An update on all things Sessler!

Since my last update...

Luke's room is well on the way to being a nursery. Rob has put together the crib, dresser and hutch (the day he and my parents brought it home!) and we have a comfy chocolate brown chair. Rob also spent a day building a closet organizer in Luke's closet (which is already filling up with adorable clothes, and yes, of course shoes too!!) The bedding is ordered and some accessories/decorations have been picked out and are just waiting to be hung up. We have to wait until the bedding gets here to finalize our paint colors and can't wait to pull it all together! It is so fun to just go sit in his room...I love it even though it's not finished!!

Luke has become a very active little guy---except when I call Rob over to fell him. I think he has stage fright, or is just teaching his dad patience already!! Luke can be kicking like crazy and as soon as I have Rob come over he stops and goes back to sleep! Rob thinks it's a good sign and that Luke will be a good sleeper when dad's around! We can actually see him kicking now too...which always makes me smile (although when it gets harder I know it will make me cringe!). He woke me up last Sunday morning at 6:30 am and I watched him kicking until about 8:00. Funny thing...I didn't wake Rob up to watch Luke's party because I thought if I did, Luke would stop and Rob would wonder why I woke him up so dang early! So it was just Luke and I...partying it up at 6:30 in the morning on a Sunday. Guess I better get used to that!!!!

Here are the most recent belly pics...

24 weeks

26 weeks

The truly official belly shot!

Now, what's truly crazy, is that I take care of babies in the NICU that are the size of Luke...and some are even smaller now. It's so weird to look at the preemies in the NICU and think "WOW! That's what Luke looks like and that's what is inside of ME!" Now I just keep telling Luke he can't get any ideas from those babies at work...he still has a long time to keep growing before he can come out and play!

Its a........

BOY!!! On September 23rd at our ultrasound, we found out we are having a little boy! It was so exciting to get to see him on the screen in live action! He was moving around so much and even waved to the camera...we SWEAR! It makes it seem so much more real to us...and it is such a relief to not have to call the baby IT anymore...we can call him HE! And, not only is "it" now a "he," but he is Luke! We have officially decided his name is Luke! We do not have a middle name yet, although Rob is very convinced his middle name will be Kings Fan. Luke Kings Fan Sessler...it does have a special ring to it, don't you think? Rob has also suggested that his middle name be Ducks Hater...although, I prefer to not have Hate in my child's name :) So for now, it is Luke Sessler!
Here are pictures of the day of the ultrasound...

20 weeks pregnant...half way there!

Luke's first outfit that his mommy and daddy bought him. Rob says boys don't wear outfits, they wear shirts and shorts or jeans, so this is Luke's first shirt and jeans that mommy and daddy bought...oh I have so much to learn about boys!!!
And, long before we even learned we were pregnant, Rob has always called our "future baby" First Round Draft Pick. This shirt couldn't be more perfect...

In September, my mom, dad, Rob and I spent a week in Kauai to celebrate my mom's retirement. It was a wonderful week, full of fun activities. I was luck that Baby Sessler allowed me to do everything we wanted to do. I think the baby likes island life as much as mommy, daddy, grandma and grandpa do! We spent the week exploring the island, riding bikes, hiking, taking a boat trip down the Napali Coast, snorkeling and relaxing on gorgeous beaches. Enjoy some of our pics...

16 weeks...and counting!

