Off to P-Town

We are coming to Portland for a couple of days and so very excited to see two great people merge their lives together forever this weekend - Brandon & Elisa. Congrats to you both! (We obviously have no fun with you guys as you can see below)

We are also sooo very happy to see our family and friends for a couple of days. Thursday thru Sunday is going to be one whirlwind that can't get here soon enough! For the first time, baby girl Clark and baby boy Monty will be in very close proximity!


21 1/2 weeks down.

Halfway There

20 weeks and 4 days down, 136 days to go until we get to meet our baby boy for the first time!

We are so thrilled and so thankful that he is well, developing perfectly and completely healthy! Friday was such an emotional high, in fact, we are still riding on it now! In fact, since our doctor's appointment, he has gotten more and more active with each passing day. I love feeling the little kicks and knocks from inside. He seems to be most active in the evenings, especialy after dinner. Last night, Nick was able to feel his son for the first time. It was so awesome to see Nick's excitement when his baby boy let him know he was there!

My dear friend Teresa came out to visit us for the long weekend, so we continued the celebrations. It was great to have a close friend in town after such exciting news. Unfortunately, it rained most of the weekend, just like the Portland kind of rain (which is not all that common here), so we weren't able to do quite as much as we had originally planned. Monday & Tuesday the sun finally came out. Teresa and I got to be tourists for the day and see the city which was great fun!

With our son on the way, we are also very excited to announce a niece is on the way as well. Stephanie and Zach found out they are having a little lady! We are so excited for our kids to grow up together and so close in age!

I am feeling pretty good these days. I need an insane amout of sleep I have discovered though. It's very hard to get up to workout in the mornings, so I am learning how to be an evening worker-outer. I am trying to keep active 4 - 5 times a week. It's harder than ever to keep that up right now, but I am trying. We are also growing, growing, growing more and more and faster each day. Cravings have leveled out (oh I had that donut by the way - amazing!).

Each day I think of my parents and how 'thank you' will never cut it for how grateful and appreciative I am for them and everything they did and still continue to do for me. I love you mom & dad very, very much. You are going to be the best grandparents!

Drumroll Please....

It’s a BOY! It’s a BOY! We have broken the Montgomery Family streak and our son will carry on the name. He’s perfect (very active) and healthy! We are elated! Can’t stop smiling!

A Perfect Miracle

Really a fantastic video. Every baby really is a perfect miracle. I can’t wait to see our miracle onscreen for a full hour tomorrow morning.

To Little Monty - we pray for your health, happiness and in thanks for your life everday and can’t wait to meet you in just a few short months. I already love you so very much. - Mommy

Stay Tuned

This coming Friday, the 13th, we find out what our little baby is… boy or girl! Keep posted we will annouce the gender for our family and friends on here as soon as we leave the doctor’s office!

Tales Of the Old Wives

18 weeks and 2 days today. We are getting so excited to find out little Monty’s gender! We have no idea and change our minds daily on what we think we are having. I told Nick last night that I wanted to visit a psychic just to see what they predicted. Of all the wives tales I have read here are the results to date: 

- Ring on a String Test: Boy and Girl (it’s given both results)
- Morning Sickness: Girl
- Acne Breakouts: Girl
- Sweet Cravings: Girl (donuts!)
- Carrying Low: Boy ( I think I am carrying low, right?)
- Carrying weight in hips & rear: Girl
- Odd number when add my age plus the month of conception: Girl
- Chinese Lunar Calendar: Boy

And at the end of the day, 50/50 chance for either. The big reveal is just around the corner…..

Tomorrow night, I am flying to Boston to take the train to NYC with my mom for the week. I cannot wait! Then, Friday my mom and I take the express train back to Beantown to meet up with Nick and my dad for the weekend. We are so excited to visit, neither one of us has ever been! Time to get in the weekend getaways while we can! Pictures of our East Coast adventure to come!

To Move Or Not to Move

For those of you don’t know the story, when Nick and I were transferred to Chicago it was a bit chaotic. We were back and forth to Portland, trying to rent or sell our own house, as well as coordinate our cross country roadtrip with Nick’s new job and the movers delivery window. Needless to say, it wasn’t a relaxing Summer for us.

When it came time to pick our new home in Chicago, we had a span of 4 hours before we needed to head out for the Peressini family reunion. Fortunately, in the 4th hour we found the townhome we are living in now.

Nick and I never fully settled in, thinking this was our first home in Chicago, but we would surely move on after the lease was up. So we still have boxes saved in the garage, and some closets that have gone unpacked. Now with Baby M on the way, we have started the house hunt all over again….

