Graduation & 22 weeks

Two weeks ago was a huge week for both Jonathon and I; it was his graduation weekend.  Jon was so happy to be done with finals after being literally sick and tired throughout the week.  I think he wrote around 40 pages within a few days and is very glad to have a break from writing and reading. I am also very happy to have my husband back after 3 years of him being held captive by papers, reading, and writing!  I kind of don't know what to do with him now.  The graduation weekend was a very nice weekend and both of our parents came down as well as my brother to celebrate.   Thank you for everyone who came and supported us throughout the last several years.  We are thankful for our time here for Jon to go to seminary and look forward to what God has for us next!

Jon getting hooded.

 So proud of my boy!

Outside the graduation chapel.  What a long, yet quick three years it was!

He looks the best in this picture, never mind me!

 Jon and his parents

Jon received a nice Martin guitar for graduation that he had been wanting to get.   It will be great for us singing together as well as for at church if he needs to play. 

Mom, Anders, and I.  

I got Jon a special watch for graduation especially so he can keep track if his sermons get too long.  :)


And...Pregnancy update


22 weeks
Whoa, where did that bump come from?  I feel like it wasn't long ago when I didn't look pregnant.  Sometimes I even forget that I am pregnant.  This last week I could feel my skin pulling, I guess because the baby was growing.  In fact, I believe the little one's supposed to really have a growth spurt this next month.  But, the most exciting news is that I started feeling bigger pops of kicking and therefore, Jon also got to feel the baby kick!  The first time it was on accident as his hand was just laying across me, but then he felt a pop underneath!  Lately, I have been able to see some sleep patterns with the baby as it's very quiet during the day when I'm moving and very animated when I sit or lay down.  In fact at night, sometimes it seems like there is a pinball game going on in there and it keeps me up.  But at least it makes me smile and I can feel and talk to the baby as I go to sleep. 

20 weeks

This is technically the halfway point in pregnancy, yay!  But, we all know that first time moms generally carry a little longer, so I'm not counting down and don't think I will at all; it would be just too hard.  This last week marked the big 20 week appointment, but as you know we did not find out the gender.  Jon didn't even push me to find out because he has truly surrendered to my wishes and was just so happy to see the baby that nothing else mattered.  In fact, as we were talking about it with the tech, we saw the baby quickly cross their legs on the screen!  The baby must have been listening to it's mama and papa to keep it a secret!  We were also very happy to see that everything with the baby is growing at just the right rate.  Even though I am still a little small, they say, the baby is at 12 ounces, right where it should be.  And can you believe it, already about 7 inches from crown to rump!  At the ultrasound, the tech told me my placenta is in the front and so that's why I haven't been feeling kicks because there's that extra padding between my outside and the baby.  But just at the perfect moment, the day of the ultrasound, I felt a nice *pop* on my right front!  It was definitely a kick and the baby was letting me know it was not the calm baby Jon and I thought.  To comfort me the last few weeks, Jon has been saying, "Oh, we are both so calm and laid back, so the baby must be too.  It's just chilling and floating around in there."  The ultrasound tech said differently and said that the baby was very active and I should be feeling him or her a lot more often.  In fact, Jon should as well in a few weeks!  That brought a big smile to Jon's face. These pictures below also brought big smiles to our faces!  For a little fun, I also added below some old wives tales (which are always true, right...) to help guess the gender.  Enjoy!

 This is my favorite picture.  It shows the baby's cute little nose and big lips.  I'm sure all babies have little noses, but we figured so far it looks like my little Svenska nose.  Look at the ribs, too! 

This is Jon's favorite picture.  I think he loves hand up to the face, probably trying some thumbsucking.  Also, you can see the feet pushing up against me as well.  *kick, kick*!  

I love this picture too!  Look at that strong leg, wow!  You can also see the femur.  

Hand on the forehead, "Oh mother, why am I being stared at, so much!"   

Do you see some teeth hiding in there too?

One bottom of a baby foot and above it, is a side of a foot.  The baby already has a big big toe!

These next two pictures are a little creepy because it's a front view and the ultrasound is looking into its skull.   But, they are really cool too.  In this one, you can clearly see the eye sockets as well as the four chambers of the heart (the four dark spots in the upper chest). 

