Baby Love

2010 in pictures

2010-12-31T14:57:00.000-06:00

At the beginning of a new year (and decade in this instance), it is always great to look back at the year and see how things have changed and what has happened in such a fast-flying time. Last year I did the same and it was such a huge, eventful year: http://beeshoneypot.blogspot.com/2009/12/2009-in-pictures.html

Let's take a look at what 2010 held for our family...

We began the year with a very happy, chunky 6 month old!

And were enjoying our days at home in Bement.

Kate was learning how to stand on her own.

I was still home full-time and we spent our days going on walks and playing.

At 8 months old, Kate cut her very first tooth.

In April I celebrated my 26th birthday.

And Kate celebrated her first Easter.


We made a huge decision to move back to our hometown and at the end of April bought a new house.

Kate was soon pulling up on her own.

And learning how to crawl.

In May our family welcomed my niece, Kiera.

In June we spent a lot of time going to parks.

And going to the pool.

July came and we celebrated our first 4th of July as a family of three.

Then came Kate's first birthday... our big girl had been in our lives a full year. I could hardly believe it.

We celebrated the day by going to a water park and out to dinner. She had a ball.

We had a Ladybug theme for her birthday party and it was tons of fun!

The next day we learned that she had Roseola. Poor kiddo. But she was still in good spirits!

Summer was a blast!

Then oh so quickly, it was fall.

And in late September we learned that there was going to be a new addition to our family.

Our little Kate was going to be a big sister!

October arrived before we knew it and we celebrated Halloween.

Kate was a happy little elephant.

Well... mostly happy. :)

Then came Thanksgiving...

And before we knew it, it was Christmas. Kate was SO excited and had so much fun!!!

We got a lot of snow already and were able to play in it a few times.

Overall the year has been crazy, fun, and gone by way too fast.

We're looking forward to next year.

And all that 2011 will bring!

Happy New Year and best wishes for a fun, fantastic, and fabulous 2011!!

A Halloween surprise for you...

2010-10-31T12:20:00.003-06:00

Meet the newest resident of my ute. :) I am 10 weeks pregnant today and my due date is May 29th, 2011.

And a picture of Kate in her Halloween costume:

Ok, I disappeared

2010-09-20T13:32:00.000-05:00

And essentially failed the blog challenge...

but it's not my fault! We have no internet!

I do what I can.

Kate can talk. She can imitate words. She's a smart cookie. Her latest favorite is to learn animal (and some other) noises. These are the ones she can make:

Bear: RAAARRRR
Dog: Woof woof
Wheat: Shhh Shhh (it's in one of her books, lol)
Monkey: Ah ah ah!
Pig: (snort snort through the nose)
Wolf: ooohhhh
Sheep: baa baa

She can also correctly point to the following body parts when asked: nose, hair, ear, foot, belly, tongue (the last one she just sticks out at you).

:) I love my smartie pants.

I might have a hard time keeping up...

2010-09-12T11:24:00.002-05:00

We finally moved and don't get our internet for a couple more weeks.

Yay new house!

Boo no internet!

September 11

2010-09-11T07:50:00.001-05:00

There's not much I can say about this day that others haven't yet said. This was the first world event that gave me pause and truly impacted my life. I was a junior in high school and home alone while my family was in Florida. I remember going home after a day of watching it all unfold in my classes, sitting on the family room floor with my tv on and crying. I was scared for my family who was supposed to fly home that day... scared for the families that had been directly impacted... scared for the country's safety as a whole... and scared for myself and what this all meant for my future.

While September 11th will always be a sad, tragic day for our country, it also serves as a reminder to be thankful for every day that we are given and it resurrects in all of us a pride for our country.

We will never forget.

I will eat you up I love you so!

2010-09-09T21:45:00.000-05:00

Disclaimer: We were getting out of the car... hence the unbuckled chest clip. :)

Sometimes working with kids is extra hard

2010-09-08T19:59:00.000-05:00

Like when one of them whips another one in the face repeatedly with his naptime blanket. And when I go to take it away he screams, yanks at the blanket, and then kicks me.

Good thing I've had a lot of practice in the patience department...

Make this... eat this

2010-09-07T20:40:00.000-05:00

Rocky Road Pie

1 (18.25 ounce) box Betty Crocker Super Moist chocolate fudge cake mix

2/3 cup water

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 3/4 cups chilled whipping cream

2/3 cup miniature marshmallows

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Chocolate Glaze

1 tablespoon whipping cream

1 teaspoon butter or margarine

1 ounce coarsely chopped semisweet chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and dust a 9−inch pie plate with sugar.

Reserve 1 2/3 cups lightly packed dry cake mix. Beat remaining cake mix, water, oil and eggs on low speed, scraping bowl constantly, for 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed, scraping bowl frequently, for 2 minutes. Spread in pie plate. Bake until cake springs back when touched lightly in center, 30 to 35 minutes; cool completely.

Beat whipping cream and reserved dry cake mix until stiff. Fold in marshmallows and chocolate chips. Pile on top of cooled cake.

Prepare Chocolate Glaze. Heat whipping cream, butter or margarine and chocolate over medium heat, stirring frequently, until chocolate is melted and smooth. Immediately drizzle over top. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

Enjoy!

Best hug ever

2010-09-06T16:51:00.000-05:00

I was working on the house today with my little side-kick "helping" every step of the way. I was standing painting some trim and she came waddling over... wrapped both arms around my legs and SQUEEEEEZED as hard as she could. Then she gave my knee a kiss with a loud "MUAH!" and walked off.

Best hug I've ever gotten. :)

We're getting ready to move

2010-09-05T17:44:00.000-05:00

Back in April we sold our house in Bufu and bought a new house that is less than a mile from both our parents. We have been working and working and working on the house while living with my IL's. It was a gorgeous house to start with, we just wanted to change some things to make it "ours" and didn't want to be living there while doing. So we added in a brand new master bathroom upstairs (we now have 3 full baths in the house) and we're working on the basement to put in an office and playroom.

Well...we are FINALLY looking at moving in!! We've been working our butts off this weekend to get stuff finished up so that we can at least move (but the basement won't be finished for a while yet). I think we're going to actually start sleeping there this coming Friday so that we can have the weekend to settle in and get Kate used to her new digs before going back to school/work.

So yeah... eventually I will do a photo tour for you. But for now you have to believe me that things are lookin' mighty good over there. :) I can't wait to have a home of my own again!

She blows

2010-09-03T19:49:00.000-05:00

My mom was determined to teach Kate how to blow kisses. And she succeeded. The best part? Kate makes a very loud "MUAH!" sound to accompany the cute little hand flying from her mouth. So even if you don't see the kiss being blown at you, you can definitely hear it!

She has also learned how to blow her nose. Which is fabulous because there's nothing worse than wiping boogers off her face to just have to wipe again 2 seconds later because it's a never-ending stream. Now we can put the kleenex on her face and tell her to blow and she does.

Cutie Patootie

2010-09-02T19:30:00.000-05:00

Shoes

2010-09-01T19:23:00.000-05:00

I love shoes. Not for me. But for my child. We "had" to buy her a new pair today because her other pair gave her trouble while she was walking. I think they were too stiff or something. So we got these new, cozier shoes. I love them. :)

Temper Tantrums

2010-08-31T20:17:00.000-05:00

Everyone warns new parents about the terrible two's. But nobody warned me that the tantrums actually start at the age of one. Kate throws tantrums about a variety of things these days and none of them are pretty. She kicks, screams, rolls and bucks during diaper changes. She flings herself from side to side and arches her back when she doesn't want to get in the car. She wails and tries to throw herself to the floor when I put her book away at bedtime.

She's going to give us hell as a teenager I think...

She cleans

2010-08-30T22:22:00.000-05:00

My daughter drooled on the floor today. She looked at the drool. She got up, walked over and grabbed a kleenex. She very spastically wiped at the drool with the kleenex. She shredded the kleenex. She threw the kleenex away. I'm so proud.

:)

Walking

2010-08-28T08:52:00.000-05:00

Kate started walking a couple weeks ago and now she is EVERYWHERE. People kept telling me, "Oh... the longer the wait until she walks the better - then you don't have to chase her around!" And like most things they warned me about (sleep when the baby sleeps... your dogs won't get half the attention after baby is born that they do now...) I assumed they'd be right. But ya know what? They were wrong. I LOVE that she can walk. She has so much more independence to do what she wants to do and it is so fun to watch her explore. She can go outside on the driveway or deck without scraping her knees and getting splinters. She can wear dresses and not get all caught up in them.

Walking is fun!!

Good day

2010-08-25T20:40:00.000-05:00

Today was BEAUTIFUL. The weather was perfect - high of 75 and sunny. So after work, I went home and grabbed my Moo. We packed up and headed out to the zoo for a little bit. Here's our fun in pictures:

Looking at the ducks (her favorite)

Having a snack while checking out the deer

Moo by the cows

Looking together

They got really close to her - she loved it

Look, mama! I see one!

Post 100!! And a video to celebrate

2010-08-24T21:40:00.000-05:00

This is my 100th post on this blog! It all started with this:

My First Post

To celebrate, here's a little Kate time:

Video

My little girl is so smart

2010-08-23T17:08:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I'm surprised by how much she is able to figure out already. The tiniest things leave me wondering what else she is capable of.

Like today she figured out how to open a ziploc bag. Easy, right? But she just sat there so serious and focused while her little thumbs picked at the top until she was able to pull it open.

Or how right this very moment she is sitting at my feet flipping through her favorite book, pointing at all the animals and saying "dog".

And earlier my mom taught her to look for the hidden mouse on each page of her book. Not only did she find him, but she'd point to him and get all excited.

I love watching her learn new things!

Sick

2010-08-22T20:02:00.000-05:00

Kate got sick. :( Throwing up, diarrhea kind of sick. It's really sad. Nana had to deal with some of it while K and I were in away at the wedding and I felt bad for all parties involved.

I hope she is better soon.

And I really, REALLY hope the icky feeling I have right now doesn't mean I'm getting it too. :x

Weekend at Nana and Grandpa's

2010-08-20T21:05:00.000-05:00

K and I are going to a wedding this weekend, so Kate will be staying with her Nana and Grandpa. I remember a time when I would dread leaving her for even a couple hours. Now I'm comfortable leaving her for the weekend... only because I know she's in good hands and is going to have fun.

And also because I'm really looking forward to sleeping in at the hotel on Sunday. :)

Helmet Needed

2010-08-19T20:13:00.000-05:00

Not for me, for my child. She has one. A cute bike helmet with pink rabbits on it. I think I'm going to start putting it on her in the morning and not taking it off until bedtime. The poor kid bangs her head on stuff all.day.long.

Tonight, it was a scary one. She was walking through the kitchen and tripped. She fell forward and smacked her head right on the solid wood leg of the table. She immediately flipped out and was screaming bloody murder. She now has a nice bruise right above her eye. I'm almost afraid to see what it's going to look like tomorrow. :(

But whatever it looks like, it is sure to go great with her helmet.

Bad day

2010-08-18T19:57:00.000-05:00

Today was an awful day. Just one of those days where every little thing that can go wrong does. My class was a mess... I think it was payback for the field trip we were on yesterday that involved almost 4 hours of driving. Yuck.

And it feels like Thursday. :( I wish tomorrow was Friday.

This is my last week

2010-08-16T20:31:00.000-05:00

of working full-time! I was a stay-at-home mom to Kate until she was 10 months old and then started working full-time. While I generally enjoy my job, I despise leaving my baby girl for 9 hours every day. So starting on Monday I will only work 7:30-1 every day, leaving my whole afternoon free to spend with my Moo. She may be napping for a few of those hours, but that will at least give me time to get work done around the house so that when she's awake we have quality time together. 4 more days to go!!

The end of breastfeeding

2010-08-15T19:50:00.008-05:00

When I found out that I was pregnant (and even before then) I knew for certain that I wanted to give breastfeeding a try. I know all the benefits it has for both mother and child and it was really important to me that I do everything I could to breastfeed for at least a little while. My ultimate goal was to make it a full year.

My baby is over 13 months old and yesterday I breastfed her for the last time. It's bittersweet. I am so ready to have my breasts back and not have to worry about engorgement or pumping if I miss a feeding. But I truly loved the experience. We had the normal difficulties at the beginning (soreness, figuring out a schedule, leaking, etc.) but all in all it was a remarkably easy process for both Kate and I.

It is also bittersweet because when feeding her last night I didn't know it would be the last time. I knew that I was going to end it soon, but it wasn't until bath time tonight that I decided we should start our new routine tonight. It's probably a good thing that I didn't know... I would have sobbed through the whole thing I think. :) At least this way I know that our last feeding together was representative of every other night. She fell asleep at the breast and was sweet as could be.

Tonight she handled our new routine like a champ. She had a sippy of milk and we read some stories and cuddled. She is now laying in her bed getting cozy and drifting off to sleep. Hopefully it will continue to go this well.

