I don't get her... but we got her...

I don't get it... What is it about this toy?!?

When I started going to a mommy group at Texas Women's I noticed that all these babies had a cute little rubber giraffe teething toy. I was told by one mom that her's son's giraffe was named Sophie.  Then another mom said something about "Sophie". And then I learned there is a Sophie Epedimic with new moms.

What is it about this toy?

Meet Sophie:

So here is why I was adamantly against purchasing Sophie for little Roo.

1. She is delightfully expensive. $25 for a 'Chew Toy' as Eric likes to call them. And let's be honest, with my dogs chances are she will end up in Lola or Patton's intestines before too long... I just could not justify spending that kind of money on a toy for infants!

2. She is French. I figure Andy was a little young to get too excited about 'designer' toys. Next thing you know he will be begging for some Marithe et Francois Girbaud baggy pants... 

3. The squeaking... oh the squeaking! And this isn't your 'squeeze it hard enough and it will make a little noise' squeak toy. I mean, if you look at this thing funny it will squeak enough to wake a sleeping baby! God forbid the baby falls asleep while Sophie is in the vicinity.

4. Confusion.... This goes quite nicely with the squeaking issue, but it is getting very difficult for Patton and Lola to distinguish between a puppy toy and a baby toy. And I knew that any time I heard a squeak, I would have to look around to make sure Roo wasn't putting a dog toy in his mouth, and the dogs weren't putting a baby toy in their mouth!

5. Sophie is a female named Sophie. I kind of like being the most important woman in Roo's life right now, and it seems a little early to give it up to this floozy!!!

But who am I to deny happiness to such a sweet boy? After seeing how IN LOVE all of Roo's friends are with Sophie I decided that she would go on his Christmas List and low and behold, Grammy got Sophie for the Roo! 

He. Loves. Her! The dogs are confused as hell... I've been replaced, He's squeaked himself awake on several occassions... but He. Loves. Sophie.

So... I don't know what it is about this little gal that the babes love so much... but trust me... all your preggo mamma's out there... your child's every happiness depends on it! :)

Dear Baby Jesus...

So Andy's first big Holiday Season has officially come to an end... as has my maternity leave. So now I'm just a regular working mother with nothing to look forward to until the birth of my next child I suppose... sigh

So for Thanksgiving we went to The Lake with my dad's side of the family. Of course Eric and I had tickets to the last A&M/ UT game... at least the last one for a while. So on Thursday my aunt, cousin and I got up early and went to White Bluff for their second annual Turkey Trot. My cousin finished first place and won a t-shirt! (There were probably only like 20 people that went, but she is still a badass runner, so she gets props still).

Then we had lunch, and little Roo got passed around to everyone. He also got to hang out with his cousin who is only about 3 months older than him. After lunch Eric and I packed up and headed to College Station for the big game. It was pretty depressing. Andy-Roo stayed and watched the game with Mimi and Poppy... Which was probably a good thing since Mommy had some very foul language! GRR! It sucked to see the Aggies lose, and the season was such a disappointment... but oh there's a whole nother blog for that...

Two weekends later we went back to Mansfield for "Christmas" with my side of the family. My mom has been dying to take family pictures so we finally got some! (Apparently I can't add photos from the computer I am on or something, so I will try to upload them later). We got to give all the kiddos their gifts which was a lot of fun.

Andy got  his picture with two different Santa's this year... and I even got Christmas cards out... sort of... actually there are some sitting on my dining room table that still need stamps... so I guess they'll be more like New Year's cards!

For Christmas we stayed in Houston and spent the holiday with Eric's family.  A few days before Christmas we got a phone call asking if Andy would be available on Christmas Eve to play Baby Jesus! They figured he behaved so well in the nursery he would be the perfect baby Christmas eve (ok, I may have made that part up myself, but it sounded good)!

Of course, Christmas eve morning he comes down with a cough and obviously wasn't feeling well.  Grammy brought over Chili and Tamales and we had dinner at our place. Also, our dog Patton had a siezure, which was pretty devistating. He has had a few in the past, but there is really nothing we can do about them. We still took Roo to the service and he was perfect the entire time! He was the perfect baby Jesus. Of course we didn't get any pictures, which is sad... but oh well... It felt kind of strange to pull out a camera and take a picture in the middle of a worship service.

Christmas day we went over to Grammy's and spent the day over there. The Roo still was sick... but he toughed it out and was super adorable for everyone. Fortunately I had the day off on Monday so I got to spend the day loving on my little sick guy and trying to make him feel better. Sick babies are no fun! He still got lots of loot from all of his family, so I can't wait until he is feeling better and can start playing with all his new toys.

So it wasn't exactly the Christmas I expected, and I didn't get to clean the house on my day off like I had planned, but at least my little guy is starting to feel better!

The Roo and the Poo

A little over 4 years ago, I rescued what I think is the most adorable little doggie in the whole world. After a lot of talk, we decided on naming our little guy General Patton. However, not long after that, for some reason I started calling him "Peanut". Our little guy now answers to both Patton and Peanut.

About 3 years ago, we adopted Lola, our very hungry 13" beagle. Out of nowhere I started calling her Lola Bear. I don't know why... though she could probably out-eat a bear if she ever met one.

