11 Weeks

Well- I thought 11 weeks would bring me a sign of relief but- I had a few hurdles to still pass. I was very sick on Friday- I even went to bed at 6:30!! Saturday I was just a bit queezy but other then that I was Ok but ended up coming down with a headache- then Sunday woke up with the same headache which made me a little sick. Monday morning I woke up with still the same headache and was very faint when I was trying to make myself some toast. I emailed a nurse at the hospital just to see if it was something to be concerned about or not. She called me shortly after and wanted to see me right away.

I was slightly dehydrated- but not enough to put me on an IV- she thought I could fix it on my own, and she changed my anti-nausea medication to Phenergan (sp?) that one makes me feel better but pretty tired- so I only take it when I really need to.

BUT- the best part of my unexpected doctor appointment was that I got to hear the heartbeat!!! She wanted to make sure things were sounding fine in there and she pulled out her doppler and I got very excited- so I laid back and she moved it around for a minute and then finally found it-- a HUGE smile came across my face and she kind of looked at me like- What, it's just the heartbeat-- so I said- This is the first time I've heard this- and she said OOO really- and turned it up so I could hear it more clearly. The heartbeat was between 155-160, so nice and strong. I was bummed Taylor couldn't hear it- but he is coming with me on July 5 to our next scheduled appointment so he'll get to hear it then- and I plan on bringing my camera with to record some video of her checking the heartbeat so you all can hear it on here too!!

This is just another neat photo of a baby at 11 weeks..... just something fun to look at!



On the house front-- I need to take some photos tonight and post them for you- you can't even imagine what my living room looks like right now! We are actually sleeping on our mattress in the middle of the living room and you can't hardly get to the couches- its madness! Our new carpet is getting put in in our bedroom and the nursery on Thursday- and we are getting a deal on some really great carpet for the basement but we have to wait 2 more weeks for it to come in- so as long as the upstairs gets put back together here soon we'll be fine waiting for the basement for a little longer. Hopefully pictures of our mess to come tomorrow.

And stay tuned for next week and my 12 week belly shot!

10 Weeks

Well- not much has changed from week 9 to week 10 besides I think I'm slowly but surely beginning to get over my morning sickness-- Monday's seem to be a bad day at work- the past two I was sick for most of the day- but then come Tuesday I'm only sick once and now it's Wednesday and so far so good- so hopefully over the next 2 1/2 weeks now I'll notice things starting to get better.

I have felt more motivated this week- I made some homemade salsa and tacos so far this week- and before this week cooking like that was the LAST thing on my list!

Just another cool photo of a baby at 10 weeks- they say its the size of a plum now and weighs 5 grams! And the baby has started to move all around in there- of course I can't feel anything yet.... probably not for another 4-6 weeks until I experience that.



I have started water aerobics which is every Tuesday and Thursday night- I'm doing it with my mom, friend Megan and her mom-- its a lot of fun! I don't necessarily work my butt off to try to loose weight like everyone else in the class but it does feel good to just work my muscles, move around and play in the pool. I'm taking it at my own pace and its nice to be able to do that.

We are in the process of getting new carpet in parts of the house- Taylor finally got that nasty red stuff pulled out in the basement and we are hoping we'll be able to do the nursery and our bedroom as well- we are just waiting for the carpet guy to come over and give us an estimate.

Joey is growing bigger and bigger every day- we got him a shock collar to help train and we've only had to shock him a few times- he sure has learned quickly and it makes for a better house hold when he behaves himself. Tigger is turning 2 on Thursday, the 14th!! He is getting a nice helping of his favorite wet food for dessert!!

9 Weeks

Well- here we are, half way through 9 weeks and its not treating me any better. I spent all of Sunday in bed- it was nice to get the rest and anytime I got out of bed to try to do something I got sick- so in bed I stayed. Then Monday came and getting through a full day of work was a chore- but then out of no where at 8:00pm I got a burst of energy- picked up the whole house, cleaned out my closet of clothes I don't wear anymore- and felt like grocery shopping at 9pm- so I went and got all the things I have been craving- a big pickle, pop tarts, beef jerkey, Fruity Pebbles, Orange Juice, Kiwi's, Nectarines, Oranges, and yogurt. Almost all of which I brought with me to work today so that whenever I get hungry I'll know I will have everything that my tastebuds desire.

