New Beginnings

Happy birthday Ethan

2011-11-18T20:29:00.003-05:00

Ethan is 3!

Pictures

2011-10-23T12:25:00.006-04:00

Here are the hospital pictures.

http://www.our365.com/NewbornPortraits/BabyDetail.aspx?birthid=9ae48a02-80d6-40ed-a76e-195f14e1c7b9&babyid=08c913ec-d0b9-4eb8-88f1-206119e53ccd

Here are the pictures Polly came to the house to do the first weekend after Ben was born.

http://www.snapshottreasures.com/Portraits/Fuersich-Oct-2011/19600269_G6F2Vs

Benjamin Ray has arrived

2011-10-20T13:45:00.003-04:00

Benjamin Ray Fuersich arrived on October 11, 2011 @ 9:20 AM.

I was induced on my due date since Ethan was so big at 9lb 14 oz. Our scheduled time to arrive at the hospital was 3AM!! So early that we barely got any sleep. Nana and Grandpa came the night before to stay with Ethan when we left for the hospital.

We left for the hospital at 2AM arrived at 2:45 to be checked in and got right into labor and delivery at 3AM. I was hooked up to the pitocin by 4AM and we were on our way. I was about 3 CM dialated at that point. By 6 AM Dr Venard had sent a resident to break my water. I knew this would be the point things would really start moving. Contractions were pretty steady at 2-3 min at this point and as with Ethan they really started getting tough at this point. Shift change is at 7, so I knew getting an epidural might be a bit.

At a little after 7 I got an epidural and for a while that really made things easier. Sometime around 8 they came back to check me and I was dialated around 4 to 5. Unfortunately things weren't moving as fast as I had hoped. I called my mom and told her it was going to be awhile.

After that point things started feeling a little weird when I had a contraction. I was feeling nothing like before but more of a sharp pain and some pressure - I decided I needed to call the nurse around 8:30 to come and check what was going on even though I knew I couldn't have changed that much. Unbelievably she said I was 10 cm and very ready to push. I asked her about how long she thought it would be knowing it would take 45 minutes for everyone to get there. She said they just had to setup the room and call the doctor in, so to go ahead and call.

A little after 9 Dr Egner was there and ready to go - she had another procedure that she was about to go into so she was ready to get in and out. 9:20 Ben arrived, much to our surprise, at 7 lb 13 oz. and 21 inches long. I couldn't believe he was so little!!

Pictures to come shortly.

John Deere

2011-06-21T21:08:00.003-04:00

Fair Oaks Farm

2011-06-21T16:51:00.002-04:00

We will miss you!!

2011-06-20T20:58:00.002-04:00

Miami Whitewater Wet Playland with Emerson & Athalie

2011-06-20T20:08:00.006-04:00

Belly Pic - 21 weeks

2011-06-20T20:02:00.001-04:00

New Playset

2011-06-20T19:42:00.002-04:00

Compliments alot of help from Grandpa and Nana!! Thank you both very much!!

Silliness!!!

2011-06-20T19:34:00.002-04:00

Ethan's first "shave".

Easter

2011-05-02T19:20:00.005-04:00

2011-05-01T16:28:00.001-04:00

Easter pictures coming soon--- check back soon.

Big Brother Ethan

2011-05-01T16:23:00.003-04:00

The Fuersich family is expecting a new baby in October. Ethan is very excited to be a big brother although he is not sure if he wants a brother or a sister.

Christmas Day

2011-05-01T16:13:00.002-04:00

Christmas Eve

2011-05-01T15:52:00.005-04:00

Snow Day at Nana and Grandpa's

2011-05-01T15:17:00.007-04:00

Ethan's Birthday Party

2011-05-01T14:47:00.005-04:00

Ethan's 2nd Birthday

2011-05-01T14:29:00.004-04:00

Finally catching up with pictures.

I made cupcakes for Ethan's birthday dinner. They didn't turn out how I had hoped but they were still cute.

