The Ricklefsens

Well hello again..a lot has been going on the last few months...baby Joel has been traveling...becoming quite the rolling stone lol :)  His very first outing was to our neighborhood lake Pflugerville.  He has also traveled to Houston three times, Fort Worth twice and out of state to Arkansas!  He has been camping and hiking...we look forward to introducing him to swimming soon...I know he's going to like because he loves his bath time...just like his daddy. :)  We rented a cabin in the Ouachita National Forest near Hot Springs, AR directly on the Oauchita river in celebration of our 10yr wedding anniversary and Joel enjoyed it just as much as we did!  He has had two rounds of shots now and was such a big boy..think it hurt me worse than him... :(  He has more than doubled his birth weight and now weighs 15lbs 6oz...growing like a weed.. ;)  here are some recent pics...enjoy!

Hello again. Well a lot has changed since I typed last. We had two "Sip and See" showers thrown for baby Joel. One was in Houston at Troy's cousins apartment clubhouse and the other was in Sun City and Troy's parents' house. The one in Houston was hosted by Kristin, Tia (Troy's cousins) and my girlfriend Mel. It was a "Cirque du Bebe" theme complete with popcorn and cotton candy! It was a lot of fun and quite a success. Several of our friends were able to come out for some fun and meet Joel.

The shower in Sun City was hosted by my amazing sister Lee Ann, mother-in-law, and mom. It was a lovely Sunday brunch theme complete with mimosas! Again, several friends and family members were able to make it.
 Here is a family picture taken at one of the showers.  Turned out to be a framer!  Baby Joel looks like he's smiling, but really hadn't started doing so at this point...is probably just gas..lol!

Baby Joel is now two months old and is exceeding his milestones! A few weeks ago he started smiling and is now laughing too (they call it 'smile laughing'). He is cooing all of the time which really doesn't surprise me since I'm constantly talking to him in baby code :) He can roll over and is holding his head up much better than before. He can even straighten his long legs and support his weight (albeit just for a few seconds). We continue to give the Lord thanks for blessing us with this miracle. We are amazed at how each day he develops more and more into a fine young man! Thank you Jesus!
XOXO

Here are a few recent pics of baby Joel:
 getting his first bath...he hated it!  I've since then started bathing him in the sink and he LOVES (is a bath baby just like his daddy :).
 He's growing up fast!

At last!  Our little bundle of joy has arrived!  We induced labor on Wednesday, January 13th at approx. 5:45am and at 1:33pm delivered a healthy 7lb 4oz., 19.5 in. baby boy.  The delivery wasn't too bad...especially after receiving the epidural..ahhh...RELIEF....I'd seriously love to personally thank whoever invented it..  We returned home from the hospital on Friday and needless to say we are completely exhausted...but he's definitely worth all of the work!  We are totally in love with our little Joel...  Here is a link to the birth announcement: 

Make a Smilebox greeting

Here also are a few pics from the hospital and his first day at home :)  We think he's the cutest thing ever, but then again we are pretty partial...Enjoy!

Well, it's crunch time..week 38 and it's official..we are FULL TERM! HALLELUJAH!!! I went to the Dr. today and learned we are 70% effaced (sorry if is TMI, but that means the cervix is thinning out) and 1 cm dialated. Dr. thinks, however, that we'll make it to the due date (1/10) and jokes about having to induce me (is a bit funny considering how early we delivered Ariel). Christmas is in two days so as long as we don't deliver on that day then I'm AOK with whatever...just don't want baby's birthday competing with Christ's..as if there is any competition..lol :) It would be nice to get the tax credit if he/she is born before the end of the year, but whatever happens will happen...is all in His hands. We are just ever so thankful to the Lord for this wonderful blessing! I celebrated today by treating myself to a deluxe spa pedicure and manicure...ahhhhh... :)
Since my last post we enjoyed a very nice Thanksgiving celebration at my in-laws home in Sun City and my mother-in-law threw a little surprise baby shower for us...we definitely didn't expect her to do this and are very grateful. :) Also, my amazing mother and sister came into town and helped with getting all of the baby stuff organized...I honestly don't know what I'd do without them...am definitely feeling much more prepared...but am still scared/excited!
Here are some recent belly pics taken...fortunately I've only gained 19 pounds so far...(I think stopping drinking wine actually helped me lose weight lol)..appears to be all baby!



Well I guess next time I write it will be next year already and we'll have our little bundle of joy! Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! XOXO

Hello again..well we're almost 33 weeks along..just 3 more weeks of progesterone shots, A MEN!  They really haven't been too bad..kinda painful, but we women are no strangers to pain, right?!  Definitely a small price to pay for the peace of mind...

I'm feeling pretty good now that we have most of the baby essentials, but haven't set up the nursery yet as we had a housemate occupying that space.. :-/  He just left yesterday (yay!) so I will now be focused on that (aka "nesting" my little heart out :)..  We plan to keep baby in our room for the first several months so there is no huge rush...not to mention that not knowing the sex makes it really hard to decorate a nursery...right...

So, YES, since the Dr. has ordered limited activites and I've been out of work, I've definitely been going a little stir crazy...I do spend as much time possible in the bed resting, but can't imagine having been on strict bedrest this whole time...I did for a week with the last pregnancy and that was really hard..I'm so grateful that wasn't necessary and am praying the rest of the pregnancy continues to go as smoothly.. 

I just finished a Beth Moore ladies' bible study on the book of Esther...it was AMAZING!  I highly recommend doing one if you haven't already.  This was the second bible study I've done (the first Beth Moore one) and WOW I'm already looking forward to the next..

I've also started a picture collage project of our travels.  I've used all types of picture frames that we had and bought some more from Garden Ridge (has THE best selection :)  I plan to hang them along the hallway and staircase walls.  I will also be adding family pics especially once we get some of the new baby!

ALSO (drum roll please :)  Here is a picture of the baby afghan that I just finished crocheting today!  Since we don't know the sex I picked yarn with blue, pink and yellow in it..  I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out...especially considering it is the first piece I've ever done (patting myself on the back :)  Who'd ever thought I would end up crocheting?? LOL!


Here is a belly shot I took today..eat your heart out!  ;-D  'Til next time...Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  XOXO

Hello again! Well we are now at 29 weeks and the reality that we are having a baby is really starting to set in.. A few weeks ago we had an ultrasound and they determined the baby is 4 days ahead of schedule, so the new due date is Jan. 7th, 2010. YAY!

I got the precious swine flu vaccine (TG!) and took the one hour initial glucose test for gestational diabetes last week.  It was a little high so tomorrow I have to take the three hour tolerance test. I'm not looking forward to it at all..as they'll be drawing blood four different times and I'm a hard stick..uggg...but since I'm predisposed to diabetes is best for baby..

We are waiting until the delivery to learn the baby's sex. This was Troy's idea and although I'm dying to know waiting will definitely make the delivery extra exciting! If it is a boy, which I'm really feeling it is, we are going to name him Joel Allen. Allen is a family name and Troy picked out Joel, is a biblical name and the Hebrew translation is "God is Willing"...we sure hope so! If it is a girl, we've decided on either Hope Lyn or Faith Lyn. Lyn is a family name and we have definitely kept up our Hope and Faith, A men! Well, 'til next time...here is a belly shot I took a few weeks ago...it's getting bigger everyday!