However, just this morning after we discussed the pros and cons of a move and the very limited (livable) options for 2+ bedroom/2+ bathroom in the city, we are realizing how much of a good thing we scored. Our realtor (yes, you use realtors in the city for rentals as well) is friends with our landlord and was able to get us an unbelievable deal. We now understand just how good it is. We have decided not to complicate our lives with a move (we both have made 6 moves in the last 5 years) and to stay put! Whew!

Instead, over the next couple weeks, we are going finish moving in, get settled and paint the place they way we would want it. We are excited and very much looking forward to having a relaxing Chicago summer. In fact, for all of you contemplating a visit to the Montgomerys, we have 2 spare rooms and would love to see you! Can you say Cubs games, Riverboat tour, Chicago lakefront beaches, shopping, and some of the most amazing food in the country?! We miss your face!

Easter Weekend

Nick and I are starting new holiday traditions here in Chicago with our family all over the country now. This year, we went down to Champaign for the big Peressini Easter Weekend. It was a blast!

Here is how the Italians do it - 26 family members and friends, an incredible amount of homemade food (courtesy of my Aunts Carolyn & Amy), wine (more wine), tiramisu, carrot cake and lots of grappa. Following Saturday’s Easter dinner celebration, Sunday, we went to 7:30am mass followed by another fantastic meal - brunch at Carolyn & Mike’s house. Compliments to the chefs for the weekend - Amy & Carolyn!! We left Champaign Sunday afternoon well fed.

It was SO nice to be with family for the weekend and take a break from the hustle and bustle of the city. We also got to meet our ‘nousin’ (niece/cousin), Ally, for the first time. She is so sweet and so cute! It was fun to be around a baby now that we are expecting one of our own. She could pass as our daughter right?!

Today, I am 17 1/2 weeks along - feeling just OK. The light headedness/fainting feeling, nausea and horrid taste in my mouth has reared its ugly head again. I am hoping that it’s the stress of work over the last couple weeks and it will start to dissipate, but it may not.  It’s completely manageable, just not awesome.

In addition, my donut cravings are OUT OF CONTROL! I think about them constantly. I am about ready to cave and just get a delicious glazed cake donut and satisfy this need! I told Nick not to be surprised if he comes home one day and he sees his wife sitting there with a fresh box from Dunkin’! Not sure he understands this obsession, but I am very serious.

Other than that, I am up 1lb this week and starting to show more and more; although, it doesn’t seem to be noticeable to others. In fact, the workout instructor at the gym asked me yesterday if I was ‘shrinking on her’. I laughed and let her know in fact, I am growing on her and I am pregnant, but that compliment has now made my week - maybe even my month!!! We are overdue on the belly shot, but I will post later this week

Never A Dull Moment

Well, we had an eventful weekend!

Friday night, our car window was shattered and our GPS was stolen from the car. So after filing the police report and finding a place to take the car in for a repair on Saturday morning - we learned we are huge targets with an out of state license plate. Now, we are making the DMV a higher priority to get our Illinois plates.

Saturday after spending most of the day getting the car window replaced, Nick planned date night! It was fantastic, we went to The Drake Hotel for an appetizer and pre dinner drinks (sparkling water for me), then we headed to Prosecco where it all began, and finally finished off with Molly’s Cupcakes for dessert.

Sunday we were spontaneous. We found White Sox tickets for $20 and decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and check out the other Chicago baseball team. Baby’s first baseball game. Although, I must say I think we have determined we are Cubs fans. Wrigley field and the fans are just something special.

Some other updates worth mentioning:

- Still waiting to feel the baby move. Sometimes I think I feel something, but I am not convinced just yet. The doctor told me I should start to feel the butterflies or popcorn popping in the next 2 - 4 weeks. I cannot wait!!

- Finally invested in maternity clothes. What a dream! They are so comfortable.  I was impressed, when I was shopping with my mom we found tons of cute styles vs. all the moo-moos with no shape from back in the day.

- We have started to investigate baby M’s future nanny. The process is a bit overwhelming in a city where we don’t know many people with young children, but as Nick assures me it will all work out.

- The move. Ugh. Our lease is up September 1st; however, it’s not the ideal time to relocate. We are starting to consider breaking our lease and moving sooner rather than later to get this show on the road. Ideally, we will get a 2 bedroom condo closer into the city and fingers crossed…. a lake/city view! More to come on that.

16 weeks and 1 day posted below

25 days left until we know if we should be calling Baby M a he or a she!

Beating Hearts

This morning was our 16 week appointment… fastest appointment yet! It was over and done in less than 15 minutes. Weight is good, my heart is good, blood pressure is good. Dr. Bonner said everything is looking great and did a quick check up on the baby. The minute she put the Doppler to my belly there was that magical sound - our baby’s beating heart. I could listen to it all day long!

