Christmas at the Hassmers

Welcome to the quick overview of Christmas at the Hassmer's complete with silly pictures, reminders of our faith and the expectancy of our little one. We hope that GOD richly blesses you and your family this holiday season and that through the giving of your mind, physical self and soul you experience the Joy that comes in knowing why Jesus gave himself for us.

This is David and I's first Advent wreath. I didn't grow up having one and upon meeting David and my amazing new family (the in laws) I loved the idea of the tradition and everything it stood for. ours is a bit make shift and the candles aren't exactly the right color but the idea is the same. We're lighting our candles week by week and waiting for baby Jesus to come!

Not only are we waiting on baby Jesus, we're waiting on Baby Wesley as well. After a false alarm this past week and an unexpected trip to the hospital, we decided to pack our suitcase for the real thing. It's not completely packed as we have to wait on the clothes and contact lens cases and things of that nature, but the list and the suitcase are a constant reminder of how close we are to holding our baby boy.

There's nothing quite like having the Christmas candy dishes filled with Christmas candy. Not so good for my growing tummy or for my sugar intake, but what's Christmas without some good chocolate?

A few tacky santa claus salt and pepper shakers provide just the right feel for month of December:)

Let the fake Christmas Tree building begin! Our little tree reminds me only slightly of Charlie Brown's tree. It's not very sturdy and it doesn't look or smell real. But we like it:)

See, I told you we like it!

Sometimes I worry that we might like it a little too much...

The finished product, complete with all the ornaments from our childhood plus a few special recent additions is just enough to make the perfect little tree for our home!

Speaking of recent additions, this ornament and the one below I painted at All Fired up in Carytown. This one says "The Hassmers, Christmas 2009".

This is the one I painted for Wesley. It says "Merry Christmas Wesley, 2009"

This is my favorite ornament of the year. It was a sweet gift from our friends, Raymond and Julia. Such a thoughtful present:)

And we obviously couldn't go without purchasing some much needed toys for Wesley before his big arrival. This Swing came to us courtesy of all the wonderful gift cards we've received at our numerous baby showers. I'm sure it will be one of his favorite places to sleep...or so I hope...

Mimi and Grandaddy and Nana and Grandpop surprised us this past week with the Travel System that was on our registry. We were so excited to finally get the car seat so that we know we will be able to actually bring him home from the hospital! Now if we could just figure out how to get it in the car...

Putting a tag on Wesley that was sent to us from God seemed just incredibly appropriate and although we know that he's more than just a present under the tree it seemed a perfect place to take a picture.

Thank you for praying for us and keeping us in your thoughts as we enter the last stage of pregnancy and really the last portion of our married life as just David and Kim. We anxiously await the birth of our LORD, as well our son and a new chapter in our lives and we can't wait to share it all with you. Maybe GOD's hand be in everything you do over the coming weeks and surround you as you journey to Bethlehem to meet the precious SON of GOD.

Love,

Kim, David and Wesley Hassmer

Happy Halloween, Love Wesley

October 31st has come. Wesley and I decided that just because we are HUGE we didn't want to miss out on the festivities. SO I joined the entire city of Richmond at Party City today and bought some face paint. Now here we are. Decked out in Halloween fun. Enjoy the beautiful artistry that Daddy created for us by hand. We'll just call him Picasso:) Trick or Treat, yal!

What a perfect size pumpkin!

The full view! Ain't he cute!

Look out NFL...Here comes Wesley!

We ARE 7 months now! Finally! And today I had my 28 week check up. We started the morning on a great note. I got weighed...the un-fun part for most women, but the exciting part for me. Up until today I was still 3 lbs shy of my pre-pregnancy weight. I have officially gained back everything I lost in the first 16 weeks and have broke even. Everything from now on is going to be a positive gain for me and the baby. My blood pressure was perfect. This month was also the glucose testing so I had to have blood drawn and though I won't have the results til the end of the week, the Dr. said that she was not worried about Gestational Diabetes where Wes and I are concerned. THEN my Dr. came in and answered my two pages of questions, and proceeded to my favorite part of the whole meeting. We got to hear Wes's beautiful heartbeat. He came in right around 145 BPM and though it took her a while to find it, as he was moving like a crazy person, it was the prettiest sound I've ever heard. She saved the funniest part for last. She pulled out her special little tummy measuring tape. I'm supposed to measure in centimeters what I actually am in weeks. SO one would suppose that I should measure 28.3 or something along those lines. Wes came in right around 30 centimeters. He's actually about 2 weeks bigger than normal but my wonderful doc said that the only thing that means is that we might do the next ultrasound a little earlier than 36 weeks so that they can check his weight and height. She also said that at this point he is head down, which could change at any time.