Just Hanging Out

2010-11-03T21:24:00.001-04:00

Trick or Treat

2010-11-03T21:14:00.004-04:00

Ethan wanted nothing to do with sticking his hand in that pumpkin, but he liked that we carved Thomas on it.

He had a great time trick or treating and everyone thought his costume was cute!! Great job Nana!!

Off to the Zoo!!

2010-11-03T21:03:00.003-04:00

Nana came to watch Ethan for a couple of days and we made a short trip to the zoo. Ethan loved all the animals but his favorite is the playground.

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-10T20:31:00.008-04:00

Ethan made his first visit to the pumpkin patch. He loved seeing the animals the most. We had to drag him away. They had a llama, goats, sheep, turkeys, geese, ducks, chickens, roosters, pigs, cows, ponies, donkeys, bunnies and peacocks.

They had a farmer game where the kids had to collect stuff like apples, dig for potatoes & carrots.

He was all about "milking" the cows.

Sunflowers!

2010-10-10T20:24:00.003-04:00

Day Out with Thomas

2010-10-10T20:14:00.005-04:00

In September, Diana, Chloe and Gavin came for a weekend visit and we all spent the "Day Out with Thomas". We had tons of fun. It was great for all of the kids to play together.

Ethan enjoyed having Chloe and Gavin over for a visit. When he woke up Sunday morning I heard him on the monitor say, "Mommy, Chloe, Gavin." Too cute. He still talks about them being here that weekend.

Could we have had anymore fun??

2010-08-02T14:13:00.023-04:00

We were lucky enough to spend a few days with my whole family. A first since Ethan and Athalie have arrived in this world!! My sister and her family came to visit my parents for over a week, so Dave and I took a short trip to visit them as well. We left first thing Thursday morning and Stacy had a fun filled weekend planned for us. And it was definitely an eventful weekend.

Thursday we went to the park in Streator to play (we were supposed to play miniature golf, but sometimes fun equals alot of work, so we opted for the park.)

Athalie is such a good model for pictures. She was willing to sit long enough for me to take a couple of tries at this picture. I think it turned out awesome with the sun starting to go down.

Emerson and Athalie are both big climbers. They were all over the place (just like Spiderman).

And Ethan is in love with the slides. That is all he ever wants to do at the park.

We also went out for ice cream but my hands were too full for any pics for that, but there were lots of messy faces :)

Thursday night was a little scary. We went back to my parents after ice cream and Titan was not doing so well. He hadn't seemed like himself during the day but we thought he had just a little bit of an ear infection. When we got home he couldn't stand up on his own and was very wobbly on his feet. His eyes were twitching all over the place. We ended up deciding he needed to see a vet right away but there are not any emergency vet places anywhere near my parents. Finally we found someone who would come into the office at 9:30 at night, so we had to drive him 35 minutes from my parents house to be seen. Dave had to carry him in and out. It was very scary. He has an inner ear infection or inflamation of some nerve in there that is making him dizzy. He is on his way to being better but still not himself.

Friday Grandpa took all 3 kids fishing. Now that was interesting. 3 kids near the pond with poles and hooks and their new lawn chairs that Nana got them. It took 5 adults to manage them all and make sure no one got hooked, but all 3 kids caught fish. They had a great time and so did Grandpa.

This is Ethan's second fish.

Why do these kids always end up in the dog crate? It is a fun place to hang out, that is for sure. Emerson wanted us to lock them in there :)

Ethan hanging with his homies!!

Todd made Ethan and Emerson these masks. It was so cute because they were trying to eat their goldfish, but there was no mouth, Todd had to take them back off and add a mouth so they could eat with them on. (Notice no curtains in the windows - Those had to be put up so that all three of them could stand in the window and look out at the trains AND the neighbors chickens that would come over everyday.)

Saturday we had a picnic for friends and family to visit. So much fun - thanks to all of you that were able to come. We were so glad to see you all and wish there was more time to spend with all of you.

