The Hesemanns

Birthday Girl!

2011-12-13T22:00:00.001-06:00

I absolutely can not believe that Audrey is one year old already. It sounds like such a cliche, but I just can't figure out where the year has gone. Well, truly, this year has been quite a whirlwind. We bought and sold houses, moved to a new city, started new jobs, and are raising these two beautiful little beings on the side.

For Audrey's birthday, we had a great little party at home. I was a little tempted to throw a huge bash, but finally decided that we would all enjoy it more just to have our families. After all, Audrey isn't really one for crowds. She had a great time. She got just enough nap before the party that she was all smiles. I have been to lots of first birthday parties, and I don't think I've ever been to one when the birthday boy or girl didn't cry or whine. Audrey, though, didn't even so much as frown. She even loved when we sang to her. She loves food, especially pizza, and put on the obligatory show with the cake. Ella was a great big sister and barely showed any jealousy. She loves to have her cousins around and had a great time helping Audrey with everything.

Yeah, for pizza!

This was Ella's obnoxious, perfectly two-year-old party dress. She chose this as the perfect outfit to wear to a birthday party, and I have to give her some props for pushing the fashion limits.

Enjoying the cake

Ella and Noah enjoying some time with Nate.

At one year, Audrey is walking and trying to run. Like her big sister, she is a fearless climber. She loves to laugh and is so easy to get smiles from. She has really become a happy, fun little girl. She still prefers Mommy over anyone else (which is ok with me), and is always happy to be held. She's a great sleeper and a fabulous eater. She's a home body like her daddy and is always the most happy in familiar places and surrounded by familiar people. She has changed our family in such a wonderful way. I am so, so thankful for the blessing that is my sweet Audrey. Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl. I love you.

2011-11-07T21:34:00.000-06:00

Why, yes, my girls are wearing matching shirts. Everyone knows that I love a good black and white, and I love to match my girls as long as I can.

2011-10-24T21:30:00.000-05:00

Try to ignore the green bean on the chin and the smashed beans in the nose, but otherwise, isn't she just precious?

I can imagine that someday they will both treasure this picture of Ella quilting with her Grandma.

2011-09-28T21:26:00.000-05:00

Look who likes peaches!

Who doesn't enjoy a little cereal in a laundry basket?

Fall Fun

2011-08-30T21:21:00.000-05:00

No surprise, I've been a little slow on updating the blog. What can I say? We've been busy. The short story is that Nathan and I both love our jobs. We have been blessed with our absolutely wonderful nanny, who Ella and Audrey love. The girls are both getting so big, I just can't believe it.

Odds and Ends

2011-08-29T20:47:00.000-05:00

A few previously-unpublished pictures that I love

Fun at the Farm

2011-08-29T20:40:00.000-05:00

As we always have and always will, we spent the Fourth of July weekend at Grandma and Grandpa Hesemann's. This is one of our favorite times of year. All the cousins get together for total chaos. My wonderful mother-in-law is a well-known anarchist, and nothing makes her happier than a house full of rowdy grandkids. There is pretty much only one rule - no whining.

Ella has discovered a love for the creek and all things that live in it. We talk about tadpoles all the time. It's amazing the number of pretend tadpoles we find every night in the bathtub. ;)

Throwing rocks off the bridge wtih Grandpa

The 31 year old mom in me wonders what it would be like to be that flexible again.

The doctor in me wonders whether this is going to result in Giardia or Leptospirosis.

Cousin Daniel enjoying the action and rockin' the fishing hat. Obviously he knows that accessories are the most important part of any outing.

Seriously, how many Grandmas do you know who would bring a lawn chair out into the middle of a creek and play with a baby to make sure ALL the grandkids get to experience the creek together?

And, now we're tired.

Audrey's Update

2011-08-29T20:30:00.000-05:00

This poor little girl, like second children the world over, has only about one tenth as many pictures of her as of her older sister. Somehow, we just don't seem to reach for the camera every time she sneezes like we did for her sister. Nonetheless, let it be known, that we are over the moon for this girl. To be honest, she is not nearly as easy a baby as her sister, but that's ok. She's just her own little girl. Her wants and needs are completely different from Ella as a baby, and I'm fine with that. I look forward to seeing her little personality developing. So far, she is much more into routine and familiarity than Ella. The up side of that is that she lets it be known how much she loves her Mommy and Daddy. She got off to a slow start, but now has quite the appetite. She loves most all baby foods, especially veggies. She is on the move. She started a very mobile army crawl around 7 1/2 months, and by 8 1/2 months was truly crawling and is already pulling up. I've even caught her letting go and standing on her own a few times. She loves to go for stroller or wagon rides. Walking the trail behind our house, she is very quiet and takes in everything. I like to think that she is my deep thinker. Most of all, she loves her big sister. If she gets so much as a smile from her sister, she lets loose with a big, deep laugh. There is nothing so wonderful to a mother's heart as the sound of her babies giggling together and the sight of them snuggling.

