I would like to introduce you to....

Things at the Baltzell house have been absolutely wonderful! We are in a frenzy preparing for Thanksgiving and I've been getting my Christmas lists and thoughts together. I will not be coming home for Christmas this year, which has been hard to think about, but we will be down for baby showers in February. Our Christmas Tree is up and the decorations are in place. December is packed full with ministry and Church events. Every weekday and weekend is basically spoken for by something going on. As much as all that makes me happy it's not what this blog will be about...

This past Friday we went to the hospital to have our ultra sound... you know, the BIG one, where we would find out what the sex of the baby is. We were SO excited! The first 30 minutes the baby was all curled up in and nestled tight into a corner. I was getting a little aggravated with the little stinker inside of me because after about 15 minutes of the technician not being able to find anything to indicate a boy or girl, she went on to just take several pictures that the Dr. wanted. When she finished that, she FINALLY (it seemed like an eternity!) got a clear picture that the little precious one inside of me was indeed a baby BOY!

Seth and his mom were both in the room and we were all ecstatic! After a few more minutes of looking around at him and watching him move, he finally settled back down and began to suck his thumb! It was the most INCREDIBLE thing I’ve ever seen! Before it was all over we were all in tears!

Me and Seth are SO excited! It’s special enough that the baby now has an identity and is not being referred to as an “it” but just to know that it’s a boy, it’s like God knew all along what we really wanted... and needed deep down in our hearts. (Even though we thought we didn't care if it was a boy or a girl!)

I am very proud to be giving my family the first baby boy. After four girls spread out like we were, Dad is elated and Mom and is just beside herself with excitement. (Deb and George, along with all of my “bonus” sibling are just as excited and a part of the joy!) Oh, and Aunt Courtney is already shopping up a storm and Christiana and Kaitlyn screamed for joy (literally!) when they heard!

We have a few names that we like, but one that sticks out to us more than the others and that is “Malachi.” Some middle name options are Malachi Spurgeon Baltzell… Malachi Austin Baltzell… or Malachi Vick Baltzell.

Of course we will keep you posted on everything! Here are a few of the pictures of our handsome little prince form his very first photo shoot!

This is the one of him sucking his thumb. For those that can't quite make it out, his head is toward the left and his hand and arm are attached to it. To the right of his head you can also see a side view of his ribs.
(clicking on the pics make them bigger)

Here is a profile view, his head still to the left. You can see his little nose and lips and chin really well.

Here is a picture of his little foot and toes. You can also see his spine just as plain as day. The Techniciankind-of labeled the different ends of the foot.

Hree is another profile shot with his head right in the middle of the picture and his arm right above his head. You can also see his ribs and spine really well in this one.

5 Good (and festive) Reasons to be Happy!

1. So this Friday we will be having the ultra sound to see what sex the baby is! We are so excited! Things just keep getting more and more exciting! A name will be announced soon after we find out the sex… as well as shower dates and registry info! This just makes my heart so happy! It feels like a dream!

2. Tonight I am putting up the Christmas tree… I am also very excited about this. Pictures will indeed be posted upon completion.

3. Seth told me today that he wants to take me to Chicago for a mini Christmas Vacation and for some crazy-awesome Christmas shopping! We are headed there the weekend of December 11 – 14! I hope I find a good maternity coat by then! It was snowing there this morning!

4. I took an overnight shopping trip to St, Louis this past weekend with some ladies from Church. Friday night Seth and I, and John and Missy went on a double date in the St. Louis area for some Sushi. (yes, I did my research on sushi during pregnancy!) After Sushi, we hit up a Mexican restaurant for some dessert, then Starbucks, a couple stores, and Guitar Center and then the boys headed back home and me and Missy met up with some friends from church, stayed in nice hotel and devoted all day Saturday to some intense shopping! It was such a fun weekend! I’m glad I decided to go because I ended up finding a lot of great winter clothes that will last me at least through the winter months! I found two awesome pairs of jeans too! One pair is not maternity, they are actually Silvers, which I wear from the Buckle on a normal non-pregnant basis, but I found them in a size that works (or at least that will work for the next month or so) AND in an x-long length, which is perfect! I also found a pair of maternity pants with a cute flap pocket which also just happen to be long enough! I got several shirts and sweaters, a new pair of AWESOME black suede winter boots and put a very small dent in my Christmas shopping as well. The only thing that I am still needing is a good winter maternity coat, or at least a regular one that fits and can button over my baby bump! If anyone has any coat suggestions I am open to them! It’s dipping down into the 20’s here at night and I’ve maybe got another week of fitting into my regular coat! It was also just wonderful to get to spend some much needed time with Missy. She has been a lifesaver!

5. So, speaking of my Christmas lists.... I had so much stuff I needed to get for myself that I couldn't really concentrate on my Christmas list, BUT the day after Thanksgiving it’s SOOOOO on! I organized my list today! I absolutely LOVE Christmas shopping!!! Just being able to see something and think of someone, and show that no matter how far away, I was thinking about you this Christmas... I love it! Obviously my love language is gift giving, which can get complicated sometimes! (and despite what the cynics say, it truly isn't about the gift, it's about the process and heart of it all! It's just a wonderful and creative way to show someone that they aren't forgotten in your world and that you care!) Hopefully I’ll be able to find everyone something special from Chicago as well! Go ahead and send in any requests!

