Happy New Year

Well 2010 is almost over and it's been quite the year. There have been 3 babies and a wedding so definitely a whirlwind year. We're looking forward to 2011 and all that it brings. For New Year's we're spending it with Matt, Sarah, Tara and Justin. It should be a fairly relaxing evening which is good and the way I like to spend it.

Next week on Tuesday we embark for New England. We'll be up there for about 10 days so that Maddie gets to meet the family members she hasn't met yet and to see the ones she has. We're looking forward to it and it should be a good time. We were going to take the Jeep but after realizing that there were some complications on taking Marco along as well we have decided to take the truck. It will mean that Maddie and Marco are in the back by themselves but they'll manage and I can always turn around to do what i can. It's not like we can take her out of her seat while we're driving anyways.

We're going to NH first and my guess is that it will probably take us about 12 hours to drive up. The normal drive is about 9.5 hours so the additional time will be for stops to feed and change Maddie and walk Marco.

We are looking forward to 2011. We'll post a few pictures later from our last day in 2010!

Happy New Years!

4 weeks/1 month

It's hard to believe that Maddie has been in our lives for a month already. The time has gone quickly and it's definitely interesting to see how much she's changed. Christmas marked 4 weeks for Maddie and it was a day that went by quickly. We opened our stockings and gifts in the morning and talked to Jym's mom, sister, and grandma for over an hour on skype. It was lots of fun and Maddie was pretty good. Then we talked to Geepa and Papa on skype and then Maddie got to see her cousins on skype for the first time on skype as well. Maddie and Arden were wearing the same outfit on Christmas and it was fun to see the difference. We're looking forward to seeing everyone next week when we take the trip up north.

Yesterday Maddie slept in her pack n play for just about 2 hours twice. We tried to have her sleep in there last night but a little at a time. We'll try again tonight and see if we can't get her to sleep in the napper at night.

Here is Maddie's 4 week picture.

Christmas Eve

Well today is Christmas Eve and Jym is at work for a 12 hour day so won't be home till about 7:30. So it is just me and Maddie for the day. We have already gone out twice today and it's only 1:35. Although we only went to Walgreen's to pick up some photos and last minute stocking stuffers. I still want to get a few things for her but I'm ok if that doesn't happen. We'll probably go out again around 4pm or so depending on how she's doing and what gets done.

Last night we took a trial run with both Maddie and Marco in the jeep in preparation for our trip to NH/ME at the beginning of next week. We were going to go to the festival of lights at Bull Run Park which is about 25 minutes away. We got close but the line was really long (probably because the kids don't have school today and people were trying to get it in before the holidays) and we didn't think a two hour wait was worth it. It runs through January 9th so we're actually going to go next week when things have probably calmed down a bit (as well as go a little earlier like when it first opens). But on the plus side Marco did very well in the car. I think it helped that I sat in the back seat with maddie and could pet Marco. He stood up for a while but then sat down and then finally laid down. I think once his bed is in the back he'll be fine. Now the only thing we really have to figure out is how to get him in and out of the jeep once the trailer thing is hooked to the back. Oh the joys of traveling with a baby and a large dog. :)

Speaking of Marco he's done very well adjusting with Maddie. He likes to check on her when she cries and he's definitely protective of her. It should be interesting when we go to NH and there are other dogs there. I'm sure he'll be fine because he does very well there. We just have to remember to give him attention which we've been pretty good about. He still likes to try to get on the couch and we're working on that. Like all things lately it's a work in process.

Maddie is working on sleeping in her napper. We're up to about 30-35 minutes but that's about it. We're still working on it. We haven't gotten to night time yet so we're still sleeping on the couch but we're working on it. Hopefully over the next week and half we'll get her in the bed a bit more and then while we're up in NH/ME I'm sure it'll mess with her schedule but we'll manage. It's hard to believe she's already almost 1 month old.

It's gone by so quick and it's hard to believe how much shes' changed is such a short time. See her pictures below from the early days and just recently.

Week 3

Maddie has had lots of visitors over the last week and half. On Saturday Jym's friend James came over to bring some beer and to meet Maddie. Later that afternoon Rob and Christine came over. It was sweet to watch them with her and she was very well behaved.

On Monday Diana and Zack arrived. Zack was going to check out Roanoke College on Tuesday so they came in to visit and hang out for a few days. It was a fun couple of days. Then on Friday Brock and Erin got to meet Maddie an on Saturday it was a friend filled day with the Justice's and the Downey's. Through it all Maddie was very well behaved. She did cry a bit but in the grand scheme of things she's only a few weeks old and considering it was a busy few days and lots of new people she did really well.

She's definitely a very sweet baby. She sleeps a lot but is definitely starting to smile a bit more. It's not necessarily the social smile yet but she's getting there. We took some cute pictures the other day in her christmas outfit and of course we take pictures as often as possible.

Here a few pictures of the past week and a half.

Two Weeks

Well Maddie has been in our lives for two weeks now and I am loving being a mom. She's such a sweet baby and I love holding her and watching her expressions. While I know most of the facial expressions aren't something she has control over but they are fun to watch regardless.