We had bubbles for the kids to play. I guess Ethan had a high old time when they were first brought out but I totally missed it. If anyone has any good pics, please share.

Lucas hanging in the big boy chair!

Corn on the cob - Yum!!

Titan starting to feel a lit better but definitely not himself.

Cheese!!

Time for us to head home :(

But we have to sit on the deer first!! Ethan is obsessed with the deer in the house, half the picnic he was trying to make a break for the house.

Wish we could have stayed longer, it is never enough time.

Check out Stacy's blog http://crispsimons.blogspot.com/ for more fun pictures.

WATERMELON!!

2010-07-18T14:05:00.009-04:00

Ethan has fallen in love with watermelon. I think he would eat a whole melon if given the opportunity.

The Beach!!

2010-07-05T14:40:00.019-04:00

Ethan made his first trip to the beach this summer. We went to Myrtle Beach for a few days and stopped at Aunt Stacy's on the way.

I got these T-shirts for the kids and wanted a picture of them all together. I took like 30 pics and I think I could have taken 300 and wouldn't have had a perfect one. It is hard to corral 3 toddlers.

First day at the beach...

Enjoying the Summer!!

2010-07-05T14:09:00.012-04:00

Visit to the zoo. We got to pet the goats. Ethan wasn't sure about it at first, but then he warmed up to them.

Visit to the park. Not interested in the swings, but loves the slides.

Look at the hair!!

And the tongue!!

Running in the sprinkler, not sure he liked it. He is not a fan of water in his face yet. Maybe next year.

He was mostly interested in the hose.

Ethan's Photo Shoot

2010-05-23T19:27:00.001-04:00

Ethan's newest photos

efuersich.shutterfly.com

Updating Photos

2010-05-18T20:28:00.022-04:00

I know these are totally late, but Ethan's first snow experience.

Just hanging out.

4 generations... Ethan, Daddy, Grandpa and Great-Grandpa

Hanging with some friends.

So much fun on Grandpa's tractor. Ethan did the driving, he started it and steered.

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T21:28:00.012-04:00

Hope everyone had a Happy Easter. Ours was nice. Ethan colored his first Easter eggs. That was an experience. I have to tell myself these are learning experiences, we will do better next year. It started out well...

Then the eggs started getting smashed...

Mommy and Ethan often have differing opinions on when things need to end...

The loot from the bunny...

Crayons and books

And a tricycle

Elmobunny visited at Grandma and Grandpa Fuersichs'

Visit from the Pattersons'

2010-03-29T21:32:00.010-04:00

This weekend Diana, Chris, Chloe and Gavin came for a visit. It was great to have them hear for a weekend and actually have time to chat and catchup. The kids had a great time playing and visiting the Cincinnati museums. Chloe was thrilled to have pictures to take back to school with her to show what she had done on spring break.

Double Fisted

2010-02-25T20:41:00.002-05:00

Trying To Get Caught Up

2010-01-30T13:27:00.008-05:00

If I only had the energy Ethan does. He is go, go, go these days. Walking and talking like a mad man. Dave's mom has been taking him to storytime at the library the last couple of weeks. He and I have also started taking a Parent/Child swim class. I think he is enjoying both.

Here are some pictures from Christmas - although we are way past Christmas now and looking forward to spring.

Eventful Weekend

2009-12-21T20:12:00.003-05:00

Ethan had his first experience with painting. No worries... it was food coloring. What his mommy didn't think about was the food coloring should be diluted to avoid staining. This was before he rubbed his eyes. He looked like a smurf by the time he was done. The other thing his mommy didn't think about was the next day Ethan was going to see Santa at the mall...

Luckily after a long bath most of the blue was gone. Although he looked very handsome for his first visit with the famous "Ho, Ho". He wasn't very excited to sit on his lap. At least he didn't scream like the kid behind him.

Happy Birthday Ethan!!

2009-11-23T21:38:00.024-05:00

Where has the time gone??

