Vranicar Family: Party of 5

This year I am unable to be part of our co-ed volleyball league. I'm missing playing and seeing the team every week but with a certain over excited, spacing hogging player on our team I can't run the risk of ending up face down in the sand with him on top of me again. (This happened three times last year resulting in many bruised legs, arms, back, etc.) So I have resorted to being a spectator and last night was the first game that I was able to attend. It was pretty chilly so I went home after work to change into something warmer to sit outside in. Here's what happened next... I walk to my dresser and pull out a pair of jeans. In the back of my mind I thought I could get buy with getting them zipped and using the bella band to hold the button in place. Well, sure enough, I got them on just fine...the zipper though wasn't going anywhere. :) It looked ridiculous and felt way too tight to try to sit in. Good bye jeans. I then peeled the pre-pregnancy jeans off and walked t

Good morning! Today marks week 19 and baby is about the size of a mango; about 6 inches and 8.5 ounces. Next week is our big ultrasound and I just can't wait. Remembering what it was like to see the heartbeat at 6 weeks to now nearly 14 weeks later there being a fully formed baby. An amazing miracle.

It's hard to write just how exciting last night was. While it may seem little, last night made me feel like we really were going to be bringing a little person into this world in a few short months. Let me explain... A generous co-worker of mine offered to give Kevin and I a high chair and pack and play that his grandchildren had outgrown. I of course said we would love them. Yesterday I brought both items home and discovered that each were practically brand new. What a great surprise! Plus they are neutral colors that will work for a boy or girl. Once Kevin got home last night we set up the pack and play, which is a story of its own. I've put together many a play pen in my day but for some reason, when you anticipate this one holding your child, it is very different. Standing in our living room looking at the new pieces of furniture it seemed so real. I am just so thankful and anxious and excited and nervous and over joyed to be pregnant and that Kevin and I are where we are r

This weekend Kevin and I traveled to my dad's house for two weddings, visits with friends and the chance to see my dad and sister. Here are some highlights from the trip...

Going off Julie's blog , I am compiling my random thoughts... 1. I can't find my navy sundress that I had planned to wear this weekend to a friend's wedding. I wore it last summer and now it is gone. I don't want to buy anything new either. I swear someone must have snatched it from my closet... 2. I love Yahoo! Messenger. It helps me make it through the afternoons that drag and don't seem to end. My chatting companion Mindi would agree. 3. Why didn't I put maternity jeans sooner. Today I have on my new jean capris and my gosh they are comfortable! 4. I still haven't packed, because of #1. I'm still deciding what to wear to the wedding. 5. The office is VERY quite so far today. So quite that I am thinking about walking to McDonald's to get a de - caf coffee. 6. Wondering if Nicole is going to post the May issue of the Miss MN newsletter sometime soon...? :) http://www.missminnesota.org/ 7. I was awaken last night to a sneezing fit by my husband.

Last night I made my first purchase from the maternity department. It wasn't much, a tank top, capris and sweater. So in other words , not much that I can wear to work!

This afternoon, for the first time, I am sure that I can feel the baby moving around. :) Last night the baby was even more active. I tried to describe the feeling to Kevin- the best I could come up with was a combination of a bubble and an involuntary muscle twitch. I can't wait for him to be able to feel it too. Once agian today as I was getting ready I needed to head back to the closet to get something else to wear. I pick out my clothes the night before to save time in the morning and so I don't wake Kevin up since I get up so much earlier. Well, the last few mornings I have had to go back and forth between bathroom and closet to try to find something that will fit. Thanks to my Bella Band I've been able to find a pair of pants to wear so far. The skirt I had planned to wear was a huge fail. :) The band at least will allow me to get by with the dress pants I have for a little while longer. Maternity pants are just too big. Kevin even told me to just go shopping, I will-

17 weeks! Whew! It's going so quickly. Today we sent our registration for parenting and birthing classes at the hospital where the baby will be born. There's only one spot left for the class we want, so we're keeping our fingers crossed that we get in. I think it will be very interesting to see what they teach and talk about during these classes. I just feel like I can't possibly learn enough about everything going on. Here's an update on baby's growth: Five inches long and more than three and a half ounces...about the size of an onion. The baby can now even hear what's going! Loud noises like a dog barking, doorbell ringing will actually startle the baby. The babies are are getting strong enough to perceive some light and the baby is busy learning to suck on swallow. Within a week or so the pads on the baby's fingertips and toes will develop fingerprints. I've also read that my appetite is sure to increase these next few weeks. I get full pretty qui

Last week I had a flurry of emails from friends and family with articles on the top baby names. The latest Top 10 names based on 2008 stats: 1. Emma 2. Isabella 3. Emily 4. Madison 5. Ava 6. Olivia 7. Sophia 8. Abigail 9. Elizabeth 10. Chloe 1. Jacob 2. Michael 3. Ethan 4. Joshua 5. Daniel 6. Alexander 7. Anthony 8. William 9. Christopher 10. Matthew These are all very nice names, just not any that we want to use....at least now. Like I think I've mentioned before, we're pretty set on a boy name, but still pretty clueless on girl names.

In a response to my cousin Julie's blog (check it out, very fun, insightful and a good read). Enter your own response- you've got a chance to win some of her beautiful "jules"...go check it out!

How very appropriate on this Cinco de Mayo that today marks 16 weeks, making the baby about the size of an avocado! Measuring about 4" to 5" and weighing about 3.5 ounces. This week the baby's tiny ears are developing enough to hear my voice. Eyelashes, eyebrows and are are starting to fill in and taste buds are forming. Apparently something that also goes along with being 4 months pregnant is congestion. This along with my already nagging allergies has made for some very itchy eye mornings and pressured induced headaches. Small price to pay I know.

I just got back from my monthly doctor visit where I'm pretty sure their scale is broken. The scale claims that I have gained a whopping three pounds since week 8 (tomorrow marks week 16). At home I've gained right around 9 pounds as of yesterday. She was a little surprised not to see a bump on me yet...but once again smiled and said that would be right around the corner. I also scheduled our next appointment, the big 20 week anatomy ultrasound! We are so excited to see the baby again and see how much it was grown. We won't be finding out the baby's gender, but none the less this will be a very exciting day for us. We were spoiled with so many ultrasounds in the beginning! She also measured the baby's heartbeat, 155 today. While we were listening I heard a sudden swoosh! She nurse smiled and said "The baby is really moving around in there!" What a fun sound. This weekend we moved one step closer to swapping the office for a nursery by getting rid of the ex