I think that’s it for now… there will be much more to write about after this week so stay tuned!!!!

(oh and P.S.... I was just informed that there are snow flurries outside!)

Jeans Please!

The winter weather has officially arrived here in Illinois. With the lows in the high 20's, my "maternity" wardrobe is just not getting the job done. Finding maternity jeans that are long enough is basically impossible, SO I'm going to go shopping for my regular jeans this weekend but in a size bigger to see where that gets me.

I wish these jeans would still fit...

and these...

and these...

and for the record...
I wish Dusty, from the picture below where I was about to flip over her, was here too.

Home Sweet Home

So our living room has been done for a while, I just haven't had the time to take some pictures. So here is our semi-new house's living room/formal sitting area.

I have a few before pictures of what it looked like when we bought it. EVERY room in the house had FIVE (or more) layers of wallpaper. All the hard work is paying off and by the time Baby Baltzell gets here the house will be done! The kitchen is done, and has a new refrigerator in it. That's right, I picked out my first kitchen appliance as a married woman. Other rooms are all pretty close to being done, they just need decor. Soooo..... There is an end in sight!

The living room is so big, we had to break it into two areas. One is the "living area" where the t.v. and couches are. The other area is like a "sitting area" with the piano and chairs.

Here is the living room before:

(the sitting area)

And after:

And these are just some of my favorite details of the room(s):

Our wall sconce(es) from our missions trip to India, where we met. There is another one on the other side of a window that sit in between them. These are, of course, very dear to my heart.

Two, of my many, rummage sale treasures. I found both of these chairs in separate rummage sales. Both are antiques and are both a couple of my favorite things about this room.


This is our piano. A lot of the decorations on here were used at our wedding as decor for the reception and etc... (yes there are already some Christmas decorations sitting out.)


I LOVE this painting! This is sort-of our entry-way piece.

This is the famous book shelf that our Pastor made us. I had seen one that he had made in the church and bragged on how much I liked it and before I knew it, I had one delivered to my front door! He is also going to be making us a wardrobe piece for the baby's room.

This is a newer lamp and picture that I added. It definitely helped complete the room.

This is a flower arrangement that I made. This was my inspiration for the theme and colors for the entire room. It makes more sense in person! =)


The End of Phase 1!

Did somebody say celery?!?!

Me and Seth are SO excited! Now that I'm showing and I can feel some movement it's just all hitting home. I am in my 18th week and will be finding out the sex of the baby in 3 weeks, just in time for some holiday shopping! They're never too young for you to teach them how to shop.

My stomach literally appeared out of nowhere! The weird part is, as large as my stomach is getting, I HAVEN'T GAINED MORE THAN ONE POUND!!! I don't know how that's possible, but of course, I'm already feeling like a cow. (I know I know, it only gets worse!) The Dr. says the lack of weight gain is nothing to worry about, that it's a good thing, and it just means I have my hunger and cravings under control. I know the weight gain will come, but I'm glad I have a handle on it and am not out of control. I still only really crave fresh veggies, sandwiches and soup. I started walking a couple of mornings a week too. I'm sure I dropped some weight too with all of the sickness from the first trimester. It's a strange thing to have a stomach grow that much, not be able to fit in most of your normal jeans, and to not have gained a pound on the scale. Did anyone else go this long without gaining weight???

I am headed to Cincinnati this weekend to visit the Creation Museum and to do some shopping of course... I'm sure I'll have some pics.

Here are some pictures from this past week...

SERIOUSLY, this thing popped out overnight!

This is me being VERY happy!!!!
(and having some very long hair! No coloring, just natural!)

Some Bonding time!!!

It's growing!!!

I already started decorating for Christmas, things are just too busy in November to wait. Also, without family here, I have to do what I can to make sure I get into the Christmas spirit. Well, I also decorated my cats. They didn't like it much but I'm sure they will thank me after this week's cold front!

Fall is upon us! The trees this year are just amazing!

A REALLY good excuse

There IS a perfectly good reason for the sudden and complete lack of creative blogging! That reason is that there appears to be a little life growing inside of me!!! Me and Seth are SO excited! Now that I'm showing and I can feel some movement it's just all hitting home. I am in my 18th week and will be finding out the sex of the baby in 3 weeks, just in time for some holiday shopping! They're never too young for you to teach them how to shop. Here are some pics from this past week. My stomach literally appeared out of nowhere! The weird part is, as large as my stomach is getting, I HAVEN'T GAINED MORE THAN ONE POUND!!! I know the weight gain will come, but I'm glad I have a handle on it and am not out of control. We are due April 23! So... more details to come. I am headed to Cincinnati this weekend to visit the Creation Museum and to do some shopping of course!

Here are some pictures...

SERIOUSLY, this thing popped out overnight!

This is me being VERY happy!!!!

Some Bonding time!!!

It's growing!!!

I already started decorating for Christmas, things are just too busy in November to wait. I also decorated my cats. They didn't like it much but they will thank me after this week's cold front!

Fall is upon us! The trees this year are just amazing!