My point is that I have a tendency to accidentally create nicknames. I even call my friend Brent "Brently" (Which now his wife sometimes even calls him from what I understand).

I thought "Andy" was going to be a sufficient name for Little Andy when he was born.  However, out of nowhere I started calling him "Andy-Roo", which has since been shortened to "Roo", "Little-Roo", and sometimes "The Roo". I worry that may one day turn into "Drew", which will only be a problem if my friend Sallie has a little boy because she has already 'claimed' that name :) But I suppose we will cross that bridge when we get there! :)

Now onto the Poo. My little Roo is growing up quickly, and after SEVERAL explosions over the Thanksgiving weekend, we are moving him on up to size 2 diapers.  He has officially christened several family members so far! Grammy, Grandma and Uncle Aaron have all been beneficiaries of his overflowing diapers! Hopefully we have that under control for a while. They say around 10 weeks babies may start pooing a little less, but The Roo has not gotten that memo...

Also, for everyone that I told over Thanksgiving that Andy was 11 weeks, I was wrong! :) He was 10 weeks on Thanksgiving and is 11 weeks today. I think I'm gonna stick with 'months' from here on out, because quite frankly I'm loosing count!

I still can't find my camera cord, maybe Santa will bring me one...

Andy's First Graduation!

Well, it's official, Andy has had his first graduation. Today we officially graduated from the Lactation Support Group at Texas Woman's Hospital.  Andy and I have been going every Monday since he was 4 days old. The group is for new mom's and babies up to 6 weeks past their due date. It's a great group to help breastfeeding mom's figure out what the heck they are doing!

Most moms only go for 6 weeks, but since little Roo was 4 weeks early, they let me hang around a few more weeks. The group really was a god send for me, and I highly recommend it for anyone that delivers at Women's and wants to breastfeed. I surely would have quit about 4 days in without it!

Another great thing to come out of the group is a bunch of great new mom's that I have met! There are about 7 or 8 of us that still try to get together on Monday's for lunch and a stroller date (Remember, most of them graduated at least 3 weeks ago!).  So Little Roo has a few friends right around his age, and even a birthday twin, Elijah that was born the same day as him! Today we ate at Black Walnut Cafe and walked the trail around Rice Stadium. Next week we plan on being ambitious and hitting up memorial park.


Speaking of Memorial Park, I'm back on my half marathon mission. I am set to do the My Fit Foods Woodlands Half Marathon in March, and I started training on Saturday. I went to Memorial Park at 7am (so early when Roo and I are used to hanging out in bed until 8 or 9ish) and ran 3 miles. OH. MY. GOODNESS. am I out of shape! I was limping around so bad all afternoon and all day yesterday! Hopefully it won't take too long to get back into decent shape to where I won't be so miserable after a long run!

It was brought to my attention that I am not posting enough blogs, so I apologize to my stalker... I will try to post more often! I will also try to get more pics of The Roo up... I have lost the cord to my camera, so as soon as I find it there is a whole boatload of pics to share!

Gig 'em!
MLS

You Forgot to Mention...

So I am currently 17 days into this whole 'Motherhood' thing, and I have to say... compared to a lot of people I know, I thought I was relatively prepared for what was coming... However there are still some things that have  caught me off guard!

First of all, the whole "Never wake a sleeping baby" is false advertising. As a matter of fact, I have spent the last 17 days waking a sleeping baby every 3 hours to feed him.  It's so sad to have to wake such a peaceful little guy... And he isn't usually happy about it either (That is until I start feeding him, then he's happy).

Now, I expected to get peed on occasionally, especially with a little boy... it comes with the territory... HOWEVER... I did not realize the dang kid would pee on me EVERY TIME I CHANGE HIS DIAPER!!! By the way, he does not do this to his father, or his mimi, or other grandmother... It's like he knows it's me, and it's his time to let it all go... I'm not saying I didn't expect it... I just didn't expect it to happen quite so often!!

Same goes with being pooped on... This kid has pooped on me 5 times in 17 days... 6 if you include the blowout diaper that made a mess all over my shorts (well they were Eric's shorts, but I was wearing them).  The projectile factor caught me off guard as well... that poo can FLY!!!

Due to the whole 'pee on mom every time she changes my diaper' mindset that my little guy has, the amount of laundry in my life is pretty overwhelming. I mean, I imagine our water bill will double because I am doing at least twice as many loads of laundry as I did pre-baby (granted, I did laundry as little as possible prior to baby... so that may have something to do with it!)

Those are the main surprises so far... but I'm sure there will be plenty more in the future... I'll keep you posted!

Oh, and here's a couple pics of Andy and Patton playing together!

Living life 90 Minutes at a Time

Well, I am officially over 2 weeks into motherhood, and things are going great! Andy, Eric, Patton, Lola and I are all adjusting well.

