Merry Christmas from the Rehders!

12 Weeks

How Far Along: 12 Weeks (12/19/2011)
Things I've been Craving: Nothing really specific, just very hungry, very frequently!
Things that seems repulsive: bananas (which is quite sad, I used to love them! The smell just gets to me right now!)
How I am feeling: Quite a few rough mornings weeks 9-11. Starting to feel like myself again this week! Wahoo!
Most Exciting Moment this Week: Hearing the Heartbeat at our 2nd doctor appointment! Dr. Taylor said everything looks, sounds, and feels great! And I am starting to see and feel a baby bump! :)
Worse Moment of the Week: Having to leave my classroom in the morning. Thank goodness for fabulous paras and co-workers!
Recent Movies I have seen: Twilight: Breaking Dawn (not the best to see when you are preggo!)
What I am Reading: Just finished "Belly Laughs" and reading "What to Expect when You're Expecting" each week and Water for Elephants from my friend Karla!

Do you know the most famous reindeer of all...

Lily clearly doesn't. She seemed quite perplexed by these elk horns. I think she was trying to decide if she should attack the strange animal, point at it, play with it, or just sit and stare! The picture was too priceless, so I had to share! Happy Holidays!

Meet Baby Rehder!

Today we finally had our first baby appointment! We have been anticipating this appointment since we found out we were pregnant! It was quite a long appointment, but completely worth it! Dr. Taylor was quite shocked, but pleased to see us in there! We got to hear the heartbeat and even see the baby using an internal ultrasound! Well...Dr. Taylor said it was the baby, but no matter how hard or long we stare at the picture, we don't see a baby yet, but we think it is a perfect blob image right now :)
He measured the baby and said I was 8 weeks pregnant!

Making baby Rehder due on July 3rd, 2011! 

First Baby Gift!

This is what I got at work today from Nickolas....

Not the easiest of cards to explain to my co-workers. But still totally made my day :)

But I did know why, and that was the best feeling of all!

For the Daddy-to-Be!

Well, Nickolas and I have always been huge fans of Halloween, and this year we happened to be in Washington D.C. over the Halloween weekend, so we didn't get to celebrate with our usual Halloween/Birthday Bash. So, I figured I had better give him a party that he wouldn't forget on Halloween day. 

So here is what he got....

In case you can't tell, that is 3 POSITIVE pregnancy tests out of the 6 that I took! The quote states: 

"Positive Proof that in nine months you will be the best dad around, just wait, you'll see."

For those of you that don't know, I was recently told by a doctor that I probably wouldn't be able to have children naturally, and we were scheduled for our infertility appointment the following week. So when Nick saw this, he was in disbelief, as was I was I found out! It is an unexpected, yet wonderful blessing! I think we both need some time for this to actually sink in, so all we can say for now is 

Here. We. Go.

Washington D.C.

We randomly traveled to Washington D.C. this week and had such a great time! Nick attended a conference on Thursday and Friday at the Smithsonian, so I had the opportunity to venture through some of the museums there, shops and nearby monuments. We really didn't know much about D.C. prior to going, but we had a lot of fun just venturing around and discovering new places together. We both fell in love with Georgetown and all the sights, buildings, and shops!
Enjoy our slideshow below of our trip together!

Half Marathon! Complete!

This year I decided to join in on the fun of the Mankato Marathon. Since the Mankato Marathon fell on Nick's birthday this year, we decided to train for the half marathon! We were very excited for the race to finally get here (I think I was a little more anxious than Nick) but about 8 weeks ago we found a fabulous running group that really pushed each of us and kept us on track for training!
This year for the race we were planning on my family attending, Nick's sister Jenni and her family coming, and Auntie Rachel coming to cheer us on! We were so surprised on Friday night to have Nick's dad, Rick, at our back door! He flew in from Goldbar, Washington to encourage and support us!
Throughout the race I just remember feeling so much adrenaline and power. There were SO many familar faces and words of encouragement along the way. I will definitely be doing this experience again. We were both very happy with our times and with the overall experience. With 1500 runners, Nick finished in 85th place with a time of 1:34:35 and I finished in 326th place with a time of 1:48:38! Right after the race we went out for well deserved drinks and brunch with family and our friends Kris and Karla (who surprised us along the race as well!). Then we headed to Minneapolis to go to the Gopher vs. Husker game to see more friends and family.
Overall it was a wonderful weekend and we couldn't feel more blessed with the fabulous friends and family we continue to have around us!

Before the Race! Trying to stay warm!

We were excited to be running and warming up!

Getting some love from the crowd!

Pushing it to the Finish!

All Done!

My wonderful running friends!

 Family Snapshot!

Kris and Karla Dutton!

Welcome to the Dells!

Well we have talked about it for quite some time, but this summer we finally took a trip to the Wisconsin Dells! We went with Scott and Gracie and stayed at the Kalahari! It truly is an amazing place! We had such a great time in the indoor and outdoor water park, the amusement park, and eating out!

We even had the opportunity to feed a baby tiger! It was incredible and we hope to make it an annual trip! Here are a few snapshots of our weekend together!

