Secrets, Secrets! Read all about them :)

Well I'm ready to spill the beans, even though I haven't gotten a chance to tell all of my coworkers yet (hence the delay of a FB announcement)...

We are moving to Cleveland, OH!!!

Let me start from the beginning (I know you're thinking, "yay, another rambling post!") ...

This summer has been a whirlwind. Lot's of uncertainties at a time when I thought being pregnant was enough on our agenda, God had other plans. In case you hadn't heard the news, US Steel (where Ross works) is doing very poorly, as a whole. Over the course of the spring, Ross had witnessed round after round of layoffs at his workplace. Eventually, we were not surprised when he was dealt the same card. We saw the writing on the wall but were still hopeful at the time that he would be spared. Since June, Ross has been enjoying his 'summer break' (as we call it :) There was a chance he would be recalled, but that never happened and the operations here (and all USS plants nationwide) have only gotten worse. They just recently announced last week the remaining 1,100 layoffs at his plant here in B'ham. The plant is being completely idled for at least a year. And even when they do start-up again next fall, they will only hire back about 200 employees (compared to the 1,500 that worked there earlier this year) (and that 200 does not include Ross' position). Lot's of good people lost their jobs so the whole scenario is really a shame.

In the meantime, Ross has been job hunting this summer. The big question at first was whether or not we move out of state (since I have a very good job here in B'ham!). Once we learned that I may have the possibility of working from home, the job hunt was wide open. We decided it would be nice to be a bit closer to home, so he started looking for jobs anywhere on the east coast.

He actually got a lot of good traction in his job hunt and I was excited to think of our next phase of life (even as it was bittersweet)! He had gotten such invaluable experience at his job here at USS that I really felt like we did what we came here to do, but now it was time to move on.

As of 2 weeks ago, he accepted a job offer with Alcoa (another Pgh-based company, go figure!) in Cleveland, Ohio! He'll be in the same line of work of Labor Relations. We gave them a start date of 9/14 (which gave us 4 weeks) to give us time to list & sell our house here (another house updated and flipped *sigh*) and get some other kinks sorted out before we move north.

Our house was officially listed this Monday. It's been on the market for 2 days now and already, we've had 2 showings, and 3 more coming up today! It's getting a lot of good attention so we're hopeful it will sell quickly! The updates we've made to the house really show so even though it plain *sucks* that we've renovated another house, and are now selling it, we're hopeful to at least make some money off of it. (I'll blog a house post to show you some 'before' and 'afters' so stay stuned!)

Ross & I are headed up to Cleveland this weekend for a house-hunting trip and to check out the area. We haven't decided yet whether to rent or buy in Cleveland, but hopefully we will have some answers in the next few days. Baby Girl's due date is approaching quickly, so trying to coordinate a timeline for the next 6 months is quite the headache. We'll see what feels best for us and our situation this weekend :)

And lastly, as far as my job is concerned... it's probably one of the biggest blessings I could have never imagined. I just found out yesterday that my boss has agreed to let me work remotely from home until after maternity leave! And then!, for the long-run, I can come back as a contractor and continue working from home. I'll admit, I never wanted to be a stay-at-home, I love coming to the office and interacting with coworkers on a daily basis, but with our lives about to change with Baby Girl, working from home may be such a huge blessing I didn't even know I needed and/or wanted, so I'm thrilled for the opportunity! (And Ross is thrilled I still have a job, haha)

Everything is now falling into place. I've prayed more in my life this summer than ever before and relied on my faith more than ever. Strangely enough, Ross & I have felt more calm in this chaos than I think we should've felt. Yes, there were days we were fearful or questioning 'Why?' but we've not been as stressed as I think someone should be in this case. From one of my favorite church sermons we heard at the beginning of summer (perfect timing!) was to live fully in your Faith so that you can live your life Fearlessly. I've relied on that so heavily this summer and God has truly taken the brunt of the weight and moved mountains for us.

In the end, we feel we've done what we came here to do and now it's time to be closer to our family and friends in Pgh. Ross & I are so excited for our next phase of life and I'm so relieved to finally get to share our secret :)

*Kristin*

Gender Reveal Party

I know I already revealed our news on facebook, but I still wanted to document the day of our gender reveal this past weekend. The anticipation of finding out Baby S' gender was so exciting that I'm glad Ross & I didn't do it any other way (and no, we didn't cheat or know anything before the reveal!! We waited patiently!). I was so happy to get to spend the celebration with our family and friends back home :)

We decided to keep it low key and just invite our families over to mom & dad's house for dinner. (Of course this meant us having to fly home to Pgh, but it was worth it!) My girlfriends and their guys joined in on the fun as well so I was really happy to get to spend the day with my favorite people!!

