Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Samuel Micah Bowen

Our baby boy is finally here. After 21 hours of labor, Samuel Micah Bowen was born on September 2, 2009 at 5:34 p.m. He weighed 8 lbs., 8 ounces and was 20 inches long. He has already filled our lives with so much love and happiness and he is only one week old!! So far we have had so much help from friends and family that parenthood seems like a piece of cake :) Talk to me in a couple of weeks when all of our helpers have gone home.

But seriously, Sam is such a happy and content baby. We truly have been blessed. Sam has already had so many visitors and can't wait to meet more!! Here are some pictures of his first week on the outside...














(After the epidural had kicked in...)














Micah and Matt playing doctor



























Hello Momma!!




















Hello Daddy!!














We are so glad that Grandad Heidenreich could be here to welcome his grandson!!














Sam & GoGo














I love my Nanna ...














...and Papa D too!!!














Tiny Feet!!

Monday, August 17, 2009

Baby Bowen's Nautical Nursery

We are finally ready for the baby to arrive!! My mom finished the crib bedding and everything is all set up. Now all we're waiting for is the BABY (oh, and we still need a name :) - only a minor detail right!?!


















































































I'm not due till September 3rd, but we think he might come a week or so early (at least I'm praying he does). The doctor said he's still "cooking" at my last appointment - so he's not quite ready to come out, but from the way he is kicking me lately I think he might be ready!! Time goes by a lot slower without a million things on your to-do list, so I'm taking the advice of everyone and getting lots of rest - I'm now averaging about two naps a day ;)

Friday, August 7, 2009

We're Nesting



















The bar exam is finally over and I couldn't be more relieved. That means I can get back to my life as I knew it before the bar, right? WRONG! Before I went into studying lock-down I was a mere 6 months pregnant and September 3rd seemed so far away. I'll do it after the bar is over...That's what I told myself about EVERYTHING. Well the time has arrived, and it looks like the bar exam threw up all over my house. Now I am running around like a mad woman trying to get ready for this baby - not to mention the fact - I am about to POP!! I didn't realize how exhausted I would be... I have zero energy and this heat isn't helping.

This is where my secret weapon comes in...















My Mother. The Queen of All Things Clean & Organized. Take for example this picture, what is she doing here...we're not sure exactly, but my best guess is that she is so excited to be cleaning or organizing something. I know its a bit scary, but trust me its a good kind of scary. Growing up I did not always appreciate this quality in my Mother, but over the years I have learned that Nancy Knows Best. If you're ever moving, remodeling, or...having a baby and freaking out about getting your house ready... you want her in your corner.

So today my Mom is coming over for the second time this week to give me some much needed motivation and organization. Thank you Mom!!




Monday, June 15, 2009

We are so Blessed!!

Thank you to everyone who attended my baby shower this weekend or sent gifts!! And a special thanks to my sisters for hosting such a cute shower - and Mom too for all you do!!

































They did a Nautical shower theme to match my nursery theme and it turned out so cute!!














Emily & Matt got us a Sailboat Mobile to hang over my crib!! I heart it!!

Everything is really starting to sink in... I'M HAVING A BABY!! I even have the goods to prove it now ;)

Friday, June 5, 2009

Micah's Puerto Rico Trip







































Micah & Preston returned from Puerto Rico in one piece, but I'm not sure we can say the same about way they left Puerto Rico ;) From what I gather, they went scuba diving, drank and drank some more. Here are some pictures from their trip!
















































They also went on a Bio-Night Life Adventure to the "Brightest Bay in the World" and went swimming with glow-in-the-dark plankton!! Apparently, the plankton light up bright blue when they are agitated by movement in the water... They couldn't get any good pictures of their own, but here are some I found of the same bay they went to.
















Sunday, May 31, 2009

One Baby Shower, Five Pregos, One BIG Baby!!!

Yesterday I attended my first of five baby showers this summer. Don't worry, only two of those showers are for me, but there is definitely something in the water around here! Everyone is pregnant!!

So yesterday, I went to my sister's neighbor Jaclyn's baby shower. All the women were buzzing about how many pregnant girls there were there - Me, Emily, Nikki, another girl I don't know, and of course Jaclyn. Five of us, or should I say ten :) , in one room. Anyway, long story short, everyone kept coming up to me and asking me when I am due. They were all shocked to learn that I am due in September because I look like I am "about to pop".