2009-11-01T13:33:00.009-05:00

Ethan's birthday is quickly approaching. That leaves me thinking where did the year go? Boy time has flown and things have changed. He is getting big and learning new things everyday. He is saying more than a dozen words and is starting to express his opinion.

He is really close to walking. He will occassionally take a step or two without holding on.

Dinner time is interesting these days. Feeding himself and always making a mess. He is a pretty good eater mostly. Veggies aren't his favorite but he does like peas.

Made another trip to the zoo as part of a work event. Ethan enjoyed the elephants and the giraffes the best.

We also took a trip to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge but we have no pictures from the trip. We went to the aquarium and I couldn't figure out how to turn off the flash so the pictures didn't turn out well. But they have an underwater tunnel, which is very cool. Ethan liked watching the sharks swim over us.

He has dropped down to one nap most days, which of course falls around lunch time...

Happy Halloween from our little monkey!!! Hope everyone got lots of candy.

Needing 27 More Hands!!

2009-09-15T21:37:00.011-04:00

Well we have definitely been busy. Work is busy, Ethan is busy and we made a trip to IL.

Ethan is getting all over now. He is babbling like crazy, walking around the furniture and holding onto the walls. Before you know it he will be running.

We visited IL over Labor Day weekend and had a blast. It definitely made us miss everyone even more.

On to the good stuff...

Loves the Tupperware cabinet.

Titan now has to share his favorite spot.

Visiting with Jamie, Matt, Mara, Kristie & Layton ... We missed out on a pic with Layton, he was go, go, go.

Hanging with Henry, the happiest baby ever!!

Ethan definitely had fun with the kids, Chloe, Gavin and Alexis.

Hugs for Aunt Jen!!

See you again soon Nana and Grandpa.

New Pictures

2009-08-09T21:14:00.009-04:00

Mommy's Day Off - We went to the park and went on the swings.

Ethan and Mommy's favorite weekend activity.

Ethan's first time in the big bathtub.

Ethan's Newest Photo Shoot

2009-08-04T21:59:00.002-04:00

Check out Ethan's newest pictures. They didn't turn out as well as they did last time - our photographer wasn't very good and we woke him up from a nap in the car.

efuersich.shutterfly.com

Dave's Father's Day Gift

2009-07-21T21:14:00.005-04:00

I mentioned about Dave's Father's Day gift from his mom in an earlier post. The book was called "Just Like Daddy". I was able to scan a few of the pages in the book. I hope she didn't copyright the book :) Here they are.

The hat below is a hat Dave's aunt and uncle gave him when he was little. When Dave's mom started watching Ethan she dug out a few things she had kept of Dave's and this was one of them. This picture of Dave makes me see why people think Ethan looks like Dave.

Ethan was making the same face that Dave was making in this next picture.

New Pictures

2009-07-14T20:20:00.010-04:00

Ethan and Daddy napping.

Ethan has found the water bowl. He is persistant. We are going to have troubles with this boy.

Our first two teeth. We now have four and 2 months sleep deprivation.

Ethan's first trip to the zoo. We went with Nana and Grandpa Simons while they were here for a visit.

Not so sure about Grandpa's hat.

Our new favorite toy - Titan has decided he likes it too and already destroyed one of the stars.

Yea, finally sitting up on his own, so long he had no interest in sitting up. He finally realized how much more he can do sitting up.

Where does the time go??

2009-06-27T21:50:00.002-04:00

I can't believe Ethan is more than 7 months old now. I am not sure where the last 6 weeks have gone. We haven't been up to a whole lot around here, but we have been busy. Ethan has decided he doesn't want to sleep through the night anymore. He is waking up about 3 times a night these days. That makes for a long day at work, let me tell you.

