Living Life Abundantly

Friday Randoms

2012-02-10T10:30:00.000-06:00

I am so glad it's Friday! We've had such a long week because Landon has been sick. He hasn't been sleeping {Wednesday night I held him all night long in the recliner - yawn} and he has been extra fussy. So I'm ready for the weekend! Let's just chat about some random things going through my head, shall we? ;-)

1. We got Landon's Valentine's Day card sent out and I think they turned out so cute!

2. I am obsessed with this heated throw blanket I got at Bed Bath and Beyond a few weeks ago. I get so cold while I sleep and so this baby sits under our sheet and blankets and I'm toasty all night long. It makes it even harder to get out of bed in the wee hours to tend to a sick baby though! Hah!

3. My New Years Resolution this year was to eat more responsibly - more organic and local products and just an all around more natural and healthy lifestyle. It's going to be hard because my favorite things are cheeseburgers and Snickers bars. But I have been shopping at our new local organic grocery store (our city isn't cool enough for Whole Foods or Trader Joe's) and I've also been using reusable shopping totes. I have gotten several from different places but these are by FAR my favorites! They're from K-Mart and they were less than $2! They are also huge! I can fit a week's worth of groceries in two of these big totes. It certainly makes carrying everything in the house easier too. And I love the retro print on the front. Cute and practical? Win win!

4. Nothing is booked yet, but I think we will be going to Texas in the next couple of months for Joe to attend a conference for work. We are also trying to come up with ideas for a family vacation in the summer or early fall (depending on Joe's schedule for his last year of residency) but this will be our first trip as a family!

5. Is there anything cuter than a baby booty in Levi's? ;-)

Happy Friday!

February Craft Club

2012-02-08T10:21:00.001-06:00

I've posted before that my little group of girlfriends has a monthly craft club. We take turns hosting it and the hostess makes dinner and gets all the supplies and demonstrates a craft. I hosted our October meeting and then it was my turn again this month :)

I got all the stuff for each of the girls to make a Valentine's Day mailbox for themselves, their child or their spouse. I love this craft because it was super cheap - the boxes were only a dollar from Target and the stands (actually candleholders!) were from the Dollar Tree. I got a bunch of scrapbooking embellishments and stickers on sale at Michael's to dress them up with.

I put out some of my old antique white dishes (that I got for a few dollars from an estate sale) and I had some pretty cloth napkins on top.

These glasses were a huge hit! I bought a set of goblets at TJMaxx and dipped the stems in chalkboard paint and let them dry for a few days. I love that each girl could write her name on her glass and there was no confusion who's was who's :)

I made this recipe from Martha Stewart for dinner with salads and garlic bread. I'm not kidding, this recipe is SO easy. Literally dump everything in a dish and bake! But it seems kind of fancy because it has orzo and feta cheese and fresh dill. Love it!

I made these cupcakes I found from Pinterest. They are my new favorite cupcake!!!

By the way, if you're on Pinterest and you want to follow me, you can find me under "brittanyhuffman" - I would love to follow you back!!

Happy Wednesday :)

P.S. You all know my love for Erin Condren planners and organizing things! I've been on the lookout for a coupon code or voucher for two of my girlfriends who are wanting a planner - to no avail, boo! - but there is a giveaway happening at my new friend's blog here for a $25 giftcard. :)

Project 366 Week 3

2012-02-05T21:32:00.001-06:00

Valentine's Day Mantle

2012-02-02T09:48:00.000-06:00

I don't usually put up a festive mantle for Valentine's Day but this year I decided I could "shop my house" for things to put up. Plus, something about having a kid makes me want to get into each holiday :)

Chalkboards are so easy to decorate with. They are "old school" and perfect for quotes - two of my favorite things. I had to think of something on the fly to put on up here so I used a line from one of my favorite songs to sing to Landon :)

L.O.V.E. by Nat King Cole

L is for the way you look at me

O is for the only one I see

V is very very extraordinary

E is even more than anyone you adore and

Love was made for me and you

I bought the cherub at Hobby Lobby in the Spring/Easter section.

I love to decorate with candy (and then challenge myself to stay out of it!). Sweethearts for Valentine's Day. Malted eggs for Easter. Candy corn for Halloween. The possibilities are endless!

Pearls and diamonds! Yes, please! :)

Happy Thursday!

Project 366 Week 2

2012-01-30T08:28:00.001-06:00

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Teeth & Deal

2012-01-27T17:13:00.001-06:00

Just look at this picture. My little man has two bottom teeth! I sat up a little "at home" photo shoot yesterday because I needed some pictures for our Valentine's Day cards. This isn't the picture we used but I love how his little teeth are visible here. He's growing way too fast for my taste ;-)

If you haven't ordered Valentine's Day cards, I just wanted to let you know that now through Monday tinyprints.com is putting their cards at $0.99! Even photo cards! {use code vday99}. Hope you can take advantage of this deal! I love tinyprints. They did our Christmas cards and I was impressed with how good the quality was. I'm excited to put together Landon's first valentines. I remember so vividly in elementary school bringing my valentines cards for all my classmates and we each had a little mailbox on our desk for our "deliveries". :)

Music, Book and Sleep

2012-01-26T12:56:00.001-06:00

I have not done a good job at all lately of keeping up with this blog and I hate it. I think it's mainly because Joe is doing OB anesthesia this month and next and the hours are LONG. Most nights he gets home just in time to help me put Landon to bed. I'm pretty much carrying all the load of "household things" so blogging has gone to the back burner.

Yesterday Landon and I had our music class. It cracks me up because he's the youngest child in our class {which is mixed ages} and he just sits so still and stares at all the other kids. I worry our teacher thinks he is totally sheltered! Hah!

I know I am so late to the game but I am about halfway through Hunger Games and if you haven't read it I would recommend it to you!! I have been staying up way too late after putting Landon to bed to read. I heard they're making a movie too!

Speaking of putting Landon to bed, we have officially relinquished the swaddle and it has been a rough transition. I think I'd like to take it back and maybe swaddle Landon until he's 18 because he woke up every 30 minutes the first night because he kept accidentally (?) rolling over and getting frustrated. I hope he starts to do better soon! He just loves being hugged, snuggled, swaddled and waggled (maybe not but it rhymed).

Happy Thursday!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Project 366 Week 1

2012-01-22T18:50:00.003-06:00

Sarah at Life Sweet Life posted a great tutorial for Project 366, aka taking a picture every single day of the year. I'm a little scared of the commitment but I think it's such a nice way to document day-to-day life. So here's week one! :-))

{click to enlarge}

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Valentine's Day Mailboxes

2012-01-19T14:37:00.003-06:00

I've been trying to come up with an easy Valentine's Day craft because I'm hosting our monthly craft club for February. I saw (somewhere??) that Target had little tin mailboxes in the Dollar Spot so I went and bought some to experiment with. They are so cute for $1 and mine had red, white, turquoise and pink ones :)

I wanted to put them on a stand of some sort and I was at the Dollar Tree when I ran across these little black wrought iron candleholders. Right there on the second row down. Score!!

When I got home I just hot glued the mailboxes to the candleholders (the short one worked best upside down).

Michael's had all their scrapbooking embellishments 40% off so I got some odds and ends to dress up my mailboxes.

Of course I will monogram or initial anything that will sit still long enough, but I think you could also use some cute address like "101 Lover Lane" on the side ;-) - be creative!

And then I just added little stickers and things until I was satisfied. Landon's needed a little bird sitting on the top and mine got a butterfly :)

For my craft club I'm going to have each of the girls write a valentine for everyone else and put it in their box to read later. Won't that be fun? :)

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Raising A Little Boy

2012-01-10T07:00:00.000-06:00

Only a handful of people who are very close to me know I actually *wanted* a boy when I was pregnant. I know, it's kind of wrong to actually hope for a certain gender. I can tell you that now because it worked out - hah!

We didn't find out the gender while I was pregnant (and of course I would have been thrilled to have a little girl!) so when I saw our baby was a boy on delivery day I was so excited. I have always thought raising a little boy would be so fun. I think I am up for the task of raising a generous, energetic and loyal little boy. And, maybe a little selfishly, I know that boys have a special relationship with their mothers that girls don't. I will always be the first woman in my son's life and I know someday I will get replaced by another woman - his wife - so I want to do the best job I can now to lay the groundwork for an amazing man and husband. I have seriously, really, really always wanted a little boy.

I ran across something on another blog that made me cry so hard over having a little boy. I love it so much :)

25 Rules for Moms with Sons
1. Teach him the words for how he feels.
Your son will scream out of frustration and hide out of embarrassment. He'll cry from fear and bite out of excitement. Let his body move by the emotion, but also explain to him what the emotion is and the appropriate response to that emotion for future reference. Point out other people who are feeling the same thing and compare how they are showing that emotion. Talk him through your emotions so that someday when he is grown, he will know the difference between angry and embarrassed; between disappointment and grief.

2. Be a cheerleader for his life
There is no doubt that you are the loudest person in the stands at his t-ball games. There is no doubt that he will tell you to "stop, mom" when you sing along to his garage band's lyrics. There is no doubt that he will get red-faced when you show his prom date his pictures from boy scouts. There is no doubt that he is not telling his prom date about your blog where you've been bragging about his life from his first time on the potty to the citizenship award he won in ninth grade. He will tell you to stop. He will say he's embarrassed. But he will know that there is at least one person that is always rooting for him.

3. Teach him how to do laundry
..and load the dishwasher, and iron a shirt. He may not always choose to do it. He may not ever have to do it. But someday his wife will thank you.

4. Read to him and read with him.
Emilie Buchwald said, "Children become readers on the laps of their parents." Offer your son the opportunity to learn new things, believe in pretend places, and imagine bigger possibilities through books. Let him see you reading...reading the paper, reading novels, reading magazine articles. Help him understand that writing words down is a way to be present forever. Writers are the transcribers of history and memories. They keep a record of how we lived at that time; what we thought was interesting; how we spoke to each other; what was important. And Readers help preserve and pass along those memories.

5. Encourage him to dance.
Dance, rhythm, and music are cultural universals. No matter where you go, no matter who you meet - they have some form of the three. It doesn't have to be good. Just encourage your son that when he feels it, it's perfectly fine to go ahead and bust a move.

6. Make sure he has examples of good men who are powerful because of their brains, their determination, and their integrity.
The examples of men with big muscles and a uniform (like Batman and LaMarr Woodley) will surround your son from birth. But make sure he also knows about men who kick a$s because of their brains (Albert Einstein), and their pen (Mark Twain), and their words (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.), and their determination (Team Hoyt), and their ideas (The Wright Brothers), and their integrity (Officer Frank Shankwitz), and fearlessness (Neil Armstrong), and their ability to keep their mouths closed when everyone else is screaming (Jackie Robinson).

7. Make sure he has examples of women who are beautiful because of their brains, their determination, and their integrity
The examples of traditionally beautiful women (like Daphne Blake, Princess Jasmine, and Britney Spears) will surround your son from birth. But make sure he knows about women who are beautiful from the inside out because of their brains (Madame Marie Curie), and their pen (Harper Lee), and their words (Eleanor Roosevelt), and their determination (Anne Sullivan), and their ideas (Oprah Winfrey), and their integrity (Miep Gies), and fearlessness (Ameila Earhart), and their ability to open their mouths and take a stand when everyone else is silent (Aung San Suu Kyi).

8. Be an example of a beautiful woman with brains, determination, and integrity.
You already are all of those things. If you ever fear that you are somehow incapable of doing anything - remember this: If you have done any of the following: a) grew life b) impossibly and inconceivably got it out of your body c) taken care of a newborn d) made a pain go away with a kiss e) taught someone to read f) taught a toddler to eat with a utensil g) cleaned up diarrhea without gagging h) loved a child enough to be willing to give your life for them (regardless if they are your own) or i) found a way to be strong when that child is suffering...you are a superhero. do not doubt yourself for one second. Seriously.

9. Teach him to have manners
because its nice. and it will make the world a little better of a place.

10. Give him something to believe in
Because someday he will be afraid, or nervous, or heartbroken, or lost, or just need you, and you won't be able to be there. Give him something to turn to when it feels like he is alone, so that he knows that he will never be alone; never, never, never.

11. Teach him that there are times when you need to be gentle
like with babies, and flowers, and animals, and other people's feelings.

12. Let him ruin his clothes
Resolve to be cool about dirty and ruined clothes. You'll be fighting a losing battle if you get upset every time he ruins another piece of clothing. Don't waste your energy being angry about something inevitable. Boys tend to learn by destroying, jumping, spilling, falling, and making impossible messes. Dirty, ruined clothes are just par for the course.

13. Learn how to throw a football
or how to use a hockey stick, or read music, or draw panda bears (or in my case alpacas), or the names of different train engines, or learn to speak Elvish, or recognize the difference between Gryffindor and Slytherin, or the lyrics to his favorite song. Be in his life, not as an observer but as an active participant.

14. Go outside with him
turn off the television, unplug the video games, put your cellphone on the charger, even put your camera away. Just go outside and follow him around. Watch his face, explore his world, and let him ask questions. It's like magic.

15. Let him lose
Losing sucks. Everybody isn't always a winner. Even if you want to say, "You're a winner because you tried," don't. He doesn't feel like a winner, he feels sad and crappy and disappointed. And that's a good thing, because sometimes life also sucks, no matter how hard (as moms) we try to make it not suck for our kids. This practice will do him good later when he loses again (and again, and again, and again, and again.....) Instead make sure he understands that - sometimes you win - sometimes you lose. But that doesn't mean you ever give up.

16. Give him opportunities to help others
There is a big difference in giving someone the opportunity to help and forcing someone to help. Giving the opportunity lights a flame in the heart and once the help is done the flame shines brighter and asks for more opportunities. Be an example of helping others in your own actions and the way your family helps each other and helps others together.

17. Remind him that practice makes perfect.
This doesn't just apply to performance-based activities (like sports and music) but also applies to everything in life. You become a better writer by writing. You become a better listener by listening. You become better speaker by speaking. Show your son this when he is just young enough to understand (that means from birth, folks - they are making sense of the world as soon as they arrive), practice trick-or-treating at your own front door before the real thing. Practice how you will walk through airport security before a trip. Practice how you order your own food from the fast food cashier. Practice, practice, practice.

18. Answer him when he asks, "Why?"
Answer him, or search for the answer together. Show him the places to look for the answers (like his dad, or grandparents, or his aunts/uncles, or his books, or valid internet searches). Pose the question to him so he can begin thinking about answers himself. Someday, when he needs to ask questions he's too embarrassed to ask you - he'll know where to go to find the right answers.

19. Always carry band-aids and wipes on you.
especially the wipes.

20. Let his dad teach him how to do things
...without interrupting about how to do it the 'right way.' If you let his dad show and teach and discover with your son while he is growing up, some day down the road (after a short period of your son believing his dad knows nothing), he will come to the realization that his dad knows everything. You will always be his mother, but in his grown-up man heart and mind, his dad will know the answers. And this will be how, when your son is too busy with life to call and chat with his mom, you will stay connected to what is happening in his life. Because he will call his dad for answers, and his dad will secretly come and ask you.

