The ABCs of Fall

A - Apple Picking w/ Sharla in Hendersonville
B - Brunch at the Biltmore
C - Cute Comfy outfits from Carters
D - Driving to the Mountains listening to SuperFreakonomics
E - Election for School Board
F - Fall Foliage
G - Going to Gymboree for Level 3
H - Halloween didn't bring many Trick or Treaters
I - IKEA is....
J - just the right place to hang out w/ baby while car is being serviced and has....
K - kid toys that are perfect - easy to put together, no crazy sounds and cheap!
L - Like a Lion for Halloween (have you every seen a lion w/ a pacifier?)
M - More money on baby clothes than Mommy and Daddy clothes....
N - Nothing is better than spending a day with the family
O - Outlets in Gaffney, SC
P - Pumpkin Patch Party at Gymboree
Q - Quite a big temperature difference in the mountains (and Mommy forgot her jacket!)
R - Rain, Rain, go away!
S - Shoe Shopping at Stride Rite (1st pair - size 4 WIDE!)
T - Thank you Nicole for a delicious Smores Caramel Apple (though Ben only got the apple part - the rest was for Mommy!)
U - Upscale shopping at Brooks Brothers, Van Heusen and Polo :-)
V - Very messy table due to Very messy baby means Very big tip
W - Welcome to Baby Judah (Chris and Penny) and Baby Mary (Marshall and Mike) - can't wait to meet you!
X - Xeriscape at the Biltmore Conservatory - the palms and mums were much more exciting!
Y - Yes, our car is 2 1/2 years old and has 62K miles.....we drive...a lot!
Z - ZZZs back in my own crib after a weekend of excitement - priceless!

Father's Day

We had fun celebrating Joel's first Father's Day with him. We got him some cute cards, a box of petit fours that he's been eyeing at Lindt, the book "Why Sons Need Fathers" and an HD video camera.....he really wanted the video camera but in the end we wound up returning it b/c we decided to wait until the more advanced one either goes on sale, comes down in price (which will inevitably happen before Christmas) or maybe we'll get lucky and happen across an open box (we spend a lot of time in Best Buy so if one comes in we will probably see it LOL). After presents, we had breakfast and went to the Knights Game (vs. the Mets). Joel went w/ a friend of his on Fri night and we had tickets to go on Sat night but Joel has also been really sick since the end of last week and he did not really seem like he wanted to go Sat night (though he said it was because Ben, Bridgie and I didn't get home until 6:30 - we could've still went....I got home when I did so that we could go, but anyway, I'm glad we didn't push it b/c Joel was feeling miserable anyway).

Sat afternoon on Sat, Bridgie, Ben and I had to go to another DSW to hunt down the shoes for Danielle's wedding (I'm not really a fan....they are really narrow and just in about 5 mins of wearing them were starting to give me blisters....and have really slim heels that I will have to balance on very carefully :-) ) We then drove down to the Broad River and had some fun hanging in the river. We should've rented rafts but we only spent about an hr there so we had fun just climbing over the rapids and chilling in the water. Bridge has been a big help...as I said to my mom, money is a good motivator. I have brought her to get a checking account and am giving her money each week to help watch Ben and then there are other tasks that have been up for bid....she vacuumed and cleaned the interior of the car for $15 and mowed the front and back lawn for $20....gives her something to do and some money in her pocket and gives me affordable home services. She is also a big help around the house, making cookies and cleaning up the kitchen. We finally got pool tags so I hope that next week she will get to spend some time at the pool. Next week we head to NY for Danielle's wedding, so it will be great to have Bridgie w/ us in the car as well as at the wedding (especially since I am in the wedding....).

4 months

You would never know we had a 4-month old by how busy we've been. We have been booked the last 3 weekends - as Joel put it, we're trying to get everything in before Benjamin is 6 months old (and then he reminded me that we'll have to start all over again b/c he won't remember any of it LOL).

Anyway, this past weekend, Joel and I got dressed up in cap and gown and were accompanied by Joel's dad and sister and of course Ben to the Wake Forest hooding ceremony. I was pretty excited to go, dress up and get "hooded", but really disappointed that we didn't get to keep our "hood" (though the general MBA hoods were the ugliest of all of them - who came up w/ tan?). It was fun and as much as we tried to get a picture w/ Ben looking, he was not that interested almost 2 hrs past his bedtime (he fell asleep almost instantly when we got into the car for the 1 1/2 hr trek back to Charlotte).