One other thing I bought was popsicles- This morning I started not feeling well, again, and went to the freezer for a popsicle and TA DA- I felt better!! Sugar Free Grape Popsicle seemed to do the trick- that and sitting in a chair when I got ready in front of the mirror. I think, and I hope I have found a trick for getting through my mornings! So- hopefully things will start to look up from here-- I hear that weeks 10-12 you start feeling better and better each day and I'm looking forward to that.

Here is just another cool photo I found online- the baby has grown its fingers and toes this week and is about the size of an olive.

8 Weeks

Well-- the doctor gave us good news! ONE healthy little baby!! We couldn't hear the heart beating quite yet but we could see it beating on the screen- 156 bpm- so very strong and healthy! It was just amazing seeing our little one- it really makes this whole thing real to us.

Here I am at eight weeks-- I think I'm mostly bloated- my anti-nausea medication doesn't help in that category- but I think I'm getting over my sickness, I only had to take one pill this whole weekend, so hopefully things are getting better!



This is Little Baby Pagel at eight weeks! You can see the cord, the head, and that white area on the chest is the little heart-- so hard to believe that this little thing is the size of a sunflower seed!



Lucky for us- I'm a super planner- when we moved in and painted the whole house I planned for the nursery- Hint of Olive is the color I choose- and I had hoped that I'd be able to do the nursery in a Pond Theme- that way if it's a boy we can add more blue dragon flies, frogs and turtles, and if it's a girl we can add more pink lady bugs, butterflies, flowers and fairies. I had found this bedroom set- the crib bedding, the valances, diaper holder, lamp shade- the whole bit and it was the PERFECT pond theme that I was looking for (and it matched the wall color perfectly). Here are the valances that we hung up, the bedding and the music mobile have pink daisies, pink ladybugs, and the blue dragonflies, and the frogs-- its very cute!



Here is the other window and you can see the music mobile that I put together- and all the stuff that Pam brought over of Landon's stuff. Our next purchase will be the crib eventually, its just nice to start getting those bigger ticket items slowly as we go along so those huge expenses don't hit us all at once-That's the plus side of a pregnancy lasting 9 months!

Strange Reaction

OK- so far this pregnancy has just been one thing after another...

So- this weekend I went camping with my Mom, Dad and Dylan and Danielle to Lanesboro. We had just arrived and decided to go for a walk down town-- as we were leaving my jaw started to feel a little sore- I was just connecting it to my TMJ which I am currently see a physical therapist for-- as our walk continued the alignment of my jaw got more and more off and before I knew it my lips wouldn't even meet up correctly and my bite was basically almost on the side of my face and when I tried to talk I talked with a major lisp. It was the most painful thing ever! We didn't have a vehicle down there- just the motorhome so we planned on just packing it back up and getting me to St. Mary's ER immediately- luckily Peter and Janna were around with their car so mom and I hoped in and started driving to Rochester.

On the way I was icing my jaw to see if it would help- and then mom's purse split over in the back seat so, in all my pain, I reached back and picked up her things then sat back up again and all of a sudden my tounge fit back into my mouth! I looked in the mirror and my lips were touching like they should- it went back to normal! So we turned around- we had only made it to Fountain- only about 15 minutes from Lanesboro. But then on our way back my jaw started doing it in the other direction- so now my bite was on the right side of my face and I couldn't control it-- Mom decided it was a muscle thing and that the ice seemed to work so we continued back to the camper to ice and take a nap. As I was napping it finally came to my mom that when we were at the doctor's on Thursday she said my medicine she gave me could cause twitching- and twitching is a muscle spasm- and it finally was clear that my jaw had spased and since it was a weak point in the first place that is just where it attacked.

She got on the phone with the hospital immediatly and they told me to obviously stop taking that medicine and they called in a new one for me as they said that I had just experienced one of the possible side affects. - Man- who knew that some people actaully experience those side affects-- I never have done that before with any other medicine.

So- now I'm back on a new anti-nausea medication and things are looking back up again- even though I had to go through another horrible Monday when nothing would stay down-- but hopefully things from here on out will continue to go as planned!

Stay tuned for a Friday early evening post of our first ultrasound!!