Arms above the head, "So big!"

20 weeks

Jon and I made up our own guessing routine at Thanksgiving and that was breaking the wishbone.  Both of us think a boy first would be nice, but we're good with either way.  So, in breaking the wishbone, he was pulling for boy and I was pulling for girl.  Guess who got the bigger piece?  Jon. 

Well, Jon saved the wishbone on a chicken carcass we had and we did the same thing and same result, Jon's side was biggest, so boy.  Must be true...feel free to save your wishbones for us.  

Old Wives Tales

1. According to how I'm carrying, I might be carrying a boy.  Low is boy, high is girl.  I feel mostly like I'm in the middle, but maybe more low than high. 
2. I have been craving a lot more sour things, which also means it's a boy.  Since drinking straight lemon and lime juice always sounds delicious, I'd say my love of sour has increased.  Sweet is girl and although I want fruit and things like that, I'm just not sure.
3. If I have more breakouts, it's a girl, if not, it's a boy.  I feel like I've stayed pretty consistent, so boy?  
4. No morning sickness?  Boy.  I had none.  (Try telling this to my cousin who has three boys and sick throughout almost the whole thing!) 
5. Apparently dreams about your baby means you're having the opposite of what was in your dream.  Well, my most recent one was about boy, so it's a girl.  
6. I am normally a little clumsy, but since being pregnant, I have been less clumsy.  Maybe I'm just more careful, or maybe I just haven't grown enough to be clumsier.  But, that means that it's a girl. 

Now, I know these are all fake, but it's fun to see what they say.  In my heart, I have been feeling boy more, but who knows, it probably changes from time to time.  Now it's time to take your guess, go up to the top of the page to find the gender poll!

19 weeks

If I would have thought about it, I would have saved yesterday's post for today.  But obviously, I'm trying to get away from studying a little...haha.  Just a quick post to share a few pictures anyways.  

 19 weeks, I guess technically nearly 20.
It's nice to be out of that "fat" looking stage and into more noticeably pregnant. 

As you all know my major cravings are sour things.  When I asked Jon to pick me up Lemonheads, he said no they're not healthy and I agreed.  So we instead met in the middle and picked up lemons, limes, and seltzer water.  Every night this week, Jon or I have been squeezing the juice and then adding some ice and seltzer with a sprinkle of sugar.  I think the sugar takes away the soury bite though.  But still, you get a good punch when you squeeze half a lemon and half a lime in and then drink it.  This at least gives me a nice boost of Vitamin C, and "It's tasty too!"

The Home Stretch

Happy December!  This morning I was excited when I remembered that it was the first day of December.  But, when I said it to Jonathon, he replied "Don't remind me!"  He has two weeks left of school until his graduation.  I also have one week left of my Spanish.  So, we are both on the home stretch of schooling right now.  He has some big papers left and finals, so he's working hard and is usually pretty good staying on task.  Tonight, we both decided to take a break from studying and drive over to Cold Stone to feed us and the baby.  Molly Pocket even came along for the car ride!  After getting our ice cream, we thought it would be fun to check out the Christmas lights on our way home, but so far there aren't too many.  Even still, we were able to see some houses here and there while we listened to Christmas music.  It was a nice study break, but back to the books!  

This next week, we have our 20 week ultrasound.  I can't believe we're technically halfway through and once the winter is passed, we will get to meet our little one.  We are still not going to find out the gender at this ultrasound, as long as the technician doesn't slip...Before we got pregnant, I thought I always wanted to know the gender, but since being pregnant I have changed my mind.  I mean, how many surprises like this are in the world?  You grow a human inside of you for and at the end you push it out and someone yells "It's a boy!" or "It's a girl!"  I love surprises and I don't mind waiting for this one.  It'll be fun to get to know them when they come into the world in a few months.  Jonathon and I will be happy with either a boy or a girl and have even started to agree on a few names (this is the hard part for us).  Since we are not going to find out the gender, I thought I'd put up some fun things for the next blog post to see if we can guess the gender.  So, wait for that within the next week. 

