FromA2J

Target Circular - January

2012-03-06T17:55:00.000-06:00

This was one of the last jobs I did with Hollie Mae before Landry was born. It was tons of fun and made me very excited to start working out again. I was a bit jealous of all of the yoga-ing going on. I wanted to jump in too but at that point bending over was even a struggle.

Photographer: Jim Malucci

Wardrobe Styling: Hollie Mae of HMStyling

Hair/Makeup: Carol Stopera

Prop Styling: Juli Hanssen

You know you're a new mommy when...

2012-03-01T16:02:00.000-06:00

...you add an -ee sound to the end of every word... poopy, diapey, wipey, nukie, etc.

...your voice has gone up two octaves (Courtesy of my friend Karen!)

...you refer to bodily functions in a cute yet patronizing fashion (Courtesy of my friend Karen!)

...you haven't changed your clothes in 3 days but your child has worn an adorable outfit each day that you have made sure to photograph.

...your child is only a few weeks old and you already have over 1000 photos of him/her.

...you inform your husband via text every time your child poops.

...your conversation topics with friends has changed from love life and partying to poop consistency and sleep schedules.

...you are completely comfortable talking about pumping with your dear friend's husband.

...you find yourself rocking anything you carry... a stack of books at Barnes and Noble, the groceries, the dog.

...you make up random songs about what you are doing... while putting Landry in her sleep sack, ♪♫ Wrapping you up, wrap, wrap, wrapping you up! ♪♫.

...you feel completely rested after 6 hours of sleep... it's a huge improvement from the 4 you are used to getting.

...you want to smile and cry at the same time because you are so darn happy.

...you look at your new child and feel like your heart could explode because of all of the love you feel for him/her.

...you keep thanking your husband for the most special, amazing, beautiful gift he could ever give you.

Love you my Landry J!

Look what I can do!

2012-02-28T11:05:00.000-06:00

I play all by myself...

I can hold my head up during tummy time without crying. I actually enjoy it...

*Feel free to watch on mute*

I can sit in my Bumbo but I need to work on my neck strength in this position...

*Feel free to watch on mute*

Landry's First Valentine's Day

2012-02-27T10:27:00.000-06:00

Every holiday is a bit more exciting now that we have Landry in our lives. We get to dress her in adorable little outfits, make new traditions and most importantly, show her what we love and find special about each holiday. This year Landry and I made chocolate covered strawberries and chocolate drizzled raspberries (just for daddy)! Landry helped me by taking a nap in her swing so I could finish... such a good helper!!

Couldn't get a smile out of her

Daddy, that tickles!

mmmmmmm!

Best Buy Circular

2012-02-21T18:27:00.000-06:00

One of the shots we worked on last summer was in the Best Buy circular recently. This shot was perfect for Superbowl time!

We had such a fun time during this shoot. We 'lived' in a Airstream Motorhome for 2 days while shooting on location. We love the Tin Gypsies!

Photographer: Lance Juusola
Wardrobe Styling: Hollie Mae of HMStyling
Hair & Makeup: Cindy Rae

Landry - 2 Months!

2012-02-11T09:43:00.001-06:00

Our little squish is 2 months old! We had her 2 month well-baby appointment and she's still quite a peanut. She now weights 8lbs 8.5ozs (8th %) and 22.75in (65th %). She's still wearing newborn diapers, onesies and pants but 3-month sleepers.

She was not a fan of the 3 shots she got. She screamed for a good 5 minutes after getting them and was pretty fussy for about 2 hours after. It broke Mama's heart so thank goodness Daddy was there to make Mama feel better. Nate actually said he felt worse for Landry getting her shots than he did when I got my epidural. He said it was because I asked for it. Ha ha.

Before shots After shots

She's been 'talking' to us a lot more. It's so much fun to hear her babble and coo. She still generally hates tummy time but has had a few moments of not screaming while on her belly. She's getting so strong and is getting much better at lifting her head up.

She's a pretty good sleeper. She will sleep a good 6-8 hours at night then another 2-3 after her early morning snack. She's still kind of a putz when she naps though because she loves to nap on me and wakes up when I put her down. Sometimes I can lay her down next to me but she wakes up the moment I try to get up. Landry and I really enjoy the evenings and weekends when Daddy is with us because then we can both get stuff done... she can sleep and Mama can clean!

Landry had her first modeling job this week, as well. She shot for Target's new diaper packaging. There were 3 other babies that also shot for her size so we'll find out soon if she ends up on it. She was a bit fussy at first so I was quite nervous that it wouldn't go well. Got her all topped off with some milk then she was ready to go! She was playful and happy for a good 15 minutes until she pooped in the wardrobe (aka the diaper). Unfortunately, the diaper was set up for style not function so the poo made a bit of a mess. Other than the mess making, she was such a good girl. Mama was so proud!

Getting spruced up

I feel confident in saying that we generally have her figured out. We now know how to make her smile, keep her happy in the bath, successfully put her to bed and whether her cries are real or just that she's bored. Now if we can just get her to go to bed before 11pm that would be awesome!

She's now bald on the top of her head but has a party in the back. We call her our little Friar Tuck. We're really excited to see what color it comes back as. She also looks more and more like her mama every day. I have to dig out some photos of me from when I was a baby and write a whole post about it. I promise I'll do that soon!

Friar Tuck!

Last weekend, Daddy took her out all by himself. He even has his own diaper bag!! He sent me the photo below and I said, "She looks a big scared," and he said, "You should see me!" Ha ha. They both survived! Look how cute he dressed her! Yes, that's a Jordan hat!... And now that I think about it, no, we did not give her the middle name Jordan because of Michael Jordan, ha ha!

Landry and I also got to spend an entire day with her Great Mema. We had breakfast and lunch at Mema's house and Landry got many hours of snuggle time with her Mema. We both really enjoyed ourselves.

On the days where she literally won't let me put her down I just throw on one of our carriers and she's a happy camper! Most of the time the Moby is the best option because it holds her close. She can't completely hold her head so I have to be more mindful of it when she's in the Chicco carrier. She's so close to having full control though! She also naps the best in the Moby. I just wish it was easier to put on!

Daddy's first time with the Moby The Chicco which is like a Bjorn

Mom update:
I've been quite successful at watching what I eat but I haven't really been able to exercise and it's driving me bonkers. I am no where near as active as I was before she came so the weight is just not flying off like I hoped. I have a new plan now since the only way I can exercise is by making sure she is sleeping and she sleeps very well in her carseat while moving. I'm going to start walking more with her in her stroller and the best place to do that is Mall of America. It's basically a 1/2 mile track so if I hit the floors 1, 2, 3, 2, 1 I'll have a little over 2.5 miles in. My new goal is to try to go twice a week next week then three times a week the following week. Once it's nice out then we can walk outside and this way I don't have to buy a gym membership.

Snoozy girl!

Silly faces!

Snuggling with Daddy & Kita

Happy girl!

NRNracing Update!

2012-02-03T07:58:00.002-06:00

Photo: APR, LLC

My little brother Nate Norenberg had his first race of the 2012 season this last weekend at Daytona International Speedway. He is driving for APR Motorsport again this season but he will be driving in all of the races of the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, a smaller devision of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series, versus only three races last summer. He will once again be behind the wheel of one of their Volkwagen GTIs.

It was a rough weekend this last weekend but we are very excited for this season. Nate and I are planning to take Landry to see Uncle Nate race at Road America this summer. We are very excited to see him in action again!

You can follow Nate on his Facebook page and his website.

Photo: APR, LLC

My Must-have Baby Products

2012-02-01T14:37:00.003-06:00

Angelcare Monitor

I honestly don't think we'd be able sleep at night without this monitor. It has a movement sensor that goes below Landry's mattress and detects her every movement (even as subtle as her breathing). If no movement is detected for 15 seconds a warning beep goes off. Then, if there is still no movement a very loud alarm goes off. We've had it go off a few times before we set the sensitivity correctly. I definitely hustle to her room when that thing goes off.

On the monitor there is a pendulum that swings showing that she is just fine. In the middle of the night I can just look over and see it swinging. The monitor also shows the temperature in her room and of course, lets us know when she's awake and crying.

When we got our monitor it was $119 but I found it on Amazon for under $90.

Halo Sleep Sack Swaddle

Our little stinker really likes to be swaddled. It was a trial and error process to learn how she liked to be swaddled. After lots of screaming because she was escaping from the swaddle we finally put her in the sleepsack with the velcro... no escaping from the straightjacket!! She now sleeps in it every night. Just make sure you pick up a few... sometimes they get a little messy during middle of the night, half asleep diaper changes.

Moby Wrap

Love love love my Moby Wrap. Some days Landry won't let me put her down. It really is a pain in the booty especially if you have to go to the baño or haven't eaten since the night before. I will plop her in the wrap and take her around with me. She's held in nice and tight so I don't even have to hold her head. We can clean her room, take out the recycling, do the laundry, all without her screaming her head off in the bouncy seat.

The only tough part about it is putting it on. Nate's cousin showed me how to put it on the first time. I really liked seeing someone do it vs. the photo instructions that come along with it so I suggest finding a how-to video. The other hard part is that Landry is typically screaming when I'm trying to put it on so I have to endure that while trying to put it on as fast as possible.

Circo Socks

These socks are awesome because they actually stay on her feet. Landry has quite narrow feet so she doesn't have the squish to keep her socks on. We bought a bunch of super cute socks but they fly off in a matter of seconds. The style that fold over are the best for her. We used these ones when she was just born and now are using the ones pictured. They are available at Target for $1 a pair and the last time I was at the store they were hanging out on an endcap.

NUK Warm Or Cool Relief Pack

These little gel packs are awesome for both warm and cool relief from nursing. You can either throw them in the fridge/freezer for cold relief or pop them in the microwave for 15 seconds for a warm compress. They're perfect for relief from engorgement or blocked ducts.

Mother's Milk Tea

Another product thats great for nursing mamas is Mother's Milk Tea. At first I had issues with supply so I read that I needed to take the herb fenugreek. It comes in multiple forms but I liked the tea the best because not only am I getting the herb to boost milk supply, it also helps me get at least 3 of the 10 glasses of water I drink a day. Double whammy!

I found some at Target but the best value is purchasing them from Amazon in bulkand using their subscribe and save feature. I'm getting 6 boxes of 16 tea-packs a month and I can turn off the subscription whenever I'm done.

Baby Connect

This app is absolutely amazing! You can track all of your baby's major events from diapers and feedings to doctor visits and milestones. You can log multiple babies at once, as well, so it's great for parents with twins or more than one child. The best thing about this app is it can have multiple users! Anyone you invite to view your account can access it! Nate has this app on his phone too so he can log events while he is alone with her. It is also accessible via the web so when my parents watch her they can log her events on the webpage which updates on all of our phones as well.

Fun Facts:
Since she's been born she's gone through 429 diapers and the total amount of time I've spent nursing equals 9 days (216 hours)!

This app is also available for Android phones.

Water Your Body

One thing doctors always say is, "Drink more water!" It's even more important while pregnant and nursing. I have never been a big water drinker so I downloaded this app in April of 2010 to help track my water intake. Not only does it track my intake it also shows me on my homepage of my phone how many more glasses I need throughout the day. It really helps motivate me to drink more water.