21. Give him something to release his energy
drums, a pen, a punching bag, wide open space, water, a dog. Give him something to go crazy with - or he will use your stuff. and then you'll be sorry.

22. Build him forts
Forts have the ability to make everyday normal stuff into magic. Throw the couch cushions, a couple blankets, and some clothespins and you can transform your living room into the cave of wonders. For the rest of his life, he'll be grateful to know that everyday normal stuff has the potential to be magical.

23. Take him to new places
Because it will make his brain and his heart open up wider, and the ideas and questions and memories will rush in.

24. Kiss him
Any mother of sons will tell you that little boys are so loving and sweet. They can be harsh and wild and destructive during most of the day. But there are these moments when they are so kind and sensitive and tender. So much so that it can cause you to look around at the inward, reserved grown men in your life and think, 'what happens in between that made you lose that?' Let's try to stop the cycle by kissing them when they're loving and kissing them even more when they're wild. Kissing them when they're 2 months and kissing them when they're 16 years old. You're the mom - you can go ahead and kiss him no matter how big he gets - and make sure he knows it. p.s. (this one is just as important for dad's too).

25. Be home base
You are home to him. When he learns to walk, he will wobble a few feet away from you and then come back, then wobble away a little farther and then come back. When he tries something new, he will look for your proud smile. When he learns to read, he will repeat the same book to you twenty times in a row, because you're the only one who will listen that many times. When he plays his sport, he will search for your face in the stands. When he is sick, he will call you. When he really messes up, he will call you. When he is grown and strong and tough and big and he feels like crying, he will come to you; because a man can cry in front of his mother without feeling self-conscious. Even when he grows up and has a new woman in his life and gets a new home, you are still his mother; home base, the ever constant, like the sun. Know that in your heart and everything else will fall into place.

(SOURCE: CLICK HERE)

6 Months

2012-01-09T10:02:00.000-06:00

Whew! After a two week break from blogging I'm glad to be back!

In the meantime my little dude turned six months old. I cannot believe it! Someone told me during those rough first weeks of taking care of a newborn that the first six weeks of parenthood feels like it goes by in a year; but the rest of the year feels like it goes by in six weeks. They were right!!

Here's what we're up to at SIX months:
- Landon is sleeping in his crib at night and I'm still holding him for most of his naps during the day (I'm still trying to soak up every bit of baby-hood! :). We start his bedtime routine with a bath around 7:30pm and he wakes up between 6-7am with 1-3 wakings to eat at night.
- He is still being breastfed but we've added some solids to our "dinner". So far he has had banana which he hated, and pears, sweet potato, butternut squash, apple and avocado which he loved!
- He wears 6 month sized clothes, with some 9 month sleepers.
- We are still putting him in his infant car seat but he is getting so heavy we are going to switch to a convertible soon.
- He still sucks his thumb :)
- He loves to stand up along our ottoman and pull things off! Hah!
- He can sit up without help for several minutes at a time.
- He *finally* rolled over at 5.5 months. Now he rolls across the room in under a minute!
- He is getting more interested in Boomer and I think he's learning his name.
- He still has a very prominent dimple in his right cheek :))
- He definitely prefers Mama rock him to sleep over anyone else. But he laughs more for Daddy.
- Random ladies at the grocery store can look at him wrong and make him cry. It's kind of funny! :)
- His hair is so long it gets in his eyes. I know we need to give him a haircut soon but I'm so sad to admit it...
- He is wearing size 2 shoes.
- He has two bottom TEETH! They sprouted the day after New Years. I love the little flash of teeth when he laughs :)
- His favorite toy is a random Sassy brand fish and his Sophie the Giraffe.
- His eyes are very bright blue!
- He wears size 3 diapers, we still prefer Pampers.
- We are starting our first mommy and me class this week called Music Together!
- Instead of screaming in the carseat, he usually falls asleep now. This is such a relief.
- He doesn't like being in the stroller because he can't look around.
- He babbles and blows bubbles a lot!

We love our little man!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-23T13:07:00.000-06:00

Wishing you a Merry Christmas from our family to yours :)

Our 2011 Christmas Card

2011-12-14T09:17:00.001-06:00

This is our Christmas Card for the year! We ordered it from tinyprints.com and I think it turned out so nice! In the past, I have ordered from Etsy and printed cards myself, and I just think this turned out so much better. We used a photo from a shoot we did at the end of October. It was freezing so we didn't get even one little smirk from Landon (I tried everything except standing on my head - hah!).

Do you have a good way to display your cards? I used to stand them all up along my china hutch but my friend Jill texted me a picture of them all hanging on her pass-through from her Living Room to the Kitchen and I thought that was cute. Maybe I could hang them on the mantle? What are you doing with yours??

Merry Christmas!

Things

2011-12-13T09:42:00.001-06:00

1. I was at Hobby Lobby yesterday (boy is that place a zoo!!) and saw these adorable initial knobs for a little over $1. I wish I had somewhere to put them!

2. If you are still looking for a gift for your parents or in-laws, might I suggest the Kodak Pulse digital picture frame? Anyone can email pictures right to the frame! My in-laws have one and we can instantly send them pictures of Landon.

3. Babies 'R Us is having their additional 40% off clearance clothes. I *love* their FAO and Koala Baby stuff. They have held up just as well as our "fancier" brands like Tea Collection and their designs are simple and sweet (aka: no "my mom is hotter than your mom", etc. I hate that stuff.)

coming home from the hospital outfit was Koala Baby

Koala Baby Organic

first shots in Koala Baby romper

4. I bought a Paciplay for Landon for his stocking but we broke into it early and we love it! It's a pacifier holder that's also a teether. It's BPA free and all healthy so safe for chewing. Isn't that a neat idea??

5. Tomorrow night is our monthly craft club and I think I'm going to make this. Oh Lord, help me to only eat a few...

Happy Tuesday!!

Oh (Landon's) Christmas Tree...

2011-12-12T09:58:00.000-06:00

I am of the belief that all kids should have a Christmas tree in their room (as long as it's safe, high enough not to be reached, etc!) :)

This year I got Landon a little 3' tree from Hobby Lobby and put it on his side table by the glider. I didn't do too much with decorating, his room has a lot of turquoise accents so I used some blue and turquoise decorations I already had. Eventually he will have a whole tree of ornaments we've given him.

I got some little initial ornaments from Wal-Mart for $0.99 to put his "monogram" on front.

I wish I could leave his Christmas tree up all year long ;-)

Christmas Traditions

2011-12-08T16:45:00.000-06:00

It is so important me to provide yearly traditions to our kids at Christmas time. I want them to understand the reason we celebrate Christmas and really associate the holiday with family time. Joe and I had already started some traditions before we had Landon but now we are adding even more for our little family of three.

1. Yearly Ornaments
Since the first year we had been dating, Joe and I have exchanged ornaments. At first we didn't have too much of a "collection" but the idea is that eventually we can decorate an entire tree with our special ornaments. This year we will pick out one ornament for Landon so we can start him a collection of his own. I love the idea of looking over our tree when we're 60, 70, 80 years old and we have hundreds of ornaments (and memories) from over the years :)

2. Christmas Movies
We always watch Home Alone because it's my favorite but I also want to make time for It's a Wonderful Life, The Polar Express, Miracle on 34th Street, etc!

3. Angel Tree Child
I'll be honest, this is the first year we have actually made a point to go adopt a child for Christmas. Shame on us. We are definitely making it a yearly tradition though! This year we shopped for a little boy, 11 months, named Liam! Eventually, when Joe gets out of residency, we want to adopt an entire family for Christmas!

4. Pajamas
Every year we pick out a set of new pajamas for each other that we unwrap and wear the night before Christmas.

5. See's Candy
This is a new one too, we get a box of assorted See's Candies (seems so old fashioned to me :) and eat a piece or two every night leading up to Christmas.

6. Picture with Santa
We just had Landon meet Santa and got pictures for the first time. I loved it!!

7. Photo Christmas Cards
I love, love, love getting Christmas cards. I have noticed that people don't really send out cards like they used to, but I love getting them in the mail. We just sent ours today!

8. Christmas Party
For the last several years we have hosted a Christmas party at our house for Joe's co-workers. I love getting everyone together and we do a Dirty Santa/White Elephant type thing. Such good memories!

What kinds of traditions do you do for the holidays?

Sick Day

2011-12-01T08:03:00.001-06:00

I woke up this morning with a terrible cold. I told Joe when he left for work at 5am that unfortunately with this job (being a stay at home mom) there are no sick days. And we don't have any family that live here to come help so I can stay in bed and drink hot tea and watch old movies in my pajamas. Actually, I will probably stay in my pajamas today. Hah!

I put this little man in a footed Christmas jumper since we will be staying in. I thought he looked cute :)

Let's hope for lots of naps today! Hah!

Happy Thursday!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

DIY Bow Christmas Tree Garland

2011-11-22T13:39:00.002-06:00

If you know me at all, you know I'm a sucker for a bow. My all time favorite necklace that I wear every single day is this one.

source: unknown

And I even wore a bow in my hair on our wedding day.

So when I was brainstorming ideas for our Christmas tree this year, I knew I wanted to go bows-to-the-wall, if you will. A bow-splosion. A bow-tiful tree.

I picked up some of these velour bows and some mesh ribbon at Wal-Mart and I knew I had some things to work with.

At first I tried stringing the bows together with the wires on the backs. It was cute except it took forever and did I mention I have a 4.5 month old baby? So then I decided it might be cute to just gather sections of the gold garland and put a bow every foot or so along. It took me about five minutes to finish enough garland for our whole tree (9 feet) and I think it turned out cute.

A custom Christmas tree garland with bows to boot? Sounds like the the start of a great holiday season!

Have you put your Christmas stuff out, or do you wait until "after Turkey"? :)

My Birthday

2011-11-17T12:35:00.000-06:00

I love birthdays, even if they are on Monday like mine was. It was a fairly normal day but I did have a spa appointment in the afternoon. I had a sitter come stay with Landon so I could get a massage and a few other things. I am not a spa regular - it has probably been five years since I had a massage!

This is not me. I had a pink flower in my hair.

Okay, don't laugh and I'll tell you what Joe got me as my gift... a treadmill for our basement. I asked for one but he still says he feels like a jerk getting me a piece of exercise equipment for my birthday. Hah! I really want to start slowly working on losing the last bit of my pregnancy weight (slowly so I don't mess up my milk supply) and I'm going to try to start walking a few times a week. I am so sedentary right now so I really need to get back into it!!

I have been craving Red Robin so I picked it up for dinner. Did I mention I got a treadmill. I can't imagine why I can't lose my baby weight ;-)

Happy Thursday!!

Mama Websites

2011-11-15T14:04:00.000-06:00

I have found several really unique and good sites (for random things) lately that I wanted to share with you. I love stumbling across a good site and I usually bookmark it on my phone so I can remember it later.

1. Crappy Pictures Blog
This is, in my humble opinion, the funniest blog on the website for parents. I literally can't read it while I'm holding sleeping Landon because I will laugh so hard I wake him up. It has happened. Hah!

2. Play at Home Mom
This mama has created sooo many fun learning activities to stimulate and engage her kiddos. Her playroom is awesome (I'm so jealous)!!

3. BookSaleFinder
I posted about buying kid books a while ago but I wanted to let you know that I have tried really hard to never buy books retail. They are so expensive. This site lists big sales that your local library will be having. I went to the one in our city a couple weeks ago and for $20 came home with three boxes of books! Some of them are brand new!

4. Little Miss Co-Op
I'm kind of new to the whole co-op idea but as far as I understand it, you join a co-op with another group of moms and one delegate approaches businesses about selling your group a mass amount of their product wholesale. You pay lower prices for stuff like diapers, cream, nursing necklaces, leggings, you name it! This has been the group I've been following so far..

5. Wholesome Baby Food
We have just started feeding rice cereal to Landon (to help with his horrible reflux, per the pediatrician's advice) and the whole idea of starting a baby on "real" food is completely intimidating to me. This site breaks down what your baby should be eating, how much of it and all other relevant info for feeding your kiddo.

Hope something here helps you! Happy Tuesday!! :)

Baby Pictures

2011-11-10T12:00:00.000-06:00

I have been meaning to go through our old pictures and compare them with Landon's for months. Well, he's more than 4 months old and I'm finally doing it! You'll have to tell me what you think because had I not delivered him myself, no one would think he even belongs to me. Hah!

From a few days ago...

Wednesday Nuggets

2011-11-09T14:25:00.001-06:00

1.The royals announced Kate and Will are moving to Kensington Palace soon. I think a baby announcement is coming, don't you??

2. I have been loving my new Erin Condren planner! It's animal printed and personalized and just perfect!

3. My friend Rachael got me this book for my birthday (next Monday) and I'm loving it!

4. I have been researching the Magic Bullet/Baby Bullet for making my own baby food. Do you have any experience with it?

5. This is Landon's new face: sucking his bottom lip. I love it!

6. I'm ready to start Christmas shopping. I want to be done early this year so I can just enjoy the season without all the stress :)

7. I sent my camera off to have the sensor cleaned and I've been without it for two long weeks!

8. All our Halloween candy is gone. I think I ate 99% of it. I am not proud.

9. The other day at Walmart, Landon feel asleep in his carseat towards the end of my shopping trip. In an effort to let him get his nap in, I went to the back of the store, loaded my cold groceries in the pop fridge at a closed checkout counter and waited it out. When he woke up 20 minutes later, I took my buttermilk and turkey back out of the fridge and we were on our way. That's mama ingenuity, right?

Happy Wednesday! :)

Children's Books

2011-11-02T11:28:00.001-05:00

One of my most *favorite* all time things is children's books. I vividly remember when the Scholastic book fair would come to our elementary school and my mom would give me money to buy a book. One year I bought Charlotte's Web and I was so excited it was mine I insisted on leaving it out on the top of my desk the rest of the school day so I could stare lovingly at it all afternoon. I'm a little obsessed. I love the story lines, the illustrations, everything about them. Well, do you remember when I posted that I bought a bookshelf from our local Border's store when it was going out of business? (still sad about that. TEAR.) Well, we finally got it painted to match Landon's nightstand (Behr Aquatic Green) and put into his room.

Joe installed some better lights along the top and I love how it turned out. Hopefully someday soon all three shelves will be full of books but for now the other two make a nice catch-all for stuffed animals, toys and my little Wal-Mart baskets with more toys.

In the corner I finally hung a frame my friend Jill got me for Landon's monthly pictures. I love it there in the little corner.

My favorite thing lately is buying holiday specific books and putting them in the display area on the top. I need to get more Thanksgiving books!

My other favorite books for kids are:
1. Anything Barenstein Bears. I like that they have a good moral message. I kind of want to be in the Bear family.

