Zoe is Three!

A couple days ago my baby turned three years old. She reminds me daily that she isn't a baby anymore and that she's a big girl now. My pregnancy hormones are having a hard time dealing with my little baby being a big girl. She has been so blessed over the past year and has been very blessed just from this birthday. Zoe had a big party with family, friends and our new church friends.

Asking for Punishment: Pregnant, Gallbladder Attacks and Potty Training

As most of you know I'm about 30.5 weeks pregnant with baby number 2. A couple of weekends ago, Nate and I were on our way to a trivia fundraiser at the local Lutheran high school. Being pregnant, I really wanted some McDonald's, specifically fries. Let's be honest, there are few things in life that are better than McDonald's fries when you're pregnant. So, we got some nuggets and fries and then went to Walmart to pick up snacks for the trivia afternoon. Nate got some kettle corn and I got my favorite Sour Cream and Cheddar Ruffles potato chips and some chocolate covered pretzels. Now, I sat there all afternoon at trivia pigging out like all pregnant women have license to do. Was this wise? No, but I'm pregnant and I'll do what I want and no one will say anything. What a glorious world!

Missing the Seasons

When we moved to McAllen, Texas there was a good deal of shock. There was culture shock and there was weather shock. IT WAS SO HOT. I'm not a huge fan of being hot, especially when I'm pregnant. Pregnant and hot is a combination that is not great.

McAllen was a place were snowbirds Winter Texans would come to avoid the cold and the snow. We missed the snow but I realized after a few years that it wasn't the snow that I missed the most. Sure, I missed the snow, but it was the seasons and change in weather. I missed all of this because our memories are tied to the seasons.

Our First Snow in Illinois!

Now, Nate and I are no strangers to snow. I grew up in St. Louis (about an hour from where we live now) and St. Louis gets snow at least once a year usually. Nate grew up in Connecticut and LOVES snow. It snows up there all the time. We met at college in Wisconsin. We all know it snows there. We have driven in snow, we've had moments of like, love and irritation with the snow. When we were considering the call to Illinois people in Texas kept saying, "Oh you're going to have snow there." Not really a problem for us. Honestly, it was a draw for me. Pregnancy and heat is not something I enjoy. The last week of November, a week before we left, it was 95 degrees in McAllen. That isn't really ideal weather for a woman who is 20 weeks pregnant. Today, I was actually hot from walking around in Walmart that I took my coat off for the remainder of our errands. This baby is a warm one.

2016 - A Look Back

I know it has been far too long since I have written on this blog. Considering, preparing for and actually carrying out a move is hard work. It takes up a ton of time and almost doubles in time when you're sick and pregnant. If I only would have figured out the caffeine was making me feel terrible, maybe it would have gone a little faster. Who knows, because while it was making me sick, it was helping me stay awake to pack. What a double edged sword. Hopefully the caffeine aversion is only for the pregnancy and not for life. I don't think I could handle two children and no caffeine. So here are some big things that happened to the Wollenberg family in the year 2016 (not in any specific order).