18 weeks and Thanksgiving

This last long weekend, we were at Jon's parent's for Thanksgiving.  I once again failed to take any pictures, so I"ll have to just tell you of the weekend events.  I feel a good amount of the time, I was resting, reading, or laying down because I was so tired especially after eating, haha.  I also think that the baby must be having a growth spurt because I was extremely hungry this last week.  I would eat a good snack with protein, but not long after I would again be starving.  Then, I would eat another healthy snack, and I would again be hungry soon after.  What is going on in there, baby!  The baby and I definitely have a growth spurt early last week when I felt some pain in the top of my tummy and I realized the next day it must have been my skin stretching because overnight it rounded out more.  That was also the day that I got the most comments on my tummy in the entire pregnancy.  On top of that, my students were even more obsessed with my tummy and talking to the baby and rubbing my tummy.  So, the baby must be growing!  Also, in other exciting news, I am quite sure I have felt the swirling feeling of the baby moving.  It was probably trying to make more room for itself in there!  Although this current growth won't seem like much the later on we get in the pregnancy, it is fun to see and now feel how the baby is growing. 

18 weeks

Back to Thanksgiving.  While at Enger's, like I said, I rested a lot.  But, we had a fun time with family as well.  We had our own Christmas, played games, did some shopping, made Lefse (mostly while I was sleeping), and went to see the movie Lincoln.  It was also very nice to see Jon's grandparents who came and visited on Friday!  We will get to see his parents again for Jon's graduation in a few weeks, which is very exciting.  While we were there, it even snowed a bit on Friday morning; but boy was it cold!  Thanks for a great Thanksgiving and lots of leftovers!

17 weeks

Well, Jon and I failed at taking a picture last weekend because we were out of town at a marriage retreat at Camp.  Although I had my camera out, we didn't even take one picture.  Sad.  It was a rainy weekend, so we didn't get to walk around outside like we normally would, but that gave us some extra resting time.  We had a wonderful three days, one of them at my brother's and seeing our wonderful niece; she's just too adorable.  We also got to see my parents briefly as they were babysitting Molly.  Apparently, Molly wasn't too bad off as she followed my mom around the house and then spent the rest of her time on to of pillows and puffy comforters.  Thanks for taking good care of the Princess and the Pea dog. 

This last week was a few fun firsts for us.  On Monday morning, we heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time.  It was nice to know that the little one inside is doing well and sounds healthy.  Also for this week we had our first Bradley birthing class.  We'll have ten classes and we have already learned a lot and are excited to learn more through the class. Bradley classes focus on relaxation and natural pain management, birth as a natural process, and the husband as the coach through the process.  Jon really wanted to learn more about birth and how he could help out, so this seemed like the perfect class.  He has already shown that he will be a wonderful support; it will be wonderful to have him coaching me along from now until the birth. 

17 weeks 

Although there isn't a substantial difference between this picture and the 15 week, I think the middle is out a little bit more.  

Oh, and if genetics have anything to do with it...I'm sure our baby could look like this at some point.  Both Jon and I had some weight on us when we were born and we both knew how to pack on the pounds afterwards to add rolls after rolls.  But after all, aren't the cutest most pinchable babies the plump ones?   Either way, we will absolutely love ours!

pinterist.com

Bambino Likes & Dislikes

Sunday night was a pretty sad night.  On Sunday night, we discovered that that bambino does not like my favorite meal of grilled cheese and tomato soup.  Normally to complete my favorite meal, we would have rice in the soup but I don't think that would have made any difference.  I thought that having some nice comfort food would be a nice way to start out the week, but I was wrong.  As I was making the meal I started feeling queasy.  I told Jon but he said, "Eat, it'll make you feel better."  I think this has always been his comment when I say I feel sick because normally it works with this pregnancy.  So, I followed his advice and felt worse and worse.  I ended up not being able to finish my favorite meal and instead lay in bed curled up with Molly.  I'm sad to say the meal gave me the worst indigestion I've had the entire pregnancy!  I wasn't sure whether to lay there as still a possible or turn my head to my trash bin.  Needless to say, I don't think I'll be trying my favorite meal for at least another five months.  Ugh.  