Not sure why he isn't sleeping but it could be lots of things. Teeth are coming in like crazy. He has two on the bottom and the two on the top should be be here any day now. He is learning tons of new stuff. He is sitting up on his own pretty good now, he is even trying to get into a sitting position on his own, but needs a little help. He is a pro at rolling over now. He will be crawling any day now. Even though he isn't crawling he is getting around pretty well on his belly. Dave caught him going for Titan's water bowl tonight. We are going to have major issues with toys. Titan wants Ethan's toys and Ethan wants Titan's toys. Ethan is starting to wave, although he doesn't know it is for saying hi and bye and he waves to himself. He opens and closes his fingers but his palm is turned to himself. Very cute. He is also "talking" a ton. We have lots of "ba-ba", "da-da", "da-di" and even a few "ma-ma" and "na-na". Just in time for Nana and Grandpa to come for a visit. Sorry Grandpa - no Grandpa's yet.

He is eating lots of food now. He has tried all the fruits and veggies. He definitely likes fruit the best. Veggies are just okay. He isn't a fan of peas but will eat them. He sort of gags on them but continues to open up for more.

Dave had a nice first Father's Day. His mom made him this great book with pictures of Ethan and pictures of Dave when he was a baby. I think I appreciate it more than Dave does, but I am sure some day when Ethan is bigger Dave will enjoy looking back at the pictures again. Looking at these pictures makes me realize Ethan really does look like Dave.

I will try to get some newer pictures posted as soon as I have a little more time to catchup.

Happy 1/2 Birthday Ethan!!

2009-05-24T22:40:00.009-04:00

We have had a busy month. Ethan is now 6 months old and getting big. He now weighs 21 lbs. 4 oz and is 29 inches tall. This means we have to move onto the big carseat.

He rolls like crazy (mostly from his back to his belly) and loves to stand and bounce up and down. We are still working on sitting up. He can do it for a few seconds but isn't really interested in it too much. No teeth yet, but we are thinking they have to come soon. He has been an absolute fusser at bedtime all week.

We started veggies this weekend. We started with carrots and he liked them very much. We will see what happens when we get to green veggies - since mommy and daddy neither one eat green veggies.

Ethan took his first plane ride about a week ago. He and I went to visit Aunt Stacy, Uncle Todd and Emerson and Athalie. Stacy had surgery and needed some help with the kids so we went for about 5 days. It was nice to visit. Sure wish they lived closer so we could see them more often. Emerson was so excited because there were 2 babies!!

Ethan also had his first dip in "the big bathtub". Dave's parents have a pool and we took him swimming this weekend since it was so nice and warm. He got all decked out in his hat, sunglasses and sunscreen. We can't have any sunburns with this pale skin. He definitely liked the pool. He kicked around just like he does in the bathtub.

He also has picked up a new trick this week.

The "Eyes" have it

2009-04-30T12:24:00.002-04:00

I think I now see why everyone says Ethan looks like Dave... Is it the eyes?

New Pictures

2009-04-23T21:21:00.009-04:00

We have had a very busy month. Ethan has found his feet and enjoys them very much. Free toys!! He and Titan are becoming good friends. Titan loves to give him kisses on the face. And Ethan has started to pet him a little bit.

Easter weekend Grandpa and Nana came for a visit. It was a short one but this should be the last really short one. My dad is currently unemployed and my mom will be retired at the end of May!!

When they came back from visiting Stacy & Co they brought Ethan a gift. Here he is enjoying his new exersaucer.

The following weekend Ethan and I made a trip to IL to see some more people we haven't seen yet. That was an eventful trip. I don't think I will do it without Dave again, Ethan was not thrilled to ride in the back by himself. But while we were there we visited with Renee and a bunch of the A Dee Pi girls and their kids/babies (Thanks again Kathy!!). Here they all are below.

Ethan is getting good at all kinds of things. He has rolled over a few times on his own, but doesn't have much interest in it these days. He can stand pretty well now and is starting to be able to sit up. It doesn't last too long, but he can sit up without me holding him up.

We are looking forward to the nice weather and spending some time outside. In about three weeks we will be going back to the doctor and will see how big he is, but has pretty much moved onto 12 month clothes!!

