B Family Update

Well it is snowing a lot and is not expected to stop until 4 am or so...I am thinking I will be working from home tomorrow.  I have plenty of things I could be doing right now, like organizing the nursery, gathering our Good Will piles, or homework (of course) - but here I am writing a blog.  Terrible. So, time for a...

~~~ B Family Update~~~

"The love of a family is life's greatest blessings" - Unknown

Mommy B update: I am taking the class Sociology of Developing Countries. So far this class has been very manageable and enjoyable.  There is a lot of reading involved, which can prove to be difficult with what I call "pregnancy brain".  I have been reading aloud to Will so that I focus easier.  Will cracks me up.  After I have read a bit he turns to me and ask, "what are we learning about again?".  He of course is playing Wii or something as I am doing this, which is fine because reading aloud just helps me to stay focused.  The discussions can become very interesting in the class.  I love the teacher!  He has lived all over the world, retired military, has been dean of a prestigious college, etc, etc, etc.  Crazy life.  I am also trying to reread one of my many mythology books.  This one is one of my favorites.  It is a world mythology book but I am just focusing on Roman and Greek mythology for my upcoming trip.  Cannot believe I am getting so close to going to Europe for the first time!  This book is very cool it is like a text book it gives you background on mythology in general (the purpose, background, etc) and then it gives you summaries of the different myths in a story-like form.  So, it has the creation myth all the way to The Odyssey, which as you know is one of my favorites. I am supposed to be reading a book for book club also...haha. So many books!  I love to read but lately it makes me very sleepy.

Daddy Update: Will signed up for a class today to get his PMP (Project Management Professional) certificate.  I am so proud of him for doing this.  It is a great thing to have.  He will have a couple of classes to take then he has to take a big test.  He is still playing in his band.  They usually are able to rehearse once a week.  He is always helpful around the house but he has even picked it up a notch with me be preggers and not always feeling up to doing something.  He has been cleaning, cooking, doing laundry.  My Super Man! He definitely takes care of me and Colin and now little girl as well.

Master Colin Update:  He is becoming such a big boy.  He weighs about 32 lbs now.  He still eats like crazy.  His favorite food right now is pancakes (which includes pancakes, waffles and french toast).  He LOVES them! He told me that my waffles the other day were the best breakfast he EVER had!  Such a sweet thing to hear.  On a very hungry morning he can eat 3 normal size waffles.  He ask for more but I usually cut him off afraid he will get a tummy ache.  Then I offer him a banana a little later.  We usually let him watch a show while we are making dinner. He is starting to move away from his younger ones and likes Battle Force Five (a car thing). He recently had his cousins over and watched Despicable Me.  He loved it.  I love it when he says despicable.Very cute!  The vocabulary Colin picks up just amazes me.  I keep telling myself I should write it down...next time I will have a list.  He also has some cute phrases...Off the top of my head I love his phrase "same as".  He uses that if you have something matching like, if he and I are both wearing gloves he will say we have the same as.  Just love my little guy!  Colin's book collection is out of hand, but I love that.  I am so glad he has such a fondness for books.  I hope it stays.  Our little guy also loves to sing.  He is pretty good at remember lyrics too.  We usually sing the Winnie-the-Pooh theme song during story time.  He also loves Yellow Submarine by the Beatles.  We are still working on potty training.  He does not have an issue going, he knows what to do it is more just getting him to want to stick with it.  We are motivating him with stickers.

Mom - I got the dress!  Thank you I love it.  It will be making the trip with me to Europe.  I think it will be great!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!



I had my first person ask me at work if I was expecting a little baby!  I have been wearing dresses the last few days which seem to make me look more pregnant.  Plus, my belly has been getting a lot more noticeable this week.  YAY!  I am still able to wear most of my pants but they just sit right below my belly and that can be uncomfortable.  Dresses are lovely...even if it is snowing!

Well I was so sleepy last night I had to wait until this morning to post this.  I was afraid of typos!  I am home with Colin today.  We are having a lazy day.  I think I have been pushing myself too much and need to take it easy for a bit.