I did mention in the last post about some foods that I am liking such as Skittles, Sour Patch Kids, Gushers, and other sweet gummy items.  But, I've really been trying to walk away from these items and trying to give the bambino more healthy things.  Earlier in the pregnancy, I really craved ketchup and orange juice, but not together!  I wanted to eat anything I could eat to dip in ketchup and I think I finished off a few jugs of orange juice in a week.  But the most surprising thing that I/baby have been wanting is milk!  I do not like milk and have always been forced to drink it or take extra calcium.  Although I've been taking extra calcium supplements, I actually want to drink milk.  Not that I like the taste of milk much better, but I am tolerating it and craving it after meals.  Another healthy thing that I have wanted is fruit.  I think we'll have a little fruit bat or sweet tooth on our hand, but I was pretty similar to that so I can deal!  

Overall, I haven't had too many food aversions except my favorite meal, coffee, onions, and either spinach or artichoke (I'm not sure which it was).  So I really don't have too much to complain about since I have been feeling really good and now have some energy back! 

15 weeks

We are finally out of the first trimester!  I shouldn't say finally because it actually went quite quick and it wasn't so bad, but what didn't go quick was the exhaustion.  Every day was a battle, I had to make sure I never thought about the next day and only focused on getting through the day I was in.  Each morning felt like I had pulled an all-nighter, even though I was resting in bed from the 6:30 at night and then usually falling asleep by 10:00 and getting up at 8:00.  That should be plenty of sleep, but when you're growing a human being, apparently, it's not enough time.  I don't think there really is enough time to sleep and rest.  But now that we are into the second trimester, I am enjoying a bit more energy.  I am still often very tired, but not to where I collapse in bed after work in a comatose state.  Jon said that he knew I was lost and dead to the world whenever this would happen.  Thankfully he was very good and went shopping for me and made dinner and brought me food and listened to my whining and then comforted me.  I have to brag about him again.  Today he stopped by work and brought me a hot caramel apple cider that I had been wanting.  But he went to extra lengths to get it for me because he ended up stopping at three coffee shops to find it.  I always love to have him stop by school and a special treat is like an extra cherry on top! 

Speaking of school, the kids have been pretty funny about the baby in my tummy.  One bad thing that I crave are fruity, chewy things such as Skittles.  Bad Mama, Bad.  I told the kids that they could all give me their Skittles that they got for Halloween (some actually agreed).  But most said I would get a tummy ache and it's not good for the baby.  I replied, "Well, what if I want the baby to be colorful."  One boy looked at me in a horrid way and said, "Your baby can't be colorful!  You want a regular baby.  Ms. Anika if your baby was colorful, I would run away from it.  Fast!  That would be a baby a mother wouldn't want."  Then he pointed to the painting he was doing and asked me not to make the baby colorful with Skittles.  haha.  I'm then explained that colorful can mean about personality, but I think he still was stuck on the baby coming out looking like a rainbow.  Another boy that I taught last year always comes up to me to gently hug the baby and I.  He's always so gentle and loving and asks how big the baby is.  Often times, he will also try to interact with the baby such as talking to it, tickling it or today, "sniffing" it.  He said it smelled like me, that's good.  Most of the kids think that we are going to have a girl, there's only a few that say boy so we'll see what happens.  It will be a surprise for all of us since we are waiting to find out until the big day! 

13 weeks.  

I'm not sure what happened to my little bump in this picture.   In a previous post, it was the same day and you can see more of a tummy.  I guess the baby hid.  In any case, a lot can change over two weeks as you'll see below. 

15 weeks.  

Definitely more of a bump and less of an "I ate too many donuts" bump.  I think Jon even got taken by surprise this last week when he looked at me shocked and commented on how I was pregnant, haha. It definitely becomes more real as time goes on and you know the baby is growing.  According to TheBump.com the baby is the size of a naval orange now!

Fall Activities

I'm waiting on some pictures from Jon's camera in order to put up some tummy pics.  Although I'm not a fan of looking to see how wide I'm getting, Jon likes it and loves to see the baby house growing.  I will try to get these added this next weekend.  I think this time you'll be able to tell a difference at 15 weeks now.  

Below are some pictures from two different events with our parents. 

This is the bambino's first baseball game, in utero, that is.   We went to our last Brewer's game of the season in mid-September and this was also the weekend that we told my parents that we were expecting.  It's fun to think that next time we go to a Brewer's game, we'll have a little baby with us! 

