match the color of their guess! There were LOTS of boy guesses (including me!)...but I wore those bright pink beads and pink shirt with pride!!! It was such an exhilarating day - we were proud parents of a little GIRL!!!!!!!

The following week was spring break. I went to Michigan for most of the week to celebrate with friends and family. We were thinking it was going to be the last time I would get up there before the little one was born, so that's why the family/friends thought it smart to throw some early showers. They threw me THREE fabulous showers! Wow, are those fun! Sharon (my mother-in-law) was also able to fly in on Thursday to celebrate with me. It was so great to have her there. My dear friends Kasey and Laura threw me a "friends" shower on Thursday night. We laughed all night. It was so fun to start off the experience with them. They are such special people to me - and I will never forget my very first baby shower. Then on Friday night, I had a really wonderful shower thrown for me by Joyce (my step-mom). That shower was incredibly special to me because it was such a wonderful group of people...ladies from church that knew me when I was a baby, family that drove in from out of town to be there, people that played really important roles in my young life were there...it was really special. We stayed up all night talking and enjoying the evening. It was a beautiful shower. Then, on Saturday morning, my mom and aunts threw me a shower. That too was incredibly special. It was so neat to share the experience with aunts, cousins, grandma, and other family. The food was delicious and the company was even better! I loved each shower for different reasons. It was a whirlwind week and a lot was crammed into those few short days, but I would do it again in a heartbeat. I wouldn't have traded that week for anything - to spend time with family and friends - it doesn't get better than that.

We had another doctor's appointment on March 24. At that appointment we were just supposed to have an office visit. Well, a "mistake" on their part was a bonus for us! We went in and had another full measurement sonogram where they measured her, checked her vital organs and body parts (yes, she's still a girl!), printed off lots more pictures...basically, we got another double check that everything is healthy and growing strong! Needless to say, we didn't complain one bit!! The more technicians and doctors that look her over and "approve her status", the better!! So, we were tickled to be able to see our precious little angel again. All was well!

Now, we're pretty much caught up...
I don't have any pictures to import right now - I left our camera in Michigan over spring break. Can I blame that on being pregnant? Those that really know me would probably say "no, that's too typical" - but hey, I'll use an excuse if I have one! :) But we have been taking "growing tummy" pictures and I will certainly upload ultrasound pictures of our little angel as soon as I can. I am currently 22 weeks along - and loving every minute of it. The joy I feel with this little one is unlike anything I've ever experienced before. She is a blessing and I am thankful every day for her gift of life. Now I just can't wait to meet her...

The Next Visit...

Well, Matt and I went for our next appointment on Monday, February 16. We both commented to each other on the way down there that we were definitely more excited than nervous to go down to the hospital this time. It made the entire experience much more fun! And boy, was it a treat...again.
We got to see the little angel MOVING ALL OVER THE PLACE! He or she is VERY active...to say the least. We were able to see the spine, the arms and legs (the little legs were crossed like a real gentleman or polite lady), the head, the chambers of the heart beating away...it was quite incredible! I asked about the heartbeat, so our doctor pulled out the doplar sound machine and put it up to my tummy. She was working to find the heartbeat and we kept hearing thumps and loud noises coming over the machine. The doctor said that was the baby kicking again...and again...and again...we got a chuckle out of that. Maybe a future soccer player??? Maybe a little foreshadowing that I'm in for a big treat when I can actually FEEL the kicks all the time!! :) The heartbeat was at 148. Either way, it was precious and it was a blessing to see the healthy little one just loving life inside of me.
Other good news that was shared with us...we get to have our "BIG ULTRASOUND" in 2.5 weeks. You guessed it...the one where we get to find out the sex of the baby and also see measurements and chambers of the heart - all that good stuff! I'll be able to know before I head back to Michigan for 3 baby showers...a real treat! Two and a half weeks is going to fly by - just like this entire pregnancy! I'm so excited! Almost 4 month along...and carrying a softball-sized baby along with me! Life is good. :)