Skivvies 'N Spice and Everything Sliced

Love

2011-10-25T19:37:00.001-07:00

Love is not something you say, it's something you do.
You can fake that you care but you can't fake being there.
To send a message of love to your children you must show up.
Love is not a spectator sport.
Our kids need to have love expressed to them daily.
With the little ones its pretty simple.
We need to hug them often.
We need to get down on the floor with them and play with toys.
We need to sit down and read with them on a regular basis.
We need to go in and lie down with them occasionally at naptime.
We must not allow ourselves to be too busy to spend time with them-lots of it.

I need to live by this more often...

Fall

2011-10-23T19:18:00.000-07:00

Okay, well one day of Fall!

Brian was gone at a class on Saturday and Sunday so it was just Garrett and I all day. I loved having some one-on-one time with my little guy. We went to the What Women Want Expo on Saturday morning with some good friends. The girls looked at vendors and got free goodies. The boys hung out in the strollers and checked out the scenery. One of the vendors had alpacas and a huge "sheep" dog. The boys sure did like that. In the afternoon I had to run into work so Garrett got to come with me.

This morning Garrett was driving me up a wall and into everything (imagine breaking my hairspray, pulling all of the parchment paper out of the box, taking off with the end of the toilet paper through the bathroom...) Brian's mom sent me a quote saying "s two-year-old is kind of like having a blender, but you don't have the top for it." That was our morning, So I loaded him in the car and we went in search of amusement.
Here are the pictures of our day:

Trains at Barnes and Noble. I am guessing a set will be in out future.

After Barnes and Noble we went to the toy store to find a gift. I made a totally rookie parenting move and left Garrett out of the stroller to play with all the interactive displays. He went bananas, pulling toys off the shelf and going "what's that?!?!?!" and "ohhhh!!!". Needless to say I had to pull him out of the toy store screaming and put him back in the stroller. We did make it back in to actually purchase a gift, but he cried off and on through the whole thing. I partly blame that it was lunch time and he was hungry...right??

Playing at the park on the way to get the mail after lunch and nap.

Brian came home early so we had a yummy dinner and then decided to do pumpkins:

Getting started on pumpkins

Scooping out the pumpkins with Dad

Helping Mom with the drill

And Dad with the knife! (Obviously, we are very safe and responsible parents. We let our kid that close to a big knife AND use the drill in one night! What you don't see is right before this when Garrett tried to crawl in Brian's lap while Brian held onto the 6 inch blade...)

And, the ongoing battle of trying to get a toddler to sit and look at the camera for a picture. Oh, and our pretty pumpkins!

Garrett is such a fun and frustrating toddler. He can point out most of the basic body parts and knows some animal sounds. He is ALWAYS asking "what's that" and saying a lot of things that I don't understand (which is frustrating for him.) He understand enough to know what we are asking him to do but rarely obeys without follow through (frustrating for us!) He has taken to yelling "NOOO!!" back at you when you ask him not to do something (and sometimes running away.) We are enjoying his new communication skills but trying to navigate what to write off as the "stage" and not give attention to, and what things to not let slide. I feel like it is a fine line between teaching manners/acceptable behavior and overreacting/micro-managing...I guess only time will tell!

Home Sick

2011-09-21T09:23:00.000-07:00

I am home with a sweet sick baby. He woke up at 8:00, had a banana and glass of juice on the couch, watched some sesame street, snuggled up with me and passed back out at 9:15. He is still asleep on the couch. Poor kid.

Brian is coming home at 12:30 to switch with me. Why do I do this? Of course all I want to do is stay home and take care of Garrett. Why couldn't I just tell work that he was sick and I would be gone all day? I guess I feel bad making others cover for me all day.

Ring Around the Rosie

2011-09-14T20:48:00.000-07:00

Please don't make fun of my annoying voice, or my fingers flying in front of the camera!

I love watching those little feet turn in circles! I do not think that the fall at the end was on purpose, we are still working on that part.

He makes my heart go pitter-patter!

There Are No Words

2011-09-05T19:58:00.000-07:00

to describe the state of my house, so I will show you pictures. Because who wouldn't want to see pictures of a house that has exploded from me working 50 hours last week and us taking off on a camping trip, and coming home so exhausted I don't even care!

As you might notice the dishes are done. Brian, he is amazing.

Notice the can of tomatoes on the coffee table? Garrett always gets into the lazy susan. It had snacks in it which was a mess when he was in there, so we switched the cans and the snacks. I don't have raisins and crackers dumped all over the floor but now I have cans of tomatoes in the livingroom...

Walking!

2011-08-28T19:32:00.000-07:00

Garrett has been so close to walking for so long. Tonight I was holding on to the back of his shirt while he was walking toward Brian to give dad0 a rock. I let go of his shirt and he took about 20 steps right to Brian without even blinking or stumbling and falling. I cried! I was so proud of him for actually doing it and sad that we just passed a major milestone and can never go back. I was also relieved, of course in the back of my mind I was afraid something was wrong with him! We continued to play the same "game" and he walked every time. Like he had been doing it forever!

I Am Going to be That Crazy Lady!

2011-08-25T19:21:00.000-07:00

I don't know what it is but ever since I have had a baby I have fallen absolutely in love with ALL babies. The little boy that is trying to wiggle out of his grandma's arms, the little girl facing outward in the Bjorn with so many rolls on her little arms you just want to squeeze her, and the little girl in her stroller sucking on her paci and looking up at you... All of them are utterly irresistible!

I have always like babies and kids, but now that I have my own, I am even more in love with them. And I think that is it. Having a baby has taught me how wonderful and special every child is. Now every time I see one I just want to love on them like every wonderful child deserves to be loved on. They are such a bag of mysteries, so perfect, curious and new.

I know that at some point we will have another one and I can't wait to have a squishy little baby to love on (not that the one I have isn't sufficient enough for now.) But what happens when I have no more squishy wonderful babies to love on? I already look at everyone else's babies like I want to eat them up, what will happen when I know that we are done...I will be that crazy lady who won't leave other people's children alone. Just warning you.

The Smell of Smoke Takes Me Back...

2011-08-23T19:30:00.000-07:00

The end of August has come around, which in Montana means hot days and windy afternoons. The hot days and windy afternoons kick up smoke from the forest fires and cover the mountains in a blanket of haze. Right now Brian and I are sitting in bed and the house is full of the smell of smoke from fires 200 miles away.

Brian and I really started hanging out in late August, he was fighting fires in Paradise Valley and I was working in a boutique and saddle shop in Gardiner. He would come wandering in after a long day of work with a coffee from the coffee shop next door, just to say "hi" since he was in the area. He later admitted that the coffee shop was a cover for seeing me (cause that wasn't obvious!) And he would be in his uniform from the day, a Gallatin National Forest tee shirt, that was bleached out from sweat and hard work, and those green Nomex pants...Oh man did those pants look good on him! (I still tell him he should have kept a pair, you know, to keep a girl happy!) Anyway... as the summer wore to an end the fires in Paradise Valley got worse. He always found an excuse to come back to Gardiner for the night. Those were the days when we would stay up till 2 and get up to go to work at 6. How we did that I still don't know!

To this day I see the hazy mountains and smell the smoke and all I can think about is that first summer and the way that Brian and I couldn't get enough of each other. I love you baby, and can't wait for years of smelling the August smoke and thinking of those first years, you know, before the house and baby that popped our beautiful little bubble!

Baby Food: A Journey

2011-08-22T18:11:00.001-07:00

I decided early on that I would try making my own baby food and just see how it goes. I wasn't totally hard core, I didn't make my own baby cereal and teething biscuits and all that fun stuff.

What I liked:

Being able to completely control the texture and ingredients of the food I was feeding Garrett.
Being able to do everything in bulk and having a large selection of things to choose from.

What was hard:

The time it took to make enough food to have a good selection and enough for us and daycare. Between cooking, pureeing, freezing and storing sometimes it would take a total of three days to get everything completely finished, and that was if I stayed on top of it.
The planning and time it took to make sure that we had a good selection, so that Garrett wasn't eating the same things.
Traveling. It is hard to take frozen baby food on a longer trip... You either waste it because it is defrosted but not eaten or have to count on having a microwave to warm it up.

I will definitely make baby food again hands down. Being able to control the consistency and ingredients was well worth it. A couple of things that I learned was that if something isn't pureeing very well add lots of extra liquid. We had a small food processor and a big one. Honestly, I thought that both were necessary. The big one I used in the beginning when I was making bulk of a lot of different things. The small one we used A LOT for the in between stage when he could eat what we were eating but it had to be pureed. I often put a whole meal in the thing and whipped her right up. Now he is eating mostly table food and I hardly puree anything. I still freeze stuff though, so that he has a meal when we are eating something that he can't really have, like steak.

I would freeze lentils and cous cous for a starch, and then freeze ground pureed turkey, steak and pork and lots of veggies. For a meal I would pull out a cube of each and mix them together, that way we could mix up flavors so he didn't get the same thing all the time.

It has been hard trying to find something to feed him while we are dieting. Yesterday evening I actually took the time to cook him a spinach and butternut squash lasagna. SO GOOD...and he seemed to like it. I cut the 9x9 lasagna into 16 pieces and now they are in the freezer. Hopefully that will help with the "I don't have anything to feed him that is halfway healthy and not processed" 5:30 panic. I think the challenge now is find a variety of "big boy" foods that are easy to prepare/throw together and aren't supper processed.

Depirvation Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

2011-08-20T15:44:00.000-07:00

So, Brian and I are trying to knock off a couple of pounds. For me I am a little heavier than I was before I had Garrett, and I was heavy for me when I got pregnant. I want to loose 15-20 lbs and get down where I fit into my OLD clothes, and feel good about myself. And before I have another baby I want to be at a weight that I am comfortable with (not that we are close to having another baby or anything, don't get all excited or nothing!)

We started on Monday and so far it has been going really good (besides the coffee I got on the way home, because you know what, I made it all week without cheating AND had a really busy week at work, AND I deserved it!). We have started to diet a couple of times in the past year and not even made it a couple of days. But this time, I am not messing around. I just want to do it and be done with it. I am also working out to try and tone a little bit too. Mama's legs are in a very sad state right now! And I figure the weight loss will only benefit from the working out, right?

So, I have not had much cooking inspiration in the last two months. We have been gone a lot of weekends and there is to much going on to sit on the computer and spend time looking at cooking blogs and dreaming of yummy things to challenge myself with. Now that we are dieting...all I wanna do is make casseroles and pastries and yummy grilled goodness and try new cocktails and freeze ice cream and try making homemade pasta and...well you get the point. I guess I will have to store all the inspiration up for when we get done, cause none of the above is on the diet!

Where Have I Been?

2011-08-19T15:52:00.000-07:00

I have had a lot of people lately asking why I am not blogging anymore, and such. Thanks for all the questions, it makes me feel like people ACTUALLY read this!

I have been wondering why I stopped blogging as well. I think that I ran out of inspiration. I used to spend quite a bit of time, esp. at work, online reading other blogs and finding things to talk about.

I feel like my life has narrowed into Family and Work. I am having a hard enough time managing both of those and feel like I don't have anything creative left to give.

I also think that a lot of the time I want to use this blog as a work release, but I can't because there are people that I work with that read this blog. Which is fine but it limits the work talk, since I want to avoid putting myself in a bad situation. There are people though who blog and don't talk about work at all. If they can do it I can do it!

So I am not promising that I am going to be going crazy or anything but I do think I will be trying to blog more, cause, well, I miss it!

Two Great Weekends!

2011-05-08T18:29:00.000-07:00

This weekend was Mother's Day and ~~last weekend~~ two weekends ago was Easter! Both were great weekends and here are some pics to prove it!

Easter weekend started out with swimming lessons:

And then a hair cut:

Before

During

After!

And helping dad lower the crib ALL the way:

hmm...this doesn't look quite right...!! (hehe!)

And Easter, of course!!

I didn't get any outside pictures. Sadly, it was too cold!

And last but not least, Mother's Day!

Waiting for lunch at Mark's In-n -Out on Saturday and brunch at Chico with Grandma!

Being Daddy's big helper again by helping to install cabinet locks, because someone FINALLY figured out how to get those cabinet's open.

About Me

2011-05-06T19:46:00.000-07:00

So I have a million posts in my head about my ~~monster~~ sweet baby, but I figured I would talk about myself instead. I have been busy! We have been busy!

I feel like I am getting a hold of things at work, which is a good feeling. I am starting to establish myself as supervisor and only look like a fool half the time instead of all the time. I am also building relationships with the supervisory staff, which is replacing some of the relationships I lost when I became supervisor. It is nice to have people at work to relate to again.

Home is crazy but Brian and I have gotten into a good routine. Him working only three days a week has made a night and day difference in our household. I feel really good about having Garrett in daycare three days a week and home four days a week. There is a lot less guilt there. He is also getting bigger and more interactive and dependent (kinda).

I want to achieve something for myself this summer. I feel like I pour everything in to work, family and home. With longer days (aka more time and energy) and warmer weather I want to do something for just me. I have decided lately that I want to train my body to run...weird I know. I am considering C25K (Couch to 5 K) training, and have talked to Brian about doing it with me, possibly. I mean we REALLY do need to knock off some baby weight (both of us). The idea of getting up in the morning and enjoy the brisk summer air makes me want to put on shoes and run right now! Maybe if I can loose the 20lbs I want to I will reward myself with a great purse or a shopping trip.

