4 weeks!!

No this isn't our countdown to the baby (that is 10 weeks away)- we have a new countdown...how long before we move!

That's right we are moving. I accepted a transfer to the Mason City, IL production site and we will be moving BEFORE the baby arrives! Mason City is north of Springfield and will be much closer to northeast MO which we are very excited about.

My first day at my new job is set for May 11th which will give me about 6 weeks to work before my due date (and hopefully our kid) arrives! I'm sure the next few weeks are going to fly by since we have lots planned and quite a few miles left to travel, but like I said we are excited and ready for the move!

Mall of America

Last weekend our friends from Iowa, Austin & Mariah, made the trip up to visit. Since there isn't much happening in Redwood Falls, we actually met in the cities and spent Saturday at the Mall of America shopping. We all 4 agreed it was time to leave at the end of the day we were worn out! We spent some time relaxing at the hotel, including a little while at the hot tub. Jason took his swimming trunks along, but Mariah, Austin, & I found comfort in soaking our feet. It felt sooo good!

That night we went to an awesome place to eat that Austin & Mariah had seen on tv. The 5-8 Club, they are famous for their burgers, one in particular, the 'Juicy Lucy'. It is a half pound burger with the cheese on the inside. I got blue cheese and it was so good! There wasn't a crumb left on anyone's plate when we finished- what pigs!

We headed back to the hotel and watched the basketball game (UNC vs. Villanova) and then headed to bed. Sunday morning we spent some time looking around at IKEA and then headed back to the mall for lunch and one more store before we headed home. It was a relaxing weekend and great to see Austin & Mariah.

Jason in the hot tub Mariah & I soaking our feet

Austin & Mariah with their Juicy Lucys

Jason & I at the 5-8 Club

Getting ready to leave the Mall of America

'Eckler' girl photo shoot

The last weekend of March we headed back to MO for a long weekend. We got back earlier than expected on Friday and called mom & Jessi on the way back and we had a fish fry. Travis did an amazing job! Kyle was home, all tan from Florida, so we got to see him too! Andi got to spend the night at mom & dad's (her mom survived) and the rest of the Belt's came back up or lunch on Saturday. Jason spent most of the morning out in the woods somewhere! Mom & dad had visitors Saturday morning- the Heinecke's, so we got to see them for a little while too.

Later in the afternoon we headed to Shelbina to see all the Pollard family. We watched the Mizzou game- it was a good game, but not quite good enough! We ate dinner and got to hang out with the whole family. Sunday morning after Jason finished 'playing' in the woods we headed back to Shelbina for some more time at the Pollard house. After lunch we stopped back by mom & dad's. Jason spent some more time in the woods and Stephanie had driven up from Miller so we got to see her and the Belt's had made their third trip for the weekend so we got to see them a little more before we headed home.

While we were at my mom & dad's on Sunday Jessi & I got some pictures together. Thankfully, I didn't get anyh other pictures taken over the weekend. It was actually fun and I got a couple of good pictures thanks to one of our amazing photographers, Jason! He, Travis, & mom were snapping away and like Jessi said on her blog- mom got the good ones. Our due dates are 2 weeks apart

Jessi critiquing Travi's photography skillsA good pic of us sisters without the bellies!

New Picture

Here is a new picture for Jessi, Kaylee, & anyone else who has been waiting for an updated one.

March 21- 3 months & 2 days until due date

Everything is going great with the pregnancy still! We registered last weekend- it took us a while since neither of us had any idea when we first started what we really needed- not that we know everything now! We will definitely be looking to the "experienced" moms for some advice when our little one arrives. It was a lot of fun to look at baby things, but also a little scary since we will actually be using those things in a few months!

In other news- work is picking up for both of us and I acutally have a pretty crazy week coming up with lots of travel. Tomorrow I am heading to Iowa for a meeting on Monday, I have a meeting here in MN Tuesday and will leave straight from that meeting and head to Illinois for an ISO Audit and a Safety Exchange (2 different sites). I will get home Thursday night and Friday we are leaving for Missouri after our doctor appointment that morning! Hopefully we will have a relaxing weekend in MO while visiting everyone and I'm really hoping for some good weather while we are there!

20 degrees = warm ?!?!?