On Thursday Maddie had her two week appointment at the doctors. She weighed in at 10lbs and 2oz which puts her in the 98% for both her height and her weight. Her head circumference is in the 90-95th percentile so she's proportional and healthy. I have started going through her clothing and most of the newborn clothing is being put away as she's either too big or too long for them but the 0-3 month outfits some of them are too big. We're working our way through it but with all her handmedowns there isn't a lack of clothing for her to wear.

Yesterday Maddie had some visitors in the form of Jym's friend James (who was dropping off some beer and hung out for a while) and then our friend's Rob and Christine came by for a few hours. She slept through most of both visits but did get held by everyone. Tomorrow her Geepa and Uncle Zack come in so Zack can look at Roanoke College but they'll come visit for a bit as well.

We've also made our plans to head up to NH/ME in early January. We'll be gone for 10 days and it will be Maddie's first time meeting most of her relatives. We're looking forward to it and there will be lots of pictures to come. For now here is Maddie at 2 weeks.

We have a chowhound on our hands

So for those of you who don't know Maddie came out weighing 9lbs and 9ozs however by the time we left the hospital two days later she was down to 8lbs 12ozs and at her doctors visit the next day she was down another 3 ozs. Part of this was due to the fact that my milk hadn't come in but we spent about an hour with the lactation consultant (the doctor's office has two and the one we met with was absolutely wonderful) and an appointment for the next day to check her weight and see how everything was going.

The time spent with Mary (the lactation consultant) was much needed and helped me feel a lot more comfortable in what I was doing. While you would think that breastfeeding is a fairly simple thing (I mean hey women have been doing it for a long time) and that it would be second nature it doesn't always end up that way. With some great pointers and feeling a lot better we were sent home. At the appointment the next day Maddie had gained 3 ozs after a night of some very good feedings. We made one more appointment for today (6 days after the last one) and when she was put on the scale she weighed in at 9lbs 15oz. So our little girl 10 days after being born is now past her birth weight and had gained 1lb and 2oz in 6 days. Needless to say she's quite the eater.

One of the positives of her eating is that she is sleeping for longer periods of time. This morning she slept for about 3 hours which was great for both of us because I got some sleep and am feeling great. I'm finally getting to the point where I am ready to do a few more things around the house and try to start getting into a routine of sorts. Now I know there is only so much of a routine with an infant but I figure if i can get some additional stuff around the house done while she naps during the day and she sleeps well at night like she has (only getting up every 2 1/2 - 3 hours) been then we both win.

We'll see how everything goes over the next few weeks and Maddie has her 2 week appointment on Thursday so that day might be a wash if she has to get a bunch of shots but we'll see. Plus the following week her Geepa and Uncle Zack are coming to visit so that Zack can go check out Roanoke College. It'll be good to see them and we are starting to get ready for our trip to New England in January. During that trip she'll get to meet all her relatives so that will be good.

And because what post would be complete without a picture of the pumpkin.

1st day by ourselves

Jym went to work for the first time yesterday since Maddie was born. Our first day by ourselves was good although not very productive. I think the only thing we managed to do was clean off the coffee table. I did manage to put the baby bjorn on and walk the dog although it was a quick walk because it was soo cold out. Maddie didn't seem to mind as she was bundled up and was asleep by the time we got back inside.

Other than that we did a lot of lounging around the house which was nice. Today for day two I think we'll try to get a bit more done as I'm going to try to put Maddie back in the baby bjorn and go through the clothes in her room and seperate them out by size so that only the stuff she fits in will be out. Right now everything is out so it's a little hard to figure out what she should wear. Plus her Auntie Sara just sent her a bunch of stuff from her cousin Arden so we need to go through that. Plus a friend of her Auntie Kelly sent a bunch of baby clothes that we still need to wash and bring upstairs so hopefully it will be a fairly productive day.

Happy Monday!

One Week

One week ago Maddie came into our lives. It has been a bit of a crazy week as we get used to having her here. It's definitely been an adjustment period for us. She's been an absolute delight to have and I love holding her. She's soo sweet even when she's crying.

Jym has been really good with her as well especially considering he doesn't have as much experience with babies as I do. We are both getting used to not having a lot of sleep. He's getting a bit more than I am simply because he can't feed her.

While we have spent most of the time inside since she came home we have gone out a few times. On Monday we drove Geepa and Uncle Travis to the airport after their visit. We went to the doctor's twice and today we went out and ran a few errands which was nice to get out of the house. Jym also picked up our christmas tree and it's in the corner of the living room now. I'm excited to decorate it and get into the festive holiday mood.

Here's a picture of her at 1 week old. :)

She's Here!

On Saturday November 27th at 7:52am Madeleine Rae made her arrival into this world. It wasn't the easiest labor but she was completely worth everything.

It all started on Thanksgiving. After a great day spent with some great friends I went to bed about 9pm to get ready for some cleaning I had planned for Friday. I fell asleep fairly quickly and woke up about 2 hours later with contractions. I layed in bed for a while and started to track them using an app I had downloaded a few days before. After about 30 minutes I decided I wanted to go lay with Jym (who had been sleeping in the guest room due to my snoring). The contractions were 8-9 minutes apart but steady.

