I think this is one of the more recent photos of Joe and I.  We had just told my parents that we are expecting! I'm holding the poem that I wrote and a baby frame.

It's September already!  I'm looking forward to fall this year...cooler temperatures, the colors, and getting a little closer to meeting baby Stolp!  I think everyone knows by now that we are expecting a baby!  My due date is February 7 so I am 18 1/2 weeks along.  I can't believe I'm almost to the halfway point!  My pregnancy thus far has been great!  Joe and I went for an ultrasound the end of August and were not expecting to find out the sex but the ultrasound tech saw one angle and told us what we are having.  When asked how sure she was of the sex, she said "I'm sure!"  How exciting!!  We wanted to find out the sex for at least this first baby...but it still came as a shock when the ultrasound tech told us!  I think it's because it all starts to feel real when you start seeing the legs, arms, hands, feet, head, etc.  I've started to feel movement which is the most amazing feeling ever!  We're waiting to tell people what we are having until at least after the 20 week ultrasound.  What do you think it will be?!  :)  

My mom and I are leaving for the Quad Cities tomorrow as one of my friends is having a baby shower for me!  I am so excited!  It will be fun to see and catch up with friends and former co-workers too!

I'm starting a water aerobics class tonight...it will be interesting with my growing belly but I'm looking forward to it!  I'll also be taking a Calligraphy course in October which I'm excited about! 

Joe is busy with residency!  His first rotation was University Wards and his second was at a clinic.  The University Wards was hectic...one week was over 100 hours.  Yuck!  The clinic was a great rotation for us because it was an 8-5 everyday!  But now it's back to the real residency crazy hours.  He will be doing two months of VA Wards.  He is learning so much everyday and the attending physicians have been great teachers and supervisors. 

       

a new chapter in our lives...

yikes...i've set a record that i'm not proud of!  i haven't posted in about 3 months!  oops!  as always, lots has happened since my last post. 

1. joe graduated from medical school!! yay!  it was such a fun weekend! we were surrounded by family and got to see old friends as well! 

 

2. we moved to omaha!! and most importantly, everyone and everything arrived safely!  we are so grateful for all the help!  here we are at the closing and getting the keys!!

3.  we enjoyed a very relaxing june...we went to the zoo, went to some baseball games, and lounged as we knew july would bring much craziness with joe's schedule!  here's joe in the rainforest at the omaha zoo!

 

4.  joe started residency on july 1!  wow...he is a busy guy but he is learning so much and learning from great physicians.  we are so happy that we got matched to our #1 choice!  here is dr. stolp on his first day of residency!  

5. we went home for july 4th (my favorite holiday!)  it was a great weekend!  i was able to spend some extra time there and then my mom was able to come down to omaha!    

lots of exciting things...

so, once again, it has been a month since i have posted anything but lots has happened since then. here's a recap of the events...

1. we officially got word that joe will be doing his residency in omaha, ne which was our number one choice!  we are so excited about the program, the location, the city, and did i already say location??!  it's just over 2 hours from home!  yay!!

2.  after three visits, lots of anticipation, thought, and 5 counter offers, we will officially be homeowners in omaha!  we are so excited about the purchase.  we are scheduled to close on june 1!  here is a picture of it...

3. joe and i went to galena, il with friends for a weekend to celebrate the news of the residency match.  we had so much fun with kim and erich.  we will really miss them when we are in omaha.  galena has a great downtown and we stayed at a fun resort just outside of the city.  kim and i enjoyed the wine tasting while the guys golfed. we ate at a little italian restaurant and that is where this picture was taken...

4. it was easter last weekend.  joe and i had been on the road a lot in the last month so we decided to stay at home. it was weird not being with family but we had a nice easter dinner by ourselves.  one of my favorite easter memories is the easter egg hunt.  we had them a lot as a kid so i decided that joe and i needed to have one.  at first, joe thought he was too cool for an easter egg hunt but he gave in and decided that he could have fun with it.  i hid them first and he found them and then he hid them for me.  i think i was having more fun! 

joe and i will soon be taking on the huge task of packing up our house for the move.  he was done with his rotations on april 17 and i will be done with augustana on may 5th. what an exciting time it is!    

seattle

joe and i were in seattle sunday thru wednesday for a conference i had for work. in between my sessions, we were able to explore the city. we had some great food and loved the scerery! joe went on an underground tour and thought that was pretty interesting. we also went to the space needle and it was a clear day so we were able to see mt. rainier. i loved seattle and would definitely like to return. joe laughs at me because it seems i say this after every city i visit. well, i guess we'll just have to travel a lot! :) here are pictures from our trip!

at the top of the space needle

the view of downtown from the space needle

pike's market...such a fun place!

all the yummy seafood at pike's market!

italy

the trevi fountain

the pantheon

palatine hill

the collosseum

the best pizza we've ever had...mmm!

st. peter's square

florence

at ponte vecchio

the grand canal in venice

outside our hotel in venice

joe and i received a generous gift of travel from his parents this year for christmas! we went to italy with them for an 8 day vacation (although it ended up being 7 after our delay in chicago...i think i remember last year telling myself i would never fly through there again during the holidays. i should have listened to myself!!) the flights were fine once we finally left and we got to enjoy the snow capped alps as we flew to venice from munich. we arrived in venice and were only there for less than 24 hours because of the delay. we saw venice in a hurry. it was a beautiful place but i think i would return when it was warmer since you get around by boat mostly. the scenery was surreal in venice and i guess, all over for that matter. our next stop was florence. we took the relaxing train and enjoyed the countryside of italy. florence was probably my favorite. it's a little slower paced, plenty of things to do but not as overwhelming as rome. there we saw ponte vecchio and michelangelo's david. we were in florence for new year's eve and what a wild time it was! there were fireworks going off in every direction you looked...possibly even under your feet as the locals set them off anywhere and everywhere. they also like to walk the streets with bottles of champagne and wine and then proceed to throw their bottles in the air and let them shatter wherever they may fall all the while, security looks on. i celebrated 7 hours before my family in the states...that was kinda cool to call my mom and wish her a happy new year. the next stop was rome. wow--the things to see in rome!! we surrendered to the fact that you can't see everything in rome in a few days. our favorites were the sistine chapel, collosseum, pantheon, trevi fountain, and palatine hill. it was a busy busy city! we also took a day trip to naples and the pompeii ruins. it was fun to see the coast and even more amazing to see a city that was established bc and re-discovered after being covered in ash from mt. vesuvius.

by plane, by train, by shuttle, by car, by taxi, by water taxi, by bus, by subway, by foot...we enjoyed our exploration in italy and would love to return. i threw a coin into the trevi...doesn't that mean i have to return??!