Don't we live in Florida!?!?!?

I was on time to work this morning... in fact a little early... and then I walked outside and found this....




I can't wait for Spring!
* Note this is a rare occurence for us in Florida so please do not believe this is every morning.. Florida is warm and a wonderful place to visit!

31 Weeks....

Some things I have learned now 31 weeks into pregnancy....
1. my feet are a far distance memory...
2. tums are my new favorite candy...
3. strech marks are so very attractive...
4. i forget how skinny my feet used to be...
5. hunger is a constant... 24/7
6. i'm only going to get bigger.. this is inevitable...
7. waddling is the new model walk...
8. any clothes i had before i was pregnant are long gone...
9. maternity shirts are far too short and not that attractive...
10. I have the best support system! especially my husband who is always there for me and loves how HUGE i am!

Correction.. Thanks Darrin!

For those who read the blog entry "woohoo" i must correct myself... The Mattes Bed and Breakfast is NOW ACCCEPTING reservations! Sorry to any how read the blog and felt offended... We would love for anyone to come and visit! Especially now that the house is starting to look and feel like home..

We have had a very busy weekend of unpacking and moving that we are EXHAUSTED!! But with the help of amazing family and friends everything is here and most is unpacked! Now its just a matter of organizing and setting everything up... which of course the best part! Time to unleash my inner martha stewart... we'll see how that goes...

Zoey is doing great and getting bigger day by day! it still scares me that i have 2 months left! She is now almost 17 inches tall (but lets be honest its MY child so she is probably a lil' bit smaller than that) and weighs a whopping 3 pounds.. Things have started to become a lot more real especially since now she has a room and all her POUNDS and POUNDS of clothes have come out!! Seriously this child will never need clothes until she is at least two!

Braxton Hicks

So last night I apparently had my first encounter with Braxton Hicks contractions... My back was in serious pain with a stabbing like feeling that would come and go sparatically... i laid on the couch all night.. but was able to sleep fine... So after my appointment today the doctor reasured me that it was probably Braxton Hicks and that if it happened again or got worse that i should call them and possibly go and get checked... if those are any indication of labor pains.. i have one word for my labor experience... DRUGS! I want drugs and lots of them... almost to the point of a coma...

Woohoo!!!!

We just got word that Friday we will be closing on our house! We can not wait! Although we have loved and are eternally grateful to my in-laws... it is time to move on and become adults once again! So to all those who would like to come and visit we now will have a place for you to stay! HOORAY!! The Mattes' Bed and Breakfast is now accepting reservations!

PS- Congrats must be said to Courtney and Chris on their marriage which I am sure was BEAUTIFUL, since Courtney must have been the most BEAUTIFUL BRIDE! and Todd and Jenny on their lil' bundle on the way... I hope its a girl! Zoey needs a friend! So excited for you guys!

We did it!

We found a house!!!! We went house hunting two weeks ago and found a house we really liked and after a week of negotiating.. they accepted our offer! WOOHOO!! Its 3 bedrooms and 2 baths (which might be the best part..) It's also a BRAND NEW HOUSE! We never thought we would be in a new house! SO needless to say we are stoked! So now we are waiting for all the finance and such but we should be closing on February 15th! Below are some pictures...

27 Weeks...

It frieghtens me that I will be getting bigger... pregnancy has definetly taken over my body! Which is not a bad thing considering I am still eating everything I want... but I could do with out the back pain, waddling, and literally rolling out of bed... It all worth it though to think of that little girl in my arms in a couple of months!! SO EXCITED!

1000 visitors!

We made it... 1000 visitors to the Mattes' blog... I am just happy that people actually read this thing... although i know most of the hits are from me as this is my only source to go to other's blogs.... so oh well we hit the number and that what's important...so thanks for your interest and keep checking back!!!

We have decided on a name for the little one... Zoey Elizabeth Mattes will be arriving in April, and deciding on a name only makes this whole experience all that much more real!

In other news, school has started back up which now only makes 87 more days of school till summer! and even less for me thanks to our little girl! I'm soo looking forward to the time off, even though i know it will be crazy and hectic! So as we get back into the swing of things, we also started looking for a house!!!! HOORAY! It will be nice to be in our own house with our furniture! Its been so long that I have forgotten what it looks like! SO wish us luck and keep checking back!