I went back into the bedroom a little while later to let Jym get some sleep and tried to get some myself. I didn't get much as the contractions kept me up for the most part although I snoozed in between them when i could. The contractions got a little longer apart in the morning 8-12 minutes. We decided to go to Home Depot early afternoon and try to get a few things we saw. The walking seemed to get the contractions going a little stronger and closer together and around 4:30pm I called the doctor because the contractions had been about 5 minutes apart for a little over 30 minutes. The doctor told us to go into the hospital and so we arrived there around 6pm.

We got admitted a few hours later. After some walking around and the fact that i had been consistently contracting for almost 24 hours I was at the point where I was just exhausted and asked about an epidural. The epidural was put in at 11pm and at 5am the doctor broke my water and 3 hours later Madeleine made her arrival. We had been expecting her to be a decent sized baby as at my visits the doctor had said as such and had guessed around 8-8.5 pounds. When she finally arrived and was weighed she was 9lbs and 9oz. I definitely was not expecting that and I think it surprised the doctor as well.

A few hours later we were up in recovery and Diana arrived around 11am. It's been a hectic couple of days and we got to go home on Monday but we're making our way through it. It's definitely not easy but she is absolutely perfect and gorgeous. Here are a few pictures of our precious little girl.

It's November Already?

Well if we're honest it's been November for almost half the month but for some reason it came a lot quicker than I was expecting. Per my What to Expect app on my phone I have 1 week and 4 days till my due date. I am at the point where I go to the doctors every week. Things have been normal and the visits are quick. While there are quite a few people who think that she is going to come early I have a feeling that she is going to be a little late. Personally I am totally ok with this as it gives me a little additional time to get ready. If she were to come today we would technically be ready but a little extra time for her I think will do us both some good.

We went to a new parent orientation at the pediatrician's office that we are going to use. They came on a recommendation of a friend as well as the list that the OBs office gives out. I was pleased by the session and the nurse practitioner who ran it gave a lot of good advice and I think it helped that she had a 4 month old herself. The office has 10 doctors so you're not necessarily seeing the same doctor all the time but that doesn't bother me. They also have two lactation consultants on staff and your first visit at the office is spent mostly with the lactation consultant and then a bit of time with the doctor.

So now we're just at the point that we wait till she gets here. We're very excited about her arrival whenever it may be. I do know that depending on how things look this week at the doctors we'll talk about possible induction dates if I don't go into labor over the thanksgiving weekend. It should be an interesting appointment on Thursday to say the least and probably fairly informational as well.

Next weekend we'll also have some visitors as well which will be nice. Zack has a tournament in Annapolis on Sunday and so he and my dad are flying in on Saturday morning. Jym and I will go pick them up at the airport and then hang out for the day. Then Sunday morning Jym will go to work and then I'll go out to Annapolis with my dad and Zack and watch the lacrosse games and then depending on when their flight is bring them to the airport and then head home myself. Then it will be a shortened work week and Thanksgiving.

I keep thinking that it seems like just yesterday that I found out we were expecting and somehow 9 months has gone by very quickly. Not a bad thing just the whole year seems to have flown by. Maybe because there is so much excitement or maybe its something that happens as you get older but either way the year has flown by.

I do have to say that I am excited to meet my little girl sometime in the next few weeks. A little scared a little nervous but excited all the same. Hopefully I'll have a few more posts between now and then but we'll see what happens.

A Small Milestone

So as we head into our last few weeks of being just the two of us there are things that we've got on the agenda to complete. Some of them are baby related and some of them are not. Have we packed the bag for the hospital? Check. Gone on at least one date just the two of us? Check. Installed the carseat? As of today - check.

So the small milestone for today was the installation of the carseat in the Jeep. Right now we only have the one base as we need to pick up the second one but that can be done at any time. The carseat along with the stroller have been sitting upstairs in the nursery for about a month and a half. When it finally got around time to putting it all in the Jeep I was going to get the oil changed and there was a recommended fix (not quite a recall) so the car needed to go to the dealer for a least a day. I didn't want to put it all in the car and then have something happen and not have it for when we needed it so we decided to wait. Then there was a run in with a deer so the oil change and recommended fix appointment was pushed out another few weeks. Now that the appointment has happened and the Jeep is back good as new we decided it was time to install the carseat.

Jym installed it pretty quickly and then we put the carseat in the installed base to check it out and practice getting it in and out of the car. Because the Jeep is as large as it is you pretty much have to climb in (or perhaps it's just because I'm pregnant and it's hard to reach with my belly in the way) but it's pretty easy to get in and out of the base. Then we brought the seat into the house to practice buckling the baby into the carseat. We used a small stuffed animal and both practiced getting everything buckled and unbuckled. The straps might be a bit loose but not knowing exactly how big she'll be they are easy enough to adjust. See a few pictures from both of us in our successful attempts to work the carseat.

Distinguished Gentleman

Watch out ladies! Here comes Marco, wearing his tux, with his beautiful gray face. Disregard the spit on his nose.

Ol' boy (he is 7) is doin pretty good. Snagged this awesome picture of him chillin' on the deck.

Full Term

Well today I am officially 37 weeks and considered full term. What does that mean exactly? Well if I were to go into labor tonight they wouldn't try to stop it and the baby wouldn't be considered premature either. Now that being said it is unlikely I would go into labor tonight (nothing is impossible) as I just had my dr's appointment today and the doctor thinks I still have a bit of time left. Right now we're keeping the due date of the 25th but that could change based on how the next few weeks go.

