Six Weeks

I'm six weeks along today!

Size
lentil

Developments
heartbeat
intestines
blood
nose, mouth, and ears
arm and leg buds
pituitary gland

I'm so sad that this break is almost over. It has flown by! It has been somewhat relaxing, but mostly busy. Tonight we had rehearsal up at church for our re-launch this Sunday. We'll be moving our instrumental service from the FLC into the sanctuary, which is bittersweet. We are going to miss this last season of being in that room with those people, but this is going to be good, too. It's really going to be good for the church. Exciting times, for sure!

I know that so far all I've really written about is baby stuff, but this blog will definitely be about more than just that. While I want our baby to certainly be a focus of the blog, I also want it to be a journal of our life, day by day. My old blog was an excellent journal for several years until I met a boy and started a business. Those two things coupled together basically signaled the beginning of the end of my sweet old blog. Although I still posted occasionally, it's nowhere near I would've liked to. I promise not to let the time pass by without posting on here. It's certainly important for chronicling our little family's history and sharing our lives with family and friends.

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve. We are planning for a very low key celebration. After we drop Lucas's parents off at the airport, I'm most definitely taking a nap. I need it! Brett and Rachel are coming in tomorrow evening, so I'll make my famous queso to take over to Mom and Dad's where we'll just have a nice evening in with the family. Saturday morning we'll get up and celebrate our final Christmas of the year. It's so strange to think that we will have our little one with us at Christmas next year!

This Christmas break continues to be one of the greatest Christmases ever. We got to share our exciting news again yesterday when Lucas's grandparents arrived. I don't think we'll ever get sick of saying it! I absolutely cannot wait to share the news with all of our friends! We still haven't gotten to tell my brother and his wife, but we will be sharing the news on Friday night. Although I was bummed that they weren't here with us on Christmas, it actually worked out perfectly, because now they will be with us for our baby's first Christmas next year!

Although it still hasn't really hit me, this baby is certainly becoming more of a reality each day. I called and made my first pre-natal appointment yesterday, which was so weird. I'll be going in on January 12th, which is one day before I'll be at eight weeks. I'm not sure exactly what they'll do other than bloodwork, but it would be nice if we could hear the heartbeat that day. We shall see!

Today I went to Babies R Us with Jackie (Lucas's mom) and Abby (Lucas's sister) just to take a look around. We had lots of fun looking at all of the baby gear! Before long, I'll actually have to be registering for all of that fun stuff. I've spent LOTS of money on baby gifts for my girlfriends, so it's strange to think that now I'll be on the receiving end. We also went to Mardel where I bought several books for expectant moms. I'm excited to get to reading those! Jackie bought "My First Christmas" onesies and hats for Baby T and Baby S.

I'm hoping that tomorrow will be a relaxing day. I sure need it! So far, I'm feeling really good. The tiredness hasn't seemed to be as prevalent, but that may just be because I'm getting a little more sleep. Also, the heartburn that I had for a couple days hasn't come back, which is good. I've heard that the morning sickness tends to start around six weeks, which is in just two days. Hopefully it will stay away from me!

I can't wait to go public with this blog! We are so ready to share our good news with the world!

Christmas this year was definitely one of the best Christmases ever. It was so much fun to get to tell both sides of the family that a new baby is coming! On Mom's side, there is only me, my brother, and one cousin who is about 20 years younger than me, so obviously this is very exciting to everyone. Our baby will be the first great-grandbaby/great-niece or nephew. On Dad's side, there are eight grandkids and already three great-grandkids, so the news wasn't quite as exciting over there, but still a happy announcement nonetheless.

After leaving my parents house yesterday, we went over to Lucas's sister's apartment to meet up with his parents who just arrived from Ohio. We broke the news to them the same way we broke the news to my parents, and his mom absolutely flipped out! It was so much fun to hear her reaction! The only family we haven't gotten to tell yet is my brother and sister-in-law. They are coming in on Friday night for the weekend, so we'll be sharing the good news with them then! As sad as I was that they weren't there this year, I'm REALLY glad they'll be with us next Christmas for our baby's first!

Today, we headed back over to Abby and Chuck's to spend some more time with Lucas's parents and I had lots of fun looking at baby furniture and bedding on my new iPad. I also downloaded three baby apps that give me all kinds of fun daily information. Right now, the baby is either the size of a sweet pea, an orange seed, or a sesame seed, depending on what website you're looking at. :) Regardless, our baby is growing quickly and we are EXCITED! It did hit me tonight that somehow this baby is going to have to come out of my body, but I'm just trying to push those thoughts aside for now!

I'm hoping to spend lots of time relaxing this week, which may be a bit difficult since we'll be spending most of our time entertaining family, but I think I can squeeze a few naps in here and there. I'm still feeling pretty good with the exception of some mild heartburn every now and then. I also haven't been sleeping very well. Both of these were things that I thought would hold off a bit longer, but I guess everyone is different!

I'm off to bed now. I need to get some sleep since I'll be getting up bright and early tomorrow morning to prepare for Lucas's parents coming to stay with us for a few days! I hope everyone else had a Christmas as wonderful as ours!

What a whirlwind week this has been! It's a little after 9:30 on Christmas Eve, and I think this is the first time I've really sat down all week. I still have things I need to do, but for our sweet little one's sake, I just need to take a break. We just completed the third and final candlelight service at church. They were all so wonderful, but it really takes alot out of you! What a blessing, though, to be a part of such a wonderful church. I love being able to look out at the congregation and see so many people who are so special to us.