Ella's Birthday

2011-08-29T20:18:00.000-05:00

I can not believe that my Ella is 2 already!
Like every other mother in the history of the world, I feel like it was just yesterday. Even though it was a long day, I swear I remember every detail of that day - the nervous excitement, wondering what she would look like, and hoping and praying for her health. She's growing so quickly and perfectly, it's hard to believe how much we worried about our little monkey before she got here. Truly, we thank our Heavenly Father every day for His gift in her. She is such a blessing to us and has honestly helped Nathan and I to become the people we were meant to be.

My pretty girl dressed up on her birthday.

A little unsure about all the people at her house when she woke up from her nap. I didn't take her long to realize that since it was her party, it was going to be a good day.

Enjoying the spoils of the Easter Egg hunt. Yes, we did an egg hunt for her party. She enjoyed it so much at Easter that we decided to keep the fun going. What other activity occupies a bunch of 2 and 3 year olds for 30 minutes? A few stickers and some candy, and you're good to go.

No birthday party is complete without a Dora cake almost as tall as the birthday girl.

We love this sweet, happy girl.

Spring with the Hesemanns

2011-08-29T20:07:00.000-05:00

I'm determined to catch up on this blog, so here goes.

As always, we've been busy living.

Audrey at 3 1/2 months doin' a little tummy time. The calm face lasted approximately 7 more seconds.

One of the approximately 9,000 picture I have of Ella making this face. I love it. This silly face perfectly embodies this crazy girl.

This was during Ella's brief interest in potty training. That little booty is just too stinkin' cute. We're going to be trying again soon. Hopefully some new Dora undies will help this time.

Snuggle time with Daddy.

Luckily, we had a relatively slow spring. Nathan and I both finished our residencies (finally!) and stayed busy preparing for our move to St. Louis. Most of our outings revolved around walks to "the park," aka, the playground of Blue Ridge Elementary School. We have all adjusted well to being a family of four. It feels so natural to me to have four of us. It seems so cliche, but it's true that we are so blessed. I often have a hard time praying for anything else because I am so thankful for these three people already.

Catching Up

2011-03-12T21:54:00.000-06:00

Life around here has been quiet. Well, as quiet as life can be with a 22 month old and a 3 month old.

Ella continues to grow and amaze us. She is so smart and funny. And she knows it.

Audrey is growing so quickly. I'm amazed how much faster everything seems to go the second time around. She sleeps through the night most nights. She loves to coo and talk to us and has just started laughing when she gets her belly kissed.

These are just a few random pictures from the last few weeks.

Ella and Max putting on a show. These two are hilarious together.

Ella "hugging" Audrey. Audrey (or "Baby Augie" as Ella calls her) actually is under there.

Ella and her new friend, Riley. It's so fun to get together with my old girlfriends and watch our girls play together. Only 17 more years until they will be living together in the ADPi house just like their mommies.

Sweet Audrey Girl.

This isn't the best picture, but it's so stinkin' cute. With this cold winter, she's gotten used to wearing her hat, and she loves it. How cute is my girl? Seriously.

Hesemann Family Christmas

2010-12-24T16:46:00.000-06:00

Mandy, Daniel, Kyle, Hatty, and Brady

Bill, Noah, Sarah, and Elizabeth

Just a picture of my pretty girl.

The whole Hesemann clan.

Our happy family of four.

Merry Christmas!

Snow!

2010-12-24T16:21:00.000-06:00

Ella enjoyed her first play in the snow today. She and Daddy stomped around for quite a while, and she stayed warm and toasty thanks to her great snowsuit. Thanks, Aunt Katie.

Even with the snow, she wanted to swing. This girl loves to swing.

Daddy's giant snowmen. Just for some perspective, remember that Nathan is 6'1''. These got a cheer from Ella.

The aftermath: when you have a sweet mullet, hat hair is awesome.

Introducing Audrey

2010-12-24T16:15:00.001-06:00

Audrey is a wonderful baby. She is healthy and calm and is growing well. At 14 days old, she had done more than regain her birth weight and was up to 6 lbs, 15 oz and 21 inches.

She is very calm and sweet. Mommy's only wish is for her to figure out the difference between daytime and nighttime. That will come, though. For now, we are just enjoying this sweet angel.

So far, Ella is interested in her sister. We have seen very little jealousy. When Audrey makes some sort of noise, Ella is quick to tell us "Baby" and point to her. When she wakes up in the morning or from a nap, she always wants to know where "Baby" is. I'm sure these two will soon be friends.

We are so thankful for our little family. The transition from a family of three to a family of four has gone fairly smoothly. Audrey fits right in.