 About two weeks ago, Jon's parents came down for a visit.  Sunday morning was the highlight of the trip because we brought them to the Botanic Gardens.  The weather was a perfect 65 degrees and we enjoyed going around and seeing the different indoor and outdoor gardens.  I especially loved the rose garden and the Betty White Rose, yum! 

My guy and I.  :)

Enger Announcement!

Jon and I have an exciting announcement to share!  We are expecting our first little baby!  Many of you probably already know, but to make it officially public we figured we better announce it on The Enger Café!  We are 12 weeks along and surprisingly due on my birthday, April 14th!  What a surprise!  Not that the little bambino will come on that day, but it is fun to say that's the due date.  But, I still think the bambino's going to come later in the month of April.  So far we have had two appointments, at 7 weeks to see the baby, which at the time was a little Tic-Tac.  This morning was our second appointment and we were excited to hear the heartbeat finally.  At 7 weeks, we saw the heartbeat flickering so fast, but I was excited to hear the baby.  The doctor searched and searched for a heartbeat but to no avail.  Apparently, I'm still really low and so he couldn't find the heartbeat.  So, he was nice enough to quickly pull up the ultrasound and give us a look at the baby instead.  I was fine with this because the bambino actually looked like a little human!  We saw it swimming around and bounce when I laughed and then wave it's arm and formed fingers!  Jon and I were in absolute awe and so happy to see the baby looking good and moving around happily in its baby home.  I have kept smiling all throughout the day thinking of the baby bouncing around.  It's been really fun to read and learn what's happening each week with the baby's growth.  

I am very thankful that overall this has been a great pregnancy with no vomiting!  I am normally so good at getting sick, it's kind of a nice change of pace not to be throwing up.  I have been a little nauseous but nothing overly bad.  My main issues has been extreme exhaustion and headaches, I like to lay down and rest whenever possible.  Being a teacher is very tiring already, but throw in growing a human being, gosh.  Some days, I would love to lay down on the table or grab a cot during their nap time.  In fact, my break usually runs during their nap time and I will go to my car and rest for an hour.  I used to use my break to go for a walk, but I'm too tired and instead just pass out.  I'm hoping since I'm ending my first trimester I'll get a little boost of energy.  Jon has been incredibly helpful during this time and has gone grocery shopping, done most of the cooking, checked on me and brought me anything my little heart desired.  He will be such a wonderful Papa!  It has also been really fun to pray together for the new little life inside of me.  How cool is it that you get to pray for something that's alive and will play a huge part in your life, but you haven't met them yet!

 

7 weeks

 12 weeks.  

Although you don't see much my tummy has definitely rounded out, 

no more flatness; the baby house is growing!

We will keep you updated as we go along, Jon really wanted to take weekly pictures, so we'll get some of those up here as time goes along. 

Labor Day with the Riley's

This last Labor Day, Jon and I were blessed to go camping with Mic and Sarah Riley.  We are so thankful that we get to see them 2-3 times a year since we all came back from Korea.  They are such great friends of ours and we always look forward to seeing them.  Usually, we take turns going to each others' homes, but this time we met in the middle to go camping.  I haven't spent much time in Indiana except to see my relatives, so going deep into the country of Indiana was quite the experience: an odd experience.  But with our dogs with us barking and the boys picking away at the fire pit, we seemed to fit in just nicely with the country folk.

 Jon and Mic playing together. 

 Classic Korean heart picture with Sarah.

 

During the weekend, we went on two 3 mile hikes.  The first one, only Sarah and I went with the dogs.  Let's just say they were both passed out for awhile after this!  

Our second hike, the boys came along and Mic started climbing trees.  

Jonathon was there to carry his little baby.  Molly loved the breaks.  

It was a really fun weekend together and we hope to get to see them again soon! 

Below were a few pictures I didn't add from Memorial Day 

when we were all in Birchwood. 

Mic, unaware to my craziness.

Jon's First Baptism

After Jonathon's internship was done, we came back to Rice Lake to baptize our ring bearer, John.  We were honored that he and his parents both asked Jonathon if he would baptize him.  It was a lot of fun because I've seen John grow up and since our wedding, he has grown up a lot and has a great love for the Lord. Enjoy the two videos below of Jonathon's first baptism. 



This is the 2nd part with Jon praying with John before.

