It BABY Time!!!

It appears that we have arrived at BABY time! Last week it was determined that Baby Archibald was about 1 pound smaller than he/she should've been for being 35 weeks old. We were told not to worry, but that we would have to squeeze in an additional visit each week for a special ultrasound to determine Baby Archibald's growth status. Our first of these special tests was Friday afternoon.(October 26th.)

Following the 45 minute test, our OB entered the room and said, "Congratulations...you're going to have a baby..." We both thought to ourselves, "Yeah..we knew that." Then after a long pause, Joy said, "Do you mean today?", to which the Doctoer replied, "Yep...are your bags packed?" We told her that they were, but they were at home (about an hour away). We were told to head home, get our things together, get our butts back to the hospital and get checked in.

Now, the baby is not in serious distress, but due to an issue with the placenta, the baby has not been getting proper nutrition lately. Not a major issue, as long as they induce labor now and get little baby Archibald OUT of there so that they can better assist in providing the proper nutrition. As they put it... "We can help the baby better outside than in".

So here we are on Saturday afternoon in the Labor and Delivery Room at Fairview Riverside Medical Center just a few miles from where we both work everyday. The baby is fine, we are just waiting for the "jump start" drugs to work their magic and start the labor process. That could happen at any time. We DO know that we will not be returning home without baby Archibald safely nestled in the little car seat that awaits him outside.....or her?

Joy's family is "awaiting further development" back at our house. Tom's family anxiously awaits news as well, while they bite their nails in Oregon. Grandma and Grandpa Archibald are still planning their trip out for the original Thanksgiving time due date and are happy that they will get a full 3 weeks with their 9th grandchild.

Below are a few peliminary photos of our experience so far.....starting with a "belly shot" of Joy taken just before we left for the hospital Friday evening.

More news and photos to follow soon (Yes, we brought the laptop to the hospital - get over it!)

A last minute photo before leaving home (last time as a twosome)

After checking in We got some stats....

Joy thought she should make a few calls.

Ugh! Breakfast...do I have to?

Just a little pain...

Finally...some rest (at about 8 am yesterday)

The view from our window on the day of Baby Archibald's birth.

More to come soon...

Tom's first studio shoot

The fact that "Baby Time" is getting so close still takes us by suprise at least a few times each day. In just over a month, our lives will certainly be changed forever. We think we have all of the necessities in place. We met with a pediatrition this morning and he seems like a nice guy so we have decided to give him a try. We also have an appointment with the Sheriff's Department to install the car seat. And finally, on a recent shopping trip we completed our list of what we think are the most essencial baby items to have on hand.

The above portrait of Joy is just one sample from the dozens that Tom took for his first portraiture assignment. Tom couldn't wait to post them online despite Joy's humble resistance.
View a slide-show of Joy's portrait session by clicking here.

Today is Tom's birthday (45), so he took the day off. Tonight is our final "Baby Class". After six weeks of "Heeh-Heeh-Heeh" ing, we are excited to move on with our lives. Though we have a much better understanding of what to expect here in a few weeks. The tour of the maternity ward at Fairview Riverside Hospital was also very exciting and informative.

In other news... The Web Shack is thriving while Tom struggles to keep up with the web design work and still keep his 4.0 average at school. Perhaps the baby will keep us home and allow us to get more work done.......well......probably not. I must have just been day dreaming.

Fall is in the air with temperatures falling into the 50's. Today is very windy and a bit chilly. A good day to stay inside and try to get some work done.

Oh Happy Day!

The nursery is nearly complete! Grandma and Grandpa Lamolli bought the crib - thank you Grandma and Grandpa! The furniture has been assembled, the new baby clothes all washed and put away, and the daybed has been moved up from the family room downstairs. So, after a very busy weekend of purchasing some final items, we are happy to have everything done except for a few final touches (mostly things to put on the wall) and purchasing more of the "necessities" like blankets, extra crib sheets, carriers, boppy pillows, etc. - but the big stuff is done!

Ok...now where do we put the rest of the stuff like toys, playpen, exersaucer, bouncy seat, and all of the other stuff that once filled this room. We are already talking about what can go in that infamous space "under the stairs". I guess these things will work themselves out.

100 days to go.... What do we do now?

