It has begun...

Just had to share this - This morning I found what is sure to become a daily event: The sharing of the "babies" - babies being Bruce's generic term for all stuffed-animal type toys. Today it was a nice, soft baby rattle out on the foyer floor. When I picked it up and brought it back to the nursery, I found right next to the baby's basket of goodies on the floor, one of Bruce's stuffed ducks. So I suppose it's nice he traded his duck for the monkey rattle, instead of just taking it. James' theory is that Bruce was just getting his trade in before the dealine: duck for monkey plus a "baby" to be named later. I suppose the reality is dog drool will be a big part of Zy's life, just as it is ours!

Nursery and maternity pictures are coming soon. We're putting the finishing touches on the nursery this weekend, still need some art and stuff for the walls, but we did get the glider and ottoman this week (thanks Pat and Jim and Jenn and Nikki!). And as soon as I get the proofs back from the photog, I'll post a few pictures. Yes you're getting the nice staged ones. What? You didn't actually expect fatty-around-the-house candids did you?? :)

Prepared Childbirth

So we took The Class and even watched The Movie! The movie wasn't that bad, she cut to the heavy labor and 2 quick money shots, and it was over. While it was gratefully brief, what is up with the people in those?? I'm no Miss America, but wow are those some unattractive people who allow the filming of their goods! Poor James was expecting Angelina delivering the twins, alas it was NOT quite like that. We spent a full Saturday at Baylor Hospital taking Prepared Childbirth with a licensed doula (sort of a midwife) named Melissa Espey. She was terrific and we actually may hire her to help us through labor and delivery, since in James' words, he's really more of a waterboy than a coach! Personally I think he could do it just fine, but given she's a mom of 5 herself besides being a doula, I think we'd both be grateful for her support and expertise. We also got a tour of their amazing facilities. Baylor did a huge renovation in December and some of the recovery rooms haven't even been used yet. Needless to say I'm pretty thrilled with my own recovery room with flat screen and huge potty! Of course, given that I was there with the class wisenheimer when Melissa wanted a "volunteer" to demonstrate the nifty craftmatic-type labor bed, James got called. Thankfully I got it all on video! It was actually very cool, because you can lay, sit, face forward or back - whatever makes you comfortable. Soooo, while I don't exactly look forward to labor, at least the labor & delivery and recovery areas of the hospital where we'll be are pretty awesome. Enjoy James' highlight reel!


This last one is Bruce - he howls at when the phone rings and I finally caught a moment on film. Such a cutie. (turn it up, the howling is at the beginning, even if you can't really see him.)

Sonogram

So this is the video of the whole sono, we thought it was pretty cool and fun to share! The stills follow in the next post. The sono gets better after a few moments, the beginning is measurements and stuff. I had a doctor's appt last Wednesday (the 4th?) and I'd been a little squirrelly over the weekend, since I wasn't feeling the usual acrobatics. Sunday we went to a movie - "Taken" with Liam Neeson, I loved it, right up my alley - and I barely felt him all day. He did finally kick a little and picked it up a little early in the week. But compared to the activity over the last couple of months, I was a little nervous. So at the appointment, I had this sono plus what they call a non-stress test. They strapped a monitor around my large belly and measured his movements for about 20 minutes. Needless to say, everything was just fine, he moved 18 times in those 20 minutes (10 per hour is the minimum) and as you can see, the sono showed him doing his thing. So all's well!

New Pictures!!

So here are the stills from the sono. Doc says he's measuring 4.2 pounds already, which is about a week bigger than he actually is. Hello Big Boy! Yeah I'm so looking foward to labor.




So he's definitely a boy!


Um is that a snail on his tummy?! (Good one Kate!)


Look at the camera!


Snoozing baby

Supper Club

So we hosted Supper Club in January, since I do believe that will be our last hosting duties for a while - frankly all that cleaning just takes it out of me! Ilene planned to take LOTS of photos since she finally stepped into the digital age and got a new camera. Well she did bring it, however she hadn't charged it - way to go pal : ) So I used my super cool camera because Ilene's right, why don't we have pictures of Supper Club anyway! So here is our fun evening 2 weekends ago. And yes, I know there are none of me, but sorry, they just weren't that flattering and seeing as I write this thing, I also have all photo veto power. And I don't want to hear it - you'd do the same thing!!


Tyler enjoying Bruce's dogbed.

Tyler playing with Bruce's ball. He is interested

in Tyler and hardly barked this time - so that was a big plus.

Ty of course could care less and kept on trying to make friends.

"Is that a kid in my bed!?"

Little man, big man!

"Dude, great party, I'm crashing"

HYPESTORM 2009!!!!