I am now into the appointment every week phase and they are checking for all those delightful signs of impending labor. Right now everything looks good and is progressing how it should. The baby is head down so that's a positive thing. Should be interesting how the next few weeks go. I have a baby shower this weekend that is being thrown for me by my friends Christine and Erin. They are soo sweet and I'm looking forward to the ladies that will be there as some of them I don't get to see very often.

I am definitely looking forward to having my baby girl in my arms but at the same time I'm not rushing her out. I want her to have as much time as she needs and a bit more time would probably make me feel a little more comfortable. I have a feeling I'm not going to be ready till she's here anyways but there's still a bit of cleaning left that I want to do. But I suppose if it doesn't get done it doesn't get done.

Baby Laundry

So I have finally decided to do some laundry to get the baby's room ready. The first load was her bedding as it's been on the crib since the end of September but needed to be washed. The next load is some of her clothing so I can finish packing my hospital bag with her clothing. I got some great advice from some friends of things they were either glad that they had packed or wished they had packed when going to the hospital. It's caused me to update my bag a bit but I think in the grand scheme of things it will be helpful.

As time draws closer I'm trying to get as much done as possible. We're at less than 4 weeks till the due date and while I don't know if we'll ever be exactly ready I'm trying to get as ready as possible. I have spent a portion of this morning cleaning (not that it will be the last time but it was a good start). Plus there was some organizing of the living room that needed to be done. For some reason our mail seems to pile up and then every once in a while we'll go through it and throw away all the trash mail (which should be done the first time but just doesn't). I always feel better with a clean house but working a bunch of hours and having a large dog don't necessarily help keep it that way. Hopefully while I'm on maternity leave I'll figure out a schedule of some sort.

I'm looking forward to holding my little girl and watching her grow. It's a scary but exciting time and I can't wait.

Swimming

So this past week Jym and I went swimming twice at the community center. We did 500 meters each time. We're slowly going to work our way up but we've been doing 10 laps each time (one lap being to the end and back - as it's a 25 meter pool). It's one of those exercises that is good for pregnant women and one that I've always enjoyed. When I was in college there was a while when I was going to the pool a few times a week and swimming anywhere between 1200 and 1500 meters in between two of my classes.

I'm hoping to get back into it and had started right around the time I got pregant by getting a 25 visit pass to the community center. Well the first trimester was not a good one to me and so I didn't go and then during the second trimester it was summer time and we got really busy so again I didn't go. Jym wanting to go was the perfect excuse to start going again. I figure I'll swim up through the end of my pregnancy and then once i can start exercising again I'll start swimming again.

Anyways until then the goal is to go 2-3 times a week. We'll see how the next few weeks go. Till the next update!

It's Getting Closer

Time certainly has flown during this pregnancy. I remember thinking I had lots of time to get things done but somehow we went from having 32 weeks left to having 20 weeks, to 10 weeks, and now to less than 5 and it just sort of snuck up on me. It's not that if she were to come now we wouldn't have anything because her room is set up and she has lots of newborn sized clothes (thanks to her cousin arden) and we have a stroller and carseat and really those are the basics that you need.

But I think mentally I need a few more weeks to get ready. It's going to be a big change and a big adjustments to our lives. It'll be a great one and one that we're looking forward to although a bit scary at the same time mostly because of the the unknown. For me anyways the not knowing exactly when she's coming is the hardest part. I like a certain amount of knowledge and control over things and I know that I won't have either at least to extent. But either way I'm looking forward to her arrival and can't wait to hold my little munchkin.

Jym and I have also started our search for daycare and have gone on one visit so far. We have a few visits next week and then another visit (with an in home provider) the week after. I think it's started to make things really hit home for Jym that she's coming and it's coming quickly. He's taking it in stride for the most part and I know he's excited for her arrival as well.

Till the next time!

Good Friends

It never ceases to amaze me that great friends are the ones that you can not see for months and you pick up right where you left off. I probably haven't seen Risa in over 6 months but like always we picked up right where we left off. We had a great night and just chatted and talked most of the night. It was like when we lived together in Maryland and all the time we spent together towards the end and after college. I've missed hanging out with her but it's great to be able to spend time and pick up right where we left off like no time has passed at all.

We went to Eastern Market on Saturday before dropping her off so she could head back to NJ. I was actually surprised that Eastern Market was not bigger. There were quite a few vendors and they sold some interesting things but I was expecting there to be a bit more. Although I do have to say we went later in the day and it was a bit windy. It was still fun though. We ate dinner at this little mexican/bolivian restaurant there (I can't remember the name of it) but the food was great.

The visit ended all too soon but she'll be back in early November and again in December so it'll be good to see her a bit more.

Surprise!

Yesterday my coworkers threw me a surprise shower! I have to say I had no clue it was coming so the fact that they pulled it off was good especially considering Jym knew about it. He didn't know what the exact date/time was but they had originally asked him if he wanted to attend so they were trying to make it a time when he could which I thought was sweet.

Anyways we got lots of great things from everyone that we had registered for as well as some things that we hadn't even thought about but were great gifts (frames for her first footprint and handprint) which I am glad we got. Tara made these great decorative frames to hang on the wall in Maddie's nursery. The frames are white and one has a purple background with green dragonflies and the other one has a green background with purple dragonflies. I can't wait to put them up and see how they look. I suppose I should figure out exactly where they are going first. Plus some gift certificates that will be very helpful as time gets closer to get those last minute items.