6 down and some more to go....

Tampa and back....

It's good to be home in Pensacola... this past week we spent time back in Tampa hangout with family friends and loved ones! We has a blast and could not have asked for more... thanks to all the family and friends who let gary and I crash at their house.... we drove into tampa on Sunday night and spent the night with my dad and stepmom and lil' bros.. its amazing how huge your lil' brothers can get... Then it was off to tampa to visit with Abuela and mom... i love how grandparents are crazy.. but not a bad crazy... good crazy.. We spent a quiet New Year's with Gordon and Paulette and became OBSESSED with WII... if you have not played I highly suggest it! Its awesome! I think the Mattes household will be acquiring one in the very near future... NOT TO MENTION THE AMAZING JEWS WHO FED ME THEIR NEW YEAR'S EVE TRADITIONAL FOOD OF LOBSTER AND FONDUE!! AND BECAME A BIT OBSESSED WITH THE SIMPSON'S PUZZLE!!! (added in caps for my jewish friend) Then it was off to Lakeland to see the Roses and eat AMAZING FOOD!! I was stuffed and it was wonderful to see everybody there... Back to Tampa we headed to my cousins to celebrate my cousin's 1st birthday! The next day Gary and I parted ways, he headed to Gainesville for his soccer tournament where his team finished 2-1, not bad considering we didn't think that was possible... and I stayed in Tampa and saw old friends from Leto and High School... and thanks to Jody our child will never need an article of clothing! HOLY COW... she gave us sooo much stuff...It was nice to see everyone.. and crazy to think that the next time we see everyone in Tampa we will have a daughter in tow.... So after one looong week of traveling like gypsies we are glad to be back in pensacola leading our slower paced life! We hope the holidays have been as wonderful for you as they have been for us... If we were to send a Christmas card out this would have been our photo... sorry maybe next year...

2007... come and gone....

Merry Christmas from the Mattes!!! We enjoyed our last Christmas without a child, and looked forward to the next one when Christmas will be even more exciting... but don't worry the lil' girl didn't get neglected at Christmas and in fact made out like a bandit for someone who isn't even here yet... it was a wondefully relaxing day....

2007 has been quite the year in the Mattes house.... and from what has been kicking inside of me... 2008 proves to be even better... here are the highlights....

1. Finding out we were pregnant and counting the days until the lil' girl makes her appearance!
2. Moving to Pensacola..
3. Finding jobs in Pensacola... especially Gary's coaching job...
4. Finally, renting our house in Tampa..
5. NUMEROUS completed house projects... deck... sod... sprinkler system...
6. Trips to Philly, New York, and New Orleans..
7. Engagements, weddings, and babies throughout friends and family...
8. 2 dogs that know they are spoiled and don't know that they are dogs...
9. Celebrating one year of marriage to my best friend in the whole world!
10. Being happy and healthy for another year with so many to look forward to...

SO kill me..

I'm obsessed with my child... and to make matters worse than they probably would be already.. we have an ultrasound school in Pensacola where you can go and get a free ultrasound as many times as you want... so I have fed my obsession and gone to get pictures of our lil' girl... so of course I will share them with you... as I know you will be as obsessed with our child as we are... well as I am...

She is sucking her thumb... so cute!

21 Weeks.. and growing....

Getting bigger...I took this with a self-timer and it was my first try... pretty good for kneeling on the floor... I was pretty impressed with myself....

So I walked into the living room....

and this is what I saw.....
yes, that is my mother-in-law vacuuming our dogs... and they LOVED IT! as you can tell....

WE HAVE TENANTS!!!

As of today, we have tenants renting our house in Tampa! After months of trying to sell the house and no luck, we decided that with a little on the way we should do whatever we can to get our own place before the lil' girl comes... So we put our house up for rent at the end of October and a month later it is rented! Woohoo.. this has to be the best news since finding out we were prego! And it completed my goals for 2007, which i set in July... (1) Move to Pensacola (2) Get pregnant and (3) Sell or Rent our house! 2007 can now officially end for the Mattes household....2008 can only be better since we have a lil' girl to look forward to....

1/2 Way.... Call for help!

