The End is Near

Well I went to the doctor on Monday. We scheduled an induction for Monday the 17th. That is the BIG day!!!!! We also had our last ultrasound. It seems that Josie is now weighing in at 7lbs 2ozs. So she should not be too big when she is born.

I just know that I am soooooo ready for her. I am miserable. I can't sleep, walk, sit, lay, breath. You name it.. I can NOT do it!!! I am ready to feel normal again. Just 3.5 days to go.. I think I can, I think I can!!!!

Wow it's been a long time!!!

I have not posted in a while I just noticed. Lots has gone on and going to go on here in the Pingel household...

Noah tried out for a baseball team where he would be playing with boys older than him and in a higher level.. He made it!!! I am soo amazed each time I see him play at what a natural ability he has! This mom could not be prouder of her boy!!!

Back about 3 weeks ago when I had my last ultrasound I ended up getting a free ride to the hospital in an ambulance. That was quite scary. The doctors office had lost Josie's heart beat and then when they took my into ultrasound to find it, it was in the 80's.. that is very bad. So they rushed me off to St. John's. I later found out that they had an OR and team waiting on me to do an emergency c-section. Thank GOD everything was ok and I did not have to have one. I did spend the night though... Things have been good since then.

I go on Monday the 10th for my final ultrasound before Josie arrives. We will get to see how big she is. 3 weeks ago she was 5lbs and 13ozs so we assume she will be about 7lbs or so... but you never know! I will also be going to my doctor to set up a date for my induction.. I assume it will be the 17th of Nov. I want to go a bit early since she is due the week of Thanksgiving. This way I will have a bit of time to get adjusted and healed before the big holiday.

One week from today is a big day.. My wonderful husband will be turning 30... yes that is right the BIG 3-0... he is not looking forward to it.. I took it well when I turned 30.. him.. not so much!

Then on the 26th Dan and I will celebrate 3 years of wonderful wedded bliss! It seems like it has been much longer than that. (Not in a bad way) just longer. We have only known each other for 4 1/2 years now.. I can't hardly remember my life without him. I have to say I am truly blessed to have him. He is soooo good to me... (most days). He has been a trooper through this whole pregnancy.. and taken good care of me, as has Noah. Not too many eight years old would clean out their mothers barf bucket because she could not even get out of bed! Well my Noah did.. many times! He is sooo loving and compassionate.. A character I hope he never loses and that I prayed he would have even when I was pregnant with him.

Well we have a lot to look forward to the rest of this month. I can not tell you how excited I am to see Dan's face when he sees his daughter for the first time and see how he reacts to it all. That is what I am most looking forward to, besides seeing her myself. I can say though that I have been threw this once before and have an idea of what to expect.. where he has not, and had no idea what he is in for!!! All the love, emotion, and excitement!

Well I think I am done rambling for now. I will post again on Monday once I know how big Josie is and what the plan is for her birth!

Stephanie

Josie's Room

Well I think it is done.. We still have a few clothes to put away, but other than that we are done.

I think it has turned out really great! Enjoy the pictures!

Big Belly

Well it seems that my belly keeps growing.. imagine that.. a belly growing with a baby inside. LOL Here is a picture that Dan took today.. I will be 34 weeks tomorrow! ONLY 6 WEEKS TO GO!!!!!

I have been worried that I don't look pregnant.. just fat.. I think this one makes me look a bit on the preggo side.. LOL

Praise the LORD!!!

Well let me just say it has been a rough few months... with Josie's SUA problem and all the possibilities of things that could go wrong. Then when we went to our ultrasound on the 2nd and found out that her belly was only in the 2nd percentile.. that was hard to swallow. Then my doctor telling me that it is a sign of Downs.. and all the other things that could be going on.. It has been a very stressful 2 1/2 weeks.

We went yesterday for our follow-up ultrasound and found out that her belly has caught up and she is as healthy as can be. She is 4lbs and 1oz and I still have 8.5 weeks to go. My mom says we are going to have a moose.. I am praying not.. if so knock me out and wake me when she is out.. LOL Both Dan and I were only 6lbs 9ozs and Noah was only 7lbs 4ozs.. I could handle that. I guess only time will tell.