I also want to learn to garden. I sometimes have to remember that we own this house and can do whatever we want with it, like paint, and make a garden in the backyard! I just have no CLUE where to start. I want pretty flowers and shrubs that wont die in 2 weeks... maybe some herbs and a tomato plant. Who knows!

Other things going on: Garrett is turning one in a short month! I am diving into party planning to avoid the fact that he will be ONE.ONE.ONE!! Oh My! I can't wait for his party, I am a dork and have a whole balloon theme and color scheme planned out. Including balloon sugar cookie favors and homemade fondant, because I am too cheap to buy some to decorate the cake which, by the way, I have never done (decorate a cake with fondant that is). I will hate myself for doing so much and stressing out over it later. Oh.Well. We have family and good friends traveling out. We will also baptise him on the same day, which is very exciting. Brian's parents will be out for that whole week. I am hoping to sneak out of work for some of that week and enjoy family and the beginning of summer.

If I decided to do the C25K I will also start dieting and tracking my weight. I will post here about it (or at least try!) so you can all hold me accountable. I am excited at the thought (okay not really excited about posting my weight, but whatever!)

Mom's the funniest person I know!

2011-04-16T21:52:00.000-07:00

He often cracks up at random stuff I do. Makes me feel good to know I have such a good fan!

Why Buy a Sophie when you can Steal One!

2011-04-04T18:17:00.000-07:00

The title pretty much says it all. A couple of weeks ago I was at Chico Hot Springs with my mom. I had packed Sophie to come with us because we were staying the night at my mom's and you never leave Sophie behind! So I have Garrett, the diaper bag, the swim bag, and and holding my niece's had as we walk-in. We set everything down and all the sudden my mom is like "oh, did you drop Sophie?" I thought I had because I knew I packed her and I just assumed that I had put her in the diaper bag. Sophie happened to be lying in on the floor in between two moms with girls just a little older than Garrett that where getting their babies dressed. of course was like "oh, must have fallen out of the diaper bag!" Well, to make a long story short we ended up with two of them. Sophie was a $20 dollar chew toy and is one of Garrett's favorites toy's. I know she is pretty popular with a lot of kids. I feel bad that we ended up with someone else's! The funniest part, I can actually tell which on is ours and which one is the "acquired one." The one that we got at Chico is actually more worn, loved and her squeak is a higher pitch!

That Newton Guy was a Genius!

2011-03-25T18:29:00.000-07:00

Where my son discovers the awesomeness of letting go and gravity!

Garrett Quirks

2011-03-16T19:11:00.000-07:00

As Garrett's personality comes through there are funny little things that see:

He cries/fusses/gets sad when he knocks down a block tower. We think it is because he gets frustrated that the blocks don't stay in together when they fall down. The longer you keep stacking them the more upset he gets. It is kind of funny, cause we are mean like that.
He is TERRIFIED of dogs. I found this out when he and I were at my mom's last weekend. I mean shrieking and shaking and clinging everytime the dog came into the room or moved.
The only time he is even remotely snuggly is after a bottle right before the crib, if he isn't already passed out.
His tongue is always sticking out.

I am Horribly Jealous of my Husband...

2011-03-10T18:33:00.000-08:00

Here is the skinny... Due to the long awaited addition of a staff member on Brian's fire department, Brian's schedule is changing to 12 hr shifts on Monday and Tuesday and a 16 hr shift on Wednesday. Which are some really long days, but this means that he has Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday off. Like off, off, not on call, not well I am kind but not really off, not I am off but I have meetings. We are both so excited about him being home more (less night meetings etc), and best of all we get to pull Garrett out of daycare on Thursdays and Fridays and he gets to stay home with Daddy.

Until I was faced with the reality of it I was just excited and then today all of the sudden this schedule starts tomorrow and WHAM I am so jealous that I want to cry. I mean, I want to stay home with Garrett. I want to work only three days and enjoy the bliss of my baby for four days a week. I want to be relaxed and refreshed and renewed after four days off with my little guy, every week. UGH...I am a horrible person for not being able to just be excited about what this means for our family and that Brian has worked really hard, will continue to work hard and deserves this.

Because I mean, who doesn't want to stay home with this:

And I mean that is what it comes down to isn't it? I want to be at home so bad, not working in a job that does nothing but stress me out. I am thankful for it and the way that it challenges me, but nothing compares to what it would mean to spend all my time with Garrett.

If This Isn't True Love...

2011-03-07T18:28:00.000-08:00

He did the dishes and now is bathing and putting Garrett to bed so I can watch the Bachelor. If that isn't love, I don't know what is...

My brain is overloading most of the time these days. I had a funny cooking post all stored away in my mind on Friday, and it is pretty much gone, but here is a mix of that and other craziness.

I love cooking and drinking wine, it is good for the soul.

I need a wok.

Why is it so hard to get portions right? On Thursday I made spaghetti knowing that the noodle/sauce ratio would be way off (and I had 1.5 lbs of meat that needed to be cooked and only 3/4 of a jar of sauce.) It came out perfect. On Friday I made fried rice and we had so much left over that Brian filled up 2/3 of one of our largest tupperware, not that I am complaining about leftovers or anything...

Garrett is turning 9 months on Thursday (that can't actually be possible...) and is getting his two top teeth...at the same time. He is surprisingly chipper.

I made this...This being a cream cheese and apple braided danish. It was amazing, and hard. I was really proud of myself.

I can't wait for summer and camping and hiking and warm weather and sun...I think that having last summer off is going to make this summer even harder.

Cali!

2011-02-21T18:35:00.000-08:00

We had a great time in California. Here are a couple of pictures of our trip!

First time on the airplane!

Long Beach!

Toes in the sand!

Loving the sharks at the Aquarium of the Pacific!

Okay, I just have to say, how can you not love this!!! We were getting ready to go swimming, and he was sooo cute in his swimming outfit!

Here is a little video of the swimming pool. The pool was heated but it was still a little cold for Garrett so we moved to the hot tub. He was much happier in the warmer water!

Eight Months of Hard Work, Finally Paid Off...

2011-02-14T17:53:00.000-08:00

Look, it does tricks!

Baby Of Mine

2011-01-25T19:23:00.000-08:00

I am starting to feel the pull of the loss of Garrett's babyness, or babyhood. I know all you moms of older children are probably laughing. However, with eight months looming over our heads I am starting to feel the pull of all the things to come between now and one year, and then beyond. Feeding him meat, and progressing onto finger foods, crawling and mobility, the socialness he has developed, babbling and talking, and even at some point weaning off of the bottle.

He already looks so much like a little boy, with all his hair and his facial features. As I rock him to sleep at night, with his legs wrapped around me, because his body is to long to fit straight anymore, all I see is the little boy he is becoming, the baby is quickly disappearing.

Yes, We Are Still Alive

2011-01-21T19:31:00.000-08:00

So...I have so many things to say and the actual will to blog, I don't even know where to start.

I read this post today and thought that I could copy it word for word. I am weary, I find that most days I barely get a lunch in or complete a project before I am running home to a house and a family. A house a and a family where projects never feel complete and no ones needs ever feel completely cared for and filled with the joy and love that should be there. I want to have the laundry done and put away, the toys and kitchen cleaned every night, return giggles and smiles to a cute boy that aren't laden with fatigue and longing for when he is in bed so I can just have a few moments before I crash into bed exhausted, to wake up the next morning to a list a mile of long of things work and home related that I just wish could be finished in a manor that left me feeling fulfilled and accomplished. I also read this today and it also expressed just how I am feeling and the mindset that I am trying to achieve "lots of time in your life will be spent 'doing something you don't want to do'...and that it might be years and years before you see the rewards of that."
So that is how we are right now. I am working everyday to appreciate all of the wonderful things in this phase of life, because we are blessed, and our life is so full!

So here is random list of updates!

Garrett is a champion eater! Jinny at the daycare always compliments on the amount of food he eats, three meals a day, filled with vegetables, fruits, and dairy!

We are going to California the second week of February! I have a conference but Brian and Garrett are going to come down so Garrett can meet his great grandparents.

We are getting more and more involved in our church and loving every minute of it.

Garrett is sleeping through the night, turns out he was ready, and we were just getting suckered into feeding him every night. We are such amateurs!

No crawling, but we did finally buy cabinet locks and plug plugs (? riiiiight...I don't remember what they are actually called!)

Christmas in Wisconsin was totally worth the drive, which says a lot considering the long drive and the brevity of our stay!

And a little Garrett love:

This should NOT be this hard!

2010-12-07T18:49:00.000-08:00

We are trying to introduce solid food to Garrett. To say it isn't going well would be a horrible understatement. Isn't introducing solid food supposed to be a fun time? Full of laughs at a silly baby who makes a mess and gobbles down a bowl of oatmeal? This is not us at all... I supposed it had to happen at some point. We breezed through breastfeeding, bottle feeding and formula. Never had a colicky baby, or a overly cranky one. He is always full of smiles for everyone, so naturally our time has come.

He HATES solid food. I have tried twice in the last two months and stopped because he just wasn't into it, okay because it was a battle to get him to even open his mouth. I started again last week because I was getting nervous that we would try after we went to the 6 month appointment, he wouldn't like it, and then I wouldn't have an appointment to talk over concerns with the pediatrician. Sure enough it has turned into a battle again.

I say turned into, because he started out fine. The first night was hard, which is to be expected right? Then we had a couple more okay nights and some not okay nights. He seems to like applesauce and plain oatmeal. He will suck a banana out of one of those mesh bag feeder things like it is going out of style. All of the sudden in the last couple of night he has REFUSED to eat. And the worst part, it frustrates me so bad that I have to make Brian try because I can't even handle it. Oh and to stick a knife in the gut and twist it...the daycare reports that he eats like a champ for them. Riiiiiggghttttt...so it's me then????? I know, I know, its not me blah, blah, blah.

No but really, am I doing something wrong? I try really hard not to force it in his mouth. Sometimes if you make him eat the first couple of bites then he eats the rest like "oh, this is what we are doing, okay!" Tonight we tried carrots. He sort of gagged his way though the cereal in the few bites I tried to get him to eat in the 15 min we were sitting at the table for dinner. Then two half bites of carrots, more like licking of the lips, some major gagging and he starts PUKING!!!! everywhere!! I mean wide open gag and formula pouring out! Ughhhh!

What are we going to do? I need some major advice! If you have any please let me know!!

Picture Dump

2010-12-01T18:42:00.000-08:00

I am still alive, I have no energy to blog. I used to do most of my blogging at work, now I am too busy to even check my personal e-mail most days. Anyway, because it is what most of you want, here is a photo dump. All of Garrett. Each of these could be their own blog post but alas, I do not have the time. Hopefully I will find a good balance and start blogging again. Now for the fun stuff!

After bath time, notice my shirt. It has water spots all over it. This is a nightly occurrence, anyone in the bathroom during bath time gets soaked from all the splashing:

Watching daddy shovel after the first big snow storm of the year:

Five months:

Helping mom with laundry. We pretty much have a full on sitter now. I still put the bobby down when I am busy doing things so he doesn't slam backwards on those occasional falls:

Spa Night! Garrett had HORRIBLE cradle cap. With his hair you couldn't really see it but finally I got grossed out enough to do something about it. I took olive oil and rubbed it onto his head and then back combed pretty much everything out. If I would have known how well it was going to work I would have tried it way earlier. I also to the opportunity to cut the hairs on the back of his neck. The baby mullet was getting out of hand:

And to close, how can you not just want to squeeze this everyday?

Uhhh...

2010-11-10T19:08:00.000-08:00

I feel like our family has been hit by a tsunami and we are trying to tread water until we figure out what the hell to do. Here is the past 6 days:

Friday: Find out in the evening that I got the promotion I applied for. Yay!
Saturday: Work and find out that I HAVE to be at work for a meeting Monday morning. Scramble for a babysitter for Monday.
Sunday: Church, sleeping on the couch and small group.
Monday: Work until 1pm, catch up on cleaning at home that has not been done very thoroughly in weeks, and monitor work e-mail all afternoon to deal with things that I did not have time to handle while I was at work.
Tuesday: Work until 3, which includes leaving an hour late. Feel guilty about picking him up from daycare an hour late. Brian has a meeting at 7pm that lasts until midnight
Wednesday: Brian leaves for meeting at 5:30am, get Garrett ready, go to work. Leave work a half hour late (feel guilty). Do the hand off with Brian as he heads out the door for a meeting at 6:30pm.

This all includes Garrett getting up at 5am every morning since Monday because of the time change.

I am so excited that I got the dispatch supervisor's position at work. However, now I am now dealing with being incredibly busy at work (hence leaving late almost everyday) and feeling so guilty about the time that it is taking away from Garrett and Brian. I am hoping that it will get easier as I settle into things.

I have tomorrow off for Veteran's day, so Garrett and I are going to catch up on grocery shopping and errands that I have not had the time to deal with. I also have to get Garrett all packed up because he is going to my mom's for the weekend. I feel bad that I have been so busy and now we are "shipping him away" for the weekend. But it is something that we have had planned for awhile, and something that I know Brian and I need and deserve. My mom is going to pick him up on Friday afternoon from daycare and then we are going to go down to Gardiner on Sunday and get him. Brian and I are planning on doing some hunting on Saturday or Sunday morning and also celebrate my promotion on Saturday with a night out. I cannot wait but I also cannot imagine Garrett not being here to cuddle and hangout with.