Things I love about my job...

2010-08-13T22:12:00.000-05:00

I am a preschool teacher and work with 3 and 4-year-olds all day. I was pretty unhappy that I had to go back to working after being a SAHM to Kate for 10 months, but it has turned out ok. Most days I still dread leaving for work and not seeing my baby all day, though. So here are some things that I really love about my job:
- I get to bring Kate with me 2 days a week. She loves school.
- The kids are awesome... so full of energy and so hilarious
- Sometimes I get an unexpected early leave (like today because we only had 9 kids)
- I have one more week of full-time work before I go to part-time and I will be done by 1pm every day
- Did I mention how fun the kids are?
- I get to take field trips to water parks, fire stations, zoos, and apple orchards
- Now that I'm going to be a lead teacher I get to think about fun stuff like classroom organization again... I missed that :)
- I love kids

The end.

Meteor shower

2010-08-12T22:16:00.000-05:00

So the Perseus meteor shower is going on right now. My hubs and I made plans to watch it. I googled it and found out where we needed to look. Thought about little things like bug spray and a blanket...

And guess what... we're too tired to sit up and watch it. I looked out the window for a few minutes to see if I saw anything. Didn't. Now I'm going to bed. :/

Goodnight!

30 Day Blog Challenge

2010-08-11T19:41:00.001-05:00

The thing that inspired me to give my blog a facelift and come back from the dead was talk amongst my e-friends about doing a blog challenge. My first thought was... no way. My second thought was... why not?! So here I am.

The idea is simple: write 30 posts in 6 weeks. So I'm not responsible for a post everyday, just 5 days a week. Because let's face it... I have a toddler now (oops, did I forget to tell you?! stay tuned!) and life is busy.

For more info on the 30 day blog challenge, please head over to my friend Sare's page at http://fallingforbaby.blogspot.com/2010/08/30-day-blog-challenge.html

Resurrection

2010-08-08T15:18:00.000-05:00

My blog has been ignored for a long time. I'm planning on making a comeback... so stay tuned!

Support for a beautiful little girl

2010-05-25T09:55:00.003-05:00

As most of my readers are aware, I am part of a tight online mom community that branched off from a much larger message board about pregnancy and babies. This community (GPM) is made up of about 100 beautiful ladies who have supported each other through trying to conceive, getting pregnant, pregnancy losses, and the struggles and triumphs of raising babies. We have gotten to know each other on a very personal level and I don't know what I would do without my "mamas" to consult on all matters of pregnancy and parenting.

Being part of a community like this one allows us to learn about many things that we would otherwise probably never encounter in our lives. One of those things for me has been learning about something called Prader-Willi Syndrome. One of the lovely mamas on our board gave birth to a little girl named Lillian, who after much testing and waiting was diagnosed with PWS. With the help of her parents she is doing amazingly well. However, there is not yet a cure for PWS. 8 month old Lillian is given daily injections of growth hormones and will struggle throughout her life with insatiable hunger.

A couple beautiful mamas on our board decided they could help and have set out on an adventure to help fund the cure for PWS. Vanessa and Beth will be running their first ever 10k in honor of Lillian, with all funds raised donated to the Foundation for Prader-Willi Syndrome. I feel so blessed to know these women, and to see how much love we are capable of for people all around the world whom we've never even met. Lillian and her parents are so deserving of this fundraiser, and Vanessa and Beth are deserving of all the help they can get to make it a success. Please go check out the fundraising page and help them towards their goal! https://www.fpwr.org/civicrm/contribute/pcp/info?reset=1&id=22

9 months old!! and a bunch of other stuff

2010-04-06T20:30:00.011-05:00

Alright... due to my horrible blogging I have a lot to share about what has been going on in our little world...

First things first... we sold our house! Woohoo! We had it on the market a whopping 2 weeks when a guy from another state came to look at it and put an offer in. Our closing is next Wednesday (the day before my birthday!), so please send good vibes that all goes smoothly and we become homeless that day. :) We will be moving in with K's parents temporarily until we can close on a house of our own. We put an offer on a home that is less than a mile from both of our parents and are still waiting for a final confirmation that our offer is accepted (it had to go through a bank, which is a slloowwww way to buy a house apparently). If everything goes well on the buying end, our closing date on the new house will be April 29th! I'm so excited! However, this means that our house is in utter chaos as we try to pack and get ready to move on out.
Kate celebrated her first Easter. Because of the move we had a low-key day at our house that involved a lot of packing and a trip to the park. And her first Easter basket of course.

Today is Kate's 9 monthday. :) I can hardly believe that my little baby is already 9 months old. Time has gone by (too) quickly.

She is doing so many new things - she amazes me every day. She is eating mostly finger foods, her favorites being peas and toast. We have to be careful with the toast, though, because she enjoys it so much she tries to pack her face full of it all at once. It must be rationed. :)

She has 2 teeth. She got the first one on her 8 monthday and the second one arrived 2 weeks later.

Things she is NOT doing include crawling and walking. :) I feel like she's getting close to crawling, but she still needs to figure out the mechanics of it all. She will walk if holding people's hands and is getting pretty good at standing and will let go for a couple seconds at a time. She's got a ways to go before she is an independent mover, though, and I like it that way.

We are going to have a lot of upcoming excitement and changes in the next few months and I can't wait!

A story (in pictures) by Kate

2010-03-26T16:29:00.004-06:00

Kate and I wrote this story for the GP Mamas, but since it has been a while since I've blogged and I'm too lazy to write something new, I thought I'd share it with you. Ahem, ahem....

The Paper Towel Story
by Kate

So one day I was playing with a toy...I was pretty happy!

Then mom told me she had to wash my toy and I was like.... SAY WHAT?!
What will I do, mom??

So I decided that the best option would be to roar like a lion until mom found a new way to entertain me.

But then...I spotted it. A wet paper towel laying perfectly within my reach.

Oh boy.... THIS was going to be fun.

I used my paper towel as a pretend phone.

I used my paper towel as a dramatic fan while I sung opera.

I used my paper towel to wash those hard to reach places.

Hold up, I gotta take this other call real quick.

"Yeah, just go ahead and reschedule the meeting...I'm a little busy right now."

Ok, sorry about that. Anyway... I just wanted to tell all the other babies out there that when boredom strikes - find yourself a paper towel and live the dream. Have a nice day!

I love this kid!

2010-02-23T10:56:00.005-06:00

Have I said yet how much I LOVE my little girl? I love her more than I love anything else in the world. And for the simplest of reasons....

- I love the way she tenderly reaches out with just one finger to rub at the fuzzy patches in her touch-and-feel books

- I love how she is such a great traveler ... we take car trips (3 hours each way) to see our parents fairly frequently and Kate just gazes out the window, plays with her bunny, or dozes on and off. She's such a good sport.

- I love how she sings opera at the top of her lungs when she's in her jumpy seat.

- I love when I am rinsing her hair in the tub and the water runs down her face and she just looks at me and blinks like, "Mama....I think you got me wet!"

- I love how she cranes her neck to look for people or things ... like when she's sitting on the bed and daddy crawls around on the floor to pop up and say "peek-a-boo".

- I love when I go in to get her from a nap and she has rolled onto her belly and she gets so excited to see me that she starts kicking her legs and flapping her arms like she's swimming.

- I love how carefully she studies new objects - pinching them and turning them slowly to see it from all angles.

- I love how she can learn new things by watching me ... like how to clap or wave.

- I love how hard she laughs when I fly her around the house to chase the dogs.

- I love when she lights up and grins as soon as daddy walks in the door.

- I love how she frantically waves her arms to splash in the bathtub.

There are thousands of more reasons why I love her so much... each day I find something new to appreciate about her. :)

Definition of Success

2010-02-18T11:52:00.003-06:00

Before becoming a mom my definition of success would have involved big things like careers, homes, and money.

Today, I define success on a day-to-day basis.

Success is making dinner while holding a squirming 7 month old.
Success is getting out of the house dressed for an interview without getting spit-up on at the last minute.
Success is remembering where you left your cell phone.
Success is running a loud household appliance without waking the baby from her nap.
Success is finding time to take a bath instead of a shower.
Success is still being able to find the humor in things at the end of a long day.
Success is getting gas in the car, groceries in the fridge, and having lunch with the husband before the next nap time.
Success is remembering to move the laundry to the dryer.

Success is being able to enjoy the small accomplishments of day-to-day tasks while still looking out for the future.

Next on my to-do list? Moving! Our house goes on the market this week. Let's hope it's another success. :)

Crunchy mama

2010-02-09T20:19:00.012-06:00

Seeing as I didn't have a home birth, am vaccinating my child according to a standard schedule, and have a baby that sleeps in a crib, I am not a totally crunchy mama...but there is growing evidence that I am a somewhat-crunchy mama and I am proud of it. Here are the signs...

1) Breastfeeding. While pregnant I had high hopes of being a breastfeeding mom, but I was well aware that it doesn't always work out. There can be issues with latching, supply, allergies, etc. - not to mention breastfeeding is just plain HARD. For something that is so "natural", it sure does take a lot of work. It hurts. And in the beginning it took so much time that it was overwhelming. Thankfully, things worked out just fine and got easier with time and I have been breastfeeding my baby for over 7 months. She is 21 pounds and full of rolls, which means I must be doing something right. :)

2) Baby-wearing. Whether using a sling, a wrap, or a carrier, I believe that wearing your baby is one of the best things you can do for both mom and child. Not only does it make baby feel like they are being held and snuggled while allowing mom's hands to be free to do a plethora of things, but it is also great exercise. Remember how much I said she weighed in the point above?? Yeah...21 extra pounds can do a lot for the back, abs, and legs while vacuuming the whole house. :) And due to the snuggly factor, it calmed Kate down on many a cranky day.

3) Homemade baby food. Why? Why would you make food when there are so many great (and now organic) choices at the grocery store?? Because it's cheap! And it's easy! And it tastes so much better! And it is HEALTHY! To date I have made: green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes, peas, squash, apples and pears. Want the recipes? Ok, here: Steam veggie or fruit. Puree. Freeze in ice cube tray. Ta-da! Don't you feel like a domestic goddess?

4) Cloth diapering. Say WHAT?! Cloth diapers....who? Where? ME! HERE! It's true. I've crossed over to the dark side. Again comes the question - WHY?? Answer: because I am tired of washing poop. I'm sure that was opposite of the answer you expected, so let me explain. My child's butt must be malformed. No matter what brand or size of disposable diaper we put her in, she manages to have multiple blowouts per week. Up-the-back-to-her-armpits blowouts. Which result in me washing her onesie, shirt, pants, changing pad cover...and on a really bad day her socks. While scratching my head for a solution I requested help from some lovely ladies (shout-out to my GP Mamas!) who suggested that I try cloth diapers. Instead of running screaming from the answer I started my research and soon learned they were right. It is the answer I was looking for. Cloth diapers offer a better fit (with an elastic band around the back specially designed for tiny malformed butts) and MUCH easier clean-up that includes a rinse of the poop and tossing the diaper into the washer. No more poopy clothes or unexpected surprises. Plus, cloth diapering is cheaper. A lot cheaper. And my Miss America answer - "It's friendly for Mother Earth." But really...it is. And who doesn't want to be a little bit more environmentally friendly?

So there you have it. Somewhat-crunchy Mama. Now please excuse me while I go put flowers in my hair and dance through a field of wheat. :)

99 Things

2010-02-02T10:33:00.000-06:00

One rule: Bold the items that you have done in your life.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightening storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Received flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake (well...technically I didn't swim in it. but that's because it's gross)
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

There are quite a few items on this list that I haven't accomplished yet, but would love to. Like going to Africa and sleeping on an overnight train. There are also a few that I never intend to complete, like killing and preparing an animal to eat. :)

Chatterbox eats the camera

2010-01-21T08:32:00.003-06:00

Since I've been a lazy blogger, I thought I'd just let Kate tell you a short story.

Honesty Award

2010-01-10T16:55:00.003-06:00

My first blog award! The Honesty Award was kindly bestowed upon me by the lovely woman in charge of The Thomas Chronicles.

As part of receiving this award I must tell 10 honest truths about myself and my life. Here we go...

1) I am weird. Like...dance around the house when nobody is watching, make up songs about pooping and peeing (for the baby of course...), scare people with weird faces while driving, tell my husband made-up stories just to see his reaction WEIRD.

2) I don't believe in soul-mates per se...but I do believe that if anything ever happened to my husband I would go on alone. I don't think there is anyone else in the world that could "get" me like he does, or anyone else that I would want to spend my life with.

3) My husband is a better cook than I am.

4) I am to the point of being blatantly cocky that my 20-pound child has been exclusively breastfed for 6 months. I understand that there are many reasons why a woman cannot breastfeed and I whole-heartedly empathize with their situations. For me personally, though, I was so worried that something would go wrong that I am now filled with joy that Kate and I have made it this far in the breastfeeding game.