We saw that she has hair. Starting Monday I will go for weekly testing that I will have to pass. If I fail then they will take her early. The ultrasound lady said that we will be able to watch her hair grow from week to week and that is pretty neat to see. I go back on Oct 20th for another full ultrasound. I think that may be the last one.. I guess we will find out then.

Anyway thank you to all of you who have been praying for us. I am soo glad that she is FINALLY healthy. I can only believe that God healed Josie. She is going to be and is living proof of the miracles that God can do!!

Please don't stop praying. Now we just need to keep her in for 3 more weeks. I must say that is a bit scary, exciting, nerve wrecking that she could be here in as little as 3 weeks..

I can't wait to see her, but also want to be able to bring her home when I come home from the hospital!!

Thanks Again for all the wonderful thoughts and prayers!

Dan, Stephanie, and Noah

Noah the Amazing

Here is a video of Noah... bet you didn't know he was sooo talented!!!

Our Son the Slugger

Here is a video taken from our new video camera. It's from one of Noah's fall baseball games.

He's quite the slugger...and I'm NOT quite the videographer...;p

Enjoy!

-Dan

Funny Things Kids Say

The other night we were at dinner with my parents and other family. I saw Noah down talking with my parents and I see him waiving his money around. Then next thing I know my parents both get out their wallets and start handing him money. I get on to him about asking people for money, and he proceeds to tell me, "mom I did not ask them for money. I told them I was saving up for a hermit crab and they just started randomly handing me money". How funny is that... randomly handing him money..

Late... Josie Update

I should have posted this before now... This is about 2 weeks old.. I go back to the specialist on the 3rd for another ultrasound and will post an update sooner!

Today we had our visit with the specialist. The doctor was great and so was the ultrasound tech. This is what they found and said.They confirmed that Josie does have SUA (Single Umbilical Artery). They also confirmed that everything looks good. They have 6 points that they like to check on the heart and Josie would not cooperate, so they only got to see 2 of the points. They both looked good. The doctor said that those 2 points could rule out 50% of heart defects. Her size is good. Her legs are on the long size for her age. He said that there is a higher chance for chromosome defects or other defects. The one he mentioned as an example was Down Syndrome. However he said that signs are not pointing towards that, but it is still a possibility. We will not know until she is born. I am not worried about it. If that is the case, I will love her just the same. I am now concidered high risk. I have to go back in 4weeks for another ultrasound. Then I go back 4 weeks after that for another. Then that week I start going every week for a non-stress test until she is born. The doctor said that at this point he did not see an issue with me delivering with my regular OB atProgress West, but if anything comes up that he will take over and I will have to go to St. Johns to deliver. He was very open and informational. He was also very hopeful that Josie should be born a normal healthy baby, from what he saw today. They will be keeping a close eye on things to make sure everything continues to look good. He also let us know that SUA is not very common. It is in 1% of pregnancies. I thought that was interesting. Please continue to pray that she keeps growing as good as she is. She is now 1lb 9oz. I am confident that she will be born healthy. I do have a praise report in all of this... We found out that it is all going to be covered 100% by insurance. WHAT A BLESSING!! THANK THE LORD!!!

Meeting the Man

For those of you who know me well, you know that I have one particular baseball player that is my all-time favorite. I have been his fan since I was in high school. When I was in college my walls were covered with pictures of him. Yes, I'm talking about the one and only #47 JOHN MABRY!!!!

Here is a bit of background on things also. He played with the Cardinals until a few years ago. Then he was traded or went to the Cubs.. YUK!!! Then last year or the year before he retired. It was a sad day in the Pingel household when he hung up his cleats and said goodbye to the game he loved.

Anyway since then the Cardinals have picked up Ryan Ludwick.. Taking what number..??... 47. That did not make me very happy. In fact, I have not been the biggest fan of Ludwick for that very reason.