A lot of people are asking how the puppies are handling the new addition. Lola licked Andy on the head, realized he wasn't food for her to eat and quickly lost interest.  Patton wants Andy to play with him, so he will come up while we are holding Andy and start nudging him with his nose, and licking him... hoping for him to play back. I tried to tell him he had to wait a few months. Patton also gets REALLY concerned if Andy starts crying... Patton will go to the bassinet or pack n play and try to get to Andy (I am assuming to try and comfort him) or if we are holding him, Patton will come get by us and look at us like we are doing something wrong!  However, I do think they may be a little jealous. After all, Andy gets to eat every 3 hours, whereas they only get to eat twice a day. I catch myself constantly asking Andy if he's hungry, and Lola and Patton perk up.. only to be disappointed that there is no food in their immediate future...

Well little Andy is a hungry little gremlin and per pediatricians orders must be fed every 3 hours. Now, that is every 3 hours from start of his first feeding, to the start of the next feeding.  Well, let me tell you that is a LOT of feeding! Which does not leave a lot of time for mommy... The full process of Andy's average feeding is a hour and a half... which means I have been living my life 90 minutes at a time between feedings.  Basically I can get one thing accomplished between feedings...

Here is an example of an average day for me... (which is funny, because feeding every 3 hours where do you really start your day? For consistency's sake we can start my day at 5:30... the same time Eric starts his day)
- Feed the baby
- Let the dogs out, feed them
- Short nap
- Feed again...
- eat breakfast
- take a shower if there is time
- Feed the baby
- Find something to eat for lunch
- Another baby feeding
- Wash all the clothes Andy has peed on in the last 24 hours
- Feed Andy again
- Spend some quality time with the hubs/ eat dinner
- Feed the baby
 - Sleep
- Feed the baby again
- Sleep
- Feed the baby
- Sleep

It really doesn't leave much time to get anything done! My life now completely revolves around baby's feeding times... I suppose eventually he will eat less frequently, but until then this is my life! I sneak naps in when I can, but usually once I'm up in the morning, I'm up for the day... Who knew doing so little could be so exhausting?!?!

But we are all doing great, having fun and little Andy is growing like a weed already! :) I will try to post more pictures tomorrow... maybe instead of eating lunch ;)

Our House Grew by Two Feet!

If you haven't already heard, our little boy arrived on Thursday, September 15, 2011 at 12:59 pm. He weighed 5 lbs 14 oz and was 18 3/4" long. And he is perfect!

I never really thought I would enjoy the infant stage of motherhood, since all those little boogers do is eat, sleep and poop, but I am absolutely LOVING it! Andy is an amazing little cuddler and I could spend all day on the couch just cuddling with him and admiring how freaking cute he is!

And I know most mom's are partial and think their kid is cute, but for real I have a ridiculously beautiful kid. Thanks to my nutritionist, who loaded me down with ridiculous amounts of fish oil, he has perfect skin, and hair, and his head wasn't funky and cone shaped for very long. He has had daddy's lips and chin, and even though he was 4 weeks early, he was very proportional and not super skinny and lanky. He's pretty freaking cute.

Don't believe me? Check these out:

Initial Impression Teal Baby Announcements

Shutterfly cards for Valentine's Day, Easter & Father's Day.

View the entire collection of cards.

Baby Shower Pics

So I figured it would be easiest just to import all the pictures from the awesome baby shower that Lisa, Hannah, Chrissie, Lauren and Sallie threw for me!!!

Enjoy!

Nursery Pictures!

You have begged and pleaded, and my fabulous mother in law finally came to the rescue with a cord that would connect my camera to the computer!

Take a peek around the room that Andy will soon call home!

There are stil a few more things to do. The quilt I made for the queen size bed is still at the quilters, so as soon as I get that back I will post pictures. Also, the quilt that my mom made (that is folded and in the crib) is going to hang on the wall, but I still have to get the quilt hangers for that! Get excited... it's coming along nicely!

I will try to post shower pics soon :)

Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day!

I figured since today is Labor Day it would be appropriate that I post an update. No, I'm not in labor yet, but we are definitely getting down to the wire - 37 days until my due date! This weekend we have worked hard to get a LOT done in preparation for the little one's arrival!

The Nursery
The Nursery is pretty much completed. Eric helped hang up the letters on the wall and the curtains, we have the bedding all set up and everything is organized, at least for now! All that is left to do is hang the baby quilt on the wall (I still need to get a quilt hanger... minor detail), and the full size quilt for the bed in the room is at the quilter's. Once I get those two things done, the nursery will be officially complete!

Downstairs
We also put together the pack n' play, and baby Clara Mae came over and tried it out for us! Our swing is put together and working, and the changing table for downstairs is put together and ready to go with wipes, diapers, etc.

Hospital Bag
I figured Labor day would be an appropriate day to pack the bag for the hospital. However, there are certain things that I want to take to the hospital that I don't want to pack until go-time (makeup, camera, pillows, etc.).

Showers
I had a shower in Houston last weekend that was fabulous! My BFFs, Lisa, Hannah, Sallie, Chrissie and Lauren did a great job! The shower was at the Houston Arboretum, which is beautiful if you've never been there and had the chance to walk around. They hooked me up with gluten-free goodness, and we had plenty of cookies, cupcakes and cake leftover to much on for a few days! The shower was amazing and it was great to get to see all of the friends and family that made it out to celebrate baby Andy!!!

