A day at the pool...

Oscar enjoying the water...
This big guy can WALK now!
Meg & Oz in the Lazy River

Mikey has been gone all weekend on his annual baseball trip with the boys...so while he was away...Kelly played! I kept busy with spending Sunday with my best man, Oscar!!! For those of you who do not know, he is the little man I have been nannying for since January. This summer I haven't seen him much, so Meg and I decided to take him to the pool for some quality time together.

Oscar has started walking (I cried when I witnessed this b/c he wasn't even crawling when I started watching him)...he loves to talk on my cell phone (or anything resembling a phone)...and he has found my protruding belly button (and compares to his!). Super fun.

Meg is one of my favorite people...so we had a blast! Oh, and Meg and I have been setting up an arranged marriage for Oz and Izzy :) They just don't know it yet....

7 months Prego!!!

24 Weeks...
28 Weeks...

Today marks the 7th month of our pregnancy...we are officially 28 weeks out of 40 weeks pregnant! The final stretch of 12 weeks is approaching...and it's getting more exciting every day! Our OBGYN visits are now every 2 weeks. My weight gain and measurements are right on track. I even passed my glucose test last week (no gestational diabetes for me)!! The nursery is coming along...we just have to paint (celery green is the chosen color). Let the final countdown begin...

Tynans at Tippy...

Best Friends...

Maggie is ready to soak up the sun...
Mikey's got a hot date...
Bridget, Luke & Sam tubing...
Tanning the belly...
Sam & Mike on the miniature course...
Mike trying to climb...

Our very best friends, Sam, Bridget, Luke & Maggie Tynan, were visiting Lake Tippy from Omaha this week...and you better believe we spent some quality time with them! With Nancy & Joe's new house completed...there was plenty of room for us all!

There were lots of boat rides...Kelly even learned how to DRIVE the boat! Of course, parking/docking had a learning curve...but it was a fun adventure Kel & Bridge took while the boys were away!

The boys played golf two days in a row with Big Joe...and even squeezed in some miniature golf out back! The mini course had quite the theme this year: 60's Rock & Roll.

The girls, including Maggie, went shopping at Shipshewana one afternoon...great people watching!

But of course, the best times were spent laughing on the boat with best friends. Mike even tried to climb the YMCA camp's huge iceburg on the lake! It was a sight for sore eyes!!

We hope to make it back up this coming weekend to spend more time with them, as we miss them dearly!

Friends Visit the Lake!

Jackson's 1st Boat Ride!
Mikey is passing on the reigns...
Maggie & Jackson swimming...
The Bowden Family

This past weekend, Mike and I had the pleasure of enjoying the company of Clay, Maggie & Jackson Bowden at the lake! The weather was beautiful and the water was warm. Jackson had his first boat ride and lake swim! Mike & I had a great time getting to know the Bowdens better and continuing to learn the life of new parents. Looking forward to more special times with them in the future!

And growing...

20 Weeks
24 Weeks
This week marks our 25th week of pregnancy...only 15 more weeks to go! Baby girl is as active as EVER with her somersaults and kicks. Kelly's belly button is officially GONE...there is no more "innie"...it's now become flat. Soon it will be popping out, it's just a matter of time! Tonight is our last Childbirth Prep Class...so we are even more ready to face delivery now! Lots of videos...Kelly even cried during the first one! Not sure if it was due to emotions or simply overwhelmed by the feat of delivery! That's it for now...

Weekend in Ft. Wayne

Laura, me & Susan at my shower
Heading out to the wedding
Sadie & Katie...sisters reunited!

Mikey and I spent the weekend in Ft. Wayne celebrating our upcoming baby, his step-brother's wedding & a reunion of sisters!

Mike's step-mom, Laura, threw us our first shower and had all her sisters in attendance. This was a very special shower, as all of Laura's female family members were there. We received a bounty of gifts for our little girl...including some hand-made gifts! I cried at least 3 times, still not believing this is happening to me...finally!

We also were in town to attend Mike's step-brother's wedding. Steve & Colleen had a beautiful ceremony and the reception was held at the Summit Club downtown Ft. Wayne. We had a great time with Mike's step-siblings and mom...we even did a little dancing!

