Snowy Day and Belly Pic

This city is so funny (which is the nice way of saying nuts, psycho, crazy, disturbed) when there is a chance of snow.  For a WEEK now, the weather media has been talking about this "Significant Winter Storm" that would be moving through Friday and Saturday.  Supermarkets were packed, the news channels scheduled extra early morning broadcasts, etc...

I mean seriously, wouldn't we all be able to live for 24 hours without milk and bread in the house?  Maybe it's just me, but the only time I even got the least bit concerned about the food situation in our house during the winter was when Connor was on formula.... because you can't fake formula for a 3-month-old.  But other than that, COME ON! 

Anyway...

My theory on winter weather around here was always been that the more and further in advance it's talked about, the less likely it is that anything will actually happen.  I think I developed this theory in highschool when it seemed we were never on a snow day when they predicted we might be, but there would always be random little bursts of snow that they only predicted about 8 hours in advance that caused school closings, bad roads, etc...  Like clockwork - this is just the curse of the Ohio Valley and it's weather.

So....

Prepare yourself for this amazing picture of Mother Nature's great wrath...

OMG!! What destruction in our backyard! {tee hee}

It did snow a massive 1-4 inches around the area.... whew! (I'm hoping you can sense the sarcasm here!)  I think we probably have about 3 inches on our deck.  And, to just put me a little bit more over the edge about all this 'snow business', all my gym classes and daycare at the gym were canceled this morning!  Bummer!!  I'm still going to head there later, but I haven't been able to do my Urban Iron or Zumba for weeks and it's driving me crazy!!

Enough about that ... in most recent news, I think I'm going to have to transition to the maternity pants soon.... or live in the dreaded 'comfy pants' for the next few months.  Here is my most recent pic from 13 weeks exactly.  I think I'm approx. the same size now as I was with Connor at 16 weeks, which I hear is very normal for the second pregnancy.  I'm also obsessed with feeling the baby move for the first time, which happened very early (around 16 weeks) with Connor, so I'm expecting it any time now.  I keep thinking  I feel some little squiggles down there, but I just can't confirm it yet!  I'll keep you posted!

New York Trip, 2nd Ultrasound and Screening, Kobe Shoes!

So we're back home after visiting Jamie's extended family in New York.  Shweew!  Glad to be home!  The trip was quite enjoyable, and of course everyone fell in love with Connor and his cute personality and had a great time playing indoor basketball and baseball, cars, etc... for a full week!  Connor probably recieved more attention in that week than he has in the last year (and this kid is in no need of attention, let me tell ya) and averaged about an 11:30 PM bedtime, so what a relief it was to come home and get him back in school and back on schedule. (more about that below)

These are the new "Kobe" Nike tennis shoes we got him while in NY .... they are so cute and he calls them his "Kobe Shoes"!  Not sure they would be cute in a man's size, but very cute in a little-boy size!


It was good to get a little mommy-break (we stayed at a difference aunt's house than Connor and Jamie's parents) and we even made it into the city for a night on the town ... dinner, shopping, hotel and then breakfast in the morning.... nice!  On a sour note, I got extremely motion sick on the bus back out of the city and had to bail about 5 stops before where we were supposed to get off, leaving Jamie on the bus by himself with all our crap.  Luckily I made it off in time .... we'll leave it at that.  Gotta love making a spectacle of yourself in front of strangers... but isn't that what motherhood is all about like 75% of the time (starting with child birth) so I guess I'm used to it.

But, as nice as it is to have a little vacay from the norm, it's even better to be home to my own bed, bathroom, closet, kitchen, etc... (minus all the laundry, sorting mail, putting clothes away, and all the other crap you have to do when you get home)  Plus, I need to get back on the "eating right" train ... on-the-road and vacation eating will seriously do a number on your stomach and how you feel in general.

And we didn't have a second to breathe once we got home.  Monday morning was my early-pregnancy screening called a Nuchal Translucency (spelling... ahh, not sure about that one and too lazy to Google it).  It's a combo blood test/ ultrasound that checks the baby for Down's Syndrome and 2 or 3 other serious chromosonal abnormailities.  I went to a specialist, not my regular doctor, which was the same specialist we saw when I was prego with Connor. We received nothing but good news ... thank goodness. 