Target Circular - December

2012-01-27T18:13:00.000-06:00

Way back in September I wrote about shooting for the Target circular, well here are our shots!! Hollie Mae and I had such a fun time propping for this job. Lots of bright colors. In fact, the pants in this first shot were actually bright pink before they were color corrected! Looking at this shot still makes me kind of sad that the holidays are over...

Anyway, we also have some shots from the January circular that I'll post soon!

Images shot by various photographers at the Target Studio

Wardrobe Styling: Hollis Mae of HMStyling

Landry - 6 Week Update

2012-01-22T10:47:00.000-06:00

Landry is 6 weeks old! *Tear*

She has grown out of her newborn sleepers and is now wearing 0-3 month. We measured her last night and she's now 23" (mom & dad measuring = may not be completely accurate) but she's still fitting into most of her newborn onesies and pants but not for too much longer.

Up Up and Away!

Mission Accomplished!
Last week I posted about Landry's aversions to a pacifier... Well after attempting 5 different styles of paci's we've found a winner! I should've just listened to everyone when they suggested the Soothies but I assumed that since they were the same shape as the Gumdrops that she's hate them too. You know what they say when you assume things... So what do we do when we find a paci she likes?... We stock up!

Meet the Plug!

Mommy's pinky is very happy

She is now sleeping in her crib every night. Yay! Before she was sleeping in her bouncy seat next to me while I slept on the couch. We knew that she couldn't do that forever because we didn't want to create bad habits so we're so happy that she likes her crib. We also have the Angelcare monitor and that really helps me sleep. I can just look at her monitor in the middle of the night, see the pendulum swinging and know she's just fine. On a good night she'll go 6-8 hours between feeds. Eight is very rare but it has happened once. She still goes about 3 hours between feedings during the day and she spends more time awake and active.

She started smiling for real this last week and it just makes us melt. We've seen her smile a bunch over the last 6 weeks but now she's smiling right at us. It's so darn cute! She's working on cooing. She's done it a few times but it seems like she really wants to chat with us but doesn't know how. She's also tracking us and her books when we move them. It's so funny that as parents you get excited about the littlest things that your kids do. When she was first born we were so excited when she would poo/pee because everything worked! Now we're excited about every milestone because that means she's right on track. Next step is holding head up on her own so she won't be as much of a bobble head. It's so fun to see all of these milestones but it makes me sad because that means she's getting farther and farther away from my tiny, squishy newborn.

Feel free to watch this on mute

It's so much fun to see a tiny personality form. Oh, and her feet are ticklish!

Mama Update:
With Landry being 6 weeks old that means this mama gets to start working out again! Woo Hoo! I've done a little here and there but nothing major. I have about 8-10lbs to lose and 5 total inches until I'm back to me pre-pregnancy weight and size.

I can get my biggest pair of pre-baby jeans on and just get them buttoned but they are not comfortable to wear just yet. I'm a little more nervous about some of my favorite jeans but they will be my goal jeans. SO as of now, I'm still wearing my maternity jeans.

My plan for shaping up is to get rid of all of the sweets in the house (my weakness!), start doing yoga again, hit the stairs in our condo, and if Landry is being fussy, put her in the Moby and do some ballet and lunges with her (a nice extra 7.5+ pounds of weight!). You can't really limit your calories when breastfeeding so it's a very delicate balance.

It's never really been about a number on the scale for me. It's more about how I feel and how I look in the mirror. I just really want to feel strong again. I'm actually very excited for this challenge and can't wait to see my body transform.

Last but not least, our puppy dogs have been so good with L. Kita wants to lay as close to her as possible and Ellie couldn't care less. Ellie is interested in her about once a day while Kita could lick her all day long. Kita has tried to lay on the Boppy next to L while I'm nursing. She also likes to get between Ellie and Landry if Ellie gets close to her. It's pretty funny. We really try to give them snuggles when we can so they know that we still love them.

Tears and Smiles

2012-01-19T09:05:00.000-06:00

My emotions have been pretty good since welcoming Landry into our family. I didn't really have the baby blues or big cry moments... until I stumbled upon this photo while cleaning up my computer.

I burst into tears.

My sweet Papa.

I held my little girl and just cried. I cried because I miss him so much and because he never got to meet her. I know he would love her so much and she would love him. He would call her what he called me when I was a child, "Gorgeous". I still feel him around me and that makes my heart happy.

"Hi, Gorgeous." I can just hear him saying it right now and it makes me smile.

I love you Papa!

Landry's Newborn Shoot - Behind the scenes

2012-01-17T11:20:00.001-06:00

When Landry was a week old, our dear friend Jacquelyn shot her newborn photos. Jacquelyn also shot our wedding and our maternity photos so of course we wanted her to capture Landry as a newborn.

Jacquelyn came with all of the tools needed for a happy shoot... soft blankies and a space heater! Landry hates getting her diaper changed so we were a bit nervous that she would scream through the whole shoot. The space heater was fabulous! We even got some shots of her in her birthday suit! We were hoping that she'd make it through the nakie session without making a mess of the blankies but nope. Just a few minutes before we were done she peed... I guess she was comfortable, ha ha!

While Jacquelyn and I were working with Landry, Nate was snapping away on our new camera. Here are some behind the scenes photos from our little shoot.

Don't mind the mess!

Our background

Thank you so much again Jacquelyn for capturing these precious moments in our lives! These images are priceless!

Jacquelyn Senske Photography

Where is Winter?!

2012-01-12T11:24:00.000-06:00

When I was envisioning Landry's birth day I imagined a beautiful snowy landscape. Maybe even a nice big snowstorm dropping giant flakes and we'd drive her home surrounded by the bright white fluffy stuff. We even contemplated giving her the middle name Winter because it's also my favorite season. I'm glad we decided to go with a family middle name instead because this year there is no 'winter' in sight! It's early January and I've actually left my coat in the car multiple times while out and about!

Last year we had THIS,

THIS (can't wait til I fit in those jeans again!),

and THIS.

This year we've barely had any snow and rarely had temps below freezing (except today of course!). I know a lot of my fellow Minnesotan's are loving this weather but this girl loves a good snowy winter. I was a snowboarder, ya know?! Riding on real snow was always way better than the fake stuff!

Of course, I publish this post on the day that it's actually below freezing and I think I've seen a few flakes but it's supposed to warm up again this weekend. I guess if its not going to snow we might as well have mild temps right?... if you can't beat um join um!

Pacifiers for everyone!

2012-01-11T12:58:00.002-06:00

She hated the Mams, the Gumdrops, the orthodontic Playtex, the Playtex Binky, the silicone Nuks and now the latex Nuks (which she took for a few days). Now we're back to the Mams again, at least for today. Every time one would work we would take a picture thinking that we had won when in fact she was just psyching us out. Little stinker!

The Mam The Playtex

The Nuk - latex version

Every couple of days we try all of the varieties again to see if she's changed her mind. Hoping one day she'll just take any of them but for now...

Landry - 6
Mom & Dad - 0

Happy Anniversary!

2012-01-10T08:23:00.000-06:00

Two years ago on this day we were here...

Photos by Jacquelyn Senske Photography

Last year we were here...

And today we are here...

Nate,

The last two years (well 5 and a half in total) have been completely wonderful and it's because I have an amazing teammate by my side. Every day is a bit brighter because I get to spend it with you. I knew you were going to be an amazing father but it melts my heart to watch you be a daddy to Landry. I am so thankful to have you in my life and so lucky that I get to spend forever with you! You are and always will be my dream come true.

Happy 2nd Anniversary to my husband and Landry's daddy!

We love you so much!

Landry - 1 Month!

2012-01-09T13:58:00.000-06:00

Our Little L is a month old already! Everyone said that the time would fly by but I didn't think it would go by this fast!

Our girl is still a peanut. At her last weight check last Wednesday, she finally surpassed her birth weight. It was a huge relief to her mama who was anxious at every weight check. Now we don't have to go back until her 2 month check up. Daddy might have to come with because Mommy might not handle the shots well.

Double chin!

She looks more like a baby and less like a little squishy newborn. It seems like she changes every day. She is still wearing newborn size but they are fitting her much better now. She only has 4 more outfits to wear and she's officially worn all of her newborn attire! Yay! Mama is really looking forward to the next size up because it's a whole new wardrobe!

It also looks like her hair is getting more and more red. Both Nate and I have red hair in our family (plus Nate has a red beard and my, ahem, natural hair color is a bit red). We're both so excited to see what color it will be, if it'll be straight like mine or curly like Nate's. Such fun things to look forward to!

Does that look red to you?

She will now take a pacifier sometimes but Mama's pinkie is still an instant soother. We really hope she gets to a point where she'll take any pacifier because we have 6 different kinds! That or "Paci's available to anyone that wants them!"

"What up Kita?!"

She will track us with her eyes more and if her daddy talks to her she will look for him. She also has smiled a few times for us and for my cousin. She still smiles (and laughs occasionally!) when she's just falling asleep and will sleep with her eyes open. She also has more awake time now where she will lay contently and play with her hands. That's when we make fools of ourselves by talking, babbling and making funny faces at her.

Yes she's actually sleeping

She wakes up about twice between 10pm and 9am to be changed and fed. For about 3 weeks of the last month, she was sleeping in her bouncy seat next to me while I slept on the couch. She was struggling to stay asleep when we put her in her pack-and-pay which lead to many hours of no sleep and a very tired Mama who spent half the night with her pinkie in baby's mouth. We really didn't want her to get used to sleeping in a reclined position so this last weekend we successfully got her to sleep in her pack-and-play in our room.

Last week I also tried having her nap in her crib a few times. The first time she lasted about 5 minutes before waking up. It was the first time I used her monitor and had quite a laugh when she woke up and Kita ran to the monitor because it was crying. Kita then realized that Landry was in the other room and bolted to her room where she proceeded to bark to let me know that Landry was awake. So funny! The second time we put her in her crib she didn't make a peep for 3 hours so hopefully crib sleeping will be in the near future!

Do you see Kita in Landry's doorway? She's telling me that L is awake.

The rest of the photos below are from this morning. Landry and I staged a little photo shoot and she, of course, spit up on her outfit right before we started taking pictures. I couldn't decide where to take her monthly photos so we now have 3 options for monthly photos ;)

With puppy...

In the crib...

Or in the chair...

Nate and I are looking forward to her milestones this next month... holding her head up and smiling! Yay!

Not a Word Was Spoken - The Trailer

2012-01-06T22:38:00.000-06:00

*If the video doesn't load click here*

"Not A Word Was Spoken"
It is three weeks before Christmas, but to Albert, a man in his late 60's, it already feels like a long winter and he is feeling the effects. Albert's only friend is his parrot, Cracker. Albert has been coined as the town's grumpiest old man and since his wife died nearly two years ago, grumpy describes Albert pretty well. Albert is tormented by a gang of three neighborhood kids. But when a homemade card, with a very special message, lost in the mail for 40 years is finally delivered to Albert, the town of North Hallow is going to see what a few kind words can do to one grumpy old man.

"Not A Word Was Spoken" pretty much says it all. This heartwarming story is told entirely without any spoken word - well, no spoken human word. Albert's pet parrot Cracker chines in now and then throughout our story.