2. The Night Before... books by Natasha Wing. She has one for just about every holiday and season and I love the rhyming!

3. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs was one of my all time favorites as a kid.

4. The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss. My sister and I both had it memorized as a kid. It was such a favorite of mine, my sister made Dr. Seuss the theme of my baby shower.

5. Dick and Jane books. Classic.

6. PJ Funnybunny books. I don't think there are too many of them but I got several for Landon recently and I really enjoyed reading them again.

And I'm sure there's more I am not thinking of right now.

What were YOUR favorite books as a kid?

Halloween 2011: one dollar costume

2011-11-01T10:51:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's already November...! We had a really sweet first Halloween with Landon. I had been brainstorming costume ideas that would be simple for a couple months. I don't really like store bought costumes (I like the challenge of putting something together myself) and I didn't want to tackle anything too complicated because we didn't actually plan to take Landon trick-or-treating. So I decided he could be a little nerd! :)

We had the clothes already and I used my old college textbook as props. The fake glasses were $1 from the Dollar Tree. They were the only thing I bought. So *yay* for a one dollar costume!

We didn't even get any trick-or-treaters! Our neighbor lady stopped by and gave Landon a treat bag with candy (for mama - ha!) and some teething toys. We were all in bed by 9pm!

How was your Halloween? :)

Day At The Park

2011-10-26T14:59:00.000-05:00

You know what is a lot more fun when you have kids? The park. And yes, it's not exactly a perfect fairy tale because:
-there are bees
-Landon likes to lift up the nursing cover while eating on the park bench
-I forget to pack water

but these are exactly the moments I looked forward to when thinking about my life with kids :)

Fall Decor

2011-10-25T18:50:00.001-05:00

Fall and Halloween are my absolute favorite season/holiday to decorate the house for. Yes, I love Christmas. But I really love Halloween. I like things that are just a little creepy/black/rustic! I have about four tubs of fall decorating things in the basement but with a new baby I only put out a few things this year. I love this time of year!

My favorite fall things:

White pumpkins
Black crows - I have two and yes, everyone thinks I'm crazy but I think they're cool enough to leave up year-round
Candles flickering

Happy Fall, y'all! :))

Craft Club

2011-10-13T15:18:00.002-05:00

Last night I hosted a craft club at my house and it was so fun! There were six girls and I had all the stuff for everyone to make studded pumpkins and chalkboard pumpkins (the ideas were inspired from Pinterest!).

The studded pumpkins we made with thumb tacks - I found them at Wal-mart, the Dollar Store and my local grocery store in gold, silver and white. It was crazy easy (not very nice on your nails though).The best part is if you don't like your design you can pull the tacks out and start over. Can't beat that!

I got the white and chalkboard paints at Home Depot and we used craft sponges to apply it. The paint dried pretty fast so we had plenty of time for chalking our ideas on.

I made a centerpiece for the table very inexpensively. I got the plastic urn at the Dollar Store for $3 and the green moss at the Dollar Tree for $1. The lighted branches are from TJMaxx and the ribbon was also from the Dollar Store. I put craft paper down along the table so we didn't have to worry about messes.

I was able to whip this all up, from the centerpiece to studding the example pumpkins, while holding Landon if that proves how easy and fast it was! I love hanging out with my girlfriends. It's good for the soul.

Speaking of pumpkins, here is my little punkin. :)

love what he's doing with his hands here! hah!

Happy Thursday!

Day in the Life With a 3 Month Old

2011-10-12T13:38:00.000-05:00

I have really been wanting to start documenting a typical day in my {okay, I'll say it. Boring.} life. I think it will be fun to look back on this in a year or two and remember what life with a baby was like. Let's see if I can put you to sleep..! ;-)

{This day wasn't a typical day, per se, because it was Joe's birthday. But I had already started taking notes, so I went with it}

5:15a.m. I hear Landon start to fuss from the monitor. Joe is already in the shower for work, so I go say goodbye to him and head to the nursery. I nurse Landon for 15 minutes and put him back to bed.
5:45a.m. Go downstairs to the office and work on a blog post for Joe's birthday (bring the monitor with me so I can hear Landon.)

6:30a.m. Hear Landon waking up for the day. Head upstairs, get him out of the crib, snuggle, and change his diaper.
6:50a.m. While holding Landon, make my breakfast. I usually have oatmeal but decide to have a Toaster Strudel instead. Eat with baby in my lap.

7:30a.m. Nurse Landon again.
8:00a.m. Rock Landon to sleep in my arms. Watch a DVR'd show while I hold him.

8:45a.m. Landon wakes up. Go change his diaper and get him into his outfit for the day. He blows bubbles at me while I'm changing him.

9:00a.m. Put Landon in his bouncer in our bathroom so I can make the bed and get ready. I know I don't have a very long window where he will stay occupied so I take a super fast shower. Take 15 minutes for lotion, dressing and quick makeup. Hair in a ponytail. Landon starts to fuss so I manage to put on deodorant and mascara while holding him.

9:30a.m. Landon works himself into a meltdown so I bounce/sway/dance him to sleep. While he sleeps in my arms I check my email (would love to write a few friends but it's too hard with one hand) and talk to my mom on the phone.

10:30a.m. Nurse Landon.
11:00a.m. Diaper change and pack up our stuff for errands.
11:20a.m. After Landon crying the entire drive (he hates the carseat) we make it to Famous Footwear. He smiles and coos as soon as we get out of the car. We shop around for a new pair of tennis shoes for Joe for his birthday. We only find one size 14 pair of Nikes (his favorite brand). We decide to get them. I resist the urge to look at their fall boots display and we leave.

12:05p.m. We make it to Wal-mart. I pull up the list I saved in my phone. We get everything we need but baby hangers - oops! While in the baby section I spot some cute Halloween shirts we need (but won't be able to hang up - hah!). As I'm paying, I realize I'm starving so I grab a Subway sandwich on the way out. Landon cries all the way home; I eat my sandwich while driving because I know he's getting hungry and I'll have to feed him as soon as we're home.

12:30p.m. Make it home; unload Landon and only the groceries that need refrigerated. I sort those separately when I leave Wal-mart because I can't remember the last time I was able to unload all the groceries at once. Nurse Landon.

12:45p.m. Landon falls asleep for his nap. I surf the internet and watch t.v. while I hold him.
1:30p.m. Joe gets home early from work!!
2:00p.m. Landon wakes up and Joe takes him while I sneak in the guestroom and wrap the new tennis shoes. (I already had all his other gifts wrapped the day before)
2:15p.m. Joe changes Landon's diaper and they play on the activity mat. Landon does tummy time, I take a picture and email it to our parents from my phone.

3:00p.m. I tell Joe to open his presents! Landon helps at first, then gets fussy so I nurse him while Joe opens the rest.

3:00p.m. Landon falls asleep on Joe's lap. I run a load of laundry and straighten up the house.
5:00p.m. I start dinner as Landon is waking up. I find a stopping point to nurse him after Joe changes him.
5:45p.m. Finally get dinner in the oven. It's a request of Joe's (a recipe I found on Pinterest).
6:00p.m. I switch the laundry and set out Joe's work clothes for the next day. Joe reads Landon a book.
6:30p.m. Dinner is done! We eat while Landon sits in his BeBe Pod.

6:45p.m. Landon starts fussing for bedtime.
7:00p.m. Bath time!

7:15p.m. PJs, nurse Landon and rock him to sleep.
7:45p.m. Lay Landon down in his crib. Joe and I eat a slice of his birthday cake in bed and watch t.v.
9:00p.m. Sleep!

{Landon woke up again at 1:30a.m. and 4:30a.m. to eat.}

Whew! What a day!!

28

2011-10-07T13:03:00.000-05:00

Joe turned 28 years old yesterday! Happy Birthday babe!

I was thinking today about all the things we've done in the last 10 years since we met the first week of college at OU...

We have traveled many places together, including:
St. Maarten

Dominican Republic
St. Barths

Mexico
Paris
London
Las Vegas

Tortola

Los Angeles
Dallas
San Diego
Chicago
Belize
Denver
Honduras
Vail
Hawaii

We have lived in three houses!

We have seen new family members born, and others pass away.
We've been married 5 years!

We've each had multiple jobs.

We've each graduated college, and you medical school.

We've taken on the responsibility of a pet.

And now, what I think is going to be our greatest adventure, a baby.

Joe, you are the best husband and father I could ever imagine. People tell me all the time (especially my Mom - hah!) how lucky I am. I really don't know what I did right to get someone like you to spend my life with. You are the hardest worker I know. You are always relaxed and calm (quite the opposite of me!). You are also the smartest person I know but you never brag about it. I can't wait to see what the next century of birthdays holds for you - I'm glad I'll be here to share it with you!

Happy Birthday!!!!

Smells Good Around Here

2011-10-05T18:05:00.000-05:00

I have been on a major home/body scent kick lately. I used to never go to Bath & Body Works because I was always given shower gels as gifts and I would rather shop for clothes or makeup. Or shoes. Most of the time it was shoes. But now I don't really get too dressed up on a daily basis and if I wear makeup it's usually just tinted moisturizer, mascara, cream blush and maybe a lip stain so I've been really into candles and all other smell good things! Last weekend my mom and I went shopping and I ventured into Bath & Body Works for the first time in years and I am *hooked*!

I bought a few Wallflowers, which I hadn't used since college for my dorm room. I am obsessed with a new fragrance they have called Marshmallow Fireside. It smells like you're roasting marshmallows over an open flame right inside your home. Drool!

I also got some Salty Caramel refills which I love. I just realized all my favorite scents involve food of some sort. They even have a new scent called Lavendar Macaroon. Sounds random but so good.

My all time favorite perfume that I've been wearing for a long time is Sud Pacifique Vanille Extreme. It smells like a sugary cupcake and I just can't get away from it. I always have to order it online because I can't find it in stores. I also love Juicy Couture perfumes but I've only used the samples. Maybe for my birthday I'll get some of that! (wink, wink!)

And Joe has been wearing a fragrance mist I found at Aeropostale that smells SO good. It was one of those things up at the register but he loves it and I love it too! He wears that more than his fancy colognes.

What are your favorite home and body scents lately???

2 Months

2011-10-04T15:36:00.001-05:00

Landon turned 2 months old on August 30!

Here's a rundown of our stats:

- You are wearing size 1 diapers and size Newborn and 0-3 Month clothes.

- You are breastfeeding exclusively about every 3 hours.

- You are sleeping in your swing in our room.

- You officially have reflux and are on Zantac two times a day

- You still like riding in your car seat.

- You like being sung to - our favorites are: "You Are My Sunshine", "Jesus Loves Me", "Amazing Grace" and "L.O.V.E."

- You got your immunizations at your 2-month pediatric appointment. You cried a little. I cried a lot.

- You go to bed around 9pm each night and on good nights you give us at least a 4-6 hour stretch without waking up.

- You still love your pacifier.

- You are becoming quite attached to your blue blanket.

- You hiccup a lot!

- You are starting to smile at us and it is THE BEST. We will spend hours trying to get you to do it again after you do it once.

It's always interesting trying to get a picture of you.

Oh, hello, Boomer.

Not loving it.

I dare you to mock my thighs.

Do you like my shirt?

My mom made it.

We love you, little dude :)

I'm Back!!

2011-10-03T18:29:00.001-05:00

Well I inadvertently took a month off from blogging and I really miss it! Let's catch up, shall we? ;-)

- Landon is 3 months old! I've been taking monthly pictures so I want to post those this week!
- I started a Craft Club and our first meeting is next week. I'm hosting it in my house and we are making chalkboard and studded pumpkins :)
- Joe's birthday is this Thursday! Do you know anyone with an October 6th birthday? I heard it's the most popular birthday in the USA.
- My mom visited me last weekend and we went to the new outlet malls in Oklahoma City. Loved it!
- We are having family pictures made soon. The big dilemma. What to wear?

I'll leave you with a video I took today :)

YouTube Video

More updates tomorrow!!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Birth Announcement

2011-08-25T16:15:00.001-05:00

I wanted to share the birth announcement we sent a couple weeks ago for Landon. (A tip to expecting mamas - choose and set up your announcement before the baby comes so all you have to do is add a picture!) I didn't get them out as soon as I wanted but I figured 6 weeks wasn't too bad. I think I addressed them two at a time - when I could sit Landon down for five minutes here and there.

We used the seller westwillow from Etsy. I think she did a fabulous job! The pictures were taken at a one week shoot we set up at our house with our photographer friend Katie. I can't tell you how nice it was to have someone come to our house to take pictures that soon after leaving the hospital. I don't think I could have done a traditional studio shoot. I was so nervous that I wouldn't be able to get (or keep) him asleep for the pictures but he did great!

I'm planning on framing an announcement for his nursery - I thought it would make a nice keepsake :)

Pictures

2011-08-20T19:06:00.000-05:00

Happy Saturday from my little night owl ;-)

Wednesday

2011-08-17T19:27:00.002-05:00

I'm typing this on my phone with one hand and sssshhing a sleepy Landon. Joe is on call tonight so we are on our own! I feel like I've mentioned 74578 times I'm ready for fall but I just can't get over it. I usually soak up every minute of summer but having just had a baby I can't really enjoy summer like usual because I spend about 23.9 hours out of the day in the rocking chair. I really want a pair of new boots for fall this year. I like these because they still seem easy to walk in with a baby because they have a wedge that's only 3 inches. I think I'll order them for myself as a little treat!

I have also read the funniest book on my iPad while rocking the little man. It's Bossypants by Tina Fey. Such a fun quick read and I think she has a great attitude about a lot of things!

I will leave you with a picture of the little guy that kept me up all night last night. I think eye bags are going to be the hottest fashion accessory this fall besides those cute boots I showed you! Haha!

Random Thoughts

2011-08-16T21:39:00.001-05:00

I don't really have the energy to put all my thoughts into an organized fashion so here is my brain dump! Hah!
I know it's very early but I have been anticipating fall for a while now and I'm so excited to finally have a child to dress up for Halloween. I've been doing a little "research", trying to pick a costume for Landon.

He's definitely got the hair to pull off Elvis.

Just like daddy?

I think this little golfer is SO cute!

What are you dressing your kiddos up for Halloween? I remember one year my mom had me wear a box with dots drawn on the sides so I could be a playing dice. Haha!

I am very disappointed because I just found out Borders is going out of business. I know I must have been living under a rock because Joe said he had known for a while (?) I went last Friday to get a bunch of books for Landon at 30-50% off but I didn't stop there. I saw signs that they were selling the fixtures in the store and I actually managed to buy one of these bookshelves. It's lighted and I love the display area at the top. I think I'll paint it to go in his room. Score!!

I have not been good at all about taking pictures of Landon with my nice camera. Most of the time I manage to snap a picture or two on my phone to send to my mom and Joe each day but I want to get better about getting nice shots! When I got my SLR I totally thought I could dress up my baby and have a little photo shoot every day. Now I think that's pretty hilarious!! LOL LOL

I really don't want to forget how tiny he is and all of his little features. He's growing so fast!

