Countdown...

Where has the time gone?  I guess when you count down something on a weekly basis that you are MORE than excited about, time flies!  I can't believe it is almost Easter and a week away from April.  We have so many emotions swirling in our heads.  Kyle & I have planned and anticipated several exciting times in our life, like our wedding, graduating from Chiropractic College, and even opening our own business... but this is different.  Those were all events, a day that changed our lives, but for the most part, went "back to normal" shortly after.  This is a totally different story.  It will no longer be Kyle and I.  EvErYtHiNg in our life is going to change... drastically! Don't get me wrong, we are absolutely ecstatic for our baby girl, just trying to process and prepare for the days to come!

We have been very busy at work, but were able to get away for the weekend.  My "little" brother is a senior at Milwaukee School of Engineering and was playing volleyball in St. Louis, so my parents and grandparents met us there for a short family get together.  Even though it was a short trip, we had a lot of fun!

Our daughter's second trip on a plane and she is not even here!

We started our St. Louis adventure with the Arch.

Below the Arch, looking up.

The capsule that takes you to the top!

Looking out the window at the top.

The views were pretty cool.

Downtown STL

The Cardinals Stadium

Right on the River.

The people and cars were so tiny.

We met up with my family and spent the afternoon at Union Station.  

This is a fresh batch of Rocky Road Fudge...Amazing!

On Saturday, we toured the Anheuser Busch Factory.  It was very fascinating to learn the history of see the process of making beer.  

The famous Clydesdales.

The Stables were beautiful.  They even had stained-glass windows.

The wagons that used to deliver the beer.

A showcase of all the different beverages.

The Brewing House.  

The famous sign.  We learned about the other products AB sold during the prohibition.  Very interesting.

The bottling and packaging plant. The guide stated that the bottles going through there now will be on the shelves later that evening.

Family photo!

The architecture was incredible.

Watching the MSOE Raiders play volleyball.

Action Shot!

The weather turned for the worst early Sunday morning and we didn't think we were going to be able to get home.  We ended up being one of the only flights that wasn't cancelled or delayed!  Even though it was a pretty scary flight with turbulence and de-icing before take off, I was so happy to get home.  I think I am done flying for awhile! :)

This was the view before the de-icing and conditioning the outside of the plane before take off.

It was snowing so bad that you could barely see the wings.

10 minutes later we were above the clouds and it was so peaceful.

We have some exciting events planned over the next several weekends.  A bridal shower for my future sister-in-law, Easter Sunday, and baby showers for our baby and some friends!  Before we know it, we will be celebrating a birthday!!  We can't wait to meet her~  

28 weeks.  She is growing big and strong!

Stay tuned for more!  I will try to update soon with more pictures and our next adventure!!

~Mallory

~Babymoon~

Kyle and I have been working hard, watching the weeks pass by, waiting for Miss Princess to make her debut.  Yes, I know we have several more months, but when you count down something by weeks, they seem to move in fast forward mode.  We were looking at the schedule of the weekends during the months to come and there is something planned for almost every one of them... so, Kyle planned a babymoon!!  A babymoon is a "honeymoon" for a couple prior to starting their family and vacations slow down for awhile.  The week before we left, I actually got really sick and couldn't get out of bed.  I thought this was going to ruin our babymoon, but Kyle secretly planned the entire thing!  : )

We decided to go to Minneapolis and we had soo much fun!  It was great to get away for the weekend. We shopped for Baby Girl, ate incredible food, and relaxed in fancy hotels. Kyle got amazing deals on these over the top hotels!  We were put on the executive level and had special access to food, drinks, and stunning views of the city.  

The first hotel was very upscale and modern.

Kyle enjoying the afternoon with a spot of tea. ;)

The executive lounge on the 25th floor.

Walking downtown Minneapolis

There was even a telephone by the toilet.... we were both confused. 

Went went shopping at the Mall of America and Ikea.

Kyle, before shopping.... 

Kyle, after shopping! haha~ Ikea was a good place to rest!

We also experienced some fine dining! :)

Gluten free pasta... yes, please!!