Free scrapbook generated with Smilebox

Adventures with Lilyan

Well we have had little Lilyan for a few months now and she has definitely kept us on our toes! She has been the best birth control we could ask for, but quite a challenge! Who knew a dog could be so naughty, yet so sweet! Well here are just a few of our lastest Lilyan adventures!
Yesterday I ran barefoot out to my car to get a bag and when I ran back to my front door I discovered that I was locked out from Lilyan pawing at the door! But after 2 hours of waiting, a visit to some random neighbors houses for a phone, one phone call to the locksmith, and $65.00 later I got back in my house looking down at a very guilty Lilyan.
Then this morning I was packing for our weekend to Wisconsin so Nick put Lily's big metal crate in our car. I left for less than an hour to go for a run and look at what I came home to! She chewed through her fabric crate?! Ugh...
So far she has chewed through 1 comforter, 2 pillows, and 3 shoes and now a dog kennel! I am fairly certain raising a child has to be easier than this! Seriously people. Enjoy the good, bad, and naughty pictures below!

Lilyan in her first stages of fetching....and the start of her chewing phase.

Lily's first bath!

How could you not love her like this?!

We survived our first Easter Holiday with Lilyan!

The blanket stage: Turns out Lily is obsessed with blankets and loves getting under them...but she is too cute to get mad at! Sometimes...

This is after the first pillow pad Lily managed to attack.

No. Not all dogs enjoy swimming. We went out to the lake and the only way Lily would actually swim successfully in the water is if she was wearing Grace's princess life jacket. Real tuff Lily!

After chewing through her fabric crate. Awesome Lily. Just Awesome. 

 

Lily's favorite hang out spot :)

Here's to many more adventures, stories, and moments with our Lilyan!

Fourth of July!

Well for those of you that don't know, 4th of July is one of my most favorite holidays! I am completely obsessed with fireworks (hence Nickolas illegally proposing to me with them). But our town always has an arts festival, a road race and a pretty great show. So, it's been tradition for us to go to Lennox for a long time.
But since the 4th of July was on a Monday this year, our families decided to all get together and celebrate the holiday in Okoboji at Penny and Joel's beautiful home! For whatever reason, I didn't take as many pictures as I typically do, but we had a wonderful time boating, going out and spending time together! Hope you had a fantastic fourth with family as well! 

At the barefoot bar!

Getting Fishbowls at the Ritz....bad/good idea!

Out on the Boat! We didn't completely sink it....

Enjoying some Lunch! Scott and Gracie

Nickolas and I

Auntie Rachel and Grace!

Grace and I got sweet new blinged out watches!

Parr/Tewalt Wedding

We had such a wonderful weekend! My sister got married to an amazing guy named Jake Tewalt! Nickolas couldn't have asked for a better new addition to the family. They make each other so incredibly happy and truly bring out the best in each other! We had their rehearsal dinner at Spezia's restaurant in Sioux Falls and just seeing everyone together, excited, and anxious brought back so many wonderful memories from our wedding day! 
Their wedding day was absolutely perfect! From the colors, the flowers, the decorations, the romance, and of course the bride...it was all spectacular! Every detail was perfectly planned and it was all worth it! There was so much love in the air and I know all their friends and family could feel it too. I can't wait to see all the pictures and videos and hear all about their honeymoon - which of course is in St. Lucia!! Lucky Newlyweds! Until then, here are a few sneak peeks that I captured!

Mother, Wife, Grandma, Aunt, Sister, Niece and Friend

It is not goodbye...

After a long, fierce and courageous battle with cancer, mom was carried home by the arms of her savior Jesus Christ on Friday May 20, 2011. We have found peace in knowing that she is in her final resting place. We will never forget her humor, strength, stories, compassion, love for others and even her strange requests! We will forever cherish the memories we have of her and our hope is that everyone else will keep close all of those wonderful memories they have of her when she was happy and healthy. 

We will take some time to grieve, for we know that tears heal the broken spirit. Yet, at the same time, we are at ease knowing that she is now pain free, disease free and wearing some pretty fabulous angel wings up in heaven. She is now with the angels, friends and family that have gone before her. We cannot wait until the day that we see her smiling face again, but until then, all of our warm memories of her will remain in our hearts. 

We're all Grown Up and Graduated!

We did it! Finally! I know we have spent the last few weeks moaning and groaning...but that was A LOT of work! On May 7th, 2011 we graduated from Minnesota State University! We had such a wonderful weekend full of family, friends and celebration. We felt so truly blessed having everyone there to support us as we put closure to this stage in our lives. This weekend, 

Nickolas received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering

Ashley received a Master of Science in Teaching and Learning. 

We have so many people to say thank you to for traveling and visiting us! It was a memorable and emotional weekend for us. We wish Valerie could have been there with us, but she was so proud to hear that her baby boy received his degree! We are going to visit her next weekend and can't wait to see her. 

 Nickolas receiving his degree.

Madilyn and Gracie all grown up and graduated!

 Nickolas was giving the girls a tour.

 The exhausted, yet ecstatic graduates!

 The commencement gang!

My cheerleaders!

 Nick explaining how he got his degree!

 One proud sister, Jennifer!

And a proud dad, Scott!