A PERFECT PARADIGM

Who Me?

2012-01-31T13:07:00.000-05:00

It is hard to believe with such a sweet little face that Lilly could ever get in trouble. But it appears she has a taste for excitement. She is officially known as the leader of the "Crawling Gang" at school. It appears that she organizes games of chase with the two other crawlers and even gets them to investigate the contents of the diaper bags that are stored in the cubbies. I can only imagine where this could lead...it is only a matter of time before she sends her "associates" to ransack the contents of the diaper bags and bring back the best Mum-Mums and yogurt melts for her to enjoy. Glad we don't have any horses in our neighborhood, they might not have made it through her teen years. Shall we call you Donna Knoll?

Family Pictures

2012-01-25T13:35:00.000-05:00

I had started to work on this post back in October, soon after the pictures were taken and Lilly was only 6 months old. Time slipped by and just today I was reminded that I needed to finish. It is amazing to see how much she has grown and how she has gone from a barely mobile to full speed ahead baby. I am so happy we have great photographic memories of these times, even if she was less that cooperative during the photo shoot. I guess it is good to remember the good and the bad. :)

Pause

2012-01-16T08:30:00.000-05:00

There are so many times a day that I want to hit the pause button and just hold on to that second for hours.

Pause … the moment when she wakes up in the morning and gives Matt and I a huge smile and reaches her arms up for us to pick her up.

Pause … the moment when she is taking her morning nap on my chest and she wakes with a start. Looks at me with sleepy eyes, gives me a sleepy smile that says “everything is alright,” and falls back to sleep.

Pause … the moment when she gives herself a proud grin that she is using the latest technology at her ergonomic standing desk. She is so trendy ... see the WSJ article.

Pause ... the moment she pulls herself up on the edge of the couch to see what I am up to. This is an especially fun way to play a modified game of peek-a-boo.

Pause ... all the moments she starts laughing so hard she can't contain her happiness.

There are so many more, so many times a day. We are so lucky we get to have our little bug in our lives.

Lilly's Tunnel Time

2012-01-06T10:50:00.000-05:00

We Have A Chomper

2011-12-28T18:18:00.000-05:00

Enjoying a Baby Mum-Mum with her FIRST tooth.

Lilly's First Christmas

2011-12-25T14:49:00.000-05:00

Lilly's Night Before Christmas

2011-12-24T14:25:00.000-05:00

'Twas the night before Christmas and Lilly enjoyed every minute of it. At church during the Christmas Eve service she enjoyed singing every song, although I am not sure everyone in the congregation appreciated her Mariah Carey octaves. And at home she delighted in reading Christmas stories, enjoying a bite or two of sweets, putting out food for the reindeer and snuggling in her new Christmas Pajamas with family members.

Lillian Grace ~ 1st Christmas Eve

Hearing about the naughty or nice list for the first time. She was shocked!

Enjoying her new rocking chair!

Christmas Eve Giggles

2011-12-24T13:26:00.000-05:00

A Christmas Eve Visit With The Tomasoski Family

2011-12-24T12:48:00.000-05:00

We were so happy to have the opportunity to visit with lots of friends and family over the Christmas Holiday. Lilly especially enjoyed our visit with the Tomasoski family, she LOVED having Blake and Drew over to play and surprisingly she fit right in with the boys. She pushed aside the dolls and went right for the trains, blocks and towers, what a gal.

Lilly is a tad too handsy for Drew's taste.

All three enjoying play time.

Story time with Uncle Matt.

Best group shot of the morning.

Blake was more than happy to hold Lilly and give her some love, what a tender heart this little boy has.

Lillian Grace: 7 Months Old

2011-12-12T10:27:00.000-05:00

Life with a seven month old is so interesting, I mean thatseriously. Lillian is developing so muchevery day and it is so interesting to watch that development. She continues to improve her sitting andcrawling and she is now very close to going from a side lying to sittingposition on her own, which means she almost has abs of steel. She continues to love, love, love Mrs.Whiskers and she can distinctively recognize the jingle of her collar and willstop what she is doing and look to see where Kitty is and sometimes she willeven crawl super-fast to visit her.

Eating has been an adventure this month with the bug, shestill indulgently loves her breastmilk, but with the introduction of solidfoods in to her routine, she has been a little too full for normal milkintake. We are navigating that path andtrying to find the perfect balance. Sweet Potatoes mixed with squash and avocado are still her go to solids,although I plan to whip up a batch or two of some bananas, parsnips and applesauceto try over the next few weeks. I havefound some great resources for making homemade baby food and I love to see thevitamin and mineral count of the different vegetables and fruits, it has helped me to pickthe best solids to pack a powerful punch. Although, we love our gal’s petite statue and ability to wear clothesover and over again, we want to make sure that she is a lean mean growingmachine.

Lilly is really getting in to the holiday spirit, which Iwill document with a separate post later this week, for now Lilly and I are offto grade exams and to celebrate the end of the semester. No school for a whole month for the 2 of us,hip-hip-hooray!

The Reason We Don't Take Lilly To A Photo Studio

2011-11-30T16:54:00.000-05:00

Every month I take two pictures of Lilly in the same place, in the same outfits and in the same pose. I hope that over time these pictures will be a reminder of how much she changed and grew in her first year. Up until this month I had questioned if I should have taken her to a professional every month to capture this growth, knowing that my less than professional pictures might not be the best memory. However, this afternoon as we staged her 7th month photo shoot I am glad that we made the choice to take her pictures at home. Here are some shots and some commentary from the event.

Lilly: Momma, I know you put me on my back for this shot, but that is too boring. My artistic eye says it would be much better if I was on my tummy, so I went ahead and rolled over while you were getting your camera turned on. Don't worry I am a professional, I know what I am doing.


Me: Lilly can you look at me and smile. Lilly: Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, here comes the Kitty. I don't have time for a picture right now, I need to focus on getting Kitty to come over to see me. I haven't petted her all day and I am dying to pet her soooo soooooft fur.

Me: Lilly can you take you hand out of your mouth and smile.
Lilly: Momma, that is something a 6 month old does, I am 7 months old and I can do both. See, I have my hand in my mouth and I am smiling.

Lilly: Momma, I think we might need a wardrobe change, I did have avocado for lunch. Nope, just kidding, it is fine ... carry on.

Me: Okay, Lilly just one more smile and then we can go track down Kitty for some petting zoo time.
Lilly: Oh, you said smile, I thought you said sing one more time.... lalalala.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-28T10:38:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful visit out in Minnesota for a combined Thanksgiving/Christmas/Birthday celebration. Lilly did fantastic on the drive and we were so happy that she was sohappy in the car. To make feeding,changing, playing easier, we folded down the front seat and made a limo-likeexperience so that sitting next to her in the backseat wasn’t so cavernous andthat seemed to make everyone happy.

While we were in the North Start state we enjoyed awonderful Thanksgiving celebration with twenty or so of our closest family andLilly got to meet most of them for the first time. She really loved all the attention andespecially liked her interaction with Little Cousin Cooper. She even had a bite or two of Sweet Potatoesand that made her smile.

Lillian Grace spent lots of time with her grandparents andwas very happy to read, play and snuggle with them while Matt and I, along withRachel, Stephen and Jessica went to a hockey game. It is the first time I have seen a Wild gamein MN and the arena was really nice. Butlike usual, MN tends to lose in my presence, even if they are not playingDetroit.

An early Christmas was just what we needed to add to thecelebration weekend. Like always we werespoiled with love and gifts. And eventhough Lilly was fighting a high fever she was able to tear open the paper,sans clothes of course.

It is always hard to leave MN after such a short visit, asthere are always more things that Matt and I would love to do while we are outthere. But that just leaves us even morereasons to visit again and again.

Some Of Lilly's Favorite Things ... 6 Month Edition

2011-11-21T11:37:00.001-05:00

Playing in her activity jumper. Now that her toes touch the ground she really likes to get the activity center rockin'.

Enjoying a nice long bath.

Eating yummy milk, cereal, sweet potatoes and avocado. She gets very impatient if you are not feeding her at her desired pace.

Moving and shaking. She can get anywhere and to anything in a blink of an eye. She doesn't have the best crawling form yet, but it is very functional.

Wearing bows, flowers, hats .. you name it. She likes to experiment with the season's trends and mix them with her stand by classic pieces ... like a chunky cardigan. I think she learned that on an episode of What Not To Wear.

The Great Pumpkin

2011-11-13T15:03:00.000-05:00

I don't think at this time of year the pumpkin industry needs assistance with their marketing strategy, however, if there is ever a need Lilly is all in.

Lillian Grace: Six Months Old

2011-11-09T20:56:00.000-05:00

Wow,Lilly has hit that six month mark and it is like we have a totally differentbaby. It is hard to even remember backto the early days when she was eating round the clock, waking up several timesa night and barely able to hold her head up. Now she is sleeping through the night, eating only 5 times a day andmoving and shaking.

Sittingwas a major milestone of Lilly Bug this month. She was really shaky when she turned 5 months, but now she is a pro andshe is testing her limits by leaning, reaching and chewing on things whilesitting. It is quite comical to see her contemplatethe situation and then just go for it. It seems to be her personality, think then do. Once Lilly made a habit of sitting up, scootingand army crawling were soon to follow and man can this gal scoot towardssomething she wants. I think it is greattraining for after Thanksgiving Day sales in the future. I have some video to post of her army crawlingtowards her favorite objects, mostly electronics, which I will post soon.

Lillyalso started to dine on rice cereal mixed with breast milk and she is happy to fillher belly several times a day. Aftersome trial and error, I found that I was mixing the cereal too thin for herpreference, she likes it best when it is similar to rice pudding… must be a flashback to the rice pudding I liked to eat while pregnant. Her recent check-up with Dr. Kern was righton curve and she is weighing in at 13.4 pounds and 25 inches.

Halloween In Random Captions

2011-11-01T17:50:00.001-04:00

Our haunted front porch, complete with fog machine, a green light bulb and random Halloween decorations.

Lilly the LillyBug and Daddy Matt the Entomologist more specifically a Coleopterist.

Kitty Pumpkin was exhausted from all the activity and needed a quick nap in the corner.

Oh, my Lilly that is a very silly face. What on earth are you thinking?

Oh, we see. You had just realized that the pumpkin was really Mrs. Whiskers and you were plotting how you were going to go play with her. I am sure Mrs. Whiskers enjoyed waking from her nap to find a shrieking baby coming at her face ready to grab fur and give kisses. Happy Halloween!

Happy Harvest, Halloween, All Hallows Eve … Whatever It Is Called These Days

2011-10-31T17:20:00.001-04:00

Lillian enjoyed a nice Fall Day in our yard this pastweekend. She really liked looking at theleaves; maybe we have a future Botanist.

Lilly loves to laugh, but she reserves it for her Über funny Daddy and Auntie. It makes the rest of us rather jealous. Obviously Lilly found something so funny shewas overcome with giggles. There wassuch a ruckus she nearly fell over.

It was an easychoice for Halloween this year, Lilly HAD to be a “LillyBug.”

October's Learning Theme

2011-10-28T12:57:00.000-04:00

I was finally able to get my act together and work with atheme for our interaction times with Lilly this month. I have been trying to make this happen sincethe beginning of the school year, but business processes and systems analysistook precedence and Lilly has had about enough of that talk. So, the theme for October was Fall Leaves andHalloween, it went hand-in-hand with her school theme so that made the planningeasy. At home our featured books for themonth were 5 Little Pumpkins, A Pumpkin Prayer, When The Leaf Blew In andBiscuit's Pet and Play Halloween. Lillyreally fancies the bright orange of pumpkins so she especially liked the 5 LittlePumpkins and A Pumpkin Prayer books. Infact she was starting to fuss while we were waiting one day and I pulled the 5Little Pumpkins book out of the diaper bag and she quieted immediately. An on-looker was so surprised she had tocomment that she did not know a book could quiet a baby … ah, the power of agood book! When we were not reading ourbooks we investigated Fall leaves, visited an apple orchard, took walks toenjoy the colors of Fall and played with pumpkins. We sang about the 5 Little Pumpkins and evenlearned about some feelings that pumpkins might have. At school the teachers made black ghostshapes and Lilly painted them white with finger paint. Next month we are focusing on Giving Thanks,yea for a theme that works with singing the Doxology and Simple Gifts.