And, Gluten-free blueberry pancakes= Happy Girl~

The Pancake House, where the omelets took up the entire plate. (don't worry, we shared!)

We ate dinner at an old Irish pub.  The atmosphere was so cool!

We had such a great time that we are already planning our next small getaway!  Back in cold, snowy Omaha, the kitties are soaking up all of Dad's attention before his hands are too busy holding his Princess.

25 weeks

26 weeks

27 weeks

We had our last monthly appointment.  From here on out, we have to check in every 2 weeks until she arrives. Yikes!  She is growing well and we pasted all our tests with flying colors.  However, she is laying horizontal in my belly (which is positioning her into more of a breech position) AND it was decided that she is further along than we originally thought, so her due date was moved up a week.  :-/

As always, thank you for following our journey through this blog.  I will leave you with a picture of her sweet little face.  She has a round nose, puffy lips, and her tiny hands were tucked up under her chin the entire time.  

Blessings to everyone!  

Love from our family~

Busy as a Bee!

What do you get when you put a snowy weekend, a pregnant women, and a very patient husband together...Nesting!  Kyle probably thinks I am crazy.  We have deep cleaned our entire townhome 2 weekends in a row.  He was talking about going out of town next weekend just so we don't have to clean again! :)  

We were a little disappointed with the "blizzard" that was supposed to shut down Omaha over the weekend.  We rearranged our work schedule and had a very busy couple of days, which allowed us to enjoy a long weekend.  Even though we didn't get as much snow as we were supposed to, the kitties were enjoying our company.

"Mom... turn the lights off!"

"I love you Dad!"

"Good morning Mom!"

On Friday afternoon, Kyle surprised me with a Date Night!  We have been working so hard lately that I can't remember the last time we got out and enjoyed a nice dinner.  He took me to the Old Market, where we enjoyed a nice relaxing evening!  It was wonderful~

On Saturday, Kyle wanted to do something different, so we went to the Omaha Boat, Sport, and Travel Show.  It involved toys that were listed up to ~$200,000.  Whoa... who has that kind of money to spend on fun?!?  We were allowed to go through all the equipment and we even got to see a shark and a bald eagle.  It was fun to walk around and really got us excited about this summer!  (You can go camping/boating/vacationing with a newborn, right?! ;)

Family Pontoon Boat that seats 9+ people... who's with me?!

A guy can dream, can't he?!

After we came back to reality (no toys for us!), we decided to work on the nursery.  We wanted to hang her name above her crib for a cute, inexpensive wall decor. We bought the letters and painted them white.

Dad working hard, since Mom is not supposed to inhale paint fumes.

He was embarrassed by his outfit, but I told him it was going on the blog anyways! :)

That night we called up some friends and met them for a late night dinner.  We had so much fun over dinner and drinks (water for me!), that we were the last people to leave the restaurant. Oops~

Fun with Friends, Jack and Misty

The weeks keep flying by.  I hope time slows down and doesn't go this fast once she gets here. :(  We go in for our last monthly prenatal visit next week.  After that, we have to start going in every 2 weeks. Yikes!  We  were sitting in church this morning and calculated that we could potentially have 12 more Sundays (or less) without a car seat in between us!  

23 weeks

24 weeks

I hope everyone has a great week.  I can't believe March 1st is this Friday!  I will post week 25 as well as the some nursery photos soon~

Winter Waiting....

The days and weeks just keep ticking away.  Kyle and I have been putting in looong hours at work, which makes the time fly by.  We go to work in the dark and come home in the dark and I am so glad we are doing it together!  We are settling into our new place and making it feel more like home.  We have been discussing getting the nursery started (I know- she won't be here for awhile, but planning for her makes it feel so much more real!)

Maverick and Maggie have been extra cuddly lately, and Kyle and I joke that they know their time is limited as being our "babies" and getting all of our attention.

Maverick making sure Dad knows he is here and available to be rubbed :)

(Mav doesn't care about personal space!)

Maggie loves to cuddle with Mom!

We decided on pink, gray and white for lil' Miss's room. Our parents,minus my dad :(, came up this past weekend and helped paint the nursery.  We picked up a couple pieces of furniture and it is really coming together. Kyle's mom, Jody, is going to make the crib set and we can't wait to put it all together.  I will post pictures when it is finished!