Our Baby Girl: Week 24

Changes this week....umm...I think I am losing my temporary like (or maybe "need" is a better word) of meat.  I am getting back to my normal self where looking at it and the idea of it makes me feel sick. I am OK with this as long as little girl is getting enough protein.  It could be a fluke since I have been sick off and on the past few weeks.  Only time will tell!

I was starting to gain weight but it went away again since my appetite went bye-bye the last week or two.  I know that it will come on at the end but I want my belly to be a little bigger.  I can hear some ladies saying, "be careful what you wish for"! As you can hopefully see in the picture though my belly is slowly getting bigger.

 So some stats:

• I am 24 weeks pregnant.
• 110 days to go until my due date of May 14th.
• I am 170 days pregnant.
• Technically, about 5.6 months pregnant but it is my 6th month of pregnancy.

I am still in my 2nd trimester until Februrary 19th, which is coming soon!  Crazy!  When I get back from my final trip before baby's arrival I will be close to starting my 3rd trimester!  This pregnancy has gone by so quickly.  A lot quicker than with Colin's.  Probably since I skipped the morning sickness part!

The nursery and Colin's room will hopefully be painted soon.  We picked up some sample paint and Colin is soooo stoked!  He keeps asking when we will paint. He thinks that he gets to help. Such a funny little guy.

I have probably mentioned several times but I really have a sweet husband!  When we found out we were pregnant he decided he wanted to give up his beloved man room!  At first I told him not to worry about it, but he really wanted to.  So, we took out his drumset and all of his "man" things and started moving in all of the toys (mostly all Colin's now).  It is set up really cute.  Colin will have to learn to share everything when baby girl gets here, which will be such a joyful experience I am sure. 

Here are some baby bump pictures and some of Colin's playroom.



Belly is kind of hard to see this view while wearing black



24 Weeks



Colin's train corner.





His "studious" section





Colin all tuckered out after a day learning and playing hard



The Cuteness that is Colin

I have to share two quick stories. This morning Will and I were cleaning upstairs and Colin wanted to come up and join us.  He wanted to bring up a certain toy that had a few parts to it as well.  This is the conversation.

Colin:  "I am coming upstairs too"
Will: "OK, we are in mommy and daddy's room"
Colin: "Can I bring my game?"
Will: "Yes, you can bring it"
Colin:  "Can you help me?"
Will: "Colin, you can do it"
Colin:  "I can't!  I can't daddy...I have a baby in my belly"

We started laughing so hard!  I have been having to tell Colin that when he ask me to carry him upstairs for bed time.  We usually are on the lowest level so that is like 3 sets of stairs and I do not trust my balance lately.  Plus, he is 30 lbs!  At least I now know that he understands what I am saying!

Also, today is a milestone!  Our little boy went pee pee in the potty!  This morning we stayed on our middle level that has the hardwood floors and let Colin pick out a pair of underwear to wear.  So for a couple of hours he wore those while we ate breakfast and hung out.  He was pretty nervous at first and was a little whiny but we kept telling him that he just needed to tell us if he needed to go pee pee.  So, after he ate 3 small waffles he said, "OK, I sit on the potty now".  He pulled is underwear down and we had his potty in the living room and he sat.  He still seemed a little nervous so I asked if he wanted to read his Once Upon a Potty book and he got really excited.  After a few minutes we heard him going!  We acted overly excited and he was super happy! 

We have been very relaxed on the potty training with him.  When he turned 2, I started traveling and did not want to have two big major changes come at him at once.  So for Will's and Colin's sanity we waited.  He asked for a potty on his own, which we bought but he just liked to look at it.  Then he asked for underwear a few months later.  So we bought them but he never asked to wear them. Then a couple of weeks ago, during bath time he said he needed to go potty.  He sat on the potty but was crying.  He started telling us about the potty book. He has also been telling us right when he goes poo poo that he needs his diaper changed. Now that he is 3 and seems like he is definitely ready for it we decided to step it up a bit.  So far so good!  It will be nice with another one coming to only have to worry about one set of diapers. 

