1 year ago...

A year ago, two of these little embryos were put back inside their Mommy. It was hard to predict then what would happen. But as I sit here exactly one year later, everything is put into perspective...

 

This little person that Michael and I created with the help of some very talented doctors was worth every doctor appointment, every test and every single, or three hundred needle pokes! I remember going to the surgery center that day, our motto was hope and we were feeling very positive. I was telling all of the doctors and nurses it was Baby Day and we were so excited to leave there pregnant. It's amazing what can happen in 365 days after years of waiting. From petri dish to a 3 month old, it's pretty wild and we are so incredibly grateful every day.

Our week in pictures: 8/12 - 8/18

Sunday, August 12: A yummy Sunday dinner cooked by Michael

Monday, August 13: Our little candy corn gnome ready for Fall!

Tuesday, August 14: The craziness that is Wacker Drive construction right now, it has made my walk from the train station a pain in the butt.

Wednesday, August 15: Ethan is ready for football Sundays, go Bears!

Thursday, August 16: I love Citrus Lane delivery days!

Friday, August 17: My little man looking sharp!

Saturday, August 18: Packing up my little man's first batch of clothes.

Grispy

Ethan is really starting to grab and play with his toys! It's so fun to watch him try and figure things out.

Wordless Wednesday: I think I was surprised!

Fall Bucket List

Fall is our favorite season. There are so many fun activities to do and I'm so excited to have Ethan here to do them with this year! I thought it would be fun to have a checklist of sorts of all the things we are planning to do this Fall. I found this one on Pinterest from a blog. You can download her ready-made version or the blank version which is what I did since I wanted to customize our activities. I'm going to have it printed at Costco and frame it so we have a reminder! What are you planning on doing this Fall?

Weekend Recap

Well this weekend turned out to be quite surprising, literally. After finishing up my first week back to work, I was pretty excited to start my weekend on Friday. We got up early and went for a family walk to start our day.

I caught up on some things around the house while Michael worked and then we headed out to lunch. We went to Front Street Cantina in Wheaton. After lunch we headed home so Michael could get back to work and I headed out to do some grocery shopping. We were having appetizer night with Rich, Tif and Ken again so I needed to get some ingredients. I made english muffin pizzas and three pounders. Tif made veggies and dip and a bar dessert and Ken made bruschetta. We were able to eat outside since it was so nice out but we did have to battle some bees who wanted our yummy food. We hung out and played with the kids until bed time.

Saturday started out like any other Saturday. We got up, went to the farmer's market and then to breakfast. We came home and worked on an appetizer to bring to Arla and Teddy's for what I thought was a pool party. Boy was I wrong. My sister, Michael and family had a surprise party waiting for me for my 30th birthday! 

My birthday isn't really until October, but they wanted to make sure I would be surprised and not suspect anything. Well I can assure you I didn't have any clue. I don't have any pictures of me being surprised but hopefully someone has one. I was completely blown away, I thought my heart was going to leap out of my chest! I wanted to kill Michael because I looked terrible, no make-up, yoga pants and a t-shirt, but he knew if he said something I would suspect something. It was so nice of everyone to come to celebrate, it was a great surprise and a wonderful day! My sister was the mastermind behind the whole thing with help from Michael. They did a great job and I still can't believe Michael was able to keep a secret from me!

Hopefully I can get some more pictures from other people who were there, but this is what I have right now. 

I got some wonderful gifts as well. I received a bunch of gift cards which will definitely be well spent. I got a bunch of cute gifts from Michael's parents that were very "Sara". My parents and Arla and Teddy got me a really cool Tiffany charm with my zodiac sign, Scorpio.

Michael got me an amazing handbag I've been lusting after from Tiffany. It is so beautiful. I can't wait for a date night to use it! Thanks baby, I love it and I love you!

On Sunday we got up and went for a walk, grabbed some breakfast and then did our grocery shopping for the week. After grocery shopping Michael needed to get some work done so I went back out to do some shopping. I did some car seat shopping and even picked up a few Christmas gifts. I came home and we made some lunch and relaxed most of the afternoon.

