Baby Asher is here!

Our baby boy has arrived!!! Asher Mark was born on Sunday, 12/16 at 4:37pm. He weighed 5lbs, 8oz, and 18.5in long. We are so very excited!!!

Danielle's water broke around 1am on Sunday night...she was exactly 36 weeks along (due on 1/13). Real active labor started around 1:30pm, so it was a very fast process. Danielle did amazing. It was the most incredible experience seeing our baby born...I can't even describe how great it was.

Asher is doing really well right now. Because he was 4 weeks early (and also partially because of the high altitude) he is currently in the NICU. He has needed help breathing, so he's been on oxygen. But, just this morning, they took him off completely and so far he is breathing great on his own. We don't know for sure when he will come home...right now we're thinking about a week. Once he can eat and breathe consistently on his own, he will be released. Danielle will be discharged this afternoon...but we're hoping she can "room in" and stay here.

We were both obviously shocked when her water broke and it's still unbelievable that the little guy is really ours! But, both of us love him SO much already and are so happy he is with us. What a great Christmas present!

Thank you all for your love, support and prayers. Please pray he will keep breathing well on his own, that he will learn to nurse quickly, and that we can have him home soon!

Thanksgiving

This year we spent Thanksgiving up in Denver with Mark's family. His twin siblings, Andrew and Cambria, surprised everyone and flew home from Biola. We had a fun time hanging out and eating great food (Let's just say that I was glad to be wearing maternity pants for Thanksgiving meal...they definitely came in handy :)).

I love my husband!

Mark and Andrew

Our last Thanksgiving without a child...scary!

Baby Shower

My dear friends, Mandy and Amanda, threw a baby shower for me a couple weeks ago and it was so much fun! We played a couple games, ate really good food, opened gifts, and spent time praying over baby Asher. The part that meant the most to me was an idea that Mandy had called "Prayer from Head to Toe." She found corresponding Bible verses for parts of the baby's body (head, shoulders, heart, mind, stomach, hands, feet, etc.) and different people prayed those verses over him - it was truly amazing. Here are some pictures from the shower...and of our growing baby!

32 Weeks (I am NOT a big fan of my puffy face!)

Time of Prayer

The Grandma's

Mandy and Amanda

(Mandy has a baby girl named Avery who is 6 months old and Amanda has a little boy named Caiden who is 3 months old...we can't wait until Asher is born so they can all be friends!)

3-D Ultrasound

A few weeks ago I was able to have a 3-D ultrasound - it was absolutely incredible to see our baby's features in 3-D...now we just can't wait to meet him in person! Here are a few pictures of his face from the ultrasound (it takes a little while to figure out what you're looking at....).

Picture of his face - notice the hand/fingers up by his eye:
Another shot of his face - I can't wait to kiss those little lips!

Vacation, Vacation, Vacation

So Mark and I were able to go on vacation in Vail last week and it was so nice to get away and relax before the craziness of baby changes our life forever. The Mountains were beautiful and it even snowed a couple days when we were there!! Here are some pictures from our last vacation as a 2 person family:

Baby update and trip

This is my pregnant stomach at 26 1/2 weeks. I'm definitely starting to feel the effects of a baby inside me--especially when I try to bend over (I make Mark pick things up for me now!). I can also tell that the baby is taking over space inside...everything else feels like it is getting squished.

He's a very active baby and likes to kick and do somersaults a lot. I hope this isn't necessarily a reflection of how he will be as a child! Oh gosh...

Anyways, Mark and I are going on vacation next week!!! We are going up to the mountains for 5 days... this is actually our first longer vacation since our honeymoon. It's crazy that this will be our "babymoon." We are excited to get away and be in the mountains to enjoy the changes of Fall. Don't worry, we will make sure to take lots of pictures to post on the blog.

Our Baby

We finally had our first ultrasound at 20 weeks and it was so exciting to see our baby! He decided to cooperate with us and we found out we are having a boy! It's so amazing to actually see your baby on the screen, to see their heart beating and to see them move - no words can fully describe the feeling. It's awesome to see how God "knits it together" and forms a life. Here is the first picture of little baby boy Finzel:

My Wife's Belly

So, I know some people have been asking for pictures of Danielle's belly (which, as a side note, must be a girl thing that I will never understand). Here are some pictures of my beautiful wife's cute pregnant belly!

This was taken today -- 5 months (21 1/2 weeks)

Azura

My cousin Azura is pretty much the cutest little girl ever...i can't seem to get enough of her cheerful personality and adorable smile! I pretty much want to steal her and claim her as my own child. Here are some pictures to prove her cuteness:

Our House

We just bought our first house in June of this year and we absolutely LOVE it! Even though there is a lot we want to "fix up" and change, we love being able to decorate (ok, i love being able to decorate...Mark doesn't really care that much) and have a place to call our own. For those of you who have been asking, here are a few pictures of the Finzel homestead:

Front

Back

Living Room

Dining Room

The "We ran out of money for furniture" Room

Our Massively Huge Kitchen

The Downstairs Family Room

Our Bedroom