My First Mother's Day!! :)

My "first" Mother's Day weekend was a weekend I will never forget.   

The weekend started off with our first doctor appointment!  This was the appointment where we got to see our baby for the first time. It was a moment I will always cherish sharing with David.  Seeing our teeny baby on that screen and hearing the heartbeat is such an overwhelming and amazing experience.  We both teared up and couldn't stop smiling. We have wanted this for so long and now it was really real. Below is a picture of our little babe at just 8 weeks :)  The sweet ultrasound technician wrote Happy Mother's Day on the ultrasound photo for us, which I thought was such a sweet touch :)  

8 weeks :)

Excited Daddy!! :)

That night David surprised me with tickets to the Indianapolis Symphony. I grew up going to the symphony with my grandparents, so I was super excited! We started the night off with dinner at Mesh on Mass Ave. and then we headed to the show!

We had a great evening!

Saturday rolled around and the surprises kept coming from my sweet husband. Saturday was a long day for me. I had several photography sessions downtown.  I usually look forward to all my sessions but battling nausea and exhaustion while shooting is tough to do, especially in the heat.  I drove home that night exhausted and ready to relax. When I got home and walked in the door I was greeted with sparkling apple cider (poured in our wedding champagne flutes), beautiful roses, and my favorite candy!  He had also made my favorite pasta dish from Magiannos, Rigatoni D!  He had googled the recipe and made it from scratch...and boy was it amazing! He had started a fire and lit candles out on our deck and we enjoyed a nice little romantic evening together talking about all things baby :)

My hubby's yummy version of Rigatoni D!

Sparkling Apple Cider :)

We ended the night with these yummy chocolate covered strawberries!  David is always so thoughtful and made this such a special "first" Mother's Day weekend for me.

We then spent Mother's Day with our families! This was the day that we told our parents that they were going to be grandparents!!! We told our parents with custom frames that had the ultrasound photo inside :) This is the first grandchild on both sides so to say they are excited is an understatement! Seeing their reactions was priceless. We also secretly filmed telling our parents as well so be sure to look out for the announcement video on the blog :)

The video of us telling all of our loved ones :)

Pregnancy Announcement! from Rachel Wood on Vimeo.

WE'RE PREGNANT!!!!

Today was one of the happiest days of my life. After eight long months of trying to conceive, I am beyond excited to announce that we are pregnant!!! My blog won't be open to the public until we announce to everyone that we're pregnant, but I wanted to blog about the day we found out so I would have it documented without leaving out any details :)

It all started with Sunday, April 15th, 2012.  I had just returned home from a Bachelorette Party in Chicago and was still surprised that I had not started my cycle yet.  I didn't want to get my hopes up so I just told myself that if I don't start by Tuesday I will get a pregnancy test.

Just a side note, when we first started trying I would always have a pregnancy test on hand so I could test as soon as possible but that quickly got expensive. It would also seem to always let me down when I would only see "one line" instead of the "two lines".  After about the fourth month trying we told ourselves that we weren't going to use the OPK (Ovulation Predictor Kits) or go through endless amounts of pregnancy tests.  We were just going to let nature take it's course and try not to always think about it, which is easier said than done! We had talked about putting off trying because of my winter weddings, but each month we always decided that we wanted a baby so bad that we were going to just keep trying until we got those two pink lines!

Come Monday night, I still had not started my cycle, which was a little odd. I still didn't want to get my hopes up so I wouldn't let myself get too excited until I actually saw the words "pregnant" or saw those "two lines"!  I didn't say anything to David because I have always wanted to surprise him with the news. Back in September when we decided we would start trying I bought a customized onesie that said "My Daddy is a Dentist".  My plan was to put the onesie in a box and have him open it once I became pregnant and that would be the way he would find out :)

I could hardly sleep Monday night! All I could think about is  "Am I pregnant?" "Could this really be happening?!" After eight months of trying you subconsciously tell yourself that there is no way because you are so used to being disappointed each month.  I told myself that the sooner I feel asleep the sooner I could run to CVS as soon as David left for class. I tossed and turned all night thinking about if I was going to see those two pink lines.  I finally feel asleep and then woke up right when David got up and I just laid in bed acting tired so David wouldn't think anything was suspicious.  As soon as he gave me a kiss goodbye and headed to school I jumped out of bed and drove straight to CVS in my pajamas at 7:30 in the morning.  I decided to get the digital test so I could hopefully see the word "pregnant"!  I hurried home and quickly used the test.  I was shaking with anticipation.  I just stood there staring at the test stick which had a little hour glass on the display window.  I waited about a minute and all the sudden the hour glass turned into the most beautiful word...PREGNANT.  I immediately started crying and thanking God for this blessing. I told Louie and Lexi (our fur babies) that they were going to be a big bother and sister! I then ran into the spare bedroom where I had been secretly hiding the onesie! I had been waiting for this day for so long. I got a small gift box and taped the pregnancy test that read "pregnant" to the bottom of the gift box and then neatly folded the onesie on top.  Now I just had to wait for the daddy-to-be to come home!  I will be secretly filming his reaction so make sure to check out the video that will follow ;)

The Onesie :)

Celebration dinner that weekend :)

Orchid from my hubby!

Pregnancy Announcement Video!
Once finding out the exciting news that I was pregnant, I decided to hide a camera to videotape my husband's reaction! We then secretly filmed telling our family and close friends :)

Pregnancy Announcement! from Rachel Wood on Vimeo.

A Day I Will Never Forget

I will never forget this day...this was the day that David and I decided that we wanted to expand our little family, beyond our 4-legged children. We had talked about having a baby quite frequently but it was always something we were excited for in the future. However, this night was different.  This was the night that we both knew we were ready! We made a nice dinner together and sat out on our deck with a glass of wine and talked all night about our hopes for the future. We sat there and David looked me straight in the eyes and said, "We're ready!" It was a moment I will never forget. We just knew this was the perfect time for us. This was the night that we both decided we were going to start trying to get pregnant when I got back from my girls trip to Vegas in August. 

David will be a third year in dental school next summer so it will be good timing. He will be in clinicals and will have a lot less of a class workload. I am also in a great position with my photography business to quit my event coordinating job at DSI once I go on maternity leave. This way I will be able to pretty much be a stay at home mom, which I am so excited to be able to do. This is something David and I both decided on many years ago. I will never forget the feeling I had that night. The thought of bringing a baby into this world that is a part of me and a part of the man I love is just so amazing to me! I'm so excited about the thought of being pregnant I can’t even image the feeling I will have when I am pregnant. 

We talked about baby names and all the fun things we can’t wait to do with our little one. Vacations, Trips to the Zoo, Children’s Museum, Pumpkin Patch, Apple Orchard...the list goes on and on! We just sat there for hours talking about how excited we are for everything to come. I will always hold that night close to my heart. 

We are beyond excited to begin our journey as first-time parents with our family and friends by our side.  We are excited for this new chapter in our life and I can't wait to experience this crazy and exciting journey with my best friend. We hope you enjoy our blog and journey as first time parents!