.005

With all the exciting baby news and wedding planning, what better time to be with family and friends. Matt & I headed to CHICAGO.

With Dolce in tow we boarded a plane and set east to the Windy City! In 6 days we were able to do so many wonderful things with so many wonderful people. Our first full day there we went to my Grandmother's house in Chicago to settle Dolce into his new home and spend time with my Aunt Annmarie and Grandma D. Later that night we went to my long-time friends Maggie and Scotty Reed's house for dinner where most of my high school friends joined us. It was great catching up and sharing laughs about the good old days.

We spent the next day with my Mother having lunch at New Star Chinese restaurant and then walking to the dance studio. While she taught her classes Matt and I walked around historic Oak Park admiring the Frank Lloyd Wright studio and homes he built and designed. We strolled around Lake Street and shared a scoop of ice cream at Oberweis. We headed back to meet with Mom for dinner at Giordanos for authentic Chicago Deep Dish Pizza!! Yummmmm...

Saturday was spent downtown at the Shedd Aquarium with Maggie & Scotty. This was one of our favorite parts of the trip. We walked around looking at all the beautiful fish and animals and even saw a few shows. My favorite section of the Shedd was the Sharks in the Coral Reef. I've never seen such large, dangerous aquatic animals so close. On our way home we stopped at Millenium Park which we ran through because it was so cold and snowy. The night ended with dinner back in Oak Park at Lalo's Mexican restaurant where more friends joined us.

Sunday we traveled out West to my Aunt Shirley's house for a homemade Italian lunch with all my cousins. Matt was glad to meet my dad's side of the family and it was such a fun time catching up with them.

Our last day in Chicago we went back to Grandma's house for an authentic Polish lunch. It was Matt's first time trying this type of food and I think he really enjoyed it. We drove over to St. Hyacinth's Catholic Church where my mother and aunt went to school as children and my parent's were married. The church is breathtakingly beautiful.

Tuesday morning we packed up our things and said our goodbyes. It was sad to leave but we were ready to get back to the sunny Phoenix weather. It was such a memorable trip and we were so blessed to be able to see everyone we wanted and do all these wonderful things.

Here is a video showing some highlights of our TRIP TO CHICAGO:

.004

Wednesday we went in for Cydney's first doctor's appointment and ultrasound. Matt still wasn't feeling that great from his surgery but was still very excited to be there.



The doctor told us that the baby is really healthy and is due to meet us October 25, 2010. Being only the size of a pea, the heartbeat is 158 bpm which is strong (a healthy range is from 120 to 180). The sound of the heartbeat was the most amazing thing we've ever heard, and made this all very real. We've been told different ways to interpret the bpms of our baby. Some think that if the bpms are in the higher range the baby will be a boy, while others say the exact opposite... we will just wait and see.

Here's a little video we put together.


Peace and Love, Matt & Cydney

.003

Today I wasn't the only one who's body is going through changes. This morning Peter (Matt's dad), Matt and I woke at 6am to bring Matt to the hospital for a Tonsillectomy. This surgery was long awaited and postponed twice. Suffering from Tonsillitis 4 times in the past year Matt was ready to have them taken out. The first time his tonsils got infected was after working for a month on a television show that was filmed at a local jail. It was a very unclean work environment. Since then his tonsils inflamed multiple times costing him quite a bit of money on antibiotics and doctor visits. Today's surgery has left him in a lot of pain and more room in his throat. He is doing well eating popsicles and slushies and headed towards a healthy recovery.

Prepared for surgery...


The before photo...


In recovery, post surgery... Matt was extra sweet on morphine. ha ha.

Matt's green colored mouth was due to his popsicles.


The after photo...


And finally, the day ended with rest...

.002

Since we didn't have a camera the first time, here is a reenactment of our reaction to the news ;)



So... The belly's not quite showing yet.. but it's so exciting to know that there is a little life growing inside there.





Thanks for all the congratulations. we love you all.
Peace and Love, Matt & Cydney