Traveling Zoe

Hello friends! It has been a very eventful couple of weeks. Zobug and her daddy gave me a great first Mother's Day. They were very sweet. After church, they took me out to lunch. Since we were a party of 2 and a high chair, we got seated right away, as opposed to the massive families there to celebrate with their moms. We then went home and Zoe gave me the gifts that apparently she bought all on her own. I have a suspicion that her daddy may have helped her. She gave me the most wonderful card that was made on Shutterfly, that had a bunch of pictures of her and I and she signed it with her hand and footprints. I started crying. Now I get why my mom would cry when she read the cards we gave her. My complete transformation into my mom has now kicked into high gear since I am now a mom. (This isn't a bad thing. I have a fantastic mom.) Zoe also got me a Willow Tree figurine with a mom, dad and newborn. The last gifts she got me were the Best of SNL: Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Fallon's Thank You Notes book. She chose Jimmy Fallon gifts because we stay up late and watch him together. Also, she knows that I love Jimmy Fallon. I think that NBC making him the host of the Tonight Show was the best move since they finally cancelled ER. That show was good, but went way too long. They really needed to give it up once they played the Ukulele "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" when Dr. Greene died. Anyway...It was the best Mother's Day a girl could ask for. I am very blessed by my husband and my loving little girl.

She let me snap this pic on Mother's Day. It's my favorite so far.

The Monday after Mother's Day, we took Zoe on her first trip to the north. Yes, for us that is Austin, TX. We showed her what hills and trees look like. Nate was attending the Texas District Theological Convocation at Concordia University Texas. Since I'm not working, we get to tag along on these trips now. I love it! She did wonderful riding on the way up there. She really is a great baby. Right when we got into Austin we spotted a Steak 'N Shake. Zoe was very excited for her first experience at the Steak 'N Shake (Okay, may I was more excited about it than she was).

While Nate was doing the program the Bug and I were pretty much on our own. This gave me the time to eat at the places that we don't have in the Valley. The first night we found a Pei Wei, which was delicious. Tuesday morning we went to Panera to get Mama a Cinnamon Crunch Bagel. It was far too long. That day for lunch, we went to Noodles and Co. During all of these dining out experiences, it was like Zobug and I were having a little mommy/daughter date. Like a crazy person, I would sit there and talk to her the whole time, even if she was sleeping. The people around me probably thought I was crazy. During our time in Austin, I really started to feel like she was my little sidekick, going with me places and just really keeping me company. We were privileged to see a few of our good friends while in Austin. We were able to see our friends, Gabe and Melissa Kasper, who introduced us to Schlotzsky's Deli. Two Words: Thank you. All I can think about now is the bread that place uses.

During the adventures of Zobug and Mommy in Austin, we stumbled upon one of the most beautiful H-E-B grocery stores ever. As soon as I pulled up in the parking lot, I saw this sign.

I was so happy, it was chilly and rainy that day. It was also beautiful on the inside. We need one of these in the Valley.

On the way back Zoe met Buccee. She is clearly excited.

We returned on Wednesday. On Friday, because it was Nate's day off, I subbed for 3rd grade at St. Paul. I did alright being away from Zoe because Nate kept me updated and sent me pictures every once and a while. I did miss her like crazy, though. I came home and was like, "Oh my goodness! She grew!" I didn't like being away from her but, it was a nice day.

On Saturday, the three of us drove to Corpus Christi. Nate was preaching on Sunday to fill in for a friend that was on vacation. Our friends were nice enough to let us stay in their house while they were gone. On Sunday morning Nate fed Zoe in the early morning. When he came back he left the door to the hallway open, which was fine. Well, the Mylar balloons in the hallway were sucked into the ceiling fan making a big pop noise! It started me and I screamed, since I was sleeping prior to the noise. Nate comes running into the room thinking that I am dying and I point to the ceiling fan. He turned the fan off and cut the balloons down. Don't worry, there were no ceiling fans harmed in the making of this film. As soon as Nate turned off the fan, I looked at Zoe to make sure she was okay (she was in the Rock 'N Play next to the bed). Her eyes her open really wide and she was looking up at the fan. She then gives this huge smile like she thought the whole thing was hysterical.

Here are some more pics that I just think are adorable...

This week has been a little bit more low key, which is nice. We are just getting ready for the grandparents and the wonderful, Katie Lane to arrive for Zoe's baptism. I am so excited to have family here and for Zoe to become a child of God. It will be a fabulous weekend.

Stay tuned for the next blog post that will include baptism weekend highlights. I know you will be on the edge of your seat.

That's all for now...God is good!

Zobug is 2 months!

Yesterday, our little Zobug turned two months. Since I am proud to be that, obsessed with my child, stay-at-home mom, I am sharing this milestone with the world.