Ethan's Photo Shoot

2009-03-29T20:59:00.001-04:00

We went this weekend to have Ethan's pictures taken. Check them out here

www.efuersich.shutterfly.com

Ethan is 4 months old!!

2009-03-18T12:27:00.002-04:00

Ethan turned 4 months today. Boy has it gone fast. We were at the doctor last Friday and he weighs 19 lbs 8 oz and is 27 1/2 inches tall. He is still off the charts for height and weight, but I think we are getting closer.

We also are on a dairy free diet at our house. The doctor thinks he has a dairy sensitivity (getting that through me - he's not drinking cow's milk). We found this out because he has been having blood in his diapers. The thought is that he will out grow it by the time he is one. I sure hope so. We love ice cream in our house. It's more hard on me that it is him. He seems fine otherwise, but I can't eat any dairy, which is hard to determine when you eat out. For example, I found a website that has info on fast food restaurants and lots of french fries are items not to eat. Can you believe it? I can't eat french fries, ice cream or pizza. What else is there?

He's obviously doing well though, growing like a weed. He's not rolling over yet, but has made a few attempts at it. He has a new trick that I will post a video of shortly.

Our Weekend

2009-03-09T21:09:00.005-04:00

Being back at work is a little sad, but I think it makes me much more appreciative of the time I have with Ethan. We had a funfilled weekend.

We did some tummy time... making good progress...thanks to Grandma Fuersich.

We got out the highchair - we are getting used to it before the real food comes - and he can watch us make dinner.

And of course he enjoyed his favorite nightly activity.

New Pictures

2009-02-23T20:44:00.006-05:00

Dave and Ethan hanging out.

Look how big my little boy is getting. He will soon be too tall for his seat, hopefully not before he is too heavy for it!!!

The drooling is in full force. We have lots of bubbles these days. (And smiles)

You can't quite read it, but his shirt is very appropriate in our house.

Peas on Earth ... but not on my plate (Thanks Jamie, we love it!!)

Month 3

2009-02-18T20:48:00.002-05:00

I can't believe it is going so fast. Ethan is 3 months today. I am back at work. I enjoy my time at work, but sure miss Ethan. I am sad in the evening thinking about how little time I get to see him. Dave's mom is watching him so at least he is with someone who loves him. Evenings are a little crazy these days and I will definitely enjoy my weekends with him.

His sleep schedule at night is so much better. He is usually in bed before 9 and is sleeping through the night about 95% of the time. He must have got the message I was going back to work. I think he is starting to get the hang of the bottle. He wasn't eating too great the first few days but today was much better.

I will post new pictures soon, but I have to download them off the camera.

2nd Month

2009-01-21T13:03:00.003-05:00

We went to the doctor on Monday for Ethan's 2 month checkup. He is a big boy!!! He now weighs 17 lbs. 5 oz and 25 inches. He is off the charts!!! He gained more than 4 lbs since last month. The doctor expects he will slow down now. I sure hope so. We won't be able to keep this boy clothed at this rate!!!

Grandpa - Ethan's Ready

2009-01-11T18:45:00.003-05:00

Ethan's ready to go hunting with Grandpa Simons

And he's ready to watch the game with Nana next year

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T12:43:00.002-05:00

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.

Ethan's 1st Month

2008-12-19T13:31:00.008-05:00

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.

2008-12-14T18:05:00.003-05:00

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!!!

2008-12-08T15:55:00.001-05:00

New Pictures

2008-11-30T14:15:00.002-05:00

Ethan Michael's Birth

2008-11-24T20:40:00.002-05:00

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.

He finally made it!!!

2008-11-22T10:40:00.004-05:00

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.

Last Belly Picture

2008-11-17T18:55:00.002-05:00

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.

Due Date!!!

2008-11-13T12:49:00.002-05:00

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.

No Baby Fuersich Yet

2008-11-10T19:57:00.002-05:00

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).

Baby Fuersich's Name

2008-10-28T20:01:00.004-04:00

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.

