"IF EVOLUTION REALLY WORKS, HOW COME MOTHERS ONLY HAVE TWO HANDS?" - Milton Berle

"COMMON SENSE IS NOT SO COMMON." - Fortune Cookie

How Big Is Ethan!

 Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker

Benjamin Ray

 Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Merry Christmas

We want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!!! We are celebrating with Dave's family this year. We had hoped to make it to IL for Christmas Eve and back to OH for Christmas Day but with the weather in IL we decided to stay home.

Hopefully we will see those of you in IL before too long.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Ethan's 1st Month

Well we have made it through Ethan's first month. It has been crazy and hectic but is starting to calm down a little or at least at this moment it is.


We got back from our trip to IL last night. It was a crazy few days visiting with my mom and dad and Stacy and her family. I give Stacy a lot of credit. Emerson is a handful even without a little baby to take care. He very much loves the babies though. He likes to give hugs and kisses.






My mom was thrilled to have all her grandkids there at the same time. Hopefully it won't be long before we are all together again.

Even though Athalie is older than Ethan - he is definitely bigger than her. She felt as light as a feather compared to my big bruiser.

We went to the doctor today for his one month checkup. Today he weights 13 lbs 4 oz and is 23 1/2 inches tall. The doctor said he is off the charts but is proportiante so I guess that means he isn't fat just a big boy.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Ethan is getting big fast. We went to the pediatrician on Tuesday and he already weighs

12 lbs 2 oz

Can you believe it!!! What a chunk!!! Those 0-3 month clothes are going to be too small very soon!!!!

Otherwise we are doing pretty well. It is pretty unpredictable these days. Some days he is awake almost all day and other days he sleeps almost all day. Luckily the nights have been pretty consistent. If he eats around 10 or 11 he can make it through the night with only getting up 1-2 times. Can't complain about that!!!

Ethan and I will be making a trip to IL this week. We are going to my parents to visit. Stacy and her gang are there for the whole week. We will only be there Monday evening until Wednesday or Thursday. We are looking forward to meeting my new niece. She may be older but I have a feeling Ethan is bigger!!!

Monday, December 8, 2008




Sunday, November 30, 2008

Monday, November 24, 2008

Ethan Michael's Birth

As we are adjusting ever so slightly I thought I would include an update on Ethan's birth for those of you who have been dying to know.

Since we had passed our due date we were scheduled to be induced last Tuesday 11/18. We arrived at the hospital at 11:00 and did all the normal stuff, IV, pitocin, they broke my water to get things moving along. I had decided I would have an epidural but wanted to wait as long as possible so as not to slow things down. That didn't last long. All the pain of the contractions was in my back and I don't deal well with back pain to begin with so the epidural happened pretty quickly after the contractions got bad.

Ethan however did not like the epidural one bit. There was a scare for a few minutes when our nurse (who was very new to labor and delivery...she was nervous putting in my IV) called in a whole bunch of people. There were like 5 nurses standing around watching the monitor as his heart rate had dropped They also called the resident. The resident had to run down 4 flights of stairs to get there because the elevators were slow and by the time she got there he had come back around. It was pretty scary for a few minutes.

Labor went pretty easy after the epidural. I had reached 10 cm by 7:00 or so. They called the doctor and I started pushing but after about an hour the doctor came in and said he wasn't going to come out on his own. I wasn't very happy about that but I guess he has shown how stubborn he is all along. That meant they were going to use forceps to help deliver him. Not a pleasant experience (thank goodness for epidurals). The scariest thing was I couldn't hear his heartrate on the monitor for quite a while. The doctor looked a little nervous and made mention that peds needed to be called in.

After all of that he came out great and cried right away. It was a wonderful thing to hear!!! He had a few small marks from the forceps but they are pretty much gone now.

That night and the next day were a little rough. They gave me some morphine for the pain through my epidural, which has side effects of nausea and itchiness. Thankfully I have a wonderful husband who took over all the baby stuff (yes even changed a poopy diaper) until I was feeling better Wednesday evening.

We made it home Thursday evening and have since been a little sleep deprived, but otherwise pretty good. Looking forward to getting on a schedule and a little bit of normalcy.

Thank you to everyone for all you thoughts for our new family.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

He finally made it!!!




Ethan Michael Fuersich

Born 11/18 @ 10:29 pm Weighing in at 9 lbs. 14 oz. and is 22 inches long.

We came home Thursday evening and are working on getting adjusted to our new life.


I will post more when I have a few moments to myself, but wanted to make sure everyone who was waiting to hear and see pictures could see them. Thank you everyone for your thoughts.