Family, Florida, & Fun

I am still here basking in the sun spending some time with my family until Thursday , but Nick had to head home Sunday night for work. It was definitely organized chaos with Tony & Christa taking a redeye from Portland on Thursday night, my parents arriving later in the day on Friday and Nick and I getting to the house at 1:30am Saturday  - but well worth it! Only one missing from the Peressini clan was Mags (we missed you Mags)!

It was soooo good to see my parents – 4 months is the longest we have been apart! We spent the weekend golfing, sitting by the ocean, eating, drinking and of course laughing. Tony discovered his new ‘summer drink’ this trip – the Hummer (vanilla ice cream, kahlua, brandy). Not what I  would call ‘refreshing’, but his obsession!

We ventured to Palm Beach to our favorite restaurant Charley’s Crab Saturday night….amazing. The drive up there is even more spectacular with multi-million dollar mansions facing the ocean and backing up onto the Intracoastal. We do the standard and gawk at Donald Trump’s Club/Palace every time we drive up.

I am 15 ½ weeks today and feeling very awesome. Weight gain 0lbs. I am back where I started, but obviously changing shape. We felt it was fitting to take this week’s photo in the Atlantic Ocean although this will likely be the only photo of me pregnant in a bikini. We have another doctor’s appointment this Friday. Should be a regular ‘ol appointment before we find out the gender on Friday, May 13^th.  Bets on Boy vs. Girl??

 Back to reality in a couple of days, but going shopping with my mom and Jeanne today, then maybe a long walk before dinner. Ahhh vacation.

Emily & Nick Plus 1

On our 1 year wedding anniversary, November 14, 2010, Nick and I had an amazing celebration dinner at Prosecco here in Chicago.  We had fantastic conversations about our 1st year of marriage, our move across the country, our dreams, goals, starting new in Chicago, and our future family.  Shortly thereafter, we decided we would start to ‘try’ for a baby and see what happened knowing the realities of fertility. We agreed that we wanted to start our little family here in Chicago and start to live our lives with additional purpose more than just looking out for Emily and Nick.

Honestly, we expected it would take several months to get pregnant. We were very blessed, and pregnant on the 2^nd month of trying. In fact, I was in such disbelief I took 6 pregnancy tests to confirm the positive! I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. The 6^th test was the digital one below that left no room for imagination.

For most of the 1^st trimester I felt like things were too good to be true and was terrified of miscarriage.  After 2 ultrasounds and no cause for worry or concern, our doctor assured us we were OK to share our good news. Then, came the announcement….OMG! We were so overwhelmed! We are very lucky to have such supportive, excited and loving family and friends. And to add to the excitement, Baby Montgomery is going to have a cousin the exact same age. Steph and Zach are expecting on October 2nd– we couldn’t have planned that if we wanted! Looks like Jim and I might be sharing our birthdays not only with each other but potentially with 2 others. Jim, we always said October 1^st babies are the best….

As for the 1^st trimester, I definitely didn’t expect it to be nearly as rough as it was! From what my mom told me, she had relatively easy pregnancies (or else she doesn’t remember since it was 30 years ago!) so I assumed the same would be true for me. Not at all the case. From week 6 to 11, I progressively got worse and worse and worse. The hardest part was that is my busiest time for work and travel. So not only was I nauseous, vomiting, fainting, dizzy, tired and stuck with a horrific taste in my mouth everyday all day, I was traveling every month and working long hours. It was pretty miserable, but we made it thru. I never had a doubt, but I definitely married the best man. From the day I started going downhill, Nick took over all cooking, cleaning, care for Lyla, grocery shopping, and anything else that came up in the blink of an eye. It’s like he knew exactly what to do. I am so appreciative and say a prayer of thanks every day.

Since week 12, I have been improving each day. Now at 14 weeks and 3 days and feel like myself again. It’s amazing! I have an appetite again and am really enjoying not having to plan my exit route while in client meetings or on trains. I lost weight initially and have started to finally gain some back. In the last week, I have been starving! As of today, I am only 2lbs down from pre-pregnancy weight. So those pounds seem to have come on pretty fast, but my body is probably making up for lost time. I am trying to not worry too much, but rather eat well and exercise as much as I can. I haven’t felt any movement yet, but am really looking forward to it. Just this week, my belly is starting to stick out, that’s a great physical reassurance and is really exciting! Other pregnancy side effects to note:

-          Crazy, vivid dreams

-          Obsessed with avocados, super pretzels – or really bread of any kind, turkey bacon, fruit smoothies, peanut butter and donut holes (although I have only caved once!)

-          My pants still fit, although most of the time I have a belly band on since the button is uncomfortable at the end of the day

-          Pregnancy brain has made an appearance a few times, but I am trying to hold on to my memory!

We are off to Florida this weekend for some sun and family! Nick will only be able to stay for the weekend, but we can’t wait for the getaway. More pictures and updates to come!