That's it for me for now. Off to do some laundry and try to put some of the great stuff away!

October

October has just begun and it's already been an interesting month. On our way home from a birthday get together for our friend Rob I had my very first encounter with a deer. Now by encounter I don't mean it was the first deer I'd ever seen as growing up in NH and living in Rochester NY I saw my fair share of them. No by encounter I mean my car and the deer had a collision of sorts. Thankfully nobody was hurt (well except for the deer) and the only damage to the Jeep seemed to be the deer sized dent in the driver's side door.

Now in my defense I am used to being on the lookout for deer and other animals however by the time I actually saw this deer there was no stopping in time. I did what you learn when you are driving to not swerve to try to miss the deer and drove straight and the deer ran into the driver's side door. I think the deer bounced back as i didn't run it over after hitting it. We pulled into the closest side street to check the damage and then called the insurance company to file a claim and about 10 minutes later we were on our way home a bit shaken up but no worse for the wear. It was a bit tough to get to sleep after that but knowing everyone was safe (minus the deer) made it easier and this is why we have insurance as these things happen.

For your viewing pleasure here are some pictures of the Jeep post run in with the deer.

Visitors

Jym's parents came to visit for a week at the end of September. They got to explore the area a bit and got to go to a lot of touristy areas. Jym took them the Air and Space Museum on Tuesday and then I took them to Great Falls on Thursday. On Friday we all went to Williamsburg for the weekend. We had a good time and the week went quickly. Here are a few pictures from the week.

Ten weeks and counting

Hard to believe that in 10 weeks, perhaps more or perhaps less, I am going to be a mom. It's a scary thought sometimes but an exciting one at the same time. There is still lots to do but we're getting there. The nursery is almost painted we just have to do the trim which should happen today and then Jym is going to put the crib together and I'll be able to put the bedding in it and we'll get a small view of what it will look like. I'm excited to see how the room looks once it's set up. There won't be a bunch in it as of today but we'll get there.

With 10 weeks left I'm feeling pretty good and we have a few things coming up. Next week I go to the doctors for my normal check up and then I start going every two weeks instead of every 4 like I have been going. Once I hit 36 weeks I'll be going every week. Hard to believe that the time has gone so quickly. When we first found out it felt like it was going to be such a long time till this little person joined our world and now in less than 3 months she'll be here.

We have decided on a name for her Madeleine but we're still working on a middle name. I think we're there but till it's concrete we'll keep it a surprise. She'll most likely go by Maddie for quite some time but I think that works well. I'm looking forward to watching her grow and being a mom. As labor draws near a little worried about that but I'm sure that's normal for most new moms.

On Sunday Jym's parents are coming in for a week. It will be nice to visit and spend time with them. We're going to Williamsburg the following weekend so I will be sure to take some pictures and actually post them. Till the next time!

Hello September

Well September came a bit faster than I was expecting and here we are almost half way through the month. It's been a fairly productive month so that is a good thing. Jym turned the big 30 on the 2nd and we celebrated by going out to dinner. Back in August I offered to throw a small party but he declined. There's always next year. The weekend after his birthday we headed up to NH for my sisters wedding.

We left early Saturday morning as we had a 7:30am flight. Up until this weekend Jym and I had never really checked bags. Even on our honeymoon when we were gone for 9 days we didn't check luggage just had our carry ons. So when it came to timing that was how I figured out what time we should leave. I had forgotten that we had decided to check luggage for that weekend. We got to the airport and thankfully it wasn't too busy and the line to check luggage moved rather quickly. We did get the buzzer that said we were checking luggage with less than 45 minutes till our flight. We made it through security and they were boarding our flight (which made for a bit of stress but we got on the plane in the nick of time).

Fast forward about an hour and a half and we're in NH waiting for our bags to show up. Jym's shows up but mine does not. We go to the claim area and there is another flight coming in about 90 minutes. We were already planning to go to breakfast with Lori and Holly so we figured we would do that and then check back in. It took another flight but my luggage made it to NH (although there was a bit of worry about that for a while).

We headed up to Moultonborough and I got there changed and left within 5 minutes for the rehearsal. If there is one thing I dislike it's being late. I've gotten a bit better about it over the last few years where in certain circumstances it doesn't bother me as much but I was still stressing a bit about getting to rehearsal on time. I shouldn't have worried as other than Kaite and Derek my dad and I were the first to arrive.

Rehearsal was fairly quick and the place where the wedding was taking place was gorgeous. After the rehearsal we went to where the dinner was taking place. We got there a bit early so my dad and I headed to the bar to get a drink (ok a beer for him and ice tea for me but still).

Sunday was the day of the wedding. It didn't start till 5 so we had most of the day to hang out and visit with everyone which was nice. I will write more about the wedding in another post as I fear this one is getting too long already! We had a small baby shower Sunday morning with everyone who was staying at the house. We got some great stuff as well as some hand-me-downs from cousin Arden (Thanks Sara!) and that started our getting ready for the baby trend of the week.

We flew back to BWI on Monday afternoon and got home around 6pm and were both back to work on Tuesday.