The weekend before was our first Mother's Day. It was low-key but it's such an amazing feeling - almost like it's still a bit surreal, that I am Benjamin's mom (which Joel sings to the tune of Stacy's mom LOL). We were up early in the morning - Joel was very excited about his gift and I was excited to open it (as long as I could stay in bed to open it!). He got me a penguin pendant - this is one of those truly unique gifts that most people would not understand, but ever since Joel went to see March of the Penguins and saw how the male and female penguin mate and work together to care for their chick, he has said that I am his penguin. Amazingly, he bumbled across this diamond penguin pendant at Zales and thought it would be perfect. I love it! The chain itself has been a bit frustrating (the clasp is really small) but I love the fact that it's dressy but can be worn w/ jeans too :-) He also got me one of those beautiful wood carved sculptures (the ones w/o faces) that has a Mommy and Daddy holding a little baby - it was very sweet - such an iconic picture of family! He also got me a great card - and of course all of these sentiments made me cry! We wound up going to McDonald's for breakfast - we were going to go "out" somewhere but baby fell asleep as soon as we got in the car so we figured this was the best bet. We drove over to a community on Mountain Island Lake that we really like and finished our breakfast and then walked around a bit. We then drove to SC and went to the outlets. We got there way before the outlets opened so we went to some of the local farm stands and to Strawberry Hill general store. They were giving away free ice cream cones for Mother's Day so I got a peach cobbler cone. Ben took one look at it and started leaning toward it with his mouth wide open. I gave him a taste....and I created a monster! He would basically put his whole mouth on the cone and suck and when you would take it away, he would cry!! I gave him a few tastes and then Joel took him so I could finish my ice cream cone! The ladies at the register thought it was a riot....I was worried that if Ben had any better coordination, he would've grabbed the cone right out of my hand! LOL I found a couple of cute outfits for Ben (and Mom) at Gap but we spent most of the day just window shopping. It was such a beautiful day and we passed by the Broad River Greenway on the way home - I really wanted to put my feet in the river but it was getting late and I figured Ben could only be so good for so long. We stopped at KFC to pick up a bucket of the new grilled chicken (I LOVE it!) and I nursed him. After that he was happy but tired. I was about to get him ready for bed when we got home when I realized I didn't have a picture of me and Ben on Mother's Day - despite a very sleepy baby, we were able to get at least one good one!

The Saturday before Mother's Day, we brought Ben to Belk Auction for the first time and Joel brought Ben to Daddy Boot Camp, this time Joel was a "veteran" daddy. That Friday was Ben's 4-month check-up. He was very brave for his shots and Dr. Colyer was so impressed with his motor development (saying he had the motor skills of a 6-month old) but warned that we should start baby-proofing as soon as possible. Our little roly-poly is still in the 90th percentile for weight and climbed to the 90th percentile for height (I think the fact that he is well proportioned makes him look "big" rather than "fat"). Most people can't believe he's only 4 months old. Dr. Colyer also ok'd us to start feeding him cereal (Mommy knew this was coming and already purchased the organic brown rice and some spoons). The amazing thing is that Benjamin opens his mouth when you offer a cup (or water bottle) or spoon like he's an old pro at this eating business. It's still messy business at 4 months, but at least he enjoys it. We will be starting veggies and fruits in a week or two.


And the weekend before that we brought him to his first golf tournament - the Quail Hollow Championship (was SOOO mad we couldn't bring a camera - almost snuck my cell phone in but didn't want to embarass Joel LOL). Considering the fact that we were there from about 9:30-4:30, Ben did great (probably held up better than Mommy and Daddy). That weekend, Ben and Mommy also did a free trial class at Gynboree - we loved it (hands down Ben was the easiest going baby there - everyone else had at least one meltdown before they left). Unfortunately, there aren't any per class packages so it will be a couple of months before we sign up (since we have plans for most of the next 2 months).

So you can see we've been keeping pretty busy - baby in tow! :-) I would love to get back to updating the blog weekly - we'll see how that goes!

What a Weekend......

Although we spent most of Saturday lounging around the house (much needed after spending 2 yrs of Saturdays in a classroom all day!), I feel like we did quite a bit and quite a bit happened this weekend.