5) I cannot drink things that have flavor but are colorless. Like those drink mixes you put into a bottle of water.... they just plain freak me out if they don't have some color added in.

6) I am a full 10 pounds under my pre-pregnancy weight. Which happens to be 5 pounds under the "healthy weight" where my doctor wanted me to stay. While I understand and worry about the health implications (baby leeching calcium from my bones and setting me up for osteoporosis), and while I am doing everything I can to gain that weight back in a healthy manner....I enjoyed shopping for clothes this past weekend and trying on sizes I haven't worn since high school.

7) I don't think there is anything in the world more delightful than dessert. I often choose what restaurant to eat at based on their dessert menu.

8) While I love my daughter to pieces, I miss being able to do my own thing once in a while. Beyond the occasional shopping trip where I leave her at home and know that I only have x amount of hours to get home before she has a total meltdown and my breasts explode.

9) I don't know how I didn't end up kicked out on the street as a wee infant. Major props to my mom for being mature enough at the ripe old age of 18 to raise me and nurture me into the person I am today. Kate can give me a hard time some days and make me want to pull out my own hair. I, however, was a screaming, colicky, fussy baby who seemed to be part devil (according to my aunt) and my teenage mom still managed to raise me while going to school and making a wonderful life for us. Thanks, mom.

10) When confronted with something scary (like my husband jumping out at me while I'm walking down the hallway) my legs give out, I curl up in a ball, and I cry. I don't have the fight or flight instinct - I have the "be so pitiful that nothing would care to harm me" instinct. My husband finds hours of entertainment by triggering this response.

And now I will pass you along to three bloggers that I feel are deserving of this award as well:

Kit @ http://isitnaptimeyet.wordpress.com/

Jessie @ http://babypooface.blogspot.com/

Lady @ http://ladymgray.blogspot.com/

Half A Year

2010-01-06T20:34:00.005-06:00

Six months ago...

Today....

I can't believe how much my life has changed in the past 6 months. I have learned so much about myself and about life...

I learned that it doesn't matter if I have spit-up all over my robe and my hair is a mess - my daughter will smile at me anyway.

I truly don't mind getting up during the night to feed and snuggle my daughter - I know these days are fleeting and enjoy every second I get with her, even if it is because of a growth spurt rearing its ugly head at 3 am.

What my mom always told me is true - shots are harder on the parent than they are on the child.

I can experience contradictory feelings at the exact same time, such as "I miss you and want to play with you" and "please don't wake up from your nap yet".

Children have an internal clock that immediately awakens them from a dead sleep when the microwave or oven has finished warming a meal.

Dogs are not only man's best friend - they are a baby's favorite entertainer.

Time truly does fly when you're having fun. I already miss the tiny baby I brought home from the hospital, but I am so excited to see the little person she is growing up to be. She is smart, silly and oh so sweet. I love my little girl. :)

2009 in pictures

2009-12-30T08:13:00.022-06:00

Here we are at the end of another year. I can't believe time is going by so quickly. This year has probably changed my life more than any other. Let's take a look back...

I knew this year would be more momentous than any other as I entered it looking like this:

I was 14 weeks pregnant...out of first tri and enjoying my new little bump that made my old clothes fit awkwardly and my new maternity clothes feel like I was wearing a tent.

I started the new hobby of quilting... I made this one for my mom and gave it to her on her birthday.

My mom was able to go with us to our big ultrasound on February 25th, where I was shocked to learn that the bean was a GIRL. I was sure I had a little boy hiding in there, but was delightfully surprised to learn that my future was full of hairbows, dresses and the mother-daughter bond.

In March, K and I decided that we should take a mini-vacation before the baby came. We went to Vegas for a long weekend. We did a lot of walking, shopping, and eating. It was wonderful to get away and spend some quality time with my husband... even if it was unreasonably cold in Nevada and we had to wear our coats.

I had a fantastic first grade class that was keeping me busy and entertained. In May they threw me a wonderful surprise baby shower. They had made me a book and brought gifts. We had food, drinks and games. And the best part was - it truly was a surprise! They did such a good job at keeping the secret, I had no idea and they had worked on it for months.

Shortly after that I had my baby showers with my families. They were great and I loved seeing everyone.

July came around so much quicker than I thought it would and before I knew it I was on the verge of giving birth to our daughter. July 5th (6 days before my due date) I went into labor at home. We went to the hospital and got all checked in.

July 6, 2009 at 1:03 am my life was forever changed. Kate Elizabeth was welcomed into the world and our tiny little family started a brand new adventure.

I was, and still am, so proud of my new baby girl. I will never forget the sense of accomplishment and joy I felt in bringing her into the world.

Our good news was followed by some bad news when my Papa suffered a fall at home breaking his hip and landing himself in the hospital. From there he moved into a rehabilitation facility where he stayed for 8 weeks. Unfortunately, he never regained his strength and is now in a wheelchair. The extensive time spent away from home also accelerated his Alzheimer's. He is now at home with my grandma and a 24-hour nurse. I visit whenever I can and still love spending time at their house.

The summer and fall was spent hanging out with my baby girl. I had resigned my position as a teacher to become a stay-at-home-mom and was happy to have all my time devoted to raising this new little person.

In October, K, Kate and I went to pumpkin patches and apple orchards and soaked up the beauty of fall. Kate had her first Halloween, for which she dressed up as a little cow. She was the sweetest cow I've ever seen! :) K and I also reveled in the fact that it had been a year since finding out I was pregnant. Where had the time gone?!

In November we celebrated Thanksgiving with our families. It was great to see everyone and eat lots of great food!

At the beginning of December my mom had knee surgery. Kate and I went and stayed with her for a week to help out while my dad worked. It was great to spend some quiet days at home with my mom.

Kate's first Christmas was nothing short of wonderful. We had 6 different celebrations over the course of 3 days. She has now entered the "mommy" stage and only wanted me to hold her, but that was ok by me. She was a good girl and handled the overwhelming chaos pretty well.

I can't wait to see what 2010 brings for us. I have many hopes for the new year and can't help but wonder what will be coming our way. I'm ready...bring it on 2010!!

I'm a slacker at the blogging...

2009-11-19T15:27:00.011-06:00

So there's lots to catch up on....

We had Kate's 4 month doc appt and it went really well. She is 16lb 3oz and 25.25 in. That puts her in the 90th percentile for both. Big healthy girl! She had been pretty fussy for a couple weeks and the doc seemed to think it was reflux related. Due to her being so active (legs kicking, arms swinging) she was aggravating her reflux, which was making her cranky. We made a small change to her medicine which we're hoping will help, and so far seems to be.

The fussiness was really getting to be a problem. There were a couple weeks where she was so miserable all the time and wasn't napping during the day. It was rough. I finally figured out that she had reached the point where she is able to self-soothe for naps and bedtime and she didn't want to be rocked/walked anymore. She still cries when I put her down for a nap, but she'll only cry 2-3 minutes as opposed to screaming for half an hour and then not napping at all. That and the med change seem to have made a huge difference and she has been really great the past week or so. She's been so sweet and happy and playful.

We had her first Halloween, in which she was an adorable little cow. We are eagerly looking forward to Thanksgiving, at which time I think we will be giving her her first real food!

Here are some new things she's been doing:
- rolling over, tummy to back
- giggling more (I found out she likes when I "buzz" at her like the sound the dryer makes when it's done)
- looking when we say her name
- watching the dogs play
- reaching, grabbing, and shoving everything she gets her hands on into her mouth
- getting pretty good at sitting up with support

I haven't written in a while because I've been spending my days soaking up my little girl. She is so amazing. Here are some things I love and never want to forget:

- The way she lays in bed talking to the butterflies on her bumper in the morning
- The grin I get when I go in to get her from her crib
- How when I pick her up she opens her mouth wide like she's going to eat me up and grabs onto my neck with both hands, burying her face in my chest
- The silly games she plays while she's nursing... she makes funny faces and hides her face in my shirt in between eating
- When something startles her and she looks to me to see if she is supposed to be scared or not...then when I say it's ok and I smile, she grins back like I've just rescued her.
- The way she plays shy and then gives flirty eyes to strangers when we're out
- The pouty lip she gives when she's thinking about crying
- The way she looks so serious when her daddy is flying her around the house playing superbaby...she flies like it's her job
- The way she shakes her toys like it's the greatest thing she's ever done
- How she LOVES when I smell her stinky feet and make faces at her
- The way she reaches out to take my hand and hold it when she's nursing
- The way she arches her back and bends all funky to sleep at night
- The way she looks at me sometimes like she's trying to say something and then gives up and just smiles instead
- The way K goes in to check on her at night and comes out of her room saying, "She's the cutest thing ever."

Giggles!!

2009-10-18T15:13:00.002-05:00

I finally caught some of the cutest giggles ever on camera. Kate won't laugh at K or I yet, but she sure finds the dogs hilarious!

Just pictures

2009-10-10T21:41:00.006-05:00

A few things to say...

2009-09-26T17:14:00.004-05:00

1. Note to self: do not write about the schedule that your daughter has been on for WEEKS. Inevitably when you write about it, it will all go to hell. :/ For the two days after writing that blog, my child refused to sleep during the day. Not that she was unhappy...in fact, she laughed for the first time. She just wouldn't sleep! She even got up at 2:30 in the morning one night, which she never does. Last night, though, she went to bed at 8 and slept until 8 this morning, so hopefully we'll be back on schedule soon.

2. Car salesmen love my child. K and I went to look at cars today (I am very much in need of a "mom" vehicle so we can fit the kid, 2 dogs, and luggage easily in the car when we travel...we're looking at suv's). Anyway, Moo slept in her stroller for a majority of the time we were there - until we went in and actually talked prices. Then she woke up and was making flirty eyes at all the salesmen, who came over and chatted her up. It was too cute.

3. This is totally bragging, so close your eyes if you don't want to read it.... I am back to pre-pregnancy weight! Woohoo! My doctor had talked to me about it at my last appointment when I had 6 pounds left to lose. She is concerned that I'll lose too much given what I had already lost and that I will be (hopefully) breastfeeding long-term. So I've basically been given a free card to eat as much as I can/please (healthy stuff of course) and since I've been doing that I still lost those last 6 pounds. I can only lose 5 more before I'll be in trouble with the doc...so screw the healthy foods... I need more icecream. :)

4. I ordered Moo's Halloween costume today! Can you guess what she will be? :) I can't wait to put it on her. Fall is definitely my favorite time of year, and Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, so I can't wait!

Ok, I think that is all....for now.

Our schedule...

2009-09-22T11:47:00.003-05:00

I feel like Kate and I are finally settling into a somewhat predictable routine. It's really nice and I enjoy our days together. Now that I say this she will probably switch it all up on me....but that's just how it goes. Here is our typical day together:

7:30-745 - Up for the day, eats
7:45-8:15 - Chat with mommy while in her bouncy so I can eat breakfast
8:15-8:30 - Walk, cuddle, fuss until falls asleep for nap
8:30-9:15 - Nap in bouncy
9:15-9:30 - Chat and get dressed

9:30-9:45 - Eats
9:45-10:00 - Read a book
10:00-10:45 - Play (playmat, bumbo, or mommy's lap) or go out for walk
10:45-11:00 - Swing until asleep
11:00-2:30 - Nap (sometimes she will wake up partway through to eat)

2:30-2:45 - Wakes up, eats
2:45-3:30 - Play (playmat, bumbo, or mommy's lap)
3:30-3:45 - Walk, cuddle, fusses to sleep
3:45-5:00 - Nap in swing or on couch

5:00-5:15 - Wakes up, gets medicine, eats
5:15-5:45 - Play (playmat, bumbo, or mommy's lap) until daddy gets home
5:45-6:30 - Time with daddy, then in swing while we eat
6:30-7:00 - Nap

7:00-7:30 - Bath, lotion, pajamas (every third night, otherwise time with mommy and daddy)
7:30-7:45 - Eat
7:45-8:00 - Cuddle and rock with daddy
8:00-8:30 - In bed, puts herself to sleep (sometimes we have to go in and give her paci back to her)

8:30-7:30 - Sleep before we start it all over again

Here's a video of my baby smiling (it's off-center because I had to sneakily turn the camera on, otherwise she just stares at it very seriously...as she does a couple times in this video anyway):

2 months old!

2009-09-08T21:34:00.007-05:00

I cannot believe my baby is already 2 months old!! Where has the time gone? I just looked back at an old video of her from her first week at home and can't believe how calm and still she was. She looked almost lethargic. Fast forward to today and I have this kid who is constantly moving, flinging her arms, legs and head about. She grins, she frowns, she has a puppy dog face that will be a weapon against her daddy when she learns how to use it. She has been having some really great days with minimal fussing and I am enjoying her so much. I love my little girl!!