Well this past Saturday my cousins John and Tracy hosted a 16th birthday party for their son John. (Lots of Johns here, so bear with me.) My cousin John and Mabry are very good friends. So they invited they Mabry family. Well, they showed up. Everyone in my family knows what a Mabry fan I have been and I knew they were going to embarass me. Well after being there for a few hours and not being embarrassed yet I thought I had skirted by. UNTIL.... I was sitting and getting ready to eat and I hear, "Are you going to eat all that?" Thinking is was my cousin being silly I looked up and it was Mabry.. I about peed my pants!

Now you also have to realize that all evening I had been trying to take a picture of me with him in the background with my cell phone. Then he says, "I hear you want your picture taken with me." Beet red face, giggling like a little girl, star struck, I said yes. So he said, "let's get a picture then". So we did. Then he asked, "Do you still hate Ludwick"? I wanted to die.. since someone had told him about that. I said, "he's not soo bad, now".

Later on that evening, the neighbor who had taken the picture came back. She had gone and made an 8x10 of the best one and had him autograph it for me.. It says.. "To Steph All the best John Mabry #47". How great is that! It is framed right now.

I must say that he is a really nice guy. His wife is also very nice. She took a picture on my cell phone for me, so I could send it to Dan to rub in his face.. LOL

August 16, 2008 will truly be a day I will never forget. I got to meet my Cardinals baseball hero!!!

Getting ready for Josie

Well I couldn't take it any more. I needed to cut my hair. So now i have my ready for Josie cut. I was able to donate 8 inches to locks of love.

We Registered!!!

Well we did it. After 3 1/2 hours we are done. We registered. The following are the stores we went to:

www.target.com

www.babiesrus.com

www.walmart.com

Feel free to take a look and see what all we registered for.. I just like to look.. I am nosey!!!

Furture All Star????

I am one PROUD MOM!!!!! Noah has come soo far! He has been pitching more and more. The other day Dan and Noah were practicing pitching. Dan had him throw 50 times. 46 of the 50 were strikes. It was great. So at the game on Sat. the 19th, Dan started Noah. He had done this in the past and it did not turn out very good. Anyway 1st batter up... strike 1,2,3, batters out. 2nd batter up strike 1,2,3, batters out. 3rd batter up strike 1,2, ball 1,2,3 and strike 3, batters out. I could not believe it. It was soo BEAUTIFUL!!! It even brought tears to my eyes. It was a moment I will NEVER forget!!!

Move Much??!!??

Let me tell you, this little girl is one active baby!!! I don't ever remember Noah being soo active or active at any certain times.

From 5-9 in the evening she moves NON-STOP!!!! It is the craziest thing. I am also now starting to show enough to where you can see my belly move around.

This past Saturday morning I was in bed sleeping and all was calm. Dan walked in and said in a loud tone, "Loveybumpkins it is time to get up". Next thing I know Josie is kicking, punching and rolling all over.. as if to say, "Mommy, daddy wants you up"!!! It was too funny. I had Dan come over and feel it. It was the 1st time he had gotten to feel her move. It was a great moment for us both. I think it really helped him connect and see that there really is a Josie in there!

20 Weeks

This one is also late. I am now 22.5 weeks. Here are some pictures we took of my ever growing belly at 20 weeks. Note how Noah seems to be showing my belly off. I think the idea of a sister is growing on him, slowly but surly.

July 4th

Ok I know it is now the end of July. So I am a bit late posting this. We went camping with a family from our baseball team. The Farkas family. We had a great time. Where we camped was close to Eric Farkas' moms house. She lives on a lake and has four wheelers and all. So we went there for the 4th. On the way back to camp that night Noah said, "This was the best day of my life". He got to ride and drive a four wheeler and go fishing and swimming in the lake. He caught his 1st fish by himself. That was very exciting. See the pictures of him riding and driving the four wheeler and pitcures of him and his fish.

Noah and Baseball

I know I have been doing a lot of talk about Josie and not much about Noah and this is a FAMILY blog. So here is an update on Noah....



He is semi enjoying his summer. We don't have a lot of money to go do all the things he would like to, but we do what we can!