I have a 5 month picture to post of Garrett, YAY for five months! I have not had time yet though to sit down and write a post. I think I am having a hard time because I feel bad about work being so crazy and I CAN NOT believe that he is five months.

Baby Gear Review Part I

2010-11-04T08:47:00.000-07:00

So I have been wanting to do this post for awhile. We have some great baby gear and some not so great baby gear. Here is how I feel about the stuff that we use:

Playtex Drop-In Bottles: I sort of feel like a bottle is a bottle is a bottle. We don't mind these, but I also don't love them. My main thing is that the liners are another bottle part to remember to throw in the diaper bag (I have forgot, we were screwed) and they are another thing to have to remember to buy at the store. I have also seen people rave about them because you don't have to "clean" the bottle. Hello people, you still have to wash nipples and caps, and rings and the holder bottle thing! Formula is sticky and messy and gets everywhere either way, hence they need to be washed. If you are eco-friendly, (which we really aren't, I know shame on us, blah, blah, blah) they do create extra garbage. At the end of a full 24 hours at home we probably have gone through at least 9 liners. However, I refuse to try something new because I refuse to have more than one type of bottle to be digging for parts to and we don't have the money to invest in a whole new "system." So with drop-ins we stay! Chicco Car seat: I love it. I really love the pattern on it. It looks super comfy for Garrett as well. This car seat is definitely hefty though. The rating on it is up to 30lbs which is great but it means that it is also heavy duty. I see smaller car seats that other people have and they seem so flimsy compared to this one. If you don't mind heaving and ho-ing (hoeing? hoing? ho'ing? You get the point!) your baby around it is great. You could get the stroller that comes with it and then things would be much easier, especially when there is no shopping cart to just throw it into (like at the mall.)

Combi Flare Stroller: I got this because I wanted a lightweight stroller that folded up small to fit into the trunk and not take up a lot of room, and also reclined so that little ones that couldn't sit up could still use it. This stroller matches all that. I figured that if I could sacrifice not having a whole system where the car seat fit into the stroller for a couple of months then this would be the best overall purchase, which kind of worked. This stroller is great for the mall and walking on sidewalks but not on gravel. So I purchased a used jogger as well. Between the two we have been pretty well covered. The under basket in the Combi is realllly small and there is no cup holder which can be a pain. I love though that I can always leave it in my trunk and it doesn't really take up any cargo space.

Every once in awhile I curse and swear because we didn't get anything that the car seat can fit into, so I either have to lug the car seat around or take Garrett out. I thought about buying a frame thing with wheels to click the car seat into (they make them) but in the long run it doesn't seem like a good purchase. So I will continue to curse and swear and whine and make Brian carry the car seat!

PRIMO Infant Bath Seat: This, this lovely thing...I love it. Love, love, love it! I had a baby bath tub that I borrowed from a friend. I hated it, the angle that Garrett sat at was all weird and he would slide around the whole time. This thing is awesome. We just put it in the bath tub and fill the tub up to the level of the arms and away we go. There is plenty of room for him to kick his legs and he doesn't slide around at all. I think a smaller baby, like a newborn might slide around a little, but I am pretty sure that putting a hand towel in it and then the baby on top of that would take care of the slippage (hehe slippage!)

A problem we have noticed is that when Garrett really gets moving and excited he pushes his legs against the bottom of the tub and lifts himself up. He has yet to get all the way over the middle "bar" but I am thinking it is only a matter of time. however, since we would never leave him unattended I just make sure I put a hand on him to hold him down a little (which is so fun when water is flying in all directions) so that he doesn't vault himself out of it.

More reviews to come!

Another One Bites the Dust

2010-11-02T11:16:00.000-07:00

This is how I feel today. Another weekend down, another cold hits our house, another week of work looming....

Halloween was really uneventful for us. We went to church and then had small group and dinner with our growth group from church. They purposely held it somewhere that there would be no trick-or-treaters. By the time we got home we had missed all of the little monsters from our neighborhood, which was fine because the candy that Brian and I had bought last Sunday before we realized that we were going to be gone was pretty much gone. I let myself feel guilty about not getting Garrett a Halloween costume at all on Thursday because of the party at daycare. When it came down to it though I think it would have been a waste of money, I mean we didn't even go to any Halloween parties, no trick-or-treaters at the door...blah, blah, blah.

We got a cold from daycare last week. Garrett got sick on Friday and was already feeling better by Sunday, I think he might have an immune system of steal like his dad. I am hoping that my cold goes away as fast as his did, we will see.

I had an interview for a new position at work last week. I didn't say to much about it here because I wanted to wait to see what happened and I have co-workers that read this and all that jazz. I still haven't heard yet, hopefully tomorrow. At this point I want the job a lot but I would be fine with it going either way. I am just ready to know.

Peek-A-Boo!

2010-10-28T18:56:00.000-07:00

Thanks Grandma Collins for the Halloween card! I loved it, mommy had to pry it from my hands before I stuck it in my mouth!

Dinning Room Curtains

2010-10-28T15:16:00.000-07:00

For various reasons, including trying to run to the dryer half naked in the mornings, we really need something to cover the sliding glass door in the dinning room. I ultimately can't decide if I want some sort of blind system or just curtains. I hesitate on the curtains because, do people even do that? I can't remember last time I saw curtains over a sliding glass door. However I found this material that would be perfect, unfortunately it is in the form of a table cloth and a runner at World Market.

I would totally buy them and convert them into curtains and a valance but the cost of two tablecloths and a runner would be around $80. Which is not exactly thrifty in my book. I guess I will just have to wait for World Market to have a great sale!

The Best Costume EVER!

2010-10-28T11:13:00.000-07:00

Text with Brian from today:

Me: I am the most horrible mother ever. We sent him to daycare without any sort of Halloween attire and the party was today :(

Brian: What do you mean, we sent him as the cutest baby ever :)

Riiight, obviously!
What would I do without my genius husband?

Crawling by Christmas

2010-10-23T14:59:00.001-07:00

In light of Garrett's new little trick (see post below.) I am wondering if he will be crawling by Christmas. What do you think? Cast your vote on the right!

This Looks Bad

2010-10-22T19:23:00.000-07:00

So I know this makes us look like the worst parents ever. I mean who leaves their wobbly kid sitting on the counter? But he is SITTING.BY.HIMSELF for the FIRST time! I thought that this was at least a couple of weeks down the road. Nope, he lasted a whole minute on the floor right after this. By the way I am standing right out of the picture and Brian has the camera, just in case you did think we were the worst parents ever!

All he needs is some chest hair coming out of that buttoned down velvet shirt, all creeper 70's style and he will be all grown up!

4 Months

2010-10-19T14:28:00.000-07:00

Garrett,

This letter is coming a little late in the month. Today is October 20th and we actually took your 4 month picture only yesterday (mommy cheated and put the tenth on the sign anyway.) The last month has been a busy one.

On Monday October 19th you had your 4 month well baby visit. It was sort of a rough one for your dad and me. You laughed and cooed at the doctor and charmed everyone with your smiles. You are growing by leaps and bounds. You now weigh 14.01 lbs and are 34 1/2 inches long, this makes you in the 27th percentile for both height and weight which is rare for a baby to be in the same percentile for both categories. Dr. Harris said that you are a strong baby with good muscle tone and that you might be an earlier crawler. Unfortunately, we did learn that you have a heart murmur and a weak left eye muscle. It is hard to hear that your baby is not totally healthy but Dr. Harris said that we check these things at your six month visit and that there is a good chance that you will grow out of them. You got a second round of immunizations and they seemed to be harder on you this go around, you cried a lot in the doctor's office and then you were miserable in the afternoon at home.

You are so much more alert and active then you were at 3 months. You learned how to roll from your stomach to your back and are working on rolling the other way. You can sit up supported and can even sit alone for a couple of seconds before you start to wiggle and lose your balance. Speaking of wiggling, oh my goodness, do you ever squirm! You squirm when we hold you which can be hard when I am trying to make to a bottle and hold you. Your limbs are pretty much moving all the time whether you are sitting or laying on the floor. We tried to feed you baby cereal but you would have none of it. You pursed your lips together so hard that I couldn't even get the spoon in your mouth and then every time you licked your lips you would start gagging like the taste of the cereal was the WORST thing that you had ever experienced (and maybe so far it is!)

This last month your Grandma Pat, Uncle Kevin, and Cousins Brando, Cole and Grant came out to see you. You did a lot of hiking with them and loved every minute of being outside. Your cousins were good at entertaining you. You loved the attention and watching the big boys run around. You also met Naisha, one of mommy's best friends we took you shopping and hung out with you at the house while you decided to be miserable from the shots that you received on Monday.

I always say this but, I can't believe how much you are growing. A couple of nights ago I was looking at you while you slept in your crib in your fuzzy green dinasour pajama's and I realized that you are starting to look like such a little boy. Sometimes as I am getting you ready for a bath or dressing you for the day we just stare into each others eyes and smile. These are my favorite moments, the ones where it is only you and I in the world, no other distractions.

I will love you always,

Mommy

Wow!

2010-10-11T13:35:00.000-07:00

What is it about this picture that is so striking? Is it the look in the babies eyes, or maybe that he seems to truly be participating in such a deep ritual?

It really makes me think about how Brian and I are approaching religion with Garrett. We have started to go to church regularly and have even joined a small group. Joining a church is something that we have talked about doing since we started dating but having Garrett and wanting him to be brought up in a church is what really kicked us into gear. However, I have always though of it as something that we are doing so that when he is "old enough" he will be able to participate and to gain and learn from the experience. Seeing this picture though makes me think, is that the wrong way to approach it? Is religion something that from the beginning we should teach him to participate in?

A bone to pick with Martha

2010-10-08T12:18:00.000-07:00

I like Martha Stewart in the sense that I like her magazine and the home design and DIY projects that she is always doing. I mean don't we all wish that we could have a beautiful craft room and were able to decorate our house exactly how we wanted? Oh and garden, cook, decorate, craft, entertain and still have the time to send homemade Christmas cards to everyone that we ever knew?

Here is the thing about Martha though, she doesn't do it herself. She has a whole cooperation that manages her houses and gardens, tells her what crafts to do for shows and articles, designers who set up and organize her craft room, staff that decorates her house(s) for holidays and arrange her dinner parties, cooks that cook for her. Oh, not to mention unlimited funds to use to do all of this.

I cannot keep flowers/plants alive, barely ever get dinner on the table these days for us non-the-less guests, and definitely do not have the funds to decorate my house to the nine's for every holiday or even the funds to do fun crafty stuff.

What I am saying is Martha is great and all but she is a fake, NO one can be that good all by themself!

Randomness

2010-10-06T10:35:00.000-07:00

I have a whole bunch of random thoughts rolling around in my head but I can not seem to make a whole post so here is a whole bunch of randomness:

I had the last five days off, it was heaven.
I really don't mind my job, I just mind not being home with Garrett.
Garrett figured out how to roll from his stomach to his back this weekend. He now wants nothing to do with tummy time.
Last year on October 3rd I found out I was pregnant! So much has changed in one year!
Speaking of things that have or haven't happened in a year, I am getting Miss. P for the first time since last September...please just kill me now, it hurts!
My mom is coming on Friday to watch Garrett because his daycare is closed, it will be fun to have her around for a couple of days.
Brian's mom, brother and sister-in-law and their boys are coming out next weekend, we can't wait to see them!
Garrett found out how to make noise and "talk" loud, he is now the loudest and most talkative person in our house.
I need some good mom friends, well actually we just need another couple to be friends with. Our good friends moved to Kalispell in August and we are really missing their company.
Hopefully in a couple of weeks I will have some good news about stuff at work!

Work

2010-09-29T09:35:00.000-07:00

I am not going to lie, working full time with a baby is awful, I hate it and it has only been three days.

I hate the long days.
I hate that Garrett is literally in daycare from 7:30am to 5:50pm.
I hate that we get home at 6pm and he is ready to go to bed by 7:30pm. I actually got up early this morning, got ready and woke him up just so that I could give him his morning bottle and spend time with him.
I hate that I am almost in tears every time I think about it.
I hate the guilt. I feel like in the evenings that I am home with him I shouldn't put him down, because I haven't seen him and I need to be with him every moment, and he shouldn't have to play alone on the floor while we eat dinner or do whatever.
I hate that deep down inside I am afraid that he will bond more with his daycare provider than me. (This is the worst one!)

For at least a couple of weeks I will be getting home at 6:30...UGH!!! Hopefully I will get a more regular schedule where I will be working 7am-3pm Mon-Fri. That will be so much better. Even though I will have less days off I will have the late afternoons with Garrett.

Hilarious!

2010-09-29T09:28:00.000-07:00

I found this online, is is way to funny! It comes from http://mompetition.blogspot.com/.

Sick!

2010-09-23T18:02:00.000-07:00

The last week or so we have been taking it easy. I have had a lingering cold for two weeks as Garrett finally caught it. He was really bad Sunday afternoon till Monday afternoon. We kept him home from daycare today and he really does seem a lot better.

On Sunday night we put Garrett down around 8:00 pm and all the sudden at about 9:45 I heard him cough and gag (which he had been doing off and on all day.) When I went into the room he sounded super congested and was starting to cry. Between the crying and the gagging he was a mess. He actually started choking at one point, it was pretty bad. We put him in bed between us propped up on the Boppy so that he was elevated and we could be right there in case he started choking again. After two night of this I am glad that he seemed well wnough to have him back in the crib, I really do not like having him in bed with us!