7 Weeks

Well-- I tired to work through my morning sickness but it just got the best of me and I couldn't even make it through a full work day. I went to the doctor and they gave me some anti-nausea medication that seems to be helping quite well- that and she told me to stop taking my prenatal and switch to a Flinstone's vitamin- which were my most favorite thing when I was little so that was an easy switch! She said the most important thing I need right now is Folic Acid and I can get that from the Flinstone's.

She also tested my thyroid to see if that could be a bit out of whack it might be the culprit-- and she also scheduled me for my first ultrasound for next Friday- right at 8 weeks to see of the possibility of there being more then one in there! Oh man.... Guess we'll just have to wait and see.... next post-- I'll have the very first picture of our little bundle(s) of joy!!! :)

6 Weeks

Well- I hit the 6 week mark today- and along came all the beautiful joys of pregnancy. I had my first experience with morning sickness today and uncontrolable sleepiness. My morning sickness came around 9:30-- even after I had a big breakfast-- I was at work and didn't want to go in the bathroom so I breathed through it and got myself to get past it and after about an hour went to the gas station and grabbed a Sprite and was able to get some Saltines down and then it went away and I'm feeling much better now. I purchased some Preggie Pops at Motherhood Maternity-- you are suppose to suck on the suckers when you experience neusea and it helps calm it down-- and of course they are sitting next to my bed- now I will be carrying them in my purse!

So, we are moving along just fine. May 30th is our first scheduled Doctor's appointment- and that day can't seem to come fast enough!

If you haven't noticed-- My "baby" is hanging out on your screen! It has the countdown of how many days we have left to go and the baby develops as it would be in my tummy each week-- kind of cool to watch.

Here is an up close picture on what "Baby Pagel" should be looking like right now in my tummy--- I find these photos like this just amazing!!

My First Craving

OK- I had my first extreme cravings yesterday... I wanted CHICKEN!! I couldn't get enough-- For lunch I swung by Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers in Apple Valley-- highly recommened-- it's fresh chicken made into chicken strips- not frozen processed chicken strips-- and OH man-- their Cane's sauce-- it's to DIE for! Then I got home and was looking in the fridge for something for dinner and everything sounded gross except for- MORE CHICKEN--- so I baked some chicken- very delicious- and as I was watching 7th Heaven that I had DVR'ed they were eating freshly made chocolate chip cookies-- I wanted nothing more then a bite of that cookie but I didn't have the stuff to make some... so then I got to thinking about a Dairy Inn ice cream.

Soon after Taylor got home from his baseball game and at this point in time I was a little crabby as Joey was super hyper because he didn't get his walk due to the rain and I really wanted to take a nap-- I was crabby about having to fold laundry and I stomped downstairs- got the laundry- stomped back upstairs and told Taylor to leave me alone-- then a few minutes of me being in the bedroom folding laundry I hear Taylor in the living room--- Mindi-- would you like me to take you to Dairy Inn--- "YES I WOULD" and then I was in a better mood! :)

Oh the JOYS!! But I'm loving every step of the way! :)

BABY PAGEL!!!!!!

YES!! The time is here-- we are having a BABY!!!



Right after the test actually gave me a positive sign!!



I wanted a belly shot from when I first found out so I could track my belly growth-- so this is me at 4 weeks along.... obviously more belly pictures to come as I hit more landmarks and as I get bigger!



I made these frames and took a picture of my positive stick to give to our parents! They both were shocked and SO happy to be Grandparents again!! Now, from us, they have a Grand Cat, Grand Dog, and as they called it- a Grand Stick! :)

On the "feeling" part- I'm feeling pretty darn good-- Pam said she had morning sickness right away and heart burn- but my mom said she really didn't have much of that- a little morning sickness here and there-- so let's hope things go like that for me. (Feel bad for Jenae- she followed in her mom's footsteps)I am feeling bloated and have those "uterus is growing" feelings- basically feels like a dull cramp- and the chest area is a bit tender-- but I'm sure as the weeks continue to pass I'll be experiencing more and more symptoms. Any advice is welcome!

We are SOO excited and we should be expecting our little bundle of joy around January 4th.

Meet Lauren Marie Dissmeyer

Meet the newest member of the family Lauren Marie Dissmeyer- Tasha and Joe's baby girl.

She was born on April 25 at 12:42am, 9 pounds 3 ounces, 21 inches long.

Tasha did an amazing job and everyone is doing well.