Yay for actually being somewhat prepared for labor!  I will try to post pictures of the nursery and baby shower soon!

What Dreams May Come....

So for anyone that watches True Blood, I have a theory that perhaps Sookie is pregnant... because some of her dreams are shaping up very similar to the dreams of a pregnant lady!
Let me just tell you, for those that don't know... Pregnant ladies dream like crazy... and about the weird, random, scary, sexy, you name it, I've probably dreamed it in the last 33 weeks!

Here are a few examples for you:

1. The Tasty Dream: So the other night I dream that I ate an entire box of Haagen Dazs Vanilla Milk Chocolate Almond Crunch bars... These to be exact:

And they were delicious! I think only 3 or 4 come in a box, so in reality, a pregant woman eating an entire box of them is not that far fetched... The funny part was, when I woke up for a much needed bathroom break I swear I could still taste the ice cream. I had to look around to make sure I didn't accidentally drive to the grocery store, buy some ice cream and eat it in my sleep! I never found any wrappers, so I think I'm in the clear...

2. The Ex-Boyfriend Dream: Seriously... even boyfriends that you may have forgotten about will pop up in your dreams! That boy that you held hands with in the 5th grade for like a total of 2 days? Yup, he'll be there.. That guy that was your 'boyfriend' at church camp until your brother scared him away... yup, he'll be there too! That guy that you spent years trying to forget, burning photographs, concert tickets, t-shirts, any memorabelia that reminds you of him, most definitely he will be in your dreams... It was a little disconcerning at first when I kept dreaming about all these 'ghosts of boyfriend's past', until I realized that this is apparently extremely common... so sorry, dear husbands, I hope you aren't jealous... but for some reason when your wife is pregant, she will most definitely dream of her exes...

3. Speaking of Men: And the men you are dreaming of, they are not necessarily always an ex... expect random appearances from that guy who sat 3 rows in front of you and to the left in your college Accounting class, or maybe Eric Northman will make an appearance (or several), a co-worker, a boss, or even a friend's husband or boyfriend (yeah, that's a weird one).  I think this is our body's way of reassuring us when we wake up, that we made the right decision in spousal selection... because that guy from my accounting class ends up is a really bad husband... at least in my dreams! And since i mentioned this guy earlier, I figure I should add a picture:

4. My baby isn't a baby dream: I was warned about these dreams, giving birth to a parakeet, or rabbit or whatever... and I've only really had two experiences so far.. The week before we found out the gender of our baby, I dreamed that we went in for the ultrasound.  When the ultrasound tech tried to find out the gender of the baby, we weren't able to tell because the little baby was wearing a bear costume in the womb. We tried to talk baby into taking the costume off, but apparently he was too modest...

In the other dream, I actually had the baby, but he was really early. He had to go to the NICU because he was not able to regulate his temperature, so I didn't get to see him right away. They finally let me go into the NICU to see him, and when I looked at him, he looked like a King Ranch Casserole with eyes, a nose and mouth! The doctor still wasn't able to regulate his temperature, so they put him in the oven, so he could get warm. (I think I may have been hungry this night!!!)

5. Breastfeeding Nighmares: As of late, I have started having some just plain weird breastfeeding dreams... In one of them, the baby went to nurse but when I looked down the had a crocodile mouth! Ouch!! (That dream may also be catagorized in the my baby is not a baby catagory!)

In another dream, I dreamed again that for some reason (I think possibly because we went to Lake City on vacation), I was not able to nurse for the first 5 days. While I was gone the nurses gave the baby formula and I was devistated! By the time I got to see the baby, he refused to nurse and all he wanted was the formula. I was so upset that my baby didn't want me (for the record, I am not a nursing nazi - I have no problem with mothers who elect not to breast feed).

6. My boy is a girl dreams: So just recently I had a dream where I ended up having the baby at home, and it ended up being a girl! I have had multiple sonograms that have confirmed boy, but it still freaks me out a little, since my mom was told that I was going to be a boy! I didn't really freak out in the dream, I was actually pretty excited and had plenty of spare girl clothes on hand... go figure! Oh, but after I had the baby we thought it would be a good idea to go to the hospital... but Eric hadn't installed the carseat yet, so mom held the carseat in the backseat while we drove to the hospital...

7. Labor and Delivery - Okay, well I haven't had any of these yet, and I'm only 7 weeks away... but I'm sure they are coming... and I'm pretty prepared for them...

Anyway, when I am able to sleep, and when I can remember my dreams, it has been pretty entertaining to try and explain them to the hubs. Sometimes he laughs, somtimes he looks at me like I'm a crazy person, and sometimes he tries to explain them away. I'm thinking about putting a pen and paper beside my bed so I can write down some of the crazy dreams I have before I forget!

Bed Rest Blues

Well for those of you that didn't hear, I was put on bed rest last Monday due to high blood pressure and elevated proteinuria.

