28 (and 1/2) weeks

Well this past weekend Corey and I went to look at Christmas lights. In the foothills of the mountains near where we live people go all out with their Christmas lights. So, we've made in an annual tradition to go each year and look at the lights. And of course, what would the "Annual Christmas Light Extravaganza" be without Christmas music, santa hats, and hot chocolate. Well..this year Corey said it was too warm for hot chocolate so he wanted a slushie instead! :) Haha, guess that's December in AZ for ya!


28 1/2 weeks


This picture is really blurry but you get the idea. I don't think there was one square inch of this house that wasn't covered in lights.


Another way to tell it's Christmas time in AZ--the decorated Cactus!

We fly back to MI in less than one week. We are very excited to go home, see family, and celebrate Christmas!!!!

26 weeks

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, we did! We took advantage of the nice weather and went for a hike on South Mountain Thanksgiving morning. The afternoon was spent finishing preparations for dinner and then we went to friends for our Thanksgiving meal (pot-luck style). We missed being home but are already looking forward to going home for Christmas!

We have so much to be thankful for! We are obviously thankful for this little baby whose arrival we anxiously await! I am thankful for Corey and for our marriage, thankful for family and friends, thankful for the immeasurable blessings God has given us, and most of all thankful for the gift of salvation God has given us through His Son!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."


26 weeks on a Thanksgiving morning hike

24(1/2) week update

Well, sorry it's been so long since I've posted. I guess there haven't really been a whole lot of updates, not to mention I am pretty exhaused most nights after work. Right now it's 5 am and I've been awake since 3:30 so I figured I might as well do a post. I (obviously) still haven't been sleeping well, still waking up throughout the night w/ my back and hips just aching. The heating pad and the wedge pillow which a friend let me borrow have been helping a bit. You sure can get a lot done when you are up at 3:30 though....I've already done a load of laundry, got the roast going for lunch today, did dishes, and now blogging! Haha, I just figured I better do stuff now b/c I will be worthless this afternoon after church.

As far as pregnany updates go the only big thing that is new (well, since about 22 weeks) is that this little guy has been kicking/moving a lot!!! When I feel him move I am just again in awe at the miracle God is allowing us to be a part of!!! Corey has been able to feel him kicking too. A week or so ago Corey said that he felt him kicking at 3 am (while I was sleeping) so he said they stayed up and "played". Haha, I told him that the baby is not allowed to play at 3 am, he's supposed to be sleeping....otherwise I am giving him the 3am shift once the baby is born! :)

I did have an MD appt at 23 weeks and again we are thankful that all went well with nothing to report.

So, guess that's all the news here. I know I need to post a new picture, and I will soon, I promise. I am just not sure the no make-up, wild hair, robe and slippers look I have going right now is the cutest! Haha!

21 weeks

Not too much new pregnancy news here...just time for an updated picture. I've been feeling the baby move a little more these days, still no definitive movements, but I am sure that will come soon. Overall I've been feeling good too...my back is starting to hurt though and it's even making it difficult to sleep at night. Guess that just comes with the territory though. I am still kind of able to wear non-maternity clothes. Like I've said before, I wear scrubs to work so that makes that easy. I did buy the Bella Band so I am still able to wear my jeans, etc, however, I'm not sure how long that will last.

Otherwise, Corey and I are enjoying the time we have together as a family of 2 and anticipating this little guy making it a family of 3! It makes me smile....when I leave for work in the morning (Corey walks me out to my car) and when I get home from work at night Corey not only welcomes me but also welcomes home the baby and tells him how much he loves him. We've also been reading him some Bible stories, last night Corey read the baby (from his baby Bible) the story of the 3 wisemen. :)

And, as a side note, the weather here in Phoenix is FINALLY starting to cool down. We had another hot weekend last weekend (100) but it's now back down to the 80's. Doesn't feel too much like fall, but we will be home this year for a white Christmas! :)

It's a BOY!!!!!!!!

