Sledding Trips - December 2009

We've had two great sledding trips with Owen and friends/family. We first went with our friends the Chandrapal Family on Christmas Eve and then we went with my Dad, lil' bro Gianni (12) and nephew (almost 8) this past Monday.

Both trips started out rough with Owen. He needed time to adjust after waking up from shorter than normal/earlier than normal naps. He also needed food and had to come to terms with wearing a jacket which took some effort. Luckily, we were able to get him out on the snow both times and he ended up loving the experience. He laughed so much, it definitely made the rough moments worthwhile.

Both Kris and I had a great time, too. Kris seemed to enjoy sledding as much as the kids and I enjoyed watching the action from the sidelines and appreciated the scenery and fresh air. We were even blessed with a special treat on Monday...while we were packing up the car, it started to snow! It was just perfect. We drove to a nearby lodge for hot chocolate and lunch so we could watch the snow fall a little more.

Here are a few pictures from both trips and a couple videos of Charles, Gianni, and my Dad sledding (we didn't capture any videos of Owen or get any pictures of the twins/Deepak/Sarayu on our camera).

Week 36- quick update

In a few days, I will officially be full-term! I had my 36 week doctor appointment today and found out that the baby has dropped and the doctor actually felt the baby’s head!! I am about 70% effaced and 1-2 cm dilated. Next week, I’ll find out the results of the Strep B test I took today. If it’s positive, I’ll have to have antibiotics during labor just so the baby is exposed to as little bacteria as possible during delivery. To date, I have gained about 26 pounds.

Nesting = Kitchen Update & Home Organization Projects

Over the last two months or so, I’ve been on a mission to improve our house organization. We have changed our office into a baby room, moved our original office into the nook in our bedroom, reorganized the closet in the baby’s room (all of my craft/sewing supplies are now very organized and I even have a wrapping paper dresser), and updated our kitchen with new counters and some new appliances. Kris has labeled this “mission” nesting and hopes I stick to cleaning for the remainder of these urges. The endeavor has been tiring, but also lots of fun and productive, and we both definitely feel it has been well worth it. Now, I just have to keep it organized after the baby arrives. We’ll see how well that works out for us. Ha!

I have one more week of work before my medical leave begins and really the timing is perfect. All of this “nesting” + playtimes with Owen + work has me craving a few days of major R&R on the couch. However since it’s Christmas time, I am realistic enough to know that my craving for homemade coffee cake and my desire to test out our new oven will trump all else.

Here are a few before and after pictures of the kitchen:

Thanksgiving Family Photo Shoot

Here are a few of our favorite pictures from the family photo shoot. Thank you Ryan & Jamie!

It's December Already?!

Monday marks the start of my 35^th week which means I now have only 5 weeks until my due date. I went to the doctors a week and a half ago and the visit went well. We heard the baby's beautiful heartbeat and chatted about the options of pain relief that will be offered to me, if I so desire during labor. Unless this labor is unbelievably quick, I expect I will seek some type of help. With Owen, I aspired to do without drugs, but it was such a relief once I caved. I still felt like I achieved my main goal, “healthy mom, healthy baby”. If in need this round, I will happily and much more quickly embrace the idea.

My next doctor appointment is in a couple weeks and then I will be seen a bit more regularly over the last four weeks. We are still working on baby names and don't really have a narrowed down list yet. We have a few names we're testing, but I'm pretty sure we'll be choosing a name at the hospital. For the last short while, I have been saying that I think the baby is a boy. I've felt that way primarily because the pregnancy has been so similar and it's really all I have to go on but we're excited to find out and meet the lil' one.

Because I was curious, I pulled out an old photo from my pregnancy with Owen, when I was about 7-8 weeks from my due date. It's not a great profile shot, but conveniently, I am wearing the same shirt in a photo from this Thanksgiving (which was about 7 weeks shy of my due date). Check out the photos below.

As for Thanksgiving, we had a wonderful long weekend in Orange with my family. My brother-in-law, Ryan happily agreed to take a family photo of us at a nearby park. Owen was not into the photo shoot at all- he only wanted to play with Charles and Gianni on the playground and run around the grass, but we managed to get a few nice shots of the three of us anyway (albeit they are without Owen's usual big grin).

November Doc Visit + Owen getting to know his baby bro or sis

Here is a quick update on my recent November doctor’s visit. I’m now at 30 weeks, my belly measures to 30 weeks, and I’ve gained 19 pounds. The best part of the appointment (as it is every time) is hearing the baby’s heart beat - it's so beautiful. The baby continues to be VERY active, but I'm enjoying this part as feeling the baby move is my favorite part of being pregnant. I also had my H1N1 flu shot to help protect me and the babe during the rest of the flu season.

We're not too sure if Owen really understands that a baby is going to arrive soon, but he regularly pets and kisses the baby/my tummy and says goodnight and such. Just now, he walked over to me, patted his belly, and said hi to "his" baby. Here is a picture from the other day when he was especially cuddly and into kissing the baby.

Halloween 2009

Happy Halloween!

We hope you all had a really fun and special Halloween. Our weekend started out with a bang with a Trunk or Treat event at Owen's day care. We decorated our trunk like a jungle and dressed accordingly. I may look like a black cat, but Owen will tell you that I was a black panther. Kris is dressed up as a jungle/safari guide - just in case it's not obvious. We don't have any pictures from the actual event because at the end of the night we realized that there was no memory card in the camera. So sad! Luckily, a few other parents were snapping up pictures so we're hopeful we'll get a few of Owen's friends too. Owen wasn't into the trunk event very much this year - although there was a good thirty minute period when a bunch of his classmates were there at the same time and they had a lot of fun together running around, dancing to music, and playing together. It was really cute to watch them all playing in their costumes.

Owen definitely enjoyed the actual day of Halloween more. We played outside most of the day- before and after nap and he really loved jumping in leave piles and playing in dirt piles (both activities were repeated for a long time on Sunday). Then we dressed up, had a photo shoot to capture the trunk memory, and started off in the neighborhood at dusk. He was a big hit with our neighbors and liked trick o treating at the non-scary houses. After we walked around our neighborhood for a bit, Owen helped his Daddy pass out candy and really enjoyed eating his chocolate. There is no more denying that the words chocolate and candy are a part of his vocabulary now.

A few pictures of Owen, the trunk, me in my costume - WK 28, and Owen playing in the yard are below. We also made another Picasa album. Some of the pictures below are in the album, but there are more of him in his costume and playing in the yard, too.

Halloween 2009