A little bit of doctor talk for you, since I have lupus I am actually at an increased risk for preeclampsia. Preeclampsia is basically pregnancy induced hypertension along with increased protein in the urine. It can be very dangerous for both mom and baby, and really the only way to 'treat' it completely is to deliver the baby. (Obviously it is still a bit early for that.) My doctor has been following my pregnancy very closely and keeping a  close eye on my blood pressure and protein levels. He was a little concerned because last week I had a few high blood pressure readings, and so he ordered a 24 hour urine. When those results came back and showed elevated proteinurea, he became more concerned and put me on bed rest and asked me to monitor my blood pressure 4 times a day and repeat the 24 hour urine.

I will say, that I stayed mostly busy during the days because I continued to work from home, since my job allows that flexibility (which I am extremely grateful for). But laying around in bed or on the couch all day every day can be extremely frustrating! 

First of all, it's hard to keep your blood pressure down when you have all day and night to lay in bed and google "preeclampsia". Of course you read the worst of the worst stories, which leave you convinced that you are going to end up with all sorts of complications during the remainder of your pregnancy... stupid Google should not be allowed during pregnancy!

Also, it is very difficult to lay on your couch and not get up, when you know there is so much to do around the house! It's also very difficult to concentrate on getting work done, when there is unfolded laundry staring you in the face just DARING you to get up, go over there and FOLD IT!!! The day before I was put on bed rest I had washed all of Andy's clothes, recieving blankets, etc. I had not put them up yet, and so I knew they were all upstairs, folded, sitting on Andy's bed. But I also knew that if I dared get up, go upstairs and put them away not only would my doctor be mad at me, but I'm pretty sure my husband would have somehow found a way to chain me to the couch so I could never get up again!!!!

Speaking of my dear husband, our sunday school class is about to start a study on the 5 Love Languages. Well, early in the week we took a survey to determine what our love language is. Mine is Acts of Service.  Eric was definitely going above and beyond when it came to acts of service this week. He had to do the laundry, clean the kitchen, cook, go grocery shopping, take out the trash, take care of the puppies, listen to me whine and complain about not being able to get off the couch, all while I just laid there and asked him to refill my glass of water. He was a MAJOR trooper and gets mad props for being the best husband ever!

I will say the bed rest had its perks. I had some lovely visitors come by to see me, including precious Charlotte and her mommy Chrissie. I also got in a lot of naps, which kept me rested  and happy!! Also, we have now completed a project for Andy's room - letters that we are going to hang on his wall.

I say 'we' because basically I did the polka dots on the "N" and then nagged Eric enough until the did the rest of the letters! He is WAY more talented and patient than I am!!!!  I am so excited about getting these up on the wall in the nursery. They are going to look AMAZING!!!

I went back to the OB on Friday, and he has taken me off bedrest and has told me basically just to take it VERY easy and stay off my feet as much as possible. Hopefully the bed rest is done until little Andy arrives. I will have weekly appointments now and have to do a 24 hour urine every week until I deliver... so THAT will be tons of fun..

I did finally put up those close in Andy's room on Saturday, and even ventured out of the house to the grocery store yesterday, sunday school today, and our childbirth class this afternoon.

We were supposed to go up to Spring this morning because sweet Clara Mae was baptised, but we thought with the childbirth class from 2:30-7:30 it was in my best interest to stay in Pearland and take it easy early afternoon before the class. I am glad I stayed because after we got home from Sunday School I literally napped until it was pretty much time to go to class. I'm hoping I get to see her soon though!!

This week will be another crazy busy week. I plan on going into work on Monday/Wednesday/Friday and working from home on Tuesday/Thursday.  Also, my work is throwing me a shower on Friday, my good friends are throwing me a shower on Saturday and my Sunday School class is throwing me a baby shower on Sunday, so I will be super busy! I can't wait to get to see all my friends and family!!! I am just overwhelmed with how kind and generous everyone has been while we prepare for little Andy's arrival!

Excuse me, my son shouldn't have any girly parts!

So yesterday I had an ultrasound to check the growth of little Andy.  He is chugging along just fine at 4 lbs 6 oz, which puts him in the 65th percentile.

However, the ultrasound tech through me through a bit of a loop. When she first started the ultrasound she asked if I had found out gender at the last ultrasound. I informed her it was actually 2 ultrasounds ago when we found out.  (I did not mention that SHE was actually the ultrasound tech that did that sonogram. I figure she sees a lot of women every day, so I didn't expect her to remember my awesomeness).
Fastforward about 20 minutes after she had checked most of Andy's measurements, she then casually mentions "And there are her girly parts". I sat straight up and said "EXCUSE ME!?!? My son shouldn't have any girly parts! He's been confirmed boy TWICE!" (Once again I did not mention that one of those confirmations actually came from HER!) She apologized and said well, I just saw a little bit so let me take a closer look.  After a few more minutes she was able to confirm to me that Yes, Andy is still a little boy!

I will say this is still enough to put me in a minor panic, as when my mom was pregnant with me, she had an ultrasound that confirmed that I was a boy. She was quite shocked when I was born and came out a little girl instead. So here is the deal, if little Andy does end up being born with 'little girly parts', here's hoping she likes sail boats, the color blue, and puppy dogs!!! And if he is born with 'little boy parts', I'm sure this story will be used numerous times throughout his life as a way to embarass him!

Here's a few pictures for you. These are actually from 2 weeks ago, but I don't have the ones from yesterday electronically... so I figure I would post these instead

His Manhood

His Profile

3D picture of his cute little face

Showered with Love!

