10 is a Magical Number!

Mat and I were lucky enough to celebrate our ten year anniversary last week.  In many ways, it's hard to believe that it's already been TEN years, and in other ways it seems like it's been so much more.  When I think of all we have done since being married, it seems like quite a bit of time has passed.  Our marriage has been through three different states, six different homes, ten different jobs between the two of us, infertility, pregnancy, miscarriages, parenthood, and I'm blessed to say that through it all, I still have my best friend right by my side.  Like any couple, we're not perfect, and certainly have our differences.  Our many moves have often proved stressful and of course infertility was a rough battle, but honestly we've managed to stay extremely connected and strong through it.  In a society full of break ups, infidelity, and lack of trust, we are certainly blessed to celebrate a solid ten years and look forward to many more to come!  We're lucky that our families and friends that surround us provide us with many examples of strong, dedicated, loving relationships!

Over a year ago, we decided that we WERE going to take a trip for our 10 year anniversary!  It's pretty comical though how the trip evolved.  We started out looking at 7-10 day stays at all inclusive resorts in Mexico or the Caribbean.  Then, it came about that I had a friend getting married later in the summer in Florida, and we knew we couldn't really afford to take a trip for that as well as a pretty nice trip for our anniversary, as well as leaving MJ for two separate weeks throughout the summer.  Then, we started looking into doing something a little less expensive, so we planed to combine our trip to FL for the wedding along with a driving trip to New Orleans.  Then, we decided we really did want to do something more exotic and all inclusive and would rather just hold off and save up to be able to do that in the coming years, and just go ahead and do something a bit closer to home but nice this year for our anniversary, as well as go to the wedding later this summer.  So, we thought we had it all figured out and found a really nice spa resort in Wisconsin and both felt pretty good about that, but then we got a nice big pregnancy surprise and since 1st trimester massages are off limits, a spa seemed a bit like a waste of money, so there we were back to square one once again.  Finally, we decided to just escape to Chicago for a weekend!  We went all out and stayed at a very nice hotel and ate well and just spoiled ourselves a bit for a couple days.  I was still feeling a bit icky and didn't want to do anything too elaborate or going too far.  Thanks so much to my parents for coming to stay with MJ at our house.  It was a huge blessing that we didn't have to pack him up or take him anywhere.  He was happy as could be in his home being spoiled by all the love and attention that grandparents are wonderful for giving, and the best part was Mat and I didn't have to worry about him for one second.  Missed him of course, but this this was the first time since his birth that both Mat and I went out of town at the same time and left him overnight.  I think we were due! 

Mat did most of the planning, and I was extremely thankful.  I just wanted to pack my bag and show up!  He did an excellent job!  We stayed at The Palomar in downtown Chicago, just a few blocks off the Magnificent Mile! 

This was my view as I first walked into our room...

 Such beautiful colors and furnishings!  We had a spa room with a Fuji soaking tub (I was in heaven!!), a big beautiful bathroom, a corner room with views of the city, and a great sitting area to enjoy them.  It was perfect!

            

 Views of our room

 Mat made dinner reservations for us at The Melting Pot.  The Melting Pot has been one of our favorites for years.  We don't even get the main course of meat/seafood anymore.  We've been enough times to know our favorites:  cheese fondue and chocolate fondue.  Mmmm! 

I'd already been surprised with a diamond tennis bracelet at our hotel...after he made me promise no gifts!!!  Then, showed up to dinner to be surprised by a beautiful vase of a dozen red roses. I felt like a pampered princess for the evening! 

Besides delicious food for the weekend we did some shopping along the Magnificent Mile, saw a movie, and went to an improv show at The Second City.  Oh, and of course just some relaxing and napping too. 

We found a Disney store along the Magnificent Mile, and Mat had the idea to go check out the Cars loot.  MJ is just in love with cars in general and adores the Cars movie.  We were excited to pick out a few goodies to take home to him and excited to watch his reaction.

 New Lightning McQueen jammies!

 Drinking from his new Cars cup, and...

intently reading his new Cars book!  

 

In other "Magical 10" news, we reached 10 weeks or pregnancy this week!  Finally some double digit numbers!!  It felt like it took forever to get here, and now I am anxiously awaiting the next appointment where we'll hopefully hear a heartbeat and now that any chance of miscarriage has dropped drastically.  All signs seem to point a growing baby though.  My tummy is definitely starting to round out.  Took my first baby bump photo at 9.5 weeks while we were in Chicago:

Most of my regular pants are a no-go anymore.  Nausea is still present, but definitely more tolerable.  I still eat every two-three hours it seems but yet struggle to find things that consistently sound appetizing.  Our little baby is now the size of a prune.  Can you believe its little teeth are already beginning to form beneath the gums the major organ functions have already taken over?!  So crazy and miraculous!  I am feeling so nervous about our next appointment coming up on Friday and just praying for good news!