The countdown begins...

Bill and I are anxiously awaiting Monday morning. We have been so excited to find out if it will be a boy or a girl and healthy, neither of us can concentrate. Bill is on his way to go get Bailey and she and he should be here around 12 tonight. For so long it seemed like this weekend would never get here, but I cannot wait to spend some quality time the three of us and go to the doctor on Monday. I spent some extra time at work today just trying to finish up some things before Monday rolled around. As our annual reports are due and my boss returns from a month long vacation on Thursday. Life is super busy but it seems like it has been moving in slow motion this last month and now it is almost time. YEAHHHHHHH! Look back for a post on Monday as I am sure that I will be too excited to keep it in.

18 Weeks

Well, no picture for this week. My photographer is working in North Carolina. He actually took today and went up to Linville Falls and is hiking up Grandfather mountain. My grandmother called him and asked to him to check out her property while he was up there, he stopped by and said everything looks great. I am sad that I couldn't be with him to go back and visit the spot that we vacationed so much as kids. I think he would really like to move to or at least visit North Carolina a lot. I believe that he is truly enjoying all of the nature in the area.

While he is gone we have been busy though. Ruby and I went for a 1.5 mile walk today. I think I pooped her out, because half way through our walk she stopped at the front of the park and just laid down in the shade and would not get up. I ended up carrying her almost half way home, good thing she only ways 10 pounds. After we got back I decided to cut out some of her knots and ended up giving her a total hair cut and then a bath. I know Bill doesn't like her hair too short but hopefully he will be ok with this cut.

Baby Healy is definitely a mover and a shaker. I finally got to feel the baby move at the start of last week (Father's Day) and he/she has not stopped since. A couple times a day I can feel a little flutter or a bump. How Cool!!!! I went to my AOII Alumni meeting earlier this week and one of the Alums recommended "Girlfriends guide to Pregnancy" she said it was the best book. It is described as everything you are too embarrassed to ask your doctor or they don't tell you up front. It is such a good book and I highly recommend it to any friends that are pregnant for the first time. Anyways, Bill and I are getting so excited, only one week til we get to find out whether we are having a boy or a girl. Once we know the sex we plan on going shopping and registering. We are super excited, we are counting down the days.

Names we have started thinking about:
William Garrett
Madeline "Maddie" Elizabeth
Emma Elizabeth

Both of our grandmothers are Betty, so we wanted to add a form of their name in honor of them if it is a girl. If it is a boy we wanted to keep the William, but we will call him by his middle name. Obviously we still have a lot of time and things could still change.

Happy Father's Day

Father's Day weekend has turned out to be a very nice and relaxing weekend. Yesterday we went hiking at Devil's Den and went looking for a grill. The one Bill wants is a little out of the price range. See the picture below of Bill's Dream grill!!! Notice, I emphasize DREAM. We had a few people over for dinner last night and as usual Bill cooked up some great food.

My mom wrote Bill a really cute card:
Recipe for a Great Dad!
Plenty of love for the mother
Plenty of patience
Be understanding
Be willing to listen
Have a great gas Grill!!!

According to this picture Bill is really going for the GREAT Dad.



This weekend I am officially 17 weeks pregnant. I'm feeling like I am starting to show, but I think to everyone else I just look a little pudgy, not yet pregnant. My book says that from here until month 7 I can expect to gain about a pound a week.

Look for a post around July 2nd!!!!

I went to the doctor today for the four month check-up. The doctor was happy with my progress and feels like all is going well. We scheduled the next doctor visit for July 2nd. We will get to find out the sex of the baby at that time. Look for a post around that time as I am sure that Bill and I will not be able to keep it to ourselves once we find out if it is a boy or a girl. We will keep you posted with any upcoming news. But we are both very excited and can't wait for the next three weeks to fly by so we can find out the the Big News!!!!!

16 Weeks

Today starts week 16. Up to this time I have been able to wear my regular clothes but this week I am definitely starting to enjoy an elastic waistband. I hope to have Bill take a picture of me today and so all of you will be able to see as I begin to look more and more pregnant. When we first learned that we were pregnant I went out an bought a book that is a day by day explanation of what is going on. Yesterday it said, "This was a week of rapid, whole-body growth for your baby. Existing structures became larger and more well-developed, but no new structures were formed. The chances are good that this week's growth spurt for your baby also resulted in a growth spurt for you." I would have to agree!

Monday I go for my 4 month checkup and they will test for Downs Syndrome. Next month we get to find out if it is a boy or a girl. We are super excited. Bill and I are both thinking it is going to be a boy. I'll keep you posted.

The Excitement Continues...