A Family of Four

2010-12-10T19:39:00.000-06:00

Audrey Catherine Hesemann

December 9, 2010 3:27 pm

6 pounds 5 ounces

19 3/4 inches

In case it doesn't show in the pictures, she's absolutely perfect. So far, she is calm and content. Ella is intermittently intrigued by her, which is probably the best we could ask for. She hasn't shown any jealousy yet. We'll have to see about that. I need to get a video of Ella, though. Her pronunciation of Audrey is precious.

We are so thankful for our two beautiful, healthy girls. Nathan and I both are just so full of joy and gratitude for our blessings. We truly could not ask for more.

What We've Been Up To Lately...

2010-09-24T20:36:00.000-05:00

Ella loves watermelon. Well, to be fair, Ella pretty much loves all food. But she especially loves watermelon.

Labor Day weekend, we went to Jen and Nick's wedding (which was beautiful). It was Ella's first. She did great at the wedding, but missed her afternoon nap. You can imagine how fun the evening was. She did have a blast dancing. This girl LOVES to dance.

Here she is dancing with Daddy.

She has also developed a love for Daddy's truck. She climbs right into the driver's seat and asks for "eees" (keys). She then flips through the key chain until she finds the right one and sticks it directly into the ignition. Luckily, she can't quite get it turned yet.

Ella has also become quite the talker. A sampling of her extensive vocabulary:

Mommy

Daddy

Beebe (binky)

Beebe (baby)

Beebe ( puppy)

Oggie (doggy)

Cack (Quack/Duck)

Cacker (Cracker)

Sssss (Shhh)

Ky-et (Quiet)

Ni-Ni (Night, night)

Eee a ob (See ya, Bob - our neighbor)

Ooof (woof)

Uh-oh (Uh-oh)

Eece (Please)

Gay-Goo (Thank You)

No!

AAAAAAAAAA! (Screw you, Mom)

Meanwhile, Baby Hesemann, whose name so far remains Baby, is growing and kicking. Mostly kicking my bladder. I'm ok with that, though, as long as she's growing. I'm still planning for her to come exactly on her due date - Christmas Eve. Nathan thinks that is ridiculous. I informed him that Ella came the day before a big birthday (mine), so this baby likely will, too. Nathan thinks it's wrong for me to put my birthday in the same category as Jesus', but I reminded him that those are the two most important birthdays in my life.

Summer Time

2010-06-19T21:36:00.000-05:00

Playing in the pool with Lizzie. These are two water babies for sure.

Nothin' like a good snuggle with Grandma to warm up after a swim.

With Hagen, the best dog in the world. I'm not sure who loves who more here.

Hangin' out at Granny and Papi's. Got a belly full of Catfish Kettle, and proud of it.

Granny's play house is the best place to spend a nice summer evening.

The Cutest Baby in the World

2010-06-19T21:23:00.001-05:00

From time to time, Nathan asks if Ella is really as cute as we think, or if we're just biased. I'm quite sure that really is that cute. We can't go to Walmart without people stopping us and telling us how cute she is. Seriously, folks, we know.

Birthday Girl!

2010-06-19T21:10:00.000-05:00

Even though it was 6 weeks ago, I still can't believe my baby girl is one!

Here's a sentimental look at how far she's come:

April 29, 2009

April 29, 2010

Ella continues to amaze us. She is so sweet and funny. She loves to laugh and to make other people laugh. She learns new things every day. She is such a wonderful, happy girl. We are so lucky to be her parents.

Catching Up

2010-06-19T20:56:00.000-05:00

I know that it's been a long time since I updated the blog. Here is a random assortment of pictures from the past 5 months.

March 11, 2010

Here's what makes Ella happier than anything in the world - as many binkies as she can hold at once.

March 19, 2010

Just playin' in the toybox. Nathan says this is a cute one.

March 20, 2010

Just lookin' her bedroom window, enjoying the last big snow of the year.

April 14, 2010

Doing a little late-season Easter egg hunting around the house. Miss Ella is definitely into purses, bags, baskets... Anything she carry around and put stuff in.

April 14, 2010

Nothing special, I just love this picture. She looks so sweet.

Our Big Girl

2010-01-11T21:37:00.000-06:00

Happily, things here have been quiet and wonderful. Ella now has 6 teeth. Number 7 is slowly making its way. She is crawling now and loving every minute of it. Within about 1 day of crawling, she also started pulling up and cruising. It's only a matter of time until she's running laps around the kitchen. These are some pictures of our sweet little girl from a sunny afternoon.

Christmas

2009-12-31T20:46:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful Christmas. Nathan and I managed to both have 4 days off. We all went to Farmington to Grammeo's for Christmas Eve. As always, it was loud, hot, and crowded. We wouldn't miss it for the world. Ella, of course, looked beautiful in her red velvet dress and Santa hat, thanks to Gran. We then had Christmas morning with Gran and Papi and The Freeds. Ella got lots and lots of toys and had so much fun playing with the paper.

Ella and Max playing on the floor. Lots of poking each other and stealing each other's binkies.