Happy 16 weeks to Baby Sessler (and to mom...and to dad for that matter!). Here I am, 16 weeks pregnant. Whats with the cheer pose...I don't know?! I must have had a slight flashback or something and of course the man behind the camera (ROB!) didn't say "why the cheer pose?!!!" Haha! I'll have to practice these belly pictures. And yes, I am wearing the same outfit that I wore in my 12 week picture so that it's a perfect comparison...and that's pretty much my best "going out outfit" right now that is comfortable and cute...so I've been wearing it a lot!
So let's see...nothing much different from 12 weeks to 16 weeks. I think the biggest difference is that I haven't had a good nights sleep in a long time now. And I know you will all say "get used to it! You won't be sleeping for a very long time" but I just want one good nights sleep...I swear! First of all, I have ALWAYS been a stomach sleeper. I can not fall asleep unless I am on my stomach. Well, I sadly have said good-bye to the days of sleeping on my stomach, so now I must adjust to falling asleep and staying put on my side! Also, I think the baby is having growth spurts at night. During the day I have no problems...but at night it feels like I have big rubber bands stretching to their max throughout my stomach. My best friend Christy warned me about these pains...but oh how I should have taken them more seriously! :) And I think the worst part is tossing and turning ALL night long while Rob is snoring away---haha! Also, it has been about 110 degrees here the past week or so and at night it is hardly cooling off. I have NEVER needed the air conditioner down to 77 degrees at night...but now I do! Baby Sessler is keeping me mighty warm...I guess he or she doesn't realize it is 110 outside and I don't need to be kept warm! However, since I am usually always cold in the winter, I am looking forward to the luxury of having my own personal heater inside of me for the winter months!
We are also getting very excited because now it is less than 2 weeks from our Kauai trip with my parents to celebrate my mom's retirement! I can't wait to spend a week in Hawaii...and yes, my doctor said it's perfectly okay, so nobody has to worry. It will be a Mai-tai-less Hawaiian vacation for me...but I am preparing to eat all the yummy tropical smoothies and shaved ice on the island! Can you believe Baby Sessler is going to Kauai before he or she is even born??!! This is one lucky kid! :)
Enjoy the cheer picture with a bump....hahaha!!!

Baby Sessler...

Baby Sessler (aka, First Round Draft Pick--thats Rob's name for the baby (of course!), or aka, Baby Bucket--thanks Uncle Randie) is on it's way! We found out on June 17th that we are expecting a little blessing this February. We are very excited and can't wait to start this new journey together.
Our first doctor's appointment was on July 9th, which was also our 4 year wedding anniversary. It was special to remember our wedding day as we were going to the doctors exactly 4 years later and finding out that "yep, we are going to have a baby!"
We waited until July 11th, my birthday weekend to tell our families the good news, when everyone would be together. It was a very fun surprise to keep, but I think it almost killed me to not tell our parents right away!
Our second doctors appointment was August 7th, and we heard the baby's heart beat for the first time. It was fast and strong. It is a sound we will never forget (plus, Rob recorded it on my cell phone so we could play it for our family and friends)!
So here it is...my "mini-baby bump" at 12 weeks. I swear, that to me, it looks and feels twice this big, but Rob says "Nope...that's it!"
Stay tuned for many more "Baby Sessler in progress" updates!

A summer of fun!

Sorry it's been awhile since our last post...things have been busy at the Sessler house! We are now well into the middle of summer and we have been having a blast! The Sessler pool and backyard grill have definitely been busy!!!

My mom retired in June...YEAH MOMMY!!! We had a retirement BBQ for her at our house and had family and friends over to celebrate. It has been so much fun having her home all the time...our shopping trips seem to be never ending...and my dad is even being such a good sport and going on all our shopping trips with us! I think we have finally rubbed off on him after all these years and I'm pretty convinced he enjoys shopping with my mom and I!
July 9, we celebrated our 4 year anniversary. We spent the afternoon in Laguna Beach where we got married. This is now tradition, to spend a day in Laguna around our anniversary, and this year was special because Rob's boss gave him our actual anniversary off to spend with me...so off to Laguna we went! We ate lunch at the Cliff and hung out at Main beach. It was a beautiful day so we decided to stay until after dinner...we ate dinner at BJ's...YUMMY!!!!

July 13th was my 29th birthday and what a fun celebration I had. The Saturday before my birthday we had friends and family over pizza and swimming! It was fun to have everyone together for my birthday! Then on Monday, my mom took me to Glenn Ivy for the day (I got in free because it was my birthday!!). We had fun relaxing and talking by the pool, although it was REALLY hot so we spent most of the time IN the pool. Then my mom, dad, Rob and I all went to eat at Macaroni grill that night!

My best friend Christy and her husband Eddie came out to California for a long visit (but not long enough...!!!) and I fell in love with their new little boy, Caleb. He's adorable and has such a great personality already. It was so much fun to get to spend so much time with Christy while she was here and get to know her new 'lil man. It was special that they were here to celebrate my birthday too! I miss them so much now that they are back in New Mexico and I am sure that Caleb misses his auntie too!

Well...that's it for now...but don't worry...I have another post already in the making, so check back soon!!!

Memorial Day Weekend Part 2

Saturday, Sunday and Monday of Memorial Day Weekend we spent with our friends Paul and Amanda (and their adorable lil guy, Hayden) from Colorado. Amanda and I worked together in the NICU at CHOC and quickly became friends. Paul and Rob hit it off great too and we really enjoy hanging out with them, but they moved back to Colorado where they are from and where their family is. We hope they will be returning to Southern California soon (to stay!)...we will keep our fingers crossed!