Tuesday evening we decided to go out and purchase the crib. I had a 20% off coupon and we figured might as well start buying the things we need. We went to Target after that and picked up the crib mattress. On Wednesday I got a message from a friend saying that Target was having their baby sale and the breast pump she used was on sale. It happened to be the same one I had liked when I first started to look as well as the same one my sister has and likes. It was 25% off it's normal price and considering they don't go on sale very often we headed to Target after work to pick it up.

Yesterday we received the call that the crib was in and we could come pick it up so after work we trecked over to Babies R Us and picked up the crib. For those of you who don't know Babies R Us is having a sale right now if you bring in an old carseat, stroller, etc you get 25% off the purchase of a new one. We've had our eyes out for stuff and have asked some friends to keep their eyes open as we still needed to buy the stroller and carseat. I got a call from my friend Tara this morning and she had found one of those small umbrella strollers. She dropped it off on her way to run errands. The sale runs until next Saturday but I'm going shopping with a friend tomorrow so I'll probably buy the travel system tomorrow.

It's been a week of big purchases for us but thankfully they are all the ones we'll need for when the baby is first born. There are still some other things we'll need to buy but for the most part I feel a lot better than I did two weeks ago with where we were.

Goodbye Ankle

Well I think I have come to the conclusion that I must say goodbye to my ankles or at least the left one. The right one still hangs around for most of the day but the left one as well as the foot seems to be swollen on a regular basis these days. I figure it'll come back after the baby is born but I do miss being able to look at my feet and see an ankle.

In other baby news I finally have a consistant looking belly. I will post pictures soon (I promise) I just need Jym to take them for me. I tried to take a few myself in the bathroom but it just didn't work out all that well.

I passed my glucose test and everything looks good with the baby so far. I go back to the doctors in a few weeks and it's my last appointment where I go once a month. I'll be at the point where I go every two weeks and somewhere after 36 weeks I start going every week. I can't believe I've hit the last trimester. It's gone soo quickly. It feels like just the other day we found out we were expecting and yet it's been almost 6 months since that day. Crazy how time flies these days.

This weekend we're heading to NH for my sister's wedding and it will be good to see family. That's about it for here. Till the next time!

27 Weeks

Well today marked 27 weeks as well as the glucose test I've been dreading for the past 5 weeks since they told me at my last appointment that would happen at the next appointment. I have to say it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. It did still take me 15 minutes to drink the easydex but I managed to get it down.

Jym came with me to the doctors for the first time so he got to see how simple they are. I won't say completely painless because it did take two tries to get the blood needed today and I hate the part where I get to step on the scale but I know it's all for the baby and hopefully it'll come off easily.

I got to meet one of the other doctors in the practice today which was good as I had only seen my doctor for the most part and the last thing I wanted is to go into labor and for some reason my doctor was not available and have to work with someone I had never met. She was very nice and straightforward much like the doctor I normally see. One of the reasons I picked the practice I did was that it is three women. I'm fine with a male doctor for some things but there are just some things that I would rather have a female doctor for and when it comes to the OB/GYN that's really the only thing where I want a woman doctor over a male.

After the nurse that I saw today missed the vein to take blood my normal nurse came in and got it fairly quickly. The appointment after that was fairly routine, I got to ask any questions I had at the time and then we got to listen to the baby's heartbeat. It's actually one of my favorite parts. It was nice and strong so that was good and apparently she seems to be growing at a good pace. The doctor mentioned that next visit would be my last 4 week visit and then I would start going a little more frequently. As I thought about it I realized the next time I go I'll have only 9 weeks left till my due date.

On his days off this week Jym has managed to clean out the nursery and hopefully we'll be able to prime it this weekend. I'm looking forward to the nesting phase and wish I had some more time off. :)

Till the next time!

Lazy Sunday

Well I started out today thinking I would be productive but went down hill as the day progressed. I was somewhat productive this morning getting up around 8am to feed Marco and I cleaned up the kitchen a little bit. We had gone to Costco yesterday so I cut up and froze all the bagels.

A few months ago we got the 3 for deal from Verizon but when they installed the phone never worked. Jym called Verizon and they said they would come out sometime between 8 and 5pm (the other reason I made sure I was out of bed early). The Verizon guy came out a little bit before 10am and he was gone about 45 minutes later and our phone was working.

Somehow around the time the Verizon guy was here I was browsing TV and came across My Fair Wedding with David Tutera. Now when I was planning my wedding I never watched any wedding shows but had I known about this show I probably would have watched. It's absolutely amazing the work that he does. Based on the themes that the women wanted to work with the end result was something anyone would have loved.

Of course there was a marathon going on and so I was sucked in and then the afternoon was pretty much gone. I did get a few loads of laundry done so that was good. Other than that it was a relaxing afternoon of just vegging out and I don't feel too bad because I know that will be short lived with the baby coming. And like always weekends go way too quickly.

Where has the year gone?

I have had the same conversation over the course of the last week and we've all agreed for the most part... the year has gone by way too quickly. I was thinking about it just the other day and couldn't believe that in a little over a week it's going to be September. It makes the whole baby is coming thing a little more real in my mind. At this point I'm a little under 14 weeks and I was remembering back to when I was only 14 weeks pregnant.