Can you spot the tired mama? Look at the natural makeup she's featuring. Oh wait. She doesn't have makeup on. Or clean hair. Ha!

Did you know mohawks are naturally occurring in nature? No products were used in the making of this mohawk. Landon's hair honestly grows like this!! We think it's adorable :)

Happy Tuesday!
(I'm going to get back into daily blogging if it kills me!!)

Outing

2011-08-04T18:19:00.000-05:00

I've been getting a little stir crazy so yesterday I decided to pack up (and don't you pack up when you have a baby - I had no idea before I had a little one!) and go to TJMaxx and Babies 'R Us. Joe says Babies 'R Us is my "safe zone". It's the easiest store for me to visit because I feel like the other mothers there won't give me the stink eye if my baby starts crying and they also have an awesome Mother's Room with comfy chairs and nice lighting. I could take a serious nap in the Mother's Room. Well. Landon did awesome. Slept the entire time. In and out of the car, into the cart and all around both stores. I timed it so he ate right before and we pulled into the driveway at home as he started to get fussy for his next meal. I was a pro at this!

And then he made a little liar out of me.

Because today I got brave again. It was so easy yesterday, I said to myself! I needed to go to Target for some groceries, a birthday card and a few other things. I wasn't even down the first aisle when he started to wail. Pacifier? NO. Ssshhhing? NO. Rolling the cart back and forth? NO. I finally resorted to pulling off in the pet section (which luckily isn't busy at 2pm) and pulling him totally out of his carseat and carrying him around with one hand while pushing the cart with the other hand. Did not know that was possible. But I feel like I made it through some kind of mama rite of passage.

I think tomorrow I'll just stick around the house though. ;-)

And a bonus pic of our first big boy bath. We had been using the little tub the hospital gave us but we decided to break out the big whirlpool fancy schmancy baby tub. For the record, he didn't like bath time any better. Hah!

Happy Thursday!!!

Wednesday

2011-08-03T17:01:00.001-05:00

We've Had Help

2011-08-02T19:19:00.001-05:00

July was a crazy insane month for us. When Joe got back from paternity leave he had to work even harder the rest of the month to make up. That means he had nine calls in a little over two weeks. When he is on call he goes to work like a normal day (around 5am) and works until noon. Then they give him four hours off to take a "nap" or rest because he has to be back at the hospital that afternoon from 4pm and work until the following morning at 6am. A lot of those nights he doesn't sleep at all because he has to be in surgery for any trauma or incident that happens in the hospital. Unfortunately, there always seems to be crazy people who want to cut each other with box cutters or shoot each other so they keep the hospital pretty busy. All this to say, I've already done nine nights totally by myself. Trial by fire!! Hah! But I have had A LOT of help this month.

Joe worked the last two weekends solid so our parents divided up the time and came to stay with me to keep me company and give me some help. When my parents come to visit I always have to have a list of "honey-dos" for my stepdad to work on. He can't just sit in the house and talk about babies. So he did everything from knocking down birds nests on our porch to cleaning our windows. Then, Joe's parents came last weekend and cleaned our entire garage (what a JOB that was) and bought us a deep freeze and stocked it with meals. My friend Rachael had already given us a bunch of freezer meals while I was pregnant and we were plowing through those pretty fast!

My mom also hired a sweet lady to come clean my house once a week for the next couple months so I don't get overwhelmed. (She knows I'm OCD and a clean house is really my love language! Hah!)

This month has been really hard without Joe's help. We don't have any family in town and most of our friends here have small children themselves so I hate to ask for their help. I'm so glad our parents are able and willing (haha!) to come down and work all weekend to help. How do military wives do it without help!?! I have so much respect for them and single mamas now!!!!

What kind of help did you have when you had your babies?

One Month

2011-07-28T20:37:00.001-05:00

In two days our little boy will be one month old. I can't decide if time is flying by or dragging (mostly during late night feedings - hah!). We are so proud to have you as our little man. You look so much like your daddy that I like to think of you as my little sidekick during the days when he's at work.

-You are wearing newborn size clothes, and some 0-3 month ones and newborn diapers. You're about to outgrow all newborn stuff though!
-You are eating every 2-4 hours, mostly breast milk with a little formula to supplement.
- You hate being burped but you don't necessarily mind getting your diaper changed (after we got a wipe warmer - thank the heavens for that!).
- Our current bedtime routine is to wind down between 8 and 9pm. We lower the lights and our voices so you know it's night time. We put your pjs on and swaddle you and give you one last feeding and then we rock you to sleep. You are still sleeping in our room in the Fisher Price Rock 'n Play Sleeper.
- You hold your hands up under your chin when you're eating - it's hilarious and adorable!
- You will take any bottle, or pacifier we offer you - you aren't picky!
- You still have your stork kiss on your forehead.
- You lost your cord stump on day 13 and you were circumcised at your two week doctor appointment.
- When you are hungry your cry sounds like "geee" and we like to pretend you're saying you're hun"gee".
- You have already spent a lot of time with your grandparents - they love to kiss you and hold you!
- Your finger nails grow faster than anything I've ever seen.
- We know you weigh at least 9 lbs! Probably more!
- You love sleeping on someone's chest.
- We still can't believe how much hair you have - it goes way past your ears! We wonder if it will fall out..?
- Everyone thinks you look like your daddy. You have my hands, but that's about it :)
- We call you "Lan the Man" and "Buddy"
- You are the most precious thing that's ever happened to us. We sure are tired but we love being your parents!!

The outtakes...

gone cross-eyed

help from the back stage crew (still cross-eyed)

over it.

3 weeks

2011-07-21T13:44:00.000-05:00

(you should know I'm typing this post with one hand -- haha!!)

Landon is 3 weeks old today! This week Joe had to go back to work. I begged him to quit his job and never go back but that's not feasible with those darn med school loans. ;-)

But honestly Landon isn't too hard. He wakes up about twice a night to eat (we do struggle with getting him to go back to sleep - any suggestions??). He takes 1-2 long naps in the morning and at least one long snooze in the afternoon. We are still limping through breastfeeding with a little formula to supplement. We are really starting to pick up on some personality too :-)

Time is flying!!

I love watching his face when he is sleeping and eating. And picking out his little outfit everyday :) And brushing my hands through his hair!! I love my baby!!

Landon's Birth Story

2011-07-18T12:26:00.000-05:00

I loved reading birth stories when I was pregnant. It always fascinated me to see the events that led up to someone's baby being born. Even though Joe and I took Childbirth Preparation class and read the books, I still knew that birth was pretty much an unscripted thing and I loved thinking about how Landon would arrive. So now that he's here I'm so excited to share our journey - sorry it's LONG (and I was right - it definitely didn't go as the "script" would say!!)

We decided with our doctor to go ahead for an induction on Wednesday night, June 29th. Our doctor told us to check into L&D around 6pm and they would start the induction with Cytotech and then move on to Pitocin the following morning. That's about all we knew going into it. Oh, and I wasn't allowed to eat much that day. So I had two mozzarella sticks and a slush from Sonic at noon. I took Boomer with me and he sat in the front passenger seat of the car, we had the windows rolled down, sitting in the Sonic stall I remember thinking that this was going to be one of our last moments before the baby came.

Joe worked a normal day that day so he got home about 5:15. I had all the last minute bags at the door waiting. I asked him if we could take one last picture of the two of us while I was pregnant.

We loaded up into the car and left. On the way we talked to our parents on the phone. They all had originally planned to come into town the following morning or afternoon but at the last minute they all decided to come that night so we were coordinating who would stay at our house and when they would see us at the hospital. It turned out to be good that they all came earlier than planned (as you will see!!).

We checked in at the desk right at 6pm. This was not something we were going to be late for!! Ha! The nurse already had my file waiting and she asked us to fill out some paperwork. I remember having to sign something on the line that indicated "parent" and Joe and I had a little giggle about that. The nurse told us they were still getting my room ready so we would have to wait in the waiting room. We ended up waiting over an hour and it was the longest hour of my life! By this time I was starving so Joe made a little cup of coffee at the pot there in the waiting room and I sipped on that. I bet we looked ridiculous sitting there in the lobby with all our luggage. We watched as they turned one expectant mom away for not being dilated enough to warrant an admission. Joe and I joked that we would get her room. We also got a kick out of this.

Yes, we were definitely about to banish some belly "fat" very soon!

Finally at 7:30pm a nurse came to get us and took us back to our room. It was a big room with hardwood floors and purple lily wallpaper border. They immediately had me take off all my clothes and get into a hospital gown. Joe had to help me. I always put those things on backwards accidentally.

At 8:05pm, the nurse checked me and I was a 1cm and 60% effaced (same as I was the week before at my last doctors appointment). I asked the nurse, typically, when the baby was born in cases similar to mine. She said we'd probably have a baby this time the following night. I realized it was going to be a long night and day ahead. She also put an IV in my wrist and hooked me up to a contraction monitor. I was having contractions! I barely felt them and they were irregular but they were there!!

Then, the nurse for the anesthesia group came by for more paperwork signing. Joe already knew which attending was on call so he asked for that physician to place the epidural when the time came that I was ready for it. I think he would feel weird if one of his fellow residents did my epidural. I know I would probably blush when I saw them at this year's Christmas party.

At 8:30pm the OB resident came and said we were ready for my first round of Cytotech. I had done some online research so I knew it would be in the form of a pill. I don't know why I was imagining I would swallow the pill. No such luck. She placed the pill on my cervix (no fun). I was on a four hour window from this first dose. Two hours of bed rest and then two more hours and they would check me for progress. They said we could do up to three rounds before we'd have to move on to something else.

I started feeling my contractions pick up a little bit after the first dose of Cytotech. They were maybe a 1 or 2 on the pain scale. Joe and I talked to our parents on the phone some more. He took some pictures and I texted some friends. At 9:30pm Joe went across the street to get a Jimmy Johns sandwich. He asked me if he should eat it in the hallway since I wasn't allowed to have food (haha!). Of course I said no but I was starving at this point and it smelled so good.

Finally at 10:30pm my mom and sister made it to the hospital! It was so nice to see them! My sister brought a little stuffed frog. They sat and talked for a long time. The nurse also finally "allowed" me to eat a package of crackers. I needed my strength for the long day ahead!!

At midnight Joe's family got to the hospital. My family was still there so it was a full room! Everyone wished me luck and there was so much excitement in the air :) Joe's family decided to stay in a hotel so they left shortly after to go check in and get some rest.

At 12:30am my four hour window from the first dose of Cytotech was up. The OB resident came back into the room and my mom and sister waited in the hallway while she checked me. NO changes to my cervix. I about cried. She inserted a second pill into my cervix, put me on another four hour window and left. My mom and sister came back in for a few minutes but I encouraged them to go back to our house to get a good nights rest. Nothing was happening here any time soon!

Almost as soon as the door closed behind them my contractions got SUPER painful. Like, off the charts, out of control painful. The nurses came in and they looked at me like "Oh, honey, this hurts? You're only a 1cm! This isn't even labor." Joe really had to step it up as "labor coach". I tried to use some of the breathing techniques we learned in class but honestly, I was feeling very out of control and they kind of went out the window. I ended up using my arm to push against Joe's and for some reason that pressure (that I could control) helped me. I told the nurses my pain was a 9 on the pain scale so they offered me some Staydol in my IV, which I took. It didn't help at all and I was still writing in bed from the pain, trying to focus and stay in the minute but feeling very out of control at the same time.

At 1:15 the OB resident came back in to check on me. I was a 2cm and 70% effaced. FINALLY some progress! I was glad to know the contractions were doing some work but getting to 10cm at this point seemed like such an impossible task. I was already in so much pain! The nurses encouraged me to take an Ambien so I could relax a little and try to sleep, again, knowing it was going to be a very long day. I took it but there was NO relaxing on my part. My contractions were literally one on top of each other. I remembered in Birthing class that our instructor encouraged us to use the breaks between contractions to regain control and focus. I told Joe something must be wrong because there was no breaks between contractions and I really think that's why I felt so out of control.

The contractions continued to be pure torture. I can't even describe the pain to someone. I was rocking and moaning from the pain (very unlike me - I'm usually pretty quiet when I'm hurting and I have broken a hip without so much as a tear for goodness sake!!). At 1:50am my water broke during one particularly bad contraction. I was so outside of myself that Joe says I very matter of factly said "my water broke." Since the contractions were so frequent I just laid there in the fluid and it continued to leak with each contraction. It was miserable but I tried to remind myself that we were getting a baby at the end of this and it was all worth it!

It was so bad at this point that Joe kept asking me if I needed the epidural. Of course I needed it! But I told him there was no way our doctor would let me get it since I was only a 2cm. I didn't know how I would get to a 4-5cm like they recommend but I figured there was no way they'd let me get it so early in the process. I remember during this time the nurses would come in and seem a little shocked that my contractions were so frequent and painful. This was definitely not the standard process from Cytotech alone. Joe asked the nurses to consider giving me the epidural (I think in some ways it was almost harder on him. I remember this look in his eyes like he was totally helpless.) The nurse used the phone to call my doctor from my room. I remember praying to God to let her approve the epidural. The nurses told her I was in a lot of pain. She said yes! Oh sweet baby Jesus! They immediately called the anesthesia attending to come and place it. It was the best news of the day so far! Haha!

I finally got the epidural at 2:45am. There was no break in my contractions for him to place it, so they said I'd have to lie completely still regardless. At the time I didn't know if I could do it. Joe pulled a chair up next to the bed and I remember focusing on his eyes. Actually studying the pattern of his iris to get through the pain and to be completely still. The attending asked Joe if he wanted to put my epidural in and of course that didn't seem funny to me at the time! The attending told me that usually the relief from an epidural was immediate because he places it during the break in contractions so by the time the next contraction comes around there was pain relief. Then he said I'd probably have quite a few painful contractions before I felt any relief. They were just coming that quickly. I think I counted ten more painful contractions but I finally got some relief about 15 minutes later. My legs started to feel very heavy and numb and the nurse checked my numbness on my tummy. It was definitely working. As Joe would say, that epidural was dense!

Right after the epidural started to set in I started shaking uncontrollably. I laughed about it (my mood was lifted!! Haha!) but the nurses said that can be a sign of major progression so they decided to check me again. At this point it was 3am and I was a 4-5cm! Halfway there! The nurses acted pretty impressed with how quickly things were going so I felt really encouraged! The nurses told Joe he should take a nap so he pulled out the bed on the sofa and they got him a blanket. He fell right to sleep. Snoring and all. It had been a long 6 hours or so. I hung out in bed, watching my contractions on the screen (not feeling them!) and trying to relax.

