Ghost

Okay so I haven't blogged in a while and I don't have any pictures to post but kind of a funny story. We have these upstairs neighbors who vacuum ALL the time. I mean like three or four times a day. It's loud and annoying. We think they may have OCD....or maybe just a baby who likes the sound of the vacuum. (Which I totally understand happens and is necessary) Anyway, it drives Tucker CRAZY! Mostly because they will vacuum at like 12:30 in the morning when we are usually trying to sleep. He always says he's going to call the management company and complain but he never does. So last night we're watching TV around 11:30. Suddenly Tucker hears music playing through the walls. it's Celine Dion's "Falling into You" Album. (For those Celine Fans...you know which one I'm referring to). Again Tucker starts getting really mad....I mean the music is so clear we can hear it word for word. So Tucker starts wandering through our apartment trying to see if it's our upstairs neighbors (the vacuumers....or our next door neighbors.) He opens the door to the baby's room only to walk in and realize that somehow the CD player we have in there has suddenly turned on of it's own accord. This is the actual source of the Celine Dion music. We had a good laugh but then spent the rest of the night trying to figure out how that happened. The CD player had to have been turned on, set to CD mode, and then the play button had to be pressed. Neither of us had been in that room all day...you tell me...how does that happen?

Welcome Back Surprises

After being in Utah for a week, I was very excited to come back and see Tucker. He wasn't able to come with me on my trip and I don't like being away from him for so long. Not only did I get to see him when I got back but there were a few fun surprises waiting for me. First of all, the trees around our apartment have FINALLY turned. They are gorgeous so I decided to take a picture. Second of all, my amazing husband put up all these decorations that I've been wanting to put up for the last two months. Third, he finished this project that I had started. I was working on this vinyl project for our living room wall. I had done a mock up using regular paper and had designed the whole thing but hadn't been able to finish the project. Tucker got out my cricket and did it himself. I think it looks great and it makes our house feel even more "homey." It was a great surprise to come home to. I have a pretty amazing husband. These are the trees surrounding our apartment.Tucker put up these cute decorations in our hallwayThis is the project I designed and Tucker completed. There's a picture of Tucker and me in the middle and then our family pictures on either side.

Baby Shower

Today my wonderful mom and sisters threw a baby shower for me at my sister's house while I am out here in Utah. It was so much fun to see so many friends and family members. The shower was darling and people were so generous. It makes me so excited for our little guy to get here so we can put all of these nice gifts to good use. Thank you for everyone who was able to come, it was so wonderful to see everyone. Special thanks to my mom and sisters for putting this whole thing together. I really am so appreciative and have loved being able to spend time with them. Here are some pics from the shower.

My sister-in-law made this beautiful Diaper Cake

Treat Bags

Decorations

The Spread....everything was blue and brown

My sisters

Me and Al

Avery was a good helper at the shower

Me and Mom
Our cousin Chandi

One of my best friends, Kristin

CHICAGO!

So Tucker had a fall break this week on Monday and Tuesday. We thought it would be fun to take a quick trip to Chicago and spend some time together before I headed out to Utah for a week. It's about a four hour drive so we drove over Monday morning and spent the afternoon in downtown Chicago. I LOVE Chicago. It's a beautiful city with tons of things to see and do. On Monday night we rode the train into town and walked the "Magnificent Mile" which has tons of big name stores that are way too ritzy for us but fun to walk through nevertheless. Then we went to Tucker's favorite Pizza place Pizanos (also happens to be Oprah Winfrey's as well) and got some Chicago style pizza. On Tuesday we woke up and went to the Chicago temple. It is absolutely beautiful with all the trees changing colors. We had a really great day in the temple and then finished the day off with a Chicago style Hot Dog. Tucker actually became very chatty with the owner of the diner we went to and he made a friend in the process. The guy told us to tell our friends at the temple to come over and get a hot dog. He was the nicest guy. After that, we made the long drive home. It was a quick trip but was lots of fun.

Riding the Train into ChicagoThere's always something fun to see in Chicago

Bridge over the Water

Tucker in Downtown Chicago

Roads Running under roads

A lot of walking means a lot of shoe tying...Tucker thought this picture was funny.

Chicago Temple

Fall at the temple

Gorgeous!

Tucker LOVES Chicago style hot dogs. I LOVE Tucker!

Fall in Michigan

One thing that I love about Michigan is the beautiful fall colors. In the last few weeks the trees have really started to turn. Since there are SO many trees here, it is absolutely beautiful. My favorite trees are the bright red ones. Last weekend Tucker and I drove up to Lapeer which is where Tucker lived as a child. It was a beautiful fall drive and we took some great pictures. These pictures can't even do it justice, the colors are so bright and vibrant. When you have so many trees packed together in different shades of red and orange, it's just breathtaking. Doesn't it just make you want some Apple Cider? Hmmmm.

