17 weeks!

Here we are at 17 weeks and moving along quite nicely! I've felt wonderful lately - no sickness, my energy is continuing to return and baby is getting bigger each day. We have a doctor's appointment after we return from Germany (I'm telling you, this baby is my traveling good luck charm!) and in a couple short weeks, we'll know if we're having a boy or girl - I can hardly stand it!

Some fun facts about baby at 17 weeks:

• baby is about the size of an onion
• the skeleton is hardening from cartilage to bone
•  the umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger
• baby's fingers now have fingerprints!

Blessings

If there was ever a day I didn't need to worry about drying my hair, it would be this morning. It began POURING rain around midnight and hasn't shown any signs of letting up. As I was rushing around this morning trying to take care of the dogs and get ready for work, I walked by the kitchen windown and did a double take: my hydrangea plant, which I've been trying to feed/water back to greener times, had sprouted not just one new stem... but THREE! It's almost as if it was just waiting for this big downpour to happen to it could finally blossom.

Seeing my sweet plant in its new stage made me stop and thank God for the blessings in my life, no matter how little.

Simply cute!

Sometimes, we just need the "awwwwww" factor.

(I miss my sweet Moxie being that teeny!)

Happy 5 months, MK!

Our precious niece, Molly Kathryn, is 5 months today!

(thanks for the picture, Molly!)

16 weeks!

Today is 16 weeks for baby Stoehr! It's hard to comprehend how fast time has gone by when you're waiting for your little one.

photo credit

At 16 weeks:

• baby is about the size of an avacado
• baby can begin to hear sounds
• gender can be established by this time (come on 4/21!)
• eyebrows, eyelashes & hair are filling in

Telling your fortune

Have you ever received a fortune cookie fortune that actually came true? Yeah, me neither. That is until a couple months ago. Brad and I were enjoying our traditional Christmas dinner with chinese food (funny/long story I'll explain later) and this was the fortune I had waiting for me:

I know how good God is to me and as silly as it sounds, this small piece of paper gave me peace in knowing our journey of growing our family was in good hands. Brad and I had been trying for over a year to have a baby and while we knew it would take some time due to some hurdles, it did get a bit discouraging at times. Little did we know that when I opened this fortune cookie, it would prove to be more of a confirmation more than a glimpse into our future.

I'm so excited to say that Brad and I are expecting our first baby this September and we couldn't be more over-the-moon to be parents. We're looking forward to this incredible journey and how it changes our lives for the better!