An hour and fifteen minutes later, at 4:15 the nurse and OB resident were both in the room to look at my charts, etc and went back and forth on whether to check me again. The nurse reminded the OB that I had just been checked an hour prior and I was only a 4-5 but the resident decided to check my anyway. I watched her face (as I always did when she checked me) and as soon as she got "down there" her eyes got really wide. She laughed nervously, looked at me and said "you're complete!". Joe sprung out of bed (he says he heard the word complete and that woke him up! Haha!). I couldn't believe it! I had gone from a 4-5cm to a 10 in a little over an hour!! I laughed and told Joe that we wouldn't be having a night time baby after all! At 4:24am Joe called our parents to come back to the hospital - that this was all happening much faster than we anticipated! The OB resident called my doctor from our room and then tons of nurses started piling into the room with carts of tools, turning on lights, etc. It was pretty overwhelming!

About 10 minutes later my doctor walked in. I laughed to myself because her hair was a mess in back and she had mascara smudged under one eye. She had a big smile on her face and told me she was impressed with how quickly we progressed! I jokingly asked her if I needed the pitocin. She rolled her stool over to the bed and she and the nurse pulled out the stirrups. They asked me to put my legs in them but my legs were too numb to move so they had to help me. Funny sidenote: one of my stirrups was broken! It wouldn't lock in position so the nurses were acting worried so Joe swept in and manually held the stirrup in place and my leg in it.

My doctor asked me to do a "practice push". I couldn't really feel anything but I tried to think about pushing like I was taking a bowel movement, just like our instructor said in Birthing class. Joe and my doctor looked at each other, I didn't know what was going on but apparently the baby's heart rate dropped during my push to the 80s. The doctor called for the "assist cart" to be brought to the room. I still had no idea what was going on. I had another contraction and I pushed again, the doctor telling me I was doing very good although I couldn't feel anything. Then she said they were going to use the vacuum to get the baby out. Apparently, his heart rate dropped again. During the third push, they placed the vacuum on the baby's head and basically pulled him out. Three pushes and I was done! I had wanted to immediately hold him but they rushed him over to the incubator to make sure he was okay. They didn't even announce the gender and I barely saw his "male parts" as they whisked him off and said "it's a boy!!!" I was totally shocked. Joe and I both thought the baby would be a girl! He also had a ton of black hair and all the nurses immediately told us they loved his hair. He barely cried while they got him to the incubator and gave him his bath. He was so sweet and just looked around.

Joe grabbed the camera and took pictures and kept bringing the camera back over to me to show me his little face. I was on the bed for another hour while three doctors (including mine) stitched me up. I finally got to hold him (while I was still being stitched) and I remember just being so in love with his little face. He was perfect.

June 30th was one of the best days of my life :)

Doctor Appointment

2011-07-15T16:17:00.001-05:00

Yesterday we had our first doctor appointment for Landon! I'm still a little nervous getting him around so I was glad Joe is still on paternity leave so we could go together! And we made it on time, thank you very much! ;-)

His stats:
Weight: 7lb, 9oz (19%)
Height: 20in (25%)
Head Circumference: 36in (25%)

He also got circumcised which was NOT as bad as I thought it would be! It took about five minutes and there's really no special care we have to give him now afterwards.

What are your plans for tonight?? Usually on Friday nights Joe and I would go out to eat, go to the movies or go to Borders. But tonight we are just grilling some steaks and enjoying some baby time!

Happy Friday!!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

2 weeks

2011-07-14T18:52:00.000-05:00

Landon is officially two weeks old today! I don't know where the last two weeks have gone. It seems like we were just spending our first night with him in the hospital but in other ways it seems like we've had him two years instead of two weeks!!

Some highlights of what has been going on that I want to be able to remember:

- He sleeps a lot during the day and night! We can almost always get a three hour stretch out of him and sometimes we get as much as four or four and a half hours! Right now we're letting him dictate the schedule rather than trying to put him on some kind of schedule. I'm doing my best to nap when he sleeps during the day so I'm not too sleep deprived at this point.
- He is breastfeeding almost exclusively. I offer him one or two bottles of formula a day to give myself a breast vacation (as my lactation consultant calls it! Haha!). We are very lucky that he can easily go between breast and bottle with no confusion at all!
- He sleeps in either his Pack 'n Play (the newborn napper section) or the swing. His naps in the living room are in the Fisher Price Rock in Play Sleeper. He *loves* this thing!!!

- We had his two week appointment at the pediatrician today and he got circumcised. He did just fine (maybe the sugar water they put on his pacifier helped??!). He has gained back to his birth weight!

Some pictures of meeting him for the first time :) :)

My recovery from delivery is going much better than I thought it would be at the two week mark! I don't have much pain at all from the tear and I can get around just fine now. Breastfeeding is still h.a.r.d. I can't bear to think about a long term goal but I just try to get through one feeding at a time. I got mastitis on Day 5 and we hired a lactation consultant to come to the house every other day or so. She said my "nipple trauma" was the second worst she'd ever seen (isn't that nice? LOL). Thank you for all the encouragement you left on the last post - it helps!!

More updates to come SOON - now that I'm getting back in the swing of things :)

Introducing

2011-07-06T08:55:00.001-05:00

Landon was born at 4:53am on June 30. He weighed 7lbs, 10oz. and is perfect! I had a 3rd to 4th degree tear and we are struggling with breastfeeding but we are SO in love. I honestly feel like my life began six days ago.

I'm going to post my full birth story soon!

Happy Wednesday :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Induction

2011-06-29T22:03:00.001-05:00

We got checked in and into our room about 7:30.

The Cytotech went in at 8:30.

Trying to rest now...

More updates to come :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Induction Day

2011-06-29T12:20:00.001-05:00

I'm writing this from Sonic ;-) but I wanted to document my last day before baby! What would you do if you knew you had one last day before your labor started?

I've been getting my house all ready for visitors. Almost all of our visitors will be coming from out of town and a lot of them are staying with us. I made some fresh cookies for them to have when they come. They're monster cookies - have you had them??

I also got some fresh fruit (if someone is crazy enough to want fruit instead of a cookie..??)

I went and got some high quality reading material for the hospital.

And right now Boomer and I are having one last outing to Sonic and to wash the car!

We check into the hospital at 6pm tonight so I'm just waiting for Joe to get off work so we can go!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

39 Weeks! (Last Post Before Baby!)

2011-06-28T11:24:00.000-05:00

This is a little late but...

I'm 39 weeks pregnant!!!

I wanted to let you all know that tomorrow night I'm being induced so our little guy or gal will be here Wednesday or Thursday. I'll update on here as much as I can while I'm in the hospital because I want to keep track of everything for my own memories :)

How I'm feeling:
I'm anxious about labor but SO excited to meet this baby! I can't imagine how much my life will be changed in the next couple days! :)

About the baby:
The baby is full term and "locked and loaded". His/her head is all the way down (-3 station) and I can feel the little bottom moving around up top.

Doctor Appointments:
We had our final appointment last week. The next time we see our doctor will be at delivery! *faint*

Food:
Current favorite foods: BLTs

Current food aversions: still can't even bear to think about avocados or eggs

The nursery:
All finished!!

Baby gear:
I think we have everything we need but I guess we're about to find out! Haha!

Thank you for all the advice and support you've given me in the last 9 months! It's been quite the ride!!!

Happy Tuesday! Wish me luck for tomorrow! :)

What's In My Hospital Bag???

2011-06-23T07:00:00.003-05:00

It's tricky to know what to pack for the hospital to have your first baby! I have only been in the hospital once in my life (for a broken and dislocated hip after a waterskiing accident) and it wasn't planned. In fact, they cut my (most beloved) swimsuit off me in the ER and Joe had to go to Walmart and buy me some sweat pants so I would have clothes to wear when I got released. R.I.P awesome swimsuit...

So here's what we came up with for the hospital.

Our bag is sitting in the corner of our bedroom ready to go at any moment!!

Big Stuff

Diaper Bag
Breast Pump

Pillow from home
Boppy
Blanket (handmade)

Baby Things

Diapers and wipes (I've heard conflicting things - do I need to bring my own??)
Baby Book
Polaroid Camera and film (I'm going to attempt to get cool Polaroid pictures of visitors)

White newborn kimono shirts (snaps down the front so I don't have to pull over baby's head)

Going home outfit for boy (brand is F.A.O. from Babies 'R Us)

Going home outfit for a girl (brand is Koala Baby from Babies 'R Us)

socks and hair bows (not pictured)

Daddy Things

Casual/Sleep outfits: t-shirts and gym shorts

Nice outfit for going home

Swim Trunks so he can get in the bath with me during labor

Flip flops (not pictured)

Mommy Things

1 gown and robe set

1 extra robe

2 pairs of sweatpants and tank tops

1 nursing tank top

2 nursing bras

1 yoga bra (for bath during labor)

House shoes with grippers on bottom

Undies and socks (not pictured)

Going home dress

Flip Flops

Shower Things

2 of our own big fuzzy towels

Shower Bag with deodorant, toothpaste, chapstick, contact solution, etc.

Makeup Bag (may not get used - haha!)

Electronic/Entertainment Things

iPad

Video Camera

Camera and case (not pictured)

Phones and phone chargers

Mama experts - what am I missing??? :)

What's In My Diaper Bag???

2011-06-21T07:00:00.003-05:00

I've spent a lot of time researching what to pack in our hospital bag and diaper bag for when we have this baby. I've asked a lot of my mom friends for advice and looked at checklists in books and online. I'm a chronic "over-packer" but I promised Joe I would try not to go nuts. But the thought of not having everything I need in several options makes me feel a little sweaty and faint. In fact, the following is a real life picture of our luggage for our honeymoon. Which wasn't quite two weeks long.

Yes, that's seven pieces of luggage. And the bell hop in the background? He's totally laughing at how ridiculous that is.

So here's the diaper bag portion of what I have packed. I'll try to do my hospital bag too. Which all fit into one suitcase so there's a major victory!

(top to bottom)
Munchkin Arm & Hammer Pacifier Wipes
Burp Cloth (handmade from etsy)
Aden & Anais Swaddle Blanket
Receiving Blanket

Sophie the Giraffe toy/teether

Newborn diapers

Wipes case with wipes

(left to right)

Triple Paste Ointment

Aquaphor Ointment

Disposable Changing Pads

Munchkin Arm & Hammer Diaper Bags (for dirty diapers)

So there you have it! Now... what am I missing???

The diaper bag itself is from Cake by Petunia Picklebottom, it's called the Society Satchel. You can find it here. I LOVE it and I'm totally going to use it as a purse later on.

38 weeks!!!

2011-06-20T14:51:00.000-05:00

I'm 38 weeks pregnant!

How I'm feeling:
I've been having contractions for the past month! I'm hoping they start to get more regular! I have a hard time rolling over in bed and getting clothes out of the dryer. Otherwise, I still have lots of energy and feel great!

About the baby:
The baby is officially the size of a watermelon! I feel him/her moving around less (out of room??) these days but the movements I do feel certainly take my breath away! He/she is definitely head down and ready to go according to my doctor.

Doctor Appointments:
We're still seeing the doctor every week (usually on Thursdays). Everything is on track and I've started to make *some* progress towards delivery.

Food:
Current favorite foods: BLTs (I feel like I want one for every meal)
Current food aversions: still can't even bear to think about avocados or eggs

The nursery:
All finished!!

Baby gear:
I think we have everything we need! I feel like we're at Babies 'R Us every other day and they definitely recognize us when we come in! Haha!

Happy Monday!

My Week

2011-06-16T10:08:00.000-05:00

Still no baby.

I figured I should get that out there early because I'm getting calls, texts and emails a lot now from friends and family asking if I've popped! ;-)

I did go see my friend Sara's newborn baby on Monday and took her lunch. She had makeup on, was dressed nice and looked well rested and her baby is only a week old! I told her I will probably look like this when my baby is a week old. (I think he's yawning, not screaming)

She asked me to bring her some sweet tea from McAllister's (smart woman) and we had salads to eat.

On Tuesday someone very special to me had his 5th birthday - my first baby - Boomer. I found some old pictures from the day we brought him home. Joe jokes that we went "just to look" but of course we had a kennel set up in the back of the Jeep and toys already bought. :) Here we are on the ride home...

Doesn't he look terrified??? Haha!
Happy 5th birthday, buddy!! We love you!!

Happy Thursday!!!

The Nursery Reveal

2011-06-14T11:00:00.000-05:00

I think I finally got the nursery finished! Or as finished as it can be without knowing the gender of the baby ;-) We have been working on it since about Christmas but I've been doing little touches here and there since my baby shower a couple weeks ago. The baby has permission now to come at any time! Hah!

The bedding was hand made with fabrics we liked in turquoise and red. I love the cream satin details.

I framed a set of pictures which I'm sure will change once I have pictures of the baby! I put a picture of me on the beach in Hawaii a couple weeks after we found out we were pregnant, a picture of "big brother" Boomer and sonogram pictures.

I love my glider! The fabric was custom to match the wall color.

An old nightstand I had and repainted.

The curtains I made myself. They were very cheap and easy!

Diaper bag is packed and ready to go!!

That red pom pom fringe on the crib skirt just kills me. I am a little obsessed with it.

The furniture is from a brand called Munire

I hope the baby loves his/her room as much as I do! I had so much fun working on the room that I think I'm ready to have our second baby just to get to set up another room!

New Master Bathroom

2011-06-10T12:13:00.000-05:00

I don't know if you remember but I've been contemplating doing something with our Master Bathroom for a while now. The truth is, we've lived in this house for two years and we hadn't done anything with it besides put one old rug on the floor. I really wanted a Master Bathroom that felt like a spa or hotel. Because of the time crunch (baby) and Joe's crazy work schedule, we had exactly one day to do something so I decided we could at least paint, get some new rugs and put something on the wall. After debating for a long time over colors, I decided to go with a soft yellow from Valspar.

My first instinct is always blue but we have so much blue in our house I'm worried it's starting to look like smurf-ville. I picked out a couple other colors to compliment it: a bronze-y brown (to be used later for something - it's a surprise!) and a pretty sea green. I love this green color!!

I'm not going to lie, painting a bathroom with 12 foot ceilings and wacky walls was not easy being 9 months pregnant so Joe did a lot of the work. I just came in every once in a while to do some quality assurance inspections (hah)!! Also, we didn't think too much about how we'd paint the wall above our corner tub. After Google-ing we decided to put towels down in the tub and put the ladder inside the tub (*cue me having a heart attack at the thought of the fiberglass tub cracking*) and I did that painting because I'm still (slightly) lighter than Joe and we figured the less weight on the ladder the better. I'll admit, the ceiling isn't perfect but we are not re-painting any time soon!! haha!

For cheap wall art I blew up two of our favorite honeymoon pictures at Walgreens and put them in frames from Walmart.

The shelf came from Lowe's for under $15 and the jars are from TJMaxx, all three were $7 total.

The rugs are probably my favorite thing. They are the Hotel Collection from TJMaxx. I LOVE the Hotel Collection stuff from TJMaxx.

I'm really happy with how it turned out and that it was really a one day project. I still have some other ideas for a couple more projects in here, but those may have to wait a couple months. :)

Happy Friday!!!

