Quick update

Everything IVFwise is progressing well. We got bloodwork back today and hCG levels were above 2000 (we asked what they were and "above 2000" is the closest we got to an answer). Tomorrow we go in for an ultrasound. Hopefully I'll get a picture of that to take with. It will be an extremely early baby picture. I think the kid(s) are about the size of a sesame seed now.

Relaxing Day

Today I went to my sister's house to help out. Dilynn and I went to the park for a bit and when we got back we played with Rhys and his Legos.

At 4:00 I went to the Segerstrom Hall for the "William J. Gillespie Concert Organ Open House and Preview Concert". I don't care much for organ music, but the process of building it amazed me. It is a very impressive instrument.

Tonight Sherri and I watched a bizarre movie which I cannot recommend, Hard Candy. It didn't make much sense. For much of the movie I was yelling at the screen for the guy to do the opposite of what he was doing.

Anyway, more IVF updates tomorrow sometime after we get the blood work back.

Here's a snippet of how Dilynn was acting the whole time we were at the park:

hCG 660

Yep, Sherri's hCG level is progressing nicely. The numbers from the hCG indicate we are having one child, but as we've been told, the numbers are not 100% accurate for prediction. We go back to the doctor's on Monday for more blood and sometime next week we will have our first ultrasound post-pregnant. Sherri was reading the embryo is about the size of a poppy seed. To put that into perspective, here's a picture I found on the net: This evening while Sherri was working I went and had dinner with my brother's family. Here is my niece in her typical picture pose.

hCG Update

We got the hCG results back. Sherri's level is 277 which is completly normal according to this chart I found at justmommies.com.
Also we found out Sherri's current progesterone level is 36.4. During the first trimester the pregesterone level should be between 9-47, so Sherri is right where she needs to be for that as well.

We go back for more blood drawing on Friday.

Wheeling and Heeling around Disneyland

We got a surprise visit from Heather and Kayla yesterday. They brought Sherri and I huge balloon and some flowers. Sherri and I were trying to figure out what to do with her last day before she went back to work, so we invited Heather and Kayla to go with us to Disneyland. We rented a wheelchair and I pushed Sherri around. I was wearing my Heelys, so I could roll right behind Sherri. It was a good day, and much better than staying at home yet again.

Today we went back to the doctor for more blood work. We'll find out the ever important HCG level later today, but we found out this morning that Sherri is classified as 4-5 weeks pregnant which means her due date is February 28 (The nurse said February 29, but I don't think Sherri wants to wait 4 years carrying around the kid(s) inside her). We will know how many embryos took between the 1st and 3rd ultrasound.
Here's some pictures from yesterday:

The mega balloon and flowers from Alex and Heather and Family Heather hamming it up for Kayla on the Ladybug (teacup) ride at California Adventure

Cruising on the bumber cars

Sherri in her wheelchair

I'm not sure what look I pulled off here

Visit from David

As I mentioned yesterday, we got a visit from David. He is SO big since the last time we saw him. Here's a couple of picks.

No more baby news on our end until tomorrow when we go in for a doctor's visit.

Cambria Sage and David Patrick and Baby

Yesterday we went to visit Cambria and her parents. Today David and his parents are coming to visit. It is a day full of babies, since our doctor just called and informed us Sherri is pregnant too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here's a picture from yesterday of Sherri and Cambria. You can tell Sherri is ready. Here's a picture from this morning when they drew blood.

The HCG level in the blood today is 107. It doubles everyday, and we won't have any indication on how many embryos took until about the 1000 level of HCG. More news on Wednesday, since we go back for more blood work then.

Mario Kart

I have been playing an exorbitant amount of Mario Kart Wii the last couple days. Very fun game. I used to play the original on the Super Nintendo; I loved it then too, and it's even more fun with the stupid plastic wheel I was making fun of before the game actually hit shelves. My only complaint with the game is I can't seem to jump (I haven't read the manual, so maybe there is a way to do this). In the Super Nintendo version, you could press a button and the kart would jump so you could make very tight turns. I guess they took that out.

So, tomorrow is the day. Sherri and I go in to the doctor's at 8:30am for blood to be drawn. Then later in the day - not sure when - we will get a call informing us if we are pregnant or not.

