Tuesday, May 27, 2008

May 25th was Brynnie's Birthday!!


On Sunday, my adorable little niece, Brynn Freed, turned 2 and I, like the terrible auntie that I am, forgot to post her a Happy Birthday message! Brynn is the most darling little sweet pea in the world, so I know she'll forgive me. Her parents, on the other hand... (sorry guys!)

We really do love Brynn so much! She has been a joy in our family since the day of her birth and we just love having her around. Brynn was the happiest, smiliest baby (as Ann-Michelle's babies tend to be) and her sweetness is still apparent to everyone she meets. She is a dainty little girl and we adore her bright blue eyes and sparkly smile.

Happy Birthday, Brynnie! We hope it was a great one!!

O Canada!


This is just my way of stickin' it to the Man: Chris and I just spent a nice little chunk of our rebate check booking hotels for our trip to Canada in August. We're heading up to the Pacific NW with our great friends, Ryan and Nicki, who were married just a week after us, to celebrate our ten year anniversaries. What better way to stimulate the US economy than by vacationing in Canada? Hee!

Monday, May 26, 2008

So, what's it gonna be?

Hands down, my very favorite day of pregnancy (not counting the BIRTH day, of course) is the Ultrasound day. I love getting that halfway preview of the little tyke and getting to see more of its insides than you do when you actually have the baby. The ultrasound makes the pregnancy seem real and, for that moment anyway, worth all of the fuss. And of course, there is the big reveal: what is the baby's gender?

I totally support those of you who choose not to find out for whatever reason, but I am not that girl. I like to start referring to the lump as "he" or "she" instead of "it", and with our previous two, we've pretty much named the kid the second we learned the gender. Although we do have names in mind, I'm going to try to keep that a surprise until the baby is born. And of course, one of the best parts about knowing the gender is the shopping! I've already got a list going.

Here's what I've got so far...

For the Bumbo, will it be

Will my diaper bag (or backpack, which actually seems more "me") be
Mod Floral Blue
or
Mod Floral Pink?

And for the baby carrier, is it


Although nothing any of us does now is going to change the outcome, I've set up a poll at left for you to vote your guess. I'm excited to see what you think. By the way, Chris was watching AVP on TV the other night (no, that's not my kind of movie), so I added in a couple of extra choices. Hee hee.

Our ultrasound is scheduled for a week from today, so I'll update the blog with a new look and share what we know then.

Home Work

On Saturday, we decided to do a little "sprucing" on the exterior of our house. We've been talking about adding some shutters and painting the door for a while, and we are absolutely thrilled with the way the small changes make such a difference. Check it out...

BEFORE: The home of Mr. and Mrs. Blandy McBlanderson...

And AFTER: Cute as a charming little button!

I am in LOVE with the red door. I know that color is a little cliched these days, but it just goes so well with the house that I couldn't care less. Adorable, isn't it? The best part about these little changes: we spent less than $50!

Also on the home front, we found a little jungle explorer cleverly posted between the chocolate milk and the celery in the fridge the other night. We're still not sure who placed him there, but it did give Chris a good laugh when he was grabbing a late night snack!

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Hey batta batta batta...

On Monday evening, the boys and I went to the park to cheer Chris on in his first softball game with the HJ team. I find this team of newspaper misfits to be kind of amusing-- I especially love that the HJ couldn't fit the bill for matching shirts (or maybe no one organized it, who knows?), so some of them, including Chris, actually drew their own numbers on the backs of their shirts. Hilarious. We didn't get to stay for the whole game, but we had a great time watching the first few innings. Chris had a great catch for an out in the far outfield, and a good base hit that we got to see.


The best part of this picture isn't Chris's run-- it's the adorable little hand in the bottom left, cheering his Dad on!


Since I'm creeping up on the halfway point of "Invasion of the Bodysnatchers", I thought I'd give you a quick update on me and my pregnant state. I'm a pretty average pregnant person-- I have been extremely fortunate with my previous pregnancies in that I didn't gain an enormous amount of weight or swell excessively. I'm counting on that trend to continue with this one, and so far, I'm staying consistent. On the down side, I'm also not one of those little things that only gains the cute, round basketball tummy, then leaves the hospital wearing size 6 jeans.

While I haven't noticed a great amount of gain poundage wise, I am constantly finding new frustration in the fact that it's not just my belly that is starting to look pregnant. My days of wearing my normal clothes with small adjustments (like a rubber band around the buttons) are over, so on Sunday evening, I went through my wardrobe and sorted the clothes based on clothes I can wear now, clothes I will have to start wearing very soon, and clothes that I should just stop looking at unless I want to feel depressed. Between the clothes donated from previously pregnant family members and the stuff I bought with Gordon, I have a decent selection for the next 20-ish weeks. I'm sure I'll supplement just a little bit, but it was relieving to see that I'm pretty much covered. By the time this thing is over, I can guarantee that I'll hate each item in that closet with a passion. :)

Aside from the baby belly and maternity clothes, my other symptoms include heartburn (thanks for the Zantac, doc), mild back aches, and my continued aversion to red meat (although I did have a McDonald's cheeseburger the other day, but I don't think that counts). I've also been very emotional and high-strung, which seems more extreme to me than in my past pregnancies, but may be totally normal. I'm planning to discuss with my doctor at my next appointment. Anyway, if you catch me bawling hysterically at a really good commercial or cursing those damned carpool parents with increased fervor, you'll know why.

I took almost no pictures of my pregnant-with-Gordon self, and only a few when I was expecting Thomas, mostly due to the fact that I didn't have a digital camera and just didn't think about picture-taking as much as I do now. I want to try to document this one a little better, if nothing more than to make myself feel better when I'm not pregnant! Here I am today...


Lately I've been increasingly lazy with my hair. I'd like to cut it, but I'm waiting until the end of the year so that it's long enough to donate (who wouldn't want a red-haired wig?), but I don't look like Sinead O'Connor afterward. Hence, probably 5 days a week, I've opted for the messy bun-- just my hair wound around a pony tail holder. I knew you'd want to see what that looks like.


Whew-- I'm feeling wordy tonight! One more thing-- I watched the American Idol finale and I just have to put in my two cents: while I definitely think that David Archuleta is vocally superior to David Cook, from a marketing standpoint, I don't think he is really the most marketable candidate. His voice and style are a little too syrupy for me, and I really can't picture having a David Archuleta album in my iTunes. David Cook, on the other hand, seems much more current and unique, and I actually plan on buying his CD.

Okay, enough from me. Cheers!