The people above were two special people that were in Jonathon's New Believer's class that he wrote and taught during his internship.  He loved seeing them grow and begin to mature as new Christians.

 Here are all of the pastors and people that were baptized that day; how exciting! 

July Brewer's Game

I am still trying to catch up on some summer activities, so bear with me as I slowly add more. 

In July, we got to go to two Brewer's games with my parents, Anders, Emily, and Ginny.  We have a fun tradition to go to Brewer's games as a family and it's a tradition that Jon and I love.  I'm glad that even though he's originally a Twins fan, he's also become a fan of the Brewers.  This was also a special weekend because for one of the games it was Italian Heritage Day.  Therefore, the Brewer's wore their Italian jerseys and we got the Italian sausage bobble head for entering the stadium.  The jersey's said "birraio" on them meaning Brewer in Italian.  Last year we were also at German Heritage Day and they bore the name "Bierbrauer".  Jon and I did both admit that bierbrauer has a cooler ring to it, sorry Italia. 

While in Milwaukee, we stopped at an Italian market that my parents used to go to a long time ago.  We enjoyed some yummy Italian food, olives, and gelato.  P.S. I love him extra extra much! We were also excited that the game brought us together during his internship away from me this summer. 

Mom and dad, satisfied after eating Kopp's Custard before the game!  
Thank you for a fun family time together! 

 Emily, Anders, and Ginny's contagious gut laughing. 

Ginny danced for the "Macho Man" song but sadly, she did not make the big screen. 
Show me some muscles! 

The movie below is hilarious.  It is the sausage race, but watch what happens at the end with the little sausages, so funny! 

Summer Catch-Up

I think with all the business at the end of the summer and Jon finally coming home, I did not pay much attention to our blog.  So I'll do a few weeks of catchup.  The pictures below actually only show some of the things we were doing throughout two weeks in August.  Also, I realized that I failed to get pictures of both our moms as well as my dad, I'm sorry!  I think that Jon technically has pictures of my dad catching some nice bass at Camp, but I do not have them. 

 The weekend of Jon's sermon, his parents and grandparents came to visit.  Seeing Jon preach was a lot of fun.  He had a lot of experience in different areas of the church and his internship finished with him preaching in three services.  I was so proud of him and how well he had prepared for the sermon.  Each time he preached, he got more and more comfortable and I'm excited to hear him preach more in the future! 

We got treated to going on a pontoon and doing some fishing.  Jon's dad ended up catching the most fish and caught quite a few bass.  Funny story, while he was catching one of his bass, I also got caught....in the rear end.  My dad set his pole down and somehow, it got caught on the seat of my pants and poked me.  Everyone thought I was screaming about the fish and didn't pay attention to me, when actually I was really screaming about the hook in my bottom! 

First cast in this spot and it immediately hit his worm!  

 I am sad that the above picture is literally the only one I have from Camp Forest Springs!  I carried my camera around, but I did not take many pictures.  Jon and dad took a lot in the fishing boat, so maybe I can find those and upload them because I had some nice bass too!

Part of the picture problem is also that we unfortunately had to leave Camp two days early because of Jon's cousin's wedding.  We had such a relaxing time at Camp though and some good times of learning as well.  The teaching topic was on what is happening now and how it relates to the End Times.  This topic brought up a lot of questions, but most of all learning how to trust God even in uncertain times. 

 After leaving Camp, we drove to St. Paul for Michael and Lindsay's wedding.  Jon was a groomsmen and I was his pretty sidekick. 

Part of the reception included lighting huge lanterns and letting them go in the sky.  

The day after the wedding, we went to the Twins game I bought tickets for for our anniversary.  Even though the Twins lost, we really enjoyed visiting Target Field.  It was a lot different from Miller Park and we really enjoyed walking straight off of the street into the park.  Jon especially loved the extra leg room. :)  

After the game, we drove to Rochester for some time with family.  On our way back to Chicago, we also got to see our friends, Amanda and Paul who were soon to have their first little baby!  

Well, that was a quick update.  I have a few more things to share with you from August, so I will try to get those uploaded as well.  Overall, though, I am so happy to have Jonathon back home.  Even though he's started school and he's busy, he is so wonderful to have around. :)