It's a Baby...

GIRL!! We had our big ultrasound yesterday, and we were happy to find out that Baby Girl Brand is on board. The ultrasound itself was really neat, as we were able to see baby's stomach, kidneys, and all 4 chambers of the heart. Baby looks healthy with a heartbeat in the 150's, which is what it has been in at all of my appointments so far. All of her measurements placed her in the 19 week range, so a little smaller than my 20 weeks and 1 day. I guess this could mean one of two things: 1) She will not be showing up before her due date of May 5th, or 2) She will be a smaller baby. Here's to hoping for option two!!

It's a GIRL!!

Two cute baby feet!!

Baby was very active during the ultrasound and not very cooperative. Hopefully this is not a sign of what is to come:) I still am not able to feel her kick more than the "fluttering" that I've been feeling for a couple of weeks. The ultrasound tech discovered the reason for this during our ultrasound. Apparently a baby usually implants itself on the posterior side of the uterus, but mine, go figure, decided to make its home on the anterior or front side. Guess I'll just have to wait for baby to get bigger and stronger before I can really feel her moving around!

Baby's butt, legs, and feet...they look awfully long!

Bottom portion of baby's leg and two baby feet.

She had her hands up to her face throughout the entire ultrasound. Apparently, she didn't want us to see just how beautiful she is until she decides to make her grand entrance:)

Baby looks like she is smiling!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Yesterday, Joe and I went on the hunt for the perfect Christmas tree. Our search lead us out to the Warren County to Pumpkins and Pines. Here is Joe with our 7 foot Scotch Pine, which fits perfectly in the house.

I had to make it look like I did some work!

After returning home, we decorated the tree and hung the stockings by the fireplace. Cooper's is the green one, and there is a special spot for the baby's next to his:)

Joe and my brother, Kevin, spent the Saturday after Thanksgiving putting up Christmas lights. Lucky them, temperatures were in the 60's so they couldn't really complain too much! Doesn't look half bad for our first time putting lights outside the house:)

Fourth Annual Turkey Trot

On Thanksgiving morning, we competed in the Chesterfield Turkey Trot. This is the fourth year that the Tschannen family has participated, and with each new year more family and friends are added to the group. It was a cold, blustery morning, and my throat is still feeling the effects! Overall, a good time was had by all. What better way to start off a day filled with too much food?!?

Below is a group shot before the race. I didn't see most of these people again until afterwards, but I'd like to think I had a good excuse;)
Joe and I at our pre-race photo shoot. A special thanks to Jody for the smiley face scarf. Without it, my face would have frozen!!

Run, Joe! Run! That's him in the blue shirt...number 247.
Family photo taken after all was said and done. All six of us managed to survive, and I, especially, look forward to improving my time next year!

October in Review

The basement now looks like a finished product instead of just a work in progress. Although, we still have some touch-ups to do, like trim work (YUCK), it is now actually a livable area. The bar is complete with the exception of a few more coats of polyurethane and some furniture.

In addition to all the work that has been going on with the bar, we somehow found time to paint the whole basement and hang new blinds on the windows. We were also able to start furnishing the rest of the basement, so we can spend more time downstairs now. All of our hard work was put to good use when we had friends over for Halloween last night.

Football Fun! Last weekend, Joe and I went to Mizzou's homecoming game in Columbia. Conventiently for Joe, they happened to be playing the Longhorns. The game was ugly for Mizzou fans, but we still both had a lot of fun. We tailgated beforehand with my sister and some of her friends. One bright point of the tailgate included trying spam sandwiches...texas toast, peanut butter, cheese, jalapenos, and grilled spam. Sound quite disgusting, but it was actually pretty good.

My Aunt Kaye invited Joe and I to go to the Rams v. Colts game with her and my cousin, Shane. So, last Sunday we headed to the Edward Jones Dome to watch the Rams get their butts kicked yet once again. A rough week for Missouri teams! It was, however, an experience that we'll always remember. Our seats were only six rows from the field behind the Colts bench. A lot of good views;)

Fall Festivities

We celebrated Joe's 27th birthday this past week. It was pretty low-key considering it was on a Wednesday. We went out to eat at Applebee's and then came home to enjoy the cake I made. It turned out pretty good and didn't taste too bad, either:)
Today was a beautiful day outstide, so we decided to hit up the pumpkin patch. It was packed, but we were still able to find some good pumpkins. We also tried fried oreos for the first time. Joe isn't big on sweets, but he surprisingly liked them more than I did. Below is the smallest of the three pumpkins we picked out:)

The house is looking more ready for fall now that we added our

pumpkins to the outdoor fall decor.