Moby, Moo, and Me

2009-09-01T15:26:00.006-05:00

I got myself a Moby! Our Hotsling was great while Kate was itty bitty. Now that she's a true chunker, though, she doesn't fit in it very well and she looks (and probably feels) very uncomfortable. She also HATES being held in a cradle position - she likes to be up on people's chests. So I broke down and got us a Moby. It came in the mail yesterday and so far we both love it. It is a lot easier to put on than I thought it would be and it is so much easier to get her into and out of than the Hotsling. She has been sooooo crabby these past two days. I'm thinking maybe she's going through a growth spurt or something because her sleeping patterns have been all off-kilter, too. Sunday night she slept for 11.5 hours straight! (not that I'm complaining about that!)

Anyway, Moby is helping us keep our sanity. If she wants to be walked around for 6+ hours a day at least this way I have my hands free so I can read a book or something. :) Today we Moby'd to the post office and back.

Moby while awake - she can peek around and see what's going on:

Moby while asleep - I can tuck her little head in so she's not all floppy:
My little devil planning her next move to make me lose my marbles :)

Pictures, thoughts, and a video fail

2009-08-23T20:11:00.013-05:00

Kate will be 7 weeks old tomorrow (holy moly, where has the time gone?!) and in that time I have realized a few things:

1. I was worried before having a baby about giving up so much of myself. Having to give my time to someone else was scary for me, especially knowing that I would be home alone with her during the week and would have nobody else to trade off with during the day. What I didn't realize was how completely I would WANT to devote all of my time to this new little person. I want to hold her, feed her, play with her, and meet her every need before she even knows she needs it. It is not a sacrifice that I make as a mother - it is something that I am lucky enough to get to do everyday.

2. I have always been afraid of doctors, needles, and pretty much anything medical. After pregnancy, getting blood drawn is old hat and I feel weird NOT going to the doctor every week. However, I now have a new fear - vaccinations. I am absolutely dreading taking Kate for her 2 month visit because she will be getting her first round of shots. I'd gladly take them all for her if I could and I have a feeling that I will cry more than she will.

3. I never realized I would be so excited over things like burping and pooping. But seriously...after a full 7 days without a poop out of your kid, you welcome it like a long-lost friend when it finally comes. :)

And now for some pictures of my little Moo, who, by the way, was switched to a different med for her reflux and we're still in the 'wait and see' phase to see if it will work.

My little cutie:

Big yawn:

Sleepy baby (she's only allowed to nap on her tummy when I can watch her, but she LOVES it):

Mommy and Moo:

Sweet baby:

Ok, this one needs a little explanation...Moo's favorite position is up on people's chest and when she falls asleep and you put her down, she promptly wakes up. Well one night I went out shopping and left her home with her daddy. She fell asleep on him and he needed to put her down, but didn't want her to wake up. So he invented the "shoulder substitute" and propped her up like this. He took a picture of her for me because he was very proud of himself. Looks like she enjoyed it.

Smiley girl:
Ok, lastly I have for you something I call "Video Fail". I tried to sneak up on Kate and get a video of her smiling at herself in a mirror. Instead I ended up surprising her and the video concludes with her spitting up on herself. Enjoy!

Snores and more

2009-08-14T11:28:00.004-05:00

Moo fell asleep on K last night with her face smashed into his shoulder...that's her favorite position. Sometimes we worry about whether she can breathe ok like that, but last night she made it perfectly clear that she was breathing:

On another note, my baby is still cranky. She had two really awesome days (Sunday and Monday) when I thought we had made a breakthrough with the Zantac. Alas, Tuesday she went back to being cranky at night and by Wednesday she was back to being cranky during the day, too. I am starting to wonder if she is not having any serious issue at all and is just having normal baby fussies. I have read that the fuss peaks at around 6 weeks and then gets better from there. She will be 6 weeks on Monday, so if that is the case and this is as bad as it gets, I can definitely live with it. She is not inconsolable or miserable 100% of the time. I just wish I knew for sure that it wasn't something wrong - if I know that she is not uncomfortable or that something is really bothering her, then I am ok with consoling her when she just wants to grump at me.

I plan on giving her the weekend on the Zantac (it was a week yesterday since she's been on it) and then calling the doc on Monday to get their opinion. I don't want to keep her on the medicine if it isn't doing anything for her.

When she is not being cranky, she is really happy and able to show it. Her smiles are getting bigger, brighter, and more frequent. I can't get enough of it. :)

Professional pics

2009-08-10T22:50:00.008-05:00

Well, we still don't have all of our professional pics back yet, but the photographer posted a couple on facebook for me. Enjoy!
This is just one my mom took of her that I thought was cute:

We have a social smiler!!

2009-08-09T11:24:00.003-05:00

Kate has given us a few random smiles here and there while awake for the past 2 weeks. Today, though, she has been grinning at everything and I was able to catch one on tape! Here is my cutie grinning this morning:

One month old!

2009-08-08T14:52:00.003-05:00

I can't believe my little Moo is already one month old!! We had a doctor's visit on her one-month birthday. Here are her stats:

Weight: 10 lbs 13 oz.
Length: 23 inches
Head: 14.5 inches

As you can see, she is still growing like a weed. I thought for sure it would have slowed down since our last visit, but apparently not. She is in the 90th percentile for weight and 95th for height. We knew we'd have a tall baby, though. I'm 5'9" and K is 6'4"...so there is no way we'd have a baby that was on the short side. :)

We have been struggling with a very cranky baby lately and I thought for sure we were just headed into some colic issues. However, Wednesday afternoon we hit a new low when Kate was screaming for hours and wouldn't even eat. Everytime I tried to feed her she would wiggle and scream even more. Tylenol ended up getting us through the day (it was like a miracle...within 15 minutes of getting it she settled down, ate, and went down for a nap). I talked to the doctor about it the next day and she seems to think Kate has reflux. So she sent us home with a prescription for baby Zantac, which we started her on right away. So far I am not seeing too much of a difference. Overall I would say she is less crabby throughout the day, but she is still having episodes of screaming while she eats. It's not every feeding, and it's not at the same time every day, but she has about two a day that really drain us both. It is horrible to see her crying because she is hungry, but everytime she tries to eat she is in obvious pain and starts screaming. Breaks my heart and I hope something works for us soon. :(

Other than that, the doctor said she looks great. Very healthy baby. She is sweet as can be, I love that we now have some time when she is awake and not crying. She just sits and studies everything around her. Her personal favorites are the ceiling fan and the trees outside. :) I love my baby.

First trip home!

2009-08-03T15:04:00.011-05:00

I got a call early last week that my grandpa (Papa) fell in his house and split his head open (requiring staples to close it) and broke his pelvis. :( He was in the hospital for a few days and then transferred to a rehab facility where he'll be for at least a month. This all prompted K and I to decide to go up there to see him (and our parents). They all live 3 hours north of us. This was our first trip with Kate, which of course made me nervous just because it was something new. So I started packing 3 days ahead of time and packed up pretty much the whole house. :) We had a full schedule, too.

Friday we left after K got off work. We made it just over halfway and when we stopped for food, Moo decided she was hungry too. So I sat in the back and gave her a bottle. Then she slept the rest of the way. We made great time. When we got home we went over to the neighbors, where my parents were, and Kate got to meet everyone there.

Saturday morning we went over to K's parents' house (our parents live down the street from each other - makes trips home easy). We just hung out for a while.
**Kate and Grandpa F.**

Then we left and went back to my parents and my godmother came down (from Wisconsin) to meet Kate. Moo screamed for most of the time she was there, but my godmother still thought she was pretty cute. :) **Kate with my godmother**

After Kate cried all afternoon, we decided to go ahead and try to take her out to a restaurant for the first time. I thought we were doomed, but it actually went perfectly. I fed her right before we left and she slept the whole time until we got home. Very nice.

Sunday we went back over to K's parents' and Moo got to meet her great-grandma F. Great grandma T. was there, too, and they couldn't get enough of her:
**Kate with her great-grandmas**

Then Kate and I headed out to visit my Papa and Grandma at the rehab place. They ate her up and we all enjoyed our visit.

**Kate and Great Grandpa and Grandma K.**

Sunday evening we head out for home and Kate slept the whole way.
**Lily loving on Kate in the car**

Trip = success

Other news: Kate is 4 weeks old today! I can't believe how fast the time has gone. It has been the most incredible 4 weeks - something new every day. I love my little girl more than I could have ever imagined. She makes every day something special. **Woohoo!! I'm 4 weeks old today!!**

What will the mood be...

2009-07-31T15:21:00.002-05:00

So my baby who was happy 100% of the time disappeared. For a while there I could never predict what kind of mood she would be in. Some days she cried all day whenever she was awake, then screamed at night right before bed. I *think* that she has been having some tummy aches, though, that are causing her to be cranky. When that happens, she looks like this:

I started her on Mylicon with every feeding (starting last night) and today has been a much better day. She has either been awake and content, or sleeping. We were able to spend some time outside. We had some playmat time. We visited with Uncle Wayne and Aunt Vicki (which she cried about a little bit, but then calmed down). Now we are sitting on the couch and she's sucking away on her paci watching the ceiling fan. I am a happy mama and I have a happy baby. I hope that it is a resolved tummy ache that is making her so happy so that I can look forward to many more happy days.

PP Survey and pictures

2009-07-24T14:37:00.007-05:00

The After-baby Survey (almost 3 weeks post partum)

How far along were you when you had your baby? 39 weeks, 2 days

How long was labor? 16 hours (although it really didn't seem like that long and I could have been done in 13 if the doctor was on time...)

Total weight gain: 35 pounds

Total weight loss since: 28 pounds.

Back into your own clothes yet? Yes, some of them! Woohoo!

Did you get stretch marks? No, thank goodness

Did you deliver vaginally or by c-section? Vaginally

Best moment this week: Hearing Kate giggle in her sleep. :) So cute, I can't wait until she's smiling and laughing socially.

What I miss about being pregnant: Having her with me all the time (without giving up the use of my arms), feeling her move.

How big is baby: At her 2 week check-up she was 9 lbs 2 oz.

Baby's temperament? She's a good girl. So far (knock on wood) she doesn't fuss too much and pretty much all fussing can be stopped with food or a snuggle. Especially snuggles from her daddy.

What I am looking forward to: being able to make her smile

Alright, here are some pictures just for fun:

Her second bath (since I slacked and didn't take pictures of the first one):

Mohawk baby:
Some school friends stopped by to visit:
In her sling:

1w4d - Firsts

2009-07-17T14:30:00.013-05:00

We have had a bunch of firsts this week. Here are some highlights:

First Bottle
Since Kate is such a good eater, we decided to go ahead and get her used to eating out of a bottle now, too, so that other people can feed her the milk I pump. I wasn't too worried about nipple confusion since she's had a good latch from day one, but I was worried that she wouldn't know what to do with a bottle. I was wrong. She latched right on and did a great job. K has started feeding her a bottle every night, so she's had 3 bottles now and has done a great job each time!

First Time in the Sling
I got a Hotsling to use when I'm doing things around the house and need to cart the kiddo around with me. We decided to give it a try the other day just for fun (even though I still couldn't do a whole lot around the house - we unstacked the dishwasher). I got her in and out without any problems and she really seemed content in there. Gives me hope for later when she decides she wants to be held all the time.

First Real Bath
This came after the spit up/blow out fiasco on Tuesday. She didn't like it very much. She was ok at first, but then got a bit fussy. She did like having the warm water poured over her, though, and seems to like having her hair washed. Bad mommy didn't take any pictures - I was too busy trying to keep her warm and snuggly and get poo bits off her back. I'll have to take a picture of her second bath...it's almost as important right?

First Paci (we are in mourning - RIP paci)
We registered for and received about 4 different kinds of pacifiers because we heard that babies can be fussy about which ones they want. The big surprise to us? She wanted NONE of them. The hospital gave her one while we were there and that is the ONLY one she would use. We tried every other paci in our arsenal and she spit every one out and cried. She had to have THE paci. The problem? I was scared to death that we'd lose it and be SOL in paci land. It was a paci I hadn't seen before. Yesterday I finally looked at the name on the paci: gumdrop. So I looked it up online and found out that it is made by the same people who make the soothies (which we have and tried). This paci is so much better than the soothies, though. It is lighter weight and softer. And it is smaller, so it doesn't cover half her face. And it has a hole in the tab so you can use a pacifier attacher. I highly recommend them! (http://www.gumdroppacifier.com). I decided I better go ahead and order some direct from the manufacturer. No joke, half an hour after I placed the order THE paci got eaten by one of the dogs. I died. And then I cried (hormones - it was her first paci after all). And then I did a dance of joy that I looked at the name on it and placed the order before it was eaten. Our new pacis should be arriving in 6-10 days. Pray we make it that long without. :)

Here are some "just for fun" pictures:

1w1d - Little Moo

2009-07-14T15:37:00.003-05:00

So I call my darling girl "Little Moo" because she's basically like a baby cow. Which, yes, makes me the mother cow. Let me tell you how my Little Moo has been eating...