Our Shock and Sympathies

We are still in shock over last evening's tragedy here in Minneapolis. The 35W bridge that collapsed is one that we use frequently and is only a few blocks from the U of M campus where we both work. It was quite freaky to actually see my office on in the background on CNN's coverage. Sadly, It will take our city years to recover.

On my lunch break only minutes ago. I took my camera down the street to document whatever I found....mostly tons of people lining the streets just trying to see whatever they could. The authorities kept everyone away from the scene. Media from all over the world are set up in a staged area near the scene. Satellite trucks, reporters, cameras etc. line the edge of University Ave. Anderson Cooper of CNN (Cooper News Network) isn't here yet....but give it time.

Our hearts and prayers are with those that are most affected by this tragedy.

Below is 35W looking north from the point at which the road is still intact. Looking south from this point is where the scene takes a much darker view (1st photo at top).

Spectators everywhere!

God Bless the survivors as well as those still lost.

It's a kicker!!

It's official - Baby Archibald is kicking! I started feeling what I *thought* was movement a couple weeks ago, but I wasn't sure. Then last week I suddenly felt a definite POP! There was no denying that was the baby making its presence known! A few of the kicks have even been strong enough to feel from the outside. Tom was able to feel it last week. He thought I was playing tricks on him by moving the blanket that was on my belly, but it wasn't me! It was our little "Jackie Chan" karate kicker. :) (We've also referred to him/her as "Walker" for Walker Texas Ranger, but somehow Jackie Chan just seems better.)

The web design business has also been keeping us busy lately. There is never a dull moment. Tom is almost done with his summer semester of school (2 more weeks to go!) then he gets 4 weeks off before the fall semester starts. Yippee!! A break from night school will be SO nice.

It looks like I will be going back to work part-time, at least between now and November. I will be going back to the same office at the University where I worked before. I am so lucky - they have offerred me a part-time position that will allow me to split my time between the office and working from home. I will only have to go to the office 2 days a week. Part of me is not completely excited about going back to work, but at least it will give us some extra funds to buy much-needed baby items and they are being so good to me with the flexible schedule. Plus, it's only until the baby arrives in November and then I can decide whether or not I want to go back. I really am blessed to have so many options.

This weekend we are going "up north" to northern MN to visit my family for the weekend. Hopefully we will be able to get out on the boat! We haven't been on the lake at all this year. The land of over 10,000 lakes and we can't seem to get on 1 of them even once. Summers just go by too fast - and of course it makes it harder when you don't own a boat - ha! It will be great to just relax and enjoy time with family in the northwoods. We are also taking pictures at a wedding reception up there. My former boss asked if we would come take pictures at her mom's wedding reception. That will be exciting, too - and more photography experience!

This past weekend was a busy one. We had a long client meeting on Saturday with a web site client and we also got some work done on the house. We finally finished painting our upstairs hallway - hooray! It had been half-painted for a few months. We still have lots of areas to finish painting, but one step at a time. Sunday was hectic but FUN as we went to Babies R Us and Target to register for their baby registries. It was nice because it helped relieve some of our shopping urges - we felt like we were buying all kinds of stuff - yet we didn't actually buy anything. It was fun just picking things out. We only have one more registry to complete (Burlington Coat Factory) and then we are done. It was definitely a fun day!

Well, I guess that is it for now. We hope everything is going well for all of you and would love to hear from you! Take care and enjoy your summer!!

Joy

We Have Wallpaper!!

After several weeks of paint but no wallpaper in the nursery, we finally finished the wallpaper border today! Yippee!! It was quite a task involving a big bucket of water, a large sponge, a few curse words and only a couple minor arguments. :)

Our nursery is now complete - well, the paint and wallpaper part is complete - there's still a long way to go with furniture, supplies, etc. The next big step will be the furniture. Once we have that, we will add the finishing touches - pictures, shelves, etc.

Here's a picture of the nursery as it is now with the new wallpaper border and the window valance.

And here's a close-up of the border:

Some "ducky" little friends just waiting to play with Baby Archibald:

It's such a relief to have this piece of the project complete - the nursery is getting there! Our goal is to have the nursery completely ready 1 month before the due date. Here's hoping! Progress will be stalled for a while now that we are saving for the big furniture purchase.

We hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the summer. Have a safe and happy 4th of July!

Tom, Joy and Baby Archibald

Say Cheese, Baby Archibald!!