To all you moms who bed share, kudos to you! I always think, "oh how fun, we can snuggle all night!" Instead it just stresses me out. When Garrett was really little and I was sleep deprived I would actually have nightmares where I was digging for him in all of the covers and I couldn't find him. I would actually wake up moving the covers around and flailing trying to find him. I would have to sit up and look around the room to figure out where he was. Once I dreamed that he fell off the bed and I woke up and started looking for him on the floor right by the bed! Ugh...between slept deprivation and the American Academy of Pediatrics putting the fear of a suffocated baby in you. I just can't handle it! So while I would have rather had him in bed with us to make sure he didn't choke, neither Brian or I got a lot of sleep. Besides, I miss cuddling with my husband when Garrett is between us!

Laughter

2010-09-21T18:53:00.000-07:00

"When the first baby laughed for the first time, the laugh broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies. And now when every new baby is born its first laugh becomes a fairy."

~James Matthew Barrie, Peter Pan~

This picture is Garrett's first true laugh! Definately the best moment so far of being a mom, I am still smiling an hour later! I can't believe I caught it on camera. He looked really cute in his new bath seat so I ran really quick to the kitchen to get my camera, I came running back into the bathroom and leaned over the tub with the camera to get a picture, it must have been funny, cause he just let her go!

Oh ya, and the bath seat...the best baby purchase I have made so far! I think everyone needs one. The chair suctions to the bottom of the tub and it is curved to fit the baby. No more sliding around, and his feet are free to kick the water! I got it from Giggle.com.

Sushi!

2010-09-16T19:42:00.000-07:00

Must. Have. This! Is a Sushi Baby costume! It is a little steeply priced, I am wondering if I am talented enough to make it?

Brian says not in a million years would he let me put Garrett in it, what a party pooper!

I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for...

2010-09-14T19:56:00.000-07:00

ICE CREAM!!!

I got this for my birthday from my wonderful Husband. Since my birthday was 11 days after I birthed a child it has taken me awhile to get to use it a couple of times.

What is it you say? It is an ice cream attachment for the Kitchenaid, aka heaven. When I told Brian that I wanted it for my birthday I didn't know how it would change our lives. The only homemade ice cream that I have had has been sort of icy and un-flavorful (Not a real word I know!) But I had read on various places online that homemade ice cream could in fact be amazing, and in fact, it is!

These are the recipes that I have tried and liked, with a little review of each (just in case you to would like a scoop of heaven.)

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream: My first attempt cooking with vanilla beans. This was really good, we even used some of it in root beer floats. I however thought that it was a little too creamy...I know that the PW changed the recipe so that it was made with only cream but it was to much for us. When I make it again I will use whole milk for half of the milk in it.

Coffee Ice Cream: This is my all time favorite ice cream so I was really excited to try and make it. The recipe calls for decaf coffee beans but decaff is weak sauce so I used the real thing. This ice cream was pretty stinkn' amazing! The coffee flavor is pretty intense. If you like a more mild flavor of coffee in your ice cream I would cut back the amount of coffee beans or cut back the amount of seepage (ya, seepage) time in the cream.

Chocolate Ice Cream: OH MY GANACHE is right!! This chocolate Ganache ice cream is sooooo good! This ice cream is best I have made so far, and that is coming from someone who thinks that chocolate ice cream is only so, so. It's perfect, that's all I have to say about that!!

So far I have only made custard based ice creams. Next I want to try a sorbet. I have some yummy peaches sitting on my counter and I am thinking that they are begging me to put them into a sorbet.

This ice cream maker is going to make me put all my baby weight back on!

3 Months

2010-09-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

Garrett,

Here we are at three months, it seems like such a big milestone. You are no longer considered a newborn, and honestly you do not act like one! We have definitely past the stage where all you do is "eat, poop, and sleep." You love interacting with anyone in you line of sight, which is considerably bigger than it was. You react to my facial expressions when I am across the room. You get impatient when someone is not giving you enough attention and you get bored when you have been doing something for to long.

This past month you rolled over for the first time, you have only done it one other time since then but I am sure that you will get the hang of it soon. Garrett, you also slept through the night for the first time two nights ago and last night. Daddy laughed at me when I told him I was sad about it because it means you are growing up! Some of the other things that have happened in the last month: You started going to daycare part time, went on two camping trips, you have completely master control of your head, you discovered you have hands and then a couple weeks later discover that you can use them to put thing in your mouth, we stopped nursing (which makes me sad!), and moved you into your own room and crib.

We laugh more now than we ever did before you came into our lives and you demand smiles out of us every time we play with you. Dad calls you his "little buddy" and loves to get you to squeal and smile. Sometimes as I watch you sleep I am overwhelmed by the love that I feel for you. Being a parent is not easy. When it comes to parenting, I have second guessed myself and the decisions that we make daily more in the last couple of months than I have in probably my whole life. I know it is cliche but you are totally worth it!

Love,

Mom

Garrett's Room

2010-09-11T19:05:00.000-07:00

I finally feel like Garrett's room is complete. I absolutely love it. I wanted it to feel like a calming and peaceful place. A place to read books and be rocked to sleep, a place to play quietly with toys some day (well he is a boy so probably no quiet playing!) The room sort of has a children's literature theme, mostly in the art. I wanted the room to be grey but the color I picked out had A LOT more blue in it than I thought. It is a gorgeous color and I have come to love it but it definitely wasn't the color that I had envisioned.

I had Brian take the video below the evening that I went into labor. All the sudden I wanted to get a video of me while I was pregnant and of Garrett's room before he came home. The video was taken at about 9:00pm, five hours after I had started active labor and about an hour and a half before we headed to the hospital. I remember feeling so breathless while talking because of the contractions! I am SO glad that I had Brian take the video. I think that I will treaure it forever!

Where to find stuff:

Glider: It is a Dutailier glider. I would have never paid the money for a new one, but it is really comfy and glides so smoothly.

Bookshelf: Made by my step dad. He is a carpenter and did a great job!

Black Containers: Bed, Bath and Beyond

Mirrors: Target

Table: I found it at a second hand store and painted it white.

Shelves on wall: Home Depot

Crib: Walmart

Picture above Glider: Crocodile Scales

Pictures Above Crib: Are by Noel Young, done for Hygge and West. They are my absolute favorite thing in the nursery!

Picture above Dresser: G is for Giraffe. An awesome gift from a friend!

Things on Dresser: My sister got the Taj Mahal for Garrett while she was in India. The piggy bank was a Baby Shower Gift. It matched the room perfectly!

Things on the Shelves: Left side- The Peter the Rabbit watering can is actually a vase that we got flowers in while we were in the hospital when Garrett was born. The Horse is Brian's from when he was little. Poor horsey is missing his tail and is cracked on the other side. I gave the fire fighters booties to Brian when I told him I was pregnant. Right side- Whinne the Pooh piggy bank was a gift from a family friend. The Peter the Rabbit collection of books was a gift from our shower in Minnesota. The change counter/bank is from Great Grandparents Chromy.

Bedding: I made it myself! I used Amy Butler's Little Stitches for Little Ones for a pattern. The fabric was from Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow collection. I also used the fabric for the valance, lamp shade (recovered a cheap one from Ross), and in some burp cloths.

Labor Day

2010-09-06T19:17:00.000-07:00

We took Garrett on his second camping trip this weekend. Friday and Saturday were beautiful days. Brian and I got to go and play on some four wheelers while my mom watched Garrett. It felt like it had been so long since we had been out together and just played. We came home on Sunday afternoon and just vegged for the rest of the weekend. I actually forgot to bring the camera to the first camping trip so I was glad that I remembered this time!

Hanging out in grandma's camper.

Little gingerbread man! I decided that this was the best way to keep him warm. He is swaddled underneath and his legs are in one of the legs of the fleece sack. He definitely has room to grow into it.

Getting a diaper change on the picnic table.

So tired! Snuggling with mama during a movie.

New Chair

2010-09-02T19:21:00.001-07:00

Look who got a new chair! Oh, and he is playing with my favorite toy (not his but mine, I think that it is pretty cool.) In case you didn't notice their is drool coming out of both sides of his mouth. He is worse than a basset hound. It is everywhere. I think that he is going to start getting teeth sooner rather than later.

Cool Video

2010-08-31T14:49:00.000-07:00

Dooce.com posted this video today. It is pretty cool. It makes me want to watch Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Probably the best movie ever, well besides Gone With the Wind oh and Anne of Green Gables. Wow I have good taste in movies!

Back to Work

2010-08-30T19:27:00.000-07:00

I started back to work part time last week. Well sort of part time. I was only supposed to be working Tues.-Thurs. 8am to 3 pm but I worked Saturday for 8 hours and today for 7...I am not sure how it happened but at the moment I feel like I am working full time even though I am not working the normal 10 hour shifts. Work is busy because school is starting this week. Hopefully once it calms down I will actually only be working 20ish hours a week.

It feels good to be back to work. I actually don't really miss Garrett to much while I am at work and busy doing stuff. When I am spending time with him at home though I is when I realized how much I miss him and how much I feel like I never get to see him anymore.

It is weird though how easily we fell into a schedule once I went back to work. I feel like Brian has stepped up and we are splitting the "baby duties" more. I actually feel like we are closer as a family in the last couple of weeks. We are all more likely to be found playing on the floor in Garrett's room, laughing in the bathroom during bath time, hanging out in the kitchen during breakfast, or Brian feeding Garrett before bed while I put his laundry away. It is nice and I think Brian and I both savor these moments. Garrett is constantly napping for an hour or two when we get home in the afternoon's and then up till about 7:30 when we do bath, reading, bottle and then rocking. He is almost always asleep by 8:30. He is only getting up once between 12am and 4am, and then I am usually waking him up to nurse around 7am.

I am glad he is falling into such a nice schedule. With how busy we are I think I would go crazy if I felt like we were still all over the place with bedtime, feedings and stuff. Brian has had to pick up extra command shifts to cover for a lack of staff and he has meetings tonight, tomorrow and Wednesday. It is weeks like this where we really feel the stress of our jobs and neither of us can wait until Thursday night when we can just hangout and enjoy each other and Garrett.

The Weekend

2010-08-22T12:08:00.000-07:00

So this was the first weekend in 7 weeks that we have been home all weekend with no obligations to do anything with anyone. It feels so good! As much as we love our family and friends I think that it is important to spend time just as a family, especially since Brian is always so busy during the week and I am going back to work part time starting this week. We definitely had a fun weekend. Here are a bunch of pictures of everything we did!

Last weekend we bought a large tent for future camping trips. We thought that we would try and put her up in the yard to see how it went. I love it, Brian thinks it is too big. It is a lot to set up and take down, their are a lot of pieces and stakes! I am really excited about the front room which is all screens when the window pieces are unzipped

Playing with daddy.

Checking it out!

I think their will be plenty of room for me to crawl around in here next summer!

On Saturday we went to the Potato Festival (the "tater festival" we heard someone call it) in Manhattan, MT. The Manhattan fire department had a pancake breakfast and then their was a parade and a craft fair.

At the parade with mom.

Bath time with Daddy on Saturday night!

Look at all that curly hair!

This morning we went to church and this afternoon we put together our new chairs for the front porch. These were on sale at one of the local hardware stores. They need a couple more coats of stain but I can't wait to sit on them on the front porch and drink a beer!

2 Month Well Check

2010-08-20T10:15:00.000-07:00

Garrett had his 2 month well check last Friday. I totally forgot to post this last week. Oh well.

Weight: 10lbs 6oz

Height: 21 1/2 inches

Head Circ: 15.2

I met the pediatrician for the first time, he was on sabbatical when Garrett was born so we saw another one until he got back. I like Dr. Harris and think that he will make a really good family doctor. We talked about Garrett going on formula once I go to work and about him going to daycare and getting the "daycare crud." He was super easy to talk with and didn't seem like he was trying to rush through to move onto the next appointment, which is a pet peeve of mine when doctors seem like they are to busy for you.

Garrett got his shots and handled them like a champ. I think that I was anticipating something like what the circumcision was like. It wasn't really bad at all though. He stopped crying as soon as I picked him up off the table and only fussed for a little bit afterward.

He seems like he is getting SO big and I know he is compared to the little peanut that he was. He is still small for his age though. His weight in the 16th percentile and his height is in the 5th percentile. What a shortie!! Hopefully he will catch up!

Talking

2010-08-16T15:34:00.000-07:00

Garrett has been "talking" so much lately. I got a good video of him going to town while talking to daddy. In both video's he stops as soon as he sees me, which is a shame because it was really cute!

Edit: I can't get the other video to load, which is a shame because it was the good one!

2 Months

2010-08-11T18:26:00.001-07:00

Garrett,

It is hard to believe that two months have gone by already, and at the same time I can't imagine what we did without you in our lives. This afternoon, while you were napping I got your bag ready for daycare. I cannot believe that we have already come to the moment where I am getting ready to go back to work and you must go into daycare. I know you will be fine, but I will miss being with you everyday and seeing your every smile and wiping your every tear.

While I was getting your bag together I also cleaned out some of the clothes that you don't fit into anymore. It is hard to believe that you fit into those preemie clothes! You have finally graduated into size one diapers and most 0-3 clothes just in the last two weeks. It is sad that our little peanut is gone, but we are glad that we have such a healthy little boy. You are constantly changing and growing and we celebrate every milestone you hit.