Lilly's New Toy Box

2011-10-24T11:37:00.000-04:00

When Grandma and Grandpa Knoll were in town for Lillian's baptism they brought a beautiful toy box. The toy box was specially made for Lilly by her Great-grandpa Allar and it was packed full of dolls from her Great-grandma Allar. We are so excited that Lilly will have this beautiful toy box to use as she grows. For right now, she enjoys sitting in it and watching Mrs. Whiskers jump in and out of it. In the future I am sure she will enjoy organizing all her toys, sitting on top of it to read a good book and using it as a hiding place.

Little Lillian, Welcome!

2011-10-16T17:42:00.005-04:00

We just finished up a wonderful and busy Fall weekend. Matt's parents were able to come for a visit and we had a lot of fun with them. Lilly enjoyed all the love and playtime that she had with Grandma and Grandpa Knoll and Matt and I enjoyed some delicious dinners and conversation. Lilly also recieved a beautiful toy box that her Great-Grandpa Allar made and sent all the way from Minnesota (more information and pictures to come.)

The highlight of the weekend was Lillian Grace's baptism. We were so fortunate to find a time that our whole (well, almost whole) family could get together to support and celebrate our precious babe. We had her baptized at the Presbyterian Church in Concord, which is where at least four generations of our family has been baptized. That long history, added to the specialness of the day.

Lilly was on her best behavior for the entire baptism ceremony and even enjoyed meeting the entire congregation that was eager to welcome her. Matt and I were very happy and proud parents and we felt so blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives loving and supporting Lilly.

After church was over, we headed back home to enjoy a perfect Fall lunch, eat some cake and let Lilly open some gifts. She enjoys playing the claw game, so she was delighted to reach into the bags to lift out the paper and presents. And of course she is never one to pass up some good snuggles!

Weekend Warrior

2011-10-09T20:56:00.005-04:00

Matt and I took a quick get-away to Traverse City to enjoy the Fall colors and take a break from work and house projects. While we were away Lilly spent time with Auntie Erin & Uncle Jake and GiGi & Papa Luttenton.

First, they did some calisthenics to get pumped for a full day of activities. Obviously, Lilly takes exercise seriously and needed to wear her leg warmers and curve hugging bodysuit. Her look says, “Don’t bother me, I am in the middle of my favorite jazzercise routine.”

Then, they spent some time exploring space, which as you can tell, is utterly exhausting.

At some point, there was a demand to wear a purple kitty cat hat. It was probably around the same time that Lilly was trying to call Mrs. Whiskers to her side with her Mariah Carey shrieks (video clip to come.)

Lilly knows it is important to balance work and play, so she took some time from her busy schedule to catch up on some light reading, presumably “Good Night Moon.” As you can tell a modern gal like herself fancies digital books… her new iphone is pre-ordered and in the mail.

She ended the weekend with a very important skype call to Grandma & Grandpa Knoll, as you can tell she had so many things to tell them about.

Lillian Grace: Five Months Old

2011-09-28T15:43:00.000-04:00

While doing some Fall cleaning I came across some newborn outfits in Lilly’s closet that needed to be packed away. It is amazing to think that she is no longer that little babe we brought home from the hospital, now she is a full five months old and is growing bigger and stronger every day.

The past month has been focused on getting settled into a routine. With me teaching two days a week and Matt extra busy at work, we have really worked hard at establishing a good routine. Lilly is eating five times a day and is consuming somewhere close to 30 ounces of breast milk. She seems to be very content with her eating routine so we have held off on the rice or solids for a while longer. She still continues to enjoy her naps and takes three naps a day. Her first nap is my favorite since we usually snuggle up in bed and both fall back asleep. Her second nap is my most productive time of the day and her third nap gets her ready for a fun evening with Daddy. We have heard that she will quickly outgrow her multiple nap routine, so for now we are savoring every minute of it. Nighttime sleep is getting easier for Lilly, but harder on me. She sleeps consistently from 9 to somewhere between 7 and 8 am. The hard part is patrolling her self-directed stomach sleeping, she does sleep much better and is much more comfortable in that position, but it means I tend to check on her more and sleep much less soundly.

Like the months before, we have seen lots of “firsts.” Lilly G had her first boat ride and trip to Mackinac Island along with her first encounter with a horse. She mastered rolling from her back to stomach and now refuses to roll from her stomach to back, as she thinks that is so passé. She caught her first cold and we learned how much she absolutely hates to have her nose cleaned out. What a drama queen! She has also started to really enjoy books and we have seen her favor pages out of a few choice books. She has especially taken a liking to the Halloween/Fall theme we are working on at home and at school.

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

2011-09-27T22:34:00.002-04:00

Lilly keeps rolling. And she has now perfected the back to belly roll. I was really excited at first, until she showed us how easily she can roll at night. Which now means it is not uncommon to find her at the foot of her crib, facing the opposite direction and on her stomach. Uggh! Even more uggh, is that she also fancies to practice this new skill on the changing table, yes, those never used buckles are now adjusted and in full use.

A Quick Trip Up North

2011-09-21T08:08:00.002-04:00

When it starts to feel like Fall I feel like heading Up North. This year we enjoyed a beautiful September get-away to Mackinac Island, the weather was perfect and there were no crowds in sight.

On the way to Mackinac we took the long way and stopped to enjoy the early afternoon in the city of Charlevoix. Lilly had her first trip to The Cherry Republic and wanted to try everything, I promised her she would receive some cherry goodness as soon as my favorite dried tart cherries were converted to milk later that day.

Lilly is such a good backseat passenger. She loves to talk to the "baby" in the mirror, play with her toys and take a good cat nap in the sun. She has now claimed the entire backseat as her domain and even fancies her diaper to be changed on the folded down seat in the car, no dirty bathrooms for her.

We took the Sheplers Ferry to the island and we were delighted that Lilly enjoyed the rocking of the boat. She didn't fall asleep on the ride there or back, but she did get a little blissed out. She even seemed somewhat interested in looking around as we got closer to the island.

We spent most of the morning walking around town while Lilly took her nap. Knowing that Lilly was going to want lunch soon after, we grabbed a quick lunch from town and found a great little spot tucked away on the beach just past the school to eat at. It was beautiful and the sun and cool breeze were just what I was hoping for. Lilly has been trying to help us feed her lately, so we let her practice a little bit on the bench, but the whole time I reminded her that she was drinking liquid gold and not to waste a drop of it. She seemed to give me a look like "Chill out mom, you can just pump me some more."

To travel light we carried Lilly in the front pack for the trip. She loved the vantage point and how snug and warm it kept her. We took the carriage ride of the island and saw arch rock, the state forest and many other historical sites. The horses seem to interest Lilly as first, but the rocking motion of the carriage put her right to sleep.

Included in our carriage ticket was entrance to a butterfly house. It was almost as cool as the Gardens in Grand Rapids, but quite a bit smaller. The nice part about the visit is that we were the only three in the house so we had lots of one-on-one with the butterflies. Lilly had a great time tracking the butterflies and looking at the colorful plants. She got herself into quite the rolling giggle over the experience. On the way out we couldn't resist posing her in front of a giant turtle with the sign that read, "Please, Do Not Touch Lilly." We tried to get her to do her best grumpy face for the photo, but she didn't see the humor in it.

After two long days of activities there was just enough time at the end of the night to enjoy some play time in her pack and play.

Lilly Enjoys Mackinac Island from Meagan & Matthew Knoll on Vimeo.

Unpack Your Adjectives...

2011-09-01T18:48:00.000-04:00

First Day Of School 2011

Lillian Grace: Four Months Old

2011-08-28T16:41:00.000-04:00

Oh, what a month for our little social butterfly. Lilly Bug has been here, there and everywhere and has met so many new people. The major event of the month was Auntie Erin and Uncle Jake’s wedding in which Lilly was the honorary flower girl … meaning she got a really cute dress and slept through the ceremony and most of the reception. We did find enough wake time to get some great family pictures and for her to test out her new vocal accomplishments during dinner. Thank goodness our family friend Diane was there to care for our little opera singer. Lilly was able to meet a lot of out of town family for the first time and she happily snuggled with anyone who wanted to hold her.

After her flower girl debut Lilly experienced school for the first time and she loves her teacher Ms. April. She only goes part of the day on Tuesday and Thursday, but from what we can tell she seems to enjoy it. Her favorite activity so far, lounging on her tummy with her head held high watching the other babies … I can only imagine what she is thinking. It will be interesting to see her social skills develop over the course of the semester. Tuesday and Thursdays are the prefect days to visit school as they are art and music days and Lilly LOVES her music. For real, if you ever need high pitched squeals in a band call her up!

The finale of her social month was another trip to Chicago, this time she was able to spend her visit with Grandma and Grandpa Knoll who came from Minneapolis for the weekend. While Matt and I went a beautiful wedding she treated Grandma and Grandpa to a tour of the city. Good thing she has mad navigation skills like her mother and knows where every store and restaurant is within walking distance. Lucky for grandma and grandpa she is still too little to max out the credit cards and still too tiny to eat her weight in popcorn and candy. Speaking of her stature, Lilly now weighs 12.8 pounds and is 24.5”tall. Still our Petit Bébé. I am not going to lie, it is wonderful that she is still wearing newborn or size 0-3 … we still have SO many great new outfits to grown into! Yea!

Back-To-School Week Begins ...

2011-08-27T21:27:00.000-04:00

Back-To-School week ... so here are a few video clips to hold you over until I can post our first ever First Day Of School Post ... I'll let the excitement and anticipation build for a few days.

Finally, a clip of Lilly doing the rolling thing, it only took me an entire month to post. This is not her first official rolling over debut, that video still needs to be edited, as the claps and cheers are deafening. But this was taken back when she was a newbie.

Lilly Rolling Over Like a Pro

Lilly has a great interest in the current state of our space program. Here she is discussing the finer points of her 10 steps plan to get to Mars and back. You can tell Rickey Rocket is giving her a piece of his mind and she rebuts with a heated argument.

Lilly Discusses With Ricky Rocket The Future Of The Space Program

Lilly & Matt Just Hanging Out

2011-08-23T16:13:00.010-04:00

I leave to go check on dinner and Matt & Lilly are playing the ukelele and singing a song ...

I come back and they are holding dangerous power tools. Matt assures me it is fine because they are only electric and not nearly as powerful as the gas version.
Aye, Aye, Aye.

Like Father ... Like Daughter

2011-08-15T11:02:00.001-04:00

Lilly is a one of a kind little girl, some say a perfect combination of both Matt and I. But it is hard to dispute, sometimes she looks just like her father.

Oh ... Knickerbocker

2011-08-08T14:49:00.001-04:00

It is hard to believe that we have gotten to a point where we ALMOST consider our Kinickerbocker House to be "sale worthy." Just a few more projects to finish and it should be ready for the real estate market. I am sure Matt never imagined what it would look like in 2011 back when he bought it in 2006... Knickerbocker, you've come a long way baby!

Here are some quick snap shots that I took before our friends moved in. It looks less than glamorous without furnishings, but you can at least see the majority of changes that have been made. Click on the collages to see them better.

Living Room Before (1)

Living Room Before (2)

Living Room After

Kitchen Before

Dining Area Before

Kitchen & Dining Area After

Bedroom One Before

Bedroom One After

Bedroom Two Before

Bedroom Two After

Bedroom Three Before

Bedroom Three After

Main Floor Bathroom Before

Main Floor Bathroom After

Basement Bathroom Before

Basement Bathroom After

Basement Renovation

Basement Renovation Progress

Some Of Lilly's Favorite Things ... 3 Month Edition

2011-08-01T12:47:00.001-04:00

Swimming

Reading Books

Playing With Her Friends Rickey Rocket and Ruby Rabbit Under Her Play Gym

Rolling Over On Her Play Mat

Lillian Grace: Three Months Old

2011-07-25T14:34:00.001-04:00

We cannot believe that we have been blessed with three full months with Lillian, she is such a delight and every day brings something new and exciting. This past month has been very busy, we have been in Concord to prepare for Erin’s wedding (including hosting showers and dress fittings,) we have been over at our old housing finishing up projects so that Erin and Jake can move to a new place and some friends can move in and we have been to Chicago and will be heading to Madison at the end of the week. Lilly has had to learn to adjust to new surrounding often and she has done a good job. I am sure it is not easy to sleep while Daddy is using the multi-tool or to eat while walking through the streets of Chicago. Hopefully, this will help her be flexible as she grows.