Wow, it took me way too long to write this, but I have to brag about how awesome my baby showers were last weekend! Unfortunately my camera charger has gone AWOL and so I have no pictures, so if you have pictures please email them to me! 

Eric and I went up to Mansfield last weekend because I had not one, but TWO baby showers!

Saturday I had a shower at Grandma's house. It was so great! She put together the cutest Diaper Cake ever! She had adorable blue decorations, and made a baby clothesline for me with all sorts of cute stuff on it. She even made a game out of the clothesline, where she took it away before I opened presents and the guests had to remember what all was on it! She also played the infamous chocolate in the diaper game, which I think Morgan won! (She has a lot of experience with analyzing the inside of diapers I suppose). This was a 'family shower', so a lot of my cousins, aunts, great aunts, etc. all came. To top off the event, my mom brought a black forest cake! Now, I am not 100% sure if Black Forest Cake is gluten free, but mom and I decided it is probably just maringue and sugar and milk... or something of that nature. I don't care... it's my favorite dessert in the whole wide world! I got all sorts of fabulous things for Andy, including 2 baby baths, some super adorable clothes, and my diaper bag which I am super stoked about! (Ok, so maybe the bag is more for me than for little Andy... :))

Sunday, my mom's best friend Teresa put together a shower for me. It was with alot of my Mansfield friends, and all of my Church Mom's, as I like to call them. (I guess they will all be Andy's Church Grandma's now!)  It was so great to see everyone! Peggy made some gluten free cupcakes and cookies which were AMAZING! We ended up with so much swag I wasn't convinced Eric would be able to fit it all into the Armada.  I got to see a lot of my high school friends that still live in the DFW area that I don't get to see nearly enough! I need to plan another trip back, because I know I didn't get to catch up with each of them as much as I wanted to, but I was so happy to get to see them all and spend time with them! Plus, all the ladies who helped raise me were there (all my Church Mom's), and it was so great to see how excited they were for Eric and I as we start this next phase of our life! I feel very blessed to have such wonderful women in my life... I hope Andy gets the opportunity to grow up with 'Church Mom's' as loving and kind to him as these ladies have been to me in my lifetime.

The Armada was litterally STUFFED full of stuff! I even told Eric I did not think he would be able to fit it all in, but somehow he managed! We barely had room for Lola and Patton in the truck, and had to squeeze their bed in... though I think they would have preferred to be in my lap.

Thank you cards are written, and everyone will get them soon, but I am just so grateful for everyone who came and shared in my excitement with me! I had such an amazing weekend, and it was wonderful to see how loved Andy is already! I can't wait until he is here and I get to bring him back to Mansfield for everyone to get to meet him!!!

PS Chelsea, I am SUPER SORRY that I forgot to add you to the invite list for the shower :( I still love you!!!

Unplugged (Better late than never, right?)

Well, if you didn't know yet, Eric and I recently got back from our annual trip to Colorado. Up in the mountains in Lake City, Colorado, any sort of internet and/or cell phone service is pretty hard to come by, so I expected to spend the majority of the week 'unplugged'.

We drove up to Mansfield on Thursday night and spent the night with the 'rents. On Friday morning bright and early we headed out of town in our caravan of 4 cars, and 13 family members. Have you ever been on vacation with 13 family members? It can be quite interesting... and entertaining!

We arrived to our condo on Lake San Crystobal on Saturday night... and the boys were up and off to go fly fishing early Sunday morning. Usually I would go fly fishing as well, but unfortunately the doctor, and husband, advised against hiking up 2 miles to fish upstream another 2-3 miles and hike back 4-5 miles to the car at 29 weeks pregnant. I can't imagine why that might be a problem.... So instead I got to be one of the ladies on this trip, and went to church and had lunch at Southern Vittles. After heading home for a nap and a little reading, we went back to town for a "Snowshoe Sunday" from
The San Juan Soda Shop!

Pretty much if you don't fish in Colorado your day consists of:
- Wake up to beautiful view of the lake and mountains
- Breakfast
- Nap
- Read
- Nap
- Go to town for lunch (We also had lunch at Poker Alice, Restless Spirits Saloon and The Packer Saloon)
- Shop around town in one of the 5 or 6 stores that are pretty much the same every year, yet I still find myself making sure that I stop by every single pace
- Ice Cream and/or Cherry Limeade at San Juan Soda Fountain
- Another nap
- Dinner
- Bedtime

On Wednesday, most of the crew took the day off and went White Water Rafting in Gunnison. I obviously was not allowed to go, so Eric and I spent the day in town and took a walking trail up Henson Creek. We also ran into Grandma and Gramps who had just gotten into town, so they sat with us while we finished up lunch and we got to catch up.

Thursday they finally let me go fishing! We spent most of the time driving trying to find a new fishing spot, but we started running low on gas so we had to turn back and go to one of our regular places.  I didn't fish far upstream so all I caught was a few tiny fish, but it was nice to at least get to fish for a bit.  Thursday night was our annual fish fry, and mom and Mina were awesome enough to get some gluten free flour and corn meal so I could have some gluten free fish!