Thank yous & Carseats

2011-06-09T13:01:00.000-05:00

It's so nice to have a "pregnancy buddy". I don't think I'd want to be pregnant (especially for the first time) without having a friend in the same boat with me. I had two friends who were pregnant with me and due within a month of me. One of my friends even shared my due date. Well. They have both now had their babies! I'm the last man (woman) standing!! hah!

After the second girl went into labor early Joe and I promptly packed our hospital bag and got the car seat installed.

Maybe it was wishful thinking...

I'm so ready to have this baby and find out if we've got a little girl or a little boy!! I've been cleaning the house because we will be having a lot of company over and I'm a little OCD about it staying neat. I told Joe I couldn't fathom having this baby knowing our bed wasn't made or there were dishes in the sink!! Haha!
I've also been working on my thank-yous from my shower. I designed them using the colors from the nursery (and my shower) and used some of the pregnancy photos I had been taking. I printed them at Office Depot because I didn't want to wait to have them mailed if I did them online. All together I think 50 cards were $10 or so!!

What did you do the days leading up to having your first baby???

Dr. Suess Baby Shower

2011-06-06T12:35:00.000-05:00

Over Memorial Day weekend I had my baby shower in Kansas City so Joe and I made it long weekend and celebrated with lots of friends and family. The theme of the shower was Dr. Suess (love!) and it was hosted by my mom and sister. They did an awesome job and I was completely overwhelmed most of the day :)

I wore a one shoulder cotton maxi dress my mom got me from Macy's (non-maternity!). I was hoping the black would make me look slimmer but that would have been a miracle straight from Jesus. haha!

The Cat in the Hat cake was made by Three Women and an Oven in Kansas City. The top layer was peanut butter with chocolate filling and the middle layer was white cake with strawberry filling. Looks too good to eat doesn't it??

The diaper cake my mother in law had made for me was so cute! The layers are wrapped in hand made burp cloths from Etsy. Such a cute idea!

Delicious food spread and personalized water bottles :)

Can you tell this little baby is going to be spoiled???

Joe's godmother got us this huge stuffed teddy bear and I thought it was the cutest thing. He sits next to the crib in the nursery now!!

So many of the gifts I got were so special: OU things, handmade things or things with special meaning.

The guests played Price is Right and Bingo while I opened my gifts.

What an awesome day!

You Were Right

2011-05-23T16:57:00.000-05:00

I needed to let you know that you were right.

A couple months I told you I needed a new vacuum. I honestly knew my old Hoover Wind Tunnel was just making pretty lines in the carpet and not really picking anything up.

Buying a Dyson wasn't in the budget. But you all told me it would be worth it and you can buy them refurbished online.

So look what arrived last week...

And at first I was skeptical.

But you were right. My life has now been changed. And please don't judge me but I think it's really fun to watch all the stuff get sucked into the canister.

So thanks for the advice! I'm off to vacuum! Haha!

33 weeks!!!

2011-05-18T11:00:00.001-05:00

I'm 33 weeks pregnant!! *cue panic attacks!*

How I'm feeling:
Except for the fact that I can't move or roll over in bed, or get out of the bathtub or shave my legs very well I feel excellent! Haha! I've definitely started to waddle!

About the baby:
The baby is still kicking up a storm! I feel it mostly when I'm lying on my side and right now it's laying really high and along my right side. I can't wait to find out exactly what position he/she is in (at my 36 week doctor appointment). Since we've officially decided on a boy name and a girl name we are starting to refer to the baby by these names, interchangeably.

Doctor Appointments:
We have an appointment every 1-2 weeks. Joe has still not skipped one appointment which amazing with his work hours! We had an appointment yesterday and the biggest news is.... our due date has officially been changed! 7/2/11 (the day before our 5 year wedding anniversary) :)

Food:
Current favorite foods: cold glass of milk, corn on the cob (obsessed)
Current food aversions: still can't even bear to think about avocados or eggs. I divert my eyes when I see them at the grocery store.

The nursery:
I'm starting to get some things done for curtains, lamp, etc!!

Baby gear:
We still haven't bought much more because our shower is in a couple weeks.

Have I grown??

Happy Wednesday!!!

2nd Trimester Survival Guide

2011-05-11T09:43:00.001-05:00

As promised!! I wanted to put together a list of things that I found useful during the (BEST) trimester of pregnancy - the 2nd! During this time, a mama will probably be starting to really grow in the belly, put together the nursery and start to really think about what life with the baby is going to be like. Or at least that was my experience! (If you missed the 1st Trimester Survival Guide - go HERE!)

1. BeMaternity Tanks from Target - I have one of these in every color (white, black, nude) and wear them under a shirt almost every single day! It helps me prevent Plumber's Belly (ha!) and I've been able to get by with a lot of the shirts I already had that are swingy and loose rather than buying a bunch of new shirts. It's seamless and SO comfortable and I also felt like it gave my belly and chest some added support.

2. Happiest Baby on the Block book - I had many mom's recommend this book to me - it's all about soothing your baby. I think it's good to get started on reading soothing and sleep books before the baby comes (let's face it, you probably won't have time once the baby is already here!)

3. Prilosec - My heartburn really started kicking in during the 2nd trimester. It got so bad that TUMS wouldn't even touch it and I was awake at all hours of the night in pain. My doctor originally put me on Zantac but after talking to several moms, I switched to Prilosec once a day. I literally have not had an ounce of heartburn since starting it!! Amazing stuff!!

4. Pedicures - By the middle to end of my 2nd trimester I couldn't even think about bending over to paint my toenails. But it's more than vanity that has led me to get regular pedicures. The leg massage is great for swelling and THAT CHAIR with the back massagers is worth the price of a pedicure alone. Because your back will be hurting. It feels soooo goood.

5. Yoga DVD - I'll admit I have really reduced my exercise routine since becoming pregnant. I still walk quite a bit and I always try to take the stairs when I'm out and about. I also have used this DVD that's specifically geared toward pregnant women and really like it. It does have some challenging things (like pushups - eeps!) but the stretches are SO awesome. And there's a little dance portion I really like.

6. Lucie's List for registering - this blog is a Godsend for registering. I would tell any of my friends to not even dare registering without looking at this list. It's created by a real mama and it gives the most practical advice on the things you really need for the baby. I loved that it explained how car seats and strollers work in layman terms (I hope I'm not the only one who had no idea what the difference between an infant seat and convertible seat was!!). Anywhere you register *will* give you a list of "necessities" but it will be a list of approximately 650 items so this really helps you pare those lists down. I could go on forever how much I loved this blog.

7. Baby Names App for Phone (or book) - This is the time when deciding a name get's to be important! Joe and had a really hard time choosing names (and they're still a complete surprise to our family!). Any time we were on a road trip I would pull up this app and read names and we could spend a couple hours discussing the names. We ended up choosing some names that we had already liked for quite a while but this app helped us figure out there wasn't anything "better" out there for us :)

8. Old Navy Maternity Jeans - I have bought a lot of different brands of maternity jeans (including the pricey Pea in the Pod ones the celebrities supposedly wear) and I swear that Old Navy makes the best preggo jeans in the industry!! Even if you're like me and Old Navy jeans don't work for you when you're not pregnant, seriously give these a try! It's all I wear these days!!

Old Navy maternity jeans I scored for $4 on the sale rack!!!

Alright, mamas!! What am I missing?? I loved the comments from the 1st Trimester Survival Guide post - I missed a bunch of stuff!! :)

Monday

2011-05-10T11:38:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Boomer and I ran errands together. I might as well mention we had to mail our Mother's Day cards. Just a few days late this year. :( I love taking him with me when I have to run around town because he *loves* it so much. And he gets himself so excited that he usually sleeps the rest of the day. Which really isn't that different than a normal day. But I love when I come back out to the car after running an errand and he's all hi mom! ohmygosh yay you're here this is so fun yay yay yay!

No one else is going to care about this but my local grocery store sells Spicy Chicken sandwiches that are VERY similar to the ones at Wendy's. I'm obsessed with them but Wendy's is at least four miles from my house and I'm usually too lazy to drive over and get one. The grocery store is a mile away and they're only $1.99. It really is the small things in life!! haha!

Yesterday Joe brought home an Edible Arrangement for me for Mother's Day. We are late on Mother's Day all around this year. He had to work on the actual Mother's Day and didn't "have time to pick anything up". Haha! I took pictures while he went in the bedroom to sign the card. Who says the romance is dead?!

The chocolate covered apples are actually my favorite part. And also, I've been obsessed with Edible Arrangements since they started putting their commercials on TV. I have mentioned to Joe approximately 379 times that I want an Edible Arrangement!!! LOL In all actuality I think you could easily make one yourself. All the skewers were stuck into a head of lettuce which was in the flower pot.

Joe walked Boomer late last night and picked up the mail (please tell me we're not the only people in America who forget to check their mail on a regular basis?) and he came back in with a package for me. My friend Rachael who lives in Oklahoma sent me a box.

It says "Mommy Brittany" - could you not just cry over how sweet that is? I did. :) And a very sweet card about how excited she is to see me as a Mom and lots of other nice things!

And one of my favorite all times candles - Tulips from Yankee Candle. Tulips are my fav fav fav flower :)

Hope you had a good Monday!

Medical Fashion

2011-05-09T09:47:00.000-05:00

It's the newest accessory coming out of Paris! It arrives in a subtle gray and black so it coordinates with any outfit!

Y'all, my doctor is making me wear a heart rate monitor for a month and I'm trying to make myself feel better about it! Haha!

(inappropriate picture of my chest ahead - warning - but I do want to document this for myself so I can look back and remember at all the silliness).

It beeps obnoxiously and it's wires bulge underneath my clothes. I'm terrified it's going to beep during some inopportune time. Like church. During a prayer. haha!

So that's what happened at the cardiologist's office last week. But my EKG was perfect - yay! The heart rate monitor is just an added precaution. So I'm okay with that!

Are you like me and hate being sick, going to the doctor, or the thought of being a patient in a hospital? I have only been in the hospital one time - when I broke my hip waterskiing.

This is not at the hospital (obviously), but afterward when I was on bed rest at my Mom's house :)

I know that wearing a heart rate monitor is really no big deal. I've read blogs of pregnant women who are on bed rest for months, or in the hospital for long periods of time because of complications. I know it could be so much worse so I really am thankful for that!

Have you been in the hospital? Have you ever had to wear a heart rate monitor or any other *fashionable* piece of medical equipment? ;-)

Deliveries & Prayer Request

2011-05-04T12:39:00.000-05:00

In the last couple of days I have gotten TWO boxes in the mail that fill my little heart with happiness. First, my friend Jacki sent me two candles I have been dying to get my hands on - Vanilla Cupcake and Lemon. They're from Gold Canyon (best candles ever) and I want to scoop the wax out with a spoon and eat them both!!! Together!! I hope you don't find that weird.

Also, yesterday we finally got our baby bedding in the mail. We ordered it back in February from Etsy and I was starting to get worried the seller wasn't going to have it finished in time for the birth (!) but she did a great job and I love it so, so much! We kind of threw it in the crib for a picture without spending too much time arranging it because we need to get the mattress put in. Question for you. Am I supposed to wash the bedding before we put it in the bed? I know you're supposed to wash baby clothes but we won't actually be using the bumper while the baby is sleeping in the crib so I don't know if that counts. Please help! ha!

Also, can you be thinking of me tomorrow afternoon? My OB decided I needed to visit a cardiologist and get an EKG on my heart tomorrow. I've been having some heart palpitations and chest pains. I'm sure everything is fine but I'm a little nervous. :)

Happy Wednesday!!!

Random Stuff

2011-04-28T14:16:00.000-05:00

I have been so stressed out with school lately. I don't talk much about it here, but I'm about 1/2 way through my Masters Degree in Engineering and I've been working really hard to get some things done before the baby comes this summer. I know once I have a newborn it's going to be even harder to buckle down!

Have any of you attempted school + baby? I'll be at the point next semester where I'll just be finishing up my research and writing my thesis (which may take me an entire year or more! Haha!) so I can do a lot of things from home. But how hard will THAT be? We won't be using daycare but I might get someone to sit with the baby for a day each week so I can still go to research meetings and write. Please tell me I'm not crazy!!!

I guess my husband got the memo that I was stressed (and horomonal - ha!) and I came home late Tuesday night from school and I had these two things waiting for me:

What you're looking at is a hot brownie with ganache wrapped in phyllo dough. It's exactly like my favorite dessert from one of the fancy restaurants we have here in town. I just about died. And "oh my GANACHE" was it good :)

Have a wonderful day!!

Easter 2011

2011-04-25T18:00:00.001-05:00

We celebrated Easter THREE times last weekend between all of our families (and that doesn't include church!). We pretty much stuffed ourselves on good food and then played outside with the kids all weekend.

Bubbles (my niece Ellie)

Soccer (my nephew Trent)

And this is my crazy sister jumping. I told her to do it.

Hope you had a great Easter!!!

29 weeks!!!

2011-04-25T13:14:00.000-05:00

I'm 29 weeks pregnant!! (Only 11 weeks to go!!)

How I'm feeling:
I still feel really good. It's getting really hard to bend over, sleep and eat a large meal (oh isn't that too bad??) because of the belly :)

About the baby:
The baby is the size of a butternut squash! I can feel it kicking high, low and to the sides. In fact, sometimes it feels like there's a few babies in there!! I'm really anxious to figure out if the baby is still breech.

Doctor Appointments:
Our next appointment is this Friday for 30 weeks! I am starting to feel like I live at my doctor's office!

Food:
Current favorite foods: my newest thing is banana splits!

Current food aversions: still can't even bear to think about avocados or eggs. I divert my eyes when I see them at the grocery store.

My body:
I think I'm still around the 20lb mark. I'm still carrying pretty low and my family tells me I'm carrying pretty small (I think they're just being nice).

The nursery:
We still need to decide on curtains and start decorating!!

Baby gear:
-My sister got the baby this cute Easter basket this weekend :)

-I may have bought some ice cream cone socks *cough* incase we're having a girl

Happy Monday!!!

Visiting After Baby

2011-04-19T08:30:00.003-05:00

Someone sent me this article and I wanted to get your input - especially from the mamas! It's all about visiting friends after they've had a baby. I really thought this was interesting because we are starting to try to figure out what our family/friends visiting schedule will be after our mini is born. ALL of our family live 3+ hours away so pretty much everyone will be visiting from out of town. I must admit - I'm a little freaked out about playing hostess while also learning to be a new mom.

The article starts out by saying visits to new parents should only be 15 minutes (that seems extreme but what do YOU think??)..

Before you walk in the door, put your game face on. Set a timer, on your phone or watch for 15 minutes. When it goes off, get out of there! Remember that you are going to be a quiet, productive blessing. This visit is NOT about you. It is not about the parents hosting you and putting on a cup of tea so you can sit and visit and hold the baby. Think about how you would feel if you had either had surgery or ran a triathlon. What would you want people to do for you? This visit is about blessing the parents and making their life a little bit easier. Your prize is getting a quick peek at the cute new human.