She is growing rapidly to us, but she is still on the dainty side weighing 10lbs and standing at 23 inches. Le Petit Bébé has moved from a standard three hour feeding schedule to a four hour schedule which has given us the opportunity to play and read more often. Lilly loves books and especially likes ones that can be accompanied with sounds, usually we read several books before nap times. Play time for Lilly is very diverse, mostly because we have been traveling so much. If we are in the car she does a great job playing with a toy attached to her car seat like Mortimer The Moose, Gisele The Giraffe or Ruby The Rabbit. We try not to let play time take place while we are driving as Matt and I have so much fun when we get to participate. Tummy time has gotten to be second nature to Lilly Bug and she enjoys lifting her head and rolling over (video to come). She still doesn’t like to lie on her stomach for too long as it seems to make her tummy upset. We have also incorporated swimming time and activity mat time in to her repertoire.

Sleep for Lilly is very important and we are realizing that she needs to have extra visual stimulation blocked out as she falls asleep. We have started to put a gauzy blanket over her eyes as she is ready to sleep and within minutes she will be out cold, then we can remove it for the rest of her nap. This trick works every time and we are finding that she will pull Ruby the Rabbit, which is attached to a small blanket over her eyes if she needs to fall asleep. I am thinking this diva is going to need a sleep mask in the future; similar to the one Eliose has in the” Eloise at Christmastime” movie. With so many changes in the past month, we are excited to see what next month brings.

A Trip To See The Balloons

2011-07-18T13:49:00.001-04:00

We have had a lot of busy weekends in July, it seems like we are away more than we are home, which is what Summer is all about. This past weekend we were down in Concord to host a bridal shower for Erin, it was a perfect weekend for the event and we had lots of fun eating, sharing stories about Erin and Jake and checking out all the cool gifts they got. The weekend also happened to be the Hot Air Jubilee in Jackson, it has been many years since I went to see the balloons, so I thought it would be a fun experience to try again. Lilly seemed to enjoy the colorful balloons and the people watching so the night was a success. The rest of the weekend was spent poolside, how can your resist the cool waters when it is 90 degrees out.

Finally... We Made It To Chicago

2011-07-11T13:50:00.004-04:00

We had tried to go to Chicago to see our friends at least 3 times while I was pregnant, but each time something came up. Finally, we were able to take a weekend and go to the city. Lilly was in the Moby most of the weekend and she enjoyed eating, sleeping and looking around while all snuggled up. She was in awe of all the sounds; it seemed like there was always a siren in the background that had her interest and the sidewalk performers’ music got her dancing. We had no real plans for the trip so we had a delicious dinner at Fogo with The Oostings followed by a leisurely walk down Michigan Ave and dessert at the cheesecake factory. Sunday we enjoyed a lazy Sunday morning in the city and lunch at Portillos with The Oostings and Jamie and Davy. It won’t be too long and we will be back in town to celebrate Jamie and Davy’s wedding. We were curious if Lilly would sleep well in her Pack-N-Play, since it was the first time we had used it, but we were delighted she slept like we were at home. Hopefully that means that stays in hotels will be fun experiences in the future.

Lilly Finds Her Voice

2011-07-08T23:30:00.000-04:00

Lilly Finds Her Voice from Meagan & Matthew Knoll on Vimeo.

Water Baby

2011-07-04T22:13:00.007-04:00

We just returned back to Grand Rapids after a fun and sun filled couple of days at my parents’ house by the pool. Having a pool has never gotten old to me and I still enjoy it every time we have a chance to get home. Of course I can say it never gets old because I never have to clean it anymore, but maybe that will change once we put our own pool in at our house in the future. I have always loved the water and I have been especially interested to see how Lilly would like swimming in the pool. I had high hopes she would enjoy it since she loves to take her baths. So after a nice long morning nap we put on her swimsuit and sun hat and we tested the waters. She loved every minute of it, whether she was in the big pool with Matt or in the warm pool with Auntie Erin or I, she just kicked and giggled and splashed. I hated to make her get out when it was time for her nap and she protested to let us know she did not want to stop. I can’t wait to start her swim lessons later this summer.

Lillian Grace: Two Months Old

2011-06-30T14:47:00.000-04:00

Two months has brought tons of smiles. Lilly loves to smile and she has several variations of her smile that she likes to use at the appropriate time. There is the half smile, used when she is somewhat amused at our antics. A normal smile that I usually can capture for photos and a big cheesy-gummy smile reserved only for the most silly and amusing things that we do. Mostly we see that smile when we have dance party time, animal sound extravaganza, mandatory Mrs. Whiskers visitation time, Auntie Erin hair salon time and swimming/bath time.

Along with her endless smiles Lilly has found her voice and she likes to practice the different sounds she can make. She ranges from little piggy grunts when starting to get hungry to her newer and louder shrieks of delight. It is hard not to smile at her delightful sounds, although we are probably the only ones smiling when she tests them out in a restaurant or store.

We have done a lot of traveling this month and we are starting to get good at it. Lilly has been back to GiGi and Pip Pop Luttenton’s house several times to swim and visit with family. On the drive down she usually falls asleep, but she also finds drive time entertainment looking at herself in the mirror. On the special occasion we travel with Mrs. Whiskers, she really likes to talk and look at her traveling companion. When Mrs. Whiskers can’t come along for the ride she fancies her stuffed giraffe we call Gisele.

She continues to grow and grow and now weighs a whopping 9lbs and is 22.5" long.

Swaddled Diva

2011-06-27T15:58:00.003-04:00

Lillian loves to be swaddled, it doesn’t matter if it is hot or cold, day or night … she has a special affinity to being wrapped up like a burrito. Recently I have been spending lots of time in the office working on wedding invitations for Erin and planning her shower, Lilly doesn’t mind the change of venue and has started to enjoy swinging and listening to music while I work. Notice that while she swings she assumes her swaddled diva pose. Even when we are out and about she finds a way to snuggle up. My mom and I recently went to the Greenhouse for our annual plant buying spectacular and Lilly happily joined us as a swaddled diva in her Moby.

Happy First Father's Day

2011-06-20T12:47:00.002-04:00

Just a few of my favorite pictures of Matt as a dad. He is an amazing father and Lilly is so blessed to have him.

Grandparents Are ... Grand

2011-06-13T15:58:00.002-04:00

Lilly is very lucky to have a large number of grand and great-grandparents and she just loves them to death. She very much enjoys their visits and while they are away we help her keep in touch as much as possible. Here she is enjoying flowers from Grandma and Grandpa Knoll and whishing GiGi and Pip-Pop Luttenton a Happy Anniversary.

Memorial Day 2011

2011-06-06T19:02:00.001-04:00

Our weekend started with a nice Friday off for Matt and a special lunch at Pizza Hut’s lunch buffet. This also marks Lilly’s first trip out of the house that didn’t involve a visit with her Doctor. Fortunately, Lilly feels all snuggled up and safe in her cozy car seat and barely noticed that we were out and about for almost 3 hours! Not a cry was heard on the whole trip so thanks to Lilly’s sleepy temperament we feel better about taking her on short trips here and there and less bound to the house.

A few extra days off around Memorial Day Weekend also gave Matt’s parents and sister the perfect excuse to make the long trek to Grand Rapids to meet their new Granddaughter. On the way, Matt’s dad can never resist a quick trip to Cabela’s or Bass Pro Shops to find the perfect fishing lure or the latest in reel technology. They also found the perfect gift for Lilly in a pink My First Fishing Shirt complete with a rod, reel, and a squiggly worm.

Since Matt’s family was up he got to pick the restaurants (two of his favorites: Mongolian BBQ on Friday night, and Old Chicago on Saturday night) and the movie (Tron: Legacy). Both restaurants were delicious and the movie was fun.

On Sunday both of our families got together to cook out and share some burgers and hot dogs as we passed Lilly around like a hot potato – the rule was if she fills her diaper while she’s in your arms, YOU have to change her! Fortunately for everyone except Matt, she only filled her diaper when she was sleeping in the bassinet.

The weekend ended with some nice photo opps for Lilly and Matt’s family, wearing the lovely island girl dress that Matt’s sister Rachel sent us and her favorite fishing shirt.

Lillian Grace: One Month Old

2011-05-28T15:42:00.001-04:00

So many changes have taken place in the past month, some so little only we notice, some so big everyone can tell.

Lilly has become a very consistent eater; every three hours no matter what. If we forget and go a little too long she lets us know, first with some bellows and then with a piggy snort or two. Her consistent eating schedule has helped her grow from 5 lbs. 13 oz. to 7 lbs. 5 oz. and stretch from 18.5 inches to 21.5 inches. Her diapers are starting to fit better and she is now able to wear some of the super cute outfits she has been given as gifts.

Unfortunately, with the increase in eating she has also been experiencing some gas pains. Oh how she hates gas. She will wiggle, stretch, clench her fists and yell in an attempt to get the gas out. It breaks our hearts when she gets so uncomfortable, but as soon as it passes she becomes the content baby that we know and love.

Swaddling is still something that Lilly enjoys greatly and we keep her swaddled whenever she is sleeping. After a good long nap when we take her out of her swaddle she has developed a little stretching routine. I hope to get it on video someday as it is adorable … first her arms, then her legs and finally her head and neck. Upon completion of her stretching routine she is ready to eat, vary from her plan and she is not a happy camper (I am guessing she is going to take after her momma with her ability to plan.)

And, oh how she adores her family and friends. She is quite content to be held and loved by any and every family member or friend that comes to visit. No need to change the sheets in her crib as most naps take place in the arms of someone who loves her. Of course on the occasional day that there is not a visitor she finds great enjoyment laying in her crib with her Baby Pearl Jam, Led Zeppelin or lullabies playing looking at her butterfly mobile until she drifts off to sleep.

A Day At The Baby Spa

2011-05-23T12:00:00.001-04:00

No more sponge baths for this little lady of leisure … Lilly has now officially transition to tub baths. Notice her super stylish pink tub, part of a spa themed gift from the Horosko/Tomasoski Families. At first Lilly was not too sure she liked the experience, but a few minutes into the adventure she started to enjoy the warm water and super-heated bathroom air. I think she remember how much she loved to take baths back when she was in utero and it took her to a happy place. By the time we got to washing her hair she was thoroughly delighted with her Aveda inspired scalp massage and almost gave us a smile of approval. She may not look like her momma but she does enjoy the finer things in life like her momma … Aveda scalp massages, long hot baths, super-heated bathroom air, warm towels, etc.. I think there is a momma/daughter spa day in our future!

RiverBank Run .. Rather .. Sit and Watch

2011-05-17T11:42:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday my mom and I got up extra early, which really for me meant that I didn’t go back to sleep after Lilly’s four am feeding, and we drove downtown to see Erin and Jake run the RiverBank 5k. It was a horrible day to watch a race, rainy and cold, but lucky for us I had a perfect spot staked out to stand. Surprisingly no one else had the same idea and we were the only ones to stand under the overpass to spectate. In fact, even better we were able to sit on the bus stop bench, under the overpass, and we didn’t get wet and my legs didn’t get tired. Anyway, I digress, but I am so proud of my viewing location. Erin and Jake did a great job and I am super proud of Erin for the all hard work she put into training. I would never be able to run a race, unless someone was chasing me down or they had brought back cheesy tots to Burger King and you had to be first in line to get some.

Cover Girl

2011-05-16T15:02:00.001-04:00

A few days after Lilly was born we had our friend Tricia Brummel of Frame by Frame Photography come to our house and do some newborn shots. Tricia was so kind and spent a ton of time with us capturing all these amazing photos. I am so glad that we found the time and energy to capture these moments. Here are some of our favorites from the day.

Small Wonders

2011 - Year of the Rabbit
Gracious, good friend, kind, sensitive, soft-spoken, amiable, elegant, reserved, cautious, artistic, thorough, tender, self-assured, shy, astute, compassionate, lucky, flexible. Can be moody, detached, superficial, self-indulgent, opportunistic, stubborn.

We Are Family

Safe In Our Arms

Our Sleepy Girl

Lady of Leisure

Lilly: One Week Old

2011-05-09T16:27:00.006-04:00

It is hard to believe that Lilly is already one week old, people are not kidding when they say time zooms by when you have kids. It may be the lack of sleep and all the days and nights running together, but I feel like we just brought her home from the hospital yesterday. But alas, we have had seven wonderful days with our Lilly and we are so giddy to share them with you. Early in the week we made our first trip to the Dr. to have our first well baby check-up, our Dr. is awesome and spent 45 minutes just talking to us about our questions and checking out the little peanut. We were a little concerned at Lilly's weight, as it had dropped a whole pound since she was born, but the Dr. encouraged us to keep breast feeding and supplement with breast milk in a bottle at each feeding to help her consume more calories. A week later and that has done the trick, she is now back up to her birth weight and very happy to have a constantly full belly.