One woman said, "you must be due any day now", I quickly told her I am not due until September at which time another lady, who I later learned is a mother of twins, was convinced I was having twins, and kept asking me over and over again if I was sure that there weren't two babies in there... I mean seriously?!?! I am only 26 weeks!!

Truth be told, I am about the same size as Jaclyn, who is due the beginning of July, so I guess I am pretty big for being only 26 weeks, but these women were really freaking me out!! What kind of Amazon child am I carrying around?

Thursday, May 28, 2009

My Guilty Pleasure




















I know, I know... I'm supposed to be studying for the bar, and I AM studying!!! But my all time favorite show just started back up, and I'm thrilled to take a break from the books to be so entertained by the fabulous dancers and choreographers on this show!! Its too early in the season to pick a favorite, but I'll be sure to update everyone on who I pick to win. I highly recommend this show to anyone who has any appreciation for the world of dance. I love it and secretly wish I could audition one day. But, considering the circumstances :), I think I've hung up my dancing shoes, at least for a while anyway.

Monday, May 25, 2009

Micah's Vay-Cay to P.R.

This morning I dropped Micah and his friend Preston off at the airport for a week long vacation in Puerto Rico! Their first stop is Vieques, P.R., a small island off the coast of Puerto Rico. After flying into San Juan, they took a very small plane over to the island. Apparently, Micah's trip is off to a great start as he texted me earlier that the pilot let him fly the plane to the island!?!? He said the pilot took off and landed, but let him do the rest... And, NO, Micah does not know how to fly planes!!!!
















This is Vieques. I'm not going to lie... I'm a little bit jealous of him at the moment as I look over my barbri schedule and settle in for a week of studying and no Micah :( But his vacation is well deserved - he has been working so hard lately and so many long hours - not to mention there just wasn't a way to work out a vacation for the two of us this summer. Trust me I tried, but I just have too much going on! Plus, being 6 months prego would've put a damper on a Carribean vacation. I'm just looking forward to our DESTINATION WEDDING next summer!!!

Graduation!!!




















I'm officially a graduate of South Texas College of Law!! We celebrated on Sunday with friends and family at my parents' house. Thanks to all those who attended! It was a great day!!

Monday, May 18, 2009

Dad Is Home :)















My Dad has been working in Saudi Arabia for months now, and he finally got a three week hiatus to come home to his family. Him being so far away has been hard on everyone, and our family has realized how much of a rock he is in all our lives. We have really come to appreciate our time together.













The Bowens came in town and we all spent the weekend at my parents house! Micah's family and mine really do blend together so well! We had a great weekend!

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Baby Holtgrieve is a BOY!!!















Emily & Matt just called to tell us that they too are having a BOY!! There will be two baby boys here this fall!! I'm so excited to be an Aunt!! Emily is due October 5th (one month after me)!

Our boys will be cousins and best friends :)

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

"Ding, Dong....The (Law School) Witch is Dead"

I rang the bell!!
Photobucket
YAY!!


For those of you who don't know, it is a long standing tradition at South Texas College of Law that students ring the liberty bell in the lobby upon completion of their very last law school final! On Monday, after finishing up my Alternative Dispute Resolution Exam, I joined many of my fellow classmates and friends in ringing the bell signifying the end of our time at South Texas College of Law. Even though I couldn't join in on the even more popular tradition at South Texas - going out and getting completely smashed in celebration - Being done with school felt goooooood!!!

I also celebrated my very first Mother's Day as a Mom over the weekend...



















Me (nearly 6 months) & Em (nearly 5 months)




















Emily's in-laws hosted an adorable Mother's Day brunch on Sunday complete with my favorite pregnant girl snack, chicken salad :)

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

4 finals between me and my juris doctorate...

redbull Pictures, Images and Photos

Its day one of studying for my last round of final exams at South Texas. While I've been through the finals mayhem many times before this is my first time on the caffeine-free study plan.

Ordinarily, you'd find me cracked out on coffee, redbull, and any other caffeinated or energy charged beverage to keep my attention on the books morning, noon and night...but this time its different. I have a little nugget inside me, and since I found out I was pregnant I have sworn off all coffee and redbulls. I do, occasionally, allow myself a glass of iced tea (which does nothing for me BTW), but other than that I went cold turkey on the caffeine.