Here's how to play out your 15 minute visit:
1. Bring a healthy meal. Include a salad or fresh vegetables. Only use disposable dishes. There is nothing more annoying than
a) having to wash more dishes when you have a new baby
and
b) having to try to return dishes to all sorts of random people when you have a new baby
2. In addition to your meal, bring cut up veggies and fruit, unsalted trail mix or nuts, or other such healthy snacks for daytime munching for mom to eat while she's nursing.
3. Go into the kitchen and spend 5 minutes clearing off a counter, washing a sink-full of dishes, loading the dishwasher etc. Don't ask permission, just do it. Then set the table for their dinner.
4. Before you leave your house, put some paper towels and some powdered bathroom cleaner like Commet or Ajax in a baggie. Stick it in your purse. While you are at the house, go and use the washroom...and while in there do a three minute bathroom shine-up, using your paper towels and cleaner.
5. Coo over the baby, but wash your hands before touching it.
6. If they want to eat right then, heat the food up and put it on the table, give everybody kisses and then leave.
7. Take the garbage out when you go.

In and out. This will be the best visit the parents will have had. They will love you and you will be awesome in their books forever. You can come back and have a longer visit when the parents have adjusted to their new normal.

So I'd love to hear your thoughts on this and also other words of wisdom you have for hosting visitors in the hospital and at your house after a new baby :)

Happy Tuesday!!!

(source of article: http://www.birthresourcenetwork.org/resources/109-how-to-be-the-best-post-partum-visitor-in-15-minutes-or-less)

Egg Decorating

2011-04-18T14:30:00.000-05:00

Every year Joe and I try to decorate a batch of Easter eggs. It's a tradition we started when we got married and now we have boxes and boxes of eggs that I bring out every year to decorate with. I know that probably seems weird to people because we don't have kids yet but I love any excuse to celebrate any kind of holiday. We give each other Easter baskets too - haha! I LOVE looking back at eggs we painted over the past few years :) Someday I'd like to have enough to fill a tree with them! We make sure to write the year on each egg in Sharpie marker so our grandchildren can look at all these old stinky eggs and know which year they're from. (We do blow them first so they don't rot. Can you imagine???)

Do you have a tradition for decorating Easter eggs? I would love to start some more Easter traditions once our little "egg has hatched" ;-)

28 Weeks!!!

2011-04-17T21:52:00.000-05:00

I'm 28 weeks pregnant!!

How I'm feeling:
I feel great! A little bit of pregnancy insomnia, Braxton Hicks and tiredness.. but overall doing awesome! I'm also really excited because for the first time someone recognized I'm pregnant in public! A sweet lady *insisted* I go ahead of her in line in a restroom. Haha!

About the baby:
The baby is the size of a head of cabbage :) He/she moves around a lot, especially when I lay down at night. I feel kicks way high and way low all at the same time and sometimes he/she will roll slowly, which is the weirdest sensation!

Doctor Appointments:
We're going to the doctor every two weeks at this point. Basically, we check my urine, weight (fun times) and blood pressure and then we get to hear the heart beat (which totally makes the weight check worth it! Haha!)

Food:
Current favorite foods: Fruit and pickles :)

Current food aversions: still can't even bear to think about avocados or eggs. I divert my eyes when I see them at the grocery store.

My body:
I have officially gained 20 pounds. I'm trying not to focus much on the weight. The lady who does my pedicures assures me I'm not swollen at all (yay!) so that makes me feel better. After a meal I feel like a huge whale though.

The nursery:
We still need to decide on curtains and start decorating!!

Baby gear:
-We bought a few options for coming home outfits at Babies R'Us (one for each gender)
- I discovered our stroller doesn't fit through the doorways of our house (isn't that great?)

Happy Monday!!!

Weekend

2011-04-11T14:18:00.000-05:00

Last weekend was one of the first weekends in a long time that Joe and I had NO plans! We spent a lot of time out in the yard because it was in the 80s and I couldn't stand to be cooped up inside! We mowed the entire yard (me on the rider and Joe with the pusher) and then weeded out and re-mulched the front flower bed. I think my nesting has officially spread outdoors!!!

We also went to see Limitless. I was craving movie theater popcorn and Joe thought it looked good so it was a nice afternoon date!

We (mostly Joe) watched a lot of the Master's tournament. I am terrible at golf but I love how soothing they are on tv because the announcers have such calm voices! Makes for a good nap! Haha!

What did you do this weekend???

Sandals and Pediatricians

2011-04-07T14:47:00.000-05:00

First of all, I have to tell you that yesterday I stumbled upon a shoe and sandal goldmine at where else but K'Mart. Y'all, they have the cutest shoes and there's no way you can be more shocked about it than I was. I have been wearing these (less than $20) sandals all day today walking around campus because I have some meetings for my grad classes and just WOW. I know maybe not everyone is into the gladiator trend but I'm definitely a fan.

I also have to tell you something really funny that happened to us on Tuesday when we had our OB appointment. Or doctor was asking us some questions to put in our chart for the birth like "Will you be having the epidural?", "Would you prefer to use the Birth Care Center or the hospital", "Would you like to pre-register at the hospital?", etc and she asked us, "Can you go ahead and tell us who you've decided to have as your pediatrician?"

And then silence.

Oops!

We're supposed to be doing that now?? I had no idea! Our OB thought it was hilarious (hello, first time parents!! Ha!). Is there anything else we might be forgetting to do? I just know I'll be the type of mom who forgets to bring diapers when we go out or forgets to enroll her child in school or something. Haha!

Yellow Rose Pillow

2011-04-06T13:20:00.000-05:00

Last week I was really feeling Spring fever and I decided I wanted to make a little pillow to freshen up our guest room because my mom was coming for a visit.

I found some yellow fabric (isn't it just so cheerful??) at Walmart and thought it might be cute for little fabric rosettes I've seen around. I also grabbed a couple yards of simple white fabric.

I read a few things online about how to make the little appliques. Basically, you cut your fabric into strips about an inch wide, along the width of the fabric - I think most fabric bolts are 44 or 53 inches wide. (I actually tore my strips because I realized our only pair of scissors are awful and I even tried to find Joe's surgical scissors but couldn't find those either! Ha!)

Once you've got your strips torn/cut, you just tie a knot at the halfway point of the strip so you have two ends. I added a little dob of hot glue here. Twist the fabric and start just wrapping it around the knot.

Around and around, twisting and gluing as you go with the hot glue gun. I burned my fingers a few times but it's totally worth it.

When you get to the end, just wrap the edge of the fabric around to the back and glue it down. And you repeat the process for as many rosettes you want for your pillow.

I didn't want to over-exert myself so I only made three.

Then, I got out my old sewing machine (which only works about half the time but I can't justify buying a new one because the only thing I know how to sew is curtains and pillows. I even took Sewing class in high school and I made my grandma a stuffed lamb and put the ears on backwards) and made a little white pillow case for a pillow insert I already had from Hobby Lobby. If you aren't much of a sewer, you could totally just buy a solid white throw pillow and stick your rosettes on the front. Now that I think of it, that would have been much easier.

I stuffed the pillow insert inside and then sewed the bottom edge with a needle and thread. The old fashioned way. And probably still not technically the correct way!

Then, I arranged the rosettes on the front of the pillow and hot glued them down too.

I thought it looked cute on our guest bed and it only took me an hour to whip up! Not bad, huh?

Happy Wednesday!

Nursery Progress & More

2011-04-04T11:12:00.000-05:00

I wanted to share the progress of our nursery because I have several friends who are begging me for pictures. We just got the furniture delivered last Thursday so it's just bare bones right now but I'm loving it and at least a couple times a day I go in and sit in the glider and imagine what it's going to be like to be rocking an actual baby.

Now is the fun part: decorating!! I really feel like that's when you can make the space unique. We still have so much to do like make the curtains, find lamps, etc. Speaking of nursery decorating, my friend Jacki just posted a cute tutorial on her blog about making a mobile for her nursery with birdcages and a branch from her yard. TOO CUTE.

I have to show a picture of the ceiling fan because Joe spent seven hours installing it. It's totally not his fault, because he had to re-wire the entire room I think. I'm not 100% sure because I was taking a nap on the couch at the time. Just kidding and I WISH. We were both on the ladder! Ha!

Last weekend my mom came to stay with me because Joe was in Chicago for a conference for work. We ate and shopped and then ate some more and shopped some more. I had to show you the cute bag I found at a consignment store. If you squint it can almost look like a Chanel bag. I love it!

Also, I had a major craving for a milkshake. Gold star to anyone who can guess what I put in it..?!?

Happy Monday!

Spring Cleaning

2011-03-30T08:55:00.000-05:00

I don't know if it's being pregnant or the fact that Spring is finally here but I would love nothing more than to spend a day on my hands and knees scrubbing baseboards and dusting all the nooks and crannies in my china hutch. My house stays pretty clean most of the time because (I probably need mental help) I can't relax if I know there's a big mess in the kitchen or somewhere else. (Except laundry. I have a really hard time keeping up with laundry!)

Lately I've been in the market for a new vacuum - do any of y'all have any good recommendations??? As much as I would *love* to have one of these...

It's just not in the budget right now. Actually, we are still using the vacuum Joe's mom got him when he moved to his first apartment to start medical school. That thing has seen better days! Sometimes I wonder if it's really picking up dirt and pet hair or just making pretty lines in the carpet! Ha!

Vacuuming is my least favorite household chore. I honestly think I'd rather clean a toilet. I'm hoping maybe you have a good suggestion for a new vacuum that will pick up dog hair and sweep carpet and hardwoods! Or if you do have a Dyson you love go on and tell me that too and maybe I can convince the hubby! Ha!

Happy Wednesday!

25 Weeks!!!

2011-03-28T15:26:00.001-05:00

I'm already 25 weeks pregnant!

How I'm feeling:
I'm still feeling really good! Last week I had my first Braxton Hicks contraction where my stomach tightened up (thankfully it didn't hurt like a normal contraction probably will!)

About the baby:
The baby is over a foot long and starting to open it's eyes. He/she kicks like crazy if I eat something really hot or really cold or if I lay on my side! Joe and I have FINALLY decided on baby names but we're keeping them a secret until the birth :)

Doctor Appointments:
We had an appointment last week and I found out I passed my glucose test! Yay! I had a smoothie to celebrate! Ha! I also had to get the Rhogam shot in my hiney. Now we start going to the doctor every two weeks.

Food:
Current favorite foods: I'm still obsessed with fruit and I love the Cherry Limeade Chiller at Sonic. I split a small one with Joe three days in a row this weekend!!

Current food aversions: still can't even bear to think about avocados or eggs. I divert my eyes when I see them at the grocery store.

My body:
I have officially gained 17 pounds.

The nursery:
After our JCPenney fiasco (PLEASE don't order furniture from them :( )We ordered *new* nursery furniture this weekend and because time is getting limited I'm glad to say it's being delivered on Thursday!! Yay!

Baby gear:
We finally started our baby registry last week. Our parents were bugging us to get it started and I must admit, I was putting it off because it's really overwhelming. I always feel weird about registries anyway - I hate asking for gifts and opening presents in front of people!!!

Joe and I also ordered new living room furniture last weekend so I'm excited to show you what it looks like!! And I have a LIST of projects we're working on that I really want to share too!

Happy Monday!!!

It's All In The Drink...

2011-03-22T16:05:00.000-05:00

I had to go in for my glucose test today - and I was dreading not only the test but being without sweets for 12 hours! ha! The test makes sure you don't have Gestational Diabetes and they make you drink a solution and then they take your blood. The drink itself wasn't that bad - it tasted like Cool Aid (which I never drank as a kid because I don't like things that aren't caffeinated - I know, I'm a picture of good health ;-)

I was glad I had my iPad in my purse because I had to sit in the lab for an hour after drinking it before they could draw my blood. I sat and read a book on it and watched the other pregnant ladies come in for their tests. It was THE place to be today!

Then I ran over to Sam's Club because Joe and I were there last night and I saw this serving set for $40 and I couldn't stop thinking about it - I even called my Mom and told her about it. Wouldn't this be perfect for parties??? So I went back today and got it. All the dishes are oven, microwave and DISHWASHER safe!

Truth be told, I look for any excuse to go to Sam's Club because they have a little cafe area with food and they also have Coke Icee's! I am obsessed. I could drink one every day but I only let myself splurge on one every once in a while.

Let's hope I pass my glucose test because otherwise I may have to cut out all Coke Icee's! Ha!

24 Weeks!!!

2011-03-21T11:27:00.001-05:00

How I'm feeling:
I feel great!! I tend to get out of breath easier and bending over is getting harder but I have lots of energy and feel really good!!

About the baby:
The baby is the size of an eggplant and kicks all the time! So far he/she hasn't been in my ribs, most of the kicks are still around my belly button or lower (maybe one of the few benefits of being tall - lots of room to move!).

Doctor Appointments:
We have our next appointment this week and I'll also be doing the DREADED glucose testing this week. Please tell me it's not as bad as I hear..!

Food:
Current favorite foods: FRUIT. Most of the time you can find Joe in the kitchen doing this...

Current food aversions: still can't even bear to think about avocados or eggs. I still divert my eyes when I see them at the grocery store. Ha!

My body:
My bump is getting bigger and rounder by the minute it seems!

The nursery:
I haven't mentioned it on my blog but we've had major problems with our furniture. JCPenney (who I used to be a big fan of) really disappointed us. We ordered over $2000 worth of furniture in January and we still have only 1/2 of what we ordered and the rest has been broken by the trucking company or discontinued. They also charged us for and almost sent a second crib without us authorizing it and we've had SO many problems with their customer service. They've set up appointments for us to be home to have furniture delivered and they've not shown up. They've "lost" our order. So, we are returning what we have and getting something else. Stay tuned. This whole thing has been such a mess and I have never been the type of person to smear the name of a company but I can honestly say I've been so disappointed by our experience with JCPenney that I won't shop there anymore :(

The nursery is totally painted! Next on the list is installing the new ceiling fan!

Baby gear:
On a happier note.. we ordered and LOVE our new stroller to match our carseat! I had so much fun watching Joe figure out all the little features. He is great with gadget type things. I'm scared I'll be the mom who lets their baby roll down the hill in the stoller.

I got this cute moses basket at a consignment sale!

Happy Monday!!

First Trimester Survival Kit

2011-03-14T11:28:00.002-05:00

Doesn't it always seem like people get pregnant in waves? I have a lot of friends who are currently pregnant or who are about to embark on trying to get pregnant so I thought I would make a list of all the things I would have used if I had a survival kit for the first trimester. (I'll do my second trimester later - I'm almoooost done with mine!) And I'll be way more prepared for pregnancy #2 now. In 15 years.