Everything I have read about breastfeeding says that the baby should eat for 10-15 minutes on each side, stopping to burp in between. Well, from day one my kid did not like to wake up to eat. So switching her in the middle meant taking her off one boob, only to have a sleeping baby with no interest in eating on the other side. So we switched tactics - I decided to do the one boob per feeding thing to see how that went. Well she still would only eat for 10-15 minutes on the one side before falling asleep or hopping off. Boo. Being the paranoid new mother, I worried and worried and finally decided to take the recommendation of the lactation consultant and bring her in to the doctor for a weight check. As I said in my previous post, babies are supposed to re-gain their birthweight by 2 weeks old. That means that Kate has until next Monday to weight 8 lbs 3 oz. Well today, at one week (and a day) old, Little Moo weighed 8 lbs 11 oz! Holy eater, Batman! I guess I can stop worrying about her quick feedings and just feel blessed that my babe is so efficient.

Ok, chubby cheeks aside - let me tell you about our day. As I said, we went to the doc this morning. She went from content to starving in 2 minutes flat on the carride home, so by the time we got in the door she was very upset with me that I hadn't fed her yet. She was in such a tizzy that the boob didn't even help satisfy her and she kept latching on and then falling off and crying, then latching on again...it took quite a while to get her settled in. She finally did and ate for her 15 minutes. Afterward she was wide awake, so I put her in the swing by me. Aaand she spit up. Not just a little spit-up either, oh no. It flowed down her face, onto her chest, into the swing. Lovely. So K came and took her to clean her up and I cleaned up the swing. Afterwards, K took her in the bouncy seat in the office with him.

About 5 minutes later I hear "Oh no!" I go in....she did it again. Lovely. Seems that all that air she gulped while crying/eating was getting the better of us. So we got her and the bouncy seat cleaned up (luckily there was barely any on the bouncy seat). Once she was all settled down and clean, we put her back in the bouncy and she slept for a good 2 hours.

When she started getting fidgety, K says "How bout you feed her before she cries so we don't do all that over again." Good idea. So he picks her up to change her and says, "Oh no!" Our first blowout. The kid had poop up her back, down her side, in her belly button (which is going cordless these days - yay!). Oh man. So AGAIN we changed her, cleaned her up best we could and I fed her. Needless to say, she got a very detailed bath as soon as she was done eating and is now cleaner than she's ever been. :) Oy, what a day. And it's still only 4:00.

First few days home

2009-07-11T17:44:00.006-05:00

Kate has had 2 doctor's appointments to re-check bilirubin levels (which are fine, jaundice is not an issue for her). We had one appointment Thursday and one Friday. Thursday she weighed 7 lbs 13 oz, which the nurse said was great -less than average weight loss. When we brought her back on Friday, she weighed 8 lbs 2 oz! She almost regained her birthweight (8 lb 3 oz) already! I was so excited! The nurse that we met with is also a lactation consultant, so on Thursday she had me breastfeed Kate while we were there so she could give us some pointers. She said that Kate is an expert and is doing great and really didn't have many tips for us - we got an A+. Go, baby, go!

Can I just say how much I love this little girl? She is so sweet and has been a great baby so far. I love to just cuddle her and stare at her. It's amazing how much I love her already and I've only known her for 5 days. We are settling in very nicely. She already has several nicknames including:
Kater Gator (usually when she's in an eating frenzy)
Kate-apoo
Little Moo

Breastfeeding has been our biggest challenge so far - even though we got a pat on the back from the lactation consultant. My little darling likes sleeping better than eating. I have a hard time keeping her awake to eat sometimes. It is getting better, though. My milk (aka Katorade) has definitely come in - that was an unmistakeable change that happened Thursday afternoon. Talk about boobs! Holy moly!

So all in all our first few days have gone really well. I am so happy and feel so lucky to have such a beautiful, sweet little girl. :)

Here are some pics from the past couple days:

Lily LOVES her new little sister and watches over her constantly.

Happy sleeper.
In her swing.

Kate is here!

2009-07-09T16:35:00.016-05:00

It appears that my letter to Kate at 39 weeks worked because I went into labor the very next day! Here is my birth story:

On Saturday night, about 11:00, K and I were watching a scary movie (I don't like scary movies) and I started to get a couple sporadic contractions. I tried to time them, but they were really in no pattern and not very strong. I went to sleep and during the night I woke up about 8-10 times with really uncomfortable cramps in my ute and back. I was half asleep and didn't realize they were contractions until I woke up at 7:00 in the morning with bloody show. I woke K up and said, "Do you feel like meeting your daughter today?" As always, K was very enthusiastic and said "Why?" :)

I wasn't completely sure that I was in labor, it wasn't until 9:00 that the cramps and back pain started to become timeable and they were about 8-10 minutes apart. I still wasn't 100% sure this was it, but I went into a little bit of a panic mode and began frantically cleaning the house. I did the dishes, vacuumed all the carpets, put things away... basically did all the nesting that I hadn't been doing previously.

The contractions started to get closer together, but it wasn't until about 1:00 that they really started to get painful and close together. By 2:00 I was having to sit and breathe through them and they were about 4 minutes apart. Since we're 40 minutes from the hospital we decided to head out...you know, just to get it checked out. We still weren't convinced I was going to have a baby. When we got to the hospital we even left all the bags in the car because we didn't want to look silly going in with them for false labor.

We got to the hospital around 3:00 and they hooked me up to the monitors and saw that I was contracting ever 2-3 minutes. They checked me and I was 3 cm. Woohoo! This was it. We called our parents and told them to head down. I was getting very uncomfortable at this point and was breathing/moaning through the contractions and asking how long it would be before I could get some pain relief. They got me going on saline and gave me a shot of pain meds that took the edge off a little and made me feel drunk. I really enjoyed that drunk feeling, it made labor seem like a party. :)

Around 4:00 they checked me again and I was 4 cm. I was progressing right along. At 4:30 I got my epidural and was instantly feeling great. The epi was a piece of cake to get and I'm so glad I did. From that point until about 10:00 I labored, laughed, and waited with our families to get to 10 cm.

I progressed at exactly a cm an hour, so at 10:00 I was pretty much complete. The doctor had been called an hour earlier and still hadn't arrived. When she did get there, she had to do a c-section on another lady, so I was stuck waiting. While I was waiting, at around 11:00, my epi wore off. I started feeling the contractions again. The doctor arrived in my room at 12:20 and broke my water. They had me start pushing right away and at 1:03 am on July 6th little miss Kate arrived! I had a 1st degree tear, which took 2 stitches to fix. Not bad.

Kate weighed 8 lbs 3 oz and was 21 1/4 inches. Long like her mama and daddy. :)

Recovery has gone well so far. I'm a little sore, but not bad. Kate has been such a wonderful baby. I never understood the "instant love" people talk about when having kids until she arrived. I cannot imagine life without her and she has only been in mine for 3 days. Here are some pictures of my little darling:

And because I promised some people, here is a post-partum belly pic. This is comparing 39 weeks to 3 days pp. What 6 days will do!

Overall my labor and delivery was a lot easier than I expected it to be. I am so amazed by my daughter and love her to pieces!!!

We now begin this fantastic journey as a family of three!

39 weeks - Dear Kate

2009-07-04T14:46:00.004-05:00

Dear Kate,

Hi! Mommy here. Hope everything is going well in there. I know you're running out of room, I can tell by the way you push on me as though you're going to bust out the side of my abdomen. And I know you're probably tired of hearing me grunt and groan as I try to do basic things like sit up, roll over, and bend down. It is difficult to do those things with a watermelon in my belly and a hiney in my lungs. But I do love having you in there! I really do, even when you get the hiccups 3 times a day and shove your head into my cervix and make me yell out in surprise. You know what would be even more fun than bouncing on mommy's bladder and kicking her in the ribs? Coming out to meet everyone! That's right, we have plenty to entertain you here in the outside world. Daddy and I have worked very hard to get your room ready for you and there are so many people waiting to hold you and love you. When I went to the doctor this week, the doctor told me that you are engaged in my pelvis, which means I know you are getting ready to come out. But mommy's cervix isn't ready. I need you to use your head and work on that for me, ok?

Daddy and I can't wait to meet you. We only have a week until your due date. It is ok if you show up a little late, we'll try and be patient until you're ready. But if you take too long, the doctor is going to come knocking on your door to hand you an eviction notice. So be sure you stay on top of it and come out soon! We love you!

Love,
Mommy

38 weeks - No news

2009-06-27T20:13:00.003-05:00

I'm 38 weeks pregnant today and don't really have any exciting news. As far as I know, I've made no progress. No more contractions than usual. Baby hasn't dropped. She's still just hanging around in there with no intentions to leave I guess.

We did have a shower this week - K's work threw us one. So that was fun. We had a cookout and I got to go in and sit around and chat with everyone. The company got us a $250 gift certificate to an amazing photographer who specializes in maternity and newborn pictures. I'm so excited - what a great gift. I had just been thinking about researching places to do Kate's newborn pictures, so this is perfect.

Well, I have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday. I don't expect much news, but we'll see. For now, here are my 38 week belly pictures:

37w1d - Full term and Father's Day!

2009-06-21T11:55:00.004-05:00

Baby and I made it to full term! Ok, kid, get out now. :) I am so ready for this baby to be here. I love being pregnant, but I want to meet this little girl. Everything is ready and now I just wait...I have a feeling she is quite comfy in there and will be hanging out at least until her due date.

I feel rather huge. Here's me full term:I think it is clear that baby hasn't dropped yet. I can tell because when I sit I can't breathe and I get light-headed. There's always a little baby bum crammed into my lungs.

Today is K's first father's day. I got him a card and Kate had her own message for him:

It says "Happy Father's Day, Daddy!!" :)

Here's a survey that others do every week. I figure I should do it at least once this pregnancy, so here goes:

How far along? 37 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Up 32 pounds, and I haven't gained in the past month so the doc thinks I'm done. I'd be happy with that - my goal was to stay under 40.

Maternity clothes? Um, yeah. Unless I'm wearing stretchy pj pants and a t-shirt.

Stretch marks? None (fingers crossed I can make it these last couple weeks without any!)

Sleep: Meh. I get up anywhere from 1-5 times to pee and am REALLY tired of sleeping on my side.

Best moment this week: Being full-term! And having my family feel babe hiccup. I have to deal with it 3 times a day, but they thought it was cute.

Movement: She still moves a lot and it is getting a bit painful. Especially when she pushes out on both sides at the same time.

Food cravings: I haven't really had any through the whole pregnancy...which has been nice and saved K from trooping out to get me food. :)

Gender: Sweet little girl.

Labor Signs: I've been having some contractions and they are getting a little more uncomfortable, but they come sporadically throughout the day, so I don't think they're doing anything.

Belly Button in or out? Out, has been for a while now.

What I miss: Sleeping on my back and stomach. Bending over to pick stuff up.

What I am looking forward to: This baby coming! Anytime now, please!

Milestones: I am pretty sure I have hit every milestone there is except my due date and actually having the baby.

35w5d - Doctor's update

2009-06-11T11:59:00.004-05:00

I went to the doc yesterday and had my Strep B test done (I'll find out the results at next week's appointment). She also did an internal and said she could definitely feel baby's head. My cervix is softening and I'm a fingertip dilated. Woohoo! At least I know my body is doing something. I've had a lot of braxton hicks contractions. Sometimes they get pretty regular (every 9 minutes, each lasting over a minute). And I seem to get one everytime I stand up.

Today I have 9 days until I'm full term, 30 days until my due date. I'm so ready to have this baby. So is K. He has said a few times now, "I'm ready for her to get out of there so I can meet her." Our to-do list is getting shorter. We got the carseat installed. From here on out my car will be the baby car, K's car will be the dog car. Unless of course we all need to go somewhere...then we'll have to see if everyone fits in my car. :) My to-do for next week is to get my hospital bag packed so it is ready and waiting. Exciting!

I added a new poll so you can make your guess about Kate's arrival time. Go vote!

Here is my belly pic for this week:

35w - Nursery is done!

2009-06-06T16:39:00.009-05:00

Good news and bad news for this week. Let's start with the bad news.... I got hit by a car. Yes, folks, that's right - somehow someone did not see my size-of-a-house self and tried to run me over. I had just unloaded my cart at the grocery store. A lady zipped into the spot next to me, so I waited with my cart. I started to walk behind her car to put my cart away and she decides to back out. So she backs up and hits me and my cart. If she hadn't heard the car hit the cart (which made quite a noise) I don't think she would have stopped and would have just run me down. So she slams on the breaks and pulls back into the spot. I moved from behind her car and then stood there for a second making sure all my parts still worked. She didn't get out, didn't make eye contact, nothing. Just sat in her car. By this point I was crying, so I got back in my car and called my husband. The lady just went into the store like nothing had happened. Wtf. Not nice. Baby and I were both physically fine, but I was shaky and freaked out the rest of the day. Oy.

Ok, onto the good news: we finished the nursery! Woohoo! Here are some pictures...