Here's Ross & I before the reveal. He kept goofing off. The pics make me laugh :)

Here's a shot of the whole gang! I asked everyone to wear beads for their vote. You can see it's pretty evenly split, boy vs. girl!  I voted 'Girl.' I've always dreamt of having a boy first, but since the day I was pregnant, I had a sneakin' suspicion it was a girl. God has a sense of humor like that... I've learned :) Ross really had no preference or idea either way, but decided to vote against me once I peer-pressured him enough to choose a side!

My best friend, Ang, and her husband, in the middle, were neutral since they were the 'secret keepers' and in charge of buying the balloons. They did a fantastic job :)

A few more pics from that day before the reveal...

Michelle made pink and blue punches. It was adorable, and even more important, both were delicious!!

After dinner, it was finally time!! I was so nervous!  The video I posted on fb perfectly captures how excited we were to find out!! I love it so much and could stare at these pics all day :)

It's a girl!!!

And yes, both Ross & I are happy to raise her as a tomboy :) (if she agrees!)

And a few after pics!

This picture cracks me up... and so perfectly captures us! Ross gets this look a lot when I'm yelling at him :) He popped his balloon from playing with it too roughly! Luckily, we had plenty of extra balloons on hand for photo ops.

And here we go again! Ross goofing off....
 


I love these girls more than words can express!!

I joked with my grandpa that he had the same baby bump that I did :) haha...

Lastly, a few more pictures of the box! I had to buy and decorate the box the day before and LOVED how it turned out (I was a little nervous it wasn't going to turn out well). My friend at work made me the 'boy or girl?' text from her Silhouette machine and Ross & I cut out the polka dots from scrapbook paper. Ross was also nice enough to help me wrap the box with brown kraft paper to cover all of the logos and give us a clean slate... but don't ask him, he'll deny any involvement in the activity :)

Love, love, love my box. And then my dad destroyed it afterwards in front of me when the party was over. Rude. I wanted to have a memorial service for it. Too bad Southwest wouldn't just allow me to bring it back home with me on the plane. *sigh* And can we all just take a moment to recognize how gorgeous my parents backyard is?!! I love it back there... and that yard makes an awesome backdrop!!!


Also a quick pic from the day after with mom and Michelle (and Luca, hehe)....

So that was it! It was a really special day. And the fact that we're having a girl is finally sinking in. I will love her with my whole heart.... even if she does love dresses and princesses. I might eventually learn to love them too :)

*Kristin*

20-Week Appt.

It's official... I have a sealed (aka *stapled shut!*) envelope sitting at home with our baby's gender inside :) I absolutely won't peak, people don't believe me... but I can't wait for our gender reveal party on Saturday with our families that I absolutely don't want to spoil it for myself! I also want to be surprised. And I've enlisted one of my closest girlfriend's to be the secret keeper and purchase the right balloons for our gender reveal box.

The appointment this morning was so much fun, seeing Baby S again. I think once we know the gender it will actually feel real to me because I can talk about 'him' or 'her' and not 'it!' Or maybe when I can feel the baby kick, hopefully soon, then it will all sink in.

I realize I'm halfway through pregnancy now but part of me still feels 'blasé' about the whole thing. It hasn't sunk in yet that I need to start looking at daycares NOW to get on a waiting list, that I need to figure out the classes at our hospital, start adding stuff to our baby registry and figuring out what we need/don't need, that maybe we should start shopping for the nursery. *eek* So many to-do items that I only get overwhelmed and tired out. I guess I should make a to-do list... Or google a list :)

I'm also excited just to be visiting home this weekend and getting to share this experience with our families and our closest friends. Everyone has been so sweet it truly makes me thankful for the people we have in our lives. And I will definitely be sharing the gender reveal on Facebook, hopefully soon after we find out!

And as far as picking out names, we haven't discussed it at all. All I know is that I'm going to be the difficult one. I hate every name out there. *sigh* Hopefully pairing it down to a gender will help! We shall see.

*Kristin*

Growing

A quick pic that I took before work this morning and sent to my girlfriends back home, as they've been asking if I'm showing yet!

"Dear baby bump, you've officially made it difficult to button pants :) "

*Kristin*

15 Weeks

I'm on Week 15 today of pregnancy :) My baby is the size of an apple and about 4" long! That seems huge to me for some reason. I can't feel any movement yet, though I heard with a first pregnancy it'll still be a few weeks.

A few quick bump pics! Watching my bump grow has been a fun experience. It seems a lot 'rounder' in person, haha

The nausea has mostly subsided since the 1st trimester ended. I still get kind of queasy at night when thinking about dinner. And I still can't stand eating vegetables :/ Poor baby is getting so much junk food it's ridiculous. I do, however, crave fruit, so I'm been getting my FULL serving of fruit everyday. Maybe that makes up for the lack of veggies?! My dislike towards chocolate & sweets is something I would have never guessed!! I couldn't go a day without sweets before, and now I only crave salty foods. And I still crave cheese. Cheese.all.the.time!