Finally, our little Katie Monster was reunited with her sister (from the same litter), Sadie! We have tried to coordinate this meeting for years...and the stars finally aligned. The two miniature daschounds were enamored with each other...sniffing and licking and being best buds. It was too cute!

Pregnant Sorority Sistas...

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting up with two of my favorite Delta Zeta sorority sisters: Bethany & Rachel. We roomed together back at IU in the good old DZ house..and here we are, almost 10 years later ALL KNOCKED UP! Bethany is pregnant with her 3rd and Rachel is pregnant with her 2nd. It is very special to me that we all still keep in touch and are able to share our pregnancies together!

Kelly's Dad in town...

We spent the weekend with Kelly's dad & step-mom in Indianapolis. Dad & Anna were on their way through town to a conference in Louisville & decided to make a weekend layover of it! Mike went golfing at Pergatory with them while Kelly stayed home and watered the new shrubbery and gardens...what fun!

Indy 500

Despite the rain, we were able to still attend the 91st running of the Indianapolis 500 (aka the world's largest one-day sporting event)! Mike's cousins Steve & Laura and Casey drove down from Milwaukee for the weekend to witness this event! As usual, we met for tailgating at 7:00 a.m. for cornhole, a breakfast buffet, and drinking :)

The race this year was VERY exciting, as there were over 20 lead changes...and it was rain-delayed after 113 laps. The race DID restart after they dried the track...but again only made it to 166 laps out of 200. Needless to say, we did NOT stick around after the first rain delay. Rather, we headed home to the comfort of our home (and pajamas)!

Looking forward to doing it all over again next year!

Belly is Growing...

8 Weeks
12 weeks
16 weeks
20 weeks

Just wanted to post some pics of my growing belly...for those of you who are out of town & can't enjoy watching me get FAT! Baby is doing lots of moving...I think she'll be a gymnast like her mom!

Weekend at Lake Tippy...

Mike and I spent the weekend lounging on Lake Tippecanoe in Northern Indiana. Our dear friends' parents invited us to have their house all to ourselves to enjoy.

This was not the first act of generosity Nancy & Joe Tynan have extended to us; they also gave me my very first listing when I got my real estate license! I sold their home in Carmel last year so they could break ground on Lake Tippy to build their full-time house. They had owned their cottage there for about 20 years...and finally decided to go bigger!

We had several visitors at the lake: Portia, Megan & Oscar Moosbrugger, Mike's mom & stepdad for dinner on Saturday, and Mike's dad & stepmom for breakfast on Sunday. We took a handful of boat rides, looked at properties to buy, and simply enjoyed the Tynan lake experience.

Thank you to Joe & Nancy for offering their home to us for the weekend...we were finally able to celebrate our anniversary in the most peaceful way - on the lake!

It's a Girl!!!

We had our 20 week ultrasound today...a much anticipated appointment. All fingers/toes, arms/legs are present. Brain and heart and kidneys are developing perfectly. And we finally found out that we are expecting a GIRL this Fall! We are thrilled...even though Mike was hoping for a boy :) We had the ultrasound tech check twice, just to make sure. And sure enough....it's FOR SURE a girl. Now we have to come up with a name!!!

The pictures above are 1. The new 3D ultrasound (scary!) - you can see how long her limbs are (From Mikey) and 2. A profile of our little girl!

xoxo
Kelly, Mike & baby girl :)

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all our moms (we have 4 between the two of us!)...and to all of my soon-to-be-mom friends (we also have 15+ of these!!!). It's been a beautiful day in Indy...75 and sunny. The weekend was spent in the yard and at the racetrack (time trials for the Indy 500 have been all weekend). Mike surprised me with a new laptop for Mother's Day/our anniversary. It'll be hard to drag me off of this thing..I just love it!

We have spent the last 10 days in the yard....and we are finally done! A little over a week ago, Mike rented a dumpster & proceeded to pull out 18 shrubs with his HUMMER! I'm sure the neighbors were thrilled with the big red dumpster & Mike tearing through our lawn yanking out landscaping. This dumpster holds up to 2 tons...and Mike has successfully filled it! (See the pic...)