Well, we are very excited to share (not that most of you don't already know) that we are having a BOY!!! We had our ultrasound Friday (10/16/09) and it was very conclusive that this baby is a boy. You can see the pics below. We are SO thankful and SO blessed that this little guy looks completely healthy, all his measurements were right on. Well, besides his feet which the tech said are very large!!!! Typically at 20 weeks they should measure 2.5 cm and his are 3.5 cm. Not exactly sure what that means, lets just hope it doesn't mean he is going to be a big baby! Haha. Corey's parents and sister were able to join us for the ultrasound which was really neat. And we had lots of family and friends anxiously awaiting the big news. Before my appointment was even over I think I had 3 missed calls and a text from my sister (Jori) stating "Hey Sis! I want to know so badly! Hurry it up! Get that gel off your belly:) Call me first. I"ll put it on speaker". Haha! We are SO thankful for everyone's support and for so many people who already love this little guy, he is so blessed!!! I think I only let one tear slip during the ultrasound, I am just so amazed at the miracle of this little life and so thankful that God has so greatly blessed us!! Now I just can't wait to meet this him....half way there, 19 more weeks to wait.

Right click to enlarge. I especially love the bottom left picture of his profile. I could just look at that cute little face all day! :)

Corey is also very excited about having a boy! Not that he/we wouldn't have loved a little girl, but I know he's already thinking about playing ball in the back yard with this little guy!!! What a GREAT dad he will be. Not only is he excited about doing all those great dad-son things, but more so I know he is so committed to raising this boy to be a man of God! What more could I ask, hope, or pray for!

19 weeks

I had my 19 week MD appointment last week Thursday and all went well. We heard the baby's heartbeat (140 BPM) and the doctor said the baby was a feisty one! He also asked if we are finding out the sex (which we are on Friday....) and he said that he was going to predict what the baby is. It's kinda funny....he said a former patient's husband is a computer programmer so he came up w/ a formula for predicting the baby's sex(Age of mother at conception + month of conception, then do serial subtractions starting with the #9, if the ending number is odd it's a boy and if it's even or zero it's a girl). Anyways, he predicted a boy!! He also wrote it in the chart to make it official and wanted us to make sure we tell the ultrasound tech his prediction (they have bets going on how frequently he is right). So, guess we'll let you know friday whether we're having a feisty boy or a sweet girl! :) haha

Not too much else to update here. I'm pretty sure I've been feeling the baby move. I thought for sure I'd be able to tell but the movements are just very vague...almost like a slight muscle contraction or something along those lines. It has been occurring a little more frequently now though.

17 weeks

Here's an updated picture...still at the awkward stage of feeling like I don't look completely pregnant yet(well, at least to those who don't know I am pregnant). Oh well! I am starting to not fit into any of my pants/shorts, thankfully I wear scrubs to work. No other big updates, still 2 more weeks till my next MD appointment. I think I am finally over the morning sickness though which is a huge blessing! That was definitely not fun. Now the only time I feel sick is when I gag from brushing my teeth! Gotta love it!


Baby Kug is now about 5 ounces and 5 inches from head to bottom. What I don't understand is how this little baby can only weigh 5 ounces and how I could have already gained..well, lets just say a LOT more than 5 ounces!

The World's Best Husband!

There are so many things I love about Corey....I could probably write a book. I am so thankful for such a wonderful husband who is soon-to-be an AMAZING dad!!!

Emails like this put a smile on my face throughout the day.

"You are loved KK (and baby too)!!

CK"

Savvy Sale

This past weekend Corey and I went to the Savvy Sale, "a children's consignment event and boutique". We weren't able to go until the tail end of the sale so I wasn't sure if it would be worth it or if it would be really picked over. However, it was the 1/2 price sale so I figured we'd give it a shot. When we arrived (after waiting to get in the doors) you would never have known it was the end of the sale there was SO much stuff left. Because we don't know the sex yet, that obviously limited what we were able to buy.....but nonetheless we found some good deals. Here's what we found.


We ended up getting all this for only $45!!!! We got a baby seat, exersaucer, some books, and few toys!


Baby seat that vibrates/plays music/lights up....only $5.


Exersaucer....practically brand new only $15!


This was Corey's pick of the day! haha If you touch the cow's nose it "moooos" and plays music and vibrates! I told Corey it will probably scare the baby...but we've been having fun with it!

I sterilized and washed everything, so now we just need to start finding room to store all the baby gear. I also just saw on the website that the next Sale is in February so hopefully we can make it to that one too!!!

15 Week MD Appointment

Well....not too much new to report from my doctor appointment at 15 weeks. But, I guess that is a good thing, right? This practice (called Southwest Women's Care) has 6 physicians and whoever is on call is the one who delivers the baby. So at each appointment I will see different doctors. Anyways, we met the doctor and heard the heartbeat and everything is still going well. It was short and sweet! I scheduled my next appointment for a month out and also scheduled my ultrasound for 20 weeks!!! So, on October 16 we will be able to find out the sex! Yeah!!! We are so excited!!