Other than food cravings, I still get hit with exhaustion from time to time. I had really hoped it would subside but some days I just need a nap (which I welcome with open arms since the days of taking naps are short-lived :) I'm trying to continue staying active, working out to stay healthy, and doing some kind of an activity on the weekends with Ross whether it be an easy hike or just some kayaking. Although I can only laugh at myself when I'm out of breath on the shortest walks!

The mood swings are a whole other post. Though I think they've gotten better, they are wearing me out.

On a happier note, this week, I've gotten more excited thinking my gender reveal party with mine and Ross' families and my best friends back home in July. Nothing fancy, just a dinner with the fams and a box of balloons to reveal the gender! I've enlisted my best friend, Ang, to buy the 'correct' balloons. She's good at keeping secrets :) Unlike everyone on both sides of our families! haha

We've also booked flights home in September for a baby shower! No definitive plans yet but a lot of ideas being discussed. Currently leaning towards a picnic at the park. Something casual and fun. I don't want the traditional 'ladies-only' shower so we're doing more of a coed cookout with families and couples! I want to see everyone when I'm home :) Can't wait!

*Kristin*

12 Week Check-up

Ross & I got to see Gummy Bear again yesterday at my 12-week check-up! I was really looking forward to it. I think baby is measuring between 2-3" (or the size of a lime) now but it looked huge up on the wide screen tv during the ultrasound. Baby was just laying there, not cooperating for a profile shot. After a few minutes, I was kind of bored. You couldn't make out much of what you were looking at. The ultrasound technician kept prodding, but nada. Until the very end. Just when the technician was wrapping up, baby must've been irritated from all the movement that it started kicking it's legs, moving its arms and then squirming. I squealed!! Ross & I were pretty much in 'awe.' I couldn't believe all the movement and couldn't look away. I can't believe I can't feel anything yet. What an experience!

It still really hasn't sunk in yet that parenthood is racing around the corner. I'm just now fully embracing the pregnancy now that I can talk about it and want to enjoy this moment right now :) I get a little freaked out thinking ahead, wondering how I'll ever adjust to sleepless nights, affording daycare when I start back up at work, etc. etc. But then I realize what a blessing and what a JOURNEY this is going to be. And how excited I am to just get to experience this phase of life with Ross. I can't wait. So I remember that even though our life won't be as easy and kicked back as it is now, it's gonna be pretty cool.

*Kristin*

New Chapter & The Big Announcement

I'm back!! And for good reason. As most of you (more like the 5 of you that read this :) saw yesterday on Facebook, the secret is finally out :)

I can't believe the overwhelming response of everyone that liked/commented on our FB announcement yesterday! It feels SO good to finally let the secret out. At least, as soon as I tell work today :) Then the cat will officially be out of the bag. And I'm starting to show. So better tell them now before they begin to speculate!

I had so much fun putting the announcement together and probably got carried away! I finally bought myself a tiny $10 remote for my DSLR so I was able to capture the middle 'family' photo. I had fun getting to test it out :) And my Photoshop skills came in handy for the 1st photo... I mean, did you really think I got Dakota perfectly into position directly behind that sign at the exact right moment?! I should stop spilling my secrets! And the collage was a compromise... Ross came up with the 'Baby Toy Tester' caption and I loved that but then I saw the middle family photo on Pinterest and had to have that as well! So I took the 3rd photo to round the collage out and presto... an announcement I love :)

On Thursday, I have my 12 week appt. where they'll do another ultrasound and blood work. I'm so excited to see Gummy Bear again! That's our nickname for now... b/c on our very first ultrasound at 9 wks, when they confirmed the pregnancy, it *downright* looked like a gummy bear!... Right?! haha

The journey so far has been so exciting! It happened a bit quicker then we expected and it's taken on a life of its own already! It's all we can talk about. We told our families after our first appointment. I was so nervous it was just all in my head at first that I HAD to have the first ultrasound to be sure before revealing the news. Besides, it was kind of fun for Ross & I to have our own little secret between the 2 of us before the chaos set in. The past 7 weeks of nausea and sickness had also pretty much confirmed things before our first appt. Luckily, the sickness is finally getting better. And with the nausea, I've only been able to tolerate certain foods (mostly junk food *sigh*) and the cravings have been unreal. Apparently baby likes CHEESE, anything with cheese, my diet has consisted of cheese pizza, cheesy pastas, cheese anything!

So that's been our exciting chapter these past few weeks. And I have to say, I'm so relieved the pestering of starting a family will finally stop. Let me just get up on my soapbox for a sec and declare once and for all that Ross & I were always HAPPY with our current situation. We loved just being the 2 of us and a dog and living in the moment. We never felt pressure to start a family until WE were ready. That's all that mattered to us. And now we are. And we are excited :) 

*Kristin*