Well, today was the "big day" - our big Level II ultrasound! The little one was NOT very cooperative. It laid with its back toward us almost the entire time and would not roll over. The tech kept poking and prodding, trying to get the little one to move and FINALLY at the very end it rolled over just long enough for the tech to get the few images and measurements she needed. We got one quick profile shot and that was it, so here it is...

A doctor came in and reviewed all the scans and measurements and said the little "bean" looked great! He/she weighs 8 ounces (1/2 pound), which is exactly where it should be at this point. All the measurements (organs, limbs, head, etc.) were normal and the heartbeat was good and strong (151 beats per minute).

We also have a new nickname for the baby - Skeletor! Okay, we won't really call it that, but there was one picture we got from the ultrasound of the baby looking directly at the screen and you saw the outline of the skull (eye sockets, nasal opening, etc.) - it looked just like Skeletor! Tom thought it was too scary.

It's strange to think how much this little one has grown in the past couple of months - from a little tiny "peanut" to a tiny human - and a stubborn, uncooperative human at that! Is this a sign of baby's behavior to come? Yikes! :)

Busy as Bees

Wow, two posts in one day?!? Expect snow in June because this is a RARE event for us to post so often. We have been very busy the last week so thought we'd catch everyone up on our adventures (not that they're really THAT exciting).

The freshly painted, yet still messy, new nursery.

The wallpaper border will go in between the two colors.

The wallpaper border is a "pond" theme with frogs, turtles and dragonflies.

The new playpen - a Graco pack-and-play

The new stroller/car seat combo.

The rocking chair in the last picture belonged to my Great Grandmother and three generations have been rocked in that chair (my grandfather, my mother and me). We're hoping to get it re-upholstered in time to add a 4th generation to that list. Right now there's just no comfortable way to sit in it, unless you like pokey springs - ouch!

COMPANY

Another event this week was the arrival of family friends from Los Angeles. Walter and Eleanore are my stepfather's friends from L.A. He has known them for many years and they have come to Minnesota to visit many times. We have gotten to know them over the last few years and were blessed to have them stop and stay with us for a day on their way north to my mom and stepfather's house. This time, Walter's sister, Ilse, came with them. She is a missionary in Panama and is on vacation here in the states for a few months. It was wonderful to see them again, and to meet Ilse - they are all such kind, loving people. Walter and Eleanore brought us a gift bag FULL of baby clothes and a blanket that their daughter made. Ilse brought us items made by the indians she lives with in Panama - they are absolutely beautiful! She also serenaded us with a beautiful song for our anniversary (they were here on June 6th, which is my birthday and our wedding anniversary).

BIRTHDAY/ANNIVERSARY

As I mentioned, June 6th was my birthday and our 9th wedding anniversary. We celebrated a few times, which was nice - it's always fun to celebrate an event more than once! We went out to brunch with my family while they were here on Sunday the 3rd. Then we went out to dinner with Walter, Eleanore and Ilse on the 6th.

OUR FIRST WEDDING PHOTGRAPHY

Saturday, June 9th, was our first professional wedding photography gig. Ugh, can I just say I am STILL exhausted? It went very well, especially for our first time. Unfortunately, some of our lighting equipment failed, but we had a good backup flash system and plenty of daylight, so we didn't need them afterall. We were there for 13 hours on Saturday - that is a VERY long day. We have learned that next time we will arrange specific hours that we will be there, instead of making it an all day (and practically all night) event. We are very happy with the results, though, and hope the bride and groom will be as well. The portraits turned out very well and all in all it was a wonderful wedding and it really was fun (just exhausting). I spent all day Sunday laying on the couch with my feet up - what a lazybones! I was tired, sore and my legs were swollen so I decided to take a day to just be lazy. It's every pregnant woman's right, isn't it???

THE WHEAT FIELD HAS BEEN CUT

We FINALLY got around to mowing the wheat field that has been growing in our backyard. Poor Tom struggled in the heat and humidity on Sunday to try to return our lawn to normal. Sunday was a very hot day, but he finished the entire backyard. Sadly, the front lawn is now in need again. A man's work is never done, is it? Unfortunately, I just have not been as much help in the yardwork department this year; I did a lot more mowing last year but just have not had the strength or stamina to push that mower around this year. I'm such a wimp.