I attached 2 pictures that David took this evening so you can see the progress Wes is making. Please continue to pray for us as Wes and I continue stretch and grow, lose a little sleep here and there and deal with the aches and pains of late pregnancy. We'll take all the praying we can get. David and I hope and pray that you are blessed this coming holiday season and we look forward to sharing our sweet bundle of joy with you after the first of the year:) Thank you for being the people that we love that love us.

My tummy actually looks bigger in person...believe it or not..

Drawstring pants probably won't last for too long..

My belly kind of blends in with the closet but if you look really close you can tell it's huge. I love it:)

A picture speaks 1,000 words

I figure that there's not a whole lot to say. I'll just let the pictures speak. Maybe a few thoughts, but more about the first baby shower later, in an upcoming post. Just for the purpose of bragging, these beautiful pictures were taken by Raymond and Julia Foster, close friends of ours, that live in Winchester, VA. They are budding photographers with an amazing eye and we love them very much for their gift of maternity photos. Enjoy!

On Mimi's front porch. It's the "Come Hither" pregnant stare...

Sweet kisses.

He was kicking. So we were watching.

This is one of my personal favorites.

Silliness. Just plain silliness.

This is an old throwback to a picture we had made during our wedding reception. Not pregnant then, pregnant now. Still a cute picture.

It's so nice that we can hug and be the perfect size for each other. I think, however, that we're beginning to be a little hard pressed to hug as closely as we did a few months ago...

couldn't resist the opportunity to do a picture like this. He's silly. We're silly.

Tummy was definitely in motion when we took this. The funny faces were just for dramatics.

This is my personal favorite. We might just frame this one and put it in Wes's room. Can't wait to meet him! Only 14 more weeks...

And the countdown begins

Well folks, it's time. Time to begin the countdown. The countdown to more room in my stomach for my organs. The countdown to nights of less peeing and more sleeping. (I know, I know, not much more) The countdown to getting rid of the body pillow in the middle of the bed that has lovingly been named "The Berlin Wall". And finally, the countdown the soft baby feet, freshly cleaned baby clothes and Johnson's baby lotion. I am tickled.

Now, on with the update. Wesley, Mom (Mimi) and I went in for my 24 weeks appointment on Tuesday of this past week. The doctor was running a little bit late but only because someone decided to have a baby right at my appointment time. The nerve. When we got in to see Dr. Murray we discovered that I have gained 4 more lbs! I'm still 6 lbs shy of my pre-pregnancy weight, which is really unbelievable considering how much Wes has grown. (note the pictures below) I'm sure that weight will come sooner rather than later, but right now I'm enjoying being smaller every where else but my tummy. Dr. M measured my tummy for the first time and it was exactly 24.5 centimeters which is perfect because I was 24.5 weeks along! (the size of your tummy in inches is supposed to match the number of weeks you are:) We got to hear his sweet heartbeat which came in at 140 beats per minute. Perfect for a healthy little boy. My blood pressure was 100/70 which the Doc says is awesome. SO all in all, other than some leg cramps, lack of room for food and a VERY rambunctious child...I am AMAZINGLY HAPPY.

Here are a few of tonight's photos. These were take at 25.2 weeks. Three weeks after the last pics. I can definitely see a difference in size. More in shape. Funny how that happens:) By the way, we promise, it's only one baby. I'm just short. Less room to distribute the baby weight. Thanks for being so supportive! We love you all!

A little bit more forward than I wanted but you can definitely tell there's a baby in there...

There we got. That's a little more like it:)

Just the belly.

