AVP Volleyball Tournament

On Saturday, we took the train into Chicago for the AVP Volleyball Tournament. Our friend's (Brian & Keith Healy) dad's company sponsored the event, which got us VIP passes. We weren't sure what that really meant....when we arrived we found out that VIP not only meant sweet seats, but it also meant free drinks and free food! We had an awesome time watching some great volleyball and drinking and eating to our hearts content - everyone had their fill of Bud Light and Bud Light Lime...me...well, I filled up on juice and Gatorade - yum!

We got to see Beijing gold medalist Kerri Walsh play with her partner Holly McPeak (Misty May is out with an anchilles injury) and we also got to see Beijing gold medalists Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers play in the men's finals. It was really neat to see them all in person. I even had a conversation with Kerri Walsh...well, kinda...in between games she was near me and I asked her if I could get a picture with her. She said that we could after her next match - she would be in a tent signing. I said thank you...and that was all...we were headed out at that point, so I never did get the picture! I thought it would be cool for the blog - oh shoot - I should have told her about the blog than she would have probably definitely taken the picture with me! Dang!

We lucked out...Chicago weather has been crummy all week, so we were all very excited when it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day. Brian & I had red faces to show for it!

the boys...Keith Healy, Brian, Brad, Brian Healy

Brad & Megan

Dalhausser & Rogers warming up before their semi-final match

taking a breather before the match began

Kerri & Holly playing in a qualifier...they were too busy to look up at me! :)

Kerri & Holly now playing on the main court

a closer picture of Kerri Walsh

Elaine Youngs & Nicole Branagh getting warmed up for their match
(behind them is an Ab contest getting ready to get started)

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THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Thank you Mom & Dad for the beautiful Mum's! My Momma brought me these to school on Friday - stuck in the plant was a cigar for Brian. It was hiding so that we didn't get in trouble for having it at school! haha! Love you Mom & Dad!


Thank you Valvano Family for the delicious Cookie Bouquet! (And yes, by delicious, I mean that we have already starting eating it!) We can't thank you enough for your thoughtfulness - you guys are the best! Love you!

The Magic Number

is...

ONE!

one healthy baby Witkowski!

Today we got to see our beautiful rice grain of a baby and hear it's heartbeat! What an amazing sound. I don't think I've heard anything more awesome...and, yes, it brought me to tears.

We were surprised to see that actually all 3 embryos implanted (which is why my hCG levels were so high) - we were able to see each of their sacs. But, only one baby was there. They call the empty egg sac's blighted ovums.

A blighted ovum (empty gestational sac) occurs when a fertilized egg implants into the uterine wall, however, the fetus does not continue to develop past the sixth to eighth week of gestation. There is continued development of the placenta and amniotic sac which produces hCG. Essentially the other two embryos were possibly not genetically viable. As the healthy placenta and baby grow they will push the empty sacs to the side and move them out of the way.

The egg sacs were labeled A, B, and C. "A" is our baby, within Egg Sac B there was a faint spot - which Dr. Hickey said could still develop into a baby, but the chances are slim, especially with how small that egg sac appeared. We have another ultrasound in two weeks and we'll see then if anything has developed. Egg Sac C was empty. Dr. Hickey was very happy to see one healthy baby growing. He said that this is the best scenario - any more than one and it just gets harder on the mom and the babies. I only hugged him 2 times!

Here is our first picture of our little one! The black circle is the sac and the baby is on the bottom right side of the sac...he/she measures right at 6weeks 3 days - perfect size, perfect health!

here is the baby's heartbeat...right now the baby's heartbeat is beating at a healthy 112 beats/minute! What a moment it was to hear the heartbeat. These past 2 1/2 years have been TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!

Here are Egg Sacs "B" and "C"
see how small "B" is?

excited momma-to-be!

proud daddy-to-be!

Here is the ultrasound screen...look closely
we just wanted to document the date: 08-28-09
how far along I am: 6w3d
due date: 04-20-2010

Right now we have an 83% chance of a successful pregnancy - don't forget how early I am! In another two weeks we'll have ultrasound #2 and we'll then have a 99% chance of a successful pregnancy.

Thank you all once again for your thoughts and prayers! We can't thank you enough! Keep 'em coming for at least another two weeks - or until April 20th!

Love you all, have a great weekend...we know we sure will!

Catching Up...

Lots of stuff to catch you up on...sorry I haven't posted in awhile, but the pregnancy fatigue has hit me hard. All I want to do is lay on the couch when I get home from school...and then I'm out like a light by 8:30pm. Good thing Brian has Tripsy to keep him company!