Monday, November 17, 2008

Last Belly Picture

Here's the last belly picture - from my due date - last Thursday. Now we are well past our due date and will be heading to the hospital tomorrow morning. I had a doctor's appointment this afternoon and have made a little progress but still not in labor. I am 3 cm dialated & 90% effaced. The doctor also stripped my membranes - she said the induction should go pretty smoothly and she is guessing he will be born tomorrow evening.

We will keep you all updated when "LeRoy" gets here.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Due Date!!!

Today is our due date. Still no baby here, but I did hear from my parents and a new baby did arrive today in South Carolina. I don't know much of the details, but they are both doing fine from what I heard.

Monday, November 10, 2008

No Baby Fuersich Yet

I know you are all waiting anxiously, but no real progress yet. Dave and I went to the doctor today and she said I am 2 cm dialated, which is a little more than last week, but not much. We are scheduled for an induction next Tuesday if he doesn't decide to arrive on his own before then. Let's cross our fingers he doesn't decide to make his arrival while my mom and dad are in South Carolina with Stacy (her c-section is scheduled for Thursday).

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Baby Fuersich's Name

Just so there is no confusion, Baby Fuersich is not going to be named LeRoy. We still have not decided on a name yet, so we have been calling him LeRoy at home. My co-workers heard this and are now calling him LeRoy as well. My parents call him Phinnaeus and Dave's parents are calling him Javier. So if we can't decide on a name we have a few options to choose from (I can guarantee none of these are really an option).

I have narrowed the name choices to two but Dave still will not make a decision so we may not have a name decided until we are at the hospital. I guess then we will at least have one suprise.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Baby Fuersich News

I am now going to the doctor every week. I guess that means we are getting to the end of this journey and the beginning of a new one. I am making some progress but not much yet, so I think I probably have a while to go yet. Good in one way since I am nervous about this whole delivery thing and disappointing in that I am ready to not have this baby kicking me in the ribs anymore. Last week I was 1 cm dialated. This week I am 1 1/2 cm dialated. She said not enough to say 2 cm. I am also 50% effaced, but he hasn't dropped yet. She said it could be anytime yet, but then again it could still be 3 weeks away. I am hoping it isn't 3 weeks!!! But also hoping not to have a Halloween baby.

We are pretty much ready for him whenever he does come, or as ready as we can be!!!

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Monkeys, Monkeys, Monkeys

We have been working on the nursery. It is pretty well done now. Dave's mom & dad came over last weekend and helped us put up the border. It is really cute!!!




My parents and Stacy bought the changing table and we got that put up this week.


At work they threw me a shower. It was really nice. We had cake and ice cream and they gave us the bedding so we got that put out this week as well.


My boss knows a lady who makes really good cakes. So not only was it super cute, but it was very delicious. I have already passed my goal weight gain so I went ahead and had a big piece!!


So at this point we are have everything we really need for this baby to come, but I am not sure we are ready! We may need a few more naps before he gets here. I don't think you can ever be really ready, but we will figure it out as we go.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Busy Busy!!

We have definitely been busy. Since our trip to IL in mid-September we have worked on the landscaping. We did two beds in the front of the house. We will keep adding more a little at a time until we get it all done, but this is it for this year.






I made another trip to IL for the baby shower. It was so nice to see everyone. I haven't seen many of you since we moved. I wish I had more time to spend with everyone, but hopefully when I make the next trip I will see you all again and have more time to visit, this time with Baby Fuersich. That's right still no name decided on, but Dave did try to see if Titan would decide on a name and if we go by what Titan said it looks like it could be Nathan. We will see!!!!


Then this past weekend we had our all day baby class. It was a long day but I think it was good we went. I guess we are as prepared as we can be. Although I know we will have plenty of surprises we went get there.


Here is a semi-recent belly picture for anyone I haven't seen recently. I think this was 32 weeks.


Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Hurricane Ike!!

We have been keeping very busy and will be for the next few weeks. Dave and I went to IL for the weekend for Renee's wedding. It was nice to visit even though it rained the whole time. We wish we could have stayed longer. We made our way back home through the rain to find out that there was very little rain in the Cincinnati area over the weekend. Instead we got the winds. Sunday afternoon the winds came through and caused lots of damage. The news reports said there were wind gusts up to 85 mph. We were very lucky. We weren't home when this all went through but Dave's mom and dad came over and put our stuff away. The only damage we got was a couple of wooden chairs were destroyed and our temporary fence was knocked down. Our power came back on Sunday night. Many people are still without power days later, it could be the weekend before it comes back on for some people. Many of our neighbors also had alot of roof damage. This is supposed to be the biggest power outage in history here.

I had another doctor's appointment today. All is good. The baby is still head down. The doctor said we will have "a good size baby". That made me nervous because that sounds like a large baby to me, so I asked if she had to guess how big he would be what would she guess. She said 8lbs. 8oz. That doesn't sound too bad to me, but you know they never know these things for sure. I guess we will just wait and see.