We also took our first venture into the world of baby bathing, which was a success. Lilly loved warm baths when she was developing, so it was no surprise that she loved the warm water sponge bath we gave her. Her only complaint was that she disliked only having one area of her body covered by the wash cloth at a time, I can’t wait for her cord stump to fall off so that we can give her a proper bath.

The end of the week was a special treat as we were able to celebrate my first Mother’s Day at our house. My mom and grandma along with my dad, Uncle Mark, Erin and Jake all made the trip over for lunch and relaxation on the sun porch. It was a perfect afternoon. Lilly got to meet Great-Namma Luttenton for the first time, which meant we had four-generations of Luttenton’s together. It was a special treat that demanded a special photo op.

We also had a special visit from the Oostings which is always a lot of fun, Asher was too cute with Little Lillian and gave her lots of adoring glances … maybe it is the beginning of true love. After so much activity Lilly had the right idea, it was time for a nap!

Introducing Lillian Grace Knoll

2011-04-29T12:59:00.000-04:00

We have so many things to blog about, who know a little 5 lbs 13 oz peanut could give us so much to write about, but for now that will have to wait. We have some cuddling to do. This should tide our fellow readers over until we are back in the swing of things.

Lillian Grace Knoll from Meagan & Matthew Knoll on Vimeo.

Week Thirty-Eight

2011-04-25T11:16:00.002-04:00

Week thirty-eight has been somewhat adventurous and full of activity. Now that we have hit all the right marks for development and timing I am free to go back to a normal lifestyle again, yea that has been fun. To start off the week we had a great time with our friends the Oostings, who were in town visiting from Chicago. Asher, his dad Jason and Matt played some nail biting innings of baseball in the family room and Sheri and I had a good time with girl talk. By the middle of the week I treated myself to a prenatal massage and it was delightful. I wish, I was able to have done a massage once a week the whole third-trimester, but we didn't want to risk inducing labor too soon. The therapist was great and worked on my lower back and some acupressure points that hopefully with prepare my body for a "gentle" birth. Depending on when Lilly decides to make her appearance I might make another appointment for the end of this week, just to appease my Taurus personality. We also had our weekly check-up and no surprise Lilly has continued to move towards delivery I am now fully effaced and dilated to 3, it seems that it won't be too much longer now. I have been having regular contractions for hours at a time, but nothing to visit the hospital over. We are hoping that all this practice and movement will help ease me into labor, if that is possible. The last major event of the week involved having my family up for Easter dinner, I believe this is the first time that we have not had this event at my mom's house, so it was a delightful change. Everyone arrived early and helped my prepare the meal and then we all sat back and enjoyed the nice day. We even found time to do a little yard work and go for a walk around the neighborhood. It has been delightful to see the flowers bloom at the new house, I am excited to see what else comes up this Summer and then make a plan to plant for the Fall.

38 weeks: Baby is as long as a leek
Your baby, now as long as a leek, weighs nearly 7 pounds. (Length: more than 19 1/2 inches, head to heel.)

Week Thirty-Seven

2011-04-17T10:20:00.000-04:00

Week 37 has left me excited for the end of the semester. I finished up all important lectures and have handed out all the remaining project packets, now if Lilly decides to come it should be easier to be gone from the last few classes. I also completed my last major day of meetings for the year and have helped to encourage the last group of high-school recruits to attend GVSU and major in business. It is so fun to be on campus these last few weeks, the excitement from the students just fills the air and with the sunshine and daffodils out, you can't help but feel good. Speaking of feeling good, I have been enjoying the last few weeks and I am somewhat sad to know that my pregnancy is almost over, sure I have had my fair share of ups and down, bed rest, aches and pains, etc.. but overall I feel really blessed to have been able to stay comfortable and energetic throughout. I finally got around to taking some pictures of Lilly's room after many people have asked me to post them, for the most part the room is all set, however we are still waiting on our rocking chair to go in the corner next to the nightstand and Matt is finishing a bookcase to go where the bassinet is temporarily placed. The goal of the bassinet is to have it in our room or on the first floor depending on how it is needed.

37 weeks: Baby is as long as a stalk of Swiss chard
Your baby is as lofty as a stalk of Swiss chard and weighs 6 1/3 pounds. (Length: a bit over 19 inches, head to heel.)

Maternity Photographs

2011-04-15T19:58:00.011-04:00

We had such a great experience a few weeks ago with super cool photographer Tricia Brummel of Frame by Frame Photography and now we get to see some of her excellent work. Matt and I are so amazed by her creativity and her willingness to find just the perfect shots. Above is a sample of our photo shoot and you can see more pictures on her Facebook page.

Week Thirty-Six

2011-04-11T08:52:00.008-04:00

Week thirty-six was my mom's Spring Break so she spent a few days of it with us, it was great to have her in town and we (she) was able to get lots of lingering tasks around the house completed. We now have extra clean windows, sparkling bathroom floors and frozen meals to enjoy in the weeks to come. It has started to get a little boring resting so much when I am not teaching, so above and beyond all the success around the house, it was nice to have someone around during the day to make fun of daytime television with. We saw the Dr. towards the middle of the week and he was not surprised to report that Lilly has moved farther down and that I am now about fingertip dilated. I am still hoping that I will make it through the last two weeks of class, but I guess we will see.

36 weeks: Baby is the size of a crenshaw melon
Your baby, almost 6 pounds and still packing on the pounds at a rate of about an ounce a day, is comparable to a crenshaw melon in size. (Length: more than 18 1/2 inches, head to heel.)

Week Thirty-Five

2011-04-02T18:48:00.005-04:00

Week thirty-five, wow, what a week! The week brought everything from a baby shower, to the culmination of six months of planning at our Careers in Management Event and somewhere in between we managed to get some maternity photos taken. The week started with the generosity of my colleagues who threw me a delightful baby shower on campus, it was a great afternoon filled with great food, delicious cake and some great advice from some very loving parents. Everyone was so kind and spoiled us with wonderful gifts and the ability to go out and purchase all the odds and ends that we still may need. Matt and I are looking forward to that trip, however I was just too tired this week to make it happen. Instead, I focused my energy on our Careers in Management Event which I have been helping to plan for the last six months. The event focused on 20ish corporate partners, a discussion panel, private reception and keynote speaker ... who knew my prior involvement in conference planning would come in handy again. The event was the first of its kind and we worked extra hard to make it a success and we were so happy to see that our hard work paid off. We ended up with three times more students that we had originally planned on and our corporate partners are already interested in participating next year. Outside of all the hard work to make the event a success it has been extra fun to plan with my friend Teresa who also is pregnant, very quickly our meetings moved to the lunch hour and ALWAYS involved lots of food. Our last major event of the week involved Matt and I getting some maternity photos taken. We had originally planned this for later in April, but with Lilly getting so excited to join us we felt the need to push the date up several weeks. Although we had hoped to have pictures with spring blooming all around us we actually got really lucky and had a sunny, balmy day. It will take about two weeks to get the proofs online and we are very excited to see how they turn out.

35 weeks: Baby weighs as much as a honeydew melon
Your baby, now as hefty as a honeydew melon at 5 1/4 pounds, doesn't have much room to maneuver in your belly. (Length: more than 18 inches, head
to heel.)

Week Thirty-Four

2011-03-28T12:56:00.000-04:00

Week thirty-four did not bring the news from the Dr. that I was hoping to hear. I had hoped that we would hear that Lilly had disengaged and was floating again. But instead he said she is a tad farther down and I am starting to soften. With news like that I of course want to know exactly when we can expect her, but I guess it is still not an exact science and there is no way of knowing. I have 5 more weeks of class and I desperately want to finish. In the meantime I spent the rest of the week on my left side preparing anything and everything that I might need in case Lilly does come early. My exams are written, lectures are done, back-up plans are made, etc.. At this point if I do have any signs of labor the Dr. is prepared to stall it as long as possible, but at week thirty-five he will let nature take its course, so we will see what happens. As good as I have been at my rest, we did sneak out for an hour to see Matt's good friend Davy play in a reunion concert of Sweet Japonic. We didn't stay too long, only enough to see few songs, but we did get a chance to see Davy and his fiance Jamie before the concert started, they are one of the fantastic couples getting married this Summer and we are thoroughly looking forward to their posh Chicago wedding. I do have to say being pregnant and in a bar does tend to draw quite the looks, but on the plus side I got cuts in the bathroom Over the weekend of week thirty-four my mom and her friend Linda came up for a Saturday visit while the boys were at the State Final basketball games. It was a delight to have some company and it was great because I didn't have to lift a finger. They worked on the valances in Lilly's room which will coordinate with her quilt and bedding, did some laundry and ironing for me and brought lots of food to snack on. I am stocked up on homemade Mac and Cheese and Rice Pudding for the rest of the week. I guess if there is a bright side to having to lay on your left side it is letting other people help out! Next week is going to be a really busy week on campus so this week has been a perfect week of preparation.

34 weeks: Baby weighs as much as a cantaloupe
Your baby has bulked up like the average cantaloupe -- to about 4 3/4 pounds. (Length: almost 18 inches, head to heel.)

Week Thirty-Three

2011-03-22T11:10:00.008-04:00

Week thirty-three has been full of learning. We found a great local resource called BabyBeloved that focuses on natural childbirth and breastfeeding and we took a breastfeeding class through them. The class was really interesting and gave us a good education on the topic, as well as, on pumping and supplies. We are planning to make a trip back there as their pumps and supplies are WAY less expensive than at the big box stores, plus they do a lot of consulting and fittings to make sure it is the best system for your needs. After we were fully educated on breastfeeding we spent some time at the hospital learning about their check-in system and took a tour of the Maternity floor. I can't say that the day made me more or less excited, but it did make it seem more real. On the belly front week thirty-three is the first official week that my waist size is larger than Matt's. Out of curiosity the other day we measured the largest part of my belly to find that it is a whopping 36.5 inches, a mere 12.5 inches larger than my usual size. We had to laugh as we are sure it is going to continue to grow a ton over the next six weeks. We are now going to make that a weekly activity to at least insight some belly laughs. On a side note: Matt has hidden all of his jeans so that I don't try to wear them with my 4 inch heels...

In a previous post I mentioned that Matt was working to get the kitchen floor completed and it is done! Here is a before and after shot. Notice that the original tile is a dark green that had dirty spots built into the design. It just made the whole kitchen look dark and dated, so Matt put down a oil based floor paint to temporarily improve the look. I think that it made a huge improvement and for $20 bucks it will make the kitchen more bearable for the months to come.

33 weeks: Baby weighs as much as a pineapple
Your baby is proportioned like a pineapple when it comes to weight -- a little over 4 pounds. (Length: more than 17 inches, head to heel.)

Week Thirty-Two

2011-03-14T11:55:00.007-04:00

Week thirty-two has been an interesting Spring Break week. We had planned to spend some time in Chicago with friends followed by eating out every night. However, after our thirty-two week appointment we had a change of plans. It appears that Miss Lilly is a planner like her mom and she is already head down and engaged. We are believing that she just needs more room in my short torso and that she is not going to get excited and come early. While we wait to see what occurs I am spending lots of time on the couch on my left side - I am truly giving this new couch a thorough quality assurance test. I am back to work when school starts up again, but I am supposed to stay off my feet as much as possible and lay on my left side when I am home. We hope at our next check up there is no change and I can slowly return to normal activity. We did splurge one night after I had been resting for several days and went out to dinner with our friends Amanda and Max to celebrate their engagement - it is becoming the Summer of weddings, so far including Erin's wedding we have five to attend, one of them in Chicago and another in Madison. Lilly is going to become quite the seasoned traveler.

32 weeks: Baby weighs as much as a jicama
Your baby is taking up more and more space in your uterus and weighs as much as a large jicama -- about 3 3/4 pounds. (Length: about 16 3/4 inches, head to heel.)