As of Friday, I am 37 weeks pregnant....officially full-term. I am so used to being pregnant at this point that I'm not really anxious to deliver b/c I don't want to be pregnant any more, however the longer I have to contemplate what labor's going to be like, the more nervous I get. Since everyone's experience is so unique, it's so hard to know what to expect, but I am so excited to meet little Benjamin or Madelyn that I think it will be ok (and hopefully no epidural, episiotomy, or c-section....) Baby is kicking, punching and rolling around like crazy - I think he or she is getting ready for a grand entrance :-)

According to Babycenter: Congratulations! Your baby is full-term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away. He weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long.

Since it is getting close to d-day, I have started packing my hospital bag. It was cute - last night I was looking on Babycenter at some of the discussion boards re: "what to bring to the hospital" and it made me giggle - kind of like a bunch of girls chatting about what to bring to summer camp. Even though it is online, you can hear the tone of excitement and anticipation and it just reminded me of going away to sleep away camp or a school trip.....amazing how those events prepare us for such vastly different experiences :-) Anyway, last week I made probably my final trip to Destination Maternity (it's a great store, but in such an inconvenient location, especially now that school is done) to purchase some underwear, pajamas and nursing sleep bras and then on Friday night went to Target w/ Nicole (we had Andy and Nicole over for dinner - chicken parm and then left the boys to watch b-ball) and picked up another pair of pajamas and a couple of cute non-maternity shirts that will be good for nursing (I have really lucked out this year that long shirts and wrap shirts have been "in" - they are very convenient for my current maternity needs and future nursing needs).

As I began to pack, I realized that I need a couple of last minute things for me and baby so yesterday I went back to Target for a big shopping spree (yes, Target is my FAVORITE store and I have the good fortune of having one that opened in July about 5 mins from my house!). I had a coupon for 10% off what was left on my registry but there were several things that I wanted for baby that had never made it on to my registry, so I went in, added the items to the registry and then purchased them off the registry to use my coupon (yeah, it was a pain in the neck, but saved me a little more than $20 - well worth it!). What we got - the diaper genie, a boppy (I was going to get the Breast Friend but I was annoyed by the strap and decided that a Boppy has a more useful life span), some bottles (just in case we need them before we expect - I got the playtex newborn set that comes w/ like 5 or 6 nipples - there has to be one in there that baby will take!), and some onesies and outfits in size Newborn (everything we registered for and have gotten is 0-3 months and I figured it made sense to prepare in case the baby is smaller than 8 lbs to have something he or she can wear home that actually fits.....the Murphy's Law in me says that even though Joel and I were small babies and my sisters were relatively small babies, I will have the Christmas Turkey, but want to be prepared in case I am blessed w/ a small or average size baby LOL). Once I do laundry today (a load for me and a load for baby), I will have our bags all packed and ready to go...hopefully we will need them sooner rather than later.

Also, in preparation for d-day, yesterday, I installed the car seat. The funny thing is that I actually had to attend a car seat certification when I was a caseworker, but it was before the LATCH system - I was really excited to get to use the LATCH hooks in our car....ok, maybe too excited. It is cute to see the car seat in there - a little strange, but more cute than strange (and of course during my shopping trip at Target yesterday I made sure to get the mirror so I can see baby from the front seat).

In other baby news, this morning I had a Dr's appt. My blood pressure was a little elevated when I got there (probably the coffee and taking the stairs...) but was ok when I left. I actually lost 2 lbs from last week and in the most exciting news I am effacing and dilating.....sounds hot, huh? I am only finger tip dilated and though I know that really doesn't mean much, it is the bit of good news that I need to be hopeful that baby may actually arrive on time (and maybe even early....ok, maybe that's wishful thinking, but Mia was Kathy's first and she arrived early, so I have faith....I am NOT a fan of induction) Baby's heart rate was 150.....it has stayed between 145-150 most of the pregnancy, so I wonder whether Dr. Rouse's prediction that it's a girl is true (based on the old wive's tale) even though my hunch is that it's a boy....hmmm, I suppose we'll find out soon enough :-) My next Dr. appt is 1/12 at 9am Hopefully we will have dilation progress next week (I scheduled a prenatal massage for next Sat - that means that either baby will make an appearance before then so I miss out on my massage or hopefully that will spur some contractions to get things going....)