Wow, have you changed in two months! You are holding your head up so well that most the time we don't even have to help you. Your legs are strong enough to hold your little body in a standing position for awhile. You love laying on the floor under the play mat, squealing, bating at objects and kicking your little legs. Your constant changes in mood are always making us laugh and your smile, lights up our world! When I lay you on the floor and lean over you to look in your eyes, you light up and start cooing and smiling up a storm as I talk to you about all the big stories you must be telling. You can be cranky with me as we are trying to put you to bed and then I will hand you to your dad to try to put you asleep and you smile at him as if you weren't just fussing!

You are an amazing little boy and we can't wait to see what the next couple of months bring!

Love,

Momma and Daddy

A little Alfalfa action and a sweet smile in the morning!

Ahhh...Daycare!

2010-08-11T09:35:00.000-07:00

Garrett's first half day of daycare is on Friday. He will go Friday morning and then we will be home next week and then he will start going three days a week through September when we will start going full time. I don't even know how to express how I feel. I am excited to go back to work, sort of. I know that he will be okay, I think...

Brian and I "dropped in" this morning to drop off some paperwork. I didn't call and warn Jenni the daycare lady, I wanted to kind of drop in unannouced and see how it went. I felt bad but she was supper great. My biggest fears are that he will be left alone to much and that his needs will not be met, well like I can meet them. He is just so little and still so needy. There are only a total of twelve kids. Five of them will be babies, including Garrett. So that is not that many, and there are always at least two teachers.

While we were at the daycare I noticed that a couple of the kids were coughing and had runny noses. I know that being sick is just part of being in daycare. I worked in one, I know how it goes. Now that it is my guy that is going to get sick, it makes me sad. I know when he gets that first cold it will probably be harder for me than him.

Home!!

2010-08-02T05:31:00.000-07:00

We just got back from an awesome week in Minnesota and Wisconsin. It was so nice to see family and friends. As always it made us wish that we lived A LOT closer to everyone over there.

But oh my goodness it felt good to be home! I don't know what it was but it has never felt better to walk through that front door. It was the longest that we have been gone since we bought the house and obviously since Garrett has been here. I wanted to kiss the floors, walk around touch everything, lounge in my own bed, sit out on the porch and take a bath all at once!

I am so proud of myself too, I left the house clean and picked up so there is no cleaning that needs to be done on top of unpacking and laundry. Which is good because when we unloaded the car it filled up the whole living room. How is that even possible?

Music of the Night

2010-07-23T04:32:00.000-07:00

I realized EARLY this morning how loud our house is at night. I seem to be the only one who gets to enjoy it's full range of noises.

Garrett: He grunts in his sleep a lot! Usually for the first couple minutes that you put him down each time he strains and grunts against the swaddle. He also moans, gasps, burps and farts. There have been many times when the room is silent and this loud perfect fart rips through the room just as we are drifting off to sleep. All of these sounds though are better than cooing. Happy cooing sounds from the crib in the middle of the night is like a death sentence. It means that he is up, happy and WIDE awake and one of us isn't getting sleep for at least another hour and a half. or so However, the little guy is quiet compared to the big one...

Brian: He snores...we all know this, I am pretty sure that I have mentioned it before. I have never wanted to suffocate someone more than at 4am when I am up for the fourth time in a row, after an hour and a half of sleep between every feeding, and his snores are RIPPING through the room...Like so loud I can't even think (not that my sleep deprived self is trying to think very hard.) At this point in the morning I am convinced that he is snoring to rub it in that besides one diaper change in the last 7 hours, he hasn't even MOVED. Hence the feelings of extreme violence. Sleep deprivation is a weird thing. He is lucky because I really do like him and he is pretty useful to have around, or else...!!

Of course I am the only one who hears all of these wonderful sounds. Sometimes Garrett spends twenty minutes grunting and fussing before he gets upset and I get him out of the crib (I have a don't pick him up out of the crib until he is actually crying/upset policy...half the time he either falls back asleep or is already asleep when he is fussing.) Brian sometimes doesn't even hear him...it is amazing.

Postpartum

2010-07-20T15:40:00.000-07:00

Well we are pretty close to the six week postpartum mark. I have my doctor's appointment on Thursday afternoon. I am really feeling pretty good. I would say besides the lasting effects of extra chub and stretch marks I feel pretty much normal!

When it comes to my body I actually feel okay about it. I don't think that I would be happy about it six months from now, but for six weeks after giving birth I am happy with where I am at. My weight is the same as it was at my 8 week prenatal appointment. I am about 15-20 lbs heavier than I would like to be but really only 5-10 lbs heavier than I was right around when I got pregnant, so I feel like that really isn't too bad. At my appointment they will clear me to start working out so hopefully I will start with that (at least I intend to...we will see!) I still don't entirely fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans and pants, but am only one size bigger. Even though I would like to blame it on my hips expanding, my suspicion is that if I drop that next ten pounds that my pants will fit again. Which is good, I mean who really wants their hips to actually just be a size wider (Right???) but bad because it means that I definitely have more chub to lose!

Emotionally I feel great. Of course there definitely have been baby blue moments where I have lost it or felt a little down or wondered what in the heck we were thinking. But all in all I feel much happier than I did when I was pregnant, which is sort of weird!

After all that complaining and hating being pregnant, I actually can't wait to do it again (just not right away!) I think that I didn't really "get it," like I didn't understand how cool of a thing it is that after 9 months this beautiful little being comes out of you. I am excited to possibly enjoy the next pregnancy and even birth. Well, I actually thought that giving birth was an incredibly cool thing, I mean as cool as pushing a watermelon out of a wine bottle can be!! I just realized that I never really wrote about Garrett's birth...I will have to work on that post...

1 Month

2010-07-09T18:14:00.000-07:00

This is a couple of days overdue. The picture was taken last weekend though! Hard to imagine that we are into the secound month already!

The 4th of July Weekend

2010-07-09T14:35:00.000-07:00

We had a great holiday weekend with family. This post will be mostly pictures. I am proud of myself for getting so many! I only missed one day, the day that we went to and old mining town called Virginia City.

The weekend started out with a HUGE hail storm. Well actually two storms. This is the second one. Tim and Amy's poor van got pounded as they were pulling into town. Bozeman has millions of dollars of damage. Including tons of broken windows in cars and houses. The university had 200 broken windows from golf ball and baseball size hail. We were lucky and seemed to miss the brunt of both storms out in Four Corners.

We hung out with cousins. Garrett got showered with attention. All of the cousin's wanted to hold him and touch him. Our saying for the weekend was, "please don't touch his face!" or " let's give Garrett a little space now!"

Tim wanted to try fly fishing for the first time, so we headed out to the Madison. While the guys fished the kids went swimming. The water was 65 degrees and it was only 70 outside. They didn't seem to notice though!

One day we headed off to the Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park. The caverns were awesome and everyone had a great time. I ended up having to exit the caverns early with three kids who had to go to the bathroom and one child who was hungry and screaming his head off. I didn't time feeding Garrett very well and needless to say he let everyone know.

On the fourth we watched the fireworks from a place called Pete's Hill. We had an awesome view of the fireworks. It was definitely an interesting night. Three of the kids fell asleep before the main fireworks show even started. It was windy and raining off and on and finally started coming down pretty good about 10 min before the fireworks were over. The four adults where all sitting their hunched over laughing because it was sort of miserable. I also thought that I smelt a skunked and as soon as I loudly exclaimed "does anyone else smell a skunk?" I realized that it was not a skunk but someone smoking a dobie...I am retarded and we got to enjoy the scent all night long!

I Am Still Here

2010-07-08T20:27:00.000-07:00

I have post with a bunch of great photos from the holiday weekend all planned out in my head. Now if I could only find the time to get it typed out and posted! Soon, I promise!

Breastfeeding

2010-06-28T11:40:00.000-07:00

I think that we are pretty lucky. Things have been going really well with breastfeeding. Garrett nurses every two hours like clockwork during the day and at night he goes 3-4 hours the first stretch and the 2-3 hours after that. He always initiates feeding and almost always nurses ten minutes on each side every time he eats. Since he is gaining weight like a champ (up almost a pound from his birth weight at his two week appointment) I assume that my milk is more than enough for him.

Now I am wondering how long we are going to do feedings every two hours. As grateful as I am that everything is going so well it is hard having your life run on a two hour schedule, and really since it takes a half hour to feed it is more like an hour and a half schedule. I know that eventually he will go longer between feedings as his stomach gets bigger. Since we are home and I don't really have that much to do it isn't a big deal to feed him that frequently but it does make going out and doing anything pretty hard. I have not actually feed Garrett in public yet and while it makes me nervous I know that I am going to just have to buck up and do it at some point. That point will definitely be this weekend when Brian's sister and her family come out. We have a lot planned, and most of it does not include sitting around the house.

I bought a pump hoping to get enough milk stored up that I could have at least a little for when we are out and about and just do the feedings by bottle but pumping has been harder than I thought it would be. The first day that I pumped I tried it a couple of times after feedings or when he only ate off of one side. That night he was fussy and wouldn't let us put him down pretty much from 7pm to 1 pm the next day. He was asking to eat most of the time as well. I think that he was hungry because I had pumped a lot of his feedings and my supply couldn't keep up. To top it off I really only got like an ounce and a half total that day. So I have been trying not to pump as much. In three days I have about 2 and a half maybe three ounces. That is discouraging. I know that all I can do though is keep at it and hope that it picks up.

I am also nervous to give him a bottle at this point. I don't want him to realize that the bottle is easier than nursing and start to refuse to nurse. I also don't want to hurt my milk supply by feeding him from a bottle instead of nursing or pumping.

I guess we will see how this weekend goes. I will probably throw a bottle and that extra milk that I have in the diaper bag when we go out and just see how it goes. I may use it and I may not. I am guessing not and all in all even though the freedom would be nice I am not sure that I am ready for him to have a bottle yet and risk messing up everything especially since it is going so well.

Great Start

2010-06-22T12:04:00.001-07:00

There is nothing like finishing your coffee around noon on a warm summer day while you snuggle with a baby who is in a milk comma! Please don't mind the I just woke up look. Brian took Garrett while I caught a little more sleep between 9 and 11. I am going to miss him when he goes back to work next week!

Sleep!

2010-06-20T01:43:00.000-07:00

If you asked me at 4am as Garrett is up grunting to be fed again, how much I would pay someone to feed him (from my boob) and hold him/put him to sleep while I got 8 hours of continuous sleep for one night, it would be an insane amount of money!

This kid is to smart...or something. He has already figured out that it is better to be held while sleeping than to sleep on your own in the Pack N Play. This means that someone is never sleeping or is at the least is dozing with him in the glider (thank god we spent money on a nice used rocker!) I know he is little and I know it will get better.

I think that the problem might stem from him being held all day long while Grandma was here. I told Brian today that we HAVE to start putting him down every time he sleeps (even though it is so tempting to hold him and I think that in general you can't really snuggle a newborn to much) because I just don't know how else to get him used to sleeping on his own. Putting him down in the Pack N Play on his own and having him wake up 10 minutes later is a lot less frustrating during the day than for the 5th time during the night.

Of course he sleeps pretty good in our bed, but I am just not comfortable co-sleeping. Our bed has a down mattress pad and is all squishy and soft. I am terrified of one of us rolling on him. And I also think that the bed is mine and Brian's and needs to stay that way for intimacy and all that good stuff to keep our marriage healthy.

So for now we keep on trying and keep on getting very little sleep. Tonight we got three hours in a row, which felt like a stinking vacation, and I actually woke up before him! I know he is little and it will get better (as I chant this and rock back and forth like a crazy person!)

One Week

2010-06-17T06:07:00.000-07:00

Dear Garrett,

I never thought that I would be the type to want to write my children letters, but here I am with so much to say to you after only one week of life. As I nurse you for what already feels like like the millionth time I marvel at how tiny you really are. You swim in newborn clothes, which seemed unimaginably small before you came. Mommy was not prepared and we had to go and get preemie clothes just so that you would have something to wear that would fit.

You are nothing that we expected and more than we could of hoped for. Your daddy looked at you the other day and said, "I just didn't understand how much I would love you!" Falling in love with you has been one of the best experiences of our lives. We constantly laugh at the sweet faces you make (even the grumpy ones), and the grunts that come out of you while you sleep. We marvel at all of your hair and the fact that it is brown with blond highlights.

The first week of your life has been a busy one. We came home from the hospital on Friday, the day after you were born, and Grandpa and Grandma Trowbridge showed up on Saturday. Mommy and daddy have appreciated all of their help, especially in the mornings when Grandma takes you and holds you so that we can get a couple more hours of sleep!

When you got home from the hospital you were a little jaundice. On Monday the pediatrician made us get a biliblanket for you. I hated having you connected to a machine all of the time. You however seemed to love having the warm lights on your back and the white noise from the machine constantly running. We called you our little glow worm.

You already found your thumb this week. You seem to have a need to have something in your mouth pretty much all the time.

Today on your one week birthday we took you in to get circumcised, fun right? While I know you won't remember it, I am having a hard time seeing you in pain. I think mommy cried as much as you did the first couple of diaper changes, but you seem to be bouncing back just fine.

You are such a handsome little man. While I can't wait for you to get older so we can experience a million memories together, I also want to hold on to you forever while you are so tiny and new (minus the sleep deprivation!) Your daddy and I can't wait to see what a life with you will bring us.