A lot has changed since then but I don't know if I'm necessarily any more ready than I was at 14 weeks although I've had a bit more time to think about it. We still have a lot to do and as the countdown continues I think it's pushing me to get more done. We did manage to finish the guest room so that is a relief and one thing off our list. We've started moving things to the basement (ok Jym has done most of the moving) and once the other room upstairs is done we'll start priming and if we can figure out what color to do the room we'll paint that soon as well.

Jym recently started a new job which is closer to the house which I think he enjoys and it comes with a new schedule. He'll be working Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday which I'm hoping will help us over the next few months to get everything completed. It will be really nice when the baby is born and he's home 2 days during the week because it will give him some extra bonding time with his daughter plus help with the cost of daycare. I'm also hoping to get some work from home days but we'll see what happens as it gets closer.

This week I get to go have my glucose test done. I'm not looking forward to that mostly because I never was a huge juice/sweet drink fan and I have this liquid in the fridge that I can only guess tastes like overly sweet gatorade. I'm hopeful that the test will be normal and I won't have to do the 3 hour test but we shall see. It does seem that I'm starting to show a bit more this week. I keep meaning to take pictures but it's hard to get any good ones but hopefully soon. Maybe I'll attempt some soon. I promise to post them when I do finally take some.

Till the next time!

Better late than never

A lot has happened since my last post so I suppose this is more of an update and then a go forward from there. As always life tends to get in the way of me posting but I will try to get a lot better at it. Jym and I have been married now for over a year. It’s crazy how quickly time has gone and continues to go by. We spent our anniversary weekend down in Williamsburg Virginia which was both relaxing and a good time. We have plans to return there in the fall when his parents come to visit.

The weather was perfect for the weekend too, sunny and warm but not too hot. It was fun to walk around and see the different shops and the people dressed up in Colonial clothing. We got to eat in the historic taverns and had some interesting food but it was really nice just spending time alone. You would think since Kelly moved out in January that we’d have a lot of alone time but considering that we have a loveable great dane that isn’t always the case.

This gives us a nice segway into our next piece of news. At the end of November there will be a new addition to our little family. At this point I’m a little more than halfway through the pregnancy and it has had it’s ups and downs. The first trimester was especially rough on me. I’m not sure if it’s just because I so rarely get sick in general that it was tough but the constant nausea was not much fun and put quite the damper on a lot of things. Around 14 weeks it got a lot better and while most of the constant nausea is gone and for the most part I feel better I’m still getting used to being tired a lot. I think it’s just the small adjustments that are the hardest especially when you are used to your body reacting a certain way. The second trimester has been the best so far because I do feel good and now I'm starting to get my energy back I want to throw it all into getting the house ready for our little bundle of joy.

In the middle of July we found out that we are having a baby girl! It's been fun to try to figure out how we'll decorate her room as well as try to come up with names. We have some we like a lot but I worry we'll get to the hospital and she'll come out and then she won't look like the name we picked for her. I'm finally also starting to show (pictures coming soon) which I think is good. It was weird when i told people i was pregnant and they kept telling me I didn't look it.

But both Jym and I are thrilled if not a little scared but we figure that’s normal. It’s a big change that’s coming and I think it’s the unknown more than anything that is frightening. I spent a few years working at a day care center in the infant room so I know somewhat what to expect after a certain point but it’s the birth to that point that is scary. I’m sure we’ll be fine and it’s a learning period for all new parents and we’re lucky to have such a great support network in both our families as well as friends. Plus it’s also nice to know that we have friends in the area who will have kids around the same age (although a few just a bit older).

There's still a lot of things we have to figure out over the next few months, daycare, the room, getting it all set up and babyproofing the house (well as much as you can baby proof with a dog that's huge). I'm going to try to update this weekly with the going ons especially once the baby is born to keep everyone in the loop which I think will help with our families being so far away. I have a few friends who blog and I love to read their sites and especially Erin's who takes a weekly picture of her daughter and it's amazing to see how quickly she grew.

Anyways I'm going to try to be better about posting so we'll see how the next 15 weeks go. I'm sure I'll have something to say. Till the next time!

Arizona

We've been back from Arizona for about a week and a half and I'm now getting settled enough to write about it. It was a fantastic long weekend with Brent, Aaron and Patrick and of course Jym. It was as it looks boys weekend plus Mel. We got into Phoenix on Wednesday night.

Aaron, Brent, Jym and I went out for a lunch in Scottsdale and then drove up towards Sedona. We stopped at Montezuma's Castle which is a formation in the rocks where people lived a long time ago (see pictures).

We then continued up to Sedona stopping to look at the rock formations. You can tell you are with guys when they compare the color of the rock to a steak. But they were quite a site especially with a bright blue sky.

Friday we went up this trail in Brent's truck and after a bit of a bumpy ride we made it as far as we could go so we decided to climb on some rocks! Friday night we were joined by Patrick and headed to this restaurant called Elote where we had an appetizer of the same name. And although it has mayonaise in it, it was quite delicious!

Saturday we went to the Grand Canyon. I have to say the pictures don't do it justice. It is absolutely incredible. We lucked out for the most part and while we got rain there wasn't rain while we were at the Canyon or the Volcano Crater (i can't remember the name). We did get some rain as we drove back to Sedona from the Grand Canyon and then from Sedona back to Phoenix on Sunday we were in a torrential downpour.