Friday was another day of relaxing and shopping around town, and of course packing up and getting ready for the long drive home.

Saturday morning was the devistating loss... We all got up around 4am and started getting ready to go. I was heading down the stairs so I slipped my phone in my back pocket... (which BTW I NEVER do, because I know it's dangerous), and of course I had to go to the bathroom for the MILLIONTH time. I go into use the bathroom and before I get the opportunity I hear a splashing sound. I look down and realize my phone has fallen into the toilet. AWESOME! Of course some choice words come out, and I get a little bit upset... (FYI in pregnancy terms I have a major meltdown!!!!) I cried, I cursed, I pouted, I cried some more... it was rather tragic. I was able to find some rice to put the phone in, but to no avail 24 hours later the phone was completely dead.

I was phoneless for over 48 hours... and felt so sad and disconnected! I couldn't believe how many times I went to go do something on my phone before I realized it was gone! I kept contemplating if I should just get a regular (non-smart) phone, or another iPhone. I was devistated...

Fortunately on Monday I took it into the apple store... I am not sure what it is about me, but apparently I have the ability to glamour Apple employees into giving me replacement iPhones for free!  The very awesome, very nice guy at Apple took pity on the super pregnant woman and replaced my phone for me!!! I pretty much cried again, and am now plugged back in.

However, for the record I had not synced my phone in a VERY long time, so everyone go home and sync your phone tonight! And then don't be surprised if I facebook message you asking you for your phone number again, because I may have lost it!!

It took me forever to write this post, and it's super long, but I'll update about my awesome showers later this week!

The Myths of Pregnancy (or at least MINE!)

So when I first found out I was pregnant, I started reading... EVERYTHING... Books, websites, forums, pamphlets, brochures, etc. Obviously no two pregnancies are the same... but I got a little annoyed with a few things that apparently happen to every pregnant woman but ME!

Here are my top 3

3. SLEEP - First of all, if one more person tells me "Get as much sleep while you still can!"... I think I might scream! I had always heard that once you get into the 3rd trimester sleeping can be a bit of a problem... Too bad it's been this way for me the ENTIRE pregnancy. It is like the day I found out I was pregnant, my body said, "That's it! No more peaceful night sleep for YOU!!! Muah ha ha ha!!" (Apparently my body has an evil laugh).  I have been tossing and turning and getting up to pee, and waking up for no reason and not beinga ble to go back to sleep the entire pregnancy.  Thank goodness that Eric and I have a big enough bed that apparently I didn't wake him up... too much! Actually, since we got back from our vacation on Sunday, I have been sleeping BETTER... and I'm in my 3rd trimester now... Go figure... (Of course I still have 10 weeks to go so I may not be sleeping better for much longer!)

2. SECOND TRIMESTER SECOND WIND - Okay, so for anyone that saw me during my first trimester, it was probably either at work or at my house. Because apparently growing human life inside of me wears me out.... Like to the point that I would Get up, Go to work, Go home, Lay on the couch, Go to sleep, Repeat. On the weekend I would pretty much nap all day. I am pretty sure there were some Saturdays I barely even got out of bed.  The thing that kept me going was everyone that talked about how much energy they had during their second trimester. So I knew if I just held out until then I would be fine... And so I waited. And 12 weeks came and went... and still no energy... But that's ok I thought! It's still early... Really 2nd trimester starts at 13 weeks... and 13 weeks came and went... and still no energy... Well maybe I am a late bloomer? so 14 weeks came and went and STILL NO FREAKING ENERGY!!!! I am FINALLY (once again not until my 3rd trimester) regaining some of my energy... Like to the point where I can go to bed at 10 and wake up at 6 and not need 3 naps during the day (Though I would say I am still not back to my non-pregnant energy levels)! Second Trimester Second Wind my butt!!!!!

3. HAIR AND NAILS - One of the things I was most excited about the pregnancy was that EVERYONE taked about how great their hair and nails were why they were pregnant (vain, I know... so sue me)! I couldn't wait!!! I've always had really brittle yucky nails, and my hair grows sooooooooooo slow... so I was excited, and really hoping that would mean my hair would be long enough for a pony tail by baby-time... because let's be honest, once a little one is here the days will be few and far between when I actually have time to do my hair! 30 weeks in, and I see no change in my nails OR my hair... Hair is still growing as slow as ever... and my nails still can't grow to save my life... And before you ask...Yes, I am taking my prenatal vitimins... and they aren't helping!! Woe is me...

Anyway, those are the most annoying for me right now... At some point this week I will try to post about our vacation last week (which is why I haven't posted in a while).

Have a great day!

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree

A few years ago, someone gave me a picture frame that said "It's Official, I've Become my Mother".  It was a cute frame, so I put a picture of me and my mom in it and put it on a shelf... little did I know the reality that I actually am turning into my mother... one day at a time...