Zoe loves:

• Mommy and Daddy
• Her grandparents
• Snuggling with Aunt Victoria
• Her Uncle Andrew and Uncle Alex
• Mommy and Daddy's friends
• Snuggling
• Going to her snuggle spot (laying tummy down on anyone's chest)
• The owl on her play gym
• Formula
• Her teddy bear
• The Rock N Play
• To wake up when Mommy is washing bottles
• To smile
• To chat with Mommy
• Bath time
• Witchy Woman and other hits by the Eagles
• Duck Dynasty

Zoe doesn't like:

• When you take the bottle away in the middle of a feeding to burp her
• Getting two month shots
• When people aren't paying attention to her 
• Getting lotion put on her
• Being hungry (just like her mommy)
• Wet diapers
• Waiting for Mommy to make her a bottle

What people say about Zoe:

"She is so (insert a every synonym for adorable here)."

"She is so tiny."

"She's a big baby."

First Grade Girls: She's so tiny. It's a good thing you named her Zoe; Zoe's a tiny name. You should have named her tiny.

First Grade Girl: At least she has a head like a baseball.

"She looks like Katie."

"She looks like Nate."

"I can't tell who she looks like."

Mommy and Daddy's Nicknames for Zoe:

• Zobug
• Bug
• Baby Bug
• Bugaboo
• Little Bug
• Little Baby
• Mommy's Girl
• Daddy's Girl
• Little Snuggler

I realize this is a lot of names to call such a little girl. I might have a small obsession with nicknames.

Basically, she is the best and we love her.

Don't worry there will be more pictures to come. I am the mamarazzi. She was sitting on the couch today giving the camera the evil eye. I think she knows. 

That's all for now. God is good!

Zoe Katherine Wollenberg

Hi all! I'm reentering the blogging world! Now that Zoe is born, I want to write all about our adventures. I would like to use this post to give you all the back story on how our little miracle got here.

Back in July of 2013 I went to visit my parents in St. Louis without Nate. I was planning on having a nice, two week vacation visiting my parents before coming back to finish up my classroom for the school year. About three days into my trip I started to lose my appetite. I don't ever lose my appetite. Not long after that, I started to feel sick. The thought crossed my mind that I could be pregnant but I didn't really think I was.

One Saturday morning, my dad and I were going to have breakfast and then do a little shopping. We got about five minutes away from home and I just broke down in tears and told him that I felt too sick to go. By this point, my parents were starting to get suspicious. I was also starting to think I really might be pregnant. I decided that I needed to take a pregnancy test but I didn't want my parents to know. I am a twenty-seven year old, married woman trying to figure out how to buy and take a pregnancy test without my parents knowing. Ridiculous. I was supposed to have lunch with a friend that day, so on my way to lunch I picked up a test. That night, I took the test. I got a faint positive! I was so excited and shocked. The funny thing is that I was celebrating in silence in my parents bathroom. Now, anyone who knows me knows that I love to talk way to much. I didn't want to tell Nate on the phone, but I needed to tell him first. To keep a secret of this magnitude from my parents was near impossible. I still had 5 days in St. Louis. The next morning I was getting ready for church, I wasn't feeling well but I was determined to power through it. I was ready to go when I realized that I just couldn't do it, I felt horrible. I went and told my mom that I couldn't go and then said "I'm going to throw up." I ran to the bathroom, I couldn't get the toilet seat up in time so I threw up all over the bathroom. My mom by this point is telling me that I have to go to the doctor. I keep telling her that it really isn't necessary. She asked me if I was pregnant. I responded with something like, "I don't know, maybe." So for the rest of the trip, there is this huge elephant in the room. We all know, but we can't talk about it.

When I returned home, I knew that I couldn't make it the 45 minute ride home without telling Nate that I was pregnant. When he pulled up to the curb at the airport, I asked him if he could get out and help me get my bags in the car. I was completely capable of doing this myself, but I wanted to tell him outside the car. I gave him a hug and just blurted out, "I'm pregnant." He looked at me completely stunned and speechless. We were both kind of stunned and excited. When we got in the car I asked what he was thinking and he said, "I was just picking you up from the airport."

I had a healthy, relatively easy pregnancy. I taught all the way up to the day Zoe was born. My middle school students were hilarious. They wanted to know everything about my pregnancy.  At least once a week they would ask me what would happen if I went into labor at school. They kept a countdown on the whiteboard for almost the entire pregnancy.

We had the 8th graders unscramble the words to announce it to the middle school.

30 Weeks 

35 Weeks

38 Weeks

On March 8, at 2 am we induced labor. After 16 hours of labor, Zoe Katherine Wollenberg was born. We immediately fell in love. We had to stay an extra day in the hospital because she was jaundice.

My mom was our first helpful visitor; she was here for about 3 weeks. Nate's mom was our next visitor and she was here for about the same amount of time. My sister, Victoria, was just here for about 5 days.

I hope to keep up with the blog to tell you all about how our little girl grows. We are so in love with her.

That's all for now. God is good!