BABY NEWS

Well, there really isn't a whole lot to share in the baby department, but what is an Archibald blog post without a baby update? Tomorrow (June 12), I will be 17 weeks. I am still tired most of the time and am still struggling with morning sickness (all-day sickness, actually). The only other changes I have noticed is my legs and feet tend to swell up if I am on my feet too long - yippee. When are the GOOD changes going to start? My next regular appointment is June 22nd and the "big" ultrasound is June 28th. We have decided to keep the sex a secret and be surprised in November. It will still be exciting to see how much the baby has grown at that next ultrasound - we haven't had one since 7 weeks. I am also anxious for them to do all the basic anatomy checks and make sure everything looks okay. Hopefully we will have another ultrasound picture to post here! We're trying to piece together the nursery as time and money allows. It's coming along. I think the next big purchase will have to be the furniture (crib, changing table, etc.). THAT will be an exciting day! I keep telling myself we have plenty of time until November, but I know how fast that time will fly by.

Wow, this turned into a very long post. I guess that's what happens when you don't update for a while. We hope and pray you are all doing well and would love to hear from you.

Take care and God Bless you all!

Joy

Long Grass, Bright Nursery

Our backyard has officially become a jungle. Oh sure, the front yard looks nice, but it's long past time that we mow the backyard. Summer has smacked us in head. (is it even officially summer yet?) We have been spending way to much time inside working on various web projects and have yet to begin our regular outdoor activities resulting in long grass, too many weeds and generally too many yard projects to wrap our minds around.

On the other had, we DID get our nursery painted last night. Joy's family spent the weekend with us and graciously helped us clean out our downstairs spare bedroom from the massive Department 56 Christmas Village that still hadn't been completely put away. Then we moved the upstairs spare room furniture to the downstairs room where it took on a much cozier efftect after a quick decoration session. Ok, now the upstairs room can be converted into a nursery.

It was merely minutes after the family left for home that Tom grabbed a paintbrush and roller and began splashing paint on the walls of the now empty room. By 11:30 pm last night the nursery paint project was completed. In the days to come we will place the wallpaper strip around the center of the room and it will be complete!....Now we just need to save for the baby furniture. So, back to the web projects we go. So much for getting the backyard mowed.

This coming weekend we will photograph our first professional wedding. We are very nervous about getting it right. It's time to put all the training and tid bits of information together and make it all work. Tom recently purchased a set of professional lights complete with a power pack, umbrellas etc. After a few more ebay purchases, (Compact Flash cards, gizmos, meters etc.) we'll see if we can bring everything together and make the flashes flash! Wish us luck. It seems easier to just be the bride and groom.

Memorial Day coming Soon!

We are anxiously awaiting Memorial Day weekend. We will travel north to spend a few days with Joy's family. No hot tubbin' this time, but we are hoping the weather will allow us to get out on the lake even if for a little while. Regardless, we look forward to spending some time relaxing and sitting around (we're really good at that).

We have finally managed to finish up three large web projects that have been hanging over our heads for some time. Of course, there are more to follow. Our work is never done.

Tom has received his final grades for the semester that just ended. Happy to annouce a couple of more "A"s. One in Digital Darkroom (a Photoshop Class) and another in Photographer's Assistant. In only a few weeks, class starts up again with Ambient Lighting. In the Fall it will be Wedding Photography and Portraiture 1. Needless to say our biggest excitement this year will come in November!

And...what will we do now that our favorite show "Heroes" has wrapped up for the season??

Have a safe and fun-filled Memorial Day weekend!

A Nice Mother's Day...

We enjoyed a nice Mother's Day with a sunny afternoon drive north to Pequot lakes. Pequot is a very small town just north of Joy's home town, Nisswa, Minnesota. Joy's Grandma, Great-Grandma and her Uncle Paul were all recognizable figures in Pequot for decades. Several anscestors are burried there, so it has become tradition to visit the grave sites and do a little clean up and leave some flowers as well. We then had lunch with Joy's family in Pine River, MN and returned home to Andover late Sunday night.

The Archibald's in Oregon had a nice time as well. We really wish we could just "blink" ourselves there for a visit now and them. Sadly, we must rely on phone calls and second-hand stories to be a part of the fun.