Love,

Mommy

Garrett

2010-06-13T12:28:00.000-07:00

We are sitting here at home and alone, just him and I for the first time ever. I wanted to write a blog post about our little peanut but there are so many things to say and not enough of the right words to say them. So, I think I will post a random list of thoughts.

Garrett Richard Lamon Nickolay was born at 10:40am on June 10th. He weighed 5lbs 11oz and was almost 19 inches long.
My labor lasted about 18 hours and we spent a little over 12 of them at the hospital.
Labor was and wasn't the most painful experience of my life. It was awful and then again, it wasn't that bad. I can't explain it. Pushing...that was the hardest thing I have ever done. I think that it is as hard mentally as it is physically.
Listening to my husband's voice coach me and get more and more excited as I pushed and got closer to getting Garrett out was one of the only things that got me through it.
It is true...they come out and you love them with everything that you have in you.
He is the most intimidating person I have ever meet. We are in charge of making sure he is happy, healthy and a good person. OMG, I can't believe they let us leave the hospital with him!
I am not sure how all my bits "down there" are ever going to go back to normal. It is scary and it hurts me!
He is SO tiny and has a full head of hair that is brown and blond, I love him even more for it.
His days and nights seem mixed up. The nights are incredibility hard, especially when you are already sleep deprived. There are times I feel like I would literally pay a million dollars for four (or even three) straight hours of sleep!
Watching my husband turn into a dad is THE best thing ever. Ever time he kisses Garrett or leans over him and says how perfect he is, my heart melts!

Attitude Adjustment

2010-06-08T14:30:00.000-07:00

This kid is already adjusting my expectations and teaching me that I just can't always have the things I want! On Sunday night I was up all night with contractions. Every time I went to lay down I would start getting lower back pain and contractions and of course that made me feel wide awake and my mind go a million miles an hour. I literally got 2 hours of sleep up until about 5:30 am. So by the time that I woke up at 9:30 I was cranky! Contractions that were totally sporadic and lower back pain that developed when I layed down was not my idea of how things were supposed to go when "labor" started.

After a walk and another nap, I finally decided their was no reason to feel so cranky and depressed about it (I think that the extra sleep might have helped the attitude as well.) So I baked a cake and enjoyed my "sick" day at home with Brian. 36 hours later I am still having contractions on a pretty regular basis but nothing that is time able or that I can't do normal activities through. I figure at this point at least SOMETHING is happening and hopefully at some point active labor will just kind of kick in. I think I would be more disappointed if things just stopped and nothing was going on. It is definitely a good reminder that you can't control what happens with your body, everyone is different (there is no "normal"), and that things are easier if you just go along with the flow.

39 Weeks, O.M.G.

2010-06-04T11:23:00.000-07:00

Here is how I am feeling these days in list style:

Swollen: Check

Tired: Check

Achy: Check

Chubby: Check

Cranky: Check

Done: Check

Whiny: Check :)

Ready: Check, check, check

How far along? 39 weeks
Total weight gain: More :(
Maternity Clothes? I don't want to wear clothes anymore, they are uncomfortable!
Sleep: Still good, besides the peeing!

Best moment this week: Um...Doctor's appointment I guess.
Food Craving: Nothing really
Movement: He is pushing out and stretching a lot. I think that he needs to come out now.
Gender: Little Man!
Labor Signs: Doctor says I am progressing right along. Baby dropped another inch or so, I am dilated a little bit more, and all that good stuff. I am getting Braxton Hicks pretty much every time I stand up or twist and even had a couple of hours of false labor on Tuesday night.
Belly button in or out: In
What I miss: Not feeling swollen from head to toe.
What I am looking forward to: Not feeling swollen from head to toe! Being done!
Milestones: False labor...I guess :)

38 Weeks

2010-05-31T15:40:00.000-07:00

How far along? 38 weeks
Total weight gain: I gained a couple of pounds as of last Tuesday at the doctor...That's what I get about being excited about losing a pound :)
Maternity Clothes? At this point putting on anything but sweats and a tank top sucks.
Sleep: Still good. I am lucky.
Best moment this week: Spending the whole weekend doing nothing with Brian. We got a lot done around the house!
Food Craving: Swedish fish
Movement: He has gotten quieter. I think that he is running out of room.
Gender: Boy!
Labor Signs: On Saturday evening I had a couple of hours of lower back pain and braxton hicks that were coming 8-5 min apart. Nothing painful and nothing consistent. I also think that he really dropped. My bladder has gone to a whole new level of small.
Symptoms: Nesting, nesting, nesting...Yesterday I couldn't stop moving. I cleaned the bathroom floor on my hands and knees and did about five loads of sheets, towels, rugs, etc. and a ton of other things like organize our room. This morning we cleaned the outside of the windows and I picked up the garage while Brian fertilized the yard. It feels so good to have the energy and drive to get the stuff done that I have been wanting to get done for the last couple of weeks.
Belly button in or out: In
What I miss: My body before pregnancy.
What I am looking forward to: Having him! I am ready to get the show on the road. I am ready to meet him, have Brian's family out here, be off of work, and for summer to feel like it has started.
Milestones: Actually nesting sort of feels like a milestone. Baby dropping and some labor signs starting!

You Know You Should Be A Redneck When...

2010-05-29T19:17:00.000-07:00

You go to check the seal in the washing machine and find this:

Nothing like finding 20 bullets 2 weeks and about 10 loads of laundry after your husband went shooting! I feel like this should only happen in Jeff Foxworthy's world!

I Lost it Yesterday

2010-05-26T18:46:00.000-07:00

So yesterday we had a doctor's appointment and the OB checked me again. Nothing new to report. After I finally dragged myself out of bed around 11, I decided enough moping. I went out to Sushi with a friend (and ordered three whole rolls for myself, and yes I had to take leftovers home, but they were gone before I walked in the door...it is a long car ride home!) and then coffee with another friend.

Between lunch and coffee, while I was at home, I lost it. That is my mucus plug! Talk about making my day! It is amazing what a little va-jay-jay mucus can do for a pregnant lady's bad day! I am pretty sure that the doctor probably knocked it loose while she was all up in there, but I swear I have been more crampy since then, and I will take what I can get!

And now I have officially used the word va-jay-jay on my blog and told everyone things they didn't need to/want to know (not that I haven't already done that!)

A Big Sigh...

2010-05-25T10:43:00.000-07:00

I am having one of those days. I came home from our doctor's appointment today and went back to bed. I am ready for him to be here. Mostly mentally, physically I still feel great.

My grandparents have had their house in LA on the market for the past couple of months. The house that we always visited and that I thought they would never leave. The plan has tentatively been for my mom and I to drive down to LA sometime in July or August (with Garrett of course) and pickup some furniture and things that they are getting rid of during the down sizing. Well, they sold the house and my mom and stepdad are heading down to LA the last week of June. I want to go, so bad! I want to see the house one last time, I want to road trip with my parents and I want my family and grandparents to meet Garrett.

So now of course I want him to come NOW, so that we have a couple of weeks under our belts and we can go with my parents to California. If he isn't here by the end of next week then we obviously won't go. I feel like it is so selfish and of course I want him to come when he is ready but the thought of missing the trip makes me so sad and cranky and down.

I told Brian today that I just need to accept the fact that I can't do anything about when Garrett is going to come and I should just accept the fact that we are not going to be able to go to California at the end of the month. Then I can just move on and enjoy the last couple of weeks of this pregnancy. It is hard though (and if I am honest I think I am being over emotional about the whole thing, I will blame it on hormones!) I guess it is a good lesson or reminder on how much things change after you have a baby. No more just picking up and going and things are really controlled by their schedule!

Full Term!!

2010-05-21T10:52:00.000-07:00

A.k.a. 37 weeks. I can't believe that I get to finally say that!

How far along? 37 weeks
Total weight gain: I lost 1lb between 35 and 36 weeks! Haha eat that! First time in 36 + weeks that I have lost weight.
Maternity Clothes? Are starting to get tight.
Sleep: I need a lot of it. It depends on the night, but I haven't actually felt like I am losing sleep yet, which is nice.
Best moment this week: The doctor's appointment, see labor signs below!
Food Craving: Nothing really
Movement: Lots of rolls and pushing out.
Gender: Boy!
Labor Signs: Well, I am 1 cm dilated and 80% effaced. As hard as I am trying to not let it happen, at this point everything is a possible labor sign. Headache and nausea last night before bed, possibly. Feeling crampy and a lot of pressure this morning, of course it's labor, and no it doesn't matter that it only lasted for 20 minutes. And yes I am a wipe watcher. I check the TP and toilet every time I go to the bathroom (which is a lot), just in case I am having those kinds of labor signs.
Symptoms: I really do feel pretty good. I know that I am lucky. A little swelling and heartburn isn't that bad.
Belly button in or out: In and it is not coming out. Ha, Amy!
What I miss: My energy
What I am looking forward to: Baby being here, going camping next weekend, date night with Brian on Sunday.
Milestones: 37 Weeks!!!

I Caved!

2010-05-18T14:52:00.000-07:00

We had our doctor's appointment this morning. My sister came to hear the heartbeat and hangout. The doctor said that I am "full term," which I knew I was close, but thought it was 37 weeks.

I didn't think that I was going to have the doctor do internals until at least until 40 weeks if at all. I know that the results don't necessarily mean anything. You can walk around 2 cm dilated and 60% effaced for weeks without going into labor. Also, sometimes they can cause infections and irritate your cervix and all that stuff.

Since, I had the Group B Strep test and since I already had my pants off and since she was already down there doing her thing...I caved. I let her check me, honestly I was curious of course! She said that the baby's head is all the way down but that the cervix is up around the side of his head. She really had to "reach for it." Ali was horrified and was like "OMG! It looked like she was up to her elbow!" The good news is that my cervix is soft, I am like 80% effaced and like 1 cm dilated! Yay exciting! Now I just have to figure how to not get to excited and make myself miserable and cranky waiting for it. Let me know if you have any suggestions!

36 Weeks

2010-05-14T08:16:00.000-07:00

How far along? 36 weeks
Total weight gain: Nothing like a little more extra padding!!
Maternity Clothes? Yup
Sleep: It is slowly getting worse, but I only have a couple bad nights a week. It definitely could be worse!
Best moment this week: Rachel's Wedding! Every moment I get to watch him wiggle around in me!
Food Craving: Swedish Fish
Movement: He is definitely moving, and I can tell space is getting tight in there.
Gender: Boy!
Labor Signs: None really, and apparently kidney stones aren't labor either, could have fooled me!
Symptoms: Heart burn daily. I am swelling in my feet and legs, it isn't pretty. I also think "we" have been growing this week. I have had a couple of days of feeling very uncomfortable and full and stretched out in the belly area.
Belly button in or out: In, in, in.
What I miss: Sleeping on my back.
What I am looking forward to: Baby being here (I can't believe that I am close enough to say that!) Feeling like we have everything ready for baby to be here. Maybe going camping in the next couple of weeks :)
Milestones: As of today I am 36 weeks with only 28 days left, it is weird to see more weeks less days!

Lists

2010-05-13T08:22:00.000-07:00

I feel like it is getting down to crunch time, which is exciting! We definitely have a lot left to do. I am not really a list person but I definitely pull them out when I start to get overwhelmed. I started a list like a month ago for things that we needed to buy before baby comes. We have purchased the necessary items but I keep on adding to it. The list isn't any shorter than when I started.

Then their is the "To Do List." It is long and it looks something like this:
1. Pack Hospital Bag
2. Pack diaper bag
3. Make fabric bins
4. Make Valence
5. Set up pack n play
6. Talk to Pediatrician
8. Remove all spider webs
9. Move living room furniture an clean underneath
10. Move fridge, oven, washer, and dryer and clean behind
11. Wash windows
12. Organize crawl space
13. Fix living room floor and bedroom carpet
14. Put batteries in everything
15. Birth announcements
16. Update Ipod
17. Birth Plan
18. Install Carseat
19.Call insurance company about Breast Pump
20. Take hospital registration packet to L&D
21. Change oil in car
22. Get car detailed

And this is the edited list. Some of these items have sub lists. I was telling Brian that we have so much to do before Garrett comes and he was like "what are you talking about?" I said, " oh...you haven't seen the LIST!"

I am working the night shift Saturday and Sunday but then have Monday-Wednesday off. I am hoping to get a lot of this done in that time!

Maternity Pictures!

2010-05-11T12:42:00.000-07:00

I know a lot of you have already seen these by Facebook or e-mail but I thought that I would post the link here in case you missed it!

Our Maternity Photos!

Meghan was our wedding photographer and I was really excited when she said that she would do our Maternity and also Newborn photos. I can't wait to see her a month or so!!

35 Weeks and So Much More

2010-05-11T08:32:00.000-07:00

On Friday baby turned 35 weeks which is very exciting. Less than 35 days left now! Because we had such a fun and busy weekend I am not going to do a full survey, just a small update.

I am fully recovered from our L&D fun last week, and have been feeling great. Sleep is getting more and more uncomfortable. My legs go numb and/or my hands fall asleep so I am rolling around/going to the bathroom every two hours or so. I also really only get heartburn in the middle of the night which is helpful. I officially tried sleeping sitting up in the papasan last night (which was even more uncomfortable than the bed), and ended up on the couch. Brian woke me up this morning when my alarm went off in the bedroom, asking me if he was snoring to loud :) I was nice and told him no, but that I was really uncomfortable. Other than not sleeping as well I really am feeling amazing!