Behind the Scenes posts:
Just like Heaven - Shooting at the waterfall
And that's a wrap! - Production stills
Special Effects Makeup - The making of a prosthetic mole
Shooting: Day 1 - Production stills

New Century Pictures

Landry's Birth Story

2012-01-04T13:33:00.000-06:00

*A little warning: There is a bit more detail than I typically post. I just don't want to forget a single detail*

The hardest part about the last few weeks of pregnancy isthat everyone says, “She could be here any moment!” It makes you very excited that it could happen any time but as eachday passes you are a bit disappointed that it didn’t… and that’s before the duedate is even here! On the eveningof her due date, Thursday, December 8^th, 2011, I was starting tofeel like she was never coming. Itjust felt like I would never go into labor on my own and she'd have to be 'evicted' so it was quite a surprise the nextmorning when I had a sneaking suspicion that my water broke.

Nate had the day off so we had the whole day scheduled toget a ton of stuff done. When Igot out of bed that morning I noticed that I was leaking. I knew I didn’t have to go to thebathroom because I just went so it wasn’t that. I mentioned to Nate that wemight have to change our plans for the day and the look on his face went fromterror to excitement but I still didn’t know for sure. I started picking up the house hopingthe activity would help determine if my water had actually broken. Nate got started on his “Nate’s Go-timeList” which included eat something, take a shower, and relax! I had him check those items off thelist first because he had a bit of a freak out, ‘what do I do?’ moment. I just chuckled and reminded him that Iwasn’t in labor. We’re just making sure.

After working a bit on my to-do list, I decided to do a testto see if it was in fact my water. I laid down on my side for 5 minutes then got up. Yup! I was definitely leaking! The thought, “Oh my gosh we might actually be having a babytoday!” rushed into my head! I wasso excited but trying to be realistic because they could still send us homeafter a negative test for amniotic fluid.

The final belly shot

We got to the hospital around 11:30 am. The nurse checkedme (I was a 2) and said it was for sure my water. She then said the words that made me tear up, “You’renot leaving here without your baby”! We were so excited but knew that this was going to be (or should have been) a long process and she most likely wouldn't be born until the next day.

We got to our room around 1pm, met our nurse, Jennifer (whowas absolutely awesome!), who promptly stated, "It smells spicy in here!" (Nate was snacking on Jalapeño pretzels) Jennifer got me comfortable and hooked up my IV. From that point on the afternoon was a whirlwind! She started my pitocin at 2:15pm while Nate worked on getting the DVD player working so we could watch some Christmasmovies. The DVD player was on thefritz so Jennifer called maintenance to come fix it.

Still smiling

Around 3:15 maintenance was just finishing up fixing our DVDplayer when my first real contractionhit me like a ton of bricks (so that’s what the real thing feels like!), whichalso caused my water to really break. The pop was so loud I swear it could beheard across the room!. The maintenance guy couldn’t leave the room fast enough!

Here we go!

After that the contractions started coming every 3 minutesor so. I thought I’d try tolabor on the balance ball since I heard that laboring in bed is actually quiteuncomfortable. They weremanageable at first but were getting very intense very fast. I started to shake (teethchattering and all) and was quickly getting to the brink ofmy pain threshold. I was startingto get really bummed out because I had only been contracting for an hour and I wasabout to throw in the towel. I had a personal battle with myself wanting to hold out longer but the pain was so intense. I had planned to get the epidural all along so I decided not to wait any longer.

At 4:15, my nurse checked me and said I was at a 4 (my goalwas a 5) so it was epidural time. The timing couldn’t have been better because the anesthesiologist showedup right when I felt like I couldn’t handle the pain any more. The contractions were so painful atthat point that whatever the doc was doing to my back was a cakewalk comparedto that. The doc had to place myepidural twice so I ended up with a few sticks to the back but I just wantedthe pain to go away.

It took a few more minutes for the epi to kick in but Ifinally got to the point where the contractions didn’t even phase me. The doc did such a great job thatI could still feel and move my legs and I could still feel contractions theyjust didn’t hurt anymore. Thatreally helped when it came to moving positions and pushing.

After about an hour of trying to chill out a bit (I wasstill shaking quite badly), I started to notice that the feeling of thecontractions had changed. I wasfeeling a lot of pressure so the nurse decided to check me and at 5:30pm sheannounced that I was complete! Isaid, “you’re kidding, right?!”. Iwas in complete shock! I went from4cms to 10cms in an hour!

The nurse spent the next 20 minutes getting the room readyand letting the doc know. Since itwas crazy busy, we were informed that the doc was in another delivery but thatshouldn’t be a problem because we hadn’t even tried pushing yet.

At 5:56pm, I started practice pushing. I had this crazy feeling of, “Oh mygosh this is actually happening! We’re going to meet her soon!” After a few practice pushes the nurse suggested the mirror and I said,“why not?!” I really liked usingthe mirror because I could see what my pushes were doing. I know it’s not for everyone but for meit was really motivating!

As I was pushing we could see her head more and more and it was so awesome! I kept asking Nate what color her hair was. After a few minutes of pushing the Jennifer noticed that her heart rate wasn't doing what it should so she would tickle Landry on the top of her head and her heart rate would jump back to where it should be. Jennifer didn't love what was going on so out came the oxygen. I got to wear the lovely Snuffleupagus nose O2 mask for the rest of the pushing until she was out.

At about 5:20pm the nurse had me stop pushing because shewas right there! It was time forthe doc to come but she was still in another delivery. We were placed in a holding pattern,aka, just sit there and wait. Wewaited for about 20 minutes and the doc showed up, suited up and it was time! Two contractions later, I lifted ourdaughter onto my belly and we met our girl for the first time!

There were smiles, tears, feelings of joy, elation, reliefand disbelief! She’s here! After 9 months of waiting our beautifulLittle L is finally in our lives! Natecut her cord and they cleaned her up. After a few minutes the nurse asked what her name was and Nate let me announce, “Landry!” in between sobs. Landry then let out a loud cry and we all laughed that she didn't like her name.

I was pleasantly surprised by the entire labor and birth experience. I went into this process thinking it was going to be a lot worse than it actually was. The contractions were as painful as they all said but everything from her birth to the recovery has been a very good experience. To top it off, Landry is just a dream come true. She has her moments but she is such a sweet baby. We just stare at her and look forward to every day we get to spend with her.

Peanut

Meeting her daddy

My precious girl

I honestly wish I could relive her birth day every day as it was such an amazing day. We will have more babies but it makes me sad that I will never have her birth day back again. I won't have her baby belly again with my next pregnancy either but I will always have the wonderful memories of her pregnancy and birth (and my blog to remind me when I forget!). She has given me such a precious gift and the one job I have wanted most in my life... being a mommy.

Our first family photo

Happy New Year from HMStyling

2012-01-02T12:40:00.000-06:00

Click here to see the full fashion spread and video

Crew
Photographer: Michael Haug
Fashion Styling and Creative Direction: Hollie Mae of HMStyling
Hair & Makeup Artistry: Kate Erickson
Photo Assistant: Soua Vue
Videographer: Shane Nelson of Omni-fusion
Video Assistant: Carl Hansen
Prop/Set Stylist: Matthew Stenerson
Prop Assistant: Katherine Price
Assistant Wardrobe Stylist: Amy Shetler
Assistant Wardrobe Stylist: Marylynn Shapiro
Assistant Wardrobe Prep Stylist: AJ
Photo Editor: Brenda Manthe
Model: Kelley from Wehmann Talent
Model: Natalie from Wehmann Talent
Model Kara from Ignite Models
Location: Ground Zero/ The Front Niteclub

Wardrobe Sources
Max Lohrbach
Emma Berg
Caroline Hayden
Jenny Carle
June
Houndstooth
Costume Rentals - A combine project of the Gutherie Theater and The Children's Theater Co.

HMStyling is on Facebook!

Happy New Year!!

2012-01-01T13:04:00.000-06:00

I can't believe how fast 2011 flew by. It was quite an amazing year topped by Landry's arrival. I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store and look forward to watching Landry grow and experience new things.

Happy New Year to you and yours!

The youngest guests...

Skylar (8 weeks), Sadie (8 weeks), Caden (5 months) & Landry (3 weeks)

You know times have changed when you see this at your New Years party

Landry's New Years outfit

Merry Christmas from the Lunds

2011-12-26T21:32:00.000-06:00

Best stocking stuffer ever!

We started our Christmas celebration with my family at my aunt and uncle's house on Christmas Eve. Landry was such a good girl and spent the night being passed around the room. She is one loved little lady! My favorite part of the night was when Santa arrived. It was such a fun surprise that brought me back to the Christmas Eves of my childhood. When my cousins, brother and I were kids Santa would come every Christmas Eve. After dinner and while the parents were doing dishes, we would plaster our faces to the windows looking out to the back yard of my grandparents house eagerly waiting to see Rudolph's nose blinking which would announce Santa's arrival. We would see the red blinking light and erupt in screams and squeals of joy, "He's here! Santa's here!". So when I saw that red suit come through the door I just smiled.

This year though, he did not arrive with a bag of toys. Since the youngest of the cousins is now 21, he arrived with shots!! It was a hilarious and welcome new tradition. I didn't partake in the Santa Shot shooting this year but I did get to have a few sips of champagne!

Great Mema

Cousins!

Christmas Day started out with gifts and breakfast at my parents house. My favorite gift was the 2011 Swarovski crystal ornament. I was planning on purchasing it after Christmas so it was such a fun surprise to find it under the tree. We have the 2010 ornament to symbolize our wedding and now the 2011 symbolizes the birth of our girl.

After gifts and pancakes, we took off for Mankato and Christmas day with Nate's side. We had a delicious dinner and really enjoyed spending time with Nate's extended family. We don't get to see them nearly enough and every time we get together the kids are just bigger and bigger. Landry has a cousin that is just a few months older than her so she'll have a playmate when they're older.

Puppy dog from Uncle Jeremy

It was such a wonderful first Christmas with our princess. We're looking forward to creating new holiday traditions and can't wait til we can see the excitement on her face around Christmas time. I always loved having my birthday so close to Christmas. It made the entire month so magical and I hope she has the same feelings that I did about the month of December.

Our Christmas present

Landry's Newborn Photos

2011-12-23T21:01:00.000-06:00

Thanks Donna for the adorable hat and cocoon!

Mama's hat from when she was a baby

She melts my heart

Photos by Jacquelyn Senske Photography

Three Years Ago!

2011-12-20T08:20:00.000-06:00

I can't believe it's been 3 years already! NYC at Christmastime will always have a special place in my heart. One of my favorite things about this time of year is seeing the shots of the tree on Christmas specials or during the evening news because all of the memories rush back. And this year, we got to show Landry where mommy and daddy got engaged! She was very interested :)

We plan on heading back for my birthday next year (the big 3-0)!

10 Days!

2011-12-19T13:05:00.002-06:00

Our sweet girl is already 10 days old! When they said time flies when you have a baby, man they were right! The past 10 days has been a complete blur fueled by love and a lack of sleep.

We're getting quite comfortable at home in our new roles as parents. Landry is a great baby. She has her moments of course but we feel pretty darn lucky.

She eats about every 2-3 hours and has about an hour or two of alert awake time throughout the day. We love seeing her big eyes wide open taking in her surroundings.

She doesn't take a nuk but absolutely loves my pinkie! It's great because we never have to search for her nuk but it's bad because the pinkie owner would like to sleep at 3am!