Also, this weekend, Joel and I became members of a new church. We have been going to St. Patrick's in Dilworth, which is a beautiful old church w/ a school, but after the Christmas mass, I realized that the church itself is not really kid-friendly and wanted to take a look at some other options. Yesterday morning, Joel went online and found St. Thomas of Aquinas right in the University area - we went to the 9:30 mass and really enjoyed the Pastor and everything that is going on at the church so we decided to become parishoners. I thought it was really neat that the church is run by Franciscan Friars as both my great uncle Danny and uncle JoJo are/were Franciscan Friars and I grew up attending events at the house in Yonkers, NY and meeting Friars from all over. The pastor is actually from the NJ chapter, but he had the opportunity to meet my uncle Danny (Fr Charles) in FL - that was cool and made me feel like we had found our church.

Sadly, we also took down our Christmas decorations this weekend :-( I hate to see Christmas go, but I want to make sure that everything is put away before we are consummed by baby :-) The tree is actually still in the living rm since garbage day is Wed, but the ornaments, lights, and stockings are back in storage - it's amazing to think that next Christmas there will be another stocking hanging from the mantle and a little person waddling through the wrapping paper....The outside lights are also down except for one strand of garland lights that is hanging from the garage (my proudest achievement in light hanging this year!). Joel suggested we leave that strand up at least one more night (I think he was sad to see Christmas go too!) I have pretty bummed out about the lack of christmas decorations left after christmas this year, but then last night Nicole and I went to Michael's and it was like I hit the jackpot. I was able to get some new ornaments and outside lights for 80% off...and some wrapping materials and mugs! I must've brought home 10 bags/boxes of stuff and only spent $60 (which $16+ was due to a frame for a stock certificate that Joel purchased and of course was not on sale....despite the fact that all other frames were 50% off - that bugged me but the frame is really nice, so oh well)

As much as I've written so far, I didn't even mention Sat night's auction, dinner at Firebird's (probably one of our favorite restaurants) and a trip to Border's (very excited about my gardening book). All in all, even w/ everything that has happened in the last couple of days, it was a very relaxing weekend :-)

34 Weeks - Insomnia and Christmas Lights

It is Sunday morning and I should be sleeping in late. Rather, I was up at 4:38am and haven't been able to get back to sleep. I stayed in bed until about 5:30 and then figured it was a decent time to get up and not feel like I was getting up in the middle of the night (although it's still pitch black out). I figured it would be a good time to throw in a load of laundry, check my e-mail and Facebook (a new addiction), and get some other errands done. Now that I've been up for a couple of hrs, I'm starting to get tired - Joel and Graham are still sleeping so I may join them for a nap :-) I actually was dreaming that I was running code for work and kept getting these strange summary results.....it was one of those dreams where you wake up, dismiss it and then go right back to where you were in the dream. That is fine when it's a good dream, but sucks when you're dreaming about work. Work has been pretty busy, which is good.



Last night, we went to the tree lighting in Freedom Park. There were actually 2 trees, but they were only decorated in some strings of white lights - they were nice, but I was disappointed. We met Andy & Nicole there (and Emma) and walked around the lake where they had a couple other light displays set up. My feet were already sore when we got to the park from setting up Christmas lights all afternoon -our house looks like a Christmas wonderland (well, almost, I have a few more to plug in today). We haven't gotten a Christmas tree yet - probably early this week - Monday or Tuesday. I love Christmas! :-) After walking around the park, Nicole and I went to a couple of stores and sent Joel and Andy home with Emma and then we all met up at the mall. I didn't get as much done as I would've liked, but KB and Circuit City are closing and there were a couple of good deals there. We went to dinner at Firebirds - we had gotten a $10 gift card as a promo in the mail so it seemed like a logical choice....best part was that for redeeming the $10 gift card, we got a $5 gift card (they'll just trying to rope you back in LOL).

In Baby News, Joel and I have our hospital tour on Wednesday and our Labor Support class on Thursday. We were supposed to do the Prepared Childbirth Class before Labor Support but they can't get us in until the 28th for that class, so they said we could go ahead and sign up for Labor Support. I think the Labor Support class will be better than the Prepared Children Class, so it's good that we get to go to that one first because we can ask around and see if it's worth going to the other one. Joel is also going to go to Daddy Boot Camp - some of the schedules are a little strange, but I think we'll be able to get him in the first week of January (NO MORE SCHOOL!). I am 34 weeks as of Friday and as of today, there are only 40 days left till my due date - I can't believe it! It seems like it's gone so fast - now if only the labor goes as fast (ok, that's wishful thinking....) According to Babycenter: Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. Hmmm, I wonder if it's a she or he.....I suppose we'll find out soon enough.