Our Baby Girl: Week 23

This pregnancy is going by so fast!  I still feel great, besides the fact that when I bend down I am starting to notice that it is not overly comfortable.  I think I may grunt when I do it sometimes because Colin started bending down one day and does this funny grunt.  He was doing it when he was putting his toys away before story time.  Cracked us up!  Then I realized he was probably mimicking me.  Being mocked by a 3 year old who does not even understand the concept!  I have also noticed that I am getting a little more forgetful.  I have to take detailed notes at work so I remember everything I need to do.  I am glad I have worked with these people for a while so they know I am not always like this.  At work the other day I wrote my initials on my food, put the pen in the fridge and my food in the drawer.  I also walked out of my office two times in a row and forgot where I was going to go.  The second time I went into a friend's office to "chat" just so I did not look like an idiot!  I am losing it!

Baby Girl's bedding came in the mail the other day!  It is so cute.  Her room was originally going to be pink and yellow (with yellow walls) but now that I have seen the bedding I am going to use yellow and green (still yellow walls).  It will be more me and it will be so cute!  There will be some pink thrown around in the mix I am sure but my favorite color is green and the two together are so cute.  Still girlie though!  The bedding is Winnie the Pooh and I want to mix in bumble bees (the bedding has them on it as well).  I think I want the curtains to have bumble bees and the mobile.  I want to use Winnie-the-Pooh characters but not an overwhelming amount. 

I am in love with the store Pumpkin Patch.  The girl styles are more me than some other stores I have been to.  I made Will and Colin go there with me today. 

Something I did differently this pregnancy was join a pregnancy site.  A couple of friends of mine had heard of it and my doctor even knew about it.  So, a few of my friends and I joined together.  I love it!  I only have one or two friends with kids near me and none that are currently pregnant so it is nice to meet and chat with ladies going through the same stuff.  It is broken up by weeks in the pregnancy forum and months in the baby forum.  So you get to follow the same ladies through the whole process!  I am so glad I joined. 

Well, the rest is the same old as each week.  I eat a lot but still try to keep my normal 6 small meals a day routine.  I have increased the amount of food each meal compared to before I was pregnant but it works out well.  I may have also added a meal (snack) in there!  I have still not gained to much from my pre-pregnancy weight.  I weighed the other morning and it was 3 lbs so I am guessing maybe 4 now.  I did lose 10 lbs the first few months so if you count that then I have gained 14 which sounds good!



23 weeks - work clothes




23 weeks - lazy weekend clothes




Baby bedding - not our actual stuff (from website)

 Well back to cleaning, organizing, baby projects and homework!  Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Looking Back: 3-6 Months

I have been very slow at finishing my little "Looking Back" series, but my goal is to have the last three done before little girl's arrival.  I wish I had started this blog when I was pregnant with Colin then I would not being playing catch up. 

I will admit that a lot of this time is a blur.  So, I am going to sum up things that I wrote down in his baby book. 

Eating habits:  the first 3 months Colin was having breast milk and formula.  He ate a lot!  After 3 months he went to just formula.  He did have some stomach issues so he was on soy formula.  He lost a lot of weight after being born so we were told to wake him up every 3 hours to make sure he was gaining the weight.  At 4 months we added rice cereal and oatmeal to his formula.  He loved it and it helped him stay fuller longer.  At 5 months we started introducing foods.  Veggies first.  His first was carrots, then peas, and then squash - he loved the squash!  At 6 months, we started with fruits.  His favorites were bananas and peaches.  He is still a fan of bananas! At one point he would have two a day (when he was older).