She met her puppy dogs last week when my parents brought them over for a quick visit. Ellie makes me a bit nervous because she is very interested in Landry and she runs up to her quickly. Kita is great with her but all she wants to do is lick her. The pups came home for good last night and are getting more comfortable with her. Kita still gets her nose bent out of shape when we are giving Landry attention and not her. We all just have to get used to the new normal around here.

Kita watching Landry

We're really looking forward to spending the Christmas weekend with both sides of our family. She loves her grandma and grandpa snuggles (she saw both sides this last weekend!) and she gets to meet more family too! It's going to be a wonderful Christmas... now if we could only get some snow!

I love snuggling with my daddy!

She's here!

2011-12-10T14:50:00.000-06:00

We are so excited to announce the birth of our daughter

Landry Jordan

December 9th, 6:50pm

7lbs 2ozs

20.5 inches

She has dark hair, gray eyes and completely stolen our hearts

Zero to Forty!

2011-12-08T13:16:00.000-06:00

Happy Due Date Little L!

You can come out any time now.

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Baby Update - 40 weeks!

2011-12-07T14:29:00.000-06:00

Our peanut is due tomorrow! But, only 4-5% of babies are actually born on their due dates which means... she's going to be late! All I can think of is that the longer she stays in there the bigger she's going to be meaning a more difficult labor. Yikes! Either way, she'll come when she's ready I just hope it's soon!

According to BabyCenter, She should be around the size of a small pumpkin (7 1/2 pounds and around 20 inches long). I wouldn't be surprised if she's around 7 lbs now. It feels like I have a 7 pounder in there that's for sure!

40 weeks!

We had another great update at my weekly doc appt. Everything still looks great and we chatted about an induction plan. First of all, I'm still a 1+ but 80% now so that's great. We also went ahead and did the first induction technique and are patiently waiting to see if it worked. If she doesn't want to come on her own we will head to the hospital on the evening of the 14th to get the party started. Our next appointment is Monday so we'll have final details then but I'm really hoping she comes on her own.

Can you guess what I'm doing here?

Yea it didn't work.

Speaking of natural induction, I tried a few at home techniques to see if it would coax our girl out... acupressure left me with bruises, spicy food gave me heartburn and bouncing on the ball just resulted in Nate making fun of me. I actually enjoyed all of the walking I did this last week but that didn't help either. She just really likes it in there!

I'm pretty sure peanut has dropped a little bit. My Braxton Hicks contractions feel more like they're pushing her down than they did before so hopefully that's doing something. They are still painless but feel stronger and last a bit longer than they used to. Pretty crazy how my belly can change in just 4 days!

Taken last Thursday (39 weeks) Taken Monday (39 weeks 4 days)

This summer I purchased a pair of maternity denim from A Pea in the Pod and while trying them on they had a fake '9-month' belly to try on with the pants to make sure they fit correctly. At that time I thought I'd never get that big... man I was wrong! That's pretty much how big I am now but I have to say that my jeans fit perfectly and I still love them!

The '9-month' belly!

I'm so so excited for her to get here so we can share her name with everyone so I'll give you one hint about her name... it's not on the top 100 baby names list for 2011! In fact, it has never been in the top 100 ever. Can't wait to share it with you all in the next few days!

Lastly, at our baby class our instructor reminded us of how important it was to still go on dates without our peanut so as a gift to each other, Nate and I got tickets to see Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney at Target Field next summer! We most likely won't be going to Wefest again this year so this is as close as we'll get. The best part is I don't have to sleep on the ground in a tent! Woo Hoo!

Wintery Weekend

2011-12-05T10:24:00.001-06:00

Nate had Thursday and Friday off so I made sure we packed our days with to-do items to get us even more ready for baby and to just get us out of the house. By Saturday we had spent 2 days at two different malls and decided we should find an activity to do at home especially because it was supposed to snow.

Once the snow started falling we turned on the first of a few Christmas movies and got started on the first batch of cookies. We made Red Velvet Whoopie Pies, Green Christmas Wreaths, and Peanut Butter Blossoms. By the time we were finished, both of us had red and green stained hands because of all of the food coloring used. We also learned that baking cookies does not, in fact, induce labor but it was a perfect holiday weekend!

Yea, that's a lot of butter!

Check out that belly!

Nate helped... can you guess which cookie is his?

The Nursery... FINALLY!

2011-12-03T11:50:00.001-06:00

Sorry it took so long for me to post this! I was waiting for all of the elements to be put together before I showed it off. There are a still a few pieces that will be added and moved once she's here but this is basically it!

Before!

The dark stripes are brown.

Priming stripes

Daddy's working hard!

The chair before...

After!

The shelf above her changer will have her name letters on it and the frames will be moved to the wall behind the chair. I put colorful cardstock in the frames until they can be filled with photos of her.

The chair after (Thank you Mema!) and the changer that my dad and I painted.

See that cute teddy bear? My Mema had it made out of one of the shirts she used to wear when I was a child. So many memories with that shirt and such a creative way to honor them!

Her armoir has all of her clothes up to 6 months in it. The closet to the right has the rest of her clothes.

We're still looking for a lamp for the corner of the room but it's been quite a challenge. I know exactly what I want but I don't think it exists. That seems to happen a lot with me :)

Baby Update - 39 Weeks... WHAT?!

2011-12-02T10:38:00.000-06:00

We're now one week away from my due date! Gha! The emotions that come along with that are all over the place but more on that below. According to BabyCenter, we've finally gotten to a food I'm familiar with! Little L is supposed to be about the weight of a mini watermelon! Over 7 lbs (and around 20 inches long).

Although BabyCenter says she should be around 7 lbs the doc thinks she's still around 6.5 lbs but that's just an estimate. I definitely feel like I'm full of baby that's for sure! No additional progress at this weeks appointment but the doc said her head was closer to where it needs to be (-2 station). My BP was higher than it has ever been (116/something vs. 104/something like it normally is) but they're not concerned. My next appointment is Dec. 6th so hopefully we'll have some more progress by then! They also mentioned that they would try the first step of induction if I wanted it (you can ask me what they're doing if you're interested but I thought I'd spare the details). We'll see how I'm feeling next week!

39 weeks!

I've really had the urge to get the house put together. It puts me on the brink of a panic attack thinking I could go into labor any moment and we'd have to come home to the house in a mess. But at the same time I have this incredible feeling of exhaustion going on that sucks all of my motivation out of me. I'm still waiting for my energy boost so I can get all of my projects finished.

I fell asleep with my hand under my belly :)

Luckily, I've had enough motivation to get out of the house and finish up Christmas shopping. If walking really helped induce labor she'd be out by now because I've put in plenty of miles in the last week... 3 hours at MOA just yesterday alone! I do walk a bit slower than my normal pace because along with walking comes those darn Braxton Hicks contractions which makes moving a bit uncomfy. I'm about ready for those to leave and the real contractions to arrive!

Presents are wrapped!!

I can't believe the emotions that have been hitting me in the last few weeks. I am so incredibly excited, scared, worried, anxious, elated, in awe, etc! One minute I'm so excited that it's so close, then I'm sad because it's still far away and I feel like she's not coming any time soon, finally I'm anxious because everything is about to change. Repeat that cycle over and over again.

Since meeting Nate, all I would imagine and daydream about was our future... getting married, raising a family and growing old together. I still have moments where I feel like I have to pinch myself to make sure this is really my reality. I'm married to the man of my dreams and we're about to welcome a little girl into this world. I am so excited to go through this experience with him by my side and see him as a daddy. Our little girl is one lucky lady to have such an amazing man as her daddy.

When is comes to labor I'm not really scared of it because I've never experienced it before and along with wanting to be a mommy so incredibly bad came the overzealous research of what goes into becoming a mom. I know way too much about reproduction, pregnancy, and birth for this being my first time going through it. I know it's going to hurt and I know the majority of my labor decisions will be game-time decisions. I think all of my research has helped me be prepared for what my body is going through. I haven't really needed to call the doc during my pregnancy because I knew what was going on and funny enough, each time we went to an ultrasound the tech would ask if I was in the medical field because of what I already knew.

Now we're at the point of just patiently waiting. I sat in her room the other night organizing her stuff (again) and I had to hold back tears. We are so incredibly close to meeting our girl! I find myself just wandering into her room and looking around... opening her closet, looking at her clothes in her drawers, touching her crib and sitting in the rocker yearning to hold her close. She could be here tomorrow or in 2 weeks at the latest. I hope it's the earlier date :)

This experience has been a dream come true for me because I have wanted to be a mommy since my younger brother was born 25 and a half years ago. I have always loved babies and have dreamed of the day when I would have my own. Now it's just days away!!

Hurry up little girl! Your mommy and daddy want to meet you!

You know you're 9 months pregnant when...

2011-11-30T17:34:00.000-06:00

...you sit on the couch and lean forward your belly touches the cushions.

...you have to drive with your bra un-hooked or it feels like you're being suffocated.

...you knock half the ornaments off the middle of your Christmas tree when trying to place ornaments on the top half.

...you need to be shoved out of bed, off the couch, out of the car, etc.

...you eat an entire large bag (not the king size, the bulk size) of peanut butter M&M's in 24 hours and you don't even feel bad about it.

...you thank the lord that your husband has accompanied you on your recent shopping trips to grab the items that you leave at the check out... most specifically over $100 in items from the Apple Store and your husband's AmEx card.

...you swore up and down earlier in your pregnancy that you wouldn't be caught dead 'waddling' now it's that or not walking anywhere at all.

...you walk slower than your husband who just had ACL surgery 2 weeks prior.

...you spend most of your time at home with your shirt above your belly because all of your maternity shirts have gotten too tight.

...your entire house is ripped apart because you can't finish 'organizing' one room of the house without starting another room at the same time.

...your body pillow, which you once called a lifesaver, has turned into your arch enemy.

...your face twists in pain when trying to roll from your left side to your right and vise versa.

...you constantly have a smile on your face because you know that you could meet your little miracle at any moment.

(photo source)

Thanksgiving Weekend 2011

2011-11-29T12:29:00.000-06:00

I've been looking forward to this holiday season since April 3rd when we found out we were pregnant. I knew that when Thanksgiving was here that our baby would be born soon. Now, I can't believe it's already over and she's going to be here any day now!

We had an awesome holiday weekend full of family, Christmas decorating and shopping, of course!

Wednesday:

Nate had Wednesday off so we started our weekend a day early with a few doc appointments before heading out of town. I went with him to his post-op appointment just so I could see them take his stitches out... I love that kind of stuff! Doc says his knee is healing great and to keep up the good work at PT. After the appointments, we took off to Mankato to spend the night with Nate's parents and brother because we would be spending Thanksgiving with my family.

Thanksgiving!:

We spent Thanksgiving morning watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade before heading to my parents. We really enjoyed the quick trip to Mankato because we really don't get down there often enough. We're excited to see Nate's parents a bit more when L arrives.

We arrived at my parents mid-morning and I had planned to color the turkey in the paper like I do every year but sadly there just wasn't enough time. Next year! We did have time to go through the Black Friday ads, watch a little football, and make a plan for Black Friday before we went over the river and through the woods (wrong holiday I know) to my aunt and uncles house to celebrate with my dad's side of the family. It was a very wonderful get together and there was plenty of baby talk. We're all very excited that Little L will be joining us at Christmas!