Next Dr's appt: Friday, Dec 19th Then we start going every week.....I'm sure between the holidays and the dr. appts, the next couple of weeks are going to fly by!

30 Weeks - 3/4 of the way there!

As of Friday, I am 30 weeks pregnant. Aside from the persistent right-sided rib pain, everything is going well. I can't believe how big baby is getting - he or she is constantly moving now and will push up on one side of my belly or the other. Joel and I like feeling the little protrusions and trying to figure out whether it's a foot, knee, elbow, head, or butt.....or some other little part. I started "kick-counting" a couple of weeks ago - the Dr. wants to make sure that baby is moving at least 10 times every hour. I try not to think about it all day, but once the baby gets moving, 10 kicks, pokes, jabs, rolls, or swishes happen in about 10 minutes. Baby is very active. It's interesting talking to some of my friends who have already had children. Some of them remember the baby moving a lot and others not as much. Partly, it depends on your body type and I think it also depends on your activity level b/c when I'm doing work outside or around the house, I don't notice the movements as much.

According to Baby Center this week: Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face.

This weekend was mostly uneventful - Saturday marked 3 class days left before graduation! Woo hoo!!! Saturday night we drove around for awhile and then went home. Joel spent most of the evening talking to his Dad, so I caught up on some ER episodes. I wasn't feeling that well, so I just kinda vegged on the couch. Yesterday, we drove up to Kernersville for an auction, but it was disappointing. The drive was nice though. On the way back, we went to BJ's wholesale club. Joel and I did a project on the "Big 3" wholesale clubs last year for a marketing project and ever since I have been intrigued by BJ's....mostly for 3 reasons - they have more variety in their brands, smaller sizes, and accept manufacturer's coupons. I was so excited about my coupons. I try to cut out coupons every Sunday, but I never get them organized and never wind up using them b/c they expire or another brand is on sale....or whatever. But now, they are organized in an envelope and I'm very excited about actually having them all in one place and hopefully saving some money. We actually wound up at BJ's b/c I had a coupon for a free trial membership but their membership offer was so good (14 months for price of 12 and a $10 off coupon) that we decided to join - our Sam's Club membership expires in Jan anyway (we probably won't renew). Not including the $10 off for joining, my coupons saved me $15 at BJ's :-)

We also went to Best Buy and got Joel the camera that he's been eyeing for the last month or so since it came out. The funny thing is that the camera hasn't even come out of its box yet. We bought a special book on the camera from Border's and Joel is trying to make sure he knows how to use the camera before he just rips in and opens it, which is a good thing, but we made a funny comparison between the camera and the baby. I think we are going to be looking at the baby when he or she first comes home kinda the same way we stared at the camera box....like "what do we do with you?" We decided to sell our old camera since it's still a very good camera and the funny part is that as I was doing some research on our old camera, I found out a whole bunch of features I didn't even know about....it almost makes me want to keep it just to learn how to "really" use it. I am excited about the new camera, but I don't like the fact that it's so bulky and heavy. Especially w/ the baby gear that we'll be lugging around, I'm sure the last thing we'll want to lug around is a heavy camera....but Joel really wanted this camera to launch his professional photography career, so we got it :-)

7 Months - Dancing Baby

Today, I had a Dr. appt with Dr. Rouse. Good news is that I passed my glucose screening test and all of my other bloodwork came back normal. The baby's heart rate was 145 and measured just right. Bad news is that I found out that this awful burning sensation on the top of my right rib-cage is the result of inflamed cartilage on my rib-cage and there is really not much I can do about it. Dr. Rouse said it's pretty common and the result of the baby pushing up under my rib-cage. I'm hoping it will go away soon. My next Dr. appt is on Nov 19th (I go every 2 weeks now).

In other news, baby has decided that he or she likes to do the cha-cha in my belly, especially around 5am. I can't believe how much baby is moving - it seems like within the last week, baby has gone from a couple of kicks and a lot of swishes and rolls to almost constant kicking and punching and moving - I wish I could see inside there to see what baby is doing! At about 1:30 this morning, I could've sworn that baby was moving both sets of legs and arms in every direction possible!! I'm getting really excited to meet baby - there are still 3 months, but it seems like it's coming up really quick.