Saturday we met Paul, Amanda and Hayden at Laguna Beach for Hayden's first beach trip. Jenn, another friend from the NICU, and her boyfriend Richard also met us their. It was a fun day...especially for Hayden who learned what sand is all about, and got his first ride on a boogy board. Lets just say it was a good thing he was in good company with 2 NICU nurses and a respiratory therapist when daddy let go of his boggy board in the Pacific Ocean waves!

Sunday we relaxed at our house. We had a full day of swimming, sunning and BBQing.

Of course, Hayden was in the pool with the guys!

We also managed to finish off 2 bottles of wine and 2 bottles of champagne while playing Wii and relaxing in the spa. But don't worry...there was 6 of us to share all the goodness...and sorry Hayden--it was bedtime for you!

We had such a fun weekend! Paul, Amanda and Hayden, you are welcome at the Sessler B&B anytime and can't wait for your next trip back! We miss you!

Memorial Day Weekend Part 1

Memorial Day Weekend was busy and so much fun! Friday night I went to the Taylor Swift concert at Staples Center. My friend Carol from work was kind to invite me to go with her and her daughter and their friends after she found out I had tried so hard to get tickets. (Sorry Rob...it was a girls only night...but I don't think you minded!) The concert was AMAZING from the 28th row! Gloriana and Kellie Pickler opened for Taylor and they were both REALLY good! Taylor Swift was soooo good in concert! She had a million wardrobe changes and sang almost every one of her songs! We even had a special guest at our concert...John Mayor!!! Taylor Swift and John Mayor sang Wonderland together and then sang one of Taylor Swifts songs together! I really like John Mayor too, so it was great! I still think my favorite part was Taylor's sparkly guitar...and funny thing, that's one of the reasons why I started listening to her...because of her sparkly pink guitar...I just fell in love!

Another picture from Cabo...

Here is another picture from our Cabo trip. Kim, Rob, Melody and I swam with the dolphins and had a great time! We were actually the only group in the pool so we had 4 dolphins all to ourselves!! We got to play in the water with them, ride on their belly, do the dorsal tow and got kissed by 2 dolphins at once! It was so much fun...and yes, if you can't tell...I LOVE dolphins! This is the second time Rob and I have swam with the dolphins (and our third time if you count the Sea World program). Rob knows we have to swim with the dolphins EVERY TIME we go somewhere that has a program like this. I think next time we go to Cabo, we are going to do the trainer for a day!

Summer is almost here...

The bell peppers are planted...


The tomato plant (from last summer) is going crazy...

The flowers in the back yard are blooming...

And Rori is ready to jump in!!!

Cabo San Lucas

Rob and I were invited to Cabo San Lucas with our friends Kim and Dennis and their kids Hannah and Dylan to stay in their time share. Our friend Melody also went, as well as Kim and Dennis' brother in law. Kim, Dennis, Melody and I all work at CHOC together, so Cabo was a safer place with 4 respiratory therapists there! Here is a collage of pictures from our trip to Cabo San Lucas. We had a blast relaxing and having fun in Mexico! We swam and relaxed at the pool every day and went on a sunset dinner cruise that took us around the arches. We loved it so much we actually went on the cruise twice! We swam with dolphins, and went horse back riding on the beach, which is something I have wanted to do since I was little. We enjoyed tons of chips, salsa, guacamole and many yummy drinks! It was so nice to get away and relax with good friends! Thanks Kim, Dennis, Hannah and Dylan! We had so much fun...and it was "so far from suck"!

WELCOME BABY CALEB!!!

My best friend Christy had her baby! Caleb Michael Franco was born on April 23 and weighed 6 pounds 14 ounces, was 19 inches long and is perfect! I am so sad that the Franco family lives in New Mexico and I can't see Caleb, but thank goodness for cell phone cameras AND videos! I got to see Caleb when he was only minutes old, got to see him suck his thumb for the first time, and have seen other cute pictures of Caleb just hanging out! Thanks Christy for all the cute pictures...they make me smile and make me feel like we are closer than a couple states away! Congratulations to Christy and Eddie on their adorable little miracle!

NEWS FLASH! ROB GOT AN EAGLE!