The big kids, Ian and Ellie, enjoying their snacks.

The girls. They love each other. And who wouldn't love these sweet faces?

Looking through our stockings on Christmas morning.

My poor, sweet mother. She fell last week and ended up with 8 stitches and a head and neck CT. It was very traumatic. This is the aftermath.

Happy Freeds

Sweet boy Max.

Sweet baby girl.

More Halloween Pics

2009-11-05T19:13:00.000-06:00

These pictures are all so similar, but I just couldn't deprive the world of this beautiful girl.

Our First Halloween

2009-11-01T23:04:00.001-06:00

The World's Cutest Pink Ladybug

One would think that a six month old might constantly pull at a fuzzy hood. However, Ella didn't mind it a bit. I have so much fun with headbands and hats.

The kiddos all together. We went to O'Fallon to trick or treat with the Freeds. Max was a super cute un-scary skeleton. He glowed in the dark thanks to some super comfy jammies from Baby Gap. Ellie was a pretty pink Princess. She loved that she matched Baby Ella and insisted on sitting beside her all night.

As you'll notice, Ella now sits up all by herself. She occassionally falls over when she's reaching for something far away (like a stray binkie), but for the most part she does great.

When it was time to trick or treat, we bundled up the babies in the wagon and set out. Max and Ella are both pretty chill babies. They did great just staring at each other and watching all the big kids running around. When it got a little later (and darker), Ella fell asleep first. We didn't notice her sleeping until she fell face down when we hit a bump and didn't even try to sit up. She was sleeping pretty soundly. We're great parents.

Isn't this a sweet picture? Daddy pulling the kids off into the sunset. Nathan and I say to each other daily how we much we love our life.

You've Come A Long Way, Baby

2009-10-13T21:48:00.001-05:00

It has been so long since I've updated. Here are the major events since the last post.

Isn't this the saddest picture you've ever seen? Our sweet baby girl got so sick a couple of weeks ago. She had high fevers, then this rash. It was horribly itchy, which kept her up all night, which kept us up all night. It got worse over the next few days, and we eventually took her to the pediatric dermatologist because we were worried about a serious infection. Turned out to be just some dang virus. When Mommy is a pediatrician, every little virus "might" be something really serious. I'm trying to stop thinking medical thoughts about my own child. It was a miserable few days, but she's all better now. Thank goodness.

Now on to happier times...

We've started a potentially bad habit. In the mornings, we bring Ella into bed with us. It actually makes things easier because we can get ready for work and keep an eye on her. A few days ago, I caught Ella and Daddy snoozing. Right before I took this picture, she had her fist up against his cheek. It looked like she was punching him. It was so funny.

Later that day. My happy girl playing on the floor.

On our way out in the morning, I just had to snap this picture. It's just a little fleece jacket, but she looked so cute.

Tonight, playing with Daddy. She is such a big girl now. She loves sitting up. She occassionally tips over, but that doesn't bother her a bit. She just thinks she's way too big.

Playing tonight. I hate that this picture is so blurry, but she just looks so darn cute. Seriously, couldn't she be a model? She's way cuter than the Gerber baby.

Other updates:

Ella now has two teeth. Her two middle bottom teeth have broken through, and man are they sharp!

As of 3 weeks ago, she is 15 lbs, 3 oz - 70th percentile for weight. She's also 80th percentile for height, which, obviously, she gets from her Mommy.

Rice cereal is the greatest thing since breast milk. I'll have to try to get the video uploaded. It's funny.

Green beans, however, was not a happy experience.

I think that's about it for now. Stay tuned for more cute pictures after our trip to the pumpkin patch next week with Aunt Sarah and cousins Lizzie and Noah.

CHUBBLES

2009-08-17T20:02:00.010-05:00

This is Ella's new favorite spot. She loves her Bumbo. It lets her sit up and look around and be part of the action. We love it, too, because we can just move it around the house with us and get things done while she happily watches.

However, we did have some Bumbo drama. Just after this picture was taken, Miss Ella got stuck in her Bumbo. Not catastrophically call the fire department stuck, just wiggle the legs and shimmy out stuck. How does a baby get stuck in a Bumbo you might ask? Scroll down and see.

When a girl has thighs like this, they tend to get wedged in. Couldn't you just kiss those thighs? We love our rolly polly little girl. She is so happy and chubby. She loves to smile and will do it for anyone who will smile at her.

Our Little Redbird

2009-08-16T02:29:00.009-05:00

Two weekends ago we had the rarest of all events - Nathan and I were both off work, the weather was beautiful, and my dad got tickets to the Cardinals game. Could there be anything better?Not only did my dad get free tickets, they were sweet tickets. His company has a luxury suite at the stadium, so that's where we were. It was so nice. A nice comfy room (with a private CLEAN bathroom with a large counter perfect for changing diapers), sofas, plenty of food and air conditioning. The front of the suite opened completely to regular stadium seating, which we all took advantage of because it was sunny and 80 degrees. Ella loved her first trip to Busch. Hopefully, we'll have many more to come.