See over the river and through the woods!!

38 weeks!

Black Friday:
We aren't one of the crazy one's that shop before dawn. We typically leave the house around 8am and start shopping around 830. We hit up Albertville first and found a few goodies (one that I'm so incredibly giddy about but it's a Christmas gift so I can't talk about it until then :), followed by Target and lunch. It was a very laid-back Black Friday because we pooped out pretty quickly between Nate being on crutches and me being 9 months pregnant.

After our naps, we finished off the night by helping my parents put up their Christmas decorations... Actually, Nate and my dad watched Christmas Vacation while mom and I put up the decorations because my crazy hormones turned a 2 hour project into a 5 hour project. I went through and organized all of my parents ornaments and made a hefty donate pile. It was long overdue... then mom and I got distracted by the two junk drawers in the family room and organized those! By the time we got done organizing it was time for dinner (the tree box still hadn't been opened yet!!). Finally, after dinner Nate, dad and I got the tree up with lights and I put all of the ornaments on.

While organizing I found one of my favorite books, the one that I just found at Barnes & Noble last week and I thought I'd show you how much I loved this book. I'm so happy I found this book again so Little L can enjoy it just as much as I did!

The poor cover was loose...

a nice tear through the 3rd page...

the poor little guy isn't even attached anymore...

scratched all of the scratch-and-sniff off...

and missing the last page.

Saturday:
Nate and I spent Saturday morning downtown taking advantage of some killer deals at Saks and Len. When we were walking to lunch we stumbled upon a choir singing Christmas music in the atrium at the IDS tower. It was so beautiful and we would've spent more time there if we weren't in a hurry. Love this kind of stuff!

I spent the afternoon at my Mema's house putting her tree up. It's one of our Thanksgiving weekend traditions that we've been doing for about 10 years now. We have such a wonderful time putting ornaments on and chatting. Mema taught me everything I know about decorating for Christmas and I take it very seriously :) I learned from the best!

So pretty!

Saturday night, Nate and I had our last official date night before Little L arrives. We had dinner at Wasabi and saw A Christmas Carol at the Guthrie. Last year was the first year in a while that we didn't go so we really wanted to check it out this year. We try to go closer to my birthday but thought that probably wouldn't be a good idea this year. The set was completely new and the play was a bit different as well. We both really liked the new set but there were parts of the play that I didn't really like compared to the old version. We enjoyed our little night out and are really trying to soak up these last few days before we become parents.

Sunday:

We finished up the weekend with more Christmas shopping and putting up our tree. If you're keeping count, that's tree number 3 for me! The tree is the same as last years but I picked up a few more bulbs at the end of the 2010 season. If anyone sees me try to buy more items for my tree this year remind me that it's full! We do need to find a babies first Christmas ornament though :)

That's a big belly!

I wonder if she'll have my long arms

All done!

Now if it could just snow that would be great!

Baby Update - 38 Weeks!

2011-11-23T10:52:00.000-06:00

We are now 2 weeks away from D-day! Ah! Peanut is around the size of a leek (yet another unexciting food) around 19 1/2 inches (and just under 7 lbs according to BabyCenter) but doc still thinks she's on the smaller side.

We had our weekly check-up on Monday and not much progress. She's still head down and growing on track. I'm now 70% and still at a 1 but I don't expect to progress a bunch before I actually go into labor.

38 weeks!

Speaking of labor, I had a fun day of tracking contractions last Friday. I've had Braxton Hicks contractions this entire pregnancy but I noticed them coming right after one another soon after I got out of bed so I got to use my contraction counter for the first time! I spent most of Friday on the couch laying on my left side wondering if we'd be spending the night at the hospital. They had tapered off by the evening so that was a relief. Hollie Mae and I were definitely lucky that we wrapped up our work on Thursday that's for sure!!

They were finally tapering off... whew!

This is what my belly looks like when I have a contraction... square belly!!

I (pretty much) finished up Little L's stocking this weekend too. All I had left to do after this photo was add her name, attach the back on and the piece that hooks on the stocking hook. It's now in hiding alongside her name letters until she's here :)

Here are a few other photos to summarize the week:

Little L's 'big sisters' are very excited to meet her!

This was one of my favorite books as a kid. My parents still have mine but it's been completely destroyed so I was just giddy when I found it again at Barnes & Noble... it's exactly the same!!

Lastly, one of my biggest weaknesses this pregnancy has been the combination of peanut butter and chocolate. I polished off (with a little help from my dad) an entire pan of Special K bars in 2 days over labor day weekend and just the other night I downed an entire large bag of PB M&M's. I'm only allowed to buy candy in this size or smaller from now on :)

Work Update

2011-11-21T21:19:00.000-06:00

I just wrapped up my last job working on-set last week. It's kind of a bittersweet feeling but it's OK. Last week, Hollie Mae and I worked alongside one of our favorite photographers for a new client, G&K Services. You have probably seen their orange/red trucks driving around the city but have never noticed them before. I also did some work in front of the camera for them back in the spring before I was showing. We had a great 2 days working with them and we look forward to working with them again in the future.

Also, Hollie Mae, Amy and I are happy to announce that HMStyling is now on Facebook! You can check out our page for up-to-date news on what we're up to since we all know that sometimes it takes me a bit to get caught up. Don't forget to hit the 'like' button!

When am I going back to work?
Since I am self employed I don't have a traditional maternity leave so I can head back whenever I am ready. At the moment, I'm planning on playing it by ear and just see how I'm feeling. Hollie Mae is going to keep me in the loop for jobs and I'll contribute whatever I can.

The other tough part since I'm self employed is that I may not work every week so we need to figure out a daycare plan that will be best for us. Definitely a lot of new roads to travel that's for sure!

Lastly, here are a few shots from Target.com that I was the prep stylist for a few months back alongside the fabulous stylist Tony Vu. I loved this day because it was all baby items and at that point we didn't know what we were having yet. I was drooling over all of the adorable outfits!

Photographer: Diane Rawlings

Baby Update - 37 Weeks

2011-11-17T17:42:00.000-06:00

I've decided to do weekly updates from here on out because these last few weeks are flying by and so much can change in a week! Speaking of weeks flying, I swear I blink and it's a new week! And this is a huge week... She's considered full-term!! Woo Hoo!!

Our peanut really isn't peanut sized at all. She's now as long as a stalk of Swiss chard (which I'm also unfamiliar with... what happened to the recognizable foods?!), around 19 inches and over 6 lbs. (source)

37 weeks!

We had our 37 week appointment this week and without getting too graphic, we've got some action going on! I went from 0% and 0cm last week to 50% and 1+cms this week! (If you really want to know what that means you can look it up but I thought I would spare those that don't want the details :). Doc was amazed at how wiggly our girl was. She's pretty much non-stop moving. Doc also thinks she's about 5.5-6lbs at the moment and she'll be around 6.5-7lbs at birth. All of this news definitely makes mommy and daddy very excited! I'm already looking forward to next weeks appointment!

Kita snuggling with her sister. She never lays with me like this... I think she knows!

I was hoping we'd have some change this week from last because I've been more uncomfortable. I'm still sleeping pretty well but my poor pelvis is killing me. It just aches and my tailbone is pretty sore too. Our little lady is working her way south! Plus, it just feels like she's run out of room. When she wiggles now it's quite uncomfy, especially when she kicks my belly button. The poor thing is just sad looking. I actually noticed that my stretch mark has grown a bit. I have to ask her nicely to stop attacking my belly button.

Now that's a fun angle huh?!

Nate had his knee surgery last Friday and I have to say it is so hard to see him in pain. I can only imagine how it will be for him to watch me go through labor! I think I drove him crazy by always asking if he was OK with every sound he made. He's still on crutches for at least another week but he's been to PT twice and is working his butt off to get it back in shape. We keep telling L to stay put for just a bit longer because it's really hard for daddy to carry anything on crutches :)

Only a week left til Thanksgiving?! Holy moly! And it looks like we quite possibly could have a white Thanksgiving.. my fav! Christmas and Thanksgiving just don't feel the same without snow on the ground. A week from today I'll be coloring the turkey in the paper (yes, I am 28 and still do it every year!), watching the Thanksgiving Day Parade, scoping through and organizing the circulars, making our plan for Black Friday, and finishing the day off surrounded by those I love! Can't wait!

Also, here's a reminder of the little Baby pool we've got going on. You can guess Little L's birthdate, height/weight, hair color, eye color and name!

Lastly... Did you notice my new header? Nate played photographer and took a few photos of me in front of the shades at our condo. The floor to ceiling windows really came in handy for some fabulous back lighting! He even used the correct terminology to get me to adjust how I was standing! So proud :) It worked out exactly the way we had hoped but I will not be posting the full photos of course because I am no Demi or Miranda :)

T - minus 3 more weeks!

It's Give to the Max Day!

2011-11-16T06:01:00.001-06:00

Who are you going to donate to today?

Here are the two nonprofits I donated to:

The Liz Logelin Foundation

Project Healthy Smile

Also, check out these donation incentives! Think of all that this money can do for yours and my favorite nonprofits!

(source)

Happy Give to the Max Day!

There's a baby in there!

2011-11-10T19:36:00.000-06:00

Since becoming pregnant, I have wanted to do a maternity shoot. I'm so happy that we could have our amazing wedding photographer Jacquelyn Senske shoot some photos of Nate and me so we can remember this time in our lives forever. We absolutely love the photos Jacquelyn took of us this last weekend. We're so thankful to have such a talented friend in our lives to capture these special moments for us. We can't wait for our Little L to make her grand entrance and have Jacquelyn photograph her when she's just a few days old. So much to look forward to!

Here's a little peak at our shoot!

Baby Update - 36 Weeks!

2011-11-08T11:13:00.000-06:00

Do you know what a crenshaw mellon is? Neither do I but Little L is the size of one... About 6 lbs. I think she's a bit smaller than that but I know she's gotten bigger! My belly has grown half an inch in a week and I'm still gaining about a pound a week.

(source)

Had my 36 week check up this this morning which is the start of my weekly check-ups. Everything is great! Little L is measuring right on track and is still head down (good girl!). No action yet but we're happy about that! She needs to stay put for a few more weeks!

36 weeks!

We got to check two major items off our to-do list this week. 1. We got her baptism scheduled and 2. We took our maternity photos! Huge thank you to Jacquelyn Senske Photography for doing our maternity photos. Jacquelyn also did our wedding photos. We are so so excited to see the shots!

I still get Braxton Hicks contractions a few times a day (have been since 17 weeks) the only difference now is my belly gets quite square shaped and it feels like the air is being sucked out of my lungs when it happens. It's a pretty weird feeling that's for sure!

I'm started to get more anxious about being ready for her. We have almost everything all ready. I spent the afternoon on Monday purchasing the rest of her must-have items off the registry. I felt a huge weight lift as I was sitting in her room organizing the items I got. I actually almost teared up! I also have my hospital bag about half packed and want to finish the rest of it (besides the last minute items) by Friday. Nate hasn't packed a single thing so he'll have to get his stuff ready to roll by Friday as well.