Week Thirty-One

2011-03-10T11:48:00.003-05:00

Week thirty-one has been focused on finishing up a few small projects around the house. When we moved in we really took our time unpacking and making things organized. Part of our laziness was due to my lack of wanting to use toxic chemicals and lift heavy objects. But, we have finally got almost all of the need-to-do-now items checked off our list. We spent quite a few hours in the office organizing paperwork and unidentifiable bins, followed by several hours in the bathroom making it more enjoyable. If you remember from an earlier post, we are planning to gut the main bathroom at some point in the future, but we wanted to do something now to make it better. First up we painted the walls Dolphin Fin followed by touching up the cabinet, mirror and countertop. Matt built me a new shelf to go under the countertop and we added window coverings and a crown molding valance. We thought we would need to re-grout everything due to the fact that the grout was tan in color and it should have been white... but after several hours with some grout cleaner and an electric toothbrush the grout is now bright white again and it was about half the hard work. I have to say the bathroom is far from new and spectacular, but at least the Tomasoski's can visit again and I don't have to apologize for the sub-par conditions. It feels good to have some personal touches in the house, although my internal battle with my type A, I want it done now personality, has almost gotten the best of me and I still want a few more things done now! The last few tasks that we really want to tackle before Lilly gets here include the kitchen floor, the hot water heater and some problem plumbing in the main floor bathroom.

31 weeks: Baby weighs as much as four oranges
Your baby now weighs as much as four navel oranges. (Length: over 16 inches, head to heel.)

Week Thirty

2011-03-02T10:15:00.000-05:00

Week thirty means we have ten weeks left, oh. my. gosh. ten weeks left. It seems like the time is flying by, which is always the case during the Winter semester. I think that it has something to do with the days getting longer and the students starting to dress more and more Spring like. But specifically this year it is hard to believe that Lilly will be with us in only ten more weeks. This past week we gave Lilly her first taste of corporate culture when we attended a dinner and Jazz concert with some select X-rite employees. Matt was chosen based on his awesome systems engineering skills to attend this posh event with the CEO, VP of HR and others. The dinner was delicious and the concert was interesting

(http://www.scmc-online.org/concerts-events/detail/ann_hampton_callaway/) ... the singer is well known to those in the know, but for us commoners she was the one who sang The Nanny theme song. Lilly continues to love music and danced around a ton during some of the more upbeat Jazz songs. We also had a brief check-up with the Dr. to go over the results of my glucose test, measure my growing belly and take my blood pressure. Things continue to look great and we don't need to go back until week thirty-two. Until then we have lots of activities including Spring Break to enjoy.

30 weeks: Baby weighs as much as a large cabbage
Your baby rivals a good-size cabbage in weight, tipping the scales this week at 3 pounds. (Length: about 15 3/4 inches, head to heel.)

Week Twenty-Nine

2011-02-23T16:18:00.003-05:00

Week twenty-nine gave us the opportunity to go to a bridal show with my sister and mom ... that was quite the experience. You would think that as a vendor when you saw a guy and a pregnant girl wearing wedding bands walking around a bridal show you would assume they were married. But not at the Jackson County Fairground bridal show, they just kept asking, are you the bride, do you guys have honeymoon plans yet? We needed shirts that said we are here to carry the swag bag, eat free cake and offer opinions. Geesh. But overall it was a fun afternoon. While we were back in Concord we picked up a bassinet that two generations of my family has slept in. It needed to have a little update before the third generation could rest comfortably, so we added some nice fresh white paint, a new bassinet skirt and fresh new mattress. Now that it is finished it should have at least another few generations of life left in it. Here's hoping the bassinet brings us lots of restful days and nights. Mrs. Whiskers has been quite the curious cat lately, she visits Lilly's room at least once a day and walks the perimeter, investigating the bassinet, the crib, the dresser and the curtains. Then she plops down in the middle of the room and takes a nap facing the doorway. We are not too sure what she is thinking in that kitty brain of hers. Last week when we were taking pictures for the 28-week mark, she couldn't keep away from the activity, so I wrangled her into a picture with me.

29 weeks: Baby is the size of a butternut squash
Your baby is as big as a butternut squash, weight wise -- about 2 1/2 pounds. (Length: a tad over 15 inches, head to heel.)

Week Twenty-Eight

2011-02-18T12:20:00.004-05:00

Week twenty eight was highlighted by a trip to the Dr's for a check-up and ultrasound. We started the appointment with the required glucose test, which I didn't think tasted half as bad as I thought it would, then we spent 45 minutes with the ultrasound tech. We weren't originally scheduled for another ultrasound during the remainder of our pregnancy, but since I had a low lying placenta, it gave us another sneak peak at Lilly. Everything looks great and my placenta has moved into the appropriate place for a natural delivery. Lilly now weighs 2 pounds 8 oz .. right on track, she should be about 3 pounds at 30 weeks. She has already rotated head down and the Dr. doesn't think that she will move out of that position before delivery, but it could happen. During the ultrasound she was very active due to the glucose test, so the tech had a really hard time getting pictures of her face, plus her face is facing my spine so that made it even more difficult. We are now schedule to go back for a check-up every 2 weeks, I have a feeling with the increase in appointments the Spring is going to fly by. As if seeing our little one wasn't enough of a Valentine's week treat, Matt surprised me with flowers and the diaper bag that I had been coveting. I am super excited to start packing it up with essentials! My how much Valentine's Day has changed from getting excited over romantic bobbles to now getting geeked over a new diaper bag. We ended our week celebrating our friend Daryl's birthday in Grand Haven. I have to say I couldn't appreciate the smoking ban more, it was so nice to be able to visit any establishment and eat and converse without worrying about Lilly's health. I am sure the pizza tasted better, just because of the fresh air.

28 weeks: Baby is the size of a Chinese cabbage
Your baby is equal in weight to a Chinese cabbage -- about 2 1/4 pounds. (Length: almost 15 inches, from head to heel.)

Week Twenty-Seven

2011-02-09T14:44:00.000-05:00

Week twenty-seven has me feeling a little stir crazy, I am not sure if it is the sun that we have been enjoying post blizzard or if it is large amount of time that we have been spending indoors. Whatever the cause I have been looking for reasons to get out of the house and do things. Although it is not much of an outing, I have been souring ads looking for good prices on diapers and wipes and making the rounds to stock up. We have also been spending time looking for wall art and organizational items for the nursery, I see a trip to IKEA in our near future. We were planning on taking a short trip to Chicago for a birthday party to enjoy a night out, but that was foiled by the blizzard, so instead we stayed close to home and went to a new restaurant/brewery with some friends - probably the best burger and fries I have had in a long time. Lilly continues to grow, I know this because her foot is constantly in my right rib cage and I figure she must be running out of room in the large comfortable part of my uterus. I would hate to admit that she is stubborn and just likes her foot there, especially since it is not a pleasant feeling for me. This week marked the end of our birth class and I am sad that it is already over. I seriously could go once a week until our delivery and find it helpful, but I guess a 15 week class is a little bit much. We are scheduled for a hospital tour and breastfeeding class in the next month so, that should be interesting and helpful - I am curious to see how the information varies from source to source. In other news I made it through my yearly contract renewal process and I am so happy to be done - it is quite the process of preparing a portfolio of teaching and research materials, having your colleagues review them, answering any questions that they have and then waiting for them to vote for approval. The upside, we did have cake to celebrate, so Lilly was not complaining and now I have another year to prepare for the next renewal process. Which, I might add I plan to do from our new sectional that was finally delivered. We ordered it back around the 1st of the year and have patiently been waiting for its arrival. Temporarily we set up the futon in the family room and I was so over sitting on it. Now, Matt and I and about 4 other people can relax in comfort on cozy gray couch. I took a trip to Field's Fabric and found some great coordinating fabrics that I plan to make pillows out of and recover my trusty old Poang chair. Ahh ...I love the idea of a new project! Although, Matt is dreading the day in the near future when I come home with new carpet and paint samples ... it will happen.

27 weeks: Baby is the size of a head of cauliflower
Your baby is as hefty as a head of cauliflower, weighing in at almost 2 pounds. (Length: about 14 1/2 inches.)

Week Twenty-Six

2011-02-04T10:18:00.003-05:00

Week twenty-six has been a work around the house week, I know I said I was going to take a break from house projects, but I just can't help myself. I am still doing a good job staying away from heavy lifting and toxic chemicals, so that seems like a success for me. We finished painting Lilly's room and we have some cordless blinds due to arrive any day, valances are half way complete and we have gotten some ideas for wall art. It finally feels like her room is starting to come together. We have also been doing some work in the upstairs bathroom, we have plans to completely gut and remodel at some point, but for now we are making some changes to make it bearable. First up in the bathroom was the daring move to paint some faux marble counter top, the original color was a soft pink, coral, cream combination that looked very dingy and dirty. The process was going smoothly until Mrs. Whiskers evaded the barricade and jumped onto the counter top while it was still wet, she was quickly put in the tub to remove the paint off her paws, while we worked to remove the fur and paw prints from the paint. It appears we were able to save the counter top and with a few more coats of paint, it should improve the look drastically. We are working on solutions for the orginal 1950's black and white tile and we are torn between putting a thin coat of new grout down or using a grout stain to make it look refreshed. The verdict is still out as to what the best process will be, lots of people have lots of different opinions. Hopefully, after a few more days of work I will have some pictures of our progress. Outside of our recent projects we had the chance to celebrate Erin's birthday, we had a delicious dinner at Outback followed by cake from Arnie's bakery - it is not quite the same as a cake from the Concord Bakery like we had every year while we were growing up, but a close second. My favorite were the red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese fluffy frosting... yum!

26 weeks: Baby is the size of an English hothouse cucumber
Your baby is as tall as an English hothouse cucumber and weighs about 1 2/3 pounds. (Length: 14 inches, head to heel.)

Week Twenty-Five

2011-01-27T11:27:00.003-05:00

Week twenty-five has been pretty uneventful. I suppose most of my feeling that way comes from the fact that it is January in West Michigan, that means lots of snow, cold weather and dreary days. The perfect reason to stay inside. I did start up scanning pictures again and with a new scanner that I recently got, I am flying through them. I had hoped to be done with this project sometime last year, but better late that never. It has actually been a great project to work on while pregnant, as it keeps me from trying to work on the house. Speaking of house projects, we finally settled on a paint color for Lilly's room - Behr Soft Breeze. It seems to be a great white/barely pink color. I think that Matt will be able to get it up on the walls this weekend, which means that I will be able to start nesting with decorations and odds and ends. With 15 weeks left to go, I know we have plenty of time to get the room done, but for some reason I have the energy and the stubbornness to want it done now! I will have to wait a little while until it is totally complete, as we had to order the crib and it is on a 4-6 week wait. I really had no idea that baby furniture took so long to ship, good thing we started looking early.

25 weeks: Baby is the size of a rutabaga
Your baby rivals the average rutabaga in weight -- about 1 1/2 pounds. (Length: 13 1/2 inches, head to heel.)

Week Twenty-Four

2011-01-19T11:42:00.003-05:00

Week twenty-four included another successful trip to the Dr., Lilly is doing a great job growing right on schedule and she has been filling our home with joy. It has become a nightly ritual to spend some time talking, reading and playing with her and she responds by entertaining us for hours. Some days she gives us mellow kicks other days she kicks so hard it appears that she wants out to join in the fun. Erin finally got a chance to experience her antics this past week and Lilly didn't disappoint by kicking her in response to every thing Erin said. On Sunday we had the chance to have my family up to celebrate my Dad's birthday and it was such a nice afternoon, the new house has a great flow for entertaining and it makes the "Martha" in me want to have a get-together every weekend. We also have started to work on Lilly's room and Erin and Matt did a fantastic job painting the ceiling and trim ... now we have to settle on a wall color ... oh the decisions. Hopefully, we can narrow it down so Matt can work on the walls this weekend, like usual it is supposed to be cold and snowy, so a perfect time to stay in a work on the house. It has been a bit of adjustment for me to let other people do the painting, since that is always my thing, but it has been refreshing and I am sure Lilly appreciates the fresh air. Along with the paint progress in Lilly's room we have also been looking for the perfect rocking chair ... who knew it would be so hard. So far we have found that most standard gliders have a back that is too short for Matt to really be comfortable and I dislike most of the fabric choices. So now we are looking at having my Mom's old rocker re-upholstered .. I have contacted several places to see how long it will take and the prices and I am excited to get their quotes back.

24 weeks: Baby is the size of an ear of corn
Your baby has caught up with an ear of corn in size and gained about 1/4 pound since last week. (Length: almost a foot.)

