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!