36 weeks

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Can’t believe it’s finally 2014 – the year our baby will be born! It’s crazy to think how far we’ve come. And not just since last May when we found out we were starting a family, but since May 2005 when we went on our very first date to junior prom. Tom and I spent the New Year holiday (and the final days of our last vacation together before Baby) at home in Milwaukee, reminiscing about not only the previous year, but the past 8 ½ years; and how each and every one of them has led us to where we are today. 

2005: Our First Date

2006: High School Graduation

2007: Exchange of Promise Rings

2008: Long Distance Relationship

2009: Transfer to Butler University

2010: Our Engagement

2011: Our Wedding

2012: Settling Down in Milwaukee

2013: Pregnant with Baby #1

Sometimes life is so hectic and we are so focused on where we’re going that we forget to take time to remember the past and truly appreciate the present. That’s why Tom and I decided to head home after NYE dinner this year – just the two of us – to share dessert, drink sparkling cider, and toast not only to the end of another year, but to the end of an era. The end of “just us.” Being the emotional basket case that I am lately, there was an abundance of both laughter and tears as we looked through old photographs, shared memories, and discussed our imminent transition into parenthood. As hard as it is to let go of the life we have together now – the only life we have ever known – we know that what is waiting for us next will bring us even more happiness than we can currently fathom. And that while we will always cherish these years we’ve had together as a couple, we will soon be unable to imagine life without our sweet little bundle of joy.

That bundle is currently busy packing on the pounds, by the way, gaining at least an ounce every day! He is now about 6 pounds and over 18 ½ inches long. He’s in the process of shedding the fluffy layer of hair that has been covering his body and the waxy vernix that’s been protecting his skin from amniotic fluid. In one short week, Baby will be considered full term (or “early full term” according to the new national guidelines). In preparation, Tom and I have been busy assembling baby equipment (pack ‘n play, bouncer, stroller, car seat, etc.), and each time marvel at the thought of who will be occupying them in just one month.

We can’t wait to know you, Baby Leschke. So as hard as it was to say goodbye to 2013 – the last year of “just us” – we are happy to welcome this new year and the new chapter it will bring. What you will bring. Because the blessed day our twosome becomes three, we know you will enrich our lives in a way we never dreamed possible. It’s like the old adage goes: the best is yet to come.