On to more exciting things. I had the privilege of being a bridesmaid in the wedding of a friend from college this past weekend. We headed up to Kalispell, Montana on Wednesday night and stayed until Sunday morning. It was nice to get away with Brian for a long weekend, we were busy but managed to spend some great quality time together. This was hands down the best wedding that I have been in/attended. It was very low key and I really got to spend some quality time with the bride and her family and some great friends from college. Brian was such a trooper and spent quite a lot of time in the hotel room while I did things like get my nails done, run errands and attend a bridal shower. The wedding was beautiful and the reception was so nice. I am happy for Rachel and Jake and wish them a lifetime filled with love.

The rest of the weekend was pretty low key. We took our time driving home and went through the Seeley/Swan area. It was gorgeous and brought back a lot of memories from the days before Brian. A friend from high school was in town yesterday so we had lunch and then I ran some errands with them before they headed out of town.

We had a great couple of days and it made us realize how important the close friends in your life can be. I wish that we all lived closer together so we could enjoy each other more often!

Labor and Delivery Visit Numero Dos

2010-05-05T08:45:00.000-07:00

The Spanish is in honor of Cinco de Mayo, and yes I had to google the spelling, Spanish class was a LONG time ago!

Anyway, ya, so we ended up in L&D again on Monday afternoon. I thought it was preterm labor, I really did! I got up feeling all achy and crampy and it was coming and going, this included lower back pain. I headed to work and it just got worse. So I went home, called the doctor and laid around. Finally the doctor called me back and told me to come in. At this point I was thinking that there was a good chance we might be staying at L&D for awhile. When Brian came home from work to get me I asked him if he thought we should pack anything or bring anything, you know like a toothbrush and a CARSEAT!

If I haven't mentioned it before Brian is VERY cool headed in these kind of situations and takes a "your fine, lets go, I have seen worse" kind of approach. He was like, let's just see what they say. Which was actually reassuring at this point, even though I was like, "No really this might be it, it HURTS!"

So off we went with us...and my purse. It ended up being a kidney stone. Yup, if you are counting that is three hospital visits and two kidney stones for the Nickolay's in like ten weeks. They sent us home that same night and everything has been good since then. I was glad that everything was fine with the little man and he is going to stay in me for a couple more weeks.

Oh, and for the record I was way more calm and less...uh "verbal" then Brian was when he had his kidney stone, just thought I would throw that out there!

34 Weeks 1 Day

2010-05-01T17:45:00.000-07:00

34 Weeks 1 Day....Just kidding! This one is from week 19. I thought that the comparisson was kind of fun!

34 Weeks 1 Day

How far along? 34 Weeks 1 Day
Total weight gain: another two pounds out on between doctor appointments.
Maternity Clothes? Yup
Sleep: Sometimes good sometimes not.
Best moment this week: Getting more baby stuff in the mail. Our carseat came! Organizing Garrett's room. Gary Allan Concert.
Food Craving: My Grandma's creamy chicken and rice soup. We had it for dinner tonight. It was good.
Movement: He likes my ribs, a lot.
Gender: Boy!
Labor Signs: Braxton hicks are getting more frequent. Brian told me that when we got closer, he was going to make me use a trash bag like a sleeping bag in case my water broke while I was sleeping in bed. He's crazy.
Symptoms: Heart burn is picking back up, so is the nausea.
Belly button in or out: In. I don't think it is going to pop.
What I miss: Spending money on something other than baby stuff!
What I am looking forward to: Rachel's wedding and seeing all of the girls from college! Meeting him!
Milestones: Baby weighs 4.5 ish lbs now!

Pregnancy changes you...

2010-04-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest fears that I have about this whole pregnancy/becoming a mom thing is that I will never be "me" again. I know that it sounds weird and it even sounds silly to me. But I am afraid that I will not be the same person when all is said and done. I know that being a parent changes you but I am afraid I won't recognize myself or that I won't like what it changes me into...very weird I KNOW!!

But here are some interesting changes that I have notice already:

Sometimes I pee when I sneeze AKA snissing.
If it is possible pregnancy has made me love my husband more and has made me more attracted to him.
I don't really like to wear underwear anymore, hence sometimes I don't wear them.
I like to sew.
When I gotta go, I go...and I am not talking about peeing. You don't hold that stuff in, you never know when you might get the urge again. Constipation is not my friend.
Every time I drop something I think, "OMG Really?! But that is so far down there...and I have to bend over and pick it up!"
I talk about things like circumsicion techniques, who is and isn't, and how they feel about it like it was a normal conversation.
I spend a lot of time at home, and I love every minute of it.
I have a tendency to over share. Trust me, this is the edited version. Brian gets the unedited one...the poor guy!

On Being "Small"

2010-04-27T12:34:00.000-07:00

So now that I am actually apparently showing, everyone keeps on telling me how "small" I look and how they can't believe that I am due in June. I have to admit, I like it. I would much rather people be surprised that I am due in June then telling me I look like I am going to pop out an elephant any minute.

However, I don't feel small. I feel like I barely fit into any of the clothes that I have that I can actually wear. Every morning I stand in my closet and look at alllll of the clothes that I can no longer wear (you really feel like you have a lot of clothes when you only fit into about 5% of what you have!) After 10 min my ankle socks leave deep rings in my already large cankles. I had to loosen the laces on my tennis shoes that I have been wearing since freshman volleyball. I think it has been at least 4 years since I have had to adjust the laces on them. My thighs...well they don't fit into any of my pre-pregnancy jeans, and barely squeeze into my maternity ones.

So to all the people that have told me I look small for my gestational age (or something like that)... thank you, I really do appreciate it and it does make me feel good. But please don't ask to see my thighs, okay well my legs, because I am pretty sure the 20-25 lbs that I have gained has been dispersed between the two of them, and they look it!

33 Weeks

2010-04-23T13:18:00.000-07:00

Wow, I have barely blogged at all this week! Sorry to all you who depend on my wit, humor and wisdom to get through the week...just kidding. But I have been tired and achy and well... I like to pretend I have a life, by not blogging. Which actually means I don't have anything going on.

Anyway, here is the 33 Week survey right at 33 weeks and a picture! Wow, look how on top of it I am!
How far along? 33 Weeks
Total weight gain: What?
Maternity Clothes? Yes, finally made a trip to Ross for lighter summery maternity clothes. I got two shirts and a pair of capri's. I should be good until this baby decides to come.
Sleep: I usually wake up numb or with heartburn but all in all it is still pretty good. I don't feel like I am awake all night.
Best moment this week: Ordering our car seat and base. Watching Brian get his head shaved for St. Baldrick's day. Finishing up with painting the dresser. Getting a sunburn!
Food Craving: No major ones again. I did make Brian turn around two blocks from the pizza place last night because I realized that he forgot to get ranch dressing for the cheesy bread when he picked it up from the pizza place. There was no way we were making it home without THE ranch dressing from THE pizza place.
Movement: I hope he doesn't hiccup as much outside of me as he does inside of me. I would feel bad for him...
Gender: Boy!
Labor Signs: Braxton hicks still but nothing new. I could possibly start seeing some things change here pretty soon which is exciting!
Symptoms: Achy mostly. My tailbone and hips get sore a lot sooner if I stay in one position to long.
Belly button in or out: In, but it is still getting shallower!
What I miss: My "normal" tummy...I hope it sort of comes back to normal... And, this might be to much information, but not having my belly get in the way during...uh, well...intimate moments!
What I am looking forward to: Rachel's wedding and seeing all of the girls from college!

Milestones: I can't think of any big ones this week!

Here is a picture of our St. Baldrick's Day fun. Some of the guys on the fire department got their heads shaved for a fundraiser for kids with cancer. There are three fire departments in the county who participate. In the last couple of years a small competition has started between the three to see who can raise the most money and who can bring the most guys. I have never been and Brian has never done it, so it was fun to participate this year.

I kind of like him with a shaved head. I get to call him Fuzzy which is the best part!

32 Weeks 2 Days

2010-04-18T10:12:00.000-07:00

How far along? 32 Weeks, 2 Days
Total weight gain: Enough!
Maternity Clothes? Yes, I need some summer shirts. Everything that fits right now is long sleeved or sweaters.
Sleep: Good most nights. I am starting to wake up multiple times a night with the side of my body that I was laying on completely numb.
Best moment this week: Shopping for baby stuff.
Food Craving: Brie Cheese
Movement: He is all over the place! He finally found my ribs, which is weird.
Gender: Boy!
Labor Signs: None.
Symptoms: I am actually feeling pretty good. I think that I am on the verge of starting to get uncomfortable.
Belly button in or out: In
What I miss: Really being able to "enjoy" girls nights :)
What I am looking forward to: Summer, Summer, Summer! Maternity leave!
Milestones: Brian feeling hiccups. Baby responding to me touching him from the outside.

My Husband

2010-04-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

Things that I love about this man:

The way he grabs me around the waist in the kitchen and pulls me in for a kiss and snuggle as we are both laughing about something.
When he talks to his mom on the phone and she is telling him something funny he has a special laugh. One that says I am completely comfortable, open and myself with you.
He is meticulous about folding and putting away laundry (he rotates his clean shirts and socks people), but always seems to miss spots when he sweeps.
After a long day or a busy week where we haven't seen much of each other the first thing he does is wrap his arms around me tight and nuzzle into my neck, like he needs to breathe me in.
He would eat pizza everyday of the year.
When he comes home late from a meeting and I am asleep in bed he leans over and kisses me on the cheek when he lays down next to me.
He has good taste in jewelry
He is never hurtful or rude, to anyone.
It takes 10 reminders and two month for him to remember to get the vehicles scheduled for oil changes.
Marriage and sharing his life with me seems to be his second nature. He never struggles with the "us" it always seems to be his first instinct.
He is quick to laugh and pretty much never gets angry.
He makes me feel happy, safe and loved always.

31 Weeks-ish

2010-04-14T08:15:00.000-07:00

We had such a busy weekend that I didn't really get time to post this. We had friends in town until Saturday morning and then I had my last baby shower on Saturday. My mom and Jen did such a great job with everything. It was such a nice luncheon.

After the shower Jen and I went out to meet up with the boys. They were helping out with a branding on a ranch north of where we live. It was fun to see all of the action, but it was pretty gruesome watching them brand all the calves and castrate the boys. Good thing the calves didn't seem to shaken by it when all was said and done.

This picture was taken last Thursday outside of the "love SHACK." It was the trailer that Brian and I lived at, in Yellowstone, the summer we got married. It was awful. Now it is just funny.

How far along? 31 weeks + some

Total weight gain: 19 lbs...and I feel it, yuck!
Maternity Clothes? Yup, I tried on some non-maternity cute summer dresses at Old Navy yesterday, I am not sure what I was thinking. It was depressing and comical. I did buy a really cute and comfortable maxi dress though!
Sleep: I love my bed in ways that are probably not healthy!
Best moment this week: My baby shower.

Food Craving: Nothing major this week.
Gender: Boy!
Labor Signs: None.
Symptoms: A lot and none of them are pretty. Maybe I will write a whole other blog post all about them!
Belly button in or out: Getting shallower. I think that instead of a due date poll we should do one on whether or not I am actually going to flatten out.
What I miss: My legs not looking like hell. Not that they looked that great to begin with.
What I am looking forward to: Rachel's wedding, hitting full term!
Milestones: Feeling baby move in my ribs, it is not pleasant.

Robert L. Chambers

2010-04-06T08:54:00.000-07:00

Thought of you with love today, but that is nothing new. I thought about you yesterday, and days before that too. I think of you in silence, I often speak your name. All I have are memories and a picture in a frame. Your memory is a keepsake, with which I'll never part. God has you in his keeping, I have you in my heart.

My dad passed away April 3, 1999, the day before Easter. This time of the year is always full of reflections and a little bit of sadness. Grief is a weird thing, like everything it changes over the years.

At first you miss the tangent presence of that person in your life. You miss putting quarters on the railroad tracks and watching the trains run them over, you miss watching them tie flies, you miss them teaching you things. As their presence fads you start to wish that they were there to share and celebrate events with you. High school volleyball games, graduations, college, weddings and buying houses. Then you suddenly realize that you can get through an event and enjoy it with just a hint of longing, knowing that they wouldn't want you to be sad on such a happy day.

Right now I long for him to know the important people in my life. I grieve for the relationships that aren't there. The relationship that he would have had with my husband. The excitement and joy he would experience in a grandson.

Dad, we miss your smile by our side, sitting in the living room late at night talking. We missed you at our graduations and our wedding. We long for your knowledge and love, we miss your joy for life and your crazy ideas. We miss the fights and disagreements that we would have had. We wish that the people in our lives now could have known you and could be shaped by you, just as we were.

We go through our days honoring you by living life to the fullest just as you did and would want us to do. We laugh at our mistakes and take pleasure in the big accomplishments and the small perfect jewels of life. We take joy in the knowledge that you are still present in our lives through the lessons you taught us before you left and the memory of you that we carry in our hearts.

My dad on the left and his brother.

