Here's a recap of Christmas festivities:
Since we would be out of town, and the brother's have strange work schedules, we decided to have C.T.'s dad, Kathy & Katie over for "Christmas" brunch the Sunday before. C.T. got me a really nice ($$) waffle maker, and we had a tried and true Alton Brown waffle recipe. So we had everyone over at what turned out to be noon. The table was decorated really pretty, with a red tablecloth and green cloth napkins. We had brunch and then opened presents. It was a nice way to do that side of the family - especially as our family is growing, perhaps this will become tradition?
That evening we met up with Sandra for dinner and A Christmas Carol play (a small production that turned out to be quite good!)
This year C.T. and I had Thursday and Friday off of work. So on Wednesday we packed up the car (after loading up the back, C.T. remarked "what are we going to do when we have the baby?" because we quickly filled up the honda) and headed to Minnesota. On Thursday we slept in, went to the dog park, tried furniture shopping (again...) and went for dinner at Tran, made a few last minute batches of cookies and played Ticket to Ride. C.T. blew us out of the water on that game - I don't know how he always gets the lucky cards!
On Christmas Eve we played a game of Monopoly before heading out to Grandma's house. There was dinner (no punch this year, John and I were debating whether she'd make it) and church - with candle-lit Silent Night - and cookies. We gave Grandma & Grandpa a scrabble game. They hadn't ever played, which was shocking! They really like crosswords and jumbles, so of course they took to this game quickly!
Christmas Day. Kayla, Steve and Syd arrived around noon and we ate the annual French Toast Bake (yum!) and then opened presents. We received some really nice things this year! Kayla gave us a painting of the Cherry in the Spoon. C.T. received a wooden box from dad. I got a stick blender which I am looking forward to using, and a lot of other cool things (A "penny dog" cookie cutter and a tiger hawk cookie cutter). I just love Christmas in Minnesota. They had many feet of snow up there. Penny loved it - she took the liberty of carving out running paths throughout the backyard. The tree looked beautiful as usual, and this year I took home some of my ornaments I've collected from Grandma or mom and dad over the years. It was kind of hard to break up all the threesomes :). After a trip to the dog park, the Pautsch's came over for steak dinner and gift exchange. Adam and Heidi were even in town! It was nice to catch up with them all. And then, it was over all too quickly. The next morning C.T. and I packed up again and headed on down the road.
We got in to Boone around 2:00 and ate a snacky dinner with Sandra and the brothers. We exchanged gifts and had a little dessert. We had planned on going to see a movie (like the last few years) but we missed the early show and 7:40 was too late for us. So back to Ankeny. And it felt really nice be home. C.T. shoveled the drive and I unpacked the car. We exhanged gifts before bed. I got him slipper shoes (without fur, do you know how rare that is?) and a Dave Matthews CD and a Dave Matthews lullaby tribute CD - which is pretty good. He was much too nice and got me some fun kitchen things, a tree skirt that he has plans to make into a family keepsake (our handprints, Penny's, the baby's...), and then he handed me a little jewelry box. I got teary. He got me beautiful pearl stud earrings. And he matched them with the jeweler to go with the existing pearl earrings I had from my grandma (I had lost one of the studs). Very sweet of him! We sat in the kitchen and listened to the lullaby CD and then went to bed. It was a lovely Christmas.
Can you believe she'll be here in less than 4 months! Wow!!! It was brought up quite a bit this year about how next Christmas will look with an 8 month old crawling around! And she was being cooperative so mom and kayla were able to feel her kick.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Movers, shakers...
She is really moving around a lot lately! And I can feel her a lot more than before. The other day, C.T. was able to feel from the outside the teeny kicks and punches - which was a really cool moment. She seems to be most active when I wake up, just before a meal (when I'm getting hungry) and then again later at night. I'm having a hard time imagining what she'll feel like in another month or so!
I'm really looking forward to meeting her.
I'm really looking forward to meeting her.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Long post...
Ok, it has been FAR too long since I posted here last. So be prepared for a lengthly post, but enjoy!
I'm at 21.5 weeks today, and feeling pretty good! I am getting over a head cold (which thankfully was not the flu - I would feel terrible not getting the flu shot and then getting the flu! so here's hoping I continue my healthy streak. They say pregnant people are more susceptible to getting sick because of a suppressed immune system, but I think it's because we use the bathroom 3 times more than everyone else! lol)
The ultrasound a week ago was amazing. We were lucky enough to get lots of pictures (the technician said she was very photogenic and she couldn't help herself). There's a cute one of her profile, a few neat hand shots, and one I like of her with arms up in a boxing stance :) It was a special moment for me, holding the hand of my husband and watching our little girl in her snug temporary home. I was really happy to see her so squirmy - I hadn't really felt her moving around consistently. At the ultrasound they estimated she weighed 12 ounces. And we were told everything looks average and normal!
With knowing the gender now, it feels a bit more real. There's not just any old tiny human growing, but our daughter! I think C.T. had a short overwhelmed moment where he suddenly went to fending her off from boyfriends and dancing at her wedding! :) Both of us didn't care one way or the other, and it was a bit strange but we felt a little sad we weren't having one of each! Boys have their look-forward-to moments and girls have their own. I, for one, can't wait to braid her hair, kiss and snuggle her, cook & bake together, dream up fairy tale lands...etc etc!
I think we're pretty set on the name Lucy - but we might spell it Lucie instead. Not sure yet. And C.T. is liking the full name of Lucia. We will see!