Sleepy Time:  To get him to bed we would rock him and sing to him.  He loved Amazing Grace and the Beatles.  What can I say those were the songs I knew the best off the top of my head.  I still sing Amazing Grace to him.  At first he would only sleep when held, which can be very tiring for the person doing the holding.  Reading is very important to Will and I so we started reading to him right away. Actually, Will would read to me while I was pregnant (sorry for embarrassing you honey!) every night until I fell asleep.  Thankfully for him I was so tired it did not last long.  I like to think that it helped Colin get familiar with his voice.  Colin really seemed to enjoy story time. We would read some Winnie-the-Pooh books, Green Eggs and Ham, Hop on Pop and Good Night Moon. 

Size:  Colin was born 19 1/2 inches and 7lbs 9 oz.  Throughout his first year he always stayed in the 25th percentile for weight and his head was always in the 75th percentile. Baby had a big head!  At two weeks he was not quite at his birth weight but getting there.  At 3 months he weighed 13.8  and at 6 months he was at 18 lbs. 

Misc:  Colin loved tummy time. The doctors were very impressed at his abilities at his first few appointments; like holding his head, rolling over, and his strength in general.  At 5 months, Colin had his first introduction to D.C.  We went during the Cherry Blossom Festival (beautiful).  During this time he also started making a lot of baby noises and trying to say "ma ma".  He also loved bath time!  He would play with his little firefighter rubber duckie. 

Here are some of my favorite pictures from that time:

Bath time!



Attending our nephew Brady's baptismal.




Baby Colin - one of our nicknames that stuck around until my mom said he was too big...so sad :(



A little blurry but such a happy baby



Beautiful eyes - now they are green like mommy's




Such a little guy




Cherry Blossom Festival in DC





Sleeping baby



Daddy and son



Mommy and her favorite little guy




So cool!



With his big head hats were hard to find!



Not liking the bumbo seat




Supporting mommy's home state

The two pictures with the pacifiers are probably the only two that I have.  Colin was not a fan.  He rarely used one.  Not so cool then, but great now!  For being a Virginia boy he has so many Ducks and Beaver gear (Oregon State and University of Oregon).  

Hip Hip Hooray!!!

This weekend we went to Grandma Liz's house for a postponed Christmas celebration with Jamie and Ann and our nephews, Ryan and Brady - Colin was super excited!  He always enjoys hanging out with his cousins.  We were also celebrating Liz's birthday, which happens to be today...so  HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIZ!!!  I am so blessed with a wonderful mother-in-law. 

Liz - I hope you have a wonderful day!  You deserve it!

Ladies' Book Club

A friend of mine has been inviting me to a book club the past several months but the meeting always seems to be either on a day I leave for a trip or the day I get back.  This month, I did not have a trip so I finally am going to go!  Even though I could not go to the meetings, most of the time I still read the books.  I know this is not about my children but since a lot of people who read this are book lovers (former Barnes & Noble workers), I thought I would share some good books that I have read recently.

The Help  - By Kathryn Stockett.  This is SUCH a good book!  I took it on a trip and had it almost completely read by the end to if and that was to Puerto Rico!  I would stay up late after site-seeing.  It takes place in the deep South in the early 60's.  It follows three ladies, two of which are African-American and working as maids.  They join forces with a young white lady to get out to the public (anonymously) what it is like for them working as maids for white ladies in the South.  This book is already being made into a movie.

The Bell Jar - By Sylvia Plath.  This is our book for the book club this month and my second time reading it.  I am finding that I am getting more out of it the second time around.  Maybe being 4 years older helps!  I still love it though.  Plath was a genius.  The book is told my a girl who is going to college in the 1950's and follows her through her experience with mental illness.

Helen of Troy  - by Margaret George.  I only read a few chapters of this book but really like it so far.  I put it aside to reread The Bell Jar.  This book follows Helen of Troy's life starting as a little girl in Sparta.  I am excited to start it up again.