As a bonus, the ultrasound tech had some extra time to play around, so I got to see the baby for about 30 minutes.... unfortunately they didn't take a video this time like they did with Connor, which is a super-bummer because SOMEONE recorded over my ultrasound tape of Connor (which honestly makes me want to cry right now).  With all the extra ultrasound time, we spent a lot of time down south looking for any signs of a penis or otherwise.  They found maybe a penis, then a vagina, then a penis, then maybe a vagina (or the "three lines" as they call it) so basically we confirmed that the baby is DEFINITELY a boy OR a girl.  Ha!  It's just too early to tell for sure.  But now I'm even more anxious than before .. March 8th can't come fast enough!  It's just so amazing to see such a small creature living inside of your own body... there is nothing quite like experiencing an ultrasound of your baby.

So, as for today.... more exciting times.  Roads in the area were ice-covered all morning, making travel especially difficult and dangerous.  I never would have left the house this morning had I known the extent of how horribly bad the roads were.  There was basically no way out of my neighborhood, and even with an SUV with 4WD and even a "snow and ice" driving setting, I had NO control of the vehicle.  CRAZY!  It took me an hour and a half to get Connor to school (which doesn't even compare to how long many people were stuck out on the road) and saw many close-calls and scary situations.  Many men were out in their suits and dress shoes helping push cars up hills and back onto roads.... it made me proud to live in such a nice and helpful society .... and also scared to see how many dumb-ass people (such as myself) didn't bother to turn on the news this morning before heading out the door!!!


Coming soon.... belly pics (13 weeks pregnant and officially can't button my jeans now.... trying to hold out on the prego jeans as long as possible, because once I go the way of the comfort waistband, there's no going back!) and some great baby-finds on clearance at Target!  Happy Tuesday!

The First Few Weeks...

This is a blog entry I kept and didn't post before we let the cat out of the bag.  Most posts revolve around food and not feeling well, so not particulary that interesting, but anyway... just excuse the bad grammar, spelling, etc...

* did you know that a seltzer water or club soda tastes much like a well-poured vodka soda when served in a nice glass? or that a 4-ounce pour of red wine can actually last for 3 hours at a party? it's like the "how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop" question .... I've never actually made it happen, until now!



* running through the morning sickness! why, because of the half-bag of cheddar potato chips I ate yesterday night, courtesy of Archer Farms. also, i have about 5 christmas parties/ events coming up - and I bought new dresses for them, so I must still fit in them ... only 3 more weeks of caring, then i can really let loose. McD's drivethru here i come!


* morning sickness is in full swing on tuesday, Dec 8th. good thing Jamie took Connor to school today. I also had a bit of spotting ... so I'm actually kind of glad I'm having the morning sickness, it's a good sign.


* Jamie has a motion sickness watch thingy I've always made fun of. I got new batteries for it today and now wear it fashionably as part of my wardrobe.... because as ugly as it is, it's better than vomit.

* i still love to eat .... are you kidding me? i'm one of the only people I know who can actually power-eat though nausea.... sometimes it helps, sometimes I'm sorry.

* dirty diapers suck WAY more with a heightened since of smell. yikes

* apparently I cry at everything - at least 2 movie trailers before the movie even started made me tear up. wow.

* made jamie run to KFC for me tonight ... nothing else sounded good and I haven't eated all day... I think I might have to go there every day for the next few weeks.


* one thought today .... McDonalds sausage egg and cheese biscuit .... are you kidding me?  leaving now... Why can't McD's have breakfast all day?  Really?

* Ran a 4K race early this morning in 20 degree weather ... lot's of uphill which I wasn't expecting, but I didn't stop... I was probably the only runner wearing a motion sickness watch... finished pretty well, about 325 of 650 including men.  I really want to keep this running thing up as long as possible, I've worked so hard to be able to run a 5K!!

* feeling really crappy today .... it's 2 days after xmas and not recovered yet ... didn't get out of my PJ's and had McD's and pizza to eat ... I really wish I could go running right now, but I think I would pass out... really not a good day!

*  Still able to fit comfortably into most clothing, so finding holiday garb wasn't too bad! Funny, with Connor I wanted to start showing immediately... this time around, I had several outfits I planned out and bought for xmas parties, etc... so I was motivated to stay on track with working out, etc... we'll see what happens now that the holidays are over!
 
 
We are packing and preparing for a 9 hour drive ot New York tomorrow and Saturday!  Ugh!  Hopefully I'll be able to post some from the Big Apple!
 

First Ultrasound and Belly Pics!

I wanted to post these puppies on Monday, but I have just been feeling SO OVERWHELMED lately!  I think it's a mix of pregnancy hormones (duh .... just ask Jamie), trying to put all the Christmas stuff away, and getting ready to go out of town for a week.  There is a lot of other stuff, but from what I can figure, these are the biggies.  Anyway...