This week I went to Illinois for a meeting and to tour a couple of other Monsanto sites. Sunday morning Jason & I headed to the cities to do some shopping before he dropped me off at the airport. We got to eat lunch at Chili's!!! And after a few unsuccessful stops I was able to find a couple of new shirts- yes, my old ones are getting a little snug :) I flew into St. Louis that afternoon and headed to Centralia to stay with a friend I used to work with. She invited some others from work over and we had pizza that night. Monday I went to where I used to work and got to visit my old boss and coworkers before heading to Mason City.

After a good meeting on Tuesday I headed back to St. Louis for my flight home. I arrived in St. Louis to 78 degree weather, but knew that was not the weather that awaited me back in Minneapolis. The freezing rain had started the night before and it was snowing pretty good by Tuesday afternoon. Jason left work early to make sure he made it to the airport in time to pick me up. After a slight delay we finally boarded the plane and sat for 30 minutes before finding out there was a ground stop in Minneapolis and they weren't letting any planes come in for an hour. Great news- especially since Jason was already sitting at the airport waiting for me! Half an hour later we reboarded and finally left for Minneapolis. My flight landed and we left the airport around 10:30. The snow had stopped, but the roads were not good so we decided just to find a hotel and drive back the next morning. My boss had emailed me earlier in the day and suggested if I did make it to the cities not to make the drive back because of the weather so I didn't feel so bad extending my business trip one more night. The next morning we headed home...the roads were decent, but the 2nd half of the trip was not great so we were glad we waited.

Since the weather was nice on Sunday and I don't check the weather I only had a light jacket when I got back to the freezing temperatures and snow in MN! I think from now on I will leave a heavy coat in both vehicles...just in case! Today the sun was out and it was actually a really nice day- the temperature even got above 20. We are looking forward to the 40s and maybe even 50s this weekend! That seems crazy since spring is only a week away.

Today was a catch up day at work- trying to get back on track after being gone the first part of the week. Nothing big going on for us this weekend- we will probably just be bumming around home. Though that isn't a bad thing after our semi-eventuful week. My feet & ankles will be glad to be propped up for a while. That is how most every night is spent at our house now with as many pillows as I can fit under my ankles while icing them down. I thought your ankles swelled when you were 8+ months pregnant and it was summer time! Oh well- I can't complain, everything else has been going great.

Yay for the Big XII tourney being on ESPN2, now if the Tigers can just win tonight!

Ice Fishing Round 2

Yay, for above freezing temperatures! Some of our snow melted today and we are supposed to have nice weather the rest of this week.

Last Friday night we went ice fishing with some friends from my work. We headed out around 7 and only caught a few fish, but we still had a great time.

Jason's first fish caught- not a keeper. I (with Jim's help) actually caught one before he did and we kept it...only because he had swallowed the hook.

Jason's baby fish- can you even see it?!? Here it is from the side so you can see the size a little better...and no we didn't keep this one either

We had to make a stop on the way home, a real quick one, and didn’t end up getting home until after 1!

I haven’t stayed up that late in a while and thankfully got to sleep in the next morning. I am enjoying that while I still can! Saturday we headed to New Ulm to get some much needed groceries and got there right in time to eat at Applebee’s. It is kind of our new Chili’s since we don’t have one of those nearby!

Sunday we went to a fish fry and the girls all played a game called “Partini” in the heated garage. It was a pretty cool game and we played several rounds. The guys were hanging out downstairs playing pool and looking at Jason’s hunting pictures that he took along. There was tons of food, the fish was amazing, and they even had some crawfish. I passed on them, but Jason tried them. I’m not sure he was super crazy about them though.

Not much has been going on this week, besides work and watching the final episodes of The Bachelor. Yes, we got hooked on the show this year. I had never watched it before, but I think we rarely missed an episode this season. What else do we have to on a Monday night? Tonight we are watching the Mizzou/OU game on ESPN with 30 second updates. Not the greatest, but the best we can do. Hopefully it turns out as good as it is looking right now!

Baby Update

We have been under a Winter Storm Warning all day- the snow started this morning about 9:30 and is still coming down. Thankfully, it isn't as bad as predicted and we have only gotten 6 inches or so! The wind is supposed to really pick up tonight and possibly make the roads bad tomorrow though. Jason got to leave work early and I left early for my doctor appointment.