The Pact - by Jodi Picoult.  As usual I try to fit in a Jodi Picoult book when I can.  She is one of my favorite contemporary fiction authors.  This book is about a couple that supposedly made a suicide pact but the boy did not complete his end.  So, he is being investigated for her murder.  Very sad but such a good book.  With as many of hers that I have read I cannot believe I still have several to read.  I own three that I need to read and she has a couple that I do not own yet.  I can also recommend from her: The Tenth Circle, Salem Falls, Nineteen Minutes, Keeping Faith, and My Sister's Keeper.  She also wrote a couple of Wonder Woman comics. 

The Lovely Bones - by Alice Sebold.  This book is about a girl who was murdered in the 70's.  She is actually telling the story while she is dead, caught in the in-between.  Very interesting, good book.  The movie was good, but I liked the book better.  There was also some parts I found frustrating but I still really enjoyed reading it. 

Now Sociology text books...

Our Baby Girl: Week 22

This week has been tiring.  Colin was sick and kept me up most of the night for two days.  It seems that when this happens, little girl must realize I am up and decides to let me know that it is time for food.  So, then I feel all this little movement, not like a kick but like a pulse in my stomach.  I am not a fan of feeling my pulse exaggerated.  That is why I am not a fan of blood pressure cuffs.  I loathe them!  I am getting irritated just thinking about it.  You can probably sense my mood as I type this.  I am irritable.  I am hungry, tired (because I have had probably less than 8 hours of sleep total the last two nights), and my brain is past the point of being functional for the night, so no homework is going to get done tonight.  Man I am sounding like a B word.  Oh well, comes with the territory!

On a positive note, my mom sent some dresses for our little girl (thank you) and I surprised myself with how much I am liking the girlie clothes.  There are still certain styles that irritate me but I think it is for older girls.  For baby clothes it does not matter - all of them are cute!  Here are two of my faves my mom sent.  The first one surprised me that I liked it but I really do.

Here are some new belly pics.  I went the lazy way and just took self portraits with my phone for the most part.  I am so proud of us we are doing a lot better this time around with taking pictures of me while pregnant.  We started taking tons of pictures once Colin was born but I did not care too much for pictures while pregnant with him. 



22 Weeks

I booked my flights today for Italy and Greece...YAY!!!  I am going to be so sore from the long flights and one or two days I will have like 4 flights - crazy!  It will be worth it though!  I am really excited that the first time I go to Greece, I will be pregnant with my little girl.  That may not make sense since she will not really experience it but it means a lot to me.  Like somehow I still get to share it with her.  Our first mommy and daughter experience.

Here is a recent picture of the three of us (well 4)!

I started this last night, so today I am in better spirits.

Our Baby Girl: Week 21

I cannot believe I am 21 weeks already!  It has gone by in a "blink of an eye" as some would say.  I am happy to say that my belly is definitely showing more.  I will probably start to post baby bump pictures every week now so that my family and friends back home are able to see my belly's progress!  At times I feel I post too often on here but the main point is to keep my parents/family in the "know" that live in Oregon and plus I really enjoy writing so, whatever it is my hobby.  I have been slacking on scrap booking so this is a great way to have a journal of our family's years.  I cannot believe I have been doing it for three years now.  Crazy. 

Well as usual, I am hungry ALL the freakin' time!  Baby girl does not give me a rest from needing food. I am lucky that I am only a pound or two over my pre-pregnancy weight.  I feel like I should be a lot more.  Not that I am complaining.  I am starting to get some frequent spurts of energy but then I feel drained afterwards.  I was explaining to Will the other day that no matter how good or long I sleep I usually feel like I have been up for a day or two.  The past few days it does seem to be getting a little better though.  I am making myself start exercising again.  I got a little lazy with it during the holidays.  Back to the stair stepper.  I may also start up the Wii Fit again so that I can work on my core.  I love the ski jumping!  I am also trying to find my Pilates for pregnancy DVD but seemed to have misplaced it. 