Week Twenty-Three

2011-01-11T09:05:00.003-05:00

Week twenty-three was the relaxing week that we had been waiting for. For the entire week I wore yoga pants and lounged around the house, it was delightful. Lilly spent plenty of time entertaining us by showing off her strong kicking and swimming skills. She will now respond to our touch and often will kick so hard you can see my skin move. And she does a pretty nice open turn to quickly zoom across the length of her personal lap pool. Of course there was some activity that accompanied all the relaxing. First, we went to our first childbirth class which will last about 6 weeks. We have a great instructor and the supporting materials are very informative and helpful. We both learned a lot already and we are curious to see what more there is to learn in the upcoming weeks. We also found time to pick up the stroller my parents bought us for Christmas from BRU and put it together. Mrs. Whiskers seemed to really enjoy the comfortable features, but didn't approve of the 5 point harness - she obviously prefers her Burley. Matt put in several long nights to set up our new washer and dryer so I could do a months worth of laundry, maybe not the most fun activity of the week, but probably the most important. And finally, I found plenty of time to have the stomach flu for a night and a day - don't let anyway tell you differently, the stomach flu is much more fun when you have a little girl using your intestines as a bounce house.

23 weeks: Baby is the size of a large mango
Your baby weighs about as much as a large mango -- just over a pound. (Length: more than 11 inches.)

Week Twenty-Two

2011-01-04T10:26:00.003-05:00

Week twenty-two was going to be a relaxing week, but that was not the case. In fact my delay in posting is directly related to the lack of time we have had this week. The major task on our list was helping my sister and Jake move. It was not an impossible task, but after having a fantastic feeling week over Christmas I now feel back to normal and have been of little help in the moving process. I did put in the effort to hang some drapes, hook up the TV and offer moral support. In an attempt to compensate for my lack of helpfulness my mom was able to come up and spend several days helping. We even found a little time to shop at Babies R Us, Buy Buy Baby and Target. I am still not a fan of BRU .. they really don't want you to buy anything there .. they never have things in stock, they never are friendly and their return policy is horrible. But it is convenient, so I guess I will limit my complaints about them. I do hope the next time my mom is in town we can visit some of the smaller mom and pop shops, I miss the Toy House. The main goal of the visits was to look at baby bedding options, I am having such a hard time picking something out. Everything we look at is too pink or too itchy or too mass produced. We have some great fabric stores up here and I hope to visit them to see if I can find a fabric collection that I can use to make the bedding. I think Matt likes this idea as it will give me something to combat my need to work on projects over the snowy winter months.

22 weeks: Baby is as long as a spaghetti squash
Your baby has stretched to the size of a spaghetti squash and weighs almost a pound. (Length: nearly 11 inches.)

Week Twenty-One

2011-01-01T10:07:00.000-05:00

Week twenty-one has been so full of activities I don't even know where to start. Matt and I both had the week off to celebrate Christmas and we made the most of it - shopping, baking, cleaning, watching movies and eating out. Lilly has been a very good girl all week and has made this pregnancy thing seem easy. No pains, no heartburn, no exhaustion .. I know it is only temporary, but it is a great feeling. We spent almost 5 days of this week in Concord helping out with my grandma, baking Christmas cookies, cooking for Christmas dinner and just enjoying being around family. It is an annual tradition that my mom and I shop for all the groceries for the holiday week and we have it down to a science of what stores to visit first, what part of the store things are located in, etc.. this year Matt was brave enough to join us, making this the first year my mom and I didn't have to do the cart pushing and loading and unloading into the car, I do hope he joins us again in the future. Christmas was wonderful and we enjoyed a beautiful candlelight service at church followed by a lazy Christmas morning with family, I think we all enjoyed the relaxed morning knowing it is not about to last long as soon as Lilly enters the picture. Just like when we were in MN Lilly was given some wonderful gifts and Matt and I were spoiled as well. I seem to say this all the time, but the week of Christmas with family is probably my most favorite time of year.

21 weeks: Baby is as long as a carrot
Your baby -- currently the length of a carrot -- weighs about 3/4 of a pound. (Length: 10 1/2 inches, head to heel.)

The Year Of Paper

2010-12-23T10:46:00.000-05:00

Traditionally on your first anniversary you are supposed to give gifts of paper.. . books, stationary, love letters, etc. Matt and I figured what better paper to give each other than the gift of the title to a new house. Well, actually that was not our original gift idea, but as things fell into place, the timing made it possible for us to spend our first night at the new house on our anniversary weekend. The idea of buying a house together has been on our minds since we got married. With each of us having had our own homes it was important to us to buy something that was a special combination of our likes and dislikes and something that was going to be “ours.” We weren’t really in the market, but we found the perfect house that seemed like it was built just for us. We went into the buying process knowing that it was a foreclosure and a good value, but we had no idea that it would end with lots of drama due to the rules and regulations of the new mortgage laws and the crack down on Fannie Mae. But alas after lots of back and forth the house and a large extra piece of property fell in our laps – we knew it was meant to be at that point. Now, we are happily making lists and planning projects for the upcoming year. Although we love the house just the way it is, the “fixers” in us can’t wait to clean up the rough edges and make this diamond in the rough shine. First things on the list; decorating Lilly’s room and getting a big comfy couch for the family room. I promised Matt that I would hold off from any major renovations and painting until after May… so until then I get to focus on tasks that don’t involve extension ladders or removing tiles.

Week Twenty

2010-12-21T15:31:00.010-05:00

Week twenty was a week full of excitement. Officially I am done with my semester, grades are in and I am on 4 weeks of vacation! Which means that I can start to focus on Christmas activities - baking cookies, wrapping presents and having friends over. We were lucky enough to have the Tomasoski Family visit us for a night, while they were in town for a wedding. It was so much fun to have them visit and even better that we got to exchange gifts and spend lots of time playing with the boys. They are both growing up so fast. Later in the weekend we had our friends the Oostings over to enjoy dinner and hang out. Matt did a great job entertaining their son Asher with the Little Tikes Playmat Piano that we have ... who knew Christmas songs could sound so good when played in the tune of Cat, Dog and Frog.

The big excitement of the week involved our 20 week Drs appointment. We spent the first hour in the ultrasound room checking out Le Petit Bébé. It was so much fun to watch the Tech find the legs, arms, heart, etc.. And it was such a change from the first ultrasound when all we could see were circles. Now, we could actually see our little one in there. Everything looked great in the ultrasound and the baby is perfect weight (11oz) and length for about 20 weeks. Matt and I don't do well waiting for surprises so we were happy when the Tech was able to tell us the sex of Le Petit Bébé. Which leads me to introduce Lillian Grace Knoll. Yes, that right, if everything the Tech saw was correct, we are going to have a little girl come May. From what expertise we gained during the ultrasound, Matt thinks Lilly has his nose and lips and my eyes and chin. The pictures didn't turn out great, since the cord was floating across her face in most of the pictures and my bladder was pushing on her head in the rest. It didn't seem to bother her as she was snuggled up, legs and arms crossed and butt in the air, sleeping for most of the ultrasound, but did show us how she can kick her legs and flail her arms ... maybe we have a swimmer on our hands.

20 weeks: Baby is as long as a banana
Your baby has grown as big as a banana. (Length: about 6 1/2 inches from head to bottom, and 10 inches from head to heel.)

Week Nineteen

2010-12-13T09:28:00.002-05:00

Week nineteen was full of work related tasks, Le Petit Bébé grew its brain substantially while helping me grade exams and final projects. I am pretty sure it is going to come out of delivery lecturing the labor and delivery staff on how to streamline the birthing process and re-engineer the health information system. Aside from all the work related activities that we have been focusing on, we have also been getting excited to be off on break and enjoy the Christmas season... we have lots of shopping to get done, cookies to bake and presents to wrap. New this week is the development of some rhythm within the womb, it appears that the little one might take after Matt, Erin, My Dad & Uncle and Matt's whole family when it comes to music. While out to dinner at one of our favorite pizza locations they had a bluegrass band playing, it was very loud and energetic music and Le Petit Bébé was really moving and shaking to the beat. I mean, I am guessing that is what it was, as opposed to, moving out of the way of the loads of olive, green pepper, mushroom, bacon, and banana pepper pizza I was shoveling in.

19 weeks: Baby is the size of an heirloom tomato
Your baby equals a large heirloom tomato in size and weighs 8 1/2 ounces. (length: 6 inches, head to bottom)

Week Eighteen

2010-12-07T10:11:00.003-05:00

Week eighteen is the first official week that Matt got to feel Le Petit Bébé move. I have been feeling the baby move quite a bit in the last few weeks and the movements seemed to keep getting stronger. So, I wanted to do a little test, because it seemed like I could feel the movement with my hand, but I didn't know if it was a mind body connection or something. One night while we were watching TV I could feel the movements pretty constantly, so I put Matt's hand on my belly and didn't say anything when I felt movement, then all of a sudden he said, "was that it?" It was indeed the little one busting some moves. He felt it a few more times in a row and his grin just kept getting bigger the more he could feel it. We are both very excited to have this new connected with our little bell pepper.

18 weeks: Baby is the length of a bell pepper
Your baby is as big as a bell pepper and weighs almost 7 ounces. (Length: 5 1/2 inches, head to bottom.)

Week Seventeen

2010-12-02T08:17:00.004-05:00

Week seventeen, for the most part, was spent in Minnesota celebrating! With the multiple celebrations came lots of opportunity to see family and to eat - two of my favorite things. Our first celebration was Thanksgiving with the Allar side of the family and, in traditional fashion it was a deliciously huge event. This year was especially fun, as we got to meet Courtney's "baby" Cooper for the first time. Cooper is now about 7 months old and he is as cute as can be. Courtney made sure to give Matt lots of time with Cooper to prepare for our baby. It quite possibly was the first time that Matt had ever bottle fed a little one - and he sure had it easy, since Cooper did all the hard work in holding the bottle and didn't fuss or spit up at all! I believe Matt will get a rude awaking the first time he gets to feed our little one, I can only imagine he will be wearing more of the bottle than the baby will ingest. :) After the fun and festivities of the Allar Thanksgiving we made a family trip to see the new Harry Potter, which was good, but far to long for a pregnant gal with a full stomach, by the end I was hoping that Harry would just throw Dobby in to the sea and call it good. I might have a better appreciation for the movie when I watch it at home in comfortable pants and whilst laying down.

The second celebration of the week was for Matt's 30th birthday! We loaded up the family and headed to Benihana for a hibachi style birthday. The baby really loved the onion soup and salad with ginger dressing .. yum! But the highlight of the dinner was the Japanese rendition of "If your happy and you know it," sung as the birthday song followed by a lovely picture to commemorate Matt getting older.

We topped off the week of celebrations with a trip to visit Grandma and Grandpa Knoll at a super fun Supper Club/Lodge that had all the best fried foods including cauliflower and Walleye. It was so nice to see them and have some time to visit, we haven't had a chance to see them since before we were married and last year we couldn't make the drive twice because of bad snow storms. The end of our visit to see the Knoll side of the family was completed with an early family Christmas. We were so spoiled and even Le Petit Bébé got lots of fun things to play with.

Week seventeen was certainly exhausting, but so much fun!

17 weeks: Baby weighs as much as a turnip
Your baby weighs 5 ounces this week -- about as much as a turnip. (Length: 5 inches, head to bottom.)

Week Sixteen

2010-11-24T09:48:00.002-05:00

Week sixteen was highlighted with another good appointment with Dr. Lown. The heartbeat is still strong and we are measuring right on track. We were able to schedule our 20 week ultrasound for December 14th and we are excited to see our little one again. I have also been able to feel the baby move more and more often, it has gone from an everyday or every other day event to a few times a day. Since I cut back on caffeine for the duration of the pregnancy the baby becomes especially active when I splurge on cherry coke. The movements are still too subtle for Matt to feel, but I am hoping that will change in the near future. We also worked on putting on some pounds by eating out three days in a row.. yum! I got to visit my girlfriends from grad school in Lansing for dinner on Thursday, it was so much fun and long overdue, we realized that we hadn't had a chance to visit since August of 2009. Then Matt and I went to my favorite chain Bonefish Grill for some delicious chowder and salmon with our friends Max and Amanda on Friday. And finally, a few pounds heavier we went out to eat with Erin and a new local spot The Twisted Rooster on Saturday. Ahh.. I do love eating out, I blame it on Big Jim, he helped me develop my palate as a kid. At the end of our sixteenth week we made the drive out to Minnesota to celebrate Thanksgiving/Christmas, surprisingly the drive was a little more uncomfortable than usual, but I was excited to use the seat warmers as a way to relax my tense lower back muscles.