He is not too thrilled about Josie. He REALLY wanted a brother. He asked if we could take her out and put a boy back in. I said it's not that easy.



He is still playing ball like never before. He just gets better and better. He drives me nuts with this ball that he has.. he is always throwing it in the house. It is a squishy ball so it won't break anything, but every time I turn around he is throwing it at a wall or something. He just loves the game that much!



The Vipers are not doing so well this season. They are 0-9. We still have 3 games left. We are hoping to pull out at least one win! They keep getting better and better, so I am confident that they can do it!



Noah is trying out for a Bantom I team. He would be playing up. If he makes it, he will be on 2 teams next spring.. the Vipers and the Bantom I team (they don't have a name yet). So we are excited about that. Dan is excited since he will get to sit back and watch Noah play for once. He has always coached Noah, if he plays up he will not be a coach for that team.



Enjoy the pictures. One is this years Baseball pic of Noah and the other of the team.



We are getting ready for 3rd grade. I can not believe that MY baby is going to be in 3rd grade. Boy how time flies.



I will keep you posted and let you know if he make the other team.

Josie's Nursery

Here are a few pictures of the furniture and decor for Josie's nursery. We already have the crib. The rest we still need to get!

Her Name...

Well lots of people are asking what we are naming our baby girl and if there is a meaning behind it. YES there is.. My name is Stephanie Michelle. I was named after my father Michael Steven. So that got me to thinking that maybe we could start a family tradition...

So her name is... Josephine Danielle Faith Pingel
We will call her Josie!!! He dads name is Daniel Joseph, so that is where we got Josephine Danielle from. The Faith part is from that fact that Noah has two middle names so she needed two also, and after 27 months of trying it took a lot of FAITH to get her here.

Now you know the story behind her name!!!

Baby Pingel??????

IT'S A GIRL!!!!
















We found out on June 19th that we are having a girl. Boy am I shocked. I knew for sure it was a boy. Guess I was wrong. Dan is thrilled. Noah on the other hand not so thrilled. He asked if we could take her out and put in a boy. He really wanted a brother.. We will see maybe we will try to get him one, one day.. Anyway we are just soo excited. We even got to buy a few clothing items for her. It is going to be so much fun to get to shop for a girl this time!!!

Family Update

Hello All,

It has almost been a month since I last posted. It has been a very busy and rough month. I was sick in bed with IV's most of that time. I am thinking that I am finally over the hump. It seems my magic week is 14. I also think that the Zolfran that I was taking was making me sicker instead of better. Once I got off of it, I started feeling much, much better. I have bad moments here and there, but nothing like before. Thank GOD.. I finally think this is what it feels like to be pregnant. LOL I went to the doctor last week and I go back next week and I was ordered to gain some weight. I have lost a total of 30lbs. I lost that same amount with Noah. Now that I am feeling better I am also eating much better!!! So we will see!!

Noah has been doing good. Other than Dan tossing him the ball while playing catch and it hitting Noah's lip, busting it and giving him 4 stitches. He is doing good. That same week he sprained his ankle. It is fine now. We are well into our baseball season. This spring has not been the best. We are 0-6 so far. We are hoping for our 1st win tonight. We play our rival team and they are also win less!!!

Dan is doing good. He has been working, coaching, playing softball and vintage. Things here with just the three of us are crazy!!!

Baby News- Everything is looking and sounding great. The heartbeat is strong. We find out the sex of the baby on June 19th. That is 15 days and counting. We can't wait! We will let you all know as soon we do!!!

Well that is all for now. Please continue to pray for our family as we grow!!

Mommy Update Take 2...

It seems I spoke a bit too soon!!! I had a pretty good week last week. NO vomiting, and at this point that is a good week.. LOL Thursday was the first day in a long time that I had no nausea. It was our turn to the the concession stand for Noah's baseball and I was feeling good so I went to help.. I really sat in a chair most the time, helping out here and there.