Unfortunately, I did not change any other aspects of my study plan, so as usual I'm cramming a few days before my exams with a semester's worth of information to learn- only this time sans caffeine. I'll let you know how well this works out for me.

Monday, April 27, 2009

We're Engaged!!

This weekend took a very unexpected turn when Micah popped the question on Saturday night!! :) I think I'm a pretty hard person to surprise - I'm a bit of a control freak, but Micah really pulled one over on me. Here's the story...

We were supposed to go to New Orleans this weekend, but Micah ended up having to work. So I hung around the house painting all day (another story in itself) and decided I wanted to BBQ that night so I was thawing hamburger meat and getting dinner together when the phone rang. It was my sister, Emily. She started telling me how her and Matt (my BIL) had plans with her neighbors to go to Shakespeare in the Park at this outdoor theatre downtown, but her neighbors bailed on them and she wanted Micah and I to come.

After I thanked her for the second-choice invite, I told her I didn't think we could make it because I was already cooking dinner and Micah was still at work. She immediately went into full-blown guilt trip mode - telling me how I always make her go do things that she doesn't really want to do and yadayadayada... Then she tells me she is going to call Micah and "talk him into going". Nice try, I was thinking in my head, Micah wouldn't want to go to Shakespeare in the Park and I would be off the hook. So it came as a little bit of a shock to me when Micah called me on his way home from work saying he told Emily that we would go with them for a little while and that I should be nicer to my sister.

After much more complaining, I reluctantly threw on a dress and some make-up and we were on our way to Shakespeare in the Park. Micah called my sister and Matt on the way there to make sure they were on their way too. We arrived at the park and made our way toward the theatre.

I called Emily again to make sure she had something for us to sit on and she assured me she was on her way with a blanket. Micah suggested we walk around the park until Emily and Matt arrive. It was a really pretty park with a lake and really neat looking sculptures and statutes everywhere. We made our way over to one statute in the middle of the park and Micah sat down on a bench. I was about to follow his lead, when I stopped and said that looks like the most uncomfortable bench ever (I was still being a brat)! Finally, tired of standing, I sat down on the bench next to Micah, and as I was reaching for my phone to call Emily again, Micah stood up and said Emily and Matt aren't coming.

He told me that he wanted to bring me here to ask me a very important question. I was so completely shocked, surprised, and excited when he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him!!! I pulled him on the bench with me and immediately started kissing him and apologizing for being such a brat and making it so difficult for him to propose to me. I still can't believe I didn't pick up on what was going on, but I really had no idea!!

I was even more shocked when he pulled out a gorgeous, vintage diamond ring circa the 1920s and told me it was one-of-a-kind, just like me!! It couldn't have been more perfect - and I couldn't be happier engaged to such a perfect man.

We have so many reasons to celebrate lately between the baby, my being done with law school and our engagement, but I am most excited about spending my life with Micah and having a family together!!





















Thursday, April 23, 2009

LAST DAY OF LAW SCHOOL EVER!!!!

At this very moment I am sitting in my last class ever at South Texas College of Law!!

I can't believe the past three years, that I thought would never end, have come and gone! It's an eerie feeling, but in the words of my Aunt Debbie, I'm closing one chapter of my life and beginning an exciting new one!

Four finals to go, and ONE (hopefully one) bar exam!!

law school Pictures, Images and Photos

Thursday, April 16, 2009

IT'S A BOY!!!!!!!

This morning we found out that we will be welcoming a beautiful baby boy into this world on September 3, 2009!

Micah and I had pretty much settled on the fact that we were going to have a girl, so we were both completely shocked when the nurse told us "there HE is, and there's his third leg"!!! I made the nurse show me his "third leg" three times until I believed her. Micah was beaming when we left the doctor's office... I think we're both glad we can start calling the baby "he" now instead of "it".

I'm already in crazy "nesting" mode... I'm thinking about a Tommy Bahama/ Nautical themed baby nursery (p.s.- High Fashion Home is my new favorite place to shop. It's great for finding fun fabric! I don't know why I had never been there before today?)

its a boy Pictures, Images and Photos

Monday, April 13, 2009

Micah D's Birthday!!