Baby is just about 13 weeks. Joy's world is one full of nausea and...well more nausea, I guess. We are hoping that she will get through this miserable stage and move onto the next tri-mester with bundles of positive energy. We can hope can't we?

New Baby Photo!

Extra! Extra! We have the 2nd photo of Baby Archibald!

We had our 2nd ultrasound today. The baby appears to be healthy and is growing as it should (9 weeks). We were able to see and hear the heartbeat again. This time the little one was VERY active on the ultrasound, moving all over. That is, until the doctor turned the monitor so Joy could see, then the baby decided to be shy and stop moving! Argh! Playing games on its mother already! At least Tom got to see it moving around.

Yes, it still looks like a "blob" but now it's a bigger blob with arms! The circle on the bottom is the head, the two things sticking out on each side are the arms and the top circle is the rest of the body. You can't see the legs from this view, but the Doctor was able to show us the legs on the ultrasound, too. Tom thinks this ultrasound looks like a picture of Homer Simpson. Hmmm, should we name the baby Homer?

Joy is nauseous almost 24/7 now. Ugh - SO much fun. The saltines and ginger ale seem to work a little bit, at least for a little while. So now Tom is the one eating for two - ha,ha!

Tom went home to Oregon last weekend (Wednesday-Sunday) to be with family and attend John's memorial. He loved being there and getting to see everyone again; I know it was very hard for him to come back. We are planning to take a family trip out there for Christmas 2008 - should be fun with a little 1-year-old!

We also wanted to send a big "Get Well Soon" to Jesse. He was badly injured in a skiing accident in Utah. We are thinking about you and hope you recover soon. We know you are in good hands!

And finally, our thoughts and prayers are with the families, friends, students and staff of Virginia Tech. What a horrible, horrible tragedy. We also send our prayers to the family of the gunman. Such a tragic loss for all. We hope everyone will one day find peace and comfort in the memory of their loved ones.

Take care - we will try to update again soon. It had been a while this time.

Baby's First Photo

We have the first photo of our little "coffee bean"!

Our first ultrasound was this past Wednesday (April 4th). The little bean is healthy and doing well! We were able to see the baby AND see and hear the heartbeat! It was absolutely amazing!! The baby is about the size of a coffee bean right now (hence the nickname) so there isn't a lot to see, but we could see the tiny heart flickering on the screen and when the doctor turned on the audio we could hear it beating loud and clear. That was unbelievable - we weren't expecting to be able to hear the heartbeat this soon!

The doctor also found a second sac from the other embryo that was transferred during our in vitro. It appears the second one attempted to implant as well, but wasn't successful. We are definitely thrilled to have one though!

Here's the first picture of our little bean. The little peanut on the right side of the black oval is the baby. The circle to the top and left of the baby is the yolk sac (is this too much information?):

Isn't technology amazing? We are having another ultrasound two weeks from now on April 18th. The doctor just wants to be absolutely sure that there is nothing growing in that second sac.

Also, here is a link to our new Photo Gallery.

Happy Easter everyone!!!

Our thoughts are with Cheri, Kellen and Cody...

Our thoughts are with Tom's sister Cheri following the loss of her husband John on Saturday, March 31st. John collapsed at his home from an unknown heart ailment. He was only 48.

We are also thinking of Kellen and Cody. They should not have lost their father at such a young age. Cheri and John would have celebrated their 25th Wedding Anniversary this summer.....instead, a celebration of John's life will be held in July.

Our thoughts, tears and prayers are aimed at Cheri and the boys at this very sad time. We are thinking of them every single second. Tom will fly to Oregon next week to be with them.

A community memorial service will take place on April 12th at the new Riverhouse Convention Center in Bend, Oregon. This is a beautiful building in which John and his company had just finished construction.

Cheri, Kellen, Cody....We love you!

And so it begins...

Okay, it's official. I am now starting to feel the bad side of early pregnancy! Ha! I have been EXTREMELY tired lately and have an upset stomach most of the time. I haven't had any major nausea (thank goodness!) - just a general queasy feeling most of the time. It makes it difficult to want to eat anything.

The days seem to be dragging by SO SLOWLY but I know someday I will look back at this and be shocked at how quickly time passed. Each day I look at my pregnancy books and journals and think "I'm only one day closer? We still have 240 days to go?".