This past weekend, we went to Babies R Us and picked up the valances and crib bedding. I set up the crib skirt and bumpers, but need to wash the sheets. I will post pictures of the nursery as soon as I get it all set up. We only have a couple of things left to do or get before baby is born. After Babies R Us, we went over to Concord Mills and did some shopping. I got a couple of shirts at Old Navy and a sweatsuit. Their maternity section left little to be desired, so I just rummaged among their regular stuff to find what I could to cover my ever-growing belly. It may just be the style of clothes this year, but for shirts, I'm finding that I'm having better luck w/ non-maternity shirts than maternity shirts because the maternity are wide, but not necessarily long, and I have a long torso, which means that even in some of the maternity shirts, my belly is starting to stick out the bottom. Right now, I have almost every size possible, from S to XXL (my new zip-up sweatshirt). It'll be interesting to see what I actually put away with my maternity clothes and what I decide to keep with my regular clothes. The funniest thing is that I've become so used to my big belly now that I can't even remember what it was like to not have this big belly......I am constantly looking at people, especially other women and wondering what my body will look like after baby.....I suppose we'll see soon enough!

We found Joel jeans at the Polo store for $20 - they were just on a random clearance rack - we were really excited b/c the jeans that he had were getting too big and needed to move on to Goodwill. The Polo jeans not only fit well, but they are a much lighter denim and super comfy. I found a maternity pea coat at the Motherhood outlet - a coat was something that I was realizing I was going to have to buy b/c baby is due so late in the winter - I just hope I get to use it w/ the next pregnancy. I didn't find anything for me at the GAP, but I did find 2 pairs of cotton pants for the baby. I had gotten these really cute long sleeve onesies at Walmart, but realized I didn't have any bottoms, so I got a pair in white and navy blue. Slowly but surely I've been picking up baby clothes - I've been buying 0-3 months - may have to get some NB stuff just in case baby is on the 6-7lb side (which is what I'm hoping, but I know if I buy NB stuff, I will wind up with a Christmas Turkey....didn't want to jinx myself!).

Speaking of Christmas, I definitely need to start Christmas shopping. Joel wanted to go to Conocord Mills so he could go to Circuit City and fondle the new Cannon 50D. It is a nice camera, but we have a nice camera. Recently, Joel also started looking at new laptops. Luckily, he discovered that the IRS says the usable life of a laptop is 3 yrs, so now he feels he can't justify buying a new one (at least for another year and a half). Therefore, he has moved on to looking at cameras - I wonder what the IRS says about the usuable life of a digital camera. We have a nice camera.....but both of us do like the digital SLR - we'll see, maybe not for Christmas, but maybe after baby is born.

As of Friday, I am 28 weeks pregnant (7 months). This is also the beginning of the 3rd trimester!! According to Baby Center: By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

Only 12 weeks to go!

Stroller Shopping

Yesterday, I was trying to find something interesting to listen to while I was working, preferably something business oriented. I was really frustrated at the options available online (I wound up listening to the Today Show, which was neat, but more frilly). Anyway, when I went onto MSNBC, I saw the following link: "10 Tips: Stroller shopping? How to handle it". This definitely piqued my curiosity considering we just added a stroller to the registry a couple of weeks ago. The funniest part though was the sub-headline: "Who knew buying a stroller could be almost as complicated as buying a car?" OK, I definitely think the drama was a little exaggerated for the purpose of an interesting article (though I do know moms that probably spent more time picking out a stroller than a car....), but I still thought it was worth checking out.

So, what did I learn? Well, nothing actually. Most of the 10 tips I had already considered considering my past stroller experiences....really, I think buying a stroller is a lot about common sense. The things that I was concerned about were ease of opening / closing, security / stability of car seat in stroller base, maneuverability, height of handle, weight (to be able to lift into the car), a shade that covered the baby from all angles, and comfort. I think this is a pretty basic list. Some strollers have bells and whistles including secret compartments or extra tie-downs, but it's really about practicality first and once you find a practical stroller, then the extras are just a bonus. I've also learned throughout my life that an increase in price doesn't always equate to an increase in quality or usability. Sometimes you are just paying for the brand or the hype or some "new and improved" model (which isn't always improved, just new). With strollers, I think sometimes you are even paying more for the design of the fabric.