The doctor just wanted me to check in after being in the hospital last week. Everything looked great- my blood pressure is unchanging and perfect (that is what they tell me), my weight gain is good and the baby's heartrate was in the 150s. I was reminded to stay well hydrated to help prevent future kidney stones- something I don't think I will be forgetting anytime soon!

Last weekend Jason & I spent the day in Mankato- shopping! He was sooo excited, but didn't complain much. We actually looked at some things for the baby- it is crazy how many choices there are for stollers, car seats, & pack-n-plays! We have definitely narrowed it down, but I want to keep our options open for now. I would hate to make any plans too early! We got to eat out at Applebee's & BWW and go to the movies! We watched "New In Town"- it was good and the popcorn was great!

This week I am 23 weeks...No, I don't wear the same clothes all the time- just every Tuesday for a weekly picture

I finally got our ultrasound pictures scanned onto the computer. All these pictures are actually from the 2nd & 3rd ultrasounds I had done last Monday. The first ultrasound pictures didn't show much because the baby was moving so much, but last week the tech got some good ones (we think anyway).

The baby relieved my pain was finally over! The tech said it looked like the baby had my nose

Another profile picture

Flexing his/her muscles for us to see

Update for February

Everything is going great in Minnesota! We had our first ultrasound a couple of weeks ago. The baby was super active and the technician had some problems getting some of the pictures. The little guy or girl did not want to stay still for anything! We found out at the doctor Friday that everything looked good, but they needed a few more pictures and we would have to do another ultrasound this week to try to get those last couple of shots.

We scheduled my doctor appointment for earlier in the day on Friday so we could make it back to Missouri at a decent time. If we would learn how to check the weather for Iowa we would have known they were supposed to get a snow storm that day and traveling was not a great idea, but we didn't and we probably would have made the drive anyway. It took us over 10 hours to make our usual 8 hour trip and we took some random roads in Iowa just to get off I-35 since it was at a standstill. I don't think I could even tell you where we were until we finally made it to Des Moines!

After a good night's sleep Jason headed out to "piddle" around the farm (he says he was working!). I got to hang out with Andi, TJ, mom & dad and Travis & Jessi showed up later in the morning. We headed outside to help grandma with the baby lambs. TJ is a sneaky little boy and I learned you can't turn your back on him. I'm not sure how many things he "ate" while we were outside, but I haven't heard anything about him being sick so I guess he didn't eat too much! After helping with the sheep we played in the snow. Jason was getting a deer stand out of the truck while we were outside and joined us for a short snowball fight. He soon headed back to the woods and TJ tried to follow...he broke through the ice on a puddle and decided it was more fun to play in the water so we headed inside! Jason taking a break and playing in the snow TJ was on the ground most of our time outside Jason hit Andi in the face with a snowball and knocked her down- so he ran over to help her up

Playing an old favorite- Memory

Later that afternoon we headed to Macon for a double date with Justin & Megan. We went to eat in Moberly for Valentine's Day. It was a long long wait, but the food was good and we had lots of time to visit- something we don't always get to do a lot of. That night we headed to Shelbina and got to hang out with Jason's mom & dad before going to bed and the next morning before heading back to Minnesota. Getting ready to head out for our Valentine's Night Date

We both were supposed to work yesterday, but we ended up getting the 3 day weekend most schools got for President's Day. It wasn't exactly a fun day off from work for either of us though. I had some crazy pain starting at 2am, but thought I could get through it and it would go away. Finally around 6:30 we headed to the Emergency Room because the pain was only getting worse. By the time we got to the ER I was nauseous from the pain, but relieved when the doctor and nurse thought it sounded like a kidney stone. All I wanted was for them to figure something out and be able to fix it, but the ultrasound and tests they ran didn't show anything so around 10 I was admitted to the hospital as an observation patient. Luckily by this time I had been given some zofran and morphine and feeling much better since the pain was under control. Since they didn't know what was going on they ordered a complete OB ultrasound and we got to go back to radiology and learn that everything was still perfect with the baby and got some cute profile pictures. Shortly after the ultrasound the best thing ever happened! We discovered I had passed a kidney stone!

Wow, it is pretty crazy how much pain something so little can cause! We finally made it home around 5. It was one of the longest days ever and definitely a miserable early morning experience, but Jason says it was just to prepare us for what will be happening in a few months. The good news from the day- we don't have to go back for 2nd ultrasound on Friday because they got the pictures they needed yesterday and we met an awesome OB nurse in the ER that showed us around the OB wing as we were leaving so we have a little insight for that big day!

