It's the most wonderful time of the year

Christmas is now over, 2016 will be here in no time. I am finally enjoying the pregnancy relative to my first few months. I had a horrible scare September 30th. I had Matt take me to the hospital and despite everything seeming to be leading in a bad direction, we found out, miraculously, that everything was fine. A follow up appt at my Ob's confirmed the ER doc's diagnosis. Now that I have reached viability, I feel more comfortable discussing it, although my worry is not completely gone. It probably won't be gone until I deliver a healthy baby. We also found out around Thanksgiving that we are expecting a girl! While we both had an inkling we were having a girl, the ultrasound confirmed this!
Sean and Bradley have been playing so well together as they get older and older. Over xmas break so far, they have been starting light saber battles and play fighting. They are definitely in boy territory. We thought Sean was old enough to actually see Star Wars with Matt at the movie theater. I reserved seats for them at the Emagine Rochester. Sean loved the movie and couldn't wait to come home to tell Brad and I all the plot spoilers! haha
Before Christmas, we had a mini vacation planned to go to Traverse City. We stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge and loved every second of it. They upgraded us to a Wolf Den Suite because our room wasn't ready at check in. The bunk bed room within a room concept was a huge hit. Sean loves the water so he enjoyed splashing around the water park. Brad hasn't really had a lot of experience with water, but he loved the Lazy River and Lily Pads. We also visited our friends, the Cannons, who recently moved from Bloomfield to Traverse City. It was great to catch up with them. We intend to go back to Great Wolf one day :)
Christmas Eve was spent with the Hersteins in Ann Arbor and Christmas was spent with the Guptas in Troy. It was so great to catch up with family. It truly is the most wonderful time of year!

 Ultrasound was taken in November. What a beautiful profile!

 We upgraded my Pontiac G6 to a Chevy Traverse. I LOVED my Pontiac but it did not fit 3 cars seats. I have never had an SUV, but it was an easy transition.

My 2nd trimester bump with my 1st SUV.

Expecting #3

I am now in the second trimester! This pregnancy has been rougher than my last two. I have also never worked full time while being pregnant, so that has added to my tiredness. We had a few scares already, but baby is doing okay so far. We have only told a few people out of precaution; hopefully this trimester will be less eventful and we can spread the joy soon. I have had a lot of nausea, but it is subsiding a bit, yay! My due date is early April.

Disney World Summer 2015

We had a wonderful time in Disney World. Both boys were old enough to fully remember everything. Sean went on the Tower of Terror for the first time. He wasn't a huge fan, but now he has bragging rights that he mastered the scariest ride at Disney. I am so proud of him for being brave enough to want to go on it. Both boys went on Thunder Mountain for the first time too, while Bradley went on the Barnstormer for the first time. Bradley's favorite ride was Soarin'. He barely made it on height-wise, but as soon as we were buckled in and lifted off, he had the widest grin the entire time. He wanted to go on it again, but seeing how the wait was forever he will have to wait until next time, which may not be until February 2017!
The picture below is one of my favorites from the trip. The kids were acting like gargoyles while we were waiting in line for the new Be Our Guest restaurant. Such personalities!

We stayed with Matt's parents at the Beach Club and then switched over to Boardwalk mid week. I loved the Beach Club. It is my favorite outdoor area and villa so far. Although you cannot beat Boardwalk's scenic walks and night life area. I also had to take it easy because we found out I was pregnant pretty much right on our trip so I did the small rides and hung out by the pool while everyone swam.
We had never gone to Disney in August and it was HOT. We did get lucky with a few rainy days, but going in August is a little tough. Luckily the pools were amazing and kept us cool.

Above is a picture of everyone (except me) on Thunder Mountain Railroad. I took several pictures really fast as they were riding by, and to my surprise this one turned out pretty well. Bradley is in the front seat with Grandma and Sean and Matt take up the second seat. Grandpa is in the third row.

This is one of our only family pictures that we took! Hanging out with Goofy.