30 Weeks, 2 Days

2010-04-04T20:09:00.000-07:00

How far along? 30 Weeks, 2 Days!!! Yay!!
Total weight gain: Oh My Goodness! I only gained 1/2 lb in the last four weeks according to the doctor's scale! That was some awesome news. However I am just waiting until the next appointment when I gain like 5 lbs in 2 weeks!
Maternity Clothes? Yup.
Sleep: Sleep is good, however I am still exhausted all the time.
Best moment this week: Yup.
Food Craving: This is so embarrassing...McChicken sandwiches from McDonald's! I can't get enough of them, I have held back and only had 2 this week, even though I want them for every.single.meal. Including breakfast.
Gender: Boy!
Labor Signs: None.
Symptoms: Fatigue, tired, exhausted...
Belly button in or out: Large gaping hole. Oh, and my 18 month old niece is obsessed with belly buttons and made me show her mine multiple times this weekend...I am pretty sure she was traumatized at the shear width of it!
What I miss: A glass of wine, staying up past 8pm.
What I am looking forward to: My second shower, hitting full term!
Milestones: 30 weeks! Starting to go to doctor appointments every two weeks. Passing the gestational diabetes test!

Easter!

2010-04-01T15:54:00.000-07:00

I LOVE Easter! The Martha in me wants to do these to take to my mom's this weekend. Aren't they just beautiful? However the pregnant woman says..."ugh, these would require so much energy", and the sane person says "I am just not that good"...I might try though!

You can find the how to at prudentbaby.com.

29 Weeks

2010-03-26T11:25:00.001-07:00

How far along? 29 weeks
Total weight gain: I am pretending that the scale is broken. This will work until my doctor appointment on Monday.
Maternity Clothes? Oh Ya. I need some nice short sleeved shirts though, I am starting to get to hot in long sleeve shirts and tank tops don't cut it for work.
Sleep: I am still exhausted starting at about 2pm until I go to bed. This means that I have been going to bed earlier, it was 7pm last night! My sleep has still been good in general though.
Best moment this week: Going to bed at 7 last night and not having to get up until 6:15 this morning. Starting birthing classes.
Movement: He is all over the place and I am pretty sure that he flipped head down this week. All the kicks are around my belly button and I can feel hiccups realllllly low...which is totally weird. Oh, and I can now see just about every kick from the outside, which is fun!
Food Craving: No real major ones this week.
Gender: Boy!
Labor Signs: None.
Symptoms: Fatigue and I am really uncomfortable by the time I get home.
Belly button in or out: Large gaping innie.
What I miss: The summer! I can't wait! I think that I even talked Brian into taking me camping once before we have the baby. Of course, only if it is warm enough and somewhere that is close enough to go to the hospital if we need to. I can't wait! I am so weird!
What I am looking forward to: Easter, my 2nd shower, being 30 weeks.
Milestones: I have my Gestational Diabetes test on Monday during our doctor appointment, does that count? I am trying not to be nervous but I really hope that I pass. I mean, I still have like 8 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies to eat!

Birthing Class

2010-03-25T13:19:00.000-07:00

We started going to Birthing Classes last Sunday. If you don't know this already I would like to do everything possible to have a natural birth. I would even consider doing a home birth but Brian was so uncomfortable with the idea that we didn't really even discuss it. So, I decided that I would like to go as natural as possible in the hospital. I feel like woman have been birthing children for centuries and that it is a natural process that our bodies are programed to do.

Side Note: a.) I understand that things happen that you just cannot control and b.) I might end up being a huge woos and ask for drugs the minute that the contractions hit, being as I don't know what they feel like, obviously.

Being as I would like to attempt to have as natural a birth as possible I decided that it would be good to find a birthing class that supports this and gives techniques and tips to help prepare for and manage the pain and birth. Insert expensive, semi granola-y birthing class. The teacher is awesome and their are two other couples in the classes so it is small which is nice, and all in all it seems like exactly what we were looking for. Even if we always make fun of granola-y people.

During the first class we went over diet, what we wanted from the class and our "birth experience" (hehe that sounds so hokie!) and then we worked on some relaxation technique's. It was nice to see Brian stepping up to the plate and interacting in the class. He is such an "along for the ride" kind of guy that I always love to see him taking initiative and really getting involved in things that we are doing. Makes my heart go pitter-pat...just kidding...kind of!

The homework for the class every week is practicing the relaxation at home. We tried it for the first time last night. The teacher gave us some cds to take home and use. The one we decided on last night was a meditation, relaxation cd with a woman's voice to guide you. It was to much for us, we kept on laughing...let's just say that at the end Brian said "I just couldn't feel mother earth radiating up through my feet." Bleh, gag me now!

Two Hospital Visits in Two Months

2010-03-23T07:54:00.000-07:00

It wasn't me this time! When I woke up on Saturday morning Brian wasn't in bed, which is sort of weird, but we have an on going joke about snoring and the couch, so I figured that I was the one who was snoring this time and he went to the couch. At about eight he came wandering back into the bedroom saying that his lower back had been hurting him and so he went out to the couch since he couldn't get comfortable in bed.

Being the caring wife that I am I asked him if I could rub it and make it feel better. He said that I could try but he wasn't sure if it was going to help. So I rubbed it and made it worse. About ten minutes later he was rolling on the floor saying that we should go into the ER, which for Brian means that something is seriously wrong. I threw in my contacts and we were off. Four hours later, a couple of shots of morphine and a CAT scan and we found out that Brian had a kidney stone.

The doctor sent us home to wait for Brian to pass it. The anticipation of having to go through more pain before the stone passed was the worst part for Brian. He was lucky because he didn't have anymore pain and the stone came out on Sunday morning.

The doctor told Brian that having a kidney stone has been compared to having birth. I said that it was so nice of him to want to know what I will be going through in a couple of months but that it was really unnecessary of him to get a kidney stone. To which he pointed out that at least with giving birth it comes in waves and isn't constant "like his pain was." He was punched (okay not really) and reminded that he was in pain for about an hour and childbirth lasts much longer than that.

P.S. Pat, I told your son multiple times to call you, but he didn't, I can only nag so much! You should call him and yell at him for not calling you!

28 Weeks!

2010-03-19T09:24:00.000-07:00

How far along? 28 weeks
Total weight gain: hmm...good question.
Maternity Clothes? Pretty much. I can still fit into some pre-pregnancy shirts.
Sleep: I have been sooo tired all week. I am pretty sure that the exhaustion has kicked back in. On the plus side that means that I am going to bed between 7 and 8 and getting 9-10 hours of sleep!
Best moment this week: Getting to finally sit at home on the couch with Brian last night. Oh, and opening everything from the shower last weekend. Oh, and getting the material for the bedding an windows in the mail.
Movement: He has been moving A LOT this week. All of it though is down very low, which makes me wonder if he is going to end up being breech. I know though that he has awhile to turn around
Food Craving: Oh my goodness, I really want sour cream and onion chips and cottage cheese right now! I have the chips here at work and I am pretty sure that I am going to have to run out and get some cottage cheese today!
Gender: Boy!
Labor Signs: None.
Symptoms: Fatigue, heart burn, and just being really uncomfortable in general every night.
Belly button in or out: Large gaping innie.
What I miss: Not getting heartburn every time I eat a Girl Scout cookie.
What I am looking forward to: My shower in April. Having this kid!
Milestones: Hitting the third trimester!

Make Room For Baby

2010-03-18T12:42:00.000-07:00

This video comes from the Museum of Science and Industry website. I love how detailed it is on explaining were all of those organs go! The video on the website is even cooler because you can use a slide bar to go through the weeks. Check it out!

2010-03-16T14:18:00.000-07:00

I have never been a huge fan of lettered names over the crib. I love the idea of putting the babies name up on the wall but think that the wooden letter are over done and can be chunky looking. I found this idea off of a blog and absolutely love it!

The letters are from alphabet photography. The whole thing cost $40 with shipping, which I think is a pretty good deal. This will look so great in the cheap glass and clip frames that you can get from Michael's!

27 Weeks 4 Days

2010-03-16T06:24:00.000-07:00

Last week I really thought that I was going to get this posted before we left for Minnesota, but I obviously didn't get around to it. So here is it is. Oh, and we didn't even get a belly picture this weekend because we were to busy having fun with family.

I can't believe that I am in the third trimester. We really only have 10-15 weeks left! That is totally crazy and also make me feel anxious to get everything done. Having the baby shower though and feeling like we got some really good basic stuff helped us feel more prepared! This weekend we are going to try and get the dresser stripped and repainted so that we have a place to put all of that new baby stuff.

How far along? 27 Weeks 4 Day
Total weight gain: More than last time.
Maternity Clothes? Yup, the best is lounge pants.
Sleep: Really good lately, but I have also been so exhausted from all of the running around that we have been doing.
Best moment this week: Seeing family and our baby shower! It was also really fun to get home last night and go through all of the things that we got.
Movement: It is up and down. He was quiet at the end of last week and the last couple of days he has been moving around like crazy.
Food Craving: I haven't really been having any cravings, weird!
Gender: Boy!
Labor Signs: None really.
Symptoms: Peeing a lot, a growing belly, waking up with heart burn in the middle of the night.
Belly button in or out: In, but it looks like a gaping hole if I don't wear a tank top under a tight shirt.
What I miss: Hmm...Nothing really.
What I am looking forward to: Date night. Brian and I decided that we are going to start getting date nights in before the little man comes. I realized that we only have 3 months before he is here and we want to take advantage of our time alone together!
Milestones: Hitting the third trimester!

Born This Way

2010-03-11T13:31:00.000-08:00

This is the first video that I have uploaded so I hope that it works! Brian sent this to me and I thought that it was way to funny/cute to not share!

Pregnancy Bliss!

2010-03-10T11:44:00.000-08:00

What me? I can't believe that I am actually going to say this. Awhile back I never thought that I would be at a point that I could say that I am feeling really good about being pregnant and feeling a bit blissful. I am so excited to meet our little boy and spend the summer getting to know him. Last night as I was driving home I couldn't stop smiling as I was thinking about our baby and him inside of me. Brian is starting to get more and more excited and seeming to be more involved in pregnant/baby stuff, I think that this is really helping my mood and attitude. It only took 25ish weeks but I am finely truly excited to be pregnant and having a baby.

I am starting to have the itch (panic/anxiety) to get everything ready. We really haven't done anything yet but pick up a few small used things here and there, and paint his room. I still have bedding to make/get, dresser to finish, crib to order, and bottles, clothes, diapers and other necessities to buy. We really only have like 12 weeks left! I feel very unprepared materially. There is a part of me though that doesn't care how materially prepared we are when he comes. We will get what we need, and I am just so thankful to be feeling so much more emotionally prepared than I have been.

Photographers and Things

2010-03-10T06:30:00.000-08:00

So...we (well I) are thinking about getting a photographer to do some maternity photos and then maybe some newborn photos as well. You know, like a package deal. Let me tell you how expensive this is. Whew... I emailed one photographer the package "deal," $550. That doesn't include prints which runs ya another couple hundred dollars! I think though that we are actually going to go with the same photographer that did our wedding. She is sweet, friendly and very talented.

Now we have to decided whether to do just maternity and newborn or a whole package of maternity, newborn, 3 mo, 6 mo, 9 mo and 1 year (don't worry, it is still significantly cheaper than $550!) So would it be worth it to spend the money for the full year package? Or should we just spend half the money and get maternity and newborn photos and then think about doing photos at a year?

I other news, we leave for Minnesota tomorrow! I am really excited to see everyone. I know that Brian is as well. I think we will have to keep a tally of how many times in 13 hours we have to stop so that I can pee. I am seriously considering drinking just the minimal amount of water tomorrow, but then again I don't want to get dehydrated and end up having a lot of contractions or even worse, back in L&D! Okay, I don't really have anything else interesting to say!

26 Weeks

2010-03-06T08:29:00.000-08:00

Don't mind the creepy half smile.

How far along? 26 Weeks 1 Day
Total weight gain: I am seriously thinking about just deleting this question.
Maternity Clothes? Yes please
Sleep: Good enough.
Best moment this week:
Movement: I have a dance party in my ute every afternoon.
Food Craving: Sushi, chocolate chip cookies.
Gender: Boy!
Labor Signs: Nothing but Braxton Hicks...if those count.
Symptoms: Fatigue, A lot of pressure in the ute.
Belly button in or out: In, but stretched out.
What I miss: Being able to bend over without groaning like an old man.
What I am looking forward to: Going to Minnesota! Finishing, well starting the dresser for the baby's room.
Milestones: Less than 100 days left!

Oh My...

2010-03-05T07:13:00.001-08:00

Anyone who knows me well knows that I loooooove gummy candy. Swedish fish, gummy worms, peach rings, strawberry gummies, green frogs, and most of all gummy bears. Unfortunately anything gummy gives me major heartburn these days (I think that it is all the sugar, maybe.) I still eat it because it sounds so good, but it never ends well.

Today as I was doing my normal morning checking the blogs that I follow routine I stumbled across this on Spearmintbaby.com, and knew that I had found my soul mate.

This is from Perpetualkid.com and they say:

ZOMG! We now have the World’s Largest Gummy Bear! This is the Godzilla, the next world wonder, the champion of all candies!

Topping the scales at 5 pounds, this mammoth mass of sugar comes in a variety of flavors and is the equivalent of 1,400 regular sized gummy bears! It's BIGGER than a FOOTBALL!

With its monstrous size and at a mere 12,600 calories per gummy bear, it’s definitely not a bite-sized snack. Don't fret- it comes in a plastic storage bag so you can take a bite or two and cover it back up for future snacking.

Hand-made in the USA. Measures 5.5 inches wide x 3.5 inches deep x 9” tall.

You've just got to see & taste it to believe it!!

This is totally awesome and completely ridiculous. If you want to waste your time and find some amazingly fabulous gag gifts head on over to Perpetualkid.com