I am definitely looking pregnant these days. There are days I feel pretty uncomfortable, but nothing too bad. I am doing my best to get to the gym a few days a week. It feels good to sweat since I spend most of my day sitting. I've tried to get to the pool, but unless I get up extra early, it's tough to fit it in around the swim meets & lessons going on in the evenings. Occasionally my back will be tight, and a few times I've woken up in the middle of the night with my calf cramping up, and I do feel the round ligament pain especially if I've been inactive for awhile, but overall no complaints! I still have my moments where I think "I'm gaining too much weight" "Other people this far along don't look as big". I have to remind myself that everybody's different, and as long as she is healthy in there, I shouldn't worry.
We went to our Baby Basics class the other night. The lady who led it definitely had her own opinions on things, but overall I agreed and we learned some good stuff. We first went over how to bathe - basically hold onto the baby & do your best, haha. She went over swaddling & diaper changing. C.T. changed his first diaper, no problem. She had some good pictures of what things will look like: birth marks, the cord, etc. She told us of her five S's to calm a fussy baby: Swaddle, Side/stomach, Swing, Shh, Suck. There's plenty of advice out there, I hope that I can do a good job of not being too stubborn.
Oh, the things babies "need". We went into a Babies R Us the other day to look around. I'm attempting to be as less-is-more as possible. The carseat I like is by Chicco and is about $180. That brand also has a stroller I really like because it's not a full size huge one, but it can still hold a carseat & has a regular seat that fully reclines for infants. I looked into bassinets, moses baskets, etc. but I think it would be easiest to just keep the big crib in our bedroom to start out with - we have the space. And in six months or so we can move it to her own room. I think the wooden rocker C.T. found at a garage sale will work just fine. My mom and I will recover it and make it cute. I know it would be nice to have a glider, but we could always get one later if needed. One of these days we should register for shower gifts. Also on the to-do list for January is find a day care and find a pediatrician. No small feat there! We are praying about all these big decisions coming up.
I'm at 21.5 weeks today, and feeling pretty good! I am getting over a head cold (which thankfully was not the flu - I would feel terrible not getting the flu shot and then getting the flu! so here's hoping I continue my healthy streak. They say pregnant people are more susceptible to getting sick because of a suppressed immune system, but I think it's because we use the bathroom 3 times more than everyone else! lol)
The ultrasound a week ago was amazing. We were lucky enough to get lots of pictures (the technician said she was very photogenic and she couldn't help herself). There's a cute one of her profile, a few neat hand shots, and one I like of her with arms up in a boxing stance :) It was a special moment for me, holding the hand of my husband and watching our little girl in her snug temporary home. I was really happy to see her so squirmy - I hadn't really felt her moving around consistently. At the ultrasound they estimated she weighed 12 ounces. And we were told everything looks average and normal!
With knowing the gender now, it feels a bit more real. There's not just any old tiny human growing, but our daughter! I think C.T. had a short overwhelmed moment where he suddenly went to fending her off from boyfriends and dancing at her wedding! :) Both of us didn't care one way or the other, and it was a bit strange but we felt a little sad we weren't having one of each! Boys have their look-forward-to moments and girls have their own. I, for one, can't wait to braid her hair, kiss and snuggle her, cook & bake together, dream up fairy tale lands...etc etc!
I think we're pretty set on the name Lucy - but we might spell it Lucie instead. Not sure yet. And C.T. is liking the full name of Lucia. We will see!
I am definitely looking pregnant these days. There are days I feel pretty uncomfortable, but nothing too bad. I am doing my best to get to the gym a few days a week. It feels good to sweat since I spend most of my day sitting. I've tried to get to the pool, but unless I get up extra early, it's tough to fit it in around the swim meets & lessons going on in the evenings. Occasionally my back will be tight, and a few times I've woken up in the middle of the night with my calf cramping up, and I do feel the round ligament pain especially if I've been inactive for awhile, but overall no complaints! I still have my moments where I think "I'm gaining too much weight" "Other people this far along don't look as big". I have to remind myself that everybody's different, and as long as she is healthy in there, I shouldn't worry.
We went to our Baby Basics class the other night. The lady who led it definitely had her own opinions on things, but overall I agreed and we learned some good stuff. We first went over how to bathe - basically hold onto the baby & do your best, haha. She went over swaddling & diaper changing. C.T. changed his first diaper, no problem. She had some good pictures of what things will look like: birth marks, the cord, etc. She told us of her five S's to calm a fussy baby: Swaddle, Side/stomach, Swing, Shh, Suck. There's plenty of advice out there, I hope that I can do a good job of not being too stubborn.
Oh, the things babies "need". We went into a Babies R Us the other day to look around. I'm attempting to be as less-is-more as possible. The carseat I like is by Chicco and is about $180. That brand also has a stroller I really like because it's not a full size huge one, but it can still hold a carseat & has a regular seat that fully reclines for infants. I looked into bassinets, moses baskets, etc. but I think it would be easiest to just keep the big crib in our bedroom to start out with - we have the space. And in six months or so we can move it to her own room. I think the wooden rocker C.T. found at a garage sale will work just fine. My mom and I will recover it and make it cute. I know it would be nice to have a glider, but we could always get one later if needed. One of these days we should register for shower gifts. Also on the to-do list for January is find a day care and find a pediatrician. No small feat there! We are praying about all these big decisions coming up.
Monday, December 6, 2010
We're having a GIRL
We had the ultrasound this morning. We're having a baby girl! We are so excited!
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