Up and about

Sherri is off of bedrest and up and about a bit. She is still taking it very easy - no walking for more than ten minutes, no lifting, pushing, or pulling. Yesterday, though we got out of the house and went to see The Incredible Hulk. I really liked it. It seemed like the 70's show with Banner on the run from the government and trying to find a cure. It was also modernized quite a bit. Also, Lou Ferrigno, who played the hulk in the TV show and voices the hulk in the new movie is still HUGE! I'm not sure if a 57 year old man should look like he looks, like his skin is going to burst because of his muscles. Wow!

When we got home I think Sherri was itching to get back into the kitchen, so she made some bread. Very low activity to make it since she used the bread machine to mix it. Also, we watched the first season of Weeds. I enjoyed it; it was good, but not great.

Bedrest with Visitors

Since we couldn't come to Father's day, it kindly came to us. We had quite a few visitors today. My parents and Karri came earlier in the day, and Sherri's parents, Robin, Logan and Jay came for dinner. Sherri, of course, remained in bed the whole time, but Robin decided to liven up the place - to purposely poorly paraphrase Robin, the bedroom was boring and needed balloons for Sherri to behold.

Here's some balloons that Sherri and Robin decorated

El Modena Alumni Directory

I brought home dinner tonight from Chronic Tacos which is right near our house. I didn't realize until I got the El Modena Alumni Directory that it was owned by someone who graduated the same year as me from ElMo, Daniel Biello. It's funny, though, because I have no clue who this person is. I went to school and graduated with him and have never heard of him before. Not very surprising since my circle in high school was fairly limited as far as my graduating class goes.
Anyway, the directory is pretty cool. It's on CD-Rom so I can sift through all the years of every graduating class.

IVF and Anniversary

Today was a good day. From the 19 embryos developing a couple days ago, we ended up with 14 good ones. That means, 3 went into Sherri today and 11 are frozen for later use. The implantation went much better today - Sherri was not as tense (physically) and everything went smoother throughout. We find out if any of the embryos took when we go in for a pregnancy test on June 23rd. Right now is the bed rest stage. Sherri is on strict bed rest for 5 days. After that she must take it VERY easy for another week, at which point we will know if she is pregnant.

Here I am trying to be GQ in a see-thru paper suit Sherri and me right before the procedure

Here are the 3 embryos that went into Sherri today. They are all 8-cell and rated as 1.2, with 1 being best and 4 being worst. That is a very good rating, and is even better than the 1.3 we had last time.Sherri was in the mood for a cheeseburger, so I brought back In N Out for our anniversary dinner. Anniversary dinner in bed isn't quite the same with doctor prescribed bed rest.

Anniversary and IVF

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US!

Today is Sherri and my 3rd anniversary! Amazing how time flies by. We were going to go out last night to celebrate, but Sherri was not 100% yet from the egg extraction, so our 3rd wedding anniversary will be celebrated by putting embryos back in today. We have an appointment at 11:45 this morning for the procedure. We didn't hear from the doctor yesterday, but at last we heard we had 19 embryos that were developing well. We will find out this morning how many continued developing well and can actually be put back in.

Not much else has been going on. Sherri has been taking it extremely easy these last few days to recover from the extraction. We haven't been out of the house since Monday, and after today, Sherri will be on strict bed rest for 5 days. So, I haven't been as picture crazy as usual. Here's a few pictures that haven't made it to the blog yet but I thought were bloggable:

Angel and FamilyMe and Red M&MKarri and Penn Karri and TellerSherri and Me at DisneylandNephew Sawyer Niece Dilynn (I'm guessing Sherri and my kids will have these curls too) Nephew Ryhs

Vegas, Baby, and Eggs

VEGAS!!!
Karri and I went to Las Vegas this past weekend and had lots of fun. Karri had never been before, which made me about the worst tour guide ever since I know nothing about Vegas. However, we walked down the strip and saw the sights. We arrived about noon on Saturday and left about 3:30pm on Sunday, so it was a very quick trip. Saturday, we checked in to a very nice bed and breakfast; I recommend The Pendleton's for anyone staying in Vegas. Angel and Greg and the girls were great and their new home is fantastic.