Baby Fuersich News

2008-10-27T20:02:00.003-04:00

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!!!

Monkeys, Monkeys, Monkeys

2008-10-18T13:21:00.003-04:00

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.

Busy Busy!!

2008-10-06T20:31:00.004-04:00

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.

Hurricane Ike!!

2008-09-17T19:53:00.002-04:00

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.

Phinnaeus Update

2008-09-05T20:13:00.004-04:00

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.

Beginnings of the Nursery

2008-08-09T18:31:00.005-04:00

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.

Phinnaeus Fuersich

2008-08-07T09:00:00.003-04:00

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!!!

Get out and vote

2008-07-30T12:08:00.002-04:00

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.

Pictures as Promised

2008-07-12T18:36:00.007-04:00

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.

We're Still Here

2008-07-01T20:52:00.002-04:00

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.

Update from the Hoosiers

2008-05-18T19:05:00.002-04:00

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!!!

1st Ultrasound

2008-04-19T11:44:00.003-04:00

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!!

Autumn Arrival

2008-03-26T19:40:00.003-04:00

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.

Spring, Spring, Where are you??

2008-03-12T20:10:00.002-04:00

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.

Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers

2008-02-20T21:12:00.003-05:00

Everyone's Best Friend- Tequila

2008-01-31T18:42:00.000-05:00

I thought this was funny, enjoy!!!

We're not in Kansas anymore!!!

2008-01-12T18:10:00.000-05:00

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.

Good News in the New Year

2008-01-10T19:44:00.000-05:00

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.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-26T19:57:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone!!! Hope everyone had a very wonderful Christmas!!! This is our first Chrstmas tree in our new house. We went to a local tree farm and cut our own this year. Definitely a learning curve on that one. The tree was much bigger than we expected when we got home and not very straight so that was fun to put up. Once it was up it looked great though. No presents under our tree. Titan would have them all torn up if we put them under there.

This was the first Christmas for me away from my family in IL. Dave's family made sure that it was a good one. We had lots of good food and nice presents. And we get to do Christmas all over again on Friday when my parents come for a visit. They are stopping for one night on the way to visit Stacy for Emerson's 1st birthday and then they will be back for a few more days on their way back.

We are looking forward to the new year. Wishing everyone has a safe and happy New Year!!!

Emerson

2007-12-12T19:29:00.000-05:00

Well we went to visit Stacy for Thanksgiving. It was nice to see them, since that only happens a few times a year. Emerson is getting so big. He is going to be running around like crazy soon. Poor Todd and Stacy, they are going to have their handles full. Here are some new pictures.

Just about time for his first haircut.

He's a ham for the camera.

He's learning new stuff all the time. When we left he even waved goodbye. We sure wish we got to see them more often. Next time we go he better be saying Aunt Corey & Uncle Dave. So start practicing with him now Stacy.

Happy Turkey Day!!!

2007-11-21T18:22:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!!! Hope everyone has a very happy holiday. Dave and I will be eating with his family tomorrow (and we will be eating ham) and then heading to SC to visit Stacy, Todd and Emerson. We are looking forward to seeing their new house, since we haven't seen it yet and get to see our nephew. He sure is getting big. Check out the pics on her blog!!! He is going to be running around like crazy soon.

Things have been going pretty well here, so we are pretty thankful this year for all that has happened. Hope everyone else has lots to be thankful for as well. We miss you all!!

We made it!!!

2007-11-11T13:08:00.001-05:00

Finally here are the pictures of the house completed.

It's getting dark early now. And it is really dark. No street lights out here and almost no one leaves their lights on in the front of the house.

Our dining room.

Living room and the kitchen

Living Room/Fireplace- Do you see the picture of Trina over the mantle???

The kitchen

Our bedroom looking into our bathroom

Our bathroom

Guestroom, it's all ready for any guests who would like to visit, as long as you don't mind that Titan likes to sleep in there during the day.

We are ready to move on in!!

2007-10-16T20:23:00.001-04:00

We are ready but still no garage door.