Independent Consultant

Because I like the products, I am now a Rodan and Fields consultant. If you are interested in purchasing products as well, check out my website. They are from the makers of Proactiv, but are focused on anti-aging skincare such as sunscreen, under eye makeup (which I use!), and skin brightening, etc.

rherstein.myrandf.com

If you think you will be reordering someday, I can sign you up for our Preferred Customer Program. It runs like the Amazon Subscribe and Save program where it automatically sends you a new supply in 60 days OR you can push it off until later if you are not ready yet. It also gives you free shipping and 10% off every time. 

Back to School

After 5 years of being a stay at home mom, my tutoring efforts at Sacred Heart have led me to a math position at Bishop Foley High School. I am so excited to start teaching. I may be teaching Calculus AP as one of my classes. That would be my dream class :) Matt and I had a date night planned today and getting the call today from Father Gerry made our date night a celebration. Plus going to Mongo is always fun, no matter what the occasion. I hope to inspire the minds of our future students!!

We moved!

If you told me a few months ago that we would be moved into a new house by the end of October I would have laughed. We weren't planning on looking for a house until 2014. Well, we decided to look at ONE house in September and then proceeded to put an offer on it the day the listing came out! With the market the way it is right now, there are less houses than demand for them so if you want a house you have to snatch it up. The house had a great location, great schools, and a lot of space. Because it needs a little work, it was also at a great price at a great interest rate. How could we say no?
We closed on October 25th and moved in a few days later. We are still in boxes but are excited to make this our new home, and possibly our "forever" home. I am really excited for the boys to grow up in our new wonderful neighborhood and have lots of  memories to remember.

Introducing...

Bradley Charles Herstein!



Bradley was born on June 29, 2011 at 10:10am weighting 8lbs, 5oz and measuring 20 inches. We are home from the hospital and so far he has been a very quiet baby. I know that will all change once he is more alert, but he pretty much eats, poops and falls right back asleep. No fussing or anything! Brad looks a lot like his older brother, but he is already vastly different in that he doesn't need to be held and rocked at all times. We put him down after each feeding and he dozes off. Sean was upset until one of us held him and he had to fall asleep in our arms. I hope this new character trait is a keeper!

It's Boy #2!

We are expecting boy #2 in the summer. I really thought it was a girl up until the ultrasound. Even at the beginning of the ultrasound the 3-D images, which are super cool, looked like a pretty girl. Then when the tech was looking between the legs, it was un-mistakeable! Sean is going to LOVE having a little brother. Now it's time to start thinking of names...

I will try and scan a pic or two eventually.

And One More is Four

Matt and I are expecting a baby in the summer! We are excited, nervous, anxious, and every other feeling in between!
I think the best gift you can give your child is a sibling. Hopefully Sean feels the same way =)

Announcing Sean Matthew Herstein

Announcing Sean Matthew Herstein! Born July 5th at 11:23pm, 7lbs even, 21 ¾ inches. Matt and I are so in love with our new baby. He is the most beautiful thing in the world. It is crazy to think that we are parents, very surreal.

We are still in the hospital but expect to get discharged soon. Pictures to follow!

It's a BOY!

It was amazing watching the ultrasound footage. Our technician had to take measurements and she was finding body parts I couldn't even see. She really does have a trained eye. She found the diaphragm, the four chambers of the heart, and the upper lip (to check for cleft palate) to name a few. She even told us that there was fluid in the stomach, which means that the kidneys are functioning and baby is able to swallow. How neat! I easily identified the head and spine and the occasional foot or hand that would pop up. Our baby was moving the whole time! Ever since a few days ago, I have felt the baby move a lot. I'll watch TV or read, and the movements are a bit distracting, in a good way. Luckily, it still feels like little pokes. I can't imagine how it feels later when the baby can pack quite a punch.


Here is our beautiful boy's profile. He had his hands near his face the whole time and at one point he was moving the umbilical cord! I'm glad he is enjoying his time because we are only halfway there!

And baby makes three

Matt and I are very excited to be expecting a baby!



My first trimester is almost over and I am starting to get my energy back. I was pretty nauseous starting around 6 weeks and I am glad that symptom is becoming less and less of a problem. Mostly I am resting more than I usually do and I love nothing more than sleeping early and getting extra sleep on the weekends!

We had an appt around 7 weeks and then around 11 weeks. Matt and I heard the baby's heartbeat both times (the first with an ultrasound, the second with a doppler). I am so proud of my little one!