16 weeks: Baby is the size of an avocado
Your baby measures up to an avocado, now, and weighs 3 1/2 ounces. (Length: 4 1/2 inches, head to bottom.)

Week Fifteen

2010-11-15T13:13:00.002-05:00

Week fifteen has been uneventful week ... and that is a good thing. The heartbeat is still strong and besides heartburn I am feeling pretty good. We have spent most of the week Christmas shopping and getting ready to head to Minnesota for Thanksgiving/Christmas. I just love this time of year and Matt and I always have such a good time picking out gifts for our friends and family. We also had a huge task in finding me some new dress boots to wear this Winter. I am finding that all the maternity pants come in a length that is at least two inches shorter than what I wear, so I have taken out the hem to make them a little longer and to compensate for the rest I needed boots with shorter heels. After about four stores and at five minutes 'till closing Matt finally located the right style and I quickly found the right size - success! Now, I should be all set, with modified pants and shorter heels. We also had a great dinner at the Melting Pot with Erin and Jake - yum it is such a great place to have a filling and fun dinner. It was restaurant week in GR so many places offer a special 3-course menu for $20.00, Melting Pot offered a starter course of cheesy spinach and artichoke fondue followed by a choice of salad and then a sample of ravioli, steak, chicken, shrimp, mushrooms and potatoes that you cook in the fondue pot. We of course added on Chocolate fondue for dessert which was delicious with strawberries, but a little overwhelming for me when it came to the cakes, marshmallows and other sweets you could dip. We are getting excited for our sixteen week appointment in a few days and hope to get another thumbs up from Dr. Lown.

15 weeks: Baby is the size of an apple
Your baby has grown to the size of an apple and weighs about 2 1/2 ounces. (Length: 4 inches, head to bottom.)

Week Fourteen

2010-11-11T08:18:00.002-05:00

Week fourteen has been an exciting week - the first time I got to experience round ligament pain and the first time I got to feel the baby "flutter" on a regular basis. I first felt the fluttering right before Halloween, but it wasn't consistent at all, in fact I think I felt it one day and then not again for several days. It is such a strange feeling and it still has me wondering what is really going on in there. This week the fluttering has become more and more consistent, about everyday or so, and I can only picture the little one in there swimming laps in its amniotic fluid. I really wish Matt could feel the little flutters because it sure is neat. As for the round ligament pain; that made a timely appearance during one of my classes when I was walking over to a student's computer to help them on their project. Owww, it complete caught me by surprise and had me limping the rest of the class. When I got back to my office I googled how to relieve the pain and spent the next 10 minutes using my desk as a ballet bar for stretching... good thing I am on the 4th floor, I can only imagine what people would think if they could see in my office window. Matt and I also made our inaugural trip to Babies R Us to check out some baby gear. We spent about an hour in there, registered for 2 items and bought nothing. The less than friendly registry lady was floored that we only found two things... I really wanted to point out that most of the items we were looking for they didn't even carry, the rest of the stuff was sold out and to complicate the matter every aisle had unattended kids running around like wild banshees. But, alas, we just smiled and said we were only browsing that day. I look forward to a trip to Buy Buy Baby and USA Baby in the next few weeks, maybe we will have better luck at one of those two places.

14 weeks: Baby is the size of a lemon
Your baby, now as long as a lemon, weighs about 1 1/2 ounces. (Length: 3 1/2 inches, head to bottom.)

Week Thirteen

2010-11-03T14:40:00.002-04:00

Week thirteen has us waiting with baited breath for pregnancy hunger to kick in. I have heard from most people that this was the week they started to get their normal appetite back. We are struggling in this area a little bit. Although, we are not nearly as nauseous, we are just not that hungry. Matt put together a really helpful calorie counter chart to help me stay on track ... pretty much it is a force feeding schedule to help us make sure the baby is getting all the nutrients it needs. Lucky for me the system includes a date night of my choice if I can stay on track. I guess we are already starting a bad habit for the baby, if I need to be bribed, I can only imagine we will have to do the same with the little one. We are creating a little monster as we speak.

13 weeks: Baby is the size of a medium shrimp
Your baby has reached the size of a medium shrimp and weighs nearly an ounce. (Length: almost 3 inches, head to bottom.)

"Falling" In Love

2010-10-22T16:17:00.002-04:00

We are officially in love, smitten, head over heels with our little baby Knoll. Sure, it has only been twelve weeks since we found out we were blessed, but we are already counting the days until we get to meet our little one. We have been waiting until our twelve week appointment to announce our news, and now we can't wait to share our excitement with everyone. We put together some blogs to chronicle the weeks leading up to today.

Week Twelve

2010-10-22T16:06:00.008-04:00

Week twelve means that we made it through two ultrasounds, a handful of appointments and two experiences of hearing the heartbeat on the Doppler. We are ecstatic that things are going well. At our appointment this week we heard the heartbeat again and it was still a strong 160 bpm, we questioned the Dr. if that would mean a boy or girl and he just laughed - guess we will have to try the string test and drain-o test after all. I hear they are very accurate and scientific. Until, then we will continue to drool over all the fun baby things in neutral colors.

12 weeks: Baby is the size of a lime
Your baby is, by this time, the size of a lime and weighs 1/2 ounce. (Length: just over 2 inches, head to bottom.)

Week Eleven

2010-10-22T16:06:00.006-04:00

Week eleven was an landmark week, mid-term examination week, which means we have made it through half the semester and have not had to run out of class sick. Yea! I have to admit at the start of the semester I was concerned that my 8:30 class might be an issue, but so far so good. I have also started to feel a tad more energetic, my naps now only take up one daytime TV show and some days I can actually skip it all together, I feel so accomplished. I still have not had much of an appetite and I have fought to maintain my desired weight, I am hoping that soon my appetite will return and I will be able to work on adding that pound a week.

11 weeks: Baby is the size of a fig
Your baby is now about as big as a fig. (Length: just over 1 1/2 inches, head
to bottom.)

Week Ten

2010-10-13T17:09:00.007-04:00

Week ten means that the baby is the size of a kumquat, I wish that I wanted to eat a kumquat or anything for that matter. This week I have had no appetite, nothing sounds good and everything gives me heartburn. I read somewhere that heartburn may mean a full head of hair on baby, based on the level of my discomfort, this baby may come out looking like a Sasquatch. Yikes. This was the last week of our favorite ice cream place, so we made sure to stop by on the last day and get as much bubble gum ice cream as we possibly could; to store in the freezer, I just know when my appetite comes back I will want some super bad. The weather continues to be beautiful and I can't help but want to clean, purge clutter and then take a nap in the sun.

10 weeks: Baby is the size of a kumquat
Your baby, now barely the size of a kumquat, weighs less than a quarter of an ounce. (Length: a little over 1 inch, head to bottom.)

Week Nine

2010-10-13T17:09:00.006-04:00

Week nine was filled with beautiful weather and we tried to take full advantage of it - by being outside as much as possible. We spent some "exercise time" walking around Art Prize and some work time cleaning out the closets and having the windows wide open. It is going to be hard to see this weather go, but I am looking forward to big cuddly sweaters and more comfy pants. Not much has changed regarding our lack of energy or queasiness - although it has seemed to be better in the mornings and only really get bothersome after dinner time, that is an a little bit of an improvement. The big disappointment this week was finding out that Wendy's no longer offers Baked Potatoes with Bacon and Cheese, I nearly, and by that I mean, I did, have a break down when I heard the news. If only Wendy - daughter of Dave Thomas - had been there herself .. they would have Bacon and Cheese Potatoes on the menu again in no time.

9 weeks: Baby is the size of a grape
Your baby has grown to the size of a grape, weighs a fraction of an ounce, and is almost 1 inch long.

Week Eight

2010-10-13T17:08:00.004-04:00

Week eight started out with out first official appointment with our OB. Granted we have seen him almost every week so far, but this is the first appointment where we talked do's and don't s, family history and what the schedule will look like for the next month or so. Things seems to remain on track even with the painfully large spot (cyst/ mass) on my ovary. We are continuing to track it and hopefully by twelve weeks it will begin to shrink, if not we can look at surgical reduction methods, until then we are praying that it doesn't burst and that it continues to supply the baby with all the needed hormones. At the end of the appointment we were delighted to hear the heartbeat via Doppler, due to the fact we are only eight weeks along the Dr. didn't know if he could find it, but within the first few seconds he had it picked-up and recorded it at 160bpm's - it sounded healthy to all of us and the Dr. reassured us is was a very good sign. Outside of our appointment the baby went to its first official Tigers vs. Twins baseball game and enjoyed some delicious nacho cheese and pretzels and a large glass of ginger ale. The baby, however, was not, enjoying the smells of onions, onion rings, hot dogs or chili.

8 weeks: Baby is the size of a kidney bean
Your baby -- now comparable to the size of a kidney bean (just over 1/2 inch long) -- is constantly moving and shifting.

Week Seven

2010-10-13T17:07:00.002-04:00

Week seven seemed to be pretty uneventful considering all of the excitement we have had the past few weeks. The nausea and dry heaving continue and I am getting better and managing it. Although, every once in a while a student will have coffee in my class and I can barely breath. Naps continue to be a daily occurrence and they have now started to interrupt my daily friendship with Ellen, oh well, we will have all summer to get reacquainted. On a side note, I have been staying to my Dr's scheduled weight gain, but this past week I popped a button off my pants... I was a little surprised that they were so snug so soon, I rather blame it on poor craftsmanship.

7 weeks: Baby is the size of a blueberry
Your baby, having doubled in size since last week, is as big as a blueberry (about 1/2 inch in length).

Week Six

2010-10-13T17:04:00.002-04:00

Week six started out with an early morning appointment to have our second ultrasound. The baby is looking healthy, measuring exactly at six weeks and its heartbeat went from 112 to 120 beats per minute in only two days, they said it will continue to increase until it peaks in a week or so. The strange spot on my ovary has not grown since the first ultrasound, but they are still going to keep an eye on it along with keeping an eye on my HCG levels. Week six has also brought on some waves of nausea and dry heaving, although it has been pretty manageable so far. Saltine crackers first thing in the morning and right before I fall asleep has been the key to keeping the nausea at bay along with sips of ginger ale and sour candies during the day. When I am not feeling queasy I have been craving everything salty – green olives, chips/salsa/guacamole, cucumbers with salt and sour cream and McDonalds French fries. I have also been extremely tired; naps are now a daily occurrence and at about two pm everyday you can find me on the couch asleep in the sun. I know the naps are good for the baby so I am more than willing to partake and it does help keep me out of trouble, I am getting stir crazy not working on projects around the house, so the fatigue has helped keep things in perspective.

6 weeks: Baby is the size of a lentil

Your baby is as long as a lentil (about 1/4 inch).

Week Five

2010-10-13T16:58:00.003-04:00

Week five was my first full week back at school. I have my usual schedule and teach from about 8:30 to 2:00 on Tuesday and Thursdays. In the past I usually just snacked between classes and then ate my meals when I got home, but I realized this week that I might have to adjust my usual. I have been starving all week and my 15-min breaks between classes have left me with little time to eat. I made a run to the grocery store to stock up on fast foods to have in my office – right now fruit and string cheese has been the perfect solution. I also didn’t realize how little time I have to use the bathroom, my new pregnancy bladder has me looking forward to the end of my classes to just to make it to the bathroom, this should be an interesting semester! In the middle of week five I had some scant spotting, I called my OB and they sent me to the lab to get a blood draw. My levels came back good HCG of 13800 and Progesterone of 31. They said that there is not much to worry about, but they scheduled me for my first ultrasound at five weeks five days. The ultrasound went well and they were able to see the baby’s heartbeat, it was 112 beats per minute, perfectly normal for a heart that just started beating. They did recognize a strange spot on my ovary and scheduled me for another ultrasound at exactly week six.

5 weeks: Baby is the size of a sesame seed
Your baby has grown to the size of a sesame seed, looking more like a tiny tadpole than a human.