My belly keeps getting bigger and bigger and it is still amazing to see the change, even within a few days.  Baby Rupp has been really active lately and loves to show off all of her gymnastic moves around  3:00 am!  I wake up tired, but I can't stop smiling when I think of a little person moving and shaking inside my belly. Sometimes I think it isn't fair that I get to experience this awesome connection with our little girl and all Kyle gets is a crabby pregnant wife! Kyle got to feel her move for the first time the other night, and I have never seen him light up like that.  He was so excited.... it was priceless!

22 weeks

Baby Girl is almost a whole foot long and is finally over one pound!  All of my pregnancy apps and emails tell me to get ready to really start growing and gaining!  Oh boy.... here we go!!

!Best Birthday Ever!

Wow! This year's birthday will be hard to beat.  I received the best gift in the world.  God has blessed us with a little GIRL!~  I am still in shock to say that.  Ever since the moment I found out I was pregnant, Kyle and I have asked everyone what they think the gender of the baby is going to be?  I would estimate that ~98% said boy and 2% said girl.  Well, most of us were wrong!  I would have been super excited with either gender, but I am ecstatic that we are having a sweet baby girl!

This weekend I finished my 20th week.  I can not believe how fast this pregnancy has gone.  It is a little overwhelming to think that in a few short months, our lives are going to change forever.  We have a lot to learn before then and even more to get done!!

Now that I am in my 5th month, change for me and the baby are happening more rapidly.  It amazes me every morning when I wake up just how much my body "grew" from the night before.  Pregnancy is a pretty neat experience and I feel so blessed to be growing another person inside of me!

Since we had our 20 week Ultrasound, I have posted some anatomy pictures of Baby Girl Rupp.  (Kyle and I are discussing names for our little Princess because "Little Bean" isn't quite cutting it any more.  She is now the size of a large banana!)

We will start out with my growing belly pictures....

18 weeks

19 weeks

20 weeks....wow!

 Hand

Leg/Foot (foot is at the top)

 Leg/Foot (chicken legs like her mama)

Hands together, praying!

 "Hamburger... not a Hotdog!"

Spine

Breakfast in Bed... BEST HUSBAND EVER!

Kyle getting practice

I hope you enjoyed all the pictures!  I will continue to post often and share our progress.  We are looking forward to the next several months of getting the nursery ready, registering and baby showers, deciding on a perfect name, and most importantly planning on her arrival!~  Stay posted!

Happy New Year~

Wow!  I don't even know where to begin.  The holidays have come and gone (as fast as ever!) and we are enjoying the last day off before the daily grind starts again.  Even though I am not looking forward to the next couple of months of being dark when you go to work and when you leave work, cold weather, and long days, I am very excited about getting ready for Baby Rupp's arrival.  Kyle and I have a lot of work to do! :)

So, here is a quick recap of our holiday season....  We started our Christmas in Grand Island with the Rupp's.  Santa was really good to us this year and even Baby got some presents.  I have to say, I am very thankful for the gifts I received, but it was way more exciting to open the baby's boxes and see what cute things were inside.  It is starting to feel so real!

We then headed to Missouri to spend the rest of our Christmas with the Main's.  We filled the few days we had with family, food, and fun! As I mentioned in the last post, we tried to find out the sex of Bean. Needless to say, we have a very active baby on our hands as he/she would never sit still long enough for us to get a good look.  However, I was amazed how much Bean had grown since Thanksgiving.

Throughout the craziness of the holidays, Kyle and I moved from an apartment to a town home.  We still have a lot of work to do with unpacking, but it already feels more "homey".  I can't wait to get the nursery ready and start nesting!!

We celebrated the new year by drinking sparkling cranberry juice :)

The next couple of weeks will be getting back into the daily grind of work and settling in for winter.  We have plenty of things to keep us busy unpacking and getting ready for the baby.  My next appointment is January 11, and we find out if we are having a daughter or a son.  That day just happens to be my birthday and I couldn't ask for more!