Anyway, the other important thing is that you need to see, handle, and maneuver the stroller, which is why I really like Babies R Us - you can take the stroller out, push it around, fold it up, etc. One recommendation I have for Target is to lower their strollers so people can actually "test" them - it will probably make people more likely to buy one (or less likely to injure themselves pulling them off that high shelf!) I liked the weight and design and stability of the stroller we chose, but we also decided to go with it for another reason. We are not necessarily huge fans of leopard print, but I do not dislike it either, and we thought it was a nice way to remember Joel's mom (and definitely think it would've been her first choice!!) :-) The brown suede is really nice and soft and according to the reviews doesn't fade and washes well. I am excited to put baby in it!

If you are buying a stroller for yourself or know someone who could use some guidance, send them the link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26762419

Well, we picked out the stroller and added it to the registry, but in the process a funny thing happened - somehow I added 2 of the same stroller / car seat combo to the registry. I've been to the online registry for both Babies R Us and Target probably more than 20 times - and this never caught my eye. On Sunday, Joel got a call from his dad while we driving back from SC, who asked about the 2 strollers. Since we also registered for the Snap n Go, I figured this is what he was talking about when he said 2 strollers....but I said I would check it out later that afternoon when we got home. By the time we got home, I needed to run a few errands and figured I would check it out later that night.

In the meantime, I talked to MY dad, who said that they wouldn't be able to make it down to NC for the baby shower (hopefully we'll get to see them for Thanksgiving) but said that they wanted to get us the 2 car seats (the car seat comes w/ the stroller). I explained that there should only be 1 car seat - that was a mistake that we heard about earlier in the day and I hadn't had a chance to fix it yet! My dad was funny b/c he was like oh, we thought one for each car.....I had to remind him we only have ONE car - we had a good laugh over that! :-) I couldn't believe that this registry mistake was causing so much confusion!!

That night, when I went online to fix it, I realized why it was causing so much issue - it is (was) the FIRST thing on the registry, so it figures the first thing that people are going to look at! Anyway, it is fixed and I think the registry is just about complete. I want to go to Target and take a look at their baby section to see if I forgot anything and to look at a couple of things in person, but otherwise I think the registry is finally done....which is actually kind of sad, but I'm sure I'll figure out something else to devote my baby obsession to soon enough :-)

Weekend Mania

This past weekend was a crazy one! On Saturday, we had class, and were the first group to present for our strategy class - glad it's over! One assignment down - 5 to go! After class, I drove Joel home and then went down to the scrapbook retreat at the GAB House. I was so disappointed b/c originally I thought the retreat was next weekend (we don't have school - yeah!) but then realized that it was this past weekend, so again I had to miss Sat and since we had our presentation, I missed Fri night too!

I probably won't be able to go in the spring b/c I think it's really early - like Feb and the baby will just be too small, but I'm definitely looking forward to next Sept! :-) I had a great time catching up with Marshall and Missy. Marshall's pics from her trip (Spain and Portugal and I think part of France) were awesome! I can't wait to get back to Europe - we definitely want to get to Italy and Spain. It was good to catch up about RV too - they are going to Puerto Rico for their annual trip - which is really cool, but as Joel put it, anything to not have to pay the employees higher salaries. It sounds like they're continuing to lose employees b/c of salary differences - it's sad - hard to really build a company when you can't keep experienced talent.

After the retreat on Sunday, I was going to meet up with a girl I found on craigslist to see the maternity clothes she had for sale, but I couldn't get in touch w/ her, so I went to Destination Maternity in Southpark. I only went there for a "Bella Band", but I wound up spending at least an hr and a half and leaving w/ a bunch of outfits and no bella band (I just don't think I have enough pre-pregnancy clothes I could use it with to justify the $26 elastic band - would rather get a pair of maternity jeans!). I was pleasantly surprised - I had avoided going because I really thought it was just a high-end boutique (b/c of it's location) but when I talked to Kathy, she told me that they have a bunch of different lines, including Motherhood Maternity, which is really affordable. I love a Mimi shirt that I found and just grateful it was on clearance for $20 (compared to an original price of $68). I tried on a ton of clothes and realized what a workout it was to do this 5+ months pregnant - at least I'm think I'm set for a while now.

