HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Happy New Year everyone :)

I hope you all had an amazing 2009 and are looking forward to all that God has in store for you in 2010. I remember thinking when it changed over to 2008 that Matt and I had the best year of our lives ahead of us because we were getting married and boy was I right but now that I'm heading into 2010 knowing we have a little one on the way I can't help but think it is going to get a lot better. We are so blessed and I cannot wait to experience raising a little girl with him he is amazing and I am so thankful for all that we have experienced since that New Years Eve in 2007.

BRING ON 2010 and the start of us raising a family!

P.S. we are spending the first full week of 2010 in Disney on our babymoon, Peace out and see you when we get back!

Baby Shower #1

So, I have this fabulous group of girls that I went to high school with and now they are all over the place and we don't get to see each other nearly enough. We all went to different colleges and now most of us live in different cities or states as well. Thank God for technology and cell phones because we have all been able to keep our relationships going in spite of these circumstances.

We are also lucky that the last 2 Christmas's we have had the opportunity to all get together and catch up. This year we were blessed to be celebrating two of us bringing little girls into this world in 2010!

Carly was nice enough to host a joint baby shower for Em and I and our little girls. Here are a few pictures to share in how generous and great my friends are. We don't get to see each other very often but they are so special to me and will be to our little girl as well (I will make sure she knows how special these ladies are!) and of course how good they were to her on this night.

Ooooh be prepared to be jealous, we got some good stuff!!

my oh so cute stroller from my mom

After I pulled everything out of the bags so I could show Matt all the goodies, sooo cute!

THANKS LADIES, baby girl and I had a blast with you all and I can't wait for you to meet our little girl and to see where 2010 takes all of us :)

Last Christmas Just The Two of Us

I love the holidays and always have but for some reason this year seemed to fly by faster than any before. One moment I was enjoying my Wed. before Christmas Eve off work and the next thing I know we are getting home from Lowell on the 26th and I'm exhausted. Where did the days go?? I know they were jam packed with love, loooots of food, and good presents! I found myself more exhausted on this Sunday after Christmas than any other but this could have something to do with the little person I am carrying and the fact that my early bedtime is slowly but surely making a reappearance. Goodbye staying up past 10 p.m. not happening with this lady anymore.

A couple fun things that came out of our Christmas festivities.

1. During the annual Heinekamp family viewing of It's a Wonderful Life, our baby girl affectionately gained the nickname ZuZu so she has been referred to as baby zuzu for the rest of the week by the whole Heinekamp family. I kind of think it's cute, it won't be her real name but until we come up with one, it's cute! If you haven't seen the movie you won't understand but she is the youngest daughter and has the famous phrase "every time a bell rings and angel gets its wings"

2. WE GOT HER BEDDING!(ok so only part of it) Mom wanted to make sure I liked it in person and boy do I ever. Cute Cute and more Cute all packaged in this little bag, look at that smile, that is a happy mom to be!

Here are a few pictures to share our Christmas weekend!

Christmas Morning at my parents with my brother and sister and the pups


After opening the amazingness that is her bedding!

our cozy little living room on the Sunday after Christmas, perfect napping environment!

Me and my man on Christmas Eve at Grandma's house :) love him to pieces!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I want to take this time before all of our lives become so crazy full of family, friends, food, presents and celebrating the gift that is Jesus, to wish you all a Merry Christmas!

I can't believe that this time next year we will have a little girl awaiting her first Christmas, new traditions to be made and fun to be had but for now I will enjoy our last Christmas just the two of us.

Merry Christmas
Love,
The Heinekamps

20 Weeks, Half Way point!!

So I have loved reading all the ladies surveys who have done these throughout their pregnancies. I like to compare and sigh at the fun little milestones I have yet to accomplish and give a little YES in triumph to the few nasty symptoms that I have yet to experience. So here is my first pregnancy survey at my 20 week mark!

How far along? 20 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: up 5-8 lbs. depends on the scale

Maternity clothes? : definitely needing them more and more

Stretch marks? nothing new (yes, yuck, i already had a few)
Sleep: I can't sleep through the night, wake up at about 2 or 3 to pee and then move around from side to side, I know that's only going to get worse too as she starts move around more and I blow up like a whale

Best moment this week: seeing all of my friends on Saturday night for the first time since my belly started showing.

Movement: starting to feel those flutters and pops, she's in there!

Labor Signs: No way

Belly Button in or out? still in but getting shallow

What I miss: sleeping on my stomach
What I am looking forward to: Christmas with family and the joint baby shower for me and Em and our little girls :)

Weekly Wisdom: Don't try and clean the house as hard as you used to, your body hates you afterward, let the hubby help!

Milestones: Hitting half way today and of course seeing her move around at her ultrasound a week and a half ago. It was so fun to see her look human, last time she looked like a gummy bear.

Here are some ultrasound pictures as well :) ENJOY!!

Baby Girl on the way!!

IT'S A GIRL

So we went in for the BIG ultrasound last Thursday and got to see our little girl kicking, waving, trying to suck her thumb and of course rocking and rolling for us! Of course they say it's only 90% that this is a girl because something could always be small and hiding. Well I trust my ultrasound tech, she actually goes to my old church and knows my whole family, she knows she's in danger if she is wrong :)

It all finally seems so real, I've been feeling little movements (pops and flutters) for the past 2 weeks but now I know it's a little girl in there and I can stop referring to her as just baby or "it" she is a real person and looks so tiny and human like now, unlike the last time I saw her when she looked like I swallowed a gummy bear.

It's so crazy how one small piece of news and seeing this little person actually moving and living and breathing inside you can make you absolutely love them already! I can honestly say I already love our little daughter and cannot wait to meet her!

Pictures to come soon, they gave us a CD that I need to load but for now here is a sneak peak of what I have planned for our little girls nursery :) Enjoy!

This yummy bedding from Land of Nod!

This convertible crib in white!
Oh so excited, we will start making purchases and putting her room together after the holidays and we'll be updating you as it comes along.

This little girl is going to be so much fun!

Making Room For Baby (aka mommy is nesting already)

So recently I went through a phase where I wanted to change everything about our house. I quickly looked at our bank account and realized that new furniture, the new carpet, new bedroom set etc. was not going to fit into our planning for baby budget. So... I made due with making some more room in the living room (for all the toys and stuff that babies accumulate) and a little paint to fix up the one room that was never painted when we moved in.

It's not a major transformation but it was enough to satisfy my home remodeling craving (for now) hahaha the nursery is coming!!

First, we got rid of our tv stand that was covering up a perfectly beautiful window in our living room that we never opened because if Layla saw anything out that window she ran to it so fast not looking where her cute little paws were going and would step on the power cord therefore turning everything off. Now, the tv is on the wall and we opened up that whole corner! I see a baby swinging there in the near future :) Note: we are not completely done yet because I have two sconces that will soon be gracing the wall on either side of the tv to take away from the bla factor. Updated pics to come when that happens.



Next, the office, the only room that was still white in our house and it showed nasty marks from keeping 3 foster pups in that room and well it was just plain boring. So a gallon of paint and rehanging the pictures of the pups makes it feel brand new! I love a fix that costs under $30 :)



This is all for now but wait until the nursery comes, I CAN'T WAIT :) stay tuned!!

Oh yeah and did I mention before that we get to find out what this little one is in almost 24 hours!! Soooo excited :)