I will be back in IL next weekend. Looking forward to seeing everyone.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Phinnaeus Update

I am glad you all think Phinneaus would be a nice name for our child, but I am afraid to tell you that he will not be Phinneaus Fuersich. I had my 30 week appointment today. Everything is going well. I am measuring just where I should be and he is head down. The doctor said usually they will stay head down if they are at this point in the pregnancy. I am going to the doctor every two weeks now, which is a good thing because I have been having lots of Braxton Hicks contractions. With all these contractions I am a little nervous that I won't know when the real ones start. So they keep checking me and everything is good so far. Two weeks ago they did a test to make sure my "glue" that keeps the placenta attached wasn't leaking. I guess if it is not that means you won't be going into labor in the next two weeks. Those two weeks are up but I think I am still good for a while.

I am supposed to be resting and drinking lots of water, but Dave and I had a big yard project last weekend. We tore up the entire front yard and started fresh. Dave spent about 12 hours working on it Saturday, we both worked for about 10 hours on Sunday and Monday we had to call in help. Dave's mom and dad came to help for another 7 hours. It was definitely the wrong weather for all that work. Nice and sunny and over 90 degrees. We drank tons of water and took lots of breaks but we were very tired all week from it. We were going to do our plants this weekend but after last weekend we decided we needed a break. Hopefully soon. I will post pictures after we are done.

Hope everyone is doing well. We will be making a few trips to IL over the next few weeks so I hope to see you all soon.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Beginnings of the Nursery


My mom came yesterday to help start decorating the nursery. I know we are a little early but she goes back to school soon. We decided on a theme a while back. We are getting the bedding from Babies R Us called Jungle Faces. So instead of painting the room one color we painted some of the Jungle Faces on the walls. Here are some pictures. I'll post more when the room is done.








And here is a recent belly picture. It is getting big fast. I have already grown out of a few of my early maternity things.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Phinnaeus Fuersich

Now come on all of you who voted for Phinnaeus. Can you imagine if we named him Phinneaus Fuersich...no one could spell or pronounce his first or last name...and he would end with a speech impediment for sure!!!

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Get out and vote

I have added a poll on the blog for you to vote on a name for Baby Fuersich. There are no guarantees we are going with one of these, I just thought it would be fun to see what your thoughts were. We think his middle name might be Michael (Dave's middle name), but that could change too. There are a couple of funny ones added in that we are currently calling the baby but I can tell you they are definitely not in consideration. If anyone has any other ideas feel free to pass them along, but don't be offended if we do not choose your idea.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Pictures as Promised

We had a couple of eventful weekends, last weekend my mom and dad, Stacy and Emerson came for a visit for a few days. It was definitely a good time. Emerson kept us all entertained. He definitely goes and goes. I was a little worried how Titan and Emerson would get along. If Titan couldn't behave he was going to have to spend much of the time in his crate....


Titan behaved very well but by Sunday Emerson was tired of him licking him in the face all the time (they are about eye level with each other), so I think Emerson was looking for somewhere to get away from Titan.

One of the girls from work sent some fun toys home with me for Emerson to play with. He did very well on this little four wheeler. He drove all over the yard. He also had a little slide to play on. He tried to go head first a few times but liked it alot. (You can sneak a peek of Stacy's belly in this pic.)
Here are some pictures of my belly. It has grown quite quickly. Total strangers are now comfortable asking me when I am due. This was at about 17 weeks.


And this was around 20-21 weeks.



Here are the ultrasound pics. The first one was from 16 weeks and the other 5 are from 20 weeks.


The last one says "It's a boy!" We are still working on a name but I think we may be able to come to an agreement.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

We're Still Here

Sorry it has been so long since I have updated the blog. We have been very busy. Nothing too exciting. We have both been working alot. It keeps us nice and tired, so we haven't had much time for other things.

We did have our big ultrasound last week and found out that we are having a boy!!! We are both excited about that but don't have any ideas on a name. I think it will be a while before we come to a name we both like. I am definitely feeling the baby move now. Today I felt him quite a bit, so I think we are going to have a very busy baby. Hopefully he doesn't keep me awake too much before he gets here, because I am sure he will do that plenty when he does get here. I am definitely showing now. Strangers are now asking about the baby, so I guess I don't look like I ate too many doughnuts anymore. We are just beginning to get some baby things together. I bought one little outfit, we got a box of baby stuff from my mom and dad and Dave's mom and dad got his first Cubs shirt and a pair of Cincinnati Reds socks. We also purchased a dresser from an online auction for a great deal.

