Time is Flying!

Wow.....how time is flying by! In the beginning I thought it would take forever for 9 months to pass. I'm now 29 weeks. We only have about 10 weeks until Ryler's due date. This means Chris and I only have 10 more weekends to fill with things we won't be doing for a while and honey do's to get done before the baby arrives. And half of those weekends are already booked with things to do......Ahhhhh!!



The shower this weekend was so wonderful! It was great being able to visit and catch up with everyone! Thanks to Jann, Al, Lana, and John for a great shower! Also, my mom did a great job with the decorations! I hope everyone enjoyed their party favors! Tina, Bridget, Kelly, Linda, Mom, Chris and I had a blast making them. Also, a special thanks to Eric for helping out at the last minute with pictures. Great job E!!



We had another ultrasound at 27 weeks. The doctor wanted us to come back for another one because Ryler was too wiggly last time to get a good picture of his heart. Well, we got to see him.....kinda! He is all folded up. He has his feet resting on top of his head. So, in other words there were no good pictures of his heart again. However, he is definitely still a boy!! Again Ryler was so wiggly getting measurements of anything is difficult. He is already "on the go" all the time just like mom and dad!

Soooo…. It’s been a while

Soooo…. It’s been a while since I’ve updated my blog. School started on August 12th and the beginning of school is always very hectic! However, this semester I have a student teacher which has been very helpful! Thanks Katie!!


*This picture was taken last week for the UL’s “Wear Red Day.” This is all of the students and faculty at Broadmoor. The fire truck from the station next door came over to lift our photographer into the air for this great picture!!

Chris, Ryler, and I are doing well! Ryler is really moving and kicking up a storm now. He is awake and moving around about every two hours. He does NOT like loud noises!! At school, if I’m standing too close to the bell and it rings, he jumps and flips and flops until it stops ringing…..too cute!! He has also been listening to the classics like Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, etc… every night and he seems to really like that. He’s usually kicking around when I go to bed and when I put the music on he settles down. Hopefully that happens when he’s out of the womb too…lol!!


Also, Chris and I have started taking Lamaze classes together! We really love them….yes, I said we. Mrs. Lenette teaches them at a birthing center, Gentle Choices. She is a great instructor/midwife and only 4 other couples are in the class. It’s not the Lamaze classes you see on TV where they teach you to Hoohooo, heeheeeee, hoohoo, heehee…. It’s more just general education on birth, labor, breastfeeding, etc. The first class we learned different techniques, so I would be able to handle the pain at home instead of spending so much time in the hospital. Chris did the most work at this class…..lol. He learned different massage techniques to make me feel more comfortable and calm during labor. By far, the cheapest massage you can get and a really great one too!! Next week is Hypno-birthing……?? I’ll let you know what that’s all about next blog!!

Oh, What a Difference a Couple Weeks Make

So, today we went for an ultrasound of the baby. The doctor did a number 2 ultrasound, which is where different parts of the body like bones, skull, tummy, kidneys, etc. are measured, his brain is scanned, and they look closely at the four chambers of his heart. Everything turned out well! He is looking like a very healthy baby boy (very much a boy, as the nurse would say, “he likes to show his boy parts”). He squirmed around so much that the Doctor had a hard time measuring everything. After a while he stopped showing us his boy parts and turned right toward us. Check out the progression of our baby boy Ryler!

Things I Have Learned from My Pregnancy

In the last couple of weeks I have learned some things that I felt I just had to share.

1. Traveling for 12 hours in one day is NOT so comfortable when pregnant. I know I’m not that big yet, but it is still very uncomfortable to sit in one position for that long.


2. Ryler does NOT like to be squished! Anytime I bend over to get up or get something off the floor he stretches out and kicks back. It’s cute! I’m also starting to recognize Ryler’s sleep patterns. He is definitely a mover and a shaker!!


3. I like maternity clothes way more then I thought I would….it’s soooo much more comfortable then squeezing into your old jeans and leaving them unbuttoned with the belly band covering it up!! You spend all your day fidgeting with your pants making sure people can’t see that you don’t have your pants buttoned or pulling up your pants…..annoying!


4. Boy clothes are coming around but most of it is not nearly as cute as girl clothes. However, my friends and family have found some of the cutest boy clothes lately!


5. Making a baby registry (Babies R Us | Target) is fun and suuuuuuuuuuper overwhelming!! Babies need so many things these days!! All I see is $$$$$$$$.....which if you know me well you know this is making me a nervous wreck….lol. No matter how much planning you do, I don’t think you’ll ever be ready for it!


6. When you talk to people they immediately ask, “How are you feeling” and while asking that question they take a (very obvious) scan of your belly. Talk about make a pregnant woman feel self conscience!! So, for the rest of the conversation I’m thinking, “They think I’m too big” then I start thinking about how much I’ve gained, and what I ate, etc. In other words, if you are one of these belly scaners, I really have no idea what we talked about….lol


7. Losing 160 pounds and keeping it off over a four and a half year journey is hard...super hard, but gaining weight after all that (even though you’re pregnant) is much much harder!

Hamburgers and Hotdogs

Most of you saw the great news on Facebook. If you haven’t it’s a BOY!!! However, the best thing about Friday was getting to see our little one. And this time he looked like more then scratch on an old black and white TV. He was very, very wiggly. Even the ultrasound tech was amazed at just how much he was moving around.