Week Four

2010-10-13T16:55:00.009-04:00

At four weeks I decided to take a home pregnancy test to see if we were pregnant. I had a sneaky suspicion since the Saturday before (10 days post ovulation) that I might be pregnant, I was already experience early signs of pregnancy, but was really busy with getting ready to go back to school, so I waited it out until four weeks two days. As soon as I saw the positive pregnancy test I called my GP to see if I could come in and have them validate it with a blood test, sure enough we were pregnant. Matt had been working late all week on a project for work, so I racked my brain for a creative way to tell him when he finally got home. I decided to stop by the pet store and Hobby Lobby on my way home to pick up some supplies. I got enough stuff to make a special dress for Mrs. Whiskers to wear, it seemed the most logical way to tell him since she is our “furbaby.” The top of the dress had the words “I have a secret…” and then under the tu-tu skirt it said “I’m going to be a big sister.” When Matt got home I sent Mrs. Whiskers to the door to meet him and he was very surprised. I have been feeling really healthy and have only been experiencing fatigue and “growing pains.”

4 weeks: Baby is the size of a poppy seed
Your baby -- now officially an embryo -- is about the size of a poppy seed.

Two Trips To See The Twins

2010-10-11T12:02:00.006-04:00

It has become a yearly tradition in the Knoll household that we attend at least two Twins games a year. This summer was no exception as we first saw them play at the new Target field over the 4th of July weekend and then most recently when we saw them play the Tigers in Detroit. Our first trip to Target field was really cool, it is a beautiful park. Although, as I was sitting there in 100 degree heat using the bathroom as often as possible to sit in the air conditioning, I found myself wondering why they thought it was a good idea to move to an outside stadium. Similarly, as the back of my sweaty thighs stuck to the new plastic seats I remembered back to my experience at the old stadium – ahhh air conditioning, artificial lighting, and no whining about the heat. I know that Matt and other nostalgic baseball fans would argue that baseball is meant to be played outside and that the old stadium was not made for baseball, but uggghh, how can you pass up air conditioning? Nevertheless, we had a really fun day at the game, Matt’s sister and brother joined us and a good time was had by all. The game started off with para-troopers dropping down on the field, followed by two homeruns by the Twins and ending with some excellent people watching. Unfortunately the Twins didn’t win that game against the Rays. Since the new Target field is right downtown, after the game we had a delicious dinner at Fogo’s Brazilian Steakhouse, which is quickly becoming one of our favorite types of cuisine. Our second trip to see the Twins was just a few weeks ago when they played the Tigers. We went to the game with my parents which was a really fun outing and it gave Matt someone more knowledgeable to talk baseball with, while my mom and I enjoyed people watching and peanuts. It was a beautiful night for a game and to many of our delights the Tigers won. In fact, just as a point of reference, we have never been to a Twins game when they won. I am starting to think I am an albatross around Joe Mauer’s neck.

Michigan Brewers Guild Festival

2010-09-17T12:34:00.001-04:00

I recently ran across some pictures from a beer fest that we attended earlier in the summer so I thought I should finally get them added to the blog. The beer fest was in Ypsilanti, so it was a nice opportunity to see my friends Sara and Paul, both of whom live in the metro area. I was a little worried that the event was going to be canceled based on the horrible weather, but you can’t even tell from the pictures that the night before there was tornado warnings, flood advisories and down pours. Many parts of the park where the event was held was still flooded with mud and most people wore rain boots, but Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day and thanks to my friend Paul we had a great place to enjoy the day… near the river with cool breezes and under the shade of some trees, thank goodness since in the sun it was at least 100 degrees. Our friends Amanda and Max also made the trip from Grand Rapids and they joined us about half way through the afternoon, just in time to enjoy some great food, craft brews and good conversation.

Canoeing On The Pere Marquette River

2010-08-28T11:14:00.003-04:00

Just Call Me "Troop Beverly Hills"

2010-08-09T12:56:00.006-04:00

When I tucked my camp sit-upon and my Brownie/Girl Scout handbook in a box in my parent’s basement I had no idea that they might someday be of use, but it looks like I might be wrong. Matt and I recently went on our first official camping trip together, which may or may not become a summer tradition. Although I did enjoy participating in Girl Scout programs, I never got excited about camping. I mean, I love the theory of camping - I love shopping for camping gear and all the organizational items available, I enjoy sitting by the fire and enjoying nature… but up to this point that is about as far as I got. In fact, some might say that roughing it for me would include staying in a less than perfectly appointed hotel room. However, Matt is attempting to change my tune. This “trial” camping trip was planned as a short and sweet attempt to break-me-in to the camping life style. In fact compared to what Matt is accustomed to we were "Glamping." We drove up to White Burch Campgro und on Friday afternoon and Matt unloaded the car and set-up the tent. Since this was an “introduction” Matt did most of the work – that was a smart move, considering setting up the tent took 30 min. and I would have lost patience by then and decided that it would be just as good to sleep in the back of the Volvo. While Matt was doing the hard work, I set out to start the campfire, which was less than a challenge since we had lighter fluid. If only I would have know the joy of lighter fluid when I lived at my Uncle’s house with the wood burning stove, wow – life would have been a whole lot easier and warmer. Anyway, I digress, with the campfire burning and the tent and supplies all set up we made some delicious grilled cheese sandwiches over the fire in our handy hobo pie makers … pretty tasty considering the lack of conveniences. The rest of the night was spent around the fire enjoying our time together. Nighttime while camping is still a little difficult for me to embrace – the concept of walking to the bathroom with a flashlight is still not appealing to me along with trying to sleep with no sound barriers and loud neighboring campers and then there is the issue with wildlife making noises all night that really wears on my nerves… I mean who knew that roosting turkeys make so much darn noise all night… and I thought Mrs. Whiskers made a lot of noise when she snores. Needless to say our first night was a little sleep deprived, which brought us to the wee hours of morning in which it down poured, not just a light steady rain, but a rain that made me feel like I was going to be sleeping underwater at any time... but lucky for us our tent stayed dry. It continued to rain on and off for all of Saturday, a little extra trail that made this camping experiences an “experience.” We did make it out to canoe for the afternoon, but with the river so high from the rain it was really fast and we were able to make a 3 hour canoe trip in about an hour and a half. It helped that Matt is very experienced at canoeing and he was in charge of our route, all I had to do was paddle, take pictures and point out obstacles that going to be in our way. After our outing on the water we got back to camp, got cleaned off and started up the campfire for another night of just hanging out. We were able to get dinner made and a few s’mores made before it started raining steadily again, so we packed up and snuggled up in the tent. With all the rain most campers had headed out so I was fairly confident that this night was going to be much better, which was true until I had to go to the bathroom at 3 in the morning .. uggh .. still not digging the walk to the bathroom. Sunday morning was a very nice morning – quiet, fresh smelling and just a great time to enjoy some tea and nature … this was while Matt was packing up, since it was my “introductory” trip I took full advantage of just relaxing while he piled stuff back into the car. Lessons learned from this trip to remember for next time – refresh memory by skimming through the girl scout handbook ( I will need new recipes and camp games for next time,) pack ear plugs, don’t take so much food, get a campsite near the bathrooms, bring sleeping pills, stop drinking fluids well before bedtime, pretend that every trip is still an “introduction” and let Matt do most of the hard work! T-minus 3 years before I am fully ready for the Boundary Waters.

Enterprise Resource Sleeping... err.. Planning

2010-08-05T09:09:00.003-04:00

Preparing Enterprise Resource Planning lectures for the fall semester is very hard work; a good cat nap is often needed.

A Day In Duluth

2010-07-19T21:01:00.003-04:00

Usually I am the trip planner in our family, I think it stems from the hours of travel agent that I used to play in our basement and the many family vacations that I have been on, but this time Matt was in charge of planning a mini-getaway on our drive home from Minneapolis’s. He chose to take me to Duluth and to show me some of the many sites that he remember from childhood vacations with his family; although, we did avoid the restaurant where on one trip to Duluth with his family Matt had some glass shards in his waffle. We had a great time and it was fun to let him deal with all the little details. We started the day walking around the Canal Park area where we stopped into the Maritime Museum, watched a few boats go under the Aerial Lift Bridge and had snacks and drinks at Grandma’s Restaurant. After some additional sightseeing activities we got ready for dinner, which was a treat from Matt’s parents. We arranged to have dinner at the rotating restaurant around 6pm knowing that a large freighter was scheduled to come under the bridge and into the harbor around 7pm. Based on our calculations it would take one hour to eat dinner and revolve around putting us in the perfect position at 7pm to see the freighter, unfortunately the timing of the boat was a little off and we missed it. Oh well, it was still a very good night out and a reason to go back to Duluth in the future.

Welcome To The World Baby Andrew

2010-07-14T18:20:00.003-04:00

A big congratulations goes out to the Tomasoski family who is celebrating the birth of their son Andrew Luke. Andrew was born today at 12:23pm and weighs 9lbs and 2oz and is 21" long.

Say Yah To Da UP

2010-07-08T12:45:00.000-04:00

It seems that we have started a new tradition of visiting Minnesota over the 4th of July holiday and then taking the long way home through the Upper Peninsula to visit the Tomasoski family. This year was extra exciting as “Tomasoski Baby Number Two” was estimated to be born any day. Secretly, I was hoping that the baby would be born before we got there so that we could celebrate or even better would be born while we were there so that we could help out with Blake. However, Baby Two had other plans, possibly Blake and Baby Two were in cahoots to get us up there again this summer, Blake does love to play with Uncle Matt. Outside of waiting we spent most of the two days playing with Blake, chatting and staying cool. Personally, I think that Baby Two is waiting until it is cooler to come out. I don’t blame the baby, I am not a fan of the humidity either.

Lovely Lake Minnetonka

2010-07-03T13:13:00.001-04:00

We had barely made it to Wisconsin Smells (aka. The Wisconsin Dells) on our way to Minnesota for the 4th of July Holiday, when we got a call to let us know that if we could make it in time we could go out on Uncle Ron and Aunt Pat’s boat to watch the sunset. Not that we had any plans to loiter at the McDonalds in The Smells, but the call encouraged us to down our delicious corn fed, pharmaceutical-engorged value meals. Back on I-94 we were on track to make it to the boat within plenty of time however our plan was almost foiled by unusually slow Winnebagos driving in the left lane and a mattress that narrowly missed the Volvo as it flew off a poorly engineered pile of moving items. No worse for wear we thoroughly enjoyed our decompression time on the boat, Lake Minnetonka is beautiful and on that night it was especially peaceful, we even saw some la-la-loons. Above and beyond the beauty of nature it was delightful to talk with Uncle Ron and Aunt Pat and to spend some extra time with Matt’s Mom and Brother Stephen.

Taylor Time

2010-06-30T13:26:00.003-04:00

Our “little” cousin, Taylor, made a summer trip to Michigan to celebrate Erin’s graduation and to get out of the South Georgia heat. She has spent most of her time in Concord, but she was able to come and stay in Grand Rapids for about 5 days. At 13 she is full of energy and always wants to be on the go, so we tried to keep up with her and planned lots of outings. We went to the John Ball Park Zoo, where we saw the animals and enjoyed the summer sunshine. We spent a day at Lake Michigan, where Taylor was excited to swim since it has no sharks or salt, two things she is used to. Matt and Taylor spent some time at Build-A-Bear making a blue peace sign bear and finding the perfect outfit for it. Erin, Taylor and I squeezed in some time to pick out bridesmaids dresses and try on wedding dresses for Erin’s wedding. And we ate lots of frozen yogurt and took Mrs. Whiskers for lots of walks. Personally I am exhausted from all the activities that go with entertaining a 13 year-old, but I am looking forward to the next time she visits.

It's All Good With The Hood

2010-06-30T13:08:00.002-04:00

After some hard work, patience, internships, case studies and exams Erin has received her Master’s Degree in Social Work. We celebrated with her at her “hooding” ceremony at Western Michigan University this past week. I am very proud of Erin for all her hard work that went towards obtaining this degree, I know firsthand how difficult it can be to juggle school and life, and she has done a fantastic job at it. Now that she is done with school work she can have a fun summer looking for new work opportunities and planning her wedding! Yea!

Hello Tonight!

2010-06-30T12:39:00.002-04:00

I was never a fan of dc Talk, but I grew interested in TobyMac when he broke out on his own and wrote “Made To Love,” a few years back. Since then I have wanted to see him in concert and I finally got a chance this past week. The timing worked out perfectly, I was “officially” done with the semester and Matt only had to turn in a project in his class, so we both had a “free” evening. The concert featured Chris Tomlin, whom I also like, but I wouldn’t really say that he does the best in the performance arena. His voice is fantastic, but his stage presence is lacking a little. TobyMac was similar to what I expected, however I could have lived without the dc Talk songs that they played. Overall the night was very enjoyable we had dinner downtown, walked to the arena and just enjoyed having a big city in our backyard.