He was kicking while we were taking the pictures so I was trying to get him to stop because it was making me laugh. Active, active child:)

Growing and stretching... literally.

Hey all, this is your update on Wesley and Mommy. Today we are 22 weeks and 2 days. For those of you that are doing the math on your fingers, that's 5.5 months. Wesley is now the size of a large squash and growing a little bit every day. He sleeps but it seems like he's more awake now than he is asleep. He is a very active boy and is now kicking and punching his way through the days as well as enjoying a good bout of hiccups at least once a day.

I started teaching again as of last week and had a really great time getting back into the swing of things. The kids have been wonderful about the baby and are very helpful lifting and moving things thus far. They have bunches of questions that have made me laugh. All in all, a great week.

Daddy David starts school this coming up week. He is returning to Baptist Theological Seminary for his 2nd year and we're very excited about the new classes he will be taking. He finished the past year with a 3.5 and we know that he'll just do amazingly this coming semester. Please pray for him as he learns and grows in his walk.

Here are some of the newest pictures of the Wesley and me. You can definitely tell the growth that's happened since two weeks ago. More to come soon!

still got a belly button...but it's fading fast...

Can't rest a drink on it yet...but we're getting there.

Look at him grow!

The side view! Hope you all have a great week! God Bless!

Love,

Kim, David and Wesley

OH BOY! IT'S A BOY!

Well, it's been confirmed. Wesley Graham Hassmer is indeed a boy and will be coming to a hospital near you in early January. Before I go into the details of the day, here are a few quick pictures of how I am changing and growing due to the banana-size munchkin that's making it's home in my tummy.

The side shot, taken today after much primping in the mirror without much luck when it comes to my hair...pregnancy hormones are crazy. Oh, by the way, I'm 20.1 weeks:)

Here's another good shot of the side profile. HUGE belly and still growing. This was taken in the nursery.

Now onto more details of the BIG REVEAL DAY. Pictured above is the AMAZING ultrasound tech at West End OBGYN that made the great day even greater. The actual day came as slowly as possible but finally arrived after much waiting and anxiousness. David and I woke up bright and early and made our way to his school where we did a few quick errands and then it was time for the big moment. Our appointment was scheduled for 10:30am and we arrived early, surprise, surprise. It took no less than 10 or 15 minutes for them to call us back to the ultrasound room and we quickly got started into the process. She told us that she would be very quiet during the ultrasound because she was concentrating but that it didn't mean anything and we could feel free to talk amongst ourselves about what we "thought we saw". So we did. We pointed out fingers and toes and legs and heartbeats and ribs. Suffice it to say, GOD is amazing and our little boy is a blessing.

This is two pictures in one little shot. We have a hand on the left, with all it's little fingers. The other side is a picture of Wes with him facing down. He was SO wiggly and rambunctious that the ultrasound tech couldn't even get a good profile. I have a very active child.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Wes. It shows his spine (SO COOL!) and his actual skin over top of his bone structure. He was curled up in the fetal position so you can see a little leg and foot down at the bottom. We also think that the white spot around his belly button area might be the cord but we're not sure. Either way, the Dr's all said "He's perfect!"

Yes, I had to do it. This one is a little hard to understand but if you picture the way a baby looks when you're changing his diaper and his little butt is facing you there are two legs, one right by the xy and right in the middle you have the little boy part:) Definitely Momma's little man!

For the big reveal David and I decided to make t shirts with the sex of the baby on the back for the big surprise. This is obviously after we told my parents at their house and the cat was out of the bag.

David chose a dragon for his and mine isn't pictured, but it's a whole bunch of sports things, basketballs, baseballs, tennis rackets, footballs...you get the point:)

I promise to keep this thing updated as Baby Showers and other appointments occur. David and I feel so blessed to know that you all are the people that pray for us and continue to go to GOD for us. Thank you for being supportive and loving and involved in our baby's life as he grows.

*We ask that if you are a facebook participant that you not share the baby's sex on my page as I am waiting anxiously until Monday to tell the people I work with in person. Thanks for being the people we love that love us!

GOD Bless,

Kim, David and Wes