This is the nursery as a whole:

Crib and dresser:
The crib:
Changing table, glider, and all her books:
Her drawers are fully stocked:
So is her closet...this little girl has an awful lot to wear!
And last is my belly for this week:
I'm 35 weeks this week, only 2 more to go until I'm full term. I feel so lucky - I'm still fairly comfortable, happy, and love being pregnant. Hopefully it continues to go this well until this little girl decides to make her grand debut. :)

33 w - Just pictures.

2009-05-23T09:21:00.003-05:00

32w3d - Pictures!!

2009-05-19T09:04:00.008-05:00

Alright, I am very late with my belly pictures and everything, I know. It was a busy weekend. First let me tell you what happened at school last week.... my class had a tour of the school they will be going to next year and when we got back to our building, I was telling them to go ahead and use the restroom, get drinks, and meet me back in the classroom. My principal came out and said she would take them down because I had a message in the office. So I go in and the secretary hands me a note that says the moms of one of my students called and that she sounded pretty upset. So I try and call her back and don't get an answer and decide to try again when my kids go to recess. I head back to my room and when I walk in, all my kids are lined up with about 6 of the parents and my principal and they yell: "Surprise!"

They were throwing me a surprise baby shower! Now get this: my class of 18 first graders had known about it, helped plan it, and been making projects for it for over 3 weeks and not a single one of them slipped and said anything to me! And that morning they had all brought presents in and either took them down to the office or left them tucked in their backpacks. I was so shocked that they got away with all that! Apparently every time I had a doctor's appointment and was gone they would have the sub work on things for shower. They made a class book with helpful baby advice (which is the cutest thing ever). They each made a burp cloth with their handprint and name on it. Oh, it was all just so wonderful! Here are some more pictures from the shower:

Saturday was my baby shower at my mom's house. It was a lot of fun. It was nice to see people that I haven't seen in a while. Some of them I haven't seen since I've been pregnant, or at least wasn't showing yet and so I got a couple of belly rubs accompanied by, "It really is true! You're having a baby!" Um, yes. :) Here are just a couple pictures from that shower:

Here are my belly pictures for 32 weeks:

Today K and I had a doctor's appointment and our growth ultrasound to see how big Kate is. You ready for this? My chunker is already 5 lbs 6 oz! She's in the 86th percentile. The doc said that she still only thinks she'll be 7-8 pounds at birth, though. So that is acceptable. :) Everything is looking great - she is still a she and we got a new crotch shot to prove it. She is head-down already (which could change, but I hope not). The large mass that has been pushing into my ribs these past couple days is her little butt. She's really filled out - she has very chubby cheeks. We got to see her in 3d a little bit, but she wasn't very cooperative. We did get to see her little hands, all curled up with her fingers moving. And she was putting her fingers in her mouth and moving her lips all around. She's a cutie! Here are the newest pics, including one of the 3d ones:

30w5d - WOOHOO

2009-05-07T18:04:00.010-05:00

Things I am excited about:

1. The hospital where we will deliver. In going to our labor and delivery classes we have learned a lot about the policies of the hospital where we will deliver. Here is a short list of reasons I am so glad we chose the hospital we did:

Whirlpool tubs to labor in.
I will labor and deliver in the same room - no moving to a separate delivery room (unless of course I need a c-section, then I head to the OR)
In the case of needing a c-section, the labor and delivery floor has their own OR, as well as their own recovery wing. So I would not be rooming with a hip replacement.
They have the babies "room in" with the parents. Instead of taking the baby to the nursery, the baby stays in the room with the parents full-time so that I can breastfeed and we can start to learn about our new little person.
After Kate is born, she will be put on my chest and will remain there while they do her APGAR's and most other assessments. I can breastfeed right away if she is interested.
When I am moved to post-partum recovery, K will have his own bed in my room so he can stay overnight with me.
All babies are protected by an electronic "anti-theft" system. Kinda like a prison ankle bracelet.

2. Today. I had a prenatal massage, lunch with K, and a doctor's visit.

My prenatal massage was awesome. Felt good, massage therapist was nice, all around good time.
Lunch with K at Panera = awesome.
Doctor's appointment full of good news. Weight gain is right on track (I was pleasantly surprised). Bloodpressure (both at the office and the record I've been keeping) got a good review.
Cervix is closed and bag of waters in tact (I got checked because of the number of contractions I've been having as well as some suspicious fluids...)
Kate's heartrate was good, happy baby. We get to see her via u/s at our next appointment in 2 weeks!!

3. Continued baby-prepping progress.

Travel System:

Glider:

And, lastly I have my belly pics a couple days early.

30 weeks!

2009-05-02T20:50:00.005-05:00

I can't believe we only have 2 months left until this little one arrives! She (well...the pregnancy) has kept me on my toes these last two weeks. I've been having the school nurse monitor my bloodpressure like my doctor asked. The first reading was 132/74 - which was fine, I was happy. Then it went downhill. :( My top numbers were 150, 142, 150. So I called the doc and left the numbers with the nurse. I still haven't actually talked to the doctor, but my numbers did go back down to the 130's the following two days. I have an appointment on Thursday, so I plan on just taking my little log with me and showing her all the readings so she can decide if it's ok or not.

Then Thursday night I had contractions (again). This time they were every 3 minutes for an hour. I lay down and drank water like I have heard to do, and they did stop. They weren't painful at all, just tight. It was interesting.

I had my work shower yesterday, which was a lot of fun. It was nice to have everyone together after school (most of them drinking...I enjoyed my lemonade). I also got some great things. We got our swing! I love it, it's so soft and cute. I can't wait to put Kate in it. We also got our monitors, my boppy, some fun toys, and a hooded towel/washcloth set with a bathtime rinse cup. I'm so excited. :)

Here is a picture of the swing (which Kurt and I put together that night). It's in her room right now, but will eventually be in the family room:

And here are my belly pictures for 30 weeks:

Kate has been moving like crazy still. It's to the point now where she'll stick out a foot/elbow/knee and I can actually grab it and feel it. Sometimes I can even figure out what it is. It's very surreal and so much fun!

28w5d - Hee Hee Hooooo

2009-04-23T18:06:00.002-05:00

Well, yesterday I had my 28 week doctor appointment. It went really well! I was nervous because I had to do my gestational diabetes test...and we all know how I feel about bloodwork. But I guzzled the sugary crap down and had my blood drawn without a problem. I find out in a few days if I passed, which I'm praying I do because the 3-hour test sounds like my worst nightmare. I ate extra cookies today just in case. :) The rest of the doctor's appointment went well, too. I'm measuring right at 29 weeks, weight gain is "perfect, right on track", and baby's heartbeat sounded good. I did have a high blood pressure reading, though (surprise surprise). 164/74...to which the doc said, "Those numbers don't even go together...." Oh well, leave it to me to have a funky BP reading. So my homework was to have the school nurse take it a few times a week and keep an eye on it, since the doc and I both thought it was probably just nerves.

After my appointment I did some shopping, and then K and I wend to dinner and had our first labor and delivery class. It was a lot better than I was expecting (especially for being free!) We got a whole folder of information and spent the first class talking about signs of preterm labor and how to prepare for the hospital stay. We also got to look at most of the monitors and instruments used in labor and delivery - K was impressed that I already knew what most of them were and how they worked. I was excited to find out that we do our hospital pre-registration and L&D tour as part of the class. That is less stuff that we have to coordinate on our own. We have 4 classes left and I am really looking forward to them.

Kate has been doing well - kicking a ton and making me lose my breath when she climbs up towards my ribs. Only 11 more weeks left!!

Belly pics for the week:

28w - Belly pictures

2009-04-18T11:20:00.003-05:00

Not much to update this week, just the belly pictures.

27w3d - Nursery Progress!

2009-04-14T10:34:00.018-05:00

Here are nursery pictures, as promised! (You can click on them to make them bigger).

Here is what the nursery looked like before:

Step One: Clear out ugly furniture so we can see ugly carpet.

Step Two: Rip out ugly carpet.

Step Three: Have nice, new carpet installed.

Step Four: Put in new, pretty nursery furniture.

In the picture above, the open space between the window and the closet is being reserved for the glider, which we don't have yet. I can't wait to get the bedding and all the little stuff to put in the nursery. As it is now I keep going in there and looking at the crib and everything and just trying to imagine that in 3 short months there will be a little baby in there. I also love to look in the closet, where I have a few little outfits hanging. It is all so surreal and exciting!

26w6d - Big Weekend!

2009-04-10T16:54:00.004-05:00

Happy Easter Weekend! It's going to be busy at my house this weekend. K's mom and dad are coming down tomorrow and staying through Monday. K and his dad are going to be moving all the furniture out of our three bedrooms and ripping out our old, nasty carpet. On Monday we are having new, pretty carpet installed. Yay! Sometime this weekend we will be picking up our nursery furniture, and after the carpet is installed we will get the furniture into the nursery and set up. Yay! We also got a new king-size mattress for our bedroom. It has been delivered already and is in the garage waiting to be moved in after the carpet is installed. Yay! I'm very excited. I already took the "before" pictures of the nursery, so be ready for before and after pictures in one of my next posts!!

Not much new with Kate. She's growing. I read today that if she were born now she would have greater than a 90% chance at surviving. That is just incredible to me. She is still so tiny (just about 2 pounds). However, I don't plan on letting her out for at least another 10 weeks, hopefully closer to 13 weeks! Eeek - 13 weeks! Where has the time gone??

Here's my belly this week:Yes, that tiny bump in the middle is my belly button sticking out. :( I keep threatening to duct tape it down and it keeps coming further and further out anyway.

Anyway, here's me with a head:

26w - Belly Pictures & Video

2009-04-04T10:54:00.005-06:00

Not much new since last week. We signed up for labor and delivery classes. It's a 5 week course that starts April 19th. I'm also considering signing up for a breastfeeding clinic, and there is a new dad's course that K can go to.

Here are my belly pics for this week, taken 25w6d:

Here is a view from the front. I have a very faint linea nigra starting (the vertical line running down from my belly button):

And lastly, I have another video of Kate kicking. This one is a little more obvious than the last one. I had just eaten a bowl of pineapple that really got her moving.

http://s246.photobucket.com/albums/gg107/Bee415_2008/?action=view&current=4-2-09.flv

25w4d - That's my girl!

2009-04-01T07:09:00.001-06:00

One of my baby updates that I get said that K might be able to hear Kate's heartbeat just by putting an ear to my belly. So last night before bed we decided to try. He's laying there with his head on my tummy and Kate kicked him right in the face. That's mama's girl!

Oh, and he did say that he thought he could hear it, but it was really faint. :)

25w - Furniture ordered!!

2009-03-28T13:42:00.005-06:00

I feel like we've finally accomplished something in getting ready for this baby. We ordered our nursery furniture!! We were able to get it on sale and saved $500 over a different set we were going to go with. Here's what we got:

Convertible, drop-side crib that will change from crib to toddler bed to full-size bed.

Dresser that will also be used as a changing table. We ordered it in cherry (the same color as the crib pictured):

And a tall dresser, again in cherry like the crib:

Now K and I have to go look at carpet so we can get that installed before putting the furniture into the nursery. We also still need to get a glider and ottoman. Lots of work!

24w6d - Wall letters!

2009-03-27T11:18:00.003-06:00

So I got the crafty itch and decided to make wall letters for my baby girl's room. I also did 2 hooks and a shadow box frame. Her nursery colors are white, green, pink, and brown.

Here is her bedding, the pink in the bedding is a little brighter than in the picture, like the pink on the wall letters.

Wall letters (that can either be hung or sit on a dresser):

Hooks and shadow box frame:

24w4d - V-Day and Vegas

2009-03-25T16:36:00.004-06:00

Hola! Well, once again I've fallen behind on my weekly updates. This time I have a good excuse, though. K and I went to Vegas to kick off my spring break! It was a great trip, although the weather wasn't very cooperative. I was hoping for warm and sunny so I could lay by the pool. Instead it was in the low 50's, windy, and we dressed like this:
We went to a couple shows. We saw the Cris Angel/Cirque du Soleil show, which was...interesting. It was good, just very bizarre. Then we saw Blue Man Group. We've seen them a couple times in Chicago, too. We love them. Both shows were VERY loud and Kate danced her way through the whole thing. I hope she enjoyed it and wasn't trying to escape.

Speaking of Kate, she and I reached a huge milestone the day we left for our trip - V-Day!! For those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about, that stands for Viability Day. Which means that if little Kate decided to enter the world at this point that she would have a chance at surviving. However, I do not intend to let her out of there until at least late June. (You hear that, Kate?! You better hold on tight!!) I had a doctor's appointment today and everything is looking great!

Anyway, since I fell behind here are my belly pics for last week (23w4d):

And this week (24w4d):

23w1d - Pictures, video, and a name!

2009-03-15T13:25:00.008-06:00

Alright...I have lots of goodies for you this week. First, here is a variety of belly pictures, taken at 22w6d:

Front view - K is anxiously awaiting my bellybutton popping so that he can make fun of me. I have always had a super deep belly button, so to see it right there even with the rest of my belly is quite a shock to me. It's even worse when I move in certain ways and it pokes out. I'm sure mybutton will eventually be an outie...it's just a matter of when.