Our appointment went very well on Monday morning.  The ultrasound actually moved by due date up 6 days to August 1st because the baby measured 11 weeks and 1 day, instead of 10 weeks and 2 days like my cycle would indicate.  (OK, lets talk about this for a sec... I'm not going to argue with someone telling me I'm a week further along than we thought... let's face it, that's just a week less of pregnancy for free!  Sweet!  HOWEVER, I was closely monitoring my cycle by taking my basal body temp (BBT) every morning and using ovulation strips, etc... so I'm not completely 'sold' on this whole new-due-date thing... but we're going with it....)

The baby just kept flipping around and 'dancing' the throughout the entire ultrasound!  So cute!  I forgot how magical this experience is... it never gets old!  The heartbeat was excellent at 162 ... and listening to that never gets old, either!

I kept joking with the tech, asking her to look for a penis (which wouldn't even be possible to find at this point!) which she thought was funny .... but I was being serious!  You can see in the second picture how perfect of a shot it would be to see a little pee-pee if it were about 3-4 weeks down the road!  Oh well!

11 weeks, 1 day  (approx. 4.6 cm)

They already look cute and chubby, don't you think??

So our next appointment is for first trimester screenings, which means..... another ultrasound!  Yea!  With Connor, we got a video tape of this particular ultrasound (which subsequently was recorded over with a football game... it's a touchy subject... I'd rather not go into it) so I'm hoping we'll get one this time around, too!

In all the craziness, I find myself mentally making note of all the baby stuff I wish I had gotten with Connor and trying to figure out how we're eventually going to get it (this list is coming soon... basically a list of all the things that, as a new mom, I thought I needed, and then a list of all the things I now know I need and have to go get!)

Look for tomorrow's post .... my "super-early-before-we're-telling-anyone-pregnancy-journal-entries".

11 weeks

Monday, Funday

Mondays aren't usually my favorite, but ever since Connor started preschool on Mondays and Tuesdays, I can get so much done!!  So much to do tomorrow! 

Little Charlotte has a grooming appointment and has to be dropped off first thing in the morning and then I have to take my car in for a maintenance appointment and get a rental... hopefully a good one! And, then to my OB's office!  

Tomorrow will be especially great because we are having our first ultrasound!  Yea!  We were a little disappointed last week when we didn't have an ultrasound at our first OB appointment, but since the doc says my uterous is a bit tilted,  she recommended one for tomorrow.  It's not a big deal, I think she mostly just realized I really wanted an early ultrasound and to hear the heartbeat, so that was the excuse.  ;)

With Connor, I had an ultrasound at about 7 weeks due to some spotting, so I guess I wasn't really sure what was protocol.  N E Way.... I'll have pics to post tomorrow!

We are tired from hitting up the Great Train Expo at the Kentucky International Convention Center in downtown Louisville today.  There wasn't a whole lot to look at that Jamie and I were interested in, but Connor had a great time checking out all the trains!  He is really into trains right now... mostly because we got him the Thomas Wooden Train table for his second birthday which he is now obsessed with!   Luckily, we were able to get out of there only purchasing a little Thomas bathtub squirt toy and nothing more!

I've also got a huge to-do list for this week including: putting Christmas stuff away (errr), organizing maternity clothes so I know what I have, and packing for our New York trip next week!  Better get to bed!

Lots of Picture Updates .... and Good News ;)

ow, I'm a little embarassed at how long it's been since I blogged on here ... but I guess that's just an indication of how busy we were over the holidays!  It was literally one {fun} thing after another .... here is a taste...

Woodmont Breakfast with Santa

UK Alumni "Big Blue Santa"

Hanaukkah Celebration (aka: Eating Jelly Donuts!)

Dad's Birthday Celebration

Hubers Lunch with the Fam

Christmas Eve

Christmas Morning

Christmas with Mom's Fam

New Years

**Also, I'm excited to announce that we are expecting another baby!!  I'm due August 5th!  That also contributed to my complete lack of doing anything that wasn't neccessary for the last few weeks since I wasn't feeling well.  Luckily, starting around New Years (9 weeks) I kind of snapped out of the morning sickness phase (finally!) although the tiredness is still lingering.

So, obviously, for the next few months this blog will be focusing a little more on the wild adventure that is pregnancy and how we are preparing for number 2 (and of course still on Connor!) Coming soon: a little collection of notes I wrote during my down-time away from the blog regarding early pregnancy and getting back into the swing of it!   Also, our first ultrasound pics (Monday is our appointment) and of course new belly pics every 2 weeks starting at 12 weeks!

Happy New Year!