I want to post some pictures of me in my new outfits, but of course I brought my camera to the scrapbook retreat and not only did I not take any pictures, I left it there! Luckily, someone dropped it off at Kimberly's house and I'm picking it up on Friday - I will add pictures as soon as I get my camera back! Joel's friend Mike is flying in on Friday for a visit and the 3 of us are going to go down to SC for the weekend. We're going to Lake Marion, which is supposedly the largest lake in SC and a tourist destination, but I haven't talked to anyone who's actually been there! It's about an hr from Charleston, so I figured less driving on Friday to get there and then we can go down to Charleston on Saturday! I'm excited and will definitely post next week about the trip.

Presents for Baby

I couldn't help it. :-) I have been putting off buying anything for the baby because I have plenty of time (and some lingering anxiety) so I didn't want to go crazy, but my mom sent me a Kohl's gift card for my birthday so I went to Kohl's with my friend Nicole. On the first trip, I noticed that they had a display of Eric Carle books. When I was in high school, I was a teacher's assistant for the preschool program and created a 3-ft version of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See? so this book is near and dear to my heart (nevermind the million times I re-shelved the book when I worked in the Children's Dept of the Library). I was really excited to find a newer version called Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do you See? It was even more precious because they had the matching stuffed animals....and I can always justify my purchase as helping charity since the profits go to Kohl's Cares for Kids :-)

So, how come there's a polar bear in the picture too??? Well, I went back to Kohl's to exchange a pair of pants I bought on the first visit (their maternity clothes are not cut that great - I wound up finding some "regular" clothes that will work just fine for a while longer) and this Kohl's had a much bigger selection of matching stuffed animals, so for $10, I couldn't help it (again!) and I can't wait to buy more!! he, he

Family Weekend

My mom, Bridgette, and Annie are on their way back to FL this afternoon. I am working from home today and tracking their flight - Tropical Storm Fay is making it's way toward Ft Lauderdale just like they are......the flight took off, but the radar looks terrible....I have been tracking the flight to make sure they get home safely and not too shoke up :-)

This weekend was a lot of fun, but I am exhausted. On Saturday, we walked back and forth to the community pool twice. We went swimming the second time and sure enough, about 10 minutes after we got in the water, the whistle blew and we had to get out for "Adult" swim - technically Annie was the only one that had to get out, but that wouldn't have made sense (sadly I've seen parents do that during adult swim - make their kids sit on the side while they swim......don't get it....) Anyway, then we went to Concord Mills - my feet were killing me. I don't usually walk that much, especially not in flip flops and I forget how the extra weight and change in my center of gravity makes a little walking seem like a trek across the country.

On Sunday, we went to Carowinds and I made sure to wear sneakers, but my feet were still sore. Carowinds was really cool - Joel decided not to go because he's not really big on "rides". I couldn't go on much, but as you can see, I enjoyed the water slides (we got lucky because the water park was open an hr later than we expected - we thought we missed our chance, but we got on all of the water rides and there were no rides because it was so close to closing....best part though - the water was WARM!). Aside from noticing how pathetically white I am compared to my beach beauty sisters, if you look closely, you can see a little bit of a baby bump in my swim suit. That suit is my new maternity suit - it's super comfy and I like the fact that it's a tankini....and I like the color! I only got 2 pictures of me at the park since I took most of the pictures while I was waiting for them, or I got to go on the ride. It was a fun day though and I look forward to going back to go on the lying down roller coaster - maybe next summer!

As you can see in the picture, I also had some fun playing dress up w/ Annie. She is wearing her own nightgown (it's actually an old slip recycled!) and then she's wearing my tiara and veil. We made the necklace together using my jewelry kit (she really wanted me to buy her at the mall....so I promised we would make one - a much cheaper option).

First Maternity Clothes

Today, I made the plunge and bought my first maternity clothes (shown below). I have been doing some shopping over the last couple of weeks to make my wardrobe more pregnancy "friendly", but today is the first time that I actually bought "maternity" clothes.I am very excited to see that both GAP and Old Navy have maternity clothes and they have a variety of fits so there is stuff that I can wear now (and not look really pregnant) and that will carry me through at least 7-8 months, if not longer. GAP has a great clearance selection online and there are free returns - the only thing I'm worried about is the pants....those sizing charts are for the birds! I am really excited about the bathing suit - we are going to drain and re-fill our hot tub this weekend and my back could really use a nice soak in there (don't worry - we keep the temperature between 98 and 100 so me and baby will be fine!) This week definitely seems a bit like a turning point - I suppose it makes sense because it's the end of the 1st trimester!!