What a difference a few weeks makes! (left side:6 weeks, right side:17 weeks)

The Ultrasound Technician took all of the baby’s measurements and it looks like we have a very healthy baby boy. Right now he is weighing in at a grand 8oz. which would move his due date to around December 11th. Who would have thought, Chris and I have a big child……hummmm….odd? :O) You know how due dates go though, so we’re just thinking somewhere around in December (if your listening baby boy, mommy is hoping for you to come after the 17th due to my maternity leave weirdness).

So here are some of the shots they got yesterday! We are happy to introduce our SON…..Ryler Aaron Mahler!!

Here's his profile

Like the caption says...100% boy

And there's his little foot, perfect for giving Mommy a little kick!

Thank you, Oma, Poppi, Mimi, Grandma Mahler, Pappi, and Nanny for being there to share in our great news and for being part of this amazing journey.

The Retiring Ceremony…

Back in the day, Kings and Queens had this specific procedure that they and their royal peeps followed before bedtime. This procedure was referred to as “The Retiring Ceremony.” Things aren’t as formal these days, but I know everyone has one (at least I like to think everyone does). The retiring ceremony, for me, is that series of things you do to get ready for bed.

I’m such a routine type of person that I do the exact same thing every night, in the exact same order before bed. When I was living with Tina through college, she called it the retiring ceremony and it just stuck. I’m aware of how OCD it sounds, and sure I’ve got some quirky tendency, but let’s face it, those that know me well enough are already very aware of that! Which brings me to the new, AWESOME addition to my “Retiring Ceremony.” A friend of mine let me borrow her Doppler (thanks Meghan!). This Doppler allows Chris and I to hear the heartbeat of the baby any time we want. Because of my OCDish behavior (as stated above) this could become my new obsession. So, we decided to work it in to my “Retiring Ceremony”. It is the sweetest time of the day, and I just can’t wait for bed time each night. Chris and I just sit and listen with goofy smiles on our faces and time seems to stop for those couple minutes


We recently went on vacation with our friends, and we were able to bring the Doppler with us, since it is pretty small and really portable, so my “Retiring Ceremony” kept it’s most important and newest addition! We were also able to let our friends hear since we were all staying together, so then instead of just me and Chris with goofy smiles and headphones it was goofy smiles all around.

Now, there is an added bonus to the Doppler…quickening! Quickening is described as the first movements felt by mom. I am starting to feel little movements; however, before I was pregnant, there were also “little movements”, so how was I supposed to know if it was baby or gas!?!? The added bonus from the Doppler is….we can now hear the baby moving around with the Doppler (s/he tends to be full of life at around 10:00) and when I feel one of those little movements and hear it on the Doppler at the same time, I can safely say it’s NOT gas!! It is getting easier to decipher the baby’s movements with out the Doppler, as s/he gets stronger, but that Doppler gave me that peace of mind even earlier. I, also, now know why they call it quickening. Every time I feel that little one move around, my heart quickens and I get all giddy! It’s one of the best feelings ever!!

Don’t forget, only 8 more days to vote if you haven’t already done so. What do you think….boy or girl?

Heartbeats, Rings, and Pee…..Oh Boy!...or Girl?

I have noticed several interesting things about pregnancy and other people. One is there are two very important questions that everyone will ask when they find out your pregnant (or every time they see you). 1. When are you due? 2. What is the sex? My answer to the 2nd question is always, I’ll find out sometime in July.

Well, we scheduled our gender ultrasound for July 9th. We are so excited and can hardly wait. There are so many different old wives tales to “tell” if the baby is a boy or a girl. For fun Chris and I have tried most of them out.


We started with the heartbeat! When my Grandmother heard the heartbeat was 116bpm she said, “oh?...so it’s a boy”. However, the next two visits the heartbeat was 172bpm, then 155bpm, which really threw her for a loop. So I’m pretty sure she doesn’t know what to think now…..lol. Supposedly if the heartbeat is slow it’s a boy, if fast it’s a girl. Hear it for yourself below...



Next we tried the ring test. This was another popular one that people were telling us to try. For this test we had to hang Chris’ ring from a strand of my hair (lol….as I’m typing this I’m laughing at how silly it is!!) and dangle it above my belly. If the ring spins it’s a girl, if it swings it’s a boy. And according to the reliable ring test it’s a boy!


Then a very excited Nanny (Tina) bought us an intelli-gender test. This is a kit that you can get at any convenient store. There are several confusing steps which include hopping backward five times, then jumping on one foot while singing the ABC’s (the usual pee test :o) and we had to check the website to match the color in order to tell if it was a boy or girl. This super accurate kit said…..Girl.

Another fan favorite is the Chinese Calendar Test. Some people swear by this one. This chart is said by the website to have been buried in a tomb near Beijing for 700 years (which obviously proves it’s accuracy) and is said to be, “incredibly accurate”. So in this chart you look up the age of the mother and the month of conception and match it up for M or F. This “incredibly accurate” predictor says it’s a Boy.

So there you have it………..we still don’t know what it is but we will on July 9th. I thought it would be fun to do a little poll based on the very intensive studies shown above and your gut feelings. What do you think this baby will be boy? Or girl? Be sure to use the Gender Poll, to the right of the blog, to place your vote!