Why am I so worried about Friday? Well, Nate has surgery on Friday to repair his torn ACL/MCL so after that happens he will be pretty laid-up for a few days. I don't want him to be unprepared if she decided that this weekend is when she's coming. We have our list of back-up transportation in case I do go into labor so hopefully we'll be all set if that's the case but I'm thinking that she'll be staying cozy until December.

Next up on our to-do list... Just finish up getting ready for her! Eeeek!

Jared Allen & Maxim Magazine

2011-11-05T10:51:00.000-05:00

Back in September I wrote about working with a Vikings player for a national magazine well here it is!

Hollie Mae and I got to work with Jared Allen for a little story in Maxim Magazine's military issue! The shoot was Rambo inspired so HM, Amy and I scoured the city to find Rambo-esque attire and accessories. We found two military stores in the city that had pretty much everything we needed, CC Military Surplus and American Army & Navy Surplus. They were both wonderful to work with and had some pretty awesome guns and knives!

Jared was an absolute blast to work with! He was super nice and kept us laughing throughout the entire shoot. Just a laid-back guys guy who was uncomfortable swearing because 'there were ladies present'. His wife was pregnant at the time as well so he was quick to ask when I was due and how I was feeling. Like I said, such a nice guy!

We shot him in both his jersey and the Rambo gear. His jersey was super form fitting so I most definitely DID NOT jump at the chance to help him get it over his shoulders when we were changing wardrobe... and of course, I DID NOT giggle the whole time I was telling my husband about it... nope not me!
It was a memorable shoot for sure!

Photographer: John Loomis
Hair & Makeup: Kate Erickson

Here are a few more unpublished shots from the photographer John's website:

Did you notice that the mullet was back in the Rambo shots?? Kate did such an awesome job at resurrecting his infamous hairdo!

Recent C&B work

2011-11-04T10:20:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd share a few of the behind the scenes shots from the last Christopher and Banks shoot. It was over a month ago but better late than never right?! It was holiday themed (which I love!) and I got to wrap a bunch of presents and fluff a bunch of tinsel wreaths! I would be a professional present wrapper, wreath fluffer, Christmas decorator if I could so I was in heaven!

This makes mama happy!

Presents!

Amy and my creation!

Look it stands on its own!...

with a little help :)

Some of recent work:

Laydown Photographer: Greg Auseth at Maki Strunc

On-model Photographer: Kevin White

Wardrobe Stylist: Hollie Mae of HMStyling

Laydown Accessory Stylist and On-model Stylist Assistant: Amy Shetler

Metro Magazine - November 2011 - Fashion Throwdown!

2011-11-03T15:21:00.000-05:00

Metro Magazine challenged 5 local stylists to create one fabulous look and use each other as models. The winner gets to style the Metro Magazine spring fashion spread. Hollie Mae was selected as one of the stylists so we got to style the wonderful Molly Roark and Hollie Mae got to rock it in front of the camera herself in a fabulous Grant Whittaker ensemble. It was so much fun to watch these stylists who are used to working behind the camera get their time to shine in front of the camera. Everyone was so awesome to work with and I felt lucky to be in a room filled with so much creative energy! We had a ton of fun!

Which look was your favorite?

Head over to Metro Magazine's site and vote for your favorite look. Remember, you're not voting for the person in the photo you are voting for the stylist so if you want to vote for our look vote for #1: Molly Roark. Make sense?

Voting ends November 30th, 2011.

Check out the final looks below:

#1: Molly Roark, styled by Hollie Mae of HMStyling

#2: Hollie Mae, styled by Grant Whittaker

#3: Grant Whittaker, styled by Cindy Warner

#4: Jahna Peloquin, styled by Molly Roark

#5: Cindy Warner, styled by Jahna Peloquin

Photographer: Marshall Franklin Long

Hair & Makeup: Jen Santoro Rotty and Rhonda Jackson

Behind the Scenes:

Our gowns from Monique Lhuillier

Shoes from Neiman Marcus

This never happens... mimosas on set when I can't partake!

HM getting beautified

Getting put together

Go Grant!

HM working it!

Check out some more behind the scenes shots from Mary O'Regan of Art of Wore

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T09:59:00.000-05:00

This year instead of dressing up and heading out, Nate and I spent the Saturday before Halloween on the couch watching movies. I ended up having an allergic reaction to something (no clue what) and took a bunch of Benadryl which knocked me out so no partying for us! We did go to a costume party last weekend but we didn't take any pictures because we thought we'd take pictures Saturday night... Poo! We didn't have great costumes because once again we waited until last minute and just wore some of our Wefest garb. I swear one of these years we will get our act together and have great costumes!

My lil pumpkin

On Wednesday night, we hit up my girlfriends annual pumpkin carving party. I stuck with the etching theme and etched a new pattern into my pumpkin. One of the big maternity costumes this year was a pregnant skeleton T-shirt. I contemplated making the actual costume and while googling how I found the blog Make It and Love It. She had such a cute design and since I decided not to make the actual costume I thought I'd etch the little baby into my pumpkin, bow and all!!

My inspiration (source)

Tracing the pattern

Etching away

All done!

Can you see it?

Most of the crew

Happy Halloween!!

Baby Update - 34 weeks

2011-10-28T17:09:00.000-05:00

We have a cantaloupe! She weighs 4 3/4lbs (the weight of an average cantaloupe) and is around 18 inches long. (source)

I had my 34 week check up this week and everything is right on schedule with Little L. She was head down with her back along the left side of my belly and her feet kicking my right side constantly. She was very wiggly when the doc tried to listen to her heartbeat and would wiggle away from the probe. Silly girl. I also found out that the latest they will let me go is 1 week after my due date so looks like December 15th will be the end of the journey! Very exciting.

Cascade Falls, Osceola, WI

My next appointment is in 2 weeks and then we'll do weekly check-ups. Nate is also going to start coming with me again because they'll check to see if my body is preparing for labor at all. In the past he's only come to the major appointments because the routine ones are pretty boring.

We met with our pediatrician (who happens to be the ped that I went to in my late teens/ easy twenties!) and we just love her! She gave us homework for the weekend... Pack the hospital bag and put the carseat in the car! OMG! It's a good thing that I already started putting together items for our hospital bag weeks ago. I've had the pack-list on my computer since I was only a few weeks along but it's fun to see the items getting slowly checked off the list. I got a brand new pair of knee high socks to wear during labor because it'll be December, my feet might be cold, and how dare I wear an old pair of socks! :) Looks like all of my new goodies will find their way to the suitcase by weekends end.

Whoa!! Is my belly really that lopsided?

Next on our to-do list is finish organizing her room! I have washed almost all of her blankies, sheets, and newborn to 6 month clothes but the rest of her clothing is still at my parents house so we need to do some final organizing to be 100% ready for her. Luckily, we have 6 weeks left (which really is not that long) but I can definitely get everything put together in that amount of time, especially with this nesting thing kicking in!

Baby Update - 32 weeks

2011-10-11T14:03:00.000-05:00

I know I'm posting this a week late (I'm actually 33 weeks today!) but I'd like to stick to updates every 2 weeks so....

Here's what 32 weeks looks like!

My belly button has just started to turn inside out especially when I cough or laugh then it makes me laugh more. I also have one little stretch mark on the top hole of my belly-button piercing. My doc said that can happen so it could be a start to something interesting!

The belly-button from my angle

I now have appointments every two weeks, which makes the time fly by even faster. At this point, I'm so very excited that we're getting closer to the finish line but I also want this time to slow down a little bit. Once she's here there is no going back and Nate and I will only be a duo for a few more weeks! It's really a bittersweet feeling.

We had our baby class on Oct. 8th and we really enjoyed it. Well, Nate did drag his feet a bit when he found out it would take an entire day but it really wasn't that bad. Even though I feel like I know a lot about what's going on and what will happen at the end of this journey, I'm really glad we went to it. I really enjoyed learning about relaxation techniques for before I can have pain meds. It made us really excited to get to that point and helped the fear factor.

I also started working on Little L's Christmas stocking a few weeks ago and am about half way done. I'll finish it up until the part where I have to put her name on then pause until she's here... might possibly have my mom finish it up from that point. I love making stockings this time of year and am actually going to start a second one to get as far along with it as possible (hopefully) for my girlfriend's little one due in March.

Nate an I also started working on her room finally! Our guest room is no longer a guest room but a nursery! So excited to share the final photos with you once we have the last few pieces in place. Here's where we started though... we painted the brown stripes on the wall pink!

Primed and ready for pink!

My nesting instinct has started to kick in so I'm taking advantage of that by helping my parents organize closets. It's the least I can do because our junk has over-run their storage space. I'm going to head back over there the next few weekends to finish the rest of the closets and go through all of my brother's and my old toys. I'm actually really enjoying doing it so that helps!

My Santa Bear collection... can't get rid of that!

My work girlfriends surprised me this week with a baby shower! Hollie Mae said we had a meeting downtown with a potential client but when we got there there wasn't a client to be seen just a bunch of my friends smiling at me. That was the first surprise anything that's been thrown for me. I was totally surprised and it made me feel so special! Thanks again ladies!

This was a softball sized cupcake!

The Apple Orchard!

2011-10-10T13:34:00.000-05:00

It only took five years for me to get Nate to take me to the apple orchard!! I have always had a list of things I have wanted to do in the fall (apple orchard, haunted hay ride, horseback riding, to name a few) and we rarely get any of them done. This year the only event I can do is the apple orchard because it's ill-advised to go horseback riding pregnant and I'd rather not be scared so bad I go into labor.

We hit up an apple orchard with friends of ours and their two young children. We walked away with 6lbs of apples and now I think we should've gotten more! Luckily, I've been craving apples lately because I finished them off in just over a week! I also got over my Honeycrisp Apple snobbery because I really liked most of the apples we tried but I'm still going to favor the Honeycrisp at the grocery store.

We had such a blast that morning and I look forward to it becoming an annual tradition. It really is quite fun to see kids enjoy these types events and we can't wait to take our Little L next year!

Help reaching the high ones

Caiden and Nate sampling

What a goof!

Baby Pool!

2011-09-30T17:27:00.001-05:00

I thought it would be fun to put together a little baby pool so you guys could guess when our little lady will be arriving. I found a few sites I liked but my favorite goes a little further... you can also guess her size, hair/eye color and name! Lets see if anyone can guess correctly. Happy guessing !

Photo source

Baby Update - 30 Weeks!

2011-09-29T20:21:00.000-05:00

It completely blows me away that I'm 3/4 of the way through my pregnancy already.

Hello 3rd trimester! Within days of hitting that milestone at 28 weeks the 3rd-tri symptoms had kicked in... multiple middle of the night bathroom breaks, not being able to breathe when I bend over, headbutt's to the bladder, aching ribs and the realization that I can't see my feet when I look straight down. I also feel like my mood has improved greatly but I also think that has to do with the weather and the fact that it's my favorite season! It's absolutely beautiful outside and I no longer have to worry about sweating! All of these symptoms make me so excited because that means we're getting closer and closer to meeting our little lady!

At 30 weeks, Little L is about the same weight as a cabbage (around 3lbs) and is about 15 3/4 inches from head to toe. Our little lady is getting so big!

Source: Babycenter

It still kind of scares me to think that she will more than double in size in the next 2 months!

30 weeks!