1. Unscented Soaps and Lotions

Pregnancy causes a heightened sense of smell and most things with scents will probably bother you. (Joe got kicked out of bed for eating a graham cracker once - the smell was SO strong).

2. Reusable Water Bottle

I think it's pretty typical for newly pregnant women to be deliriously thirsty (at least I was and I usually hate water). I got some reusable water bottles to refill throughout the day. For me, I liked having the straw too.

3. What to Expect When You're Expecting Phone App

This is probably one of my favorite things and I look at it several times every day! The main screen keeps track of exactly how far along you are (23 weeks and 3 days, for example) and also gives you an approximate size of the baby. It's SO fun to tell people your baby is the size of a walnut, apple or large ear of corn (what my baby is currently!) Honestly, I bought the What to Expect When You're Expecting book, but I have used this app much more and it gives you tidbits directly from the book every single day.

4. Subscription of Parents and Parenting Magazine

Order them NOW and you'll start getting magazines in the mail in your second trimester. And believe it or not, you will get WAY more excited than when your Lucky used to arrive. Or at least I did :)

5. Snoogle

I hated it when I first used it, then I tried using it again during the end of my first trimester and loved it. Since it's best for blood flow to the baby that you sleep on your left side, this gives you something to hold and keeps you propped up. And I love having a pillow between my legs for back support.

6. BeBand

When the bloat/bump start to form and you can wear your pants, you just can't quite button them this is a lifesaver! I didn't gain any weight during the first trimester but I still couldn't button my pants (???) and wore these almost every day. Actually, I still use mine now to wear some of my "normal" jeans at 23 weeks.

So there you have it - everything to make the first trimester easier (it's the worst in my humble opinion)! I'm sure I'm missing some things too!

Is there anything else you couldn't live without during your first trimester???

Carseats and Clothes

2011-03-11T13:02:00.000-06:00

On Wednesday night we came home late to find a big delivery on our front porch: the carseat!! It cracks me up that I used to get excited about getting a J Crew package in the mail or a box from Sephora and now I can't wait for a carseat to come!! Carseats freak me out because they seem so complicated (infant seat or convertible seat? front face or rear? middle or passenger side of the car? weight and length limits?) so I'll probably take me the next four months to figure out how to use it. Thank goodness we ordered it early! Haha!

All we need is a baby!!

I also had to tell you about a big sale I went to! Yesterday a friend of mine (who is due six days before me!) and I went to a big twice annual consignment sale on baby clothes they put on at a warehouse in my town. It was so overwhelming! (They also had candles and household things and I was so overwhelmed by the mass of clothes I told my friend I was going to buy a candle and just leave! LOL!).

I decided to buy a little for both a boy and girl since we decided not to know the gender. Somehow I ended up with way more girl stuff so that probably guarantees I'm having a boy! Ha!

Happy Friday!!

Weekend

2011-03-08T10:17:00.000-06:00

Last weekend Joe and I had to take a little road trip because he had a test to take in Kansas City for his job. It was a very short trip because he had also to work on Sunday but I took advantage of being close to "home" to spend the day with my mom.

Speaking of road trip, how well do your pets travel in the car? Boomer goes practically everywhere with us and I told Joe that we are so lucky he travels well in the car. He loves it and usually falls asleep as soon as we hit the road!

While Joe was taking his test on Saturday my mom and I spent a few hours together having lunch and shopping. I'm probably the last person on the planet to have discovered it, but have you seen this store called World Market??? It has such cute home/cooking/decorating stuff! I could have spent A LOT of money there!!!

We also went to Cheesecake Factory for lunch. It's one of my top five favorite restaurants and we don't have one any where near the town we live in. (The local newspaper here once did a survey of the residents of our town about what restaurants and stores people would like to see come in and CF was one of the most popular. Well, the newspaper contacted their corporate office about opening a restaurant here and they said "no"!! Haha! Oh well!) Joe and I consider it a very serious mission to try as many of the cheesecakes and desserts we possibly can and since I have been in a lemon-loving mood lately I tried the Lemoncello Cream Torte and DIED right there at the table. Just ask my mom. I think she was a little embarrassed! It's one of my new favorite things in life.

Did you have a good weekend???

Master Bath

2011-03-01T12:26:00.000-06:00

I know.

Given this is the current state of emergency also known as the nursery. It should be the last thing on my mind.

But I'm already ready for another project and I think it's about time we have something more festive than brown in our Master Bathroom.

Tell me. Does the orange-y color scare you? It reminds me of a creamsicle but I can't get Joe on board.

What color is your Master Bathroom???

21 Weeks!!!

2011-02-25T13:05:00.002-06:00

Today I'm 21 weeks pregnant!!!

How I'm feeling:
I've been feeling pretty great and my energy is starting to come back! I think I'm in nesting mode because I've been obsessing over cleaning the house and working on nursery details lately :)

About the baby:
The baby is about the size of a large banana! On Tuesday the sonogram tech said the approximate weight was 15oz.

Doctor Appointments:
We had our big sonogram and doctor appointment on Tuesday! Our tech checked the brain, spine, heart and other organs to make sure our little one was developing properly. She also said she knew the sex of the baby if we wanted to find out (it was so hard to say "no"!!!)

Food:
Current favorite foods: green grapes, lemonade, Arby's (what a combination!!?)
Current food aversions: still can't even bear to think about avocados or eggs but I did eat Mexican food for the first time since November recently.

My body:
I'm wondering if strangers can tell I'm pregnant (?) because I think I'm starting to show a little more. I also have been feeling little movements in the past week - which is my FAVORITE thing ever!!

The nursery:
Most of the furniture we ordered has come, we've started painting and we've ordered the bedding (from etsy.com). Big progress!!

Baby gear:
We still need to research strollers, car seats and all the important gear before we go register.

Happy Friday!!

Wednesday

2011-02-23T22:06:00.000-06:00

There is lots of excitement going on in my neighborhood right now because Extreme Home Makeover is filming a show here this week! The house the show is building is less than a mile from our house and it just cracks me up because we've seen all kinds of signs for "spectator parking" and I told Joe that you can tell that not too many exciting things happen like this here in Kansas! haha! I guess tomorrow is the "move the bus" day and I asked Joe if he needed to take the day off work to go watch!!

I also thought y'all might get a kick out of this. You know, I have not bought ONE piece of baby clothing since I've been pregnant. Not knowing the gender makes it too hard to shop for things but I was at Hobby Lobby today buying a gift and I saw these adorable socks and I just had to buy them. I know I'm probably cursing myself to end up with a boy (I would LOVE a boy so I'm totally kidding!!) but I have at least two good friends who are expecting within a month of me and I know I can give them as a present if I can't use them. Could you not die of all the cuteness???

Hope you have an EXTREMEly great day! ;-)

Baby, Lately

2011-02-21T12:47:00.000-06:00

This morning we had a delivery truck at our house bright and early to deliver the baby furniture! I had to have everything put in the garage and covered with sheets because we aren't finished painting the nursery yet (oops). I want to do a full review of the furniture itself and of JCPenney (where we ordered from) as soon as we get it all set up, for anyone who might be in the market for baby furniture soon ;-)

The furniture store we ordered the chair from (thanks, Mom!) called us last week and told us we had to choose a new fabric for the glider and ottoman we ordered. We decided to pick this color that's really close to the color of the walls. I'm hoping it will hide spit up well - and if not we got the extra-super-duper stain shield! Ha!

Also, my sister is starting to book things for my baby shower which will be on May 28th! Here's the room she booked (she let me go take a peek at it this weekend!). I think she's going to use a Dr. Seuss theme because Cat in the Hat was one of our favorite books when we were little. Isn't that cute??

Happy Monday!

Valentine's Day 2003...

2011-02-14T13:30:00.000-06:00

The first Valentine's Day Joe and I ever celebrated was in 2003. We were both 19 and freshmen in college and somuch in love (I miss that puppy love stage sometimes but the worn-in love is really, really good too). I think we celebrated that night by eating in the cafeteria (ha!) or, if it was a really special event we would always go to Red Lobster in college. Neither one of us had any money but Joe gave me a ring that night that is so special to me. He got it at Walmart and both of us thought that was big time!

I remember I called my mom and said "He got me a ring!!" and she said "A WHAT??" Haha! I wore my ring every day until we got engaged and eventually it was retired to my jewelry box. I thought today would be a good day to get it back out. Every time I look at my little opal ring I can't help but smile :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

What I Love About Being Pregnant

2011-02-09T14:02:00.000-06:00

1. Seeing the baby on sonogram. I think every little thing he/she does is adorable :)
2. Seeing all the pregnant celebrities

3. Planning the nursery

4. Talking about parenting with Joe

5. Watching my belly grow

We Are Such Grown-ups

2011-02-08T11:25:00.000-06:00

Last night Joe and I had an appointment with a financial firm to sign up for disability insurance and life insurance. I sat at the conference table while the advisor went over numbers and we talked about retirement and wills and all of a sudden I started to feel like such a grown up (and old! ha!)

We went to Olive Garden afterwards and I told Joe and up until now I've felt like we were playing house and now we're bringing a baby into the world and we are talking about retirements and college funds! He said as long as we're on our way to Millionare Estates rather than Countryside Acres we're doing okay (please tell me you have played the game of Life!) ;-)

I had to share that I finally broke out my souvenir from our Hawaii trip last November. I bought an oyster with twin pearls inside and had them made into earrings. At the time we knew we were pregnant but I told Joe that probably meant we were having twins (I think I gave him a mild heart attack)!

We're having a major snow storm again today so I'm planning to stay inside and get some studying done. And hopefully a nap in front of the fireplace!

Happy *snowy* Tuesday!!

Meatballs and Maternity Clothes

2011-02-07T12:31:00.000-06:00

Did you watch the Super Bowl last night? Joe and I went to a watch party but as the guys watched the game the girls chatted and I think I watched a total of 29 seconds of the entire game. Which is totally fine with me because I'm not a huge NFL fan. I randomly wore a green shirt so I guess I was rooting for Green Bay! Ha! Honestly, I had to ask Joe on the way over to the party who was even playing. I wanted to make a really easy appetizer to take because we were running errands all day.

I guess it doesn't get any easier than TWO ingredients! Everyone knows that if you melt down equal parts of grape jelly and BBQ sauce you get the best meatball sauce! And of course I had to break out my football crockpot that my mom got us. It gets used about 3 times a year but it's always a big hit!

I need some advice about maternity clothes. Next week I have a conference I have to go to and I'll be meeting our state government about the research I do as a graduate student. The attire is "business/formal". I really don't want to buy a maternity business suit because I know it would never get used again. Do you have any ideas on how to make it work (like Tim Gunn would say)? Do you think I could get by with a dress, tights and a suit jacket? What about this dress I wore to a Christmas party? (obviously I wouldn't wear my hot pink heels for the Senator! Ha!)

I think we've finally made a decision about what color to paint the nursery walls! I know I originally said I wanted a dark teal blue but one of my blog friends commented on one of my posts a few weeks ago that she thought I should consider a grey color and I'm glad she did! So we decided on this cool, taupe, mushroom color from Behr called Ashwood.

Happy Monday!!

18 weeks!!!

2011-02-04T13:23:00.001-06:00

Today I'm 18 weeks pregnant!!

How I'm feeling:
I'm feeling good!! I'm not having any of the bad symptoms I had in the first trimester except being a little tired (but maybe that's because I stay up way too late??)

About the baby:
The baby is the size of a mango!

I just went to Google search mangos and got totally sidetracked. And hungry...! But look at this:

And then I was trying to figure out why when you Google "mango" there are so many pictures of Penelope Cruz that come up (?) and I figured out she endorses a store called Mango. Which seems to have super cute dresses!

ANYWAY.

Doctor Appointments:
Our next appointment is on February 22nd for the big sonogram. We're still not planning to find out the gender but it's getting SO hard to wait!!

Food:
Current favorite foods: Girl Scout cookies, oh, and Girl Scout cookies, and sometimes Girl Scout cookies too
Current food aversions: still can't even bear to think about avocados or eggs, or really any breakfast foods.

My body:
I can definitely tell I have a hard little bump below my belly button. When I lie down it's *really* noticeable!

The nursery:
We're still in limbo with the paint color and my friends Jacki and Jill have both sent me ideas on bedding. I've got to start making some decisions!!

Baby gear:
My mom surprised us and offered to buy us a glider and I'm SO excited for it to come! I know I'll like it because I pretty much refused to get out of it at the furniture store. And then I got hungry for some Girl Scout cookies and was able to leave... ;-) It will look like this but not this color:

And I had to show this to you because Joe was cracking me up when we were trying to get our 18 week picture. I hate my double chin (and let's be real honest: don't I look like I'm about to pee my pants?? Ha!) but I love that I married someone with a good sense of humor. awww!! :)

Happy Friday y'all!!!!

Snow Day!!

2011-02-02T15:02:00.001-06:00

If you live in the Midwest I bet you probably have lots of snow on the ground at your house right about now! We definitely got hit here in Kansas! The news keeps calling it the "Blizzard of Oz" which I think it pretty catchy. We got so much wind that we can see ground in some areas and we have huge 3 foot snow drifts in others. We actually have a few cars stranded on the road outside our house right now.

View out of the back of our house

Joe has been able to get to work every day but my graduate school classes are cancelled so I've been home. I told my Mom that it's not quite as fun as snow days when I was a kid because professors still expect you to email your homework in on time! Ha!

I admit, I did my homework from bed with my PJs on!

Last night Joe and I made dinner and we were bored enough to watch a movie in bed. We saw He's Just Not That Into You. I thought it was cute and Joe kept saying "that's soooo true!" about how a guy will call you if he's really interested! haha!

Happy snowy Wednesday!!!

16 weeks!!!

2011-01-24T17:03:00.003-06:00

Last Friday I was 16 weeks pregnant! Here's my weekly update! I'm so excited because this week we finally ordered the furniture.

How I'm feeling:
I feel like this week was a big turning point. I finally started feeling better and I've been using my anti-nausea medicine less frequently! PTL (praise the Lord!)!!! I still haven't felt the baby move yet, so hopefully that happens soon!

About the baby:
The baby is the size of a turnip (I don't eat turnips so I have a hard time imagining this one!) and going through a major growth spurt right around now!

Doctor Appointments:
We had an appointment last week and I gained ONE POUND! I were so excited because I had been losing weight the entire first trimester! I'm sure that will change soon! Haha!

Food:
Current favorite foods: I'm really into rice, frozen yogurt and grapes
Current food aversions: avocados and eggs have made me want to gag since about week 5. I honestly don't know if I'll ever eat an egg after this pregnancy.

My body:
Still bloated (flabby) but I think I can tell the roll of flab is starting to form into more of a "bump".

The nursery:
We have lots of paint swatches on the wall but no decisions have been made. Gender neutral is harder than I thought it would be!

Baby gear:
Here's the furniture we ordered. It's almost all on backorder until March but that's okay given the state of emergency that is currently the nursery!

Happy Monday!!