So we had our first Hypestorm of the year, as James lovingly calls them. That's basically when we get some freezing rain and a nice sheet of ice on all the roads and sidewalks. And while yes, it can be quite dangerous - it is ice after all, not just snow to be plowed - it is certainly no cause to rush to the store and buy bottled water and batteries. Seeing as the temp should get to about 40 today, everything will be melted by mid afternoon. But that doesn't stop ALL the schools from closing, and ALL of downtown from shutting down. Seriously, it is a ghost town here, I can see 5-10 cars on all the street surface parking lots down there. And of course it's a great excuse to skip work if you live any sort of distance away - which we don't. So of course James and I are both working today. We did see 3 fender benders skidding around on our way to the office this morning, but I attribute that to lousy drivers more than anything. Really? Riding your brakes down a slope in the road? Good idea? Not so much.

And of course, Bruce loves this weather. James like to say that's because "he's from Labrador and loves the cold!" Of course I have to remind him, while Bruce does wear a fur coat, he is in fact from Florida and lives in hot-most-of-the-year Texas. But it's in his name, so he's from Labrador! This morning I wanted him to go potty before we left so I didn't spend the day wondering if he used his dog door then wiped out and was laying in the driveway with a broken leg (see what a good mom I'll be??). So I shoo him outside and it was like a cartoon. He doesn't carefully cross the tile patio, no he hauls butt across it with all four limbs flying under him like a crazy man. Across the driveway and into the grass he goes, does his business, and races right back across the ice in the same way, skidding inside the back door. He may be getting grey beard, but he's still a puppy at heart.

In baby news, well there isn't much. Still moving right along, I'll be 30 weeks on Friday and seeing the doc every 2 weeks now. I feel like I'm bigger by the day and this boy is going to be an acrobat I think, but we are both healthy. He likes to crush my lungs a lot and I have a nice backache every night, but that's about the worst I can say. The nursery still isn't done - OK it isn't really started, but I think about it a lot, that has to count for something. We really, really plan to make progress on it this weekend. All I really need done is getting rid of the furniture in there, clean the carpets and paint. We're ordering furniture online that James will have to put together - that ought to be a treat. (Love you babe!) But we figure no matter how good your intentions are to use that convertible crib for years to come - it's just not gonna happen. So we're going the cheap and easy route instead. We think he'll want the race car bed in a few years anyway.

That's about all the news recently. Thanks for checking in!

I am so handsome. Even with my grey beard!

Since I never even publicized this..

No one will sass me for setting it up with one blog and then adding nothing for a month. What can I say, I forgot. Well, to catch everyone up on the latest happenings....

We had a terrific Thanksgiving with my folks in NC. We hung with (2 of) my brothers and their families, I can't believe how big all the kids are getting! We ate and (James) drank lots and generally enjoyed the annual madhouse the folks so patiently put up with. I am sure it's a pain to host, but it sure is fun to attend!

December was pretty uneventful. In great pregnancy news, all of our scary-disease tests came back so strong we opted - and the doc agreed - for NO amnio for me. Hooray! That was one giant needle I didn't care to see. I also just had the diabetes test which also came back negative. So aside from continued tiredness and backaches, I have had a pretty easy time so far. For those who care, yes my belly is popping out nicely these days! I actually decided I will go ahead with the maternity pictures, since Brenda (our wedding photog) insists and even James thinks it's a good idea. She of course, invited Bruce; so I figured why not commemorate my expanding girth with some photos right! Fun! So stay tuned for a sample of those in a few weeks.

We spent a wonderful Christmas with the Parkers here in Dallas. We attended mass and had a big dinner followed by gift-giving on Christmas eve with the family. Then another big meal and the annual Trivial Pursuit Boys Vs. Girls Challenge on Christmas Day. And since I'm writing this and James isn't, you get to know that the girls SMOKED the boys in both games PLUS the add-on Catchphrase rounds we had. Thanks for the good-luck caramel corn Mom, it worked! I also think it helped that I was completely sober and James was, um, not. A good time was had by all.

We spent a relatively quiet new years eve out to dinner then had dessert and champs with friends. That was dual-celebratory champs too, since Ilene and Chris just got engaged - congrats guys!! (Dad, you remember Ilene, she was my step mom at the engagement party HA!)

We just got home from a weekend in Vegas followed by a quick night in Phoenix for the Fiesta Bowl. Texas pulled out a nail-biter against Ohio State, scoring in the 4th quarter with 16 seconds to play, to win the game. There was much celebrating, even if they didn't cover the spread. That promises to be my last trip for a while, traveling absolutely takes it out of me. I'm glad to be grounded for now, but I'm sure I'll be whining in a month that I never go anywhere.

So now we're settling into the new year, getting ready to celebrate both our birthdays. As usual, the time flies, as we turn another year older and anticipate a great year in 2009. Bruce continues to be the best dog ever and no matter what anyone says I'm sure I'll still find time to scratch his chin even after the baby is here! I am 27 weeks today as I write this, so we're starting to get close. This weekend likely brings the tearing-down of holiday decorations and cleaning of the guest room, so we can get serious about getting the nursery - which we haven't started - done. We still need a crib and furniture, so we'll get on that soon too, as I know you most often have to order it. And of course hopefully a Giants victory on Sunday vs. the hated Eagles.

We hope everyone is well and I promise to post more often and include pictures in the coming weeks, since I have my new laptop at home to do it! Happy New Year!!