Tiger's Game

So Tucker LOVES baseball and more specifically the Detroit Tigers. He grew up playing baseball and the Tigers are his team. Since we've moved to Ann Arbor, he has gotten to watch all the Tiger's games the last month and has loved it. In fact I've even started to like it myself. I'm starting to think of the Tiger's as "my" team. We even have some Tiger's stuff for the baby. So last night we drove to Detroit, had dinner and caught the game. We were on the third row of the first baseline. It was fun to just be in the stadium and be so close to the action. Unfortunately the Tiger's did not do so well with an 8-0 LOSS! But they did have an awesome fireworks show at the end so it wasn't all bad. Hopefully they'll still win the division....keep your finger's crossed. All in all, it was a pretty fun date night.

Halfway there!

So I hit my 20 week mark last Thursday. Although it feels good to have half of the pregnancy over, it feels like it's never going to end. It's not like I"m super sick or uncomfortable (yet...I know the really uncomfortable part is coming) I'm just anxious. I just really wish we already had our little guy with us. I know it's going to be unbelievably stressful and exhausting but I honestly can't wait. Anyway...with my 20 week mark, I have also started to look more pregnant. In fact I probably look bigger than 20 weeks...I blame that on big bones :) So to celebrate Tucker and I went shopping for maternity clothes and decided to take a picture of my progress. Here it is peeps...yes it is kind of embarassing.

House Guest

So Tucker and I were watching a movie the other night and I noticed something moving across our ceiling. If it's big enough to see out of the corner of your eye...it's probably too big. I didn't get close enough to see it but I knew it was some kind of "bug". I of course made Tucker take care of it and even he was unsure how to dispose of a "creature" so large. Once he got close he was even freaking out and decided to snap a picture before he killed the thing. When I saw the picture I was so creeped out...I even had nightmares about it. (Bugs crawling all over me) Anyway...we looked it up and discovered that this lovely looking creature is a house centipede. Apparently they are absolutely harmless and show up only in humid places. They also only come out during the cooler months looking for ANY crack to get into your house. Apparently they are very common...but let me tell you...they are FREAKY!

It's a Boy!

So we had our Second Trimester Ultrasound this week and found out that we're having a boy! We're super excited. The ultrasound was absolutely amazing. It's unbelievable that they can look at the baby's heart, brain, kidneys, and bladder...all in enough detail to tell if they're working properly. The technician told us that everything looks really good and the baby is healthy. The best part of course was seeing the baby's profile. Now I know I am incredibly biased but I gotta say he is the cutest little boy ever. Mostly I love the picture where you can see his little nose. I'm pretty sure it's Tucker's nose....which I love. We're not sure what his name will be yet but we're glad we know it's a "him."

We've been waiting to find out what we were having before we got anything for the baby so we don't have much yet. The first picture is ALL the baby stuff we officially have. Once we found out what we were having we went out and bought the little guy a baseball outfit. We thought it was too cute. Tucker loves baseball so we felt it appropriate. We can't wait to see our little guy!

Tucker's First Day of School

So Tucker officially started his graduate program in Healthcare Administration at the University of Michigan. He was super nervous on the first day but he absolutely loves it. It keeps him really busy with homework but he's really enjoying himself. We just had to take the "First Day of School" picture.

Our new House

One of our many Squirrel Friends. They Run around out in front of our house. We watch them from our living room. It's super fun.

Vanity in the Bedroom. This is where I get ready every day.

Bedroom

Bathroom

Bathroom

Bathroom

Dining Room

Kitchen

Living Room

Living Room

Well after finally getting everything unpacked and our house mostly put together, here are some pictures of our new apartment. We really like it. It's a huge complex with tons trees, tennis courts, and an indoor and outdoor pool. I'm thinking the indoor pool will come in handy when it's winter and I feel huge. There are no pictures of our second bedroom (soon to be the baby's room) because it's still in shambles. Once we get it put together for the nursery I'll have some more pictures. Thanks to Ned and Gena for supplying us with a few furniture options we were missing. It's so great to have family so close.

Kayaking and Exploring

About a year ago, Tucker's parents bought kayaks. They have become quite the explorers and love to go down the river with friends and family. This weekend while camping we took the Kayaks out and paddled our way down the Platte River. It was fun. I was very nervous about controlling my own kayak but it was pretty easy and really fun. Then we explored the different beaches along the coast of Lake Michigan. Again, it was kind of chilly but it was a lot of fun.