A different angle

A friend asked, "Well we know her name starts with an L because you call her Little L right?" Actually we call her Little L because she's Little Lund. We aren't giving any hints about her name... except there is now one person that knows our little darling's name and it's the check-out woman at JoAnn Fabric. I bought letters to make her name for her bedroom but made the mistake of not scrambling the letters before heading to the check out. After scanning all the letters the check-out woman blurted out the name. My eyes got really big and I said, "Well you are officially the only person besides my husband and me that knows her name". She laughed. I was kind of sad that I 'let it slip' but honestly, it felt really good to hear someone else say her name. I know 100% that I absolutely LOVE her name. Now I just hope it fits her.

Paper for her letters. So many to choose from!

A few of her letters

We also acquired a few more items for our peanut. We now have a bouncer and a swing! I hope she loves them! I also found green bins for her changing table. Now, I'm just keeping an eye out for them to go on sale so I can save a few dollars. And lastly, I tracked down some NA red wine since I've really been missing it for some reason. I'm one happy mama!

Bins!

Happy Mama!

On our to-do list: baby class on Oct. 8th, pre-register at the hospital, put her nursery together, maternity photos, start packing our hospital bag (OMG!).

Skol Vikings!

2011-09-22T18:51:00.000-05:00

Nate and I hit up the Vikings home opener game. We try to get to at least one game a year (we were supposed to go to two last year but then this happened) and we get awesome seats thanks to dear family friends (Thanks again Jerry & Donna!). The only rough part about our seats in the 2nd row is the amount of stairs I had to walk to get to the bathroom! It was a big scary :) Sadly, we lost and it already looks like it's going to be a rough year for the poor Vikes. Hopefully they can pull it together!

Tailgating

Great seats!

Except when they play on the other side of the field :)

Touchdown! (they actually didn't score til the next play but I didn't get a picture ;)

Little L enjoyed the game too!

Liz Logelin Foundation 5K - 2011

2011-09-18T18:38:00.000-05:00

It was that time of year again... time to lace up my running shoes (riiiiiight!) It was the 4th annual Liz Logelin Foundations Run/Walk for Hope. I have yet to actually run at this event and this year I didn't even walk! I was in charge of looking after the kiddos while everyone else ran/walked but I was OK with my duties for the event.

This year they we had some serious contenders in the award categories! My cousin's husband Mike won the fastest time for his age category, my book club friend Jen's son was the fastest boy and my family friend Sarah's daughter Taite was the fastest girl in the Maddy's Mile! Way to go everyone!

Most importantly, this event supported an amazing charity helping families that have lost a parent. I haven't heard the total that was raised yet but it will help families in need.

Matt is such an awesome guy and he has touched the hearts of thousands of people. I am so glad I could be a part of this awesome event.

Run!

This is what we did while everyone ran

Kiddos getting ready to run the Maddy's Mile

Matt made it pretty far with Maddy on his shoulders. Now that's a work out!

Maddy kept wanting to help Matt announce the winners. So cute!

Click here to read or review Matt's story. I also highly recommend reading his book. It's awesome.

What is the Target Outlet?

2011-09-14T16:44:00.000-05:00

First, I must say that I can't take credit for finding this local gem. My girlfriend Kristi actually found it and started calling it the Target Outlet. It is also called the Target basement or the Target thrift store but it is actually part of a Salvation Army thrift store. The unique thing about this thrift store is it sells all Target samples. Basically everything you find in a Target store can be found at the Target Outlet at one time or another. You name it they have it... personal items, home goods, furniture, clothing, seasonal goods, cleaning supplies, kitchen items, etc.

I try to swing in about every 2 weeks to see what they have because it's always changing. The best thing about shopping here is I can set a standard of savings for other places that I shop, especially for clothing. I know exactly how much certain clothing items are at the TO and if I can find an item at another store that is less than it would be at the TO I scoop it up.

I have to admit that the store has become quite popular in the last 5 years that I've been shopping there so the prices are starting to go up so keep an eye out for certain items. Sometimes you can get an item for less at the Target store if it's on the clearance rack.

Also, everything in the store is final sale only so if you buy it you keep it. Sometimes that can be a problem because I scoop up items that I never wear or use but I will then donate it back to the Salvation Army.

Lastly, the store has 50% off clothing events on national holidays. I try to do most of my clothing purchases that day but those days are complete chaos. The store is completely packed and you can barely move BUT they savings is so worth it.

Welcome to the Target Outlet!

Racks and racks of goods

Holiday items as well

They just renovated and added dressing rooms. No more trying on items over your clothes in the corner of the store!

Here are a few posts about my Target Outlet trips:

Labor Day Weekend

Target Outlet Finds - August 15th
Take a Guess
Take a Guess... Update

Nursery Preview!

2011-09-12T09:23:00.000-05:00

We have slowly been acquiring the items for Little L's nursery. We are holding off on putting it all together until mid-to-late October since the house is on the market and we're hoping to sell it and move before she arrives. We'd really like to put everything together only once if possible so as of now, everything is hanging out at my parents house.

Here's a sneak peak at Little L's nursery:

Her colors:

Her walls will be blue (turquoise) with the pink (bright melony pink) and green (lime green) as accent colors. At our condo the walls in our guest room are already blue with turquoise, green and brown vertical stripes on one wall. We will just be painting over the brown stripe with pink then it will be all ready but if we move her room will just be blue.

Her furniture:

Graco Sommerset Crib

Graco Sommerset Changer

I found the changing table at the Target Outlet a few weeks back and my dad and I are just finishing up painting it from dark brown to white. It looks great!

Her bedding:

Bananafish - Lily bumper

Bananafish - Lily crib skirt

Bananafish - Lily sheets

The whole set!

I finally feel like we're not completely unprepared for her. I mean, we still have a ton to get done but at least we've got a small dent in our must-get list. We still need to find an armoire and a rocker/glider then we're set for furniture. The hard part is I know exactly what I want for the armoire but I think it might only exist in my head. Grrr. We also need to find bins for under her changer and purchase a mattress. There are just way too many options for mattresses out there so we have no clue which one to buy! Lastly, we're going to put her name somewhere in the room (probably over her changing table) but that won't be put up until after the birth certificate is signed. So much to do and less than three months to do it!

Crib, changer and bedding photos from Target.com

We will never forget....

2011-09-11T17:29:00.000-05:00

Source

Back-to-school is out... Halloween is in!

2011-09-09T10:52:00.000-05:00

Back in March, I shot the packaging for a couple Target Halloween costumes, well it's that time of year again and the Halloween items have hit the shelves. If you need an idea of what to be I suggest the Sailor or the Flapper :)

Also, check out the adorable Garden Butterfly Fairy. She's the daughter of our dear friends. Congrats Lyd!

Baby Update - 27 Weeks!

2011-09-07T10:04:00.000-05:00

When we found out we were pregnant back in April it felt like September would never be here... but man I can't believe how fast this spring and summer flew by. It is officially my favorite season once again. Bring on the sweaters, knee high boots and Pumpkin Spics Lattes! This is one happy mama!

27 weeks!

I am officially 6 months pregnant (or 7 months by the end of this week if you use the 4-week lunar calendar :). Either way, we now have less than three months until my due date! Yay!

Little L has been growing like crazy. She is now the weight of a head of cauliflower (almost 2lbs) and about 14 1/2 inches long.

Source: BabyCenter

We can now actually feel her body when we touch my belly. Before it was just kind of hard or kind of squishy. Last night we actually felt her little foot and she'd kick our fingers! I think she's finally been toying with the idea of going head down as I've started to feel her kicks above my belly button instead of my lower left abdomen. I don't mind her flipping around but I'd really appreciate it if she ended up head down at the end of this :)

Last weekend, Dad and I painted her changing table... actually, WE sanded it but Dad painted it with me supervising from 20 feet away. Looks pretty fabulous in white! I didn't get a final pic because we ran out of paint so it's not completely finished.

I will officially be in the 3rd trimester at the end of this week, which is completely blowing my mind! There really isn't very much time left before we meet this little peanut! So exciting!

Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-06T18:16:00.000-05:00

It was a busy Labor Day weekend with the Grandparents. Nate was in LA visiting our friend so off to my parents I went! We went shopping every day and got some awesome deals! Saturday, we headed to Target to return Little L's crib and bedding because it went on sale and the only way I could get the savings was to return everything and re-order it. Ugh. Poor mom had to lay under the crib to get to the store!!

That's safe right?!

Sunday morning Dad and I hit up the Albertville Outlet and scored some deals on adorable clothes for Little L for next summer. It was the absolute perfect day out so we really just walked from one end of the mall to the other. I also made use of drinkwear that I haven't used in 6 months! It felt so nice to drink out of a wine glass again even though it was sparkling juice.

Kita trying to get as close to the food as possible.

Little L's Christmas gift from her uncle Nate.

On Monday, I took Mom and Dad to the Target Outlet for the first time! It was another one of their 50% off apparel sales so it was complete chaos. I don't like taking people here for their first trip on these days but we managed. I didn't buy much but I found some goodies.

Chaos!

New jammies and a shirt

Little L's goodies

New maternity jacket #1!

New Maternity Jacket #2!

And the grand total for my Target Outlet goodies = $36!!

It's been busy...

2011-09-03T14:13:00.000-05:00

The last two weeks have been filled with racks of clothing, trips to almost every mall in the city, hundreds of miles of driving and an afternoon at the Vikings Winter Park! Work has been great! Hollie Mae, Amy and I had three exciting projects going on.

Two weeks ago, HM and I got to style a shoot for a national magazine with a Vikings player! I'm keeping the majority of the details a surprise until the magazine comes out but it was an amazing project and the player was an absolute riot! We had so much fun. I will post on the magazine as soon as it's released.

Last Monday, HM and I finally got to work on a Target circular job! We've been hoping to work on the circular for a while so it was so great to be able to get in there. We worked with one of our favorite photographers, Mike Maki. He's one of the owners of Maki Strunc, where we shoot Christopher & Banks but we rarely get to see him when we're there because he works at other studios as well. The shots we worked on will be in the circular around holiday time.

This last week and the week prior we were working on a large shoot for Best Buy. We shot at 0'dark-hundred on Tuesday at the Blaine store (had to be wrapped and out by 9:30am!), then shot at a few homes in Stillwater (Hi Jen!), then finished off our week at the Best Buy studio. We had 30 talent in total including kids and employees that we styled... quite a big job but we really enjoyed it.

Our office!

We heart the Tin Gypsies!

The bump and me hard at work!

How many people can we fit in this living room?

This coming week we're finishing up the Best Buy job and taking a quick break before we start 2 weeks of Christopher & Banks at the end of next week.

The State Fair!!

2011-08-29T14:17:00.000-05:00

I've been looking forward to the State Fair since I've been pregnant (well except the 3 weeks when I was really sick :)! I looooooove the fair! This year I went to the fair with my parents because I was staying with them while Nate was out of town. This was the first time I've gone on their timeline.... arrive at 8am out by noon!

The early arrival makes it hard to be interested in the foods I normally eat... corn, deep-fried pickles and dippin' dots. So instead we started the trip off with mini doughnuts! Delish! Then we slowly made our way through a pronto pup, cheese curds, a malt and finished off our trip with my beloved deep-fried pickles! It helped that there were three of us sharing each snack. Plus we walked all over the place so we didn't feel so bad about all of the bad-for-you snacks.

MMMMm.... doughnuts!

