A Pregnancy Update

Sorry it has taken me so long to post a picture of my growing belly but here you go! This picture was taken at 24 weeks so about 10 days ago.
I am FINALLY starting to feel great after being nauseated for 5 1/2 months and really sick from 9-15 weeks. I am so glad! I am actually starting to enjoy pregnancy now :). The baby is doing great and really enjoys kicking me all hours of the day. I love to feel the baby move and it is so reassuring every time that it does! It still catching me off guard some times and I jump like crazy. That is always fun especially when I am in work meetings with clients.
My pregnancy is going by so fast. I can't believe that I am already almost 6 1/2 months pregnant. I am so excited to meet our baby and find out if it is a boy or a girl. I change my mind on a daily basis.

Walk the Talk

Hurray for me!! Walk the Talk's first five week wellness challenge is over- what a relief!! Let me tell you what I don't recommend... being pregnant, sick for the first 5 1/2 months, having a full time job and starting up a new non-profit organization!! It has been CRAZY for me these last few months but I am happy to say that Walk the Talk was a HUGE hit! We had 8 companies participate in a 5 week wellness challenge where there was at least one activity a day like cooking classes, yoga in the office, walking/running clubs, etc. and it is all over now!
This picture is from our Urban Scavenger Hunt which was our last event last Thursday. A very special thank you to my wonderful husband for not only putting up with me the last few months but being so helpful and supportive of me through out the process. You are the best Jar!

Omaha Wedding

Jarod and I went to Omaha in July for his cousin Shane and Isha's wedding. We always have such a good time when we get to see Jarod's aunts and cousins. He has four girl cousins that are all about our same age. Something I have never had so it is fun and different for me. His aunts are such wonderful people and I always enjoy my time with them. Here is a shot of all of the Jostes' cousins in Omaha. It had been a long time since all of them had been together. In order of birth even!

My new tat!! I have always wanted to say that!! Anyone that knows me knows that I am too terrified of needles to even think about getting one so this is as good as it gets.

Isha's family is from India and the night before the wedding it is a custom that all the woman have henna tattoos done and the bride gets it all the way up her arms. It was beautiful! Though I was glad that it was not me. When my turn came along I was a little nervous to have anything on my arms or hands because of work so I got this pretty one on my foot. Good thing!!! This thing lasted for like three weeks!

Shane and Isha during one of their three ceremonies. I wish I had a close up of her so you could see her tattoos and her jewelry. It was amazing!

The Bridesmaids. Shane's sisters are the two in the middle. I was glad I was not a Bridesmaid they have to show their bellies and let's just say mine would not be cute right now.

Me visiting with Jarod's aunts and cousins. We always have such a good time.

The Jostes' boys. These sun glasses look horrible on Jarod but he was desperate during the wedding and they worked.

Our little family with our Baby still in my tummy.

Me and Baby. 5 1/2 months pregnant with the little one.

Fun Stuff

Hi Everyone,
My mom, Aunt Heidi, Grandma and Emily have recently started selling some stuff on Etsy so I thought I would post a link to their site. My mom has been making these cute little baby shoes that I can't wait to see on my little baby and the nursing covers are a big hit with every new mom, or so I have been told.
My Grandma knits all of the bags and slippers as well. I have a few pairs of the slippers and absolutely love them!
Just thought I would share! Here is the link. If you are having problems just go to the Etsy site and put in mymomandi under seller and you can pull them up that way as well.
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5688396

We Survived the Tornado

Hi Everyone.
Earlier this week the Chicago area was hit with a few tornadoes. We have had numerous calls to check on us which was so nice so I thought I would let everyone else know that we are fine. The storm went right through Lincoln Park, which is the neighborhood that we live in, but other than a few trees down our area survived.
Jarod and I were watching the Cubs game when we heard about the tornado. We waited it out for a while until the tornado sirens started going off. At that time, we headed into our basement with our neighbors and their cats. We stayed down there for a few hours while the wind got up to 90 mph outside and the rain was horizontal. Jarod came up one time to look out the window but he quickly came back down. It was crazy outside!
We are happy to say that we are all ok.

Jeff's Visit

Jeff came out for his summer visit a few days after we got back from Europe. We had the best time! We miss living so close to him. We did lots of fun things but this is the only picture I have from his trip.

We went to the beach (the lake front- everyone call it the beach) one afternoon. It was really hot so we had a nice time cooling off. On the way back, out of no where this rain storm blew in. It rained like crazy and we were walking in it. At first we stopped under a tree and thought we would wait it out. Then we realized we were all in our swim suits so we would just keep going. But the deal was we had sing the entire way home. We are such dorks but had a great time. We were absolutely soaked by the time we got home as you can see above.

The rest of our trip to England and Ireland

So we have been home for a month and I still have not finished our Europe trip. How sad is that! With that being said, I am throwing the last few pictures on here and sparing you the details.
This is Jarod at the Kilkenny Castle. It was amazing! I loved Kilkenny! It was one of my favorite places in Ireland.

It rained a lot while we were there. We were in Ireland for goodness sakes. Can I tell you what good entertainment can come from an umbrella and some dance moves.

We went hiking in Ireland one day and it was suppose to pour so we got some cool rain gear for the trip. When Jarod took his out of the box out came some fleas with it. I hurried and ran away and left the poor guy to fend for himself. It was hilarious! He did not know what to do. I took probably 20 pictures of him contemplating his next move, dancing around trying to get rid of them and finally throwing it down in a heap on the ground and stomping on it. This picture is of him finally just attaching the coat on the back of the car and leaving.

I am telling you- GREAT entertainment!

An Irish Spring!

We went hiking one day while in Ireland. There was numerous hikes so I let Jarod choose which one we went on. What a big mistake! I think he forgot that I am pregnant and nauseated. He took me on the hardest of all the hikes and I am so out of shape right now. I made it and the view was worth it but boy did I complain the entire way up. Poor Jarod!

This is a picture of the steep terrain we hiked up. Mind you, we were being passed by professionals and we were in tennis shoes and regular clothes. They all looked at us like we were crazy. I think we were to be doing this hike!

Leaving Ireland on the ferry. I can't wait to go back. It is such a beautiful country. I loved it!

Back in London at the English Castle. This is where Henry the Eighth lived and all of those famous Kings.

London Bridges falling down...

We had such a fabulous trip and we were sad when our 12 days were up. We are not sure when we will be headed back to Europe with the baby coming but hopefully it will be sooner than later. We really do enjoy Europe and learning about all the cultures over there.