Happy Halloween!

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Changing Leaves

I will let you in on a little secret.....I am not thrilled about living in the Midwest....(haha as if you didn't know that already). However, one of the things I do enjoy is seeing all of the colors of the changing leaves every autumn. Here is a picture on a road near our home.

Liz and Matt's Wedding!

On October 24th my stepsister Liz got married to Matt. The wedding was at Peace Lutheran Church and the reception was at the Grand Ballroom at Joliet Union Station. Here are a few pictures from the evening.

Me and Andrea. I guess technically Andrea is my step-cousin, but basically we are just buddies.

Me and Dad.

The cake and cupcakes.

My step-sister Emily walking into the reception with one of the groomsman.

Liz and Matt cutting the cake. The picture is reflecting a bit weird because I am taking it on the other side of the glass.

Liz and Matt at the head table.

Emily giving a speech.

31 weeks

And here we are in the home stretch. Here's a picture of me at 31 weeks pregnant. Everything is going fine. She is kicking up a storm now with lots and lots of movement constantly reminding me she is in there. Besides having a tough time sleeping and the constant feeling of carpel tunnel in both of my wrists/hands, everything else has been going well. I've been told the carpel tunnel is related to pressing on different nerves and should go away after delivery. This has been the most unpleasant pregnancy symptom I have had, but it's better than being sick and run down with the flu so I cannot complain.

We have been keeping busy and the following weekend are no exception! I've got a photography class, a Halloween party, a Pampered Chef party, 2 baby showers, a birthday party for my soon-to-be-brother-in-law, a photo shoot, and then Thanksgiving! The baby will be here before you know it.

Hellooooooo in there!

Long Grove 2009

Every year Christen, Lisa and I go to Long Grove, IL for a day of brunch, shopping and enjoying the atmosphere of historic Long Grove, IL. We make our usual stops at the Long Grove Confectionary where we get chocolate covered strawberries and other tasty treats, The Apple Haus where we get mini apple pies, awesome carmel apples and pastries, The Long Grove Popcorn Shoppe where we can try all different types of popcorn and then all of the usual little boutique shops that sell everything from Christmas ornaments to baby clothes and other home decorations. This year we went during the Octoberfest celebration and got to go on a free hay ride through town. Our trip this year was a little disappointing. With the economy being so horrible we found that a lot of shops had shut down completely. In particular there was a huge baby clothing store I had been hoping to go to and it was totally gone. Nevertheless, we had a good time. Unfortunately I did not take a lot of pictures, but here are a couple from our hay ride.

Marian Catholic HS 10 year Reunion

On October 3rd, we went to my 10 year high school reunion. It was at Marian and it was a really good time. There were about 100 of my classmates there along with many of their spouses and dates. Along with the 1999 reunion, there were several other classes reuniting - 1989, 1984, 1979, 1974 and 1969. The reunion started with mass in the school's chapel. We then toured the school. A lot has changed in the past 10 years! The reunion itself was in the new leadership center/cafeteria which is absolutely huge! It was set up really nicely with big round tables. There were 3 open bars and food catered by Mr. Binny's. I was a little nervous going and didn't think we would stay that late, but it ended up being a really great time. Even Dennis couldn't believe how nice everyone was there. We ended up staying until 11:30! It was so wonderful seeing everyone and spending time catching up. It made me realize how much I appreciate my high school education at Marian and has given me something to think about in possibly considering sending my kids to a private school as well. Here are a couple of pictures.

Top row - Valerie, Jenny and Megan
Bottom row - Julie, Melanie and Hilary

Each class took a group picture. There were so many people there from the class of 1999 that we had to take 2 pictures to fit everyone in. I am in this picture.

And here is the second picture.

Bears Game!

On October 4, we went to the Bears vs. Detroit game at Soldier Field. Last year we went to the Bears vs. Falcons game in Atlanta. It was good to be among the home crowd. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day. It was bright and sunny and the sun made it actually pretty hot! Of course, the Bears won - 48 to 24. It was a good game with a lot of action.

Me and Den. We bought these bright orange hats last year so we would stand out as Bears fans in Atlanta's stadium.

48 points for the Bears!

We sang the Bear Down song at least 20 times that day!

Here they come!

Soldier Field.

While the game was good and the experience was fun, I don't know if we will be going back. The tickets were extremely overpriced. We paid 5 times as much for these tickets as we did at the Atlanta game last year. Parking was $46, beer was $7.50, pop was $4.50 and bratwurst was $13.50. While it's fun to be in the crowd and enjoy the energy there, you can get a much better view of the game for a whole lot cheaper by watching at home and cooking up a nice pot of chili! Unless we hit the lottery, this may be our last home game experience for a while.

Butterflies!

My mom came over Friday night to help us move the furniture in the nursery. She had a few surprises up her sleeve and brought us the crib mattress with a fitted sheet and the changing pad with a cover as well. We moved the furniture in (rearranged it several times), hung the curtains, hung up the big butterflies and even loaded up the closet! Here are some pictures of that we've got done so far!

Aren's the butterflies so pretty?

I like this blue one.

A view of the super cute ruffled bottom curtains.

Dennis working on hanging up the curtains.

My mom

Our 4-legged babies trying out the crib. So far it's working out well! :)

The curtain rod has butterflies on each end. We got this as an early gift from Den's parents.

The armoir, topped with a lamp that daddy picked out.

The crib...we are letting these stuffed animals keep an eye on it for now.

The changing table.

Butterflies above the closet.

It's all coming together!

A shot of the whole room. I love how the butterflies match the arms of the ceiling fan.

We feel so fortunate and know how much our little girl will be loved. The nursery itself has been such a group effort from all of our family. My dad came to basecoat paint the nursery. My stepmom did the awesome striping job on the wall. My father-in-law helped Dennis to hang the ceiling fan and light. My mother-in-law brought us the curtain rod with crystal butterflies and clothes. My grandma Julie crocheted the blanket hanging over the crib. My friend Jen came shopping with me for the curtains and butterflies. My mom surprised us with the nursery furniture and helped us to set up the room. And I know there will be more to come. Angelica is going to be a very loved little girl! We can't wait until she is here!

In other news, I had my 28 week appointment on Friday and all is well. I now am starting to have Dr. appointments every other week and we have scheduled the next 5 appointments. Time is flying and we can't believe it's already October with just 11 weeks to go! As I sit here tonight watching Monday night football and blogging while Den is at work, I can't help but think how much our lives are going to change one we become parents! It's scary and exciting all at the same time.

I have been feeling well. I've started to have some back pains and heartburn, but other than that, things are going well. October is exciting. I just had my 10 year high school reunion which was awesome. We also went to the Bears vs. Detroit game this past Sunday. We are looking forward to spending some time with friends over the next 2 weekends. Then we have my step-sister's wedding and before you know it, it's Halloween! The first 2 weekends of November I have baby showers and maternity photographs. That's also when we start our childbirth classes and infant CPR class. The time is sure flying by and each day we get a little more excited. She has been kicking a lot more lately and you can visibly see my stomach move and feel the kicking from the outside. We can also hear her heartbeat with a regular stethescope now. She's definitely in there and making it known! All in all, things are good and we are happy.