The man responsible for this fun trip showing off why he is so happy. Not only did we get to go, but Katie, Jason, Ellie, and Max all came, too. So fun. If only we had Granny and the Arizona Marlers...

Catching Up

2009-07-22T20:42:00.010-05:00

Here are a few recent events. Nothing major, just what's going on in the Hesemann household.

We went to the doctor today, and she now weighs 12 lbs 6 oz. She is no longer a tiny girl. In fact, she's over the 50% for her age.

Our friend Ruslyan (aka "The Russian Concussion") came over tonight to meet Ella. The week she was born, he and his girlfriend took a spontaneous trip to Las Vegas including a visit to the Little White Wedding Chapel. He is such a happy groom. You can see that he loves babies and can't wait to have one of his own.

This is what he brought when he came over. Aren't they beautiful? What a sweet guy.

Laid back, with my mind on my money and my money on my mind...

Straight out of the bathtub. Couldn't you just eat her up?

The unfortunate event of the night. I don't know if you can appreciate the brown spots completely up the back of her onesie or the smear all over the changing table. Time for bath #2 today.

The aftermath...

Blessed

2009-07-01T14:47:00.008-05:00

Ella and her cousin Max were both blessed at church on Sunday. Yet another of the cool experiences of having babies just five weeks apart. My sister and I get to share a lot of milestones.

Don't they both look beautiful?
Ella's gown is the one her Great-Grandpa Ritterbusch wore when he was baptized in 1911. I'd call that a family heirloom.

Look how sweet Max looks. He's such a happy boy. If he's awake, he's smiling.

Nap Time

2009-07-01T14:40:00.004-05:00

This is what happens around our house when Mommy has been at work all night. Thank goodness my baby likes to snuggle.

Notice the quilt we're snuggled under. Nathan's mom made that for us. The patterned piece in the middle is from a quilt that Nathan's Grandma Ritterbusch made and all the grandkids used. When she passed away several years ago, that was one thing that all the grandkids fought over, so Lynn cut it up and made a baby quilt for each of the grandkids. Isn't that a great idea?!

Baby Babble

2009-06-04T20:37:00.002-05:00

I have no idea who this baby is, but she's so funny. You have to go to this link and watch this video.

http://www.snotr.com/video/2630

Ella Update

2009-06-02T11:32:00.004-05:00

I actually don't have too much to update on the world's most beautiful baby. The biggest news on her end is just how quickly she's growing. We went this morning for a quick weight check (just to ease Mommy's mind a bit), and she now weighs 8 lbs, 9 oz. That means that in the month since she was born, she has gained 3 lbs already. That's over half of her birth weight. That really makes me feel so much better. She is a really fast eater, which has been stressing me out since you never really know what they get with nursing. Well, now I feel pretty confident that she's getting plenty to eat. Now if she would just decide to sleep a little more at night. We did have a routine of one good 5 hour stretch at night. She has decided to do away with that and is now reliably eating every 2 1/2 to 3 hours around the clock. Mommy and Daddy are getting tired.

Just to brighten your day, this is her yesterday, deep in thought.

My Flowers

2009-06-02T11:26:00.004-05:00

This post is especially for Sarah Babbel because I know that you love lilies. Fortunately, we don't have a rabbit problem in our neighborhood. I planted these lilies two years ago and put absolutely no work into them since. Every year, they get bigger and bigger.

Meeting Grandma

2009-05-22T09:21:00.008-05:00

Ella and I made our first trip home to Farmington this week. Thankfully, she did great on the trip. I fed her just before leaving, then we stopped at my sister's and ate again, and she slept the whole way.

On Tuesday, we made the rounds and went to see Ella's Great Grandma (Granny Nell) and Great Great Grandma (Grandma Rowe). Both of them cooed over her and said how beautiful she is.

Ella and Grandma Rowe

Max, Ella, and Grandma Rowe

Max, Grandma Rowe, Ella, and Ellie.

Three of Grandma's twenty-two great great grandchildren.

Grandma is 96 years young, and we feel so blessed to have her. She is such a wonderful grandma. When I was a kid, we used to love to go to Grandma's and play in her sandbox and run in her huge backyard. She always had strawberry soda and ice cream. She still does.

Mommy's Little Piggy

2009-05-13T11:52:00.005-05:00

Today is Ella's 2 week birthday. It has been wonderfully uneventful. She is still trying to decide how she likes things. We change sleeping places and positions and times every day. Sometimes she eats fast, sometimes slow. She certainly keeps her mommy guessing. Our biggest news is just how big our girl is now. 2 weeks ago, she weighed 5 lbs 9 oz. We went to the doctor yesterday, and she weighed, get ready for this, 6 lbs 10 oz. That's right. She's done more than just catch up to her birth weight in the first 2 weeks - she's gained a pound. I'm not kidding when I say she's a good eater. We think she may even be working on some chubby cheeks.