And here is a full-body shot since I'm normally headless. I do have a head...it is becoming more and more useless as my brain withers away due to pregnancy, but that's beside the point. Here's me:

Baby has been kicking a ton lately. My parents and brother and sister were all able to see and feel her move this weekend, which was cool. At one point my brother was yelling about something and everytime he would yell baby would jump. My sister got to feel that and thought it was neat. At least she'll be somewhat used to his loud mouth by the time she's born, right?

I was able to get one good kick on video!! To see it, go here: http://s246.photobucket.com/albums/gg107/Bee415_2008/?action=view&current=4bb09455.pbr

And, last but not least, we have decided on a name for bean. She will be Kate Elizabeth. Kate is a name that we found we both loved the night before our big u/s (at which point I thought it was irrelevant since I was SURE she was a he). Elizabeth is both K's grandma's middle name and my grandma's middle name. So we've known her name for a while and a few times I've written Kate in my blogs and had to go back to change it since I hadn't quite shared that yet. Now I can type her name unfiltered since you've been formally introduced. :)

21w5d - Picture time!

2009-03-05T16:42:00.003-06:00

Well, last week I didn't do my traditional belly pic. But I did do it for this week, here is what my tummy is looking like today:I can honestly say that my belly pics are starting to surprise me. Before getting pg, I always wondered what a pregnant belly felt like to the mom. Did it feel like carrying around a bowling ball all day? Did it feel like you were getting fat? Well here's the answer (so far at least): it feels the exact same as it always has. I don't feel big, I don't feel like I've changed at all. So much so that I have successfully bonked more than one of my students in the head with my belly. :S So when I see my belly pics, or heck, even when I just glance down, I am surprised by what I see because I feel like the same old me.

Speaking of looking down, here's a picture I took just for fun today. I'd like to call it "Goodbye Toes".
Do you see the faint scratch on my belly, off to the right a little? Yeah, that is where I scratched myself while reaching down to pull up my shirt because my hand made contact with my stomach much sooner than I thought it would. Proof of my lack of belly-sense.

I don't have many updates on baby this week. She's still really active. She listened to some music yesterday and seemed to really like it. Or maybe she hated it. Either way she was dancing.

And one last thing, I wanted to say thank you to Jessie for sending bean this:

I love it!! :)

21 weeks - Milestone!

2009-02-28T22:16:00.003-06:00

K finally felt baby girl move tonight! We have tried so many times over the past couple of weeks. It is to the point where I have been able to SEE her kicking. But everytime K would come over and try to feel she would stop. So tonight I was sitting at my computer and she was doing some kind of crazy acrobatics in there. She was kicking and punching and rolling all over the place. So I called him over and he put his hand on my belly and she just kept going. He thought it felt like a heartbeat because she was moving soooo much. And then she stopped, like usual. But at least he got to feel her moving before she clammed up!! Yay!

20w4d - It's a...

2009-02-25T18:40:00.014-06:00

healthy, active baby GIRL!! I can't believe it. I am so shocked. As are 61% of you poll-takers I imagine! :) I really, truly thought there was a little boy in there. I am so absolutely thrilled that it is a girl, though. I am looking forward to the mother-daughter experience so much.

Baby was fairly cooperative during the ultrasound. The tech called her "stubborn" because she was all curled up (literally with her feet in front of her face). But by the end the tech said that she was a good baby and she was able to get all the shots she needed, and gave us the money shot. Everything is looking great. Baby is still measuring ahead - her head is in the 73rd percentile and her body is in the 80th.

One of the best parts for me was that we were able to see her yawn. A huge, open-mouthed, gaping yawn. And then the u/s tech was able to rewind the u/s so we could watch it again. It was so neat.

Well, here are some pictures of our darling little girl. The first one is of the money shot...pretty clear that she's a she:

Here is her little tiny foot that kicks me all day long:
Baby's profile and one where she has her back turned to us a little and you can see a hand and her leg all bent up:

Here is her little face looking right at us (you know...gotta include the alien shot...):
And last but not least, her squishy little nose and lips:

Well, there is our latest look at our little baby. Our little baby girl...it's going to take me a while to get used to calling 'it' a she!

So...after the u/s my mom and I hit the mall while K went back to work. We bought some girly, frilly things just because we could. Here are a couple of the things we got (you can click them to see them better):Overall it was an incredible day. I am so happy to finally have a label for this baby and so excited to meet my daughter!

20 weeks - Halfway done!

2009-02-21T15:31:00.005-06:00

I can't believe that I am 20 weeks already! The time went by so much faster than I thought it would. First tri was so sloooowwww...but once I hit second tri things really picked up and here I am halfway done with the pregnancy. Here is my 20 week belly picture:And just for fun, here is a bare-belly comparison of where I started (taken at 3 weeks, 4 days) and where I am now (20 weeks):
I'm even wearing the same pants - this time they're just a little more stretched...

I am 4 days away from finding out the sex of the baby (*crosses fingers*) and I am dreaming about it every night. I've had dreams where it's a boy and dreams where it's a girl, so my subconscious seems to have no guesses. I still feel like it's a boy, and looking at my poll over there it seems that most of you readers do, too! We'll see!

My mom comes down on Tuesday so she's here to go with us for the u/s on Wednesday. I'm so excited that she is coming! I wish it was Wednesday already!

19w2d - Late belly pics

2009-02-17T17:17:00.003-06:00

K and I went home this weekend to celebrate my brother's 10th birthday, so I apologize for the late belly pics. Here they are:I had my first comment today from someone who didn't know I was pregnant. A mom of a student I had 2 years ago stopped by my school and I was chatting with her in the office. Then a little while later I was in the hallway and she came up and pointed to my belly and said, "Is that a baby?!" I said yes, and then we joked about how awkward it would have been if I told her, "No, I've just gained some weight." But it is nice to know that people can now recognize my tummy as a baby belly, even if it is because she knew the "old" me to compare.

I've been feeling the baby a lot more the past couple days. I have even felt him/her a few times with my hand. The other night I was in bed and the baby was kicking a lot. I was able to feel it with my hand, so I took K's hand and put it on my tummy. I waited and a minute or two later I felt a good kick that I was sure he would have felt. I turned to look at his face, only to find that he was sound asleep... nice job, K.

Next Wednesday is the big day!! I can't wait to learn about this baby and be able to call it a him or her. He or she. Boy or girl. Last night I had a dream that I had my big u/s, which took all of 2 seconds, and at the end the tech said, "Well, I think it might be a girl but can't tell for sure." I was so frustrated that she wouldn't even go and look again! I sure hope this baby cooperates and we get a good view of the goods! 8 days! Squeeee!

17w6d - Was that you baby?!

2009-02-06T17:20:00.001-06:00

Well, first things first. Here is my belly pic for the week:
I am still changing shape and size all day long, but my belly is getting harder and is now still there when I wake up in the morning. The baby has been very active the past couple days. Last night I was sitting on the couch, feeling all kinds of bumps, thumps, and wiggles in there. I had my hand on my belly and felt a little kick from the inside and on the palm of my hand!! I was so excited, so of course K was sitting there and I wanted him to feel it, too. But he had his hand there for a long time and even when I felt the baby moving inside he couldn't feel it outside. There was one time that the baby kicked and he said, "Was that it?!" but where he said he felt it with his hand wasn't the same place that I felt it on the inside, so I'm not convinced he actually felt it. Oh well, we have plenty of time and he'll be able to feel the movements eventually. :)

I haven't shared my "baby is this big" pictures in a while, but this week's is very interesting to me. Week 18 - baby is the size of a sweet potato. Now...you may think, "Aww, sweet potato...how sweet." But look at the picture they give me for my little sweet potato:I'm sorry, but that's gross. I mean...is that hair growing out of the left side? Eew. Next week is a mango. I like that much better, so I think I'll pretend my baby skips the hairy bumpy potato stage and goes straight to a mango.

17w - Belly pic

2009-01-31T11:42:00.002-06:00

Well, here is my belly pic for this week (taken yesterday):
I always know it is time to take a new picture when my class comes in and more than one student tells me I grew. I look bigger in that picture, though, than I feel like I really am. I am doing well with weight gain so far. As of my doc's appointment this week I have gained 5.5 pounds total. Not bad! I've been worried about weight gain because I'm not the best about choosing healthy snacks. I will pick a chocolate chip cookie over a granola bar anyday. I have been snacking on bananas and yogurt, though. I do the best I can....I just sometimes feel the need for some icecream. Or cupcakes. :)

16w4d - Doctor's appointment

2009-01-28T18:49:00.004-06:00

I had a doctor's appointment today. Everything is looking good, heard bean's heartbeat at 152 bpm. I didn't pass out when they drew blood, and thank the sweet Lord I don't have to have my blood drawn again until 28 weeks.

My next appointment is February 25th and it's my big u/s!! I can't wait!

16w1d - Nursery

2009-01-25T14:32:00.003-06:00

I have been looking a lot at nursery things for the past couple weeks and I think I finally have a good idea of what our nursery is going to look like. We would like to do get gender neutral bedding so that it can possibly be re-used with future kids. So here is what we are thinking. For furniture, we like the Kalani collection by DaVinci:

For the bedding, I am thinking we will go with 'Enchanted Forest' by Lambs & Ivy:

I like it because it is super cute, and also has a lot of colors that we could work with. It leaves a lot of options for wall colors and mix-and-match items that we may want to get. Right now the room that will be used for the nursery (short-term until we move) is a sage green color, a little lighter than the bottom wall color in the above picture. I think it will all look great together.

On another note, bean has been moving a ton today. I have not felt the baby much since those first few days that I felt the nudges. Today, however, he/she has been moving all over the place. At one point today I had a coughing fit and every time I would cough the baby would kick back. Sorry for disturbing you, bean!

16w - Picture of the baby

2009-01-24T15:36:00.004-06:00

In my post a couple weeks ago about telling my class, I mentioned one little girl in particular who was absolutely grossed out at the thought of a baby being in my belly. Well, she has finally stopped making disgusted faces at me so I thought she was getting comfortable with the idea of the baby being in there. Yesterday, she comes up and hands me this:

She says, "Mrs. F, I made this for you. It's your baby." I said, "Thank you, R! How nice. But....is my baby crying?" She says, "Yeah." So I asked her why and she said, "She just REALLY wants to get out of your belly!!"

This picture is now hanging on our refrigerator next to the u/s pictures.

15w3d - We have a nudger!

2009-01-20T20:34:00.004-06:00

I now know what it is like to be poked from the inside. Baby bean has been in there giving me little nudges every now and then and it is the most amazing feeling! It is so surprising at first because it comes out of nowhere. But then once it sinks in that it was the baby it is the most wonderful feeling! I can't wait until these little flutters and nudges become even more frequent and strong.

I haven't been in to work since last Wednesday because of a snow day, inservice day, and Martin Luther King, Jr. day. When I got there and the kids saw me they all said, "Mrs. F! Your tummy got bigger!!" You be the judge:

Other than that I don't have too much to update. Baby is the size of a navel orange this week and is now covered in hair. The picture in my book makes it look like a little monkey. I can't figure out if that is cute or creepy. Either way, I'm so excited to have him/her safely growing in there!

14w2d - 14 week belly pics

2009-01-12T17:50:00.003-06:00

Well, there you have it. 14 weeks, 2 days today and my belly is about the same as last week (I think). The bottom of the bulge is starting to get hard. Poor K - in the middle of making dinner a few days ago I said, "Honey! Come feel my uterus!" He just looked at me like....I'm cookin' here. "No, really, come feel my uterus! It feels so weird!" He was a good sport, came over and felt my hard little lump and then went back to what he was doing.

I got some exciting news today. Two things actually:

1) My mom is going to try and get off work to come down and go to our big u/s with us!! It is hard living far away from my parents, especially now that I am pregnant and want to share everything with them. So I am very happy that (hopefully) my mom will get to come and enjoy the ultrasound with us.

2) The results of my NT scan were negative. This means there are no indications of Downs Syndrome or Trisomy 18 in Bean! This scan was basically to help us decide if we wanted to do any other more invasive testing, such as an amnio. Now that we got good news from the NT scan, and barring any bad news from here on out, we can rule out any elective testing. Yay!

Everything is going really well. I have been feeling tons better lately and am even getting some energy back. K and I got the whole house cleaned up yesterday - that hasn't happened since I found out I was pregnant! It is satisfying to sit in a perfectly clean home.

Now I have to make it through 3 more days of teaching and 1 inservice day before I get a nice 3-day weekend.

13w3d - Told my class yesterday...