As you all know now that Bill and I are very excited and looking forward to planning our futures together. We however, are also very excited to be planning our family too! Shortly after deciding to get engaged we found out that we are expecting. Yes, that is right I said expecting a baby! At first this was as much of a shock to us as it is to you I am sure. We have had a chance to let the information soak in and we are so excited. Hopefully if on time, we will become parents shortly after this Thanksgiving. I am due 11/23/07 the Friday after Thanksgiving. When we first found out and went to the doctor they thought that I was 6 weeks along, but shortly there after we found out we were actually 8 and half weeks pregnant, what a surprise. They moved my due date up. Today I started the first day of week 16! Almost 4 months pregnant, can you believe it, because I can't.

Telling the Parents:
I kept trying to get my parents up to Fayetteville, because we wanted to tell them in person. After many hints to get them up here they still were not committing to coming up. I found out that my sister-in-law is also expecting at the same time. I was shocked and everyone was like, you two need to stay a little longer when you come home for Thanksgiving. In my mind I was thinking we will be a little busy. After hearing this news I finally decided since they weren't coming up anytime soon that we should just tell them, after all this is a hard secret to keep. Bill and I talked about it and decided to send them a package for Mother's Day. I decorated two baby outfits, one with Baby Wolek, eta 11/27.07 (Amy's due date) and another with Baby Healy 11/23/07 (our due date). I included a Grandparents-to-be card and inside wrote, "I guess the Wolek family will have two times as much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!" We included a picture of the sonogram, too. My parents were shocked yet excited. The best part is they ended up coming up two weeks later and when they got off the plane they were wearing Grandma and Grandpa shirts, they are too cute.

We sent a similar package to Bill's mom with a card. He called her the Saturday before Mother's Day to see if she had gotten the package yet. She had and was waiting for Mother's day to open it. He insisted that she open it now and learn the news. She too was excited and shocked.

Bill sent his dad the message in his birthday card one week later. He was excited for grandchild number 8!

It was official all the parents knew about their upcoming roles as grandparents. Now it was time to start telling our friends and the rest of our family. Over the the course of the next few weeks we started to inform all of our friends about all of our exciting news. I apologize to any of our friends that we have not called yet, or if it took a while to call you. We have been spending a lot of our time on the phone, needless to say our phone bills will probably be outrageous this month.

We are so excited for the chapter in our lives and we hope that you will be too.

Engaged

We are so excited!!!! We are engaged as of May 23, 2007. Bill asked me to marry him Wednesday morning.

How?
Bill woke up early around 5:45 am since he could not sleep any more after working nights for two weeks on a project. He held off the dog (Ruby) from barking and waking me up until I got up around 6:30 am. He had my coffee ready for me and we sat and talked just like any Saturday morning, only it was Wednesday. As we sat and talked for over an hour we just had a chance to catch up from being away from each other for a week and half. Towards the end of the conversation Bill said that he has been thinking of the best way to do this, but could not think of a better time. Bill pulled out the ring and I started to cry. I always thought it was silly when girls said they could not remember what exactly their fiance said to ask them, but the rush of emotions really do play an impact on your memory. Naturally we were both thrilled and the rest is history.

Unfortunatley we both had to go to work after such a great morning.

Asking the Parents:
He asked my parents at Easter and the poor boy had a hard time. We went to visit my family for Easter weekend in Orlando, FL. He knew he was going to ask, but really wanted to concentrate on getting to know everyone. He and my dad spent LOTS of time together. He stated that so many times he wanted to ask, but then I would walk up and it was no longer possible. Either that, or it could be the fact that I had never heard or seen my dad talk SO MUCH! I think my dad was just as nervous to meet him as he was to meet my dad. Needless to say it took till right before we were ready to leave for him to ask. He asked my mom before breakfast and she told him that he had to ask my dad too. Bill said yes, this I know but I have been trying to get you two together and it just hasn't happened. Finally while I was getting ready he asked my mom to help him out and call everyone together. He sat down with my mom, dad and my grandmother and explained his love for me and how he wanted to marry me. At that time, my grandmother offered her ring to him. Bill graciously accepted and stated that he would be honored to give me her ring.

The Ring:
We discussed several times what settings that we liked, but in the end we went together to pick out what would be the engagement ring. The lady that helped us recommended that we not change the ring since it was so pretty, but that we use our wedding rings to accent it. After looking at probably 50 rings that day, we decided to go back to the jeweler and keep my grandmother's ring in tact. It means so much to both of us that I am priviledged to wear her ring. I only hope that our marriage will be as successful and filled with love as her's and Poppy's was.