Cousins

2009-05-07T19:44:00.004-05:00

This is Ella with her cousin Max in a picture I stole from The Freeds' blog. In this picture, he is 5 weeks, and she is 3 days. It is somewhat deceiving since she's all curled up. But his 10 1/2 lbs compared to her 5 1/2 is pretty impressive.

Bringing Home Baby

2009-05-05T10:45:00.007-05:00

In the hospital just before we came home.

The 10 minute trip home from the hospital will really take it out of a girl.

And out of a daddy.

Can you tell that Nathan is completely enamored?

This is pretty much what she does. Her wakeful times consist of about 5 minutes after she eats if she makes it that long. Most of the time, she falls asleep while eating.

Ella Grace Hesemann

2009-05-03T12:26:00.012-05:00

Our little angel made her debut on Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 9:40 pm. 5 lbs 1 oz, 18 inches.

She was wide awake and very calm as soon as she was born.

This is what happens in the nursery when your daddy is a doctor.

This is what happens in the nursery when your daddy is an eye doctor.

My mom was video taping all of this from behind the glass. When the nurse brought out the tape measure, the grandpas were joking about how it looks like the conservation tapes for measuring fish. She measured in right at 18 inches, to which they both said, "She's a keeper." It's pretty funny on the video.

Overall, we're doing well. We're all adjusting to each other and trying to get into a routine. I've been a pretty nervous mommy so far and really thankful to have my mom here to help me. I don't know how people bring babies home without having help.

We really feel blessed that Ella is doing so well. We didn't mention it to a lot of people before, but we knew for a while that she would be very small and at risk for complications. We and lots of people around us have been praying very hard, and our prayers have definitely been answered. So far, she's acting very much like a normal baby, just small. She is very strong and has great head control as if she's telling us all that we worried for nothing. Somehow, I don't think the worrying will stop anytime soon, though.

A Bit of Advice

2009-04-27T12:32:00.003-05:00

Having a baby just before your birthday is fun. What a great birthday present. However, this particular birthday just happens to be the one when my drivers license needs to be renewed. I completely forgot about this until about 2 days ago. So, knowing that when my license expires 3 days from now, I'll be a bit too busy to go to the DMV, off I went today. Now, my last license picture was taken the day after we got back from our honeymoon. That was the thinnest and tannest I've been in the last 10 years, not to mention 5 years younger. Fastforward to today's picture. Approximately 40 lbs heavier, a little swollen, and haven't seen the sun in, oh, about 9 months. To compound the problem, I decided to get my hair chopped last week. I got about 5 inches off the bottom layer and a lot of shorter layers. It will be fine, but it always takes me a while to get used to a new haircut and to figure out exactly how to style it. Now, you're getting the idea of what my new picture looks like. It ain't pretty, folks. My advice is to get out your drivers license right this second and see when it expires. Plan ahead for your new picture. Months ahead if need be. I'm now stuck with choppy hair and 39 weeks pregnant until I turn 35.

The Newest Portrait

2009-04-16T21:12:00.006-05:00

Another cute profile. She was doing a lot of puckering and sucking so her little lips are all pooched out.

That's her foot right in front of her face. And, yes, she did eventually get it up to her mouth and suck on her toes. It was funny to watch, but I think I'll have to try to break her of that habit fast. Those of you who know how I feel about feet can only imagine how I feel watching my daughter with her own foot in her mouth.

Now for the awesomeness. Unfortunately, she was hiding behind the placenta so we couldn't get a great picture of her face, but this is pretty cool. Look at that sweet little mouth.

I think she looks like her daddy.

Dualing Bellies

2009-03-10T16:35:00.005-05:00

My mom, sister, and niece came to Columbia this morning to visit. As you might imagine, we weren't exactly wild - 2 preggers, a grandma, and a 2 year old. It was fun, though. As you can see, Katie is 38 weeks pregnant. We're looking forward to meeting Max any day now.

Up until today, we actually didn't have any pictures of the two of us together. Unfortunately, today was not a great day for pictures. My regular camera has a dead battery, so we had to use my phone. And, the lovely Missouri spring is catching up with me - allergy time, so I didn't even bother putting on any makeup today. My watery eyes would wash it away in about 5 minutes. But, you get the idea. Of course, my mom is so excited, she can hardly stand it. Ellie told me several times about how she is going to hold her baby brother and snuggle him and says she will play a lot with Laura's Baby Girl. We're still working on who is a cousin and who is a sister. That one's a little hard for a 2 1/2 year old to figure out.