Last Saturday Rob and I drove out to La Quinta for a day of fun. Rob, his dad, and his dad's friend Chris went golfing. When he called to tell me they were done golfing, he was so excited to tell me he got an Eagle on a Par 4 hole. I had to have him remind me what an Eagle was (the only Eagle I know is American Eagle...my favorite store!!)...and then I was excited for him too! I now know that an Eagle is 2 under Par, so on a Par 4 hole that is really really good! However, I think I scored the best out of the day...I got to go shopping with my mother in law!

Only a proud wife would make her husband take a picture with the golf ball he got an Eagle with! Just make sure when you come to our house you ask Rob to see it...it now rests on the shelf in the office!

Crown Molding Project

Ever since we bought our house, we have wanted to put up crown molding. The model of our house had it and we thought it looked really nice. So, Rob, my very own extreme home makeover dream team, decided to tackle crown molding on his own. Now, I shouldn't be surprised because Rob really can do any home improvement project he tackles, but it is actually turning out professional! He has completely finished putting it up, and now just has to paint and "touch up."

Rob said it was a good thing he did this project when I was at work...apparently it was messy and took a lot longer than he thought, with a few bumps in the road. I do not do well with the messy part (or the unexpected bumps in the road part)...but he promises me it will all look brand new in the end!

Snowboarding!

You will never believe these pictures were taken in Southern California! That's right...we picked an AWESOME day to snowboard! We decided to hit Mountain High in Wrightwood since we had free lift tickets, it's close AND requires NO mountain driving. Normally Mountain High is only "so-so" for snowboarding in Southern California...actually, snowboarding is usually only "so-so" anywhere in Southern California...but not this day! It snowed the entire time we were there! I was so excited to see it snow, the trees were covered, and the conditions were great! The only down side was the wind...and although we hung on for dear life on the lift, there was only so much we could take. We got a good 4-5 hours in on the slopes (with no crowds!) before we decided we didn't want to feel like we were going to blow off the lift chairs anymore! Oh...and can I say thank goodness for those warmers you put in your jacket and boots! Without those I would have been an ice cube in no time. Now, I know this is far from the tropical climate we love so much...but we love snowboarding together too...and snowboarding WHEN it is snowing is sooo much fun!

Notice the "basically" white out conditions behind me!

Taking a hot chocolate break! I insisted that we sit outside to drink our hot chocolate in the snow!


Rob, at the top of the mountain.
I think this was our last run...notice it is snowing harder now!

A baby shower for Christy and baby Caleb!
On Saturday February 7, I threw a baby shower for my best friend Christy. Christy and I have been friends since high school and we have been there for each other ever since. We were each others maids of honor, have spent many hours talking about everything and nothing all at the same time and have laughed and cried together more times than anyone can count. I couldn't be more excited to be a part of this new adventure in her life! Christy and Eddie are expecting baby Caleb at the end of April, and Rob and I just know they are going to make great parents! And don't worry Caleb...your Auntie and Uncle in California are going to spoil you rotten!

Christy and I (and baby Caleb!)

This was my first ever attempt at making a diaper cake...I think it turned out pretty darn good! Oh...and thank you to my other good friend Kim, for helping me make bows for everything!

Christy and Eddie are decorating Caleb's room in primary colors with animal accents. I decorated accordingly!

Grandma Larson made a cute diaper cake too!

The day turned out great and a lot of fun was had by all! Thanks to Grandma Larson for helping with everything and to Grandma Franco for bringing the delicious tamales!

HAPPY 2009!!!

We hope everyone had a fun and safe New Years! We had a blast! Rob's Aunt's sister and brother-in-law (got that!) own a brand new water front house on Balboa Island! We were lucky to be invited to the house to hang out with Aunt Barbie, Uncle Bob, Ryan, Trina, Alexa, Courtney, Dale, Paige and Sydney. We ordered mexican food from a restaurant on the island for dinner and sat outside by the fire pit all night talking and saying hi and Happy New Year to all the people walking by...oh and drinking too! It was so fun to ring in the New Year with family!

It was pretty cold outside and VERY foggy as you can see in the pictures, but the fire kept us cozy!

Courtney and I drank a few yummy bottles of Dr. Lucien wine (my favorite wine which I found out is also a family favorite!) and champagne. Courtney was very careful to not let the bottles get too warm from the fire :)

Trina and Alexa snuggling next to the fire

Paige and Alexa clearly enjoying their New Years Eve!

I wish I would have taken more pictures...I guess I was just enjoying myself too much! Thanks everyone for including Rob and I in your New Years Eve celebration.