For Sunday dinner Michael made herb crusted pork tenderloin, corn on the cob, salad and Lipton onion potatoes. It was really yummy!

It was a fabulous weekend, I think I'm still in shock about my party! It was just what I needed after returning to work. I have the best family, I really do. I hope all of you had a great weekend and have a good week ahead!

Our week in pictures: 8/5 - 8/11

Sunday, August 5: Yummy Sunday dinner at Rich and Tif's

Monday, August 6: First day at daycare for Ethan, it was much harder on Mommy than him!

Tuesday, August 7: Back to the office, but at least I look happy in polka dots! Love these sweaters from Old Navy, I have them in every color!

Wednesday, August 8: Playtime with Scout.

Thursday, August 9: I think Ethan likes being free from the swaddle, lol!

Friday, August 10: We started the day with a family walk, I love being off of Fridays!

Saturday, August 11: Surprise! My family surprised me with a 30th birthday party 2 months early!

Ethan's World: 3 Month Review

3 months already little man! I can't believe our Summer together is over, but I can honestly say without a doubt this has been the best Summer of my life. Even though I am back to work I am so happy I will have a 3 day weekend with you every week and Mondays we will only be apart for part of the day. I have loved watching you grow every day. You are just amazing to watch. You are so interested in everything going on around you. This month you discovered your furry brother Porkchop. You love to watch him walk around and you've even started smiling and talking at him! You are smiling, giggling, talking, cooing, blowing bubbles and even screeching these days. You are very vocal, I think you are going to be a talker like your Mommy, uh oh! Your neck is getting stronger, you've even been sitting in your little seat and you are doing so well in it. You are tolerating tummy time a little more, but not for long periods. I know most people are sad when their babies move out of the newborn stage, but I'm excited for all of the fun new things you are doing. I love thinking about what you will be doing next month and I can't wait to watch it all happen. We love you so much little man!

Weight:

As of today you weigh 15 pounds 1 oz, the 89th percentile. Holy cow kid, you are big!

Height:

You are 27 inches long and still off the charts in height!


Clothing Size:

   You are growing out of 0 - 3 months and fitting comfortably in 3 months.

Diapers:

  Still in Pampers size 1 diapers, I think you will be in size 2 by 4 months.

Feeding:

Still a little chow hound! You eat 6 times a day and 5 oz at each feeding. 


Hair/Eyes:

Your hair is really starting to grow and it's so cute, you look like you have a built-in hair style! Your eyes are still blue, I think we have a brown-haired, blue-eyed boy.

Sleep:

You are still sleeping great, you sleep 7 - 8 hours every night. Your schedule really seems to be working well. You have 2 short naps and 2 long naps a day and you go to sleep at 10 at night and wake up around 5:30 - 6. My goal before you were here was to have you sleeping through the night by the time I went back to work. I never could have dreamed you would make it so easy on me! You are still swaddled which I think is one reason why you sleep so well, but I know we are going to have to start weaning you from the swaddle in the next month or so. 

Fun Stuff You Did This Month:


Sitting Up

You are getting to be such a big boy and you are sitting up in your chair. You look so cute in there and I can tell you like being up and looking around. You only sit in there for around 10 minutes before your neck gets tired, but I know that time will increase more and more. I see many dinners with you sitting on top of the table next month! We also moved you into your big stroller seat. Up until now you've hung out in the bassinet or your car seat during our walks. You really seem to like sitting upright and looking around at everything.

Reading Books and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

Another new thing this month is you are loving all of your books. You've always loved to hear me read to you and now you love looking at all of the pictures. You also really like watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Of course love for Disney is in your blood, but you are so cute screeching and cooing when you see and hear Mickey and his friends don the screen! 

Milwaukee Zoo

Last month we checked out Brookfield Zoo with Auntie Arla. This month we went up to Milwaukee to check out their zoo with Auntie Tif, Jacob, Makayla and Mimi and Grampster (Tif's parents) came too! It was a beautiful day and we saw lots of animals!

Your first year month by month