The carpet went in today.

The kitchen is all done except the fridge.

One more week to go

2007-10-14T20:08:00.000-04:00

The electricity has been turned on. That is after the electrician rewired the house. Someone stole the wiring out of the house.

We got our shutters.

They put in our real front door and painted it.

This is our bathroom. It is all done. The carpet should be done Monday or Tuesday. They also need to touch up the paint. We were supposed to close on Friday, but the garage door isn't here yet so it may not be until next Monday. Otherwise it is ready to go.

Things are flying along.

2007-10-06T19:52:00.000-04:00

All the light fixtures have gone in. This is by the front door.

The address block was added in the front of the garage.

Here is the tile and the mantle for the fireplace. They also tiled the showers.

And here are the kitchen cabinets. The cabinets are the same in the bathrooms.

We got concrete today

2007-10-02T21:20:00.000-04:00

We got our driveway, sidewalk and front porch today.

Here is our back patio.

They also delivered the interior doors, cabinets, countertops and light fixtures.

3 more weeks till we are homeowners again

2007-10-01T20:27:00.001-04:00

Almost done with the siding now.

They dug for the septic lines today and the backyard is now a mess.

We also found out today that our closing is currently scheduled for Oct. 19. That will be seven weeks from when they started digging. I can't believe it.

I better get out the Halloween decorations

2007-09-26T21:15:00.001-04:00

They put in insulation this week.

We got a lovely septic tank.

The driveway, sidewalk and porch have been framed up for concrete.

And all the drywall is up. It really looks like a house now. Trick or treat here we come!!!

Our bud with his BUD (light)

2007-09-22T21:30:00.000-04:00

Titan enjoying a cool drink with Dave

This week's progress

2007-09-19T17:35:00.001-04:00

This week we finally got our shingles.

Plumbing & electrical

And they started the siding.

Today's Progress

2007-09-14T19:26:00.000-04:00

The brick is almost done. We also got our furnace & duct work!!!! Exciting stuff.

Look how far we have come in 2 weeks

2007-09-13T20:50:00.001-04:00

Two weeks ago today they started digging.

Today they started laying the brick. The whole front will be brick except around the window on the left.

We also got our fireplace today.

It's starting to look like a house

2007-09-11T20:59:00.000-04:00

I am beginning to think we might be in by Halloween at this rate!!!

Friday they poured the basement floor and the garage floor. And then if rained for the first time in months on Saturday.

I hope this is the last time I ever see water in my basement!!!

Monday they framed out all the exterior and interior walls. You can actually see where the rooms are going to be.

Today they put up the trusses and some of the plywood for the roof and finished the interior framing.

They also put up our covered back porch!!! Yipee!!! I am going to enjoy sitting out there in the evening.

I think the roof will be done by the end of the week.

Stacy, I added a link to a country living website I think you might like. You can get the magazine for free.

We have a basement!!!

2007-09-08T12:23:00.000-04:00

This week they poured the concrete for the basement walls. They are supposed to start framing on Monday.

Titan "The Country Dog"

2007-09-04T20:24:00.000-04:00

Titan sure is enjoying country life. There is a pond on each side of Dave's parents' house. As soon as he gets off the leash he makes a mad dash to the water. He loves to fetch his tennis ball in one pond and there are lots of frogs to chase in the other!!!

Don't Fall In

2007-09-02T14:53:00.000-04:00

Things are moving faster than we had expected. They were supposed to start digging around September 6th, however we showed up the other day and saw this.

At this rate maybe we will be in by my birthday. Happy Birthday to me!!!

We went and picked out all the stuff on Thursday night. That was fun, however it is really hard to pick stuff when you only have a sample. I am a little nervous about the kitchen choices. Hopefully they turn out okay. There is another house they are building that has the same counters and cabinets so I think we are going to go check that out to make sure we like it.

I added a link to the builders website so you can see what it will look like when it is done. We made some changes but this is the basic floorplan.