I really have not had any "weird" cravings, but I think that Will is getting a little grossed out by my need of pickles.  I have probably two a day.  I also weirded him out by having a snack of pastrami or salami (not sure which - they look the same to me) and cheese.  Definitely not my normal snack food.  Another thing I am happy for is my need for milk.  I can tell my body wants it so I have been drinking it more lately.  Usually it upsets my stomach but when I am pregnant I have more of a tolerance (lactose intolerant) and deal with any repercussions to satisfy the need.  I am getting closer to liking the taste of it.  Not yet there but it taste somewhat good.

Baby Girl has been kicking and moving more, which makes me happy.  Being used to the extremely active Colin I was getting a little worried that she was not moving much.  She is definitely a lot calmer in the belly than her older brother was.  Colin has finally noticed the belly and seems to be understanding a little more that there is a baby in there.  He sang to her the other day.  So cute!

We are going to be starting on the two rooms here soon...so pictures will be coming.  I have colors picked out for both.  I am pretty sure at least.  I am getting so excited.



21 Weeks

Since the sweater does not give a good idea of the belly bump I took a picture with a bit of a tighter shirt, which I will probably not be wearing again until after the baby comes!

Just some recent pictures of Colin, my little sweetheart!

Colin making mommy coffee!




Colin thinking he is playing Wii MarioKart but Grandma Liz and Daddy were actually playing.



2010: At a Glance

It is hard to believe that 2010 is drawing to an end.  Looking back it has truly been a spectacular year. Definitely one for the memory books!  I thought for this blog instead of focusing on goals for the next year (we have plenty we already know we need to do, no need coming up with more), I would end the year by sharing pictures of some our memorable moments.

We started the year with a BIG snow storm. Colin thoroughly enjoyed the snow!

I started traveling for work.  My first trip was to sunny California during that above mentioned snow storm.  I also went to Chicago, the Middle East, Florida (3 visits), Puerto Rico (twice), and New York.  I am super excited for next years trips.  I start the year with Italy and Greece!!



Puerto Rico





We bought our first home!  We have also started (finished some) several projects to make it fit us.

We enjoyed teaching Colin about all of the holidays: starting with our little Easter Bunny (poor kid), Colin's first Trick-or-Treating experience, having out-of-towners share in our first Thanksgiving in our new home, and of course spending Christmas with loved ones!  Plus, some others in between.







Will and I celebrated three wonderful years of marriage.  Love you honey!  This year we spent the day at beautiful Mount Vernon.

Throughout the year we took advantage of the many neat things to do in our area with kids, especially during the fall season.  My favorite!

Our pumpkin from our favorite pumpkin patch - a family tradition



I took up a new hobby of photography and am truly loving it!  This new found hobby led to exploring the beautiful DC area that has so much to offer and it great for photographers. 

Enjoying the local sports teams; whether it is staying loyal to the Skins through a rough patch or bundling up to cheer on the Capitals - we're game! 

Will got more involved with his band.  Now he plays drums.  Colin and I were able to enjoy most of their gigs this year.

We took a family vacation to a beach house in North Carolina.  Colin LOVES the beach!

We spent a wonderful summer finding "big boy" parks, hiking, and visiting our favorite water feature.

Since all our birthdays are in November and September, those two months we ate a lot of cake it seemed.  Some more than others!  I inched my way closer to 30 and Colin celebrated his 3rd birthday with special guests!

We made the decision to expand our family and are now expecting our little girl in May 2011!

Most of all we have enjoyed being a family.  Will and I cherish our time with Colin and the rest of our family.  We hope for many more occasions to do so this coming year.  We are excited for the new adventures we will get to experience with Colin and his little sister...first up taking a little more serious approach to potty training and preparing our home for our baby girl.  I hope that 2011 is as exciting and fulfilling as 2010. 

To our friends and family:  We hope that you are all blessed with many wonderful adventures and are surrounded by love and happiness throughout the new year!  I will be lifting my glass of apple juice  to all of you when our cuckoo clock sounds to welcome 2011! 

Well...if I manage to stay awake that late!  We love you all!