Here's Angel in a rare shot - helping around the kitchen.

We spent most of the day on Saturday just viewing the sights at the various hotels, but I wanted to see a show and Karri was amenable, so that night we went to see Penn and Teller. I saw them about 15 years ago, and although the show has changed a bit, they are still amazing. It's funny they did this one trick that was exactly the same piece of "magic" like a trick they did when I last saw them, but the entire setup was different, so it was a completely different trick. I didn't know how they did it then, and I still don't know how they did it, but I could recognize they tricked me the same way. The theatre didn't allow picture taking during the show, so I took Karri's picture beforehand showing him applauding at a future trick. Afterward the guy sitting next to Karri asked what Karri was clapping at. We told him it was for a trick in the future. He didn't "get it".

The guy that doesn't understand preemptive clapping and Karri After the show, which was at the Wynn, we tried to find a place to bet at the tables, but the Wynn only had $25 tables that I could find, so I suggested we go to Hooters because they have $5 tables. It was a great idea, because we had a ton of fun at the $5 blackjack table. The dealers were great and the people at our table were fun. The drunk guy next to me was very sad when we finally left at about 3:30am. He said "it was great knowing you" and wouldn't quite let go of my hand when we high-fived. It was a good evening too because I won back the price of the theatre ticket. Actually, when everything was said and done, I left Vegas $1 up from when we arrived. Not bad.

The next morning, I woke up at about 6:30am and really only had intermittent sleep so maybe I got about 2 hours of sleep. Karri slept until about noon and then we went to the M&M store about 2:00. I need to get a picture off of Karri's camera of me and Red M&M. It was a very good trip - Karri even told me he had the full Vegas experience (I think he must have snuck out at some point because I don't remember the exotic parts that would make it the "full" experience).

Before I (re)introduced Karri to Blackjack he was mainly a slot machine guy.

BABY!!!

Congratulations Dave and Amy and welcome newborn Cambria Sage!!! I can't remember exactly when she was born (about 12:20pm today), but Dave told me she has a dark mohawk and blue eyes. Amy is doing well and Cambria is healthy and a bit over 7lbs (2 ounces?), and about 18" long. I'm sure Amy will have the full scoop on her blog in a few days time. Can't wait to see them, especially Cambria! We will have to wait a bit though because...

EGGS!!!

Today Sherri had extraction of her eggs and will be on bed rest pretty much for two weeks time. We might be able to go out this Wednesday, June 11th, to celebrate our anniversary one day early, but we have to see how Sherri's doing and what the doctor says.

The egg retrieval went very well. The doctor got 23 eggs out and out of those, 22 were good and injected with sperm. We will probably put embryos in this Thursday, our anniversary, but there is a slight chance it will be Saturday. As of this moment everything is good and Sherri is recovering.

AGAIN...THANK YOU ANGEL AND GREG FOR LETTING KARRI AND I STAY WITH YOU!!!

AND...CONGRATULATIONS TO DAVE AND AMY!!!

AND...WELCOME CAMBRIA SAGE TO THE MILKY WAY, SOL SYSTEM, EARTH!!!

Birthday goodies!

Scott and Karri went to Vegas for the weekend and I stayed home to work and prepare for IVF. Egg retrieval is tomorrow morning and today I am not feeling great so I am at home taking it easy.
On a more exciting note, I went to Michaels a few days ago and bought my first round of Birthday gifts (thanks to all for the gift cards!) Here's a pic of some of my goodies. I can't wait to play with fondant.. i was supposed to make a cake for my niece's 16th birthday but with IVF stuff the timing didn't work out. I've also bought a set of 4 round cake pans so that I can make tiered cakes and was researching making a "mad hatter" cake that I promise I will make Amy someday soon...

Wedding Video and Vegas Baby!

We got our wedding DVD in the mail a couple of days ago and had a chance to watch it today with our whole family. The family went over to my folks for dinner to welcome Karri. It was a fun night, and the wedding video looks amazing. Our 3rd anniversay is this coming Thursday, so it came just in time. A friend of a friend has been diligently working on improving the video for months now. The original studio that shot the video messed everything up, in such a way that most of the ceremony was not watchable and camera shake made most other parts unbearable. Precaution: DO NOT HIRE CELEBRATION PHOTOGRAPHY!!!
However, Joe, from Long Strand Studios was able to get the whole thing not only watchable, but enjoyable. We both really appreciate all the effort Joe put into our wedding DVD.

