baby boy

On Friday October 27th we found out we were having a boy. Monday, October 30th I went out and bought my first gender specific outfit for the baby.



How cute is this? It's so little looking and really soft. I love the "sir hugs-a-lot" and the little puppy knight peeking out of the tiny pocket. Who says boy clothes can't be cute?

*As always, click on the pics for a much larger (and much clearer) image.

rockin' outfit

This is so cute!

It would be perfect for our Wee One since his Daddy plays the guitar. The guitars on the shirt even sort of look like one Josh has. The bottoms are cargo pants (which got cut off in the enlarged picture). You can buy it at Temper Tantrums—a boys clothing store. They have lots of cute stuff that doesn't involve trucks or sports themes. I also adore the fortune onesie and the monkey see, monkey do onesie. Click on the links and check 'em out.

ornamental

Each year since I was a wee one, my Mom would buy me a special ornament for the holiday season. It was one thing I knew would happen and that I could look forward to before Christmas even rolled around. It usually came cheerfully wrapped at the same time we put up our tree each year. The ornament was always thoughtfully chosen and usually reflected my interests at the time or something that was going on in my life. When I moved out I got all of the ornaments for a tree of my own. They run the gamut from a silver cat in a stocking engraved with my name and 1976 (which was my first Christmas) to a little blonde Brownie, to a collection of adorable Snowbabies ornaments. Some of my most recent ornaments include a bride and groom with 3-1-2003 written at the base (for Josh and my wedding anniversary) and last year's ornament which is the front door of a house that says New Home and has our last name and street address hand written on it to celebrate the acquisition of the first home of our own.

When the family came over for Thanksgiving dinner this year, my Mom came with the very last ornament for us. The tradition ends this year—although it will be carried on whole-heartedly with the baby from us so that one day he may have a collection of memories to call his own. It's somewhat bittersweet, but I understand. I am 30 and this tradition could have ended long ago. I'm grateful to have all of these ornaments and each year when we put up the tree a flood of memories come rushing back as I carefully find a spot for each glimpse into my life. But, my Mom never disappoints and this may be the best ornament to date. It's certainly one that I'll never forget.


How appropriate and adorable is this? The book the "father" is reading says Parents To-Be and as you can see, the other book says 2006. The "mother" hen is sitting on her egg, happy as can be knitting a little bootie. This is so awesome. Thanks Mom, we love it.

you know what's really great?

Baby hiccups. Thump...thump...thump.

I love it!

159 days gone by

Today was my five month prenatal checkup. Things seem to be moving along nicely. I'm measuring 25 cm and am 22 weeks and 5 days along. That's a few days ahead of my calculations. The baby's heart rate was in the 140's and sounded strong. That's my favorite part of the visits right now. Hearing that sound brings a big smile to my face every time. I'm now averaging a pound a week weight gain, which the doctor said is right on.

The whole appointment only lasts a few minutes right now, but I suppose that's okay because it means everything is normal. My next appointment will be on the 15th of December and at that appointment I'll get the lab work to have the glucose screening done. I'm hoping Josh will be able to come to my next appointment so he can meet the doctor and hear the heartbeat again.

21 weeks

Dear Baby Boy,
Wow, I can't believe it's been 21 weeks already. That's over the half-way mark. The time seems to be flying by and before we know it you'll be gracing us with your presence. We can't wait. Of course, we aren't ready for you at all. The nursery hasn't been started yet—except for moving the stereo out of it. We haven't finished registering—you'd be pretty much naked if you were to show up today. I sent out the form for our parenting class today. Hopefully we will get our first choice and when done with it at the end of January, we'll feel a bit more prepared to greet you. If not, well they didn't always have classes and the world seems to have carried on okay.

The second trimester really has been the best so far. You can tell I'm carrying a baby, we are feeling you move more and more (but do tend to freak out when you don't), and I'm past that awful morning sickness and looming fatigue stage. My back hurts a bit, but it will all be worth it in the end. It's crazy to think that in just a few more weeks we'll be in that final trimester. Please continue to flip and kick and do all those things that remind us how close we are to the end. We are all anxiously awaiting the next 19 weeks. Oh, and if you could, try not to wait too long after March 23rd to arrive.

Love,
Momma

zanzibar

This is the nursery theme we registered for over at Babies 'R' Us. It's called Zanzibar and we really loved the little fuzzy monkey on the blanket and crib bumper. The crib set comes with the comforter, crib bumper, crib sheet, dust ruffle, diaper stacker and window valance. We also registered for the wall hangings, the lamp, the mobile, the pillows, a light switchplate, the hamper, the border, and an additional fleece blanket. So, pretty much everything but the drapes, the rug, and a few other things. Of course, we won't shove everything into one corner like they do in the picture—so it won't look so crowded and overwhelming.

my head is spinning

Since the weather is really crappy here today and Josh had the day off of work, we decided that today would be a good day to go and register for baby gear. We went to Babies "R" Us and started our registry. That's right STARTED, but not finished. It is so overwhelming in there and in the two hours we were there, we only made it through half the store. We were totally burnt out and hungry and both agreed to stop and come back at another time.

Not that it wasn't fun, it's just so much to absorb in one pass. Especially the infant care section which is where you really start. Bottles, pacifiers, baby washes, bibs, thermometers, etc., etc., etc. And loads of it. I think we were in that section alone for at least a half an hour. Then it's car seats and strollers. How do you decide what to get when you have no idea? We never made it to the clothing section, the furniture stuff (except for the bedding & nursery theme), or the keepsakes and storage type area. We'll go back another time—or at the very least, add to it online.

For those of you that know us personally, you can check out our registry here. For the rest of you, well maybe if you email us, ask real nice, and promise to send us something, I'll let you in on the details for accessing the registry.

just ducky

Look what I got today for $1! It's so cute, and for just a buck I couldn't pass it up.

kick off

I've been feeling the little flutters—called quickening—for several weeks now. It was subtle and sporadic, but it was there. About 5 a.m. Tuesday morning, I could feel the Wee One moving all over the place while I was trying to sleep.

Last night we got hit with the first big one. Josh and I had just finished dinner and were kicking back on the couch watching some television. Our couch has recliners built into it and I had the leg rest up and was rubbing my belly. I felt a little movement and mentioned it to Josh. A few seconds later, the right side of my stomach was privy to a BIG visible kick! It was incredible. The best part was Josh was right there and had his hand in the perfect spot to not only feel the kick, but see it too. I hope this starts to happen more often because it ranks up there with one of the truly awesome parts of this fabulous process called pregnancy.