Girl Time

2009-03-03T22:24:00.004-06:00

Last weekend, I went to Kansas City for a big combined shower. My friend Carie and her husband, Jonathon, are expecting a baby girl (Riley Marie) any day now, and my friend Monique is marrying her sweetheart of a fiance, Adam, in May. My college girlfriends are the best. We still have about 15 or so of us who were all sorority sisters (Emily is an honorary ADPi) who still get together a couple of times a year. Every time we're together, it's like we just saw each other yesterday. We just pick up right where we left off. It was so much fun. We spent the weekend doing what we usually do - eating and laughing. I love these girls, and I am so blessed to have them in my life.

I'll try to get a new belly picture up soon. I just keep forgetting to actually take one. Just picture me the same as last time with a bigger belly. I've actually started to outgrow some of my maternity shirts. Scary. I have 8 1/2 weeks to go!

The Belly

2009-01-09T17:31:00.004-06:00

I almost forgot how big my belly is until I saw this picture. It was funny taking it because I couldn't figure out how to stand. It's hard to relax when you're trying. I kept either sucking in or pushing it out.

I will officially be 24 weeks tomorrow. The last few months have really gone by fast. This little girl is really growing, and she is definitely getting strong. She's not quite hurting me yet, but she does love to kick and wiggle. I'm surprised that I can already see her movements on the outside. Nathan finally got to start feeling her recently, which he thinks is pretty cool. We've narrowed the choices some on the name, but still nothing official.

Marler Family Christmas

2008-12-29T10:56:00.009-06:00

Cinderella's Castle all lit up for Christmas

Instead of buying each other more stuff, we all decided to take a trip together for Christmas this year. We went to Orlando for 4 days and took full advantage of the Park Hopper tickets. We made it to all four Disney parks in 3 days.

Here's the whole crew. I'm not kidding when I say that this is the best picture we got in a 10 minute span. I think the babies all know when we really want them to cooperate.

Until I saw these pictures, I had convinced myself that I haven't gained weight anywhere but my belly, but I'm seeing now that that's not true.

Hannah, Ellie, and Ian

After a busy day, the grandkids all hung out with Granny and Papi while the mommys and daddys took naps. As you can see, a Dora movie, some milk, and cereal make for 3 happy kids. Hannah actually is happy here. It's just hard to get a good picture of all three posing.

Papi and his girls

Uncle Jason and Hannah. These two absolutely love each other. Every time we're all together, they end up together. They crack each other up.

Papi and Hannah getting Uncle Nate. This is at the Rainforest Cafe. Except for the occassional "thunderstorm" complete with thunder and lightning, the kids had a great time.

This is Ellie showing why we call her Ellie Belly. One of her new tricks is to show you big belly, little belly. She's so funny when she sticks her belly out because she's actually so petite and thin. I think this has all been helped along by her Mommy's growing belly.

Daddy (Andrew) and Hannah riding the train. I can't count the number of times we rode the train on this trip. It's funny how we spend so much money on these trips, and the kids have the most fun the in hotel and on the trains and shuttles. Ian's favorite activity was riding the Monorail.

Here She Comes!

2008-12-19T19:28:00.009-06:00

Sorry for the censorship, but I couldn't put my daughter up like that on the internet for all to see. I just thought this was really cute how the ultrasonographer put the arrow and the text on the picture.

I'm happy to say that I was right. I, with the help of my friends Emily and Brooke, have ultrasounded myself twice at work. Each time, we decided I was having a girl. Nathan refused to believe me. Hm.

Sweet profile.

How cool is this picture? I love the 3D ones. We tried for seriously 15 minutes to get a good shot of the face, but she keeps her arms up with her hands over her eyes. I think she's very shy.

One picture of her face. Looks like she already has the pouty face down.

Now that we know it's a girl, let the great name debate begin!

World's Greatest Mom

2008-11-18T21:01:00.004-06:00

I know that many of you think that you have great moms, and many of you probably do. However, I have the greatest. First, let me say that I am blessed more than most people to have two great moms. My own mom and my mother-in-law are two wonderful women, both of whom would do whatever they could, at all costs, to help their children. My mother-in-law has been known to drop in to our house while we are at work (with our permission first) and stock the freezer with home cooked meals. We really are blessed more than we deserve.

Now, let me tell you about why I think my mom is the greatest. For the past 2 weeks, I was working my tail off in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. As you might imagine, a pregnant girl working 90 hours a week doesn't have a whole lot of time for housekeeping. Now throw that on top of 2 months worth of morning (actually all day) sickness, and you can imagine what my house looked like. My mother, being the perceptive woman she is (and knowing that her youngest child, though talented in many areas, is not much of a housekeeper) volunteered to drive to Columbia just to clean my house. Of course, I did my duty and insisted that she didn't need to do this. Of course, she came anyway. She spent 3 days here cleaning and cooking. Here's what I got out of the deal: 2 immaculate bathrooms, a spotless kitchen and dining room with squeaky clean tile, a house full of clean carpets (shampoo and all), every article of laundry done (washed, dried, folded, ironed, sorted, put away, hung up), a lunch date and shopping partner for my afternoon off, and 3 nights of hot dinners. And just think, Folks, I haven't even produced a grandkid for her yet. I challenge anyone to top that.

