Sharing our good news

To inform our family that they were soon to be Grandparents we decided to get a little more creative than an awkward phone call. We made a label of our ultrasound pic and attached it to the back of a wine bottle and included a mysterious note simply stating "Congratulations." Then, we sat back and waited for the phone calls...

Ad & Ash + 1

The Cristman family would like to announce......we're expecting a baby!
We couldn't possibly feel more blessed or more excited. We didn't really let this cat out of the bag until the end of October when I was about 12 weeks along. This whole ride has been wonderful. I think I'm extremely lucky as I really haven't experienced any of the yucky symptoms I know so many women go through. We've had two Dr's appointments and all is as it should be -- baby Cristman is healthy and growing fast! That's all for now...I've included a photo of baby at 12 weeks and will post a few more "bump" photos as we progress.

Nina's 1st birthday

The day after Adam came home from surgery (October 4th) was Nina's first birthday! I think I was way more excited about this day than any of my own birthdays and we intended to spoil her rotten. We began the celebration by taking both pups to the Plaza on a long walk on a beautiful fall day. (On a side note, fall is absolutely beautiful here! I only wish we could go apple-picking!) We ended our morning by stopping at Nina's favorite bakery (Three Dog Bakery) and getting a few "boo tarts" and "pup cakes". The rest of the afternoon was filled with Nina's favorite things -- napping in the hammock outside, napping on Adam's lap inside, chasing Nixon, etc. For dinner, Nina enjoyed pieces of our sirloin steak (from our homemade Vietnamese pho soup) and finally, to end the celebration, she donned her birthday hat and enjoyed her first pup cake! Happy Birthday Nina bean :)

What a year for injuries...

Well, after getting over the flu, and working insanely hard to rejoin his teammates, Adam sustained another injury...this time in his abdominal region. He tried very hard to avoid surgery by going to the chiropractor about 5 times in a week and by lots of rest (believe me!), but surgery was inevitable and really what he needed. The team flew Adam to see one of the best docs for his type of injury in Philly early last week. Adam tends to talk every injury down (probably so I don't get freaked out), so I wasn't sure how serious it was, but I was pretty upset that I wouldn't be able to go with him. Luckily, his dad was able to take a train from Richmond and spent a lot of time going to doctor's appointments and keeping Adam company. I was so so thankful that Adam and his dad could spend time together and especially that Adam had someone there watching his back! Adam's surgery was Oct. 2nd and he was flown home the following day...the first few days at home, he was in a lot of pain, but it's only been a week and he seems a lot better. He's been walking a little over a mile or so everyday and that seems to be helping. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers! We're crossing our fingers that this was just a bad year of injuries and that next season will be much, much better.