5 months.. and half way through this pregnancy thing.. and I must say I love being pregnant.. it is soo fun... (1) New clothes... prego clothes are so comfy and big and wonderful (2) food.. after learning that I am doing perfectly on my weight gain I am confident that I can continue to eat the way that I have and not be too awful.... and the best part is no one looks at me like "wow, she should stop eating" it's great! and please holidays and being pregnant could there be a better match in life! (3) getting stuff... everyone is so willing to help you out and get things for you.. especially my wonderful husband.. he has been the best and will gladly go and get me stuff even when I don't ask! Last night I said I wanted french fries and he OFFERED to go get McDonald's ... i know he's wonderful! (4) the pure excitement of having a baby! since we found out what we are having i think it has only increased my excitement by 1000. I can't wait to see her and find out her personality... man 4 months seems like sooo long!

Which brings me to my call for help... we need a girl name... we had a boy's name picked out and ready to go.. and now we need help... So please give us any suggestions.... Here's my problems:
1. I like names that can be shortened for nicknames.
2. I like names that are or could be last names.
3. The name can't be too girly... no chloe or sophie... our girl will not fit the bill for a girly girl
4. I have a HUGE extended family with so many names....
5. My huge family has a lot of repeat names or names that are similar. so a unique name would be preferred...
6. No over used names Jennifer, heather, or any 80's names.......

So that is your assignment....... HELP!!!

In other news Gary's soccer team has been getting better... last week they had 2 ties and 1 win! The first of the season!!! woohoo! so things in that department are getting better... thankfully!

Just when you thought...

Just when I thought I had this whole baby thing figured out... NOPE... we have thought we were having a BOY but after the ultrasound today we found out we are have a BABY GIRL!!! Break out the pink and ribbons... holy crap the Mattes are having a girl.. We are excited but a little shocked.... As well as most of the people we have told!... who knew? Well I guess the baby knew all along... SHE IS SOOO BEAUTIFUL!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

We here in the Mattes household have had a wonderful Thanksgiving break, especially since we have had an entire WEEK off of school... Kimber, TJ and Alex came into town which is always great, so we had soo much fun with them. And the girls even braved BLACK FRIDAY to go out spend some money and do some shopping. Unfortunately Gary got tonsilitis this week and has been miserable since Wednesday, He is starting to get better but is still pretty miserable. Last Saturday was Alex's 3rd birthday so his grandparents had a birthday party for him on Saturday which is always a blast... Although I think our dogs enjoyed Alex's presents just as much as Alex...


Unfortunately, now we are looking at going back to school tomorrow which none of us are looking forward to but thankfully there is only 3 weeks left until Christmas vacation! Which by the way we will be in tampa for at least part of the time... more than likely we will leave here around the 29th or 30th and then Gary we leave for his tournament in Gainesville and I will be there until the 5th.

Finally, here are pictures of my belly and Kimber's belly(she is due in the beginning of March).

Emily -18 weeks Kimber - 24 weeks

Check back this weekend to find out what kind of critter we have.... our ultrasound is Friday!!!!

Registry...

We have registered.. well I have registered... we are registered at Baby's R Us and Target. The lists are pretty similar but they do have some differences. With Christmas coming I figured this was the easiest way.. since all we want for Christmas is baby stuff......

Moving...

I bet you thought this was going to be about how we have sold our house and are moving into a new house in Pensacola.... WRONG!!! We have no word on our house and no one even wants to rent it apparently... my brother might have found someone to rent it but who knows...

BUT... I felt the baby move this week.. EXCITING!!! it is such an amazing feeling that unless you have experienced it there are no words.. i love it! and now i find my myself putting my hand on my belly just to see what will happen... the baby seems to already love Gary because it seems that whenever Gary is in the room or has his hand on my belly or kisses my belly the baby moves.. which i suppose is a good thing... by the end of this week the baby will be between 5 - 5 1/2 inches and weighs almost 5 ounces and can yawn, twist, kick, and roll... so cute! my belly is definitely a testament to the size of this baby! i think we are going to be looking a Gary baby (8lbs 13oz.) as opposed to an Emily baby (6lbs 6oz.)...

BIG CONGRATULATIONS TO COURTNEY!! I hope I can be at the wedding... either way you will be the most beautiful bride Utah has ever seen!