First Day of School - August 20, 2009
My momma wasn't here to take a video of me getting up and getting ready for my first day, so Brian made sure to get a picture of me all ready to go. Graham Elementary School here I come!
(by the way...check out our refinished table behind me! This table was handed down to me from my Aunt Lynn and Uncle Rick! Brian & his mom and dad worked very hard painting, sanding, and staining it, doesn't it look awesome?! for those of you who never saw it beforehand - the chairs and underside of the table were white and the top of the table was very light)

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Happy 30th Birthday Adrienne!
Our friend Dominic held a surprise birthday/motherhood/master's degree party for his wife, Adrienne on Saturday the 22nd at On The Border. We had a great time celebrating with their friends and family!

Adrienne, Dominic, me & Brian

silly boys...

The Valvano's, The Samples, The Witko's

Andy & Avie Houser (Dom's sister and brother in law) holding baby Rocco

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On Sunday, August 23rd, we headed up to Niles to celebrate the baptism of Kailey Marie Tokarz.

Kailey all dressed up on her big day
(her gown was actually worn by her grandpa on his baptism!)

From left to right...
Paul (godfather - brad's brother), Stephanie (godmother - deana's sister), Deana & Brad

No tears!

Tucker Bea sound asleep throughout the whole baptism!

me & Bri

Tim & Steph Bea


Kailey had just about had it with all of the pictures...she just wanted to get on her party dress and head to her reception!

awww! Kailey and Tucker
next year the little Witko's will be in this picture too!

Maria Bournas (Deana's best friend) & I
Maria is who sent me that beautiful poem awhile back...she is an avid blog follower!

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My sister, Kristen has decided to start documenting the size of my waist each week that way we can watch the numbers grow - she also said that I must post it - but, you know me...I'm not afraid - I will not be posting my weight though!

Week 5 - August 18th - 33.5 in.

Week 6 - August 25th - 34 in.

Week 6

To be honest I'm not sure if that is baby or if it is the Thin Mint Blizzards I can't get enough of! A mom at school told me that I look like I'm showing already - at 6 weeks! Yikes! My mom said that if I'm having triplets that could be the case - we'll find out for sure on Friday! Can't wait!

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My friend Jenny Kammer & her husband Matt, just found out on Saturday that they are having a girl, Madisyn Ashley! Madisyn is due in January! Congratulations Kammer family!

Movin' On Up!

Pregnancy blood work update!

Today was my final pregnancy blood draw (#3).

Marilu called me back this afternoon and left me a message to let me know what the results were. My beta HCG came in at a cool 7,304! (If you remember from last Thursday my beta HCG (pregnancy hormone) level went from 308 to 812 in 48 hours.) WHOA! My progesterone was 45.7 and my estradial was 788. I thought that I had mis-heard her message so I called the office right away.

Yep, my beta was 7,304. She said that yes, it was high, but also very good. I guess I didn't realize just how high this level gets. She continued to tell me that it will continue to increase until about 10 weeks and then it will begin to plateau. Then I asked her about multiples and if this still indicates the possibility and she said that they do have an assumption that we're having multiples but they won't confirm so until our ultrasound. I can't wait!

Stay tuned...our ultrasound is scheduled for Friday, August 28th at 10:00am!

An Indy Weekend

Brian, Trip & I traveled down to Indianapolis for the weekend to visit with our friends Jeff & Erica Mandsager and their adorable 15 month old, Hayden. It turned out to be quite the busy weekend. It sure was a great way to end my summer - we had a blast!

Trip relaxing in Hayden's chair...this was one of the

rare moments when she was settled down

Jeff & Erica have a pretty sweet boat - we went out on it for a bit -
Jeff drove slooow so that I could go - here is Hayden and Erica enjoying the sun!

...then the boys dropped us off so that they could have some fun.

Erica & I on the way to the Indiana State Fair

Brian & Jeff wanted to test out their strength so we stopped
to see who could hit it harder check out their form...
Brian went with the two leg power...

...and Jeff went with the one leg chopping wood form...
who won? well, Jeff walked away with the shirt, that's all I'll say!

The Mandsager's

The Witko's

aww...here I am petting a baby cow...so cute!

Yum...who doesn't love a deep fried brownie?!
(seriously they were delicious!)

Later that evening we headed to the grandstand for the
Keith Urban/Jason Aldean concert...
we had great seats and the concert was awesome!...
Here is Jason Aldean...


...and here is Keith Urban - I didn't realize how
he rocked out on a guitar...he sure plays a heck of a show

Keith came up into the stands near us and Jeff was able to snap a picture
right before my camera died! Can you see him? He's right in the middle of the spotlight.

Thanks again Jeff, Erica, & Hayden for having us for the weekend! We had so much fun hanging out and catching up with you guys. Hopefully you can come up here to Chicago this fall!