Today I am officially five weeks! The baby is the size of a sesame seed. I'm feeling pretty good except for the occasional tiredness. I'm really excited about this coming week, though, because Lucas's family will be here and I think we will have some time just to relax, especially when we're hanging out at Chuck and Abby's apartment.

Tomorrow is the day we'll get to tell Lucas's parents our big news! Of course we wanted to tell them right away, but it was just such perfect timing that they were flying into town five days from when we found out. We knew we had to take advantage of it and tell them in person! We just talked to his mom on the phone a few minutes ago and she was talking about her sister (who is about to be a grandmother) and saying that she would have a grandbaby by next Christmas. Lucas and I just looked at each other and smiled. They are going to be so surprised and so excited! We can't wait to tell them!

Today was Christmas with my mom's side of the family, and I just can't express what a wonderful family we have. I am so thankful for the blessing they are and that they will be to our sweet baby. At Christmas next year, our baby will be with us and we will be celebrating as a family of three! For now, I'm just enjoying the last Christmas with just the two of us. Tomorrow morning Lucas and I will open gifts together, then we will head over to Mom and Dad's for Christmas with Dad's side of the family. I am hoping to sneak a nap in at some point! Tomorrow evening, we'll head to Chuck and Abby's for homemade pizza and to kick off a week of Takala family time!

Five Weeks

I'm five weeks along today!

Size
sesame seed

Developments
Just a little embryo that looks like a tadpole

Last year, Christmas didn't go all that well in the Takala household. What should've been an absolutely magical white Christmas with inches and inches of snowfall turned sour with the fact that my brother's flight was cancelled and I only got to see him for a few minutes before we flew out for a week in Ohio. This Christmas is certainly making up for that one, though! I can't imagine any better gift than finding out we are going to be parents...of children, rather than just our weenie dogs. :)

I met up with my friend Sarah for lunch today. She just had a baby girl, Carrigan, two months ago. It was so hard to sit there and talk with her about baby things for so long and not be able to tell her! Soon enough, though.

Tonight, my parents came over and we were able to tell them the exciting news! We gave each of them a Willow Tree figurine- Grandmother and Grandfather. Dad was the first one to see what the box said, and he said it out loud, but was obviously caught off guard and wasn't quite sure what to make of it. When he said that, Mom looked and hers and saw what it said and then just looked at me. I, surprise surprise, was crying. Mom said "Really? Really?" I said yes and then she and dad both jumped up and were laughing (Dad was having a coughing fit because he has a bit of a cold,) and they hugged me. It was so wonderful. They asked us lots of questions and it was so nice to finally be able to talk to someone about it! I'm so excited for them to be grandparents. They are going to be wonderful! We will be telling Lucas's family when they arrive on Christmas Day and will also most likely tell my grandparents at Christmas. I can't wait for all of our family to know. Everyone is going to be SO excited!

So far, my only pregnancy symptoms are being tired, occasional mild cramps, and some mild heartburn. Mom said she didn't ever throw up when she was pregnant with me or my brother, but did have some nausea. I hope I take after her!

At 6:15 this morning, I found out that I'm going to be a mom for the first time! For the past few days, I've been very tired and that, coupled with the obvious main sign of pregnancy, led me to be more than just a little suspicious. Not wanting to get my hopes up, though, I decided to wait until this morning to take a test. After waking up at 5:00 and laying in bed for an hour, I finally couldn't wait any longer. I got up, grabbed the box, and headed to the bathroom. I couldn't believe my eyes with the test showed POSITIVE! I guess I had just prepared myself that it might take us a long time to get pregnant, and after not getting pregnant the first month we tried, I just wasn't really expecting it to happen this month, either. My very first thought was "Thank You, God" and then I lost it. Lucas could hear me crying from the other room and ran in to see what was wrong. We hugged each other and kind of freaked out a little (which we're still doing) and that was that!

Obviously the reality of it hasn't hit yet. I'm pregnant. I keep saying it to myself and looking at the test to make sure it still has a plus sign and every time I've looked, it's still been there. :) I think Lucas and I are both kind of in shock even though we planned it. We haven't told anyone yet, but we're planning to tell my parents tomorrow night and his parents on Christmas night when they arrive from Ohio. Other than that and possibly one or two very close friends, we are going to wait at least until we hear the heartbeat. Tomorrow I'll be calling Dr. Staud to make my first appointment as an expectant mother!

Right now, we're four weeks along and Baby Takala is the size of a poppy seed. Our due date is at the end of August, sometime between the 26th and the 29th. Please pray with us that this pregnancy will be easy on mommy and baby, that there will be no medical problems, and that we will deliver a beautiful, healthy baby at the end of the summer!

Welcome to the Takala family blog! For the past six and a half years, I've kept a personal blog, Song of my Life. When we recently found out that we are expecting our first baby, I decided it was finally time to move on up in the world, leave my old blog behind, and to begin a fresh blog for our new adventure! While my old blog chronicled life as young girl transitioning from college to real life, getting a job, getting married, and living as a newlywed, this blog will mostly be about our family. I do plan to use this new blog as a continuation of my old blog in some ways, but just wanted to make a fresh start. Hopefully Lucas will also post from time to time! Thanks for following me over to the new place, and thanks for being a part of our life!