We have now filled the front and back yard with 25+ shrubs, plants & flowers that took us the entire weekend to plant, feed, water & mulch. Mid-way through planting the flowers, I walked around back to Mike and told him to remind me next year this time that I actually ENJOY doing this! Who knew?! We've even planted a garden for cherry & roma tomatoes & some green peppers! I can't believe it, either!

The backyard is still not complete..we bought some adirondak chairs that we still need to put together & we would like to put some pavers down on the soon-to-be-gone putting green so Kelly can continue to lay in the sun on her hammock! Until then, we are exhausted and ready for an exciting week ahead of us!

We find out the sex of our baby on Tuesday 5/15...and more importantly, we'll find out if baby's bones and brain are developing adequately. This past week was also marked by the first movements of baby being felt by Kelly!!! LOTS of moving and kicking, which is very reassuring to us both! It's also very exciting and makes it very real. Mike and I put the crib together this past week...it looks great in the nursery. Now all we have to do is PAINT! We can't wait...and be sure to check back here to find out what we're having!

Mini Marathon 2007

Well, we did it...we participated in the annual Mini Marathon in downtown Indianapolis! The weather started off a bit gloomy, but the sun came out and the weather stayed around 75 - which was perfect for the 13.1 miles!!! The race starts and finishes downtown...and miles 6-8 are around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (where the Indy 500 takes place). This is the largest Half Marathon in the country!

This was Mike's 9th running and he finished with a time of 1:57:04. This was not his best finish (he ran a 1:49 in both 2003 and 2005)...but he did not train for this year's race AT ALL. So we're proud of him. This year he ran with Rick Falcione again, who improved his time by almost 10 minutes! Way to go boys! By the way, Mike saw the beautiful race car driver Danika Patrick while he was running on the track...he had enough breath in him to say hello...and he's proud to say she waved and said hi back. Flirting while racing...who knew?

This was Kelly's 6th year participating (and just her second time walking!). She was given the o.k. to walk by her OBGYN only if she had a partner (who'd want to walk it alone?!?) and could carry a conversation the entire time. The conversation part was easy, as she convinced Rick's wife Katie Falcione to join her in the pursuit. They finished with a time of 3:18:32. Both girls found running less painful at times than walking the entire 13 miles. Kelly would have never finished without Katie's support (and the endless supply of snacks stored in her sports bra!!!).

Watch out, we'll be back next year to do it all over again! Pictures to come soon!

Las Vegas Vacation...

We just arrived home from our last big vacation before the bambino arrives! Mike and I were joined by Bob & Laura (Mike's dad & step-mom) in our journey to Vegas this year. We arrived to 95 degree weather and a new hotel/casino: the Aladdin has changed to Planet Hollywood. Stayed right in the heart of the strip, enjoying shopping & pool time! We saw two shows while we were there: Cirque de Solei LOVE by the Beatles & V- the Ultimate Variety Show. It was a great vacation...but it is good to be home (we are doing some serious nesting!!!). Welcome May!!!

Welcome to our Blog!

Hello Friends & Family!

We have decided to start this family blog to keep you posted the goings-on at the McCulloch household!

As most of you know, Mike and I are expecting our first child on October 8th of this year! It was a very long 2 year journey to get here. Infertility is not something I would wish upon my worst enemy...the emotional roller coaster, the drugs, the stress, etc. We are just glad it is over and we are onto our next journey: Parenthood! We are 16 weeks pregnant and everything looks great! We will find out on our 3rd wedding anniversary (May 15th) the sex of the baby. Mike is hoping for a boy and I'm secretly hoping for a girl! Our boy name is Maxwell (has been for years!) and we are stuck between Delaney and Marin for a girl. We shall see....lots of time for that yet.

Speaking of our anniversary, we are headed to Las Vegas this weekend to celebrate! Mike's dad and step-mom are joining us...which we are very much looking forward to! And this will be our last vacation before the bambino arrives...consider it our "babymoon" if you will. We wanted to take one before I got too big and uncomfortable in the sun (and a bathing suit!). I'll post pictures when we get back next week.

Hope this finds everyone well! I think this will be a great way of keeping you all updated on our pregnancy and birth!!

All our love,

Kelly & Mike