Gas prices are really impacting us here. I am sure we are paying the same as everyone else but we both drive so far to work. My commute is about 80 miles round trip and Dave's is about 90 miles. Last month Dave spent $600 in fuel for the truck. So last week we bought a new car. A Honda Accord. This is my new car and Dave is driving the Impala to work. We are going to keep the truck for awhile and see if he is going to need it over the winter for plowing or just getting to work.

Titan is enjoying his Invisible Fence. He gets to run and play so much now since he can go anywhere in the yard. He still is not 100% proficient is staying where he should, so he has gotten zapped a few times. This morning he chased a deer across the backyard and stopped before he was zapped, which was a good sign.

My parents came for a visit over the weekend. It was definitely nice to see them, but we are looking forward to this coming weekend also. They will be making another stop on their way back from visiting Stacy and they will be bringing Stacy and Emerson back with them. We haven't seen them since Thanksgiving. From what I hear he has changed alot since then.

Check back in a few days. I will try to post some pictures.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Update from the Hoosiers

Sorry we haven't had any updates in a while. I have been pretty tired these days. Most evenings you can find me sleeping on the couch hours before bedtime. I am starting to feel a lot better these days though. Still tired but the morning sickness has pretty much passed. I went to the doctor again on Thursday and got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time. Other than that it was pretty uneventful.

Dave started a new job last Monday. He is really excited about it. He is working for the company he worked for before the move to IL. He is managing the landscape stuff at the new Honda plant in Greensburg, IN. It is a big change from his most recent job. He will be managing a crew of about 6 once they get the rest of the staff hired. It is a big place, they have almost 700 acres of mowing!!!

Titan will finally be getting a fence later this week. Friday Invisible Fence is coming out to install it. I sure hope it works well. They will come out and do some training and the guy said we should know within a month if it is going to contain him. There is a money back guarantee so we figured it would be worth a try. It is much cheaper than installing a regular fence.

Hope everyone is doing well and hope to hear from you all!!!

Saturday, April 19, 2008

1st Ultrasound

Dave and I went to the doctor on Thursday for our first ultrasound. It was very exciting to get our first peak of the baby, now that it is really starting to look like a baby. The purpose of the ultrasound was to make sure our due date was right. Based on the measurement they took, I will be due November 13th. One day after our 3rd anniversary!! For now my appointments will be every four weeks and we should be able to find out what we are having around the end of June.


Check him/her out!!


Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Autumn Arrival

Dave and I wanted to share some pretty big news!!! We recently found out that we will be expecting a baby this fall. My expected due date is mid- November. We are very excited and have lots of changes to look forward to.

We will keep everyone updated to any news we get as it happens.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Spring, Spring, Where are you??

We have hardly seen any snow this winter. Quite a difference from the amount of snow back in Chicago. It mostly rained here this winter. We got some ice a couple of times and an inch or so every now and then but nothing too exciting. Which is a good thing because they cancel school here for the threat of snow!!

But this past weekend we got a blizzard!!!! It was the biggest storm we had all winter. Luckily it came Friday, so I left work early to avoid the traffic and stayed in all day Saturday. Dave finally got to use his plow Friday night and plowed for about 12 hours but then his windshield wipers quite working so he had to quit. He missed out on alot of money, but he was tired so he wasn't heartbroken. We ended up getting between 10 and 12 inches. It was hard to tell how much was really there because it was also very windy and we had several big drifts. That sure made it fun to walk Titan!!

Sure hope that is the last of the snow for this year. I am ready for spring so we can put in our fence and do our landscaping. We will sure have a busy spring and summer.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Everyone's Best Friend- Tequila

I thought this was funny, enjoy!!!

Saturday, January 12, 2008

We're not in Kansas anymore!!!


Dave and I went downtown last night to see Wicked!!! It was awesome. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who has thought about going. I wanted to see it when we lived in Chicago but tickets were so expensive. We were able to get them cheaper here so we went, but it would have been worth paying the price for tickets in Chicago. At least that is my opinion. Dave didn't really want to go and then he was horribly uncomfortable because we were crammed into the place, but even though he wasn't happy to be there, I think he thought the show was pretty good.

Everything was unbelievably good. The set, the singing and the story line were all wonderful. It changed everything about The Wizard of Oz movie.
Stacy, I saw on the website it is coming to Charlotte in April if you are interested.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Good News in the New Year

Dave has good news to share to start the new year. Almost 6 months after our move he will be starting a new job in a little over a week. He is pretty excited about it. He will be driving a truck, delivering for a nursery. Right up his alley. He hopes to learn alot about the plants and he will get an employee discount which will come in handy come spring. We need to seed and fertlize our whole yard and lots of landscaping. Right now we have no plants or tree what so ever so we will make good use of the discount. He will also have lots of opportunity for overtime. In the spring and fall he will probably be working 60 hours a week most of the time. But the winter is a little slower, and he hasn't worked in almost 6 months so it will do him good make up all that time.