Here's the cover artwork

So, it was nice to be able to see and HEAR our wedding after 3 years of having a dvd where the most you could hear was the airplanes overhead.

In other news, Sherri will go in for egg extraction on Monday, so we are full steam ahead on this whole IVF thing.

Before Monday, Karri and I leave tomorrow morning for Las Vegas. We will be staying with Greg and Angel for the night, and seeing whatever there is to see. We will drive up tomorrow morning and come back sometime on Sunday. It will be fast, but it should be a fun trip.

Disneyland

Sherri got Karri and me into Disneyland yesterday. She stayed for a bit and then had to go to work. We had fun, especially since last time he was here was 1985. He went on Star Tours for the first time (it was built in 1987). Of course California Adventure opened in 2001, so he just remembers a parking lot. I tend not to think Disneyland changes much, but if you get in a time machine and go forward 23 years, there are some.

I'm really not very good at this game, but it is fun to play.

Mmm...Apple Pancakes

We went to my folks' for breakfast this morning, specifically, apple pancakes - Mmmmmmm. My family has had this recipe for years now, originally found to copy the apple pancake at the Original House of Pancakes, but ours is a much better recipe then theirs. Needless to say, it was a very good breakfast. In attendance - Sherri, me, my folks and Karri.

Here's Sherri with Simcha Xena and Simcha

Apple pancake - SO GOOD!

Karri Arrives

We went to my sister Donna's house last night to have some cake and coffee and to welcome Karri back into the US. It's been 23 years since he was last here, and he will be staying for about 2 weeks. It was great seeing him again.

Like I said yesterday, he hasn't changed at all

Rhys and Karri hit it off right away with Wii games

Donna spent most of last night trying to figure out how Karri was going to spend every minute in the US to maximize his time. Sherri and I are taking him to Disneyland tomorrow.

Yesterday, Today, Tonight

YESTERDAY:
Last night my brother and his family came over for dinner. Sherri made this AMAZING bread - actually if you want to try it, it tastes exactly like the bread at Macaroni Grill, which is AMAZING.
It was a fun evening, but I forgot to take pictures after the initial people walking in the door, so here's two.

The table with bread waiting Jan coming into the kitchen

TODAY:

I had a second interview at a firm I would very much like to work for. I think it went very well, but they will let me know if I didn't get it or if I will be coming in for a final interview in two weeks time. Everyone I've met at the firm so far is very friendly and they seem very open to hiring a newly admitted attorney, which many firms do not seem to want to do.

TONIGHT:

My parents are on their way to LAX right now to pick up the exchange student who lived with us back in 1985. Karri is from Finland, and this is his first trip back to the US since he stayed here and graduated from ElMo.

I'm sure he looks exactly the same, since I still do.

Here's a pic of me from 1985 (the year Back to the Future came out)

Like I said, I look exactly the same.

So, I'm sure Karri still looks like this:

When Karri was here last time, we formed a band, The Rockers. He played guitar and I sang.

Here we are at the height of our career.

Indiana Jones

So, as mentioned below, Sherri went to see Sex in the City with Amy, while Dave and I went to see Indiana Jones.
It's been getting some very good reviews, and maybe I just wasn't in the right state of mind, but I didn't care for it too much. I think it was well made, acted, etc, but I just didn't like it. Not sure why. I could list things that didn't make sense at all, but I don't want to spoil the movie. I'll give away one thing at the beginning. There were a ton of gophers. Why?!? I think they were supposed to be cute, but they were just distracting.

Like I said, I just wasn't really in to it.

By the way, below is Sherri's FIRST POST!!! Yeah! I hope she'll keep it up.

Girls Night Out

Friday night was Girls Night Out to go to the opening of the Sex and City movie. (Which was better than I thought it would be). Afterwards, we went to BJ's for a snack (and a few cosmos in honor of the movie). Saturday night I saw the movie again with Amy while the boys saw Indiana Jones. The movie wasn't as good the second time around, but it was fun to meet up with Amy and Dave.