16 weeks pregnant

It's hard to believe how fast time is flying! I am 16 weeks pregnant and will be starting my second year of grad school in just a couple weeks. This summer has gone too fast!

Baby (or the Bean, as Derek and I affectionately call it) :) is doing very well. I am now able to feel the baby kicking and it has been kicking quite a bit. Especially around the time that mommy wants to go to bed. It's such an amazing feeling though. Quite different from what I'd imagined. I always thought it would be weird and feel like there's an alien or something in you, but it's actually comforting. Up until this point, you just had to have faith that everything was ok. You had to wait for that once a month doctors appointment to hear the heart beat. That's been the hardest part for me.

We're really looking forward to our next doctor appointment on the 28th. It's our next sonogram and if all goes well, we should be able to find out the sex of the baby. :) Derek and I thought we would wait until the baby actually came to know if it's a boy/girl, but the anticipation is killing us and the grandparents-to-be (as well as other family members).

I'm just starting to pop with my belly, so I will start adding pictures soon so you can see. :)

Hope you're all doing well!

SURPRISE!

Hi Friends!

We hope that this post finds you all happy and healthy! It's hard to believe that it's already July and that the summer is almost over! :( We have had a really busy summer here in Binghamton and a lot has changed for us! The biggest change though, is that we are expecting a baby in December! SURPRISE! :)

Trust us when we say it was a surprise for us as well! Heather had been told by doctors for years that she would never have children, so we did not expect to be able to have children of our own. After several sonograms/tests we have been told that the baby is healthy and everything is going "picture perfect" so far. Heather has been doing well. She suffered from nausea during the first trimester, but now that we are into the second, she is feeling much better. We feel so blessed and thankful to have this amazing gift!

We apologize for the informal nature of the announcement, but we knew once we started to call people it would be all over Facebook. Good news travels fast. :)

We will do our best to keep you posted with news, pictures, etc as the pregnancy develops!

Derek & Heather

Wow...

I can't believe how bad I have been at updating this!! Life has been so busy lately, I just can't seem to find the time to update you on the new things happening in our lives. :) Since last time, I have celebrated my 24th birthday, gone to Saratoga and conducted 2 concerts. Derek is now a shift manager at Dunkin Donuts and is applying for graduate programs for a Master's in Education. He is very, very excited about getting a Master's degree, teaching and basically just being able to do something other than work at a fast food restaurant.

I briefly mentioned going to Saratoga. My father was honored as the Athletic Director of the Year by the NY State Athletic Directors Association. My whole family (minus Derek, who had to work :( ) went up to Saratoga to be there for the banquet and support my father. It was a wonderful ceremony and I am so proud. I truly am a "daddy's little girl" and am proud to say that he is my hero. I only hope that someday I will be like him.

While I've been crazy with school work, Derek has been crazy learning this new position at Dunkin Donuts. He's not really sure if he likes it, but the pay and hours are good, so he's trying to stick it out. Hopefully the application process for graduate schools will go smoothly and we will hear back soon. I know that he would really love to return to work in his own field! If you think of it, we would appreciate your prayers over this process!

Our little "girl", Lucy, is turning 4 months old in just a couple days! It's so hard to believe. She is getting so big! She is full of energy and keeps us very busy (if we weren't busy enough already). :) Here is a picture of us on my birthday.


Aren't we cute? Here's another adorable one of Lucy that I couldn't resist posting.

I hope that those of you that read this (although I don't think there's anyone - showing by lack of comments) :) are well. Happy Easter! The Lord is Risen!

Lucy...

is getting so big!! :) It's hard to believe that she is now almost 9 weeks old and we've had her for 3. Time has flown! She is house-trained and we are working on her with the crate and leash. She doesn't particularly like either of them. She is incredibly vocal and makes some of the funniest noises! Here is a new picture for you:

She's trying to play shy, but she is anything but!

In other news, I am now back in school which has been quite an adjustment. Leaving Lucy at home after spending almost 2 weeks home with her is hard! School is going to be good this semester. My schedule isn't too crazy and gives me lots of time to do what I need to do without getting stressed out. I am also going to be doing a lot more conducting...finally! I am doing the Overture to Don Giovanni with the Symphony Orchestra for the March concert and then Les Preludes for the May concert. Along with that, I also am still conducting the String orchestra. It's so much fun!