Joe has been busy getting the yard ready for winter. He spent the weekend putting down grass seed and fertilizer...and, as you can tell from the pic below, got rid of a much unwanted yard guest. Disgusting if you ask me, but Joe is proud of the fact that it took him only 24 hours to kill our mole friend!

Bad Blogger...Lengthy Updated Progress

Life has been CRAZY lately! There is always something going on, which doesn't leave much time for this blog. Joe has been playing baseball and spending every last minute studying for the National Board Exam, which he passed this past Tuesday!! HOORAY! Since school started back a couple weeks ago, Michelle has been busy grading papers, writing lesson plans, and coaching volleyball. Hopefully, life will slow down soon, but I don't really see that happening anytime in the near future.

We were able to go shopping for master bedroom furniture a couple weekends ago, and it finally arrived at the warehouse on Friday. Joe picked/set it all up on Saturday, so we are now able to actually sleep in the master bedroom rather than one of the guest rooms.

A shot of our bedroom from the doorway.

Close-up of Joe's chest of drawers.

My dresser and mirror.

Our very own bed and nightstands:)

Sometimes I wonder if we will ever be done working on the bar?!? When we began this project last month, I had no idea what Joe was getting us into. A lot of progress has been made. Most recent progress includes installing under-the-bar lighting, replacing the lighting above the bar, beginning to sand/stain the bar top, putting in a sink, and having a plumber come to move water supply lines and add a drain. We have also hung a rather larger mirror, stained/put up two new cabinets, and created a baseball bat towel rack for the back wall of the bar.

Here a is picture of the backside of the bar. Notice the

lighting and running water from the sink!

A shot of the majority of the bar, minus one cabinet and

the end of the bar. It actually looks much better,

which makes the project well-worth it.

Maybe there is an end in sight? As far as I know, unless Joe has another idea for improving the bar, all that we have left is to sand/stain the bar. WOOHOO!!!

The Bar "Nightmare"

I agreed to let Joe start working on "improving" the bar area in the basement last weekend. What was I thinking?!? :) It has turned into a complete overhaul, but I must say, it is starting to look pretty good.

Here is a before pic of the bar area. Little did we know how much

work this project would become!

Uhh...what have we gotten ourselves into?!?

Framing the Bar

End of weekend one pic...

It may not look like we accomplished much this weekend, but trim work is tedious. We also ripped down the cabinets and mirror from the back wall, which was a nightmare in itself! The refridgerator, which was once an ugly almond color, is now painted a lovely black and according to Joe, well on its way to becoming a kegerator:) Also, notice the new green color on the wall.

This is how far we are at the end of weekend two.

A plumber will be probably be coming sometime this week to install a sink in the bar. Our goal for next weekend is to get the bar stained, hang new cabinets, and put a foot rail at the bottom of the bar. Will this project ever end?

Home Improvement Projects

With moving ino a new house, we are realizing that there is always something to repair, replace, or improve. Just when I feel good about completing one project, another one pops up. Below are photos of the entryway from before and after we moved in.

Before...

After...

Here are some photos from last weekend's project. We sanded/repainted the front door, hung a new door knocker (courtesy of Joe's parents), and installed new door knobs/locks.

Look for more home updates in the near future. We will be completing a backyard project and plan to begin work on a new, renovated bar area in the basement this weekend. Lots going on!!

New Beginning...New Blog

As most of you know, if you are reading this blog, Joe and I are newlyweds (7/18/09). To keep our family and friends up-to-date with all of the happenings in our lives, we decided to start a blog. We have had a lot of changes this summer. Aside from getting married and honeymooning in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, we moved into a new house and Joe graduated and started a new job.

Here is Joe on his first day of work (7/27/09). He looks like he is ready for his first day of school!

This is a photo of Joe and I in Cozumel. The trip to Cozumel wasn't quite what we expected, especially since no planning went into it:) We did, however, have an incredible time in Mexico and hope to go back soon.