Eight Days a Week

2008-11-05T21:53:00.003-06:00

Sometimes I'm so glad that there aren't 8 days a week because that would only mean that I would work more. I just counted up my hours so far. Between 6am Monday and 9pm Wednesday, I have worked 40 hours. Ughhh! This girl needs some sleep. The good news is that I haven't been sick so far this week. Knock on wood.

Re-Mark Your Calendars

2008-10-30T21:10:00.003-05:00

I saw my OB today, and my due date is now officially May 2. While it is a little fun thinking that I could share my birthday, or that Rebecca could, it's mostly upsetting. Two reasons: #1. For reasons that I won't discuss for the sake of all the pregnant girls reading this, I will only say that medically speaking, I would rather the baby be a week or two early than a week late. #2 My maternity leave starts April 22. So, if the baby takes his/her time coming, I'll be sitting at home twiddling my thumbs wasting vacation time. I was hoping for an early due date so that if he/she hadn't come by then, I could be induced and have lots of time at home with him/her. So, your jobs as people who love the Hesemann family is to start praying now that he/she comes in mid April.

Also, we'll find out on Dec. 15 whether to buy pink or blue. Congrats, Jason, on finally getting some more testosterone into that household. Good luck.

Holy Halloween Costumes, Batman!

2008-10-29T16:48:00.003-05:00

Nathan and I pride ourselves on our creative costumes, but we've got nothing on the Felkers. My cousin Stephanie has four adorable kids and manages to come up with great constumes every year. You have to check out her blog for the pictures.

http://www.felkerfamily.blogspot.com/

New Pictures!

2008-10-27T17:13:00.010-05:00

This is the baby looking at us. This view kind of freaks me out.

This is his little hand waving at us. He was really active during the ultrasound doing lots of jumps and turns and waving at us.

This is a nice long profile view of the head and body and one little leg. Don't worry, he's got two, though. We saw them both.

This one is my favorite. What a sweet little face!

The ultrasonographer said everything looks normal, which was a huge relief. For both of my ultrasounds, I look forward to it so much, but then right before it, I get really nervous and afraid that there will be something wrong. So far, so good, though. The only problem is that the ultrasounds have me about 2 weeks behind what my due date originally was. Both times, the measurements put my due date at May 2. I'll see my doctor on Thursday. Hopefully we won't be moving the date.

2008-10-22T17:43:00.002-05:00

Two random thoughts for the day:

1. Cravings. So far, not pickles and ice cream. It's been raw potatoes. Now, I've always been a potato lover. Any way you slice them, any way you cook them (except au gratin - I hate that), I'll eat them. But lately, I've been eating a lot of raw potatoes. Wonder if that has an old wive's tale attached...

2. Music. Nathan and I have very diverse musical taste. In my iPod (maybe everyone's does this), there is a playlist of the 25 most played songs. Here's mine:

25. Hey Ya! - Outkast
24. Are You Gonna Be My Girl - Jet
23. Ain't Nothin Wrong With That - Robert Randolph and the Family Band
22. If I Had a Million Dollars - Barenaked Ladies
21. When Will I Be Loved - Linda Ronstadt
20. Sunday Morning - Maroon 5
19. Tight Fittin' Jeans - Conway Twitty
18. All Night Long - Lionel Richie
17. Carried Away - George Strait
16. How Many Words - Blake Lewis
15. Arms of A Woman - Amos Lee
14. American Girl - Tom Petty
13. Jump - The Pointer Sisters
12. The Way You Make Me Feel - Michael Jackson
11. Golddigger - Kanye West
10. Gots to Get Her - Blake Lewis
9. Sugar - Tonic
8. Complicated - Robin Thicke
7. Carolina on My Mind - James Taylor
6. Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis
5. The One I Love - David Gray
4. Sun Comes Up - John Legend
3. Love Song - Sara Bareilles
2. The Story - Brandi Carlile
1. No One - Alicia Keys

Should I Have a Belly Already?

2008-10-17T15:43:00.002-05:00

The books and my friends and family say no, but my body begs to differ. Depending on dates vs ultrasound, I'm somewhere between 12 and 14 weeks. My pants are definitely tighter, and I'm noticing more in the midsection than before. All of a sudden, I can't suck it in anymore. I'm actually looking forward to looking pregnant instead of just thick.

It Just Got Real

2008-10-08T14:00:00.002-05:00

Our excitement on Friday, October 3.

New Family

2008-08-31T17:03:00.003-05:00

We've decided to joint the world of bloggers so that our friends and family can keep up with our family. That's right, folks, we're going to be a family on or around April 19, 2009. Check back for updates. Here's the picture of the belly on Day 1.