2009-01-06T16:45:00.003-06:00

So after another teacher in the building said something about my growing tummy in front of my whole class, I decided I better tell them the news before someone else did. (Luckily they didn't figure out why the other teacher was talking about me getting bigger). Towards the end of the day I decided to play hangman with them. We started out with our spelling words and then for the last one I did the word "baby". I told them that it was not a spelling word, it was a surprise that I was going to tell them about. So they figured out the word and just stared at me blankly. I said, "Why do you think I might have picked the word baby?" And they started guessing things like..."Because Christmas just passed and Jesus was a baby...." and "Babies are born for New Year's..." I said, "Actually, someone you know is going to be having a baby." It took them a few guesses (that included "your cousin!" "my mom!" and "the principal!") but they finally said, "YOU!!!" They were all very excited and one of my little boys said, "But you're skinny!" just like my brother did when he found out! They asked a lot of questions about it being a boy or a girl, what we would name it, and started giving name suggestions - Oscar, Tony Hawk, and Jiggles being my favorites. But they let me off the hook by not asking any hard-to-answer questions.

Well...I guess the kiddos went home to think about me being pregnant and came back this morning with some interesting questions and comments. Here are some that I remember:

"Mrs. F, I saw this thing on tv once about this baby with two heads. Do you think your baby will have two heads?"

"We know that we can't make fun of you for getting fat. That's just what happens."

Random point in the day - E: "Can I feel it?" Me: "Feel what?" She comes over and puts her hand on my stomach. "Ooh, I feel the baby!"

"Mrs. F, if you are going to have a baby, why aren't you fat yet?" this comment was followed by "Well, her tummy is a little chubby."

"So...when the baby is born, can we keep it as a class pet??"

Aah, kids. I'm glad they're so excited, though. They told all the other classes at lunch and every teacher they passed in the hallway. At one point a kindergartener came up and hugged me and one of my little girls says, "You just hugged the baby in her tummy."

I do have one little girl that is not so enthused. She has never experienced a pregnant lady before, so she was pretty confused when the other kids started talking about my stomach getting bigger. She came up to me later and said, "Mrs. F...um, is there really a baby inside your stomach?" I said, "Yes." (not wanting to tell her its not really my stomach...). She puts her hand on my belly, shivers and says, "Gross." All day today, every time she saw me she made a face like she smelled something nasty. Thanks, kid. Glad to know you appreciate the miracle of life. :)

13w0d - The guessing game has begun...

2009-01-03T14:09:00.014-06:00

K and I have decided to find out the sex of bean. Our big u/s is scheduled for February 25th (day before my mom's birthday!). Here are the guesses we have so far:

Voting Team Blue: Me, K, Kit, Amg, Heather, Tennis. ler4ik, Pink, Maria, Abc

Voting Team Pink: My mom, my godmother, Jessie, Lea, Alma, R'sgirl, Mten, MrsForeste, Elisa, Amber, Mary

Any other people with guesses I need to add? I can't wait to find out who is right!

12w4d - We've got....limbs!!

2008-12-31T19:25:00.008-06:00

Well, we had our 12-week appointment and NT scan today. The NT scan is a two-part test that looks for indications of Down's Syndrome and Trisomy 18. The first part is an ultrasound. I can't believe how much bean has changed since the last time we saw him/her! It's an actual baby in there with arms, legs, fingers, toes, and a little button nose! It was just incredible. Baby was wiggling all over and didn't want to cooperate with the u/s tech. The tech actually made me take a break and get up and walk around to get bean into a better position so she could get the measurements she needed. It worked and we were able to see the baby's perfect little profile. The tech also showed us the arms and hands and little legs. At one point baby was sucking his/her thumb and we could see the little mouth sucking away. It was just too cool!

Everything was just perfect. The doctor was happy with the measurements that were taken. Bean is actually measuring about 4 days ahead - yay for a big, healthy baby! The second part of the NT scan is a blood test, so I went and had that done at the lab before we left, too. And I didn't pass out this time! Woohoo! :)

I have been feeling pretty good. I think the last couple days I have had less nausea. I still need to snack throughout the day, but I don't get as icky-feeling in between my snacks now. Oh, and I was happy to learn that I've only gained 2.5 pounds so far! Not bad for being 12.5 weeks pregnant, huh?! Here are my 12w5d belly shots. I think I'm starting to get a more permanent pooch, but its still pretty little. I woke up in the middle of the night last night and K was rubbing my belly in his sleep. Awww. :)

I am so happy that we got to see a happy, wiggly little baby today. I have been staring at the ultrasound pictures since we got home. It's all so amazing and I feel so blessed!

12w3d - My quilt came!!

2008-12-30T12:21:00.006-06:00

I am part of GP Quilters, which is a group of GP girls who make a combined "community quilt". We make a few squares of a pre-determined color or design, then mail them to one person who puts the squares together into a quilt. We decided that the quilts would go to members who got their BFP's. I was the first one to get a BFP after we started the group, so Moo told me I would be getting our first quilt, the red one.

So a few weeks go by and the quilt doesn't come. Moo asked for my address again and got very impatient about me checking the mail. (Love you, Moo!). Well, today was the day and somehow Moo knew exactly when my mail came and told me to go get it. I did, and there was my quilt. Except...not at all the quilt I was expecting. The girls got all sneaky on me and made a Bee Quilt!! It is the cutest thing I've ever seen. I was so shocked - I started crying (you know, blame it on the pregnancy hormones). I am just in awe over the kindness of these women. What an amazing gift. Here are some pics of their handiwork:

12w1d - Guess what...

2008-12-28T21:32:00.005-06:00

K and I get to see the baby again in 3 days!!! I can't wait. I am so excited to see the little bean - complete with limbs this time. Last time was exciting, but there was only a head and tail...not too much to ooh and aah over. This time he/she will have arms, legs, fingers, and toes! And a little face!

Today I am 12 weeks, 1 day and feel like puking all day long. It really is a joyous time. I have not actually gotten sick, however, so I am still calling myself lucky. It does suck to feel nauseous all day but I can deal with it. And it is so worth it.

I have still been able to find the bean on the doppler. The heartrate is slowing down just like it is supposed to. Tonight I listened and he/she was chugging away at 160 bpm. I still think baby is a boy and my mom thinks baby is a girl. K and I did decide to find out the sex, so that appointment will be sometime towards the end of February I think. I can't wait!

Baby is the size of a plum this week! 2 1/2 inches long, but only weighs 1/2 ounce. He/she has almost all organ systems formed and functioning and we are at the point that risks from environmental factors are substantially decreased. Whew!

I can't believe I am 3 months pregnant. I remember looking at tickers for other girls that were 12 weeks and feeling like I would never get there. And here I am! I still worry about something going wrong, but not quite as much. I am so thankful for everything that I have been able to experience so far and CAN'T WAIT to see this little one on Wednesday! I can't imagine a better way to spend my New Year's Eve!

11w3d - So happy!!

2008-12-23T15:34:00.003-06:00

Congrats to my BFPB, MrsPink!!! She got her bfp today and I am sooooo happy for her! I have seriously never been so excited for a "stranger" in my life. Woohoo for baby pink!!

For Christmas this year K and I got each other tickets to the Bears/Packers game in Chicago. We went last night and it was quite an adventure. Here are some key facts you should know:
1. It was the coldest Bears game since 1983 - a whopping 7 degrees.
2. We took a train and shuttle to get to the stadium. The train was fine, the shuttle sucked.
3. People are crazy and will knock pregnant ladies around and shove her out of the way to get on the sucky shuttle.
4. Hand warmers in your shoes do not keep your toes from freezing.
5. The Bears ROCK!!!

Overall it was a really great time and I'm glad we went. Bean's first Bears game was a success and I'm sure he/she will be going to many more.

K and I are at our parents' houses for the week. My mom, brother, and sister got to hear Bean on the doppler today. It was nice to be able to share that with them (and to know that he/she is still going strong in there after the game last night). My mom and dad both think that I have a little "pooch", as my mom put it. I still think it's too early, but the bloat is definitely noticeable to others. :) Hopefully I'll have belly pictures or other pictures from Christmas to share soon.

One week and one day until we get to see Bean on u/s again! I can't wait!!

10w2d - Bean's beat....

2008-12-15T17:07:00.005-06:00

I wanted to catch Bean's heartbeat on tape for my mom. This bright idea actually came to me in a dream - in the dream I was making the little video and then sent it to my mom. I woke up and thought it was a cute idea and decided to do just that. So Saturday and Sunday I tried to hunt the beanster down and couldn't find him/her. Today I tried again and found that beautiful sound. So I taped it and sent it to my mom and K's mom. :) There's a lot of background noise, but I was so happy to get it on tape!

9w5d - Not too much new

2008-12-11T17:34:00.006-06:00

Except for this uncontrollable bloat. I have caught people at work looking at my belly. They pretty much all know now anyway.

Tonight is the Christmas program for my kids. I really don't want to drag my butt back out of the house, but I always like seeing them all dressed up. I have some that have to wear pajamas, some that are Santas, and some that are Christmas trees. They're so cute!

Alright, I better go get ready for that. I just wanted to share my belly pics for 9w5d. Oh, and I was able to hear bean again on the doppler. It's the most beautiful sound!!

9w3d - Milestone!

2008-12-09T20:35:00.007-06:00

Today I am 9 weeks, 3 days and we heard bean's heartbeat on a home doppler!! I am so thrilled, I can't even tell you. I had debated about getting a doppler - knowing that I can be a little obsessive and a worry wart. I didn't want to get one and then find myself listening every day, or not be able to find the heartbeat and freak out. But I finally decided to that I would get one if I promised to be reasonable about it.

So I went on Amazon and ordered the Hi Bebe doppler that came with 2 extra bottles of gel (it was a steal at only $115). It came in the mail yesterday, and so of course I opened it up and tried it out. I didn't hear anything and was ok with that.

Today I decided I wasn't going to try. I knew it was realllllly early (they say on average you can't hear it until 12 weeks). Anyway, I got home and decided to try it anyway. See the obsessive part I'm talking about? So I was sitting and trying to find it for a few minutes when all of a sudden "whoosh whoosh whoosh" loud and clear!! 174 beats per minute. I did some research to find out if that was a good heartrate and found that at 9 weeks it should be 155-195, so bean is perfect. I called K to tell him about it (he worked late tonight) and then my mom. Then I found it and listened to it again just be sure I wasn't crazy.

When K got home he wanted to hear, so we sat down to try and hunt down the heartbeat again. I let him do it. He was so cute and patient, moving it all over, watching the screen, and listening carefully. He couldn't find it, so I gave it a try. I couldn't find it either, so then he wanted to listen to his belly just to be sure there wasn't anything funny going on in there. After we listened to his belly and heart, he wanted to try one more time and there it was! Strong and beautiful, still in the 175 range. K was amazed, as am I. I am so glad we got to hear the bean!!

9w1d - We Told Our Families!!

2008-12-07T08:42:00.009-06:00

Long story short, we ditched the Christmas plan and went home to visit and tell our parents this weekend. We already had our mug and t-shirts ready to go. I drove up on Friday night and K had to meet me there Saturday afternoon after his business trip. So I had to keep quiet for a day until he got there, which was harder than any of the previous weeks since I knew it was getting so close!!

When K got to my parents house we sat around and chit-chatted for a while before I not-so-nonchalantly brought up the video montage I had made. I told my parents that since we never made the one for our wedding and I already had all the pictures pulled together I decided to do it just for fun. They had NO CLUE what they were in for. Well they watched the whole thing, laughing at how silly and young K and I were in most of the pictures. We got to the slide with the positive test and my dad immediately stood up and started hugging us and congratulating us. My mom just sat and stared until the final slide that said "Baby F due in July" and then she started crying and getting all excited. She said her heart stopped when she saw the positive test and thought the next slide would say, "NOT!". Lol...that would be cruel, mom. :)

For K's parents we gave his mom a mug that said, "Grandma F..." on it. She opened it and IMMEDIATELY knew what it meant and started screaming, "Oh my God!! Oh my God!!" Then she got up and hugged us and congratulated us. It was great. His dad didn't see the mug, so I had to take it and show him so he could understand why K's mom was going nuts. He was grinning and as K put it, "Beaming as much as he beams." We then told K's sister and brother-in-law and K's mom called some people. It was fun.

The BEST part was telling my younger brother and sister. They weren't there when we told my parents, and we had gotten them shirts that say, "World's Coolest Uncle" and "Aunt 2009". They opened their gifts at the same time. My sis read hers first and understood immediately. She covered her mouth and waited for my brother to read. He read his shirt and we asked him what that meant. He looked confused, so I asked who he was an uncle to. He pointed to our dogs. Lol. At this point my sister had enough of waiting, came running around the kitchen table screaming, "YOU'RE HAVING A BABY!!!!" She jumped up to hug me and my brother says, "What?!" My parents explained to him that I am pregnant. He says, "You're pregnant? You're pretty skinny!" Haha...so cute.

Last ones to tell personally are my grandma and grandpa. My mom and I are going to their house today and will see them and some of my aunts and uncles. So now the cat is officially out of the bag and it was a great weekend!