Jason & I both got some much needed sleep last night and I feel tons better today! It is a little crazy how tired I am after laying in a bed all day yesterday, but my back is finally starting to relax from being so tense with all the pain. I ended up staying home from work just to rest and recover. I wasn't going to argue with Jason when he suggested it, but I am headed back to work tomorrow- thankful that experience is over! Hopefully I never have another one and I wouldn't wish it upon anyone else either!

Today I am 22 weeks- only 126 days until my due date!

I am going to try to scan our ultrasound pictures this week. Everything is going great with the baby! We go back to the doctor this week for a checkup after my hospital stay and then in 5 weeks.

Ice Fishing

Today we headed north to Lake Minnewaska for some ice fishing! It is a little crazy to drive out on an 8,000+ acre lake, park and spend the day on ice, but it was a lot of fun and I'm really glad we got to experience it this winter! A couple of my friends from work go to this lake and Celeste & her husband had some extra room so we spent the day in their "lodge". We left home a little after 7 and made it to the fish house around 9:30- just in time for the fun to begin.

We hadn't been there very long before we (Al) reeled in a little northern. It was only 2 lbs so he tossed it back. After that we hung out watching for more fish- they have a camera that goes down in the lake and you can move it around to watch everything that is going down below the ice. When we weren't watching the fish, we watched a movie (yes, they had a tv), ate, and even got to ride a snowmobile. We spent 7 hours out on the ice before leaving to come home. We only got stuck once trying to leave- not bad compared to others who were out on the lake with 4 wheel drive and got stuck multiple times! Who said people from Missouri can't drive on snow?!? Driving onto the lake- the snow made it look just like land once you got out thereA view of some of the fish houses on the lake- one guy told us there were 3-4000!More fish houses. All the white ground is the lake. The fish house we stayed in is the red one on the right. Celeste & I in front of "The Grand Lodge". Al's mom & dad have an "Ice Castle"- pretty fancy

The back side of the lodge- getting ready to go in

The front half of the house- kitchen, tv, and bathroom to the right The back half of the lodge- the table turns into a bunk, they are using the top bunk for storage and you can't see from the pictures there are two bunks that fold down one on each side

Looking down into an ice hole- the ice was 30 inches thick- we fished down 4 holes- they can have up to eight at a time. It is pretty cozy because they are just on the floor of the lodge so we were fishing while watching Mr. Deeds!

The big northern Al caught later in the day- he had reeled it in to the ice and was getting ready to pull it up through the hole

Jason posing with the keeper- shortly after Al was weighing it and it got away- it was flopping around all over on the floor before Celeste finally caught it between her feet! It ended up weighing 7 lbs- not bad, but no record.

Jason at Jim's fish house getting the low down on how to drive the snowmobile

Jason snowmobiling

Getting ready to go snowmobiling for the first time- it was pretty rough so we didn't ride very long or go to fast

The end of our day driving off the lake

Jason & I had a good weekend back in Missouri visiting everyone this past weekend. We actually had an extended stay since Jason was in St. Louis for meetings during the week. I drove back early and got to hang out with the Belts on Thursday night and Friday morning before heading to Shelby County. We got to watch a very exciting Jr. High basketball game in Monroe City, spend time with most all of our family, and even watch the sheep one night because mom & dad had a banquet in Columbia. They didn’t get home until after 12:30 and I had forgotten how much fun it is to work with baby lambs all throughout the night (a little bit of sarcasm- we had a set of twins that were not real smart)! We are hoping next time we are back we will get to see Kyle. He was in Columbia all weekend celebrating his birthday and we didn’t make it down there to see him - sorry little brother!

Our drive back was good and we actually made it back Sunday night before 10:00 so it hasn’t been bad getting back in the swing of things. It got up to 45 this weekend so some of the snow has melted. Today has been single digits- low teens, but it is supposed to warm up Thursday and maybe even be in the 30s all the way until Sunday! I miss the warmer weather we got while visiting MO!

Baby Update – I am 20 weeks today- halfway done! We go for my ultrasound on Thursday and back to the doctor next week. We aren’t finding out what sex the baby is so no boy or girl announcement until we have him or her.

Hope everyone is having a good winter- since we are in for 6 more weeks of it!