Here is Lauren and her dark head of hair



And Grandma Lisa holding her first Grandbaby

Joey Playing

Having a puppy is just like having a baby in the house---when it's play time he has to take all of his toys out of his little puppy toy box and spread them all over the living room- just like a baby-- I guess this is good training! :)




I call this his toddler years-- he is getting so big so fast!!

Joey's New Tricks

Nap Time

This past Saturday we got to babysit Mr. Landon for a few hours in the afternoon- lucky for us we had him over his nap time so I thought I'd join him- and then Joey thought it looked like a pretty good idea too!

Our Honeymoon Cruise to the Caribbean

Well- We are back from our week long cruise to the caribbean for our honeymoon. We had a BLAST!! The weather was amazing- the food was delicious and the relaxation is greatly missed.

Well- we started out in Miami which is where our boat took off from and first sailed to Puerto Rico. Here I am in San Juan - our Carnival boat is the Victory- it's the one behind me with the blue lights- 11 stories high!



In San Juan we just walked around and looked at stuff-- the streets were rather dirty but the buildings were beautiful.



Then we stopped at the island of St. Maarten where we decided to do an excursion. We took a boat ride out to a shipwrecked cove and went snorkling. We got to see some shipwrecks and a ton of fish- the only downside was how salty that water really is- you'll never believe it until you've experienced it- but it was fun to actually swim in the ocean as I've never done that before.

Here is the boat we went on.


Then here are a couple pictures of the island- very beautiful.




Then our final stop was at the island of St. Thomas were we took a taxi over to Coki beach and laid in the sun and jumped in the waves- it was a nice relaxing day.





Here is the sunset off the back of the boat while in port at St. Thomas and some sail boats that were in the bay enjoying the beautiful scene.





We did spend 4 days on our amazing boat- Carnival Victory- it was 11 stories high- had a ton of fun bars to enjoy, a Caribbean Lounge where all the shows and a lot of the activities took place, 3 pools, a ton of hot tubs, a water slide, gym, and spa- which we did enjoy on the first full day as it rained- massages and facials were the perfect thing to get us relaxing!

This is looking down over the bar area on the 3rd floor in front of our dining room- this was more of a classy bar where they had a Piano Man most of the nights- but also some string players a few of the nights.



Then here are some photos off the top deck where we tanned a lot- it was beautiful to look out and see only ocean!



The boat was full of WONDERFUL staff-- and of course I had to have my picture taken with them....

Me with the Piano Man



Me with our assistant waiter in the formal dining room


Here is our head waiter in the formal dining room- by the way- BEST food we've EVER had!!



Me with our assistant Cruise Director- Big Sexy is what he liked to be called


And our main Cruise Director- George during the day- and Jorge at night!



They kept us busy on the boat- we went to a lot of the afternoon activities that went on- we went to 5 sessions of BINGO- then I got up on stage and played Game Show Trivia where I won a medal- and Taylor got on stage for The Match Game- he won a 24K Plastic Piece of Ship on a Stick- that's what they called it!



And the formal nights were a LOT of fun-- here is us on our first formal night- the Captain's Dinner-- the second formal night was our farewell dinner.



And then what vacation wouldn't be complete without the different towel animals that got placed on our bed each night!! We had a complete group of an Eskimo, Seal, Elephant, Dog and Swan!







We had a wonderful time and we hate being back at work- but at least spring time is just around the corner and we have the summer to look forward to! And we do have to admit- we REALLY missed our Joey and Tigger-- Joey grew over our week of being gone- 3 pounds!! Now we are settling back in to life again and raising our little boys! :)

Joey

Taylor and I decided to make and addition to our family...... we just got a puppy!! He is a lab husky mix from the Miller boys. His name is Joey!!

As a puppy- 7 1/2 weeks old- he sleeps most of the day.... his favorite place is right next to me on the couch---- so cute!

And while Joey sleeps- Tigger can finally relax and take a nap too! Actually, I'm pretty surprised how Tigger is handling everything- we let them meet slowly and kept Joey upstairs while Tigger just kind of watched from a distance and followed Joey around for the first night. Today being home all day with both of them its been funny seeing Joey trying to get Tigger to play with him and Tigger just kind of shrugging him off. Some day I know they will be BEST buds!

Here is Joey playing around and Tigger keeping a safe distance from behind the microwave box... He is just a little guy now- but we are projecting him to be around 50-70 pounds when he is all grown up.