The evidence is piling up, and since getting knocked up it has become MORE and MORE obvious that I am turning into my mother... Here is my list of Top 5 Realizations that I have become my mom:

5. I freak out about cleaning for the cleaning lady. I remember being a little girl, laying in my twin size bed playing with Teddy Rupskin when my mom came in and told me that I had to clean my room. I asked her why and she said that we had a lady coming to clean the house (by the way, my mom did this MAYBE 2 or 3 times in my childhood. I don't recal if there was a specific reason for this, maybe she was hosting a party?). Anyway, I thought it was ludicrous to clean for the cleaning lady, yet there I was yesterday, trying to get things picked up and the dishes done before my cleaning lady came today (Then again, she does put our knives in the dishwasher which Drives. Me. Crazy!!).

4. I am all of the sudden afraid of heights. My mom and my brother have always been the ones afraid of heights, and I was always the one to make fun of them! Over the last year or so I have realized that I, myself am a little freaked out by heights... not to the point where I would hide in the floorboard of a suburban while going over Engineer's Pass... but none the less... kind of weirds me out...

3. I think the new heights phobea is linked to #3... worry... I. Worry. About. EVERYTHING! I can't help it! I worry about normal things like money, childbirth, my hair falling out after the baby gets here.  But then I also worry about silly stuff, like if I will have fun on vacation, what we are going to eat for dinner, and OMG What is my cleaning lady going to think about my house being SO DIRTY!?!?!? I will say, that my Gran may have been a bit more of a worrier than my mother is... so maybe it comes more from her... but I never really considered myself one to worry. Until... Baby... I guess babies make you crazy... that's the conclusion I am coming to!

2. Mom's gonna love this one... (It's probably going to make her cry - I love you mom)... but my mom has a bit of passive aggressive in her (And I still love her for it!!!). This was most obvious to me when I was getting married. She would ask what color bridesmaid dresses I wanted and I would answer... and she would reply with "Really?!?!? You think that will be a good color?!? Do you think that color would look okay on (insert bridesmaid name here)?!? I mean, it's your decision, but think about it".  And I would reply with, "Well mom, what color do you think I should choose?", and her response was "Oh honey, it's your wedding... it's up to you!".  That conversation happened with just about every decision about my wedding. It cracked me up and drove me crazy at the same time.  And now I am doing the SAME THING to Eric.  I mean substitute wedding talk with baby talk, and you have daily conversations between Eric and myself. It. Is. Scary! The scarriest part?!?! I didn't even REALIZE it until one day Eric looked at me and said, "You sound just like your mom!". EEK! Good thing he likes my mom!!!

1. The Disappearing Purse: The straw that broke the camel's back happened to me Saturday afternoon when I ran to the grocery store. I purchase my groceries, take them out to my car, load them in the trunk, take the cart to the cart return, go back to my car and drive off. I get home, pull into the driveway, reach over to grab my purse and.... OH MY GOD WHERE IS MY PURSE!?!?!? I must have put it in my trunk when I unloaded the groceries. I go check the trunk... No.Purse.  Well crap... At this point I realize I have done one of 2 things... Left my purse at the cashier or in the cart... I still managed to get home with my keys and my phone... but no purse! I rush back to Kroger, and thankfully as I pull into the parking lot I see 3 women holding my purse walking it to the guy that is picking up carts in the parking lot. I frantically jump out my car yelling 'It's Mine! It's Mine!" fortunately they believed me... because it's not like I could show any proof of ID!!!  If you haven't heard, my mother is NOTORIOUS for leaving her purse places... fortunately, Kroger is only 3 minutes away as opposed the the 3 hours trip my mom took before realizing she had left her purse at a fast food restaurant in Marshall, TX... Good times...

I guess in the end, it's a good thing that I am ending up more and more like my mom. I love her to death and she has been such a great role model over the last 27 years (give or take a few of those teenage years ;))! She really is a blessing in my life and I don't know where I would be without her.  She has always been so loving, nurturing and protective of us. I could have never wished for a better mother, and  I will be extremely happy if I end up half the mom to Andy that she was to me.

(PS I hear a few people are having trouble leaving comments... Sorry but I have no idea how to help you! If anyone else has had trouble leaving comments and figured it out, feel free to leave a comment on what they may need to do!)

Lazy Saturday

There are few things better on a hot Saturday in July than hanging out with some good friends, and doing a bunch of nothing!

This morning, our good friends Chrissie and Brent came over and hung out with us. Chrissie is a few days past her due date (bless her soul!), so they brought breakfast and they boys played video games, while Chrissie and I vegged on the couch, watched some Harry Potter and hung out with our puppies!

After grabbing a late lunch, they went home and Eric and I ran to get some last minute supplies for the quilt I am putting in the nursery.  This afternoon was topped off when we made some Tropical Watermelon Sorbet, thank you, Giada! We saw her make this the other day on the Food Network and knew we had to give it a shot.

I have to share the recipe and I think everyone should try this! It is so delicious and so easy.

Ingredients:
Watermelon (3 1/2 cups chopped up into about 1 inch pieces)
Juice from 3 limes
3/4 cups Ginger Ale
1/2 cup Grenadine
1 small can (6 oz) pineapple juice

Put all the ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth.  Then pour into your ice cream maker and make according to your ice cream maker's directions!
(Apparently the ginger ale can be replaced with dark rum, so we may have to try that one next summer!)

It is delicious and refreshing - and gluten and dairy free! Give it a try, and then thank Giada!