Anyway I woke up Friday morning at 6:30am and began vomiting. At 10:30 I went to the doctor and she sent me to the ER. At 3:30 I was sent home from the ER feeling a bit better. At 5 I started vomiting again, so I called the doctor and ended up back in the ER and getting admitted. I was in the hospital until Sunday evening around 5.

I am glad to be home and laying in my own bed!!!! I am feeling a bit better.. Dan woke me up at 3:30am to take my meds, so hopefully staying on them every six hours around the clock will help some. We will see. The one good thing is that I am losing weight. Not really the ideal way to do it... Friday morning at the doctor I had lost a total of 12 lbs. I am sure I have lost even more by now.

Babyzilla....

Mommy Update

Well, first off THANK YOU to all of you who have kept me in your prayers. I have needed them.
I am doing SOMEWHAT better. The medicine is keeping me from throwing up for the most part. The other day while at the grocery store buying last minute items for Noah's party I had to pause a moment for a short toss of the cookies. Other than that I just feel crummy. I feel sick most of the time and very, very, very tired. I could sleep 12+ hours a day!!! I think I do actually!
Any way a few more weeks and we should or at least are praying we are through this!! We go back to the doctor on the 15th for a check up and get to hear the heart beat for the first time.. WHOO HOO!!! Anyway keep up the prayers and positive thought!

Babyzilla

Happy Birthday to NOAH!!!

Well my baby, who is no longer my baby, turned 8 this past week. At church the said happy birthday to him and I started crying. #1 because my hormones, #2 because we have come a long way in 8 years!! He is such a joy to have and such a caring boy. He gives hugs and says, "I love you" just when you need it most!!!

We had planned an outside party for him and it ended up raining and COLD!!! So last minute we moved it to the church. There were 80+ people there. It was crazy and fun!! He walked away with $243 dollars and a ton of gifts. He was sooo excited. This was his last birthday as an only child so we partied it up. Here are a few pictures from the day!!

Birthday Egstravagansa...

Noah has been into golf. He loves the game. Dan has taken him to the driving range a few times and said one day we would take him golfing. So for his birthday, as a surprise we took him for the first time. It was a par three course. He did pretty good considering it was his first time and all. The 2nd hole he shot par. Boy was he excited!!! Here are a few shots from that hole! The best part was he got to go with his dad, pa-pa, grandpa Doug, grandma Pat and uncle Chris. Mom and I went, but just to watch and take lots of pictures!!!

Noah's New Hair

Well Noah finally cut his hair. For those of you who have not seen him in a while this may not be a big deal... but to those of us who are around him all the time it is!!! His hair was OUT OF CONTROL!!! Now he looks sooo much better!! Here is a before and after... I forgot to get an after photo so this is the best I have for a day after!

Peanut Pingel

Well after a long couple of weeks of being sick, an evening in the hospital dehydrated, and losing 8 lbs... we finally have a picture of our baby!!! It was soooo amazing!! I even teared up a bit. I know at this point, once you have seen one, you have seen them all, but still, it's always soo neat when it is your own! So without further ado here is Peanut Pingel....

The doctor said that everything looked great and the heartbeat was great also. It is 169 beats per minute. Anything over 100 is considered good! So we are good to go and in great shape. Now if we can just get me not hugging the toilet everyday I would be much happier!!!

April Events To Come

Here are some events to check back on..

Thursday April 17th- Baby's 1st Ultrasound!!!

Friday April 18th- Noah's 1st AtomI baseball game of the Summer 2008 season! Also the debut of the new VIPERS uniforms!!!

Sunday April 27th- Noah's 8th Birthday!!!

There are many more and will post things as they happen!

Welcome to our Blog

Hello and welcome to our blog. This is our first post. It seems that blogs are the new hip thing to do.. (yes I said hip), so I decided to start one! We also have a ton of family and friends out of town so we thought this would be a cool (hip) way to keep you all updated on our life's. With all the excitement of Noah playing ball, having the house on the market and oh yeah, the baby that is on the way we can inform everyone all at once of everything. So please, sit back and enjoy our journey as the family we already are and the family we are becoming!!