Derek is doing well. He's still applying for jobs and trying to find something that's full time in his field. Just when we think he's found something, the job disappears or they find someone else. It's so frustrating and I just keep praying that he'll find something sooner than later.

My sister's wedding is quickly approaching. This past Sunday we went to David's Bridal in Elmira. She found a dress and bridesmaids dresses that she liked. She is going to be so beautiful!! I've been doing a ton of planning. The couple shower, bachelorette party and possibly a quasi-lingerie party. Also, I'm making their invitations and helping with other details. It's definitely keeping me busy, but I love doing it! :)

Well, I think that's it for now.

A new member in the family!

Derek and I have been waiting so long to get a puppy and finally it's time! We are so excited to finally have a puppy of our own!





Lucy is a black lab/golden retriever mix and was born November 28. She is from the same mother as my sister's dog, Rosie. We are very excited to see if she will be similar to Rosie (they have different fathers). Rosie's father was a chocolate lab and Lucy's is a black lab. We fell in love with her so fast! When I picked her up she gave me a kiss and then snuggled right in and fell asleep. I was mean and woke her so Derek could have a turn holding her. She quickly discovered the strings on his sweatshirt and had a great time trying to figure out what those were! :) She officially comes home this Saturday, so we will have a lot more pictures to post then.

We hope that you all had a wonderful holiday season! I will post later to tell you more about our Christmas and New Years fun.

We wish you...

...a Merry Christmas!! :)

I LOVE Christmas time! The Wilson family has a lot of traditions and I love that now I have my own home to carry out some of those. The day after Thanksgiving (Black Friday for some) is our day to decorate the house. My mom has a million and has been passing them down to my sister and I over the past couple years. It's so fun to see decorations that I loved as a child now in my own home. My favorite is the nativity pop-up book. I'll have to take some pictures and post them. This Saturday, my brother's boy scout troop is selling Christmas trees, so we will go and get one to put up. Derek is excited because Philips has come out with new LED lights, so we can be more energy efficient, while having "better looking lights". I love my husband. :)

On that note, it's hard to believe that we have been married 8 months. Now we are helping my sister plan her wedding. Her and Matt are going to be married on July 23, 2010 which is my parents anniversary. I am so excited to be her matron of honor/wedding planner. It has been a ton of fun so far.

In other news, Derek has received a promotion and is now going to be a shift manager at Arbys. While he wishes he could find a job in his field, he is very excited about the steady hours they will offer him and the pay raise. The job market is not good here in Binghamton. All the companies that Derek would be applying for are currently laying off workers. We keep hoping the economy will turn around but it's not looking up here.

I have a week and a half left of classes and then one final to take. I'm really looking forward to next semester. I am going to be conducting Liszt's Les Preludes and the Overture from Don Giovanni by Mozart. (See below to listen to Don Giovanni) It's going to be an amazing semester!

Keep an eye out for a Christmas card from us, they should be going out soon!

Tis the season...

...for concerts!

Last weekend was the concert I've been talking about for months with the Paul Taylor Dance company from NYC. It was amazing. With all the rehearsals, I think I saw the ballet a total of 4 times and it was amazing every time! The fantastic news is that they were so excited to work with us that they're trying to get a grant to become the dance company in-residence at Binghamton University. This would be amazing for the University and is a huge confidence boost for the orchestra which is made up of mostly non-music majors!

Yesterday was the family weekend concert and I was asked to play the Eb clarinet with the wind ensemble. It was quite the experience...let's just put it that way! :) Eb is always an adventure.

Upcoming events include, the Madrigal concert, Faculty concerto concert and the concerto competition. It's going to be a very busy fall!

Derek has been quite busy as well working two jobs (still Uno's and Arby's). He's desperately trying to find work somewhere else and has been filling out job applications right and left. He did hear back from Best Buy and we're hoping that that might lead to a full time job!

In other news, it's about time for us to invest in a car. The focus is on it's last leg and really is making us nervous to drive. We took it to the shop and was told that it would be a waste of money to start fixing things because there is so much wrong with it. :( That's never a good sign. So we're hoping that maybe by Christmas or the New Year to be able to get a car. We'll see...

Other than that, not much is new. We're just trying to stay afloat in these busy times. Graduate school is a lot busier than we anticipated and so there's not a lot of time to spend together. Especially since Derek works the most on weekends. But we're doing well. How are all of you? We hope well as we begin into the holiday season!