Well ... I realize this blog is probably incredibly boring, but there isn't much else to share right now. Here are some pictures of some things we've picked out for the nursery. We haven't bought them yet, but they've gone on the "baby list":

Crib:

Changing Table with Hutch:

Close Up of Leap Froggie Bedding Set:

My turn - though not much to update

Hey gang - this is Joy.

Okay, since Tom has done all the posting thus far (I'm not very good at keeping up with things like that), I decided it was time for me to post something...so here goes.

Things have been pretty quiet around here. I've just been spending my days relaxing with all the puppies and keeping up with some of the Web Shack work. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous lately (in the 80's yesterday!!) so it's been great to get outside and enjoy the backyard again. The birds are attacking the feeders in full force - it seems I'm filling those bird feeders every day now. We've had lots of Juncos, Chickadees, Sparrows, Mourning Doves and Cardinals. Can you tell I like to watch the birds? I can't wait for the spring birds to arrive.

Tom and I still can't believe we're expecting a little one this fall! It just hasn't sunk in yet. So far, I haven't noticed many changes - only some cramping and a little bit of nausea a couple times, but other than that, nothing seems different. Sorry if that's too much information. :) I'm sure everything will be VERY different before too long. As Tom mentioned in an earlier post, our first ultrasound is scheduled for April 4th (next week). We should hopefully be able to see the "little bean" and maybe even see the heart beating! I'm not sure that we will be able to hear the heartbeat yet - I don't think it's far enough along for the Doppler to pick it up. I think that day will be a big eye-opener for us. Then my first appointment with my OB-GYN is April 20th.

We've been doing a lot of "window shopping" for the nursery. We've picked out so many things we want to get and it's so tempting to want to rush out and buy everything now, but we have 8 months to prepare and can't blow the budget on everything now! Mortgage? Who needs to pay the mortgage? I want to buy a crib! Ha,ha!

At this point, we have decided that we will not find out what we are having - we want it to be a surprise. Who knows - at some point down the road, we may change our minds, but at this point we prefer to be surprised the day of delivery, so we've chosen a neutral nursery theme - yellows and greens with a garden or pond theme (frogs, turtles, dragonflies, butterflies, etc.).

Hmmm ... what else? There's so much I could ramble on and on about! At this point, we haven't received an exact due date from our Doctor, but based on our own calculations, it should be around November 20th. We may be eating Thanksgiving Dinner in the hospital this year! What an amazing thing to be thankful for this year, huh?

Tom is continuing his night classes at Hennepin Technical College for Professional Photography - he goes 3 nights a week (Tues - Thurs). Between working, Web Shack and school - I don't know how he does it! It will be so wonderful when he graduates and we can begin focusing on the photography business. All I can say is there should definitely be a lot of pictures of this little baby!!

Well, I guess that's everything for now. It's such big, exciting news and yet there seems like there isn't a lot of new information to share. We'll keep you posted on the little "pinto bean" (apparently the little one is currently the size of a pinto bean). There's a ticker at the bottom of this post that shows how far along we are.

Take care and God Bless!!

The House is so Quiet

We have our first ultrasound on April 4th. We are excited about the mere confirmation of what we already know. Otherwise everything seems ok thus far.

After a month of having family in the house, Mom Lamolli and Grandma have returned to their home up north. The house is soooo quiet. We'll miss the "Westerns" on the tube that would play 'til the wee hours of the morning as grandma would stay up past all of our bedtimes. Some things never change! Grandma has also been our laundry queen for the last month...again, some things never change.

Our web business is going bonkers with new business lately. We are also trying to finish several web design projects. We are keeping up, but have not yet managed to keep ahead of the game.

Tom is on Spring Break from Photography School. It's nice to both be home in the evenings, if only for the week. Next week the madness returns.

That's all for now.

Welcome to our Blog

Welcome to our Blog! We have been meaning to post something here for quite some time and haven't. Now, we have a pretty good reason to post. We have learned that we are expecting our first "little one" in November. No, not our 7th dog!! We'll stay at 6 for a while in that department. We are excited at our news of a real live baby coming our way in the late fall. We're thinking that Thanksgiving week would be good.

We have much to do to prepare for this adventure. Painting, shopping, making more lists of possible names...more shopping.

We can't wait for our new world ahead to begin. It may be a long nine months.

Check back with us. perhaps we might even keep up with this.