All in all it was a fantastic vacation.

Spring Maybe?

Well it's been a long winter but I'm hoping that Spring is finally around the corner. On the plus side most of the snow that was dumped on the area a few weeks ago is gone except for where it was plowed/shoveled into big piles.

But there are little signs here and there that I am beginning to see and I feel like it is coming right on time. I was mentioning the other day that I was hoping that my tulips in my bucket out front would start to poke up but I was a bit nervous that growing tomatoes in that same spot would have an averse affect on them. However after a quick check yesterday they are starting to poke through the dirt. My guess is that they should be blooming by the end of march maybe early april. I wonder a bit if I'll have more this year or the same amount. Either way is fine with me and it will be exciting to find out.

I just checked the weather and for the next ten days it will be in the 40s and up into the low 50s which for the beginning of March is pretty good. The next few weeks will be busy but should be good. We leave on Wednesday for a much anticipated long weekend in Arizona. More to come next time and I'm sure there will be a bunch of fun stories.

Melting Snow

Well after our few storms we ended up having almost 50 inches of snow. Needless to say it's not going anywhere quickly, however it is slowly starting to melt. Our parking spot which we never shoveled overly well in the first place is almost back to normal. I'm looking forward to the nice weather and spending some more outside.

We've had some nice weather getting into the mid 40s so that is good. I'm looking forward to doing some more stuff outside and the flowers to start growing. I planted tulips in a bucket outside of our house last year and they bloomed nicely. I then planted a tomato seedling (because I couldn't bring myself to throw it away) not expecting it to grow much and it went a little crazy so I'm not sure whether the tulips will bloom or not. Time will tell if they will bloom but the snow needs to melt first.

We are slowly starting to do a bit more around the house as well. Kelly moved out in January and we are in the process of turning the room she was in into a guest room. Jym pulled all the chair rail off and now just has to finish it up and put drywall up where there was a hole to the plumbing stuff that was just boarded up with wood before. We are then going to turn the "blue room" into one that's painted in a more neutral color. I've bought the primer but I just need him to finish his part so I can finish it up. It'll be nice to have an actual guest room although it will probably be a while before we put an actual bed in it. I suppose an airmattress will just have to do.

The goal would be to have it at least finish and primed (if not painted) by the time Sara and Tal come to visit in April. I would love to have it done for mid March although that doesn't leave us much time. We'll just have to see what we get done tomorrow.

And for curious minds here is a picture of the snow outside our house after the first storm.

A Resolution of Sorts

I'm not big on the whole resolution thing as I find that I normally fail at them about 10 minutes after I make them (a few cases notwithstanding). My few friends of mine have blogs and I love reading them, seeing what they are up to, what is going on in their lives and the stories they have to tell. I think whether you see the people who write the blogs on a daily basis or only a few times a year or less it's good to get insight into their lives. The little stories that you may not talk about because it's long forgotten by the time you get together.

So I thought about starting to write again because I really enjoy it and what better way to help keep people up to speed with what is going on in our lives. Whether anyone keeps up with it or not I think it will be good for me to be able to write what's going on or not going on as the case may be. Perhaps I'll through some pictures in occasionally (or links to pictures however it works). And so it begins....

Today is day two of the massive storm that hit the mid atlantic. It started snowing a little before 10am on Friday and has yet to stop. We have over two feet already and the snow it still steadily coming down and isn't expected to stop till later this evening. If it were just me this would not be a problem. I would curl up and watch movies and tv all day long with no trouble whatsoever. That being said I live with my husband and a 135 pound dog so that all goes out the window. Now I love my dog but I swear he is the prissiest thing ever sometimes. He woke me up at 8am this morning (not sure why he let me sleep in an extra 90 minutes but I was excited) to go out. I put on his leash and opened the door and realized I would have to shovel before we could go anywhere.

I was not about to shovel my walkway and then the walkway down to the mailbox just so the dog could pee over there so I decided to shovel a path on the deck. Now growing up in New Hampshire I have shoveled my fair share of snow but I haven't done a whole lot of shoveling in the past 5 years since living in the Northern Virginia area. But no worries I grabbed the shovel and made a path for the dog to go out on the deck. Marco walked out willingly enough and then turned around and came right back inside without going to the bathroom.

Well I didn't want pee inside my house so I tried to shovel off the stairs and a small path out to the main path in case Marco would pee that way. No such luck. At this time Jym comes downstairs and we discuss and he shovels out a bigger spot on the deck for Marco (note: We need to buy a second shovel). Marco walks out stands for a minute and decides to come back in. Jym mentions that maybe if we let him out from downstairs he'll go.

For those of you who have never been in our house before you walk in on the main level where the living room, dining room, and kitchen are. Off of the kitchen is the deck. There's a door to go to the basement and off the basement there's another sliding glass door that goes to the backyard and is under the deck. This is where Marco finally decided to behave himself because he had some cover and didn't have to walk in the snow. Talk about a prissy dog.

Now while I am perfectly content to spend all day inside lounging on the couch on a snowy day Jym gets a little stir crazy. He doesn't mind staying home when he wants to, he has a problem staying home when he has to which is the case today. So he gets a little stir crazy and cranky but I suppose it is for the most part only a day or so. We'll see how this storm plays out and perhaps I'll take some pictures and post them soon.