TUMS!

We spent the most time in the Health Building get my parents blood type figured out and visceral fat checked. They were both very healthy! Way to go Mom & Dad! Mom got a kick out of the fact that you could eat your way through every fried food known to man then get your visceral fat checked, ha! I qualified for free lead tested since I'm pregnant... (Just a reminder it's LEAD (led) testing not LEAD (leed) testing... darn English language having multiple meanings for a single word! :) so I got my finger poked and promptly bled all over the place requiring lots of gauze and pressure. At least I don't have high lead levels!

We have a bleeder!

By 12:30 it was time to hit the road as it got packed! It was getting difficult to maneuver around all of the people and the lines for food were insane. I definitely like Mom and Dad's fair schedule... we even had time for an afternoon nap!

Getting busy! Time to go!

I was so excited to go to the fair with my husband this year but unfortunately we couldn't fit it into our schedule because Nate was out of town both weekends during the fair. I was super bummed but we'll go next year with Little L for sure. I know she'll love the fair just like her mama!

Just like heaven

2011-08-28T17:11:00.001-05:00

We have now officially finished shooting Not A Word Was Spoken. The director Steve decided to throw in one last shot at Cascade Falls in Osceola, WI so we spent a day taking in the beauty of the falls. A reporter from the local newspaper was there while we were shooting and wrote this nice little article about the film.

I'm 24 weeks along here! Lil' L sure does hide well!

Just like heaven - The Sun

Baby Update - 24 weeks

2011-08-17T16:59:00.000-05:00

Ladies and gentlemen we have a viable baby! This is one of the major milestones in pregnancy and I'm so glad we're here! It basically means that if our little princess decides she wants to come out early that she will have a much better chance of survival but lets not give her any ideas. I'd like her to stay snuggled in there until it's snowing out.

23 weeks - one of my new maternity outfits!

I had my 24 week check up today including my glucose screening. I'll find out tomorrow if I passed but I reeeeeeally hope that I did. That pink goo that I had to drink was pretty horrible. I was able to eat beforehand (eggs and V8) so I really think that helped me not feel so funky after.

Baby measured right on schedule and her heart rate was strong. I also got my pre-registry packet for the hospital... it's getting real now! Nate and I are actually doing the birth center tour on Saturday so we'll be another step closer. I don't have my next appointment until 28 weeks and I'll be in my third trimester at that time! Woo Hoo!

Little L is currently the size of an ear of corn (just in time for the State Fair!) about a foot long and just over a pound.

Photo from Baby Center

Target Outlet Finds - August 15th!

2011-08-16T11:06:00.000-05:00

Found some fabulous steals today: saved $117!

Coppertone SPF: $3 (normally around $7)

Replacement coffee decanter: $3 (normally $15)

Ponds face wash cloths: $4 (normally $4 a piece!)

Aveeno baby: $3 a piece ($7-$8)

Picture frame: $3 ($8)

Neutrogena Natural chapstick: $.50 each. ($3 a piece)

AND the big item:

Graco Somerset changing table: $30 (normally $100!)

I'm so excited that we have purchased the first item for Little Lady's nursery! We have to paint it white but I'm very excited!

I also wanted to share what I found at the Target Outlet the previous week:

4 sweatshirts, 3 long-sleave T's, 2 T's, socks and hand covers: $14 total!

Plus:

Just One You portable swing: $9!! Normally $60!

I plan to continue to go about once a week to see if I can find more goodies for her nursery but I will only purchase clothing on 50% off days. Next one is Labor day but just a warning.... it's very crazy on those days.

Maternity Wardrobe Must-Haves!

2011-08-14T20:29:00.000-05:00

I have been living in leggings and dresses for the last few months and I finally got to the point where I knew I needed to do some serious maternity shopping. I was struggling for a while to find maternity pants that fit me and my style. I decided that I wanted to invest in a pair of really good maternity jeans and fill the rest of my need with less expensive options. Here are the pieces that I think are must haves:

Denim:

Skinny Jeans!

Source

I am a huge fan of skinny jeans. I think they look fab and I love wearing them with a boot. They have really been the only style of jean that I've worn in the last 3 years. Naturally, I had to find a few fab pairs of skinnys of the maternity variety.

I scooped up a pair of Seven's from A Pea in the Pod in the darkest wash possible. These will be very versatile because they can be both casual and dressy. They are also fab because of their full belly band so I can wear them through my entire pregnancy AND after. I'm wearing the band folded down at the moment and when I get bigger I'll be able to wear it up over my belly. I plan to use these after Little Lady is born as well as with future pregnancies. With this brand you will have to purchase up a few sizes. I purchased up 3 sizes in these Sevens and they fit perfectly.

The belly band!

I also scooped up a pair of black skinny's from Gap. They are a great mid-price brand and combined with the amazing web and in-store deals you can get a pair for a really good price! I got this pair for under $30 in-store! With this brand you can buy closer to true-to-size. I bought my exact size. Also, we have a Gap Maternity at the Mall of America so you can stop in, find your size, then buy them online!

Gray denim is a must! I found a pair at Gap.com in the clearance section and combined it with a 40%-off web-deal and got them for around $20! I'm so excited to pair them with my over-the-knee moto boots and a fab sweater! I bought one size down from my normal size and they are a little roomy in the booty but I'm loving them!

Source

Leggings! I finally found some great legging that are very minimally see-through (unlike all of my pre-preggo leggings) at oldnavy.com. I also waited until a big web discount and got them for under $10! They are lower in the front so they fit below your belly. I'm not a huge fan of Old Navy's denim though.

Tops:
I found a bunch of tanks and T's with the scrunching along the sides at numerous stores including non-maternity stores! Old Navy and Gap. They are inexpensive and the web coupons are too good to pass up. I also check out Target clearance sections when I'm there.

From Gap

Another store that surprised me was Forever 21! The one at the Mall of America has a very small maternity section but they have great basics. Grabbed a few tanks and another pair of pants.

Forever 21

Last but not least, I also hit up the Target outlet in Minneapolis and find tops for $3-$8. I've been trying to only buy clothing on their 50%-off days so it's an even better deal.

Other mama-to-be must haves:

Eucerin Cream: Another mama-to-be suggested using Eucerin cream instead of a cocoa-butter cream for preventing stretch-marks. Makes so much sense! This stuff is like paste! Really hoping it works!

Boppy Total Body Pillow: I sleep like a baby every night because of this bad boy! Since I've been pregnant I've switched from a stomach sleeper to a back sleeper and I'm no longer allowed to sleep on my back. With this pillow I can still sleep on my back with the narrow piece underneath me propping me at a slight angle. I found mine at Target for $49.99.

The last few weeks...

2011-08-13T16:45:00.004-05:00

have been incredibly busy work wise. I actually had to go back and look at when I posted a work post last. It's been baby central! The week we found out we were having a little lady (4 weeks ago already!) we just started another two week Christopher & Banks shoot. I'm now working alongside Hollie Mae at the on-figure shoot as well as the laydowns. I love being able to work with talent so I'm very happy that I get to be there. It's a whole different beast compared to the laydown shoot but it's also a very busy week just like the laydown shoots. Four more weeks and we'll be shooting holiday for C&B! Getting excited already!

Racks of shoes at the on-fig shoot

HM and one of the posters we worked on at C&B Corp.

Happy mama at the laydown shoot!

This last week I was a prep stylist for Target working on more holiday stuff. I'm so excited to share these shots with you guys once they are finally out. This is the second time that I've worked with this crew and I have to give a shout out to Meg for suggesting me to the stylist! Really hoping that working with this team with become a regular thing.

The rest of the month will be a giant blur! HM and I have 3 big shoots on the calendar and are so incredibly pumped to work for these clients. Hoping to do a better job at keeping you all posted at what's going on in the next few weeks!

Baby update - 22 weeks

2011-08-03T16:45:00.002-05:00

By request from one of my dear friends here is a belly update. My belly hasn't changed much in the last 6 weeks but little lady sure has gotten bigger! Her kicks and punches have gotten a lot stronger and we can feel her summersaulting in there. I have also noticed she has more distinct sleeping and awake times and when she's awake, she's AWAKE! Tons of kicks, punches, flips and flops. I love being able to watch her flop around in there.

16 weeks 22 weeks

An interesting angle

We are finalizing nursery ideas and are trying to track down all of the pieces that will make her new bedroom fabulous. Now we just need a new house to put her in.

Baby L saying hi! It's really hard to see on this video but she kicks 3 times.

I have my next appointment in 2 weeks and I'll get to do the big glucose test! Really hoping I pass so I don't have to cut out chocolate and ice cream! Plus, Two more weeks and we hit a big milestone... we'll have a viable baby!

Minnesota Bride Magazine - Summer 2011

2011-07-27T17:56:00.000-05:00

Here is our spread in this months Minnesota Bride. We are all so very excited about how it turned out! We got to celebrate the new mag and the top wedding vendors at Minnesota Bride's Best Of 2011 party last Thursday. It was a super fun event with delicious food (think the BEST wedding food and desserts!) and great company.

The fabulous Mary O'Regan announcing the winners

Team HMStyling

Photographer: William Clark
Stylist: Hollie Mae of HMStyling
Stylist Assistants: me & Amy Shetler
Hair & Makeup: Andrea Holton
Model: Kelly from Ignite Models
Photo Assistant: Ben John

Our Princess!

2011-07-21T20:38:00.000-05:00

Our appointment yesterday was so fun! I was so excited... until we turned onto the road my clinic is on... then I was terrified. I have been very nervous before each of my 3 ultrasounds. I'm always just scared that everything is ok with the baby. I was pretty shaky and queazy right before going into the room but our tech is absolutely awesome and calmed me down within minutes of putting the wand on my belly. She didn't make us wait to hear if the baby was ok she just let us know as we went along that everything looked great.

Little lady was wiggling all over the place so there was no need for my arsenal of sugary treats. The only tough part was she was sitting butt down in my pelvis the whole time so it was a bit of a challenge to figure out that she was a she! It took about an hour to check all of her out, we got to see all of her major organs and it was such a relief to hear that she's healthy!

When we started the ultrasound I asked Nan (our tech) if we could try and figure out what the baby was before Nan would tell us. Since I've been doing lots (Nate would say 'too much') research, I could tell what we were looking at (most of the time) and knew what to look for between the legs. When we got to the important time Nan said she already knew but we could guess. It was pretty tricky because the only shot was through her crossed legs but I could tell there were no boy parts present. I said, "It's a girl right?" and she said, "yes, it's a girl!" My intuition was right all along!

Now, we're just getting used to the idea that we'll be welcoming a daughter into our family in 4.5 months. I'm loving all of the cute little pink outfits that have joined my collection of mainly gender neutral mini clothing. Also, my organizing instincts are starting to kick in. I just want to be in our new house and have her nursery all put together waiting for her. It's going to drive me crazy not knowing where we are going to be house-wise in the next 4.5 months.

We have a short list of names that we're set on and most likely have her name selected but we're going to keep it a secret until she's born. We would like to figure out a funny name that we can call her in the mean time so we don't have to call her The Baby. So far she's been Peanut, Peach, Smurf, etc, but I'd love suggestions for a cute name to call her! We're just so excited to be welcoming a little girl into our family. I just feel bad for Nate... He's completely outnumbered!