Today is April 13th and Micah is finally 24!! We are officially back to being the same age again, and I can no longer be called a "cougar"- well at least until August 13th when I turn 25 :(

We spent the weekend at Micah's lakehouse celebrating Easter with both of our families - minus my Dad who was stuck in Saudi Arabi working. There were ten of us all under one roof and we had a blast fishing, cooking out, and making bonfires!

I'm surprising Micah with a cajun dinner tonight - complete with crab cakes and shrimp etouffee (the baby has been craving this all day, or maybe its just me). Delish!!

Thursday, April 9, 2009

my not so relaxing summer...

We received our summer barbri schedule today, and all I can say is...YIKES!! I guess I knew all along that this summer was going to be full of studying and no fun, but it wasn't until today that it really hit me. I'll be in my bar study class six-days-a-week for approximately eight weeks, and then its crunch time before the bar!!

I guess I can't complain too much though, poor Micah will be working full-time this summer AND trying to take the CPA exam, which he constantly reminds me is MUCH harder than the bar exam ;-)

We will both be looking forward to the 4th of July in Red River, NM.

Bar Exam Pictures, Images and Photos

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Boy or Girl!?!?!

So we find out in exactly one week what the sex is. I can hardly contain my excitment these days and have trouble concentrating on other things, hence the 7 different chinese baby predictors I did online yesterday while in class. Result: inconclusive. 5 said it's a girl and 2 said it's a boy!

My friends tell me they think I'm having a boy, but my family thinks it's a girl - and for good reason - my family is prone to having girls. In fact, I've been told since a very young age that my genes eat male sperm. I don't know how much truth there is to that, but here's the stats- my father had 3 sisters, and 3 daughters - no brothers and no sons. My mother had 5 sisters, 2 brothers, and 3 daughters. I have 27 cousins on my Mother's side of the family, and all but 5 are girls.

I'm also having vivid dreams about my baby, but these seem to be even more confusing than the chinese baby predictors... Every night is different - boy, girl, girl, boy. Not only is the sex of the baby different in each dream, but my motherly tactics are becoming questionable. In one dream I tied giant balloons to the baby, this time a girl, until she floated into the sky and out of sight, presumably never to be seen again :( And in another dream, I left my baby in the car and went shopping!! I've decided that these dreams are supposed to be little life lessons about what not to do to my baby - I think I'll be a much better mother in real life, or at least let's hope so...

Seven days and counting... We find out on April 16th!!

Monday, March 2, 2009

Remodeling (Not just the kitchen)

So Micah bought a house last fall and its a bit of a fixer-upper. The set-up is great - its close to downtown and all of our friends, but the kitchen definitely needed some work. So far we've taken out an entire wall and put in new counters, cabinetry, tile, and appliances. It's really starting to come together. Every weekend we've taken on a new project - this weekend it was painting. (Don't worry, I talked to the doc and its ok for me to paint prego as long as I'm in a well-ventilated room). Each weekend ends with simulatenous feelings of accomplishment and exhaustion. Last night Micah and I started talking about how much our lives have changed since we moved into the house and found out I am pregnant. Our weekends used to consist of bottomless mimosas and bloody marys, not endless trips to Lowes and Home Depot. I've come to the realization that we are doing more than remodeling our house - we're remodeling our lives too.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Bun in the Oven

As many of you already know... I'm pregnant!! Micah and I are having a baby September 3, 2009. Obviously it was a HUGE shock for both of us, but we are both getting used to the idea and getting excited about being parents!!

We found out I was pregnant on Micah's first day working for Ernst & Young and the day I won my first trial. It was a big day - to say the least. While both of us knew we wanted kids eventually, neither of us expected it to happen this soon (or in this order for that matter).


In the beginning my thoughts were consumed with questions of how I was going to manage graduating from law school in May, taking the bar exam in July, and then having a baby in September. But at the end of the day, I knew that this was life throwing us a curve ball and the details would all work themselves out. A baby is on the way, and I want to be excited about it - not scared or stressed.

The past month has been rollercoaster ride for both us. Between work, school, ultrasounds, breaking the news to friends and families, and completely remodeling our kitchen we haven't had time for much else.

The baby is currently 2.5 - 3 inches big - think peach size. We can't wait to find out the sex. Of course Micah wants a boy, but I'll be happy either way. Three months and counting...