Here's some fun facts about baby @ 15 weeks (per BabyCenter.com).

• Measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple)
  
• His/Her legs are growing longer than his/her arms now, and he/she can move all of his/her joints and limbs
• Although his/her eyelides are fused shut he/she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, he/she is likely to move away from the beam.

And, yes, I must add that Corey has put the last point to the test! :)

Guess, that's about all for the pregnancy news. I was going to post a 15 week picture, but really I look no different than at 14 weeks. I'll wait one more week!

14 weeks and counting....

Well, today I am 14 weeks pregnant. The first trimester has gone pretty quickly. I am finally starting to get over the morning sickness as well. I still have days I don't feel great, but overall I am starting to feel better! Otherwise, no big updates.

14 weeks

San Diego

Last weekend Corey and I took a long weekend to enjoy some time together in San Diego!!! We had lots to celebrate....new baby on the way, anniversary (5 years in July), and Corey just finished his semester! We had a great time just being together and it was great to get some cool weather and spend some time at the beach. We stayed in Vista, CA but spent most of our time in La Jolla. I'm already looking forward to going back!




We went to Coronado Island and spent some time walking around the Hotel Del Coronado.




Another great thing about San Diego...fresh Seafood. Corey and I headed downtown and ate on the water at Anthony's Fish Grotto. Ymmmm!


We stayed here in Vista. It was a great place....kind of like a bed and breakfast minus the breakfast. We actually ended up staying in the guest house which wasn't as nice as the main house but great to have our own place.




Ahhhh...the BEACH!! It was a little cool for beach weather but with the temps in the 110's here in Phoenix we weren't complaining!

Baby had lots of firsts on this trip (we've been keeping track of some of "baby's first"). Baby's first trip to CA, baby's first lobster dinner, baby's first time kayaking with the sharks (I know..doesn't sound like an overly safe activity, but don't worry the sharks were perfectly harmless!) and more!!


I'll leave you with this picture as I think it pretty well sums things up, don't you? Haha. Corey and I somehow got in the tradition or capturing this "pose" on camera everytime we go somewhere! I'm sure you'll see this pose show up in many more posts! :)

11 week ultrasound

I had my first MD appointment 8/11/09. It was my first time to this practice so most of the time was spent going over my medical history, etc. Anyways, we saw the NP and being new to this practice I asked if they were going to do an ultrasound. She said they are pretty conservative when it comes to ultrasounds and typically will do one the entire pregnancy at 18-20 weeks to make sure everything looks good and determine the sex. (Oh, and by the way, we will be finding out the sex) Anyways, she told me that if I wanted to she could bring the ultrasound machine in and we could take a quick peek at the baby. To make a long story short...she couldn't find the baby or hear the heartbeat. She kept reassuring us that it was just her (as she doesn't typically do the ultrasounds) and that I was definitely pregnant. BUT, needless to say, after that she scheduled for a "real" ultrasound 2 days later.

So, here are a few pics of the baby at 11 weeks. When we first started the ultrasound the baby was sleeping but the tech tapped my stomach and woke the baby up so we got to see him/her moving around! What a miracle!!!

(Left click to enlarge images)

At 11 weeks the baby was 2 inches (not counting the legs), the little baby feet were 7 mm, and the heart rate was 158 bpm.

Baby Kugle on the way......

I've been wanting to start a blog for a while....and now I finally have a reason too! Many (well, most) of you know by now that we are expecting our first baby in March. We are SO excited and awed at the miracle of this new life. I"ll do my best to keep you updated along the way!!

Here's a pic of the positive pregnancy tests!!! We did 3 tests just to make sure that it was really positive! June 23rd I had the suspicion (well, I guess at that time it was still just a hope) that I was pregnant. However, I didn't want to get too excited so I waited one more night. Wednesday night (June 24th) after work I decided to run to Target and get a pregnancy test. I really wanted to be able to tell Corey in a special way but I was too excited to wait so I just yelled for him and showed him the pregnancy test!!!

Like I said, we thank God daily for this blessing and pray that God will give us the wisdom to be Godly parents and raise this child to know and love Him! What greater privilege and responsibility could we be given!