Life sure will be different- but we've already made our special bond and love him to pieces-- how could you resist this cute face!!!

3-Peat 3-Peat 3-Peat

YES!! We did it again! We captured that State Championship Blue Medal! The girls did outstanding on Friday at both prelims and finals and they peaked at the PERFECT time and nailed their dance and took home what was rightfully theirs!

State Champions for the third year in a row baby!

3-PEAT!!!!

National Anthem

Cannon Falls has just been given the honor of singing the National Anthem at the State Tournament on Friday at Noon.

Our singers include:

Bradi Smith- my cousin

Sam Stiehl

Lauren Stiehl

Andrea Schiebe

Dana Banitt

Tess Pfohl

Only 4 teams were chosen to allow singers to sing the anthem and we were one of them! Congratulations girls!!!

Section 1A Champions!!!!

Ok- first off-- I'll explain the outfits-- every year for Sections and State the coaches get a cute matching outfit--- this year we tricked the girls- we showed up in the morning with matching red fleece pants and sweatshirts (kind of looked like PJ's)-- and they honestly thought that that was our outfit for Sections and State-- WELL-- after we got done marking our dance we ran to the bathroom and put on these Sassy outfits!! So- we are all decked out for Sections and State!!!

So-- sections was this past weekend and we are the now 4x Defending Section Champions!!! And it was by a landslide!2nd place- Plainview was 48 points behind us! We really rocked the floor! BUT- the girls said that they didn't feel like they peaked AT ALL- they said they could have kicked higher or done something better-- which I was happy to hear that- I didn't want them to peak at sections-- So- now we are headed to the Xcel Energy Center on Friday, February 16 to STATE!!!! The girls are planning to hit their PEAK of the season at State and that is what I KNOW they can do!!! Our top competitors- in my mind- will be- New Ulm Cathedral, Montevideo, and Yellow Medicine East- probably with us included will be the top four teams in Class A in the state.

Our qualifier round starts right at Noon- and finalists are announced at 1:45- then we have a break while AA and AAA teams dance and Finals will be at 5:45 where the top 6 from qualifiers will dance again. Come and cheer us on to our Three-Peat!!! Doors open at 11:15!!

** The Task Ahead of you is Never as Great as the Power Behind You! **

Come and be the POWER behind the Cannon Falls Bomber Dance Team!

5K Run

Well- Since my mom, aunt, and cousins are working hard to be healthy and stay in shape- I've been asked to take part in another adventure. My friend Megan has always wanted to run a 5K marathon- and she has decided this is the year to do it as she is getting married this October and there is no better time to get in shape! She needed a running and training partner and she has asked me to join her. Running a marathon I guess wasn't something that I had on my list of things to do in my lifetime- but now that I have been asked it has now become something that I would really like to accomplish as well.

We haven't finalized our decision quite yet on which race we want to run- but we do know it will be sometime in May or June- so we have begun our training! I was in track for 3 years so running isn't that big of a deal for me-- granted I'm pretty out of shape but I've done it before- Megan wasn't a runner in high school but she enjoys getting in a good workout- which makes us a really good team. She motivates me to keep up on our training and to make sure we actually follow through with it- and I motivate her to keep up a good pace and to push herself. Together we make the perfect match!

I'll keep you posted on our adventure! Wish us luck!!

Support my Mommy

My Mom is part of the team Dubar Dolls for the Walk Against Breast Cancer. My Aunt Michelle was diagnosed with breast cancer in August and 2 months after that my Gramps- their dad- passed away from lung cancer and then 3 months after that my Grams- their mom- passed away suddenly from a stroke. So my mom, Kris, and Michelle along with my cousins Heidi and Angie have decided to do the 3-day 60 mile walk for breast cancer to help others out and to empower themselves as women and all of us as a family.

Please support them in their journey-- I've nominated myself as their #1 Cheerleader and will do whatever it takes for them to reach their goals to make their walk possible. They each need to raise $2,200 in donations in order to participate in the walk- they have already begun training and have stocked their closets with the appropriate shoes, socks, and walking materials. So please help them out in helping out other women around the world.

Click the link Dubar Dolls on my page and it will direct you to their blog of their adventure and you